It’s been three months since my last update and so much has
happened since then. I have played a
solo with another band (which I had never done before), played at the English
Nationals (requiring two test pieces), had a break from playing (which I try to
do annually) and returned to a busy concert schedule, including playing at a
wedding with an almost ‘scratch band’.
Firstly, my routine has developed a little, bit by bit. I will post an update on that
separately. The routine has progressed
gradually so as not to be too dramatic a change at any one time.
So, Saturday 16th June 2012: my first solo with
another band. Pemberton Old Wigan DW
Band had arranged to do a joint concert with Yorkshire Imperial at the infamous
Morley Town Hall. As part of this, we
played two joint items, followed by one set each and accompany two soloists
from the other band, culminating in another two joint items. The joint items and our individual sets were all
great. When it came to playing my solo, ‘Live
and Let Die’ arranged by Ray Farr, I have never been so nervous. I had practised the solo plenty. I had even performed at a number of concerts
with Pemberton when I first joined the band four years ago, so was confident I
could play it well. The only problem was
with not knowing the band. Being
accompanied by your own band and your own conductor is comfortable. You know how each other tick. A new conductor and a new band bring up too
many variables for my confidence.
Anyway, it went fine.
I know I could have played better.
I know there were bits I have played better in my own practise and in
concert with my own band. I also know
that it wasn’t the band’s fault, or the conductor’s. It was my own performance anxiety – nerves. I am not ashamed of how I played. It wasn’t that bad. I am just unhappy
that the performance wasn’t better. I
hope to be able to perform solos with other bands and do a better job of it in
the future.
The week that followed was contest week building up to the
English Nationals. This year, just like
last year, we had to prepare two test pieces.
First, was the set test piece ‘Masquerade’ by Philip Wilby, followed by
our own choice ‘Harmony Music’ by Philip Sparke. Last year, working on two test pieces in a
week of rehearsals was very tough.
Perhaps due to the demands of the pieces - we played ‘Elgar Variations’
and ‘Spriti’. The Thomas Doss piece,
written for the 2010 European Championships, has a demanding Soprano Cornet
part, with a lengthy delicate ‘religioso misterioso’
section.
This year, even though the two pieces are demanding and require
lots of stamina and test all facets of brass playing, from range to finger
technique to tonguing and articulation to loud playing to the softest, most delicate
playing. I enjoyed the rehearsals, and
think that the key to my ‘survival’ during the week, was pacing myself. The way our conductor works, is that we do
work on our test piece to then run at the end of the rehearsal. This usually starts a few weeks before the
contest. Sometimes, we do an early
run-through to see how it feels on a ‘fresh lip’. My stance during non-contest-week rehearsals
is to always give 100%. How else can I improve
and be sure to be confident in what I am playing? However, in contest-week I save it for
run-throughs and the ‘important bits’.
By preserving my energy in rehearsals and only really ‘stepping
on the gas’ during run-throughs, I knew I had the stamina and energy in reserve
for the big day. I played well, as did
the band. ‘Masquerade’ finally came
together on stage, it is not a piece that suits us particularly well. However, ‘Harmony Music’ is right up our street
- big solo for our star euphonium, cadenzas for cornet and horn. The right people are featured, and the
technique of the band is tested and displayed.
On the set test we came 8th out of 8, and on the own choice
we came 6th. This made us
joint last with two other bands (Reg Vardy and GUS). We were very pleased with our performances,
but in such a strong field were happy to have beaten a couple of rivals, even
if only in the own choice.
Following the English Nationals, on Saturday 23rd
June 2012, we only had one or two performances before our summer break, which
started in mid-July and lasted until mid-August. After our final rehearsal, I put the
instrument away and left it there. I
didn’t touch it for nearly two weeks.
This is quite a long time really.
In previous years I have only not played for one week at the most. I decided for my own sanity, and for the sake
of an effective recovery, I needed to have a longer break this year. We had been so busy, and I needed to spend quality
time with my young family, I wanted a longer break.
Once school finished for summer, I could spend quality time
with the family as well as begin to practise again. I built gradually over the course of a week,
before returning to a complete routine again, by adding an extra exercise a
day. Within two weeks of my return I was
playing at a wedding for a friend of the band, with a ‘scratch band’ made up of
mainly Pemberton and Wingates players, with a few others thrown in for good
measure. The programme, including the
hymns, were mainly Salvationist arrangements, with a number Paul Lovatt-Cooper
pieces (himself a Salvationist). Anybody
who has played Salvationist hymn arrangements for band will know that they are
quite demanding in terms of stamina.
They are fair more demanding than the ‘Red Books’ most other bands
use. We coped, but it was a bit of a
blow.
A week later and we were back at band an performing in
public again. Saturday 18th
August was a private function. We had a
light programme, but a baptism of fire in terms of our return to band. Wednesday 22nd August was where we
backed our principal cornet player, Joanne Johnson, in her final Masters
Recital. We accompanied her in a 45
minute programme and then we continued with a normal, but open-to-the-public,
rehearsal. What a hectic return to
band. Good job I was back in good form
because of my practice routine!
Since then, we have done two concerts, one of them with the
Hoghton Weavers. Both of them the band
has played really well. We have a
weekend of this weekend, but we are then busy the next four. All concerts.
At the end of November we are competing in the Scottish Open and we
haven’t confirmed our choice yet, but it is looking very likely that we will be performing a piece that has an exceptionally
demanding Soprano Cornet part. So far,
so good. Contest week might be a
different ball game!
I will give more details of how my routine has changed since
June (three months ago!!) and how I phased my return to playing after my short
break in the next update.
There has been much discussion about this topic in the past,
a quick ‘Google’ search for Arnold Jacobs yields hundreds of results, but still
this is an issue for so many players – something many teachers and tutors also
seem to neglect. For me, the title of
this post sums up how important awareness and understanding of breathing is.
Claude Gordon acknowledged that this technique is inaccurate
and so came up with his approach. The
muscles used to try to keep the chest up, are those around the diaphragm. To begin to learn the “chest up” position,
imagine puffing out the chest. Develop
this feeling by taking some relaxed breaths, keeping the chest in this
position. Now start adding force to the
breath, during inhalation and exhalation, and learn how this feels. For me, this “chest up” position feels like
raising the abdomen towards the breastbone.