Author: Dutchy
Date: 2007-03-09 02:05
Quote:
Dutchy, let us know which books you like. Some of us will be advancing
to the next level in a few months.....I think.
I am very impressed with them. I wish I had ordered them 6 months ago, I could have been having SO much fun. ![[grin]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/smilie5.gif)
Here I've been toiling away at the same old Band Arrangements (which were always my favorite part of both books 1 and 2, me and my own private band), and getting heartily sick of "Rock.Com", and wishing there were more like "Serengeti". Well, I got my wish--the "Favorites" series comprises LOTS more songs like "Serengeti", and in varying degrees of difficulty, too. And they're longer, which is good for stamina practice, and not as simplistic. They're more like the actual songs that a band would play, and not like "exercises".
Anyway, I'm going to order the rest of 'em, too--Christmas, Broadway, Film, and Movie Favorites.
The two Concert Favorites books are the same format: the first 5 songs are those head-bangingly simple songs that you sit through as a mom when your daughter is taking clarinet and the 5th and 6th grade band performs. Ho hum. They're not "bad" songs, just all quarter notes and half notes, not a lot there musically. But then at Song #6 things start to pick up, with more challenging time signatures and dynamics, notes above the staff, changing keys and time signatures in the middle of the song, eighth notes, things like that, and suddenly before you know it, you're in "Gosh, this is harder than it looks" territory. They're designed to be used with Books 1 and 2, so obviously songs 1 through 5 are intended so the 5th and 6th graders can have "real" songs to play for the moms and dads. And the rest of the songs are of increasing difficulty for the 7th and 8th graders.
The Patriotic Favorites is much more challenging overall, it looks geared for 7th and 8th graders, possible 9th grade Young Band. I had to quit sight-reading my way through at the song from Saving Private Ryan because it was getting too hard for sight-reading at the CD speed, and I got lost. Which was wonderful, after two years of "The D.S. March".
Patriotic Favorites also comes packaged so you can play as a soloist with muted band/piano/rhythm accompaniment, or as the oboist in the band arrangement.
One thing I found odd, was that the Concert Favorites does not have the "tick tock tick tock" countoff at the beginning of each song, but the Patriotic Favorites does.
Oh well. Very enjoyable nevertheless.
|
|
The Oboe BBoard
.jpg){kind=small}
