Bugleboy21

Thanks for the advice, ya'll! Making the jump to the higher note has never been a problem and I could always maintain the prescribed speed up until I get through that interval, but the last bar of each passage doesn't stay up to speed. Good thing the Army gives us ample time to practice at work (that is, when you're not in rehearsal, on a job, doing office work, physical training, or tactical training!) I guess I'll just bug my wife at home some more with my practicing!

__________________
SSG Laurence C Dean
US Army TRADOC Band
Fort Monroe, VA


You have to be a SMAT Boy to transpose well! -William Vacchiano

Alex Yates

Here is a helpful hint for keeping the tempo up at the end of the passages. Pretend there is another measure after the last - as if you were going to continue on. Infact, even practice that a few times. Put a repeat sign on the last measure of the phrase. Then go back to playing it as written with the repeated measure only sounding in your mind. That helps keep us from slowing or sagging at the end of phrases. The same can be said for sustained notes. In your mind, act as if it continues for a measure past the end and subdivide.

MrClean

I think he falls into the "agenda" category...

J

Manny Laureano

Well, in defense of Reiner (now THERE'S an unlikely position to take!), my understanding is that sort of stuff happened during rehearsals and when you were a newbie, at that, not concerts and recordings. Once you passed his test he left you alone, at least according to Bud. Now, having said that, maybe it was Cichowicz's week in the barrel! I have to check on the dates. I think Heldenleben was Vince's first record with CSO. Could that be right? He played first on that because when asked how he wanted to divide the section, Bud said to go down the line. VC was playing 4th then and wound up with the first Eb part.

Maybe it's the Latino in me but I have always liked the faster tempo for the Alborada. If it makes a piece harder, well.. that's the way the ball bounces any given week. I don't like the idea of conductors slowing down something to make it easier unless it truly makes sense musically. Like Beethoven's MM tempi... Osmo shaves 10% off but he does so across the board for each piece. Very consistent, that Finn.

ML

MrClean

Masur is like that, too (going after the "newbies") except he doesn't just limit it to rehearsals. Concerts and recordings are fair game, too. Once a player has gotten through the probationary period, though, he backs off as well.

Regarding Alborado tempi - trumpet players (and I am generalizing here) are probably going to have the fastest tongues in the band, so we usually are not the limiting factor. Having said that, you had better NOT be the limiting factor, either. We did it here last year, somewhere between 84 and 86, and the horns pleaded with us to try to hold back the tempo (heh, heh, heh).

You want to play it with the kind of command that gives the conductor the impression he could move it up another few notches without any problem.

J

trumpetchad

I worked on the 2nd trumpet excerpts with Neal Berntsen, and he recommend Eb trumpet, a 3C mouthpiece (in order to get the rebound of the 2nd "t" in the TTK pattern fast enough) and a big cup of coffee right before you go onstage. When the lick can be nailed with that setup, you can try other horn/mouthpiece combinations, but you'll always know you have a backup that is secure.

I've found in this piece that performance adrenaline alone will help you play fast enough.

Manny Laureano

I hope Brahm's 2nd isn't on the second half on that much caffeine. I like the Eb idea as an option but I'm not so sure about the caffeine...

Neal studied with me back in our respective Seattle days. He was a wonderful student then and a terrific pro now.

ML