For this, our second discussion, we're looking for what you find challenging about playing and performing music in a wind band.
These answers could include challenges you encounter while practicing (at home) or rehearsing (at school) or in performance.
Once again, responses will be expected prior to January 23rd at 10pm (local time).
Posts
Sweet I'm first, okay.
ReplyDeleteSo challenges while practicing...
Well I don't know about anybody else but if I practice a piece of music i.e. "October" or "Firebird" at home, it feels really awkward, and I don't feel comfortable playing it, especially when my family is home, however I'm perfectly fine with just blurting out random tunes that come to mind on my Trombone.
At School, I'd say switching from a fast pace song to a slow one or vice versa because, I guess you could say your, "in the zone" for one tempo, but still adjusting to another.
And at a performance, the main challenge for me is just not to screw up my part really noticeably.
--Challenges while playing at school in class--
ReplyDeleteOkay... So this would be playing in your band class with about half of the full band present..
Well, with many players missing from different sections, many of us (including me) don't usually hear all instruments present in a piece of music. This could cause some confusion when we do get together as a full band and rehearse.
When we are playing a piece of music, some of us know the background info and the playing "style" needed for that particular piece. However, not all of us put that extra effort into band to get to know the different composers in all the music we play.
---Challenges faced while practicing at home---
For me (and most others in theory..), we do not exactly know the tempo to practice a piece of music at. Well, the tempo that is set and written on a piece of music would be about correct, but depending on the composer, the tempo of the music changes from time to time. And there are some days when I face some challenges with managing time and I find myself not having enough time to practice what I wanted to practice thoroughly.
My post will probably end up being the shortest, ha ha ha...
ReplyDeleteThe challenge I face while practicing at home would probably be timing. For me that is, keeping the tempo is hard since you're playing by yourself and there is no one conducting to help you keep the tempo at the right pace.
During rehearsals.. I don't have the challenges I face at home, and that's a good thing. The challenge during rehearsals is that you have to play it like its the real performance. For me, the challenge during rehearsals is keeping the right amount of air support since its a wind band, you'll need the air support to reach all those high notes and to play lots of notes in a bar.
I guess the only challenge during performances is that its all about you, you have to try not to make mistakes that can mess up the whole band and if one member of your section makes an error, don't get distracted by the mistake because its all about you in a performance!
WOW.. I guess my post isn't really that short
Challenges:
ReplyDeleteAt Home~
Well, when I'm at home, the first challenge for me and probably for a lot of people is finding time to set aside other things to drag out my instrument. When I actually take out my trumpet, I usually run through pieces that we're playing. Practicing feels awkward as you don't hear what you usually hear at rehearsal. How I deal with it is by getting a recording of the piece we're playing; ie. Firebird, Chaos Theory, Children's March, and playing them at such a high volume so my trumpet blends in. The problem in this is that every band does something different and it will never be the same quality as rehearsing with your own ensemble.
At School~
Exposure. That's the only thing I have a problem with. In G block, it's easy to follow my section leader's sound and use that as a guide, but in B block, it feels slightly intimidating because of: 1. It's the smaller of the two blocks, 2. I'm the only trumpet.
At Performances~
It's good to be at the back row. Less sweat-inducing stage light exposure and less audience sightings. In performances, it's different by a lot compared to playing in the band room, regardless if it's both blocks or each block by itself in the band room. It doesn't sound the same as playing on stage. That's a problem for me because in different situations, I might not be hearing something I'm used to hearing in the band room or I'm hearing something totally new to my ears.
I totally just lost everything I typed, and now have to retype it all.
ReplyDeleteSo, I totally agree with Justin on the first one. Though we LOVE peices like October and Firebird, you can't practice them at home without feel like an idiot. I like practicing at home, because it's your personal time to get the technical issues down at your own pace. Also, no offence to anyone, but asian parents think you're strange if you're not practicing anything thats Beethoven or Mozart. *shrugs*
At school, I get confused when I think i'm playing something wrong and the person next to me is right, or vice versa, because we're not on the same track and I dont know who should be fixing these things. If you can't get your section in sync, how're you suppose to get the whole band together, right? Also, I feel really exposed when Lenny's not around, because we always have the same parts. Generally I can play what I'm supposed to, but it's harder to fill space by yourself when there's usually two people.. and the missing one is louder.
