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I got asked to play again with a very fine “freeway philharmonic”. Bolero is one of the works programmed, and to my surprise, many of the musicians are not a fan of playing it.

Like many organizations, lots of cutbacks are happening. The other piece (Carmen Suite selections) doesn’t have much tuba so I get 1 rehearsal and the dress (others get the dress). So last night, we hit places, and in the full run, a piece this repetitive makes it easy to lose track of counting.

I really hate it when publishers do this. It’s a total waste of ensemble rehearsal time to save paper and ink—this happens every time and then half the orchestra mentions they can’t find a spot. Or in this case, after rehearsal looked the principal trombone’s spot to mark it.

Some music librarian is going to really hate me

My MSO part for that has nearly identical markings. It is what it is.

the elephant wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 4:41 pm My MSO part for that has nearly identical markings. It is what it is.

I frequently see this when I play orchestrally. You would think engravers and publishers would, at one point, realize how useless this is.

Yeah. Bo Derek was hot, wasn't she?

The advantage of secret/illegal tablet or camera recordings is it you can hear afterward that - when you think you're doing a decent forte or fortissimo, it can be a lot more. The last time I played this one, I let 'er rip, and it sounded just about right on the illegal recording... with recording engineer quality headphones

russiantuba wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 4:35 pm Bolero is one of the works programmed...

I got tired of tracking rests in Bolero and put this together: https://www.dogandtuba.com/Tuba/Bolero_Roadmap.pdf. Let me know if you use it and find any mistakes.

I don't judge anyone for writing in the measures rest, but the cue doesn't suck.

bloke wrote: ↑Sat Mar 08, 2025 9:28 pm I don't judge anyone for writing in the measures rest, but the cue doesn't suck.

True, but there are two with the woodwinds there, and when it’s the same thing over 100 times in the piece…

As I also learned today, the cues aren’t always right. In another piece we did, which I got the read of at the dress rehearsal, my cue was for the trumpet. Trumpet didn’t play, guess the maestro didn’t want the part in there.

Maybe I’ve just gotten old and a “get off my lawn” approach. I’ve seen this type of writing in several continuous pieces with less or no cues…conductor asks people to start there and it gets brought up how the parts are written… tacet until XYZ “how many before they is my entrance” question always gets asked

There's also a little bit that I've learned (even as an old man) from an amazing true maestro of the European tradition under who I played for a decade...

... Even in the reading rehearsals - when people came in wrong - he didn't stop, but he hollered out, "Why don't you know the piece?!?!"

It's hard to argue with that, because - hell - he knew the piece.

There's something I played in my community orchestra within the past couple years (maybe The Tender Land?) that has one of those in the middle of the piece.

I'm admittedly not much of a counter anyway (past the initial reading), but that one was ludicrous.

Publishers be lazy.