Re: Re: Re: Keeping a good beat


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Posted by Agree I think.. on July 10, 2003 at 12:55:04:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Keeping a good beat posted by Rick Denney on July 10, 2003 at 11:47:43:


Rick,

I think we agree really. You seem to be talking about groups you have played with who have the desire to improve (or at least maintain standards) by PRACTICING. As a result they are able to rise to new levels when given the right incentive - ie. the Giannini. Therefore they are driven to a greater or lesser extent by 'musical forces'.

I appreciate performances by bands will have their share of technical mishaps because of a wide differentiation in abilities/commitment-levels; we all make mistakes. I, like you, would sooner hear a passionate, energetic rendition of a piece including split-notes and whoopsies than a technically-flawless performance with no intensity (this is a fault of some of the UK's best Orchestras who hire robot-type [brass] players who've never played a wrong note but produce a dull finished product IMO).

In my original post I talk of groups who
1) Play badly
2) Have always played badly
3) Will always play badly
...Because they...
4) Don't care they play badly
5) Care more for the (long) Coffee-break at band than working at improving a piece

These are the groups/individuals I fail to understand. Do these guys discuss the performance afterward (as there's little audience to 'play' for) and do they find the 'experience personally satisfying'? If so they MUST care about the quality of performance. Doesn't make sense to me...

As for getting the difficulty of pieces right, this is difficult as you need to cover a wide ability range. I spend a lot of time arranging pieces to suit the ensemble I have in front of me. I believe this is an essential skill of a director. I have no qualms about giving a Euph part to a Tenor Sax, Trombone, Horn or Bassoon (etc, etc), or writing specific 'Easy' parts in C, Bb, Eb etc. You get the idea. This all takes time but I do it for two reasons
1) I work mainly with kids so I want them to be stretched just a bit by each piece so find I have to adjust parts to suit. That way they hopefully don't quit! This is similar to the ranges in ability in Comm-Bands??
2) To get a satisfying Musical Product. I also have no qualms about pulling incapable players from parts they cannot play (yet). I am failing in my job as director if I don't do this. I find Kids respond better to this than Adults- the kids work hard to be able to play the part in question whilst Adults (who 'ought' to know themselves if they're incapable) tend to take it as a personal insult. I understand this technique wouldn't work well in a lot of Comm-Bands but I wouldn't choose to conduct such groups...

Not sure if you agree or not but finding this interesting : )
MP


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