pops compared to “masterworks”
Posted: Sun Dec 05, 2021 9:05 am
general comments on this:
“Pops” concerts feature considerably more playing – at least for me – and lots of opportunities to play lots of different types/inversions/functions of chords and musical lines in the low brass (even a few solo lines) and to do lots of nice phrasing (including some beyond-legato articulations - ie. subtle/"slow-valves" portamento) - phrasing that isn’t marked in the music, but which is implied by the lyrics (whether or not a song is actually sung), melody, and harmony.
A large percentage of so-called “masterworks“ are wonderful pieces of music, but – as we all know – we are not asked to do very much in most of that music.
specific-to-me comments on this:
In regards to one of the orchestras with which I work…
Our second trombone chair is not officially filled, and I don’t know if it ever really will be, because there are so many incredibly capable people around (two or three who have yet to have been called, or who have yet to have been available on specific dates) who come in and fill it for a concert or two and do such a wonderful job of fitting in and tuning the chords. Quickly, I can think of five who do a wonderful job.
(In an orchestra trombone section, it’s often the second trombonist who is responsible for tuning the chords, and in an orchestra trumpet section, it’s often the third trumpeter who does this.)
I enjoy hearing those chords ring when the tuning is on the money - because it creates such a more complex bouquet of sound than just those three or four "about right" pitches, and the fact that they are in tune from the very beginning of the sound, instead of getting there sometime afterward (if ever).
I also enjoy listening to the magic of three or four pitches sounding like one instrument...
… It doesn’t have to be the world’s most wonderful music, as long as it is being played wonderfully. (…and we have all heard the world’s most wonderful music butchered badly - by those who love it, but who have not mastered it).
The third trumpet player in this orchestra (one of two people in the orchestra who actually do) lives in the smallish city (big enough to be a “city“ instead of a “town“) where the orchestra performs. They are a married person in their early 20s, studying music (terminal degree) and - over the last two or three years - have progressed from me being concerned about them being there to me enjoying listening to them play, as they are learning so very much from the remarkable second trumpet player in the orchestra.
… even those staccato muted chords in an obligatory performance of “Sleigh Ride”… The difference between the third trumpet player nailing the tuning (because each one is already gone before there's any chance to adjust the tuning of any of them) and focusing them while muted - from the very beginning of the sound of each one of them - makes the difference between “a grouping of magical little chords” versus “just a bunch of nasal-sounding noise over there”.
This orchestra is not Berlin, but it continues to improve, continues to tackle more challenging “masterworks“, continues to toss together pops concerts with more and more ease, and better = more fun/less work.
“Pops” concerts feature considerably more playing – at least for me – and lots of opportunities to play lots of different types/inversions/functions of chords and musical lines in the low brass (even a few solo lines) and to do lots of nice phrasing (including some beyond-legato articulations - ie. subtle/"slow-valves" portamento) - phrasing that isn’t marked in the music, but which is implied by the lyrics (whether or not a song is actually sung), melody, and harmony.
A large percentage of so-called “masterworks“ are wonderful pieces of music, but – as we all know – we are not asked to do very much in most of that music.
specific-to-me comments on this:
In regards to one of the orchestras with which I work…
Our second trombone chair is not officially filled, and I don’t know if it ever really will be, because there are so many incredibly capable people around (two or three who have yet to have been called, or who have yet to have been available on specific dates) who come in and fill it for a concert or two and do such a wonderful job of fitting in and tuning the chords. Quickly, I can think of five who do a wonderful job.
(In an orchestra trombone section, it’s often the second trombonist who is responsible for tuning the chords, and in an orchestra trumpet section, it’s often the third trumpeter who does this.)
I enjoy hearing those chords ring when the tuning is on the money - because it creates such a more complex bouquet of sound than just those three or four "about right" pitches, and the fact that they are in tune from the very beginning of the sound, instead of getting there sometime afterward (if ever).
I also enjoy listening to the magic of three or four pitches sounding like one instrument...
… It doesn’t have to be the world’s most wonderful music, as long as it is being played wonderfully. (…and we have all heard the world’s most wonderful music butchered badly - by those who love it, but who have not mastered it).
The third trumpet player in this orchestra (one of two people in the orchestra who actually do) lives in the smallish city (big enough to be a “city“ instead of a “town“) where the orchestra performs. They are a married person in their early 20s, studying music (terminal degree) and - over the last two or three years - have progressed from me being concerned about them being there to me enjoying listening to them play, as they are learning so very much from the remarkable second trumpet player in the orchestra.
… even those staccato muted chords in an obligatory performance of “Sleigh Ride”… The difference between the third trumpet player nailing the tuning (because each one is already gone before there's any chance to adjust the tuning of any of them) and focusing them while muted - from the very beginning of the sound of each one of them - makes the difference between “a grouping of magical little chords” versus “just a bunch of nasal-sounding noise over there”.
This orchestra is not Berlin, but it continues to improve, continues to tackle more challenging “masterworks“, continues to toss together pops concerts with more and more ease, and better = more fun/less work.
