/r/ConcertBand

Photograph via snooOG

For the fans and performers, conductor and groupies of concert / symphonic bands, solo and ensemble competitions, marching and non-marching, winds and percussion, band camps and buses, brass, horns, reed, woodwinds, drums and bells, school band or community band... come share your stories, pictures, performances, and what not.

/r/ConcertBand

6,321 Subscribers

9

Am I wrong for this….

My friend really asked this and our director doesn’t take uniform stuff lightly!

10 Comments
2024/03/26
02:00 UTC

3

Do I need a trigger trombone?

Hi so I am a student at the university of arizona, I'm a trumpet player so I don't much about this but I wanna play a different instrument for the schools public (no auditions and you don't have to be a music major) symphonic band if I were to get into wind symphony since I'd already be in 2 other ensembles with trumpet (jazz and wind symphony) and I was thinking of playing euphonium which I would rent or trombone since I own a normal tenor trombone. Would I need to to get a trigger trombone for it?

4 Comments
2024/03/25
20:50 UTC

5

Conducting 101 needed!

I was recently appointed the role of student conductor in my highschool, but i have no idea how to conduct, i was appointed as few people in my highschool has the musicial experience or knowhow about a wind band , however i have only performed my entire life , i do understand the basic duple, triple and quadruple baton movements but i dont know much further than that, further added on pressure we have an important concert coming up in 3 months and its my job to whip the band into shape for a concert which we are completely unprepared for( for reference my band can barely play a belwin grade 2 piece), Could a kind soul please explain the various unsaid rules of conducting an amateur should understand and how to raise a terrible band to mediocre or better standards.

5 Comments
2024/03/25
15:09 UTC

16

Community Band: my disabled son was kicked off of a piece of music. I don't think I can go back.

I (44F) have been playing flute in my local community band since its inception 6 years ago. My son "P" has been playing percussion in this band for the last 4 years. He started percussion in 6th grade (he played piano for at least 3 years before that) and played it all the way through high school. He is now 18 and since he lives at home while attending community college, he's continued to be a part of this band.

P is on the autism spectrum, which is probably obvious to people who know the signs, but I think a lot of people think he's just weird. (He's not the only autistic member of this band, and he is FOR SURE not the only autistic musician!) He is also unbelievably knowledgeable about music. Among other things, he has perfect pitch - I always get a kick out of watching him tune the timpani by ear. I have been playing an instrument since childhood and I can't do that!

Beginning in January, we were rehearsing for our March concert, including a piece of music in honor of a member of the percussion section who had died unexpectedly. P was a big fan of this guy and it was really important to play on this piece. Now, there is a woman, "R", who normally plays the timpani on every piece we do. (I don't know if she's a professional or what, but in a community band, I feel like that shouldn't matter - we are all on equal footing.) However, the percussion section leader gave the timpani part to my son. He and I were at every rehearsal, R was not (not saying that to be judgey, it's usually not a big deal for a band member to miss 1 or 2 rehearsals, but I literally plan my schedule around band practice, and P & I haven't missed one in years.) P played the timpani part for this song at every rehearsal - including the last rehearsal, where more than an hour of a 2 hour practice was spent on this specific piece. At the tail end of practice, P had to go to the restroom, so R played the timpani part on that run-through and that run-through only.

It's important to note that at no point in that rehearsal or any of the previous ones had my son been playing the part wrong. At no time did the director, his assistant, or the percussion section leader express any concerns with my son's playing. They suggested some minor changes to the way he played the very beginning and the very end; my son made those changes, and everyone seemed happy.

So, we were at the concert last Sunday night. The piece of music in question was to be played right after intermission. P spent intermission tuning the timpani and making sure he had the mallets he wanted, etc. Then, at some point in this 10 minute break, he was told he would not be playing timpani on this piece. R would instead.

A couple of things that I really can't get past:

  • Since he's percussion, it works differently for him than it does for me. I don't play any of the flute solos, but I still have notes to play. Removing him from the timpani part meant removing him from the piece of music altogether. This seems like a really crappy way to honor the recently deceased percussion player, and frankly it just doesn't seem like something that should be done in a community band.
  • P insists that it was not R's decision, and I shouldn't be mad at her. But R is a grown-ass woman, and she was perfectly aware that she was being handed a part that she had played once, and my son had played probably 20+ times. If I had been in her shoes, I would have declined.
  • If R really is God's gift to playing the timpani, why was P ever given that part to begin with? Let alone played it multiple times over multiple rehearsals? If he was doing such a bad job playing it, why wasn't that addressed in rehearsal? Surely it was something that the section leader could have fixed.
  • What is the message that this sends to other members of this band, particularly ones like me who are not professional musicians or music teachers? If you can play a piece of music in every single rehearsal, and your part can be taken away 5 minutes before it's performed, what even is the point of showing up to rehearsal?