Lastly, during proformance's I tend to scare myself randomly WHILE i'm playing. So, about a minute before an exposed section or a solo, I'll get the jitters, start shaking, suddenly feel really cold, and can't hold my breath for as long. Usually within that minute I just focus really hard on the little black dots on the page and everything'll be alright. Somethings though, I overthink it by a mile and end up messing up somewhere. I just need to think of my part as not an individual sound, but as a complementary to the rest of the band. I think it'll help me get over my fear. I'm not afraid of BEING exposed, I'm afraid it'll come out sounding like crap and I'll let everyone else down.
At home:
ReplyDeleteI agree with everyone on this one, keeping a tempo is probably the hardest. Plus, sometimes I'll play something really strange sounding and I'll be like.. 'was that supposed to sound that way?', especially if it's the first few times I practice a piece. Sometimes when I'm really in doubt of what the piece sounds like I'll youtube the songs and download them and listen to them on my spare time so it's easier when I practice.
At school:
Since last year Josh sat beside me I could always listen to what he played and know what the tune's supposed to sound like, but this year it's just Freeman and I so it's a bit of a transition from being the one listening to someone to make sure what I'm playing is right to being THAT person who has to play the right things. Also at school it's often two french horns vs the entire class, so I often have to play louder just to make myself [possibly] heard.
During a performance:
I completely agree with Yusely on the exposed parts. I get very nervous just before the part and find myself to not be able to hold my breath for very long, and hoping I won't screw up major time and let people down. Also, ironically, hearing Josh during the performance also messes up my head a bit because I'm not used to having someone I can actually clearly hear beside me playing the same/similar part ever since the new school year started.
Achhh ... everything I wanted to say has already been said. >.< ... So, to reiterate ...
ReplyDeleteAt home, it's 'odd' to play a piece by yourself without all the other parts, especially when you don't have the melody and all you're playing are a bunch of 'random' notes. My brother will walk by and give me a "what the heck, that sounds like crap" look. >:( Oh, and like Jason said, there are just times when I don't give myself enough time to practice what I want.
I totally agree with Yusely's previous comment on deciding when you are at fault, whether it's in regards to rhythm, entrances or, quite simply, intonation. I tend to listen to others sitting beside me, rather than trusting myself, to judge whether or not I'm doing something wrong. I sit beside Janet, and she's usually right ... she's also really chatty... Can 'Janet' be classified as an in-school challenge? 8)
When doing alone practicing...
ReplyDeleteThis is when I can count at my own pace, have my own interpretation to the pieces and best of all to take my time to reach all the notes since my embouchure and air flow still lacks quite a bit of skill. Maybe because I don't practice enough, I usually end up with really numb lips after approximately 30 minutes of straight practicing, then I start to realize a difficulty in playing high notes. The solution is probably to just take 1 minute breaks in between 10 minutes, but for me it seems harder than it sounds, again that's just me. =( Also, like mark said, it actually takes quite a bit of mental work to push everything a side and take out the instrument and play.
In Class playing...
In a way, playing in class actually makes me feel less comfortable to play out since I tend to rely on other parts (tubas and trombones) for counting and interpretation and I worry about making mistakes. Relying on others throws me off quite a bit since my instrument isn't always playing the low supporting role. Another thing is the pace at which I play. Due to my terrible air flow and embouchure (lost of confidence) and my constant attention to others, I often forget to breathe properly or I breathe at the wrong spot. Related to my technique problems, my phrasing and interpretation becomes limited to technique and I'm unable to play it as I wish to hear. During full band rehearsals is the only time I get to sit next to Alex, and hearing my part played doubled all of sudden makes me compare and pay more attention to his sound rather than playing my own part properly to adjust to his. Pretty much to sum it all up, my multi-tasking skills are terrible and I am ever so easily distracted. Oh, another thing is that I often find myself staring at the page rather than paying attention to the conductor.
