Klarinet Archive - Posting 000086.txt from 2009/03

From: joshua stein <jstein53@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Re: concert bands
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 12:55:28 -0400

> Hi all,
>
> I just wanted to let you all know that there are community concert bands
> in need of clarinet players.
>
> If you or if you have any students who might be interested in playing in
> either of the following bands let me know and I give you more details
> regarding each group.
>
> The Brooklyn community Wind Ensemble - Meets at Kingsborough community
> College. Tuesday nights 7:30 - 10:00pm
> Queens Symphonic Band. meets at Queensborough Community College.
> Wednesday nights. 7:30 - 9:30pm
> Freeport Community Band. meets every other Monday night. 7:30 - 9:30pm.
>
> If you have any questions let me know.
>
> Josh Stein

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lelia Loban" <lelialoban@-----.net>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Sunday, March 15, 2009 8:24 AM
Subject: [kl]Getting lost during rehearsal

> Gary Truesdail's band student asked him,
>>>I was wondering if maybe you would address the issue to the band about
> getting lost.>>
>
> Gary, I thought nearly all of your answers to her were excellent. In
> particular, the orchestra and band directors in the schools where I grew
> up (in the days of the dinosaurs) also let kids who got lost take some
> some time to get on the same page before stopping and re-starting the
> whole group. I agree with you that figuring these things out on our own
> when we can is a useful part of learning to play in a group and I think
> you're right to give the ensemble a chance to re-group instead of just
> smacking the baton on the stand and roaring for silence the minute
> someone's out of sync.
>
> My violin-playing husband's adult amateur chamber music partners all
> learned the same policy over the years. (He plays three or four times a
> week with groups that rotate locations and personnel as a sort of musical
> floating craps game). Getting lost is fairly rare among those people
> because they're all good musicians, but sometimes it happens, especially
> during sight reading (and more especially when Brahms goes nuts with the
> syncopation). Anybody who gets lost gets about three or four bars to
> flounder before someone starts rhythmically yelling, for instance, "Bar
> EIGHT-one AND three AND four...!" Generally the group won't stop cold
> unless the pianist stops or one of the strings starts waving the bow in
> the air and loudly begging for mercy. As in golf, it's up to the
> perpetrator to call the foul.
>
> But one paragraph in your response did strike me as odd:
>>>3. Players of like instruments that are not sitting together
>>>are not helping each other in times of insecurity (or getting
>>>lost, weather it is their fault or not), nor can they create a
>>>collective balance for their section. We currently have that
>>>situation on the Euphonium section. I sure wish you guys
>>>would sit together.
>
> Why do you have to resort to wishing? These are kids, right? This is a
> school classroom? As the teacher and conductor, isn't it up to you to
> *tell* the euphs where to sit? You could solve that part of the problem
> right now by making seat assignments. They can decide where to sit when
> they're old enough to vote.
>
> Lelia Loban
> http://members.sibeliusmusic.com/Lelia_Loban
>
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