It's been a week, and I am still REALLY upset. Like I am legitimately going through a grieving process over here, because I thought I'd be playing in this band until my fingers got too old and arthritic to hold my instrument. But, by the time the second half of the concert was over, I realized there is simply no way I can go back. There are other (less prestigious - if you can say that about a community band) bands that might be a longer drive for us, but I absolutely cannot participate in a musical organization that has shown such callous disregard for the efforts of its members.

It's very possible I am overreacting. I almost never play the 'autism mom' card, but I am FIERCELY protective of my child. I think if you're a parent, particularly the parent of a child with a SIGNIFICANT disability, you probably get it.

18 Comments
2024/03/25
03:34 UTC

2

Bohemian Rhapsody Arrangement

Discover this new arrangement for concert band of Queen's extraordinary Bohemian Rhapsody:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKKn35sL22Y

Also featured on the excellent Band for Life website:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRv2Ea8IvlA

3 Comments
2024/03/24
09:03 UTC

1

High school percussionists, give your HONEST opinion, no BS (reposting for those who haven’t seen this)

If you're a high school percussionist and like to give your honest opinion (me too)....FILL OUT THIS SURVEY. Your opinion matters no matter what view you hold. The more experiences collected for the survey the better!! The google form should only take about 2-ish minutes to fill out--it looks longer than it actually is. Link : Rate Your Current High School Band Percussion Experience

Survey closes April 2nd.

0 Comments
2024/03/23
16:43 UTC

3

My school doesn’t have orchestra

:)

23 Comments
2024/03/22
14:17 UTC

2

Does anyone recognize this piece?

https://www.kapwing.com/w/RXxkENHy3x

My band’s MPA was yesterday (we got a superior!!) and we got to hear one band play before us and I forgot what the announcer person said that this piece was called, does anyone recognize it?

2 Comments
2024/03/21
22:43 UTC

2

Concert Band piece recs?

Heading into spring concert our band director wants us to give out recommendations for pieces to play. i currently have Italian rhapsody, Conga Del Fuego Nuevo, and Arabesque as recommendations. Do you guys have any pieces (ranging from grade levels 4-5 and up to 6 minutes) that could also be possibilities? I’m also trying to expand listening to more composers

12 Comments
2024/03/21
22:04 UTC

1

Youtube Playlists for Elementary Band/Orchestra

Hi-

I am looking for a public youtube playlist of some awesome instrumental (and potentially with vocal) performances of lots of different genres (classical, jazz, latin, rock, pop, etc.) to play on my Promethean Board at the start of classes/lessons as students are walking in and setting up.

Of course, fourth or fifth grade friendly :)

My school google account will not let me create playlists and I can't log into my personal account.

Thanks!

1 Comment
2024/03/21
16:03 UTC

1

Terracotta Army comes to life!

2 Comments
2024/03/20
03:06 UTC

4

I need solo recommendations asap 😭😭

I need a solo that I can learn in roughly a month but my problem is I'm a tenor sax player that can't get an accompaniment. I'm totally lost rn and I need to start practicing. I've tried the music library, I've tried all the websites like jw pepper, I've tried asking my director but i can't find anything. Please literally any recommendation helps 🙏🙏

9 Comments
2024/03/19
20:50 UTC

3

Treasure! Grade .5

Treasure! Grade .5

A new and adventurous piece for beginners! Only the first six notes of the Bb scale are used, along with basic rhythms and engaging percussion. This piece allows young musicians to build confidence and have fun as they are exploring the start of their instrument journey!

Score and parts can be purchased at JWPepper:

https://www.jwpepper.com/Treasure%21-P.O.D/11560116.item

Score video can be viewed here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4Kl6LBwz2Q

https://preview.redd.it/7mgichf113pc1.jpg?width=648&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d158de821e3bdcf58f03c08c5811179bfec37e69

0 Comments
2024/03/18
11:58 UTC

3

best middle school band

check out kaimuki symphonic winds on youtube. They play high level songs pretty gah damn good.

4 Comments
2024/03/18
06:23 UTC

5

Bored Timpanist Looking For Fun Parts

Hey there!

I'm a professional drummer that plays timpani in my local University Wind Ensemble looking for some pieces with insanely fun/demanding/complex timpani parts.

I've played: The Inferno - R.W. Smith and am wondering if there are other pieces like this or more challenging.