The good thing about the bassoon section is that we both live in the same household. We get to hold 'mini sectionals' every time we play, which makes it easier in class because we can work most things out (like coordination, etc.) at home. That being said, I definitely do face other challenges like:
ReplyDeleteFor home practice, the first challenge is the physical trial of lugging my heavy instrument home. Then, like most people said, it's hard to play songs like October and Chaos Theory because I often have long periods of rests or whole notes and I can't listen to the rest of the band to know what's going on.
At school, it's challenging for me to sight read because I don't have all of the fingerings down yet so I often won't be able to play a part until I take it home, simply because I don't know how to play the notes. Also, I don't like being exposed until I know what I'm doing.
In performances, I often lose my embouchure because my jaw/lips get really tired from playing through several whole songs without stopping, and then I can't hold notes or play high notes anymore. This is a particular problem for RAF since there are virtually no rests, and we always play RAF near the beginning so then my mouth is too tired to play the rest of the songs on the program...ugh. Also, I get nervous when I have to play a solo, but not really anymore for Firebird because a) it's not really a solo since Arielle plays it too and b) I've played it a bunch of times in front of people so I'm used to it now. But, I have a new solo coming up in Lonely Beach that I will have to play for the first time today...so I'll probably be nervous again.
Woah... People post so much and so very very long! Why is that?
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I find playing music pieces(like sword dance)with fast tempos and staccato challenging. I guess its because I seem to run out of breath pretty quickly. Although I probably just have to take deeper breaths. I know that I have more challenges than what I have typed for now, but I can't think of anything else. Oh, and one more thing, getting distracted while playing and spacing out. But I could work on that on not just at band. Playing strong at all times, all practices, and at all concerts, I could work on that too.
At home: I don't even practice, apartment rules.(Loud noises=THE BOOT)
ReplyDeleteIn class: Sometimes when I mess up, I listen to the Trombones or Tuba to guide me to a point where I can pick up. I fall a beat behind though, and then whoever is listening to me falls, and in the end, it ends in me having to go home and practice. And we know how home practice goes for me.
Awesome stuff bandies!
ReplyDeleteAt home: When I practice at home, I usually find a quiet room and make it loud by practicing. When I begin rehearsing a piece I focus on the rhythm. I find it easier practicing at home because you can make as many mistakes without interupting somebody like your ensemble, when your in class.
At school: When I rehearse with the ensemble, I bring in what I have practiced and fit it in to everyone else's part. It is a bit harder to play your piece when your the only 1st trumpet. It's harder because when there is a solo part or a part where there are no 2nd trumpets, you basically panic a bit. You think about if I'm suppose to play or not? Am I a beat behind? I hope I don't screw this up, and what not. My technique is just to pretend I'm alone with the conductor playing my part. Sometimes it doesn't work so well.
At home: I'd say I have a lot of challenges at home. One would be the echoing in my room. Whenever I play, it would echo back and that makes it a little harder to concentrate. Another would be tuning. It's difficult to tune at home.
ReplyDeleteClass: One challenge during class would be running out of breath. I just cant seem to suck in enough air! And then, I start to get dizzy.
Performance: A challenge is nerves. I would get so nervous and my hands would sweat and slip!
At home, I find it hard to keep the same tempo that is set in the class, and make sure to have the same rythms.
ReplyDeleteIn preformances, I find it challenging to bounce back after hearing someone mess up. For example, I tend to listen to the oboe when playing-because they often have the same rythms. But if they mess up, it throws me off a bit.
At home: whats challenging about practicing at home is you can only hear your part and not all other parts as if the whole band was there and I have the feeling I'm making a mistake every time.
ReplyDeleteAt school: I have to listen to to the other people in my section if i get lost because for some of the pieces I have 6 or more bar rests and counting all that confuses me in the end and I lose count. But i don't get the problems I get at home when I'm at school because everyone is playing and I can listen to them to.
In performances: I'm usually worried about making a big mistake like a squeek and it being really exposed making every one in the crowd being able to hear it.
The most difficult part of practicing at home compared to rehersals is that at home, you're playing by yourself. You have nobody to ask for directions or anything. No one to tell you what you're doing right or doing wrong. No one to give you any feedback on the spot. No one to ask if you're unsure how each rythms/phrases are played. Playing alone can be a good thing and a bad thing. You aren't influenced by anyone's opinion or playing, developing your own style. But doing so, it can waste a lot of time if it does not fit with the entire band's style.
ReplyDeleteAs I sit down and look at my oboe, all I can think of is how it sounds. Well if you are thinking duck, than I agree. Duck. That's what one of my friends mentioned after I said that I play the oboe. All I can say is that I hear the duck sing every time I play on my own. The rooms I practice in are very enclosed and small. About every time I play, the sound of the oboe rebounds off the walls and end up in my ears making it very distracting. All I can say is that "it isn't over until the "Duck" sings" but that's pretty difficult if there are sounds of ducks all over the room. The only way I can really solve this is by playing in another location or just play softly as possible listening to the slower ricocheting sounds of the oboe.
ReplyDeleteSchool for me is something different entirely. It is just a different experience from just home practice. It involves everyone this time. Well the only challenges for me are really trying to sync in tone with everyone else. Because I am the only Oboist in the Intermediate Band, it is difficult since I can not really hide with a group on my side. On the other hand I still got the whole band, but who needs to hide when you sound like a singing duck?
One major difficulty for me is embouchure; I haven't really mastered the bassoon embouchure yet, so it is hard for me to play, no matter where I am. However, I am learning. When I'm at home, I find it hard to know if what I'm playing is right, since there is no one there to correct me except my sister. It's hard to follow along with the music when no one else is playing. In class and in concerts, I get really nervous when I am exposed because I worry that I'm playing the wrong part and in the huge solo in Firebird, one mistake is really noticeable.
ReplyDeleteAlrighty, this post isn't going to be very in-depth because my head is still throbbing and we've run out of Advil at home so, yeah...
ReplyDeleteAt Home: the oboe is way louder than the clarinet, and even after a year, I'm still adjusting to the volume difference. It doesn't help that my room is kind of small. Also, I tend to lose patience whenever I can't play something right and end up really frustrated. Or, there are just some pieces (Ave Maria)that you are just lost without the whole ensemble (in terms of timing, where you fit etc). I agree with Marc as well in saying that it's really hard to juggle all our homework and responsibilities (which include practicing).
At school: I'm always really tense while I'm playing because I think my playing is garbage most of the time, and in turn, I don't breath deep enough and the sound gets even worse. Also, since I've played the clarinet before, I was always used to blending in with everybody and not really being able to hear myself. With the oboe (which is a total "rrrussian" duck, I agree Michael), it's the total opposite. Tt's the instrument that supposedly sticks out the most.
At school when i play i usually fit in with the other clarinets, however when i am at home and i practice i actually hear the wrong notes that i play and the music doesn't really make any sense since i play 3rd/2nd clarinet.
ReplyDeleteWhen playing my clarinet at school i can simply blend in with the other clarinet players. I can listen to the rest of the band and figure out if i'm on time or not. When i practice at home i have to control the volume of sound i produce, and i can hear myself playing alot of wrong notes. Also i usually play 3rd/2nd clarinet for most of the parts which doesn't sound right without the rest of the clarinet section.
ReplyDeletePlaying at home SUCKS! Sometimes, when you get the melody, you know what it sounds like and its all good. But when you get to parts that rely on someone else, I go OMG!! I have no idea what on earth is going on! The good part about playing at home though is that you learn at your own pace and can stop/ start whenever you like.
ReplyDeletePlaying at school is a lot more awesome because I can play along with others in the band and know how it all blends in, and get help from the other rockin' tenor saxs in B block.
Playing in performances are cool. Its nice being able to show your awesomeness skills to people. As long as you don't mess up, it's all good. I find it best if you just not think of it as a preformance as it is just another practice. Less think, more play!
Challenges that I have find when I practice at home sometimes are that it is figure out how your part fit in with the rest of the group, along with the difficulty of fingering since we may be new to the piece of music.
ReplyDeleteDuring rehearsal I find that it is really hard to hear the melodies and other parts that is playing at same time and I don’t really know where is the right time to come in on the down beat. Basically is that my brain is processing too many things at once
I agree with what alot of people that have said when your in the band and you are playing whole notes, or not the melody, it's okay because you can still hear the melