Youri le god

Hi Manny,

Have you ever played the Bruckner 7? I attended a rehearsal last night for this piece. I don;t normally play in classical groups, the majority of my playing is Big Band or Soul Pop bands.
The first problem was transposing in F which wouldn;t be so bad but the part was littered with sharps and double sharps!! I was playing it on my Bb, I was thinking it may be better on an Eb.
The second problem was that there were a LOT of entries where you have to come in after many bars rest on a very exposed note marked ppp. I was finding it very hard to come in cleanly. How would you work to build up this skill?
THanks
Youri

Manny Laureano

dear Youri,

Welll, now you know why I prize my years studying with Mr. Vacchiano of the new York Philharmonic. His incessant quizzing of his students on transpositions of all kinds made us able to deal with virtually any transposition problem.

I would NOT recommend the use of the Eb trumpet for playing Bruckner unless you were someone accustomed to playing a very large mouthpiece. It isn't the right sound for Bruckner which requires a full blooded, mellower sound (for the most part). Even most modern C trumpets are a bit too bright for my taste. No, my friend, even though I understand the nasty key that you get put in (6 sharps, no?) I'm afraid you're just going to have to get a copy of the Sachse 100 Etudes and get familiar with these pesky keys.

As far as the rests, that's just a matter of getting accustomed to it and that takes time. The less talking you do in rehearsal to your neighbor, the easier it is because your brain stays immersed in the music and the connections after sitting around are more fluid.

So, how does someone who plays the kind of music to which you're accustomed wind up playing Bruckner in a symphony orchestra? It's sort of like me sitting in with a ska band. Are you enjoying the piece? It's one of my favorites.

Good, luck!

ML

Youri le god

HI Manny,

thanks for the advice, I'll stick to the Bb. It's great fun to play the piece but it's not something I enjoy listening to. I prefer Baroque stuff mainly, I love the sound of the harpsichord. I also like Elgar and Vaughn Williams a lot (that's the patriotic Englishman in me).
I got into this gig through the internet. I saw a message asking for help and it was in my area so I contacted the guy. The internet can be a wonderful place.

cheers
Youri

Manny Laureano

Youri,

Enjoy, my friend. Incidentally, you'll be pleased to know that we're doing a program this week of Elgar and Bach/Walton! Check out the Minnesota Orchestra website for this week.

ML

bigbrowncow

Youri - if you want we can discuss these at our rehearsal tomorrow!

Steve

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