Grade 5-6+ is fine :)

7 Comments
2024/03/17
07:15 UTC

10

I uploaded hundreds of videos of my band program for public reference

Recently, I was reorganizing my mom's camera footage and came across my high school concerts from several years ago. Because she filmed almost everything—regardless of whether or not I was singing or playing—I decided to upload the videos to YouTube. However, our music program, as well as the community at large, heavily favored choral and a cappella groups. While those ensembles are undoubtedly talented, this imbalance resulted in band failing to receive the amount of love it deserved, and the viewership partially reflects that. 🥺 Consequently, I was wondering if advertising to band-oriented communities could boost its respective numbers. (If this type of self-promotion isn't allowed here, I apologize!)

Some sample videos:

Feel free to peruse the channel, including its various playlists. 😊

2 Comments
2024/03/15
12:40 UTC

4

Do you play better under pressure

I play bass clarinet(3y) and trumpet (1m) and seem to make more mistakes when I play slower tunes and I think that is because you are put under more pressure the quicker you have to play This seems to be the case for all songs I play the trumpet on. A lot of my friends don't agree but I'm wondering what any of you think

7 Comments
2024/03/15
04:16 UTC

2

Concert Band Music

Hello! I've been trying to make some of my own music for a bit now and it's just too difficult. I'm 14 years old and I play bari sax for my 8th grade concert band. I try to make music of things I like but like I said; it's too difficult. Does anyone know where I could get music from? (Preferably a website).

4 Comments
2024/03/15
04:12 UTC

10

Practice until you can't get it wrong -- when does that happen?!

Hi all,

I've been back on bassoon for the last 10 months after 25 years away (essentially restarting from zero).

I've got a few solos coming up, and I really don't want to crack any notes or fumble my fingerings. How should I get these pieces to the "practice until you can't get it wrong" stage? I've literally never gotten a single piece to this point.

I'm playing slowly to a metronome and not advancing speed until I play without errors 5x (though I still make random occasional mistakes even at slower speeds), playing the passages legato, staccato, varying the rhythm (like playing long runs of eighths as a dotted eighth, followed by a sixteenth)...

Appreciate any other help.

4 Comments
2024/03/15
03:07 UTC

10

A meme my band director made

2 Comments
2024/03/14
10:21 UTC

6

“animation” themed pieces?

hi all. our spring concert this year is themed “animations!!!!” and all bands are playing themes from movies and stuff, but our top band is having trouble finding any difficult pieces as most the pixar/disney medleys are super easy and usually grade 1-2. we are playing Randall Standridge’s “Animations!” too lol. even if they’re easy but fun, please let me know!

16 Comments
2024/03/14
03:55 UTC

5

I got a concert next week.

So the timing was really bad. We were supposed to get sheet music for the pieces were playing last Tuesday. We got them yesterday bc my band teacher wasn't here and got the pieces the day she left but it's 3 pieces, O Canada, furioso and another slightly harder piece, any tips on practicing for Tuesday? I have to add this is a giant band thing my city does where multiple schools combines band and plays these music, we also have 2 other pieces that just our band are playing, we've had these 2 for the entire year, what's my priority list? I need help 🙏

3 Comments
2024/03/14
02:34 UTC

2

Need help ID'ing a song. Please help!!

I am trying to find a song and it's driving me CRAZY. All I remember was a friend doing an arrangement of it for concert band one year many years ago when he gave me a CD to listen to it (don't still have the CD); it had bits from a lot of pieces that had unusual time signatures (blue rondo a la turk, etc.).

I have perfect pitch and remember the leitmotif and rhythm of the song, but with no other info I can't find a thing about it. I wrote up a little notation of the main melody, but the song is in an unusual time signature that also changes frequently, if you're wondering why I wrote it that way. I also remember it had a brief conga + singing section in the middle of it. Thanks for your help!

https://preview.redd.it/3mjweknyeqnc1.png?width=938&format=png&auto=webp&s=2c75d6407edb23747ba65d8a7ec1135714821266

0 Comments
2024/03/11
16:28 UTC

12

Did I do the right thing?

Someone (we don't know who) in my band photoshopped an email of my band director saying something racist and I reported it to him. He hasn't responded to my email yet and now I'm starting to wonder if I did the right thing.

13 Comments
2024/03/10
23:59 UTC

3

AUDITION HELp

AUDITION REP HELP i dont know id I can post this on here but oh well

Hi I am an advanced high schooler auditioning for the Honor band of America (HBOA) next year and I want to start working on my audition red now. I am heaving trouble finding some good rep, could I have some recommendations?

Requirements: Your are REQUIRED to have one piece that represents your technical playing abilities and one piece that represents your expression and lyrical playing style

Thanks!

10 Comments
2024/03/10
02:52 UTC

2

What instruments play in b flat

I'm looking to learn an instrument and the three I play are in b flat pitch, trumpet, clarinet and bass clarinet. What other instruments play in b flat?

12 Comments
2024/03/10
00:56 UTC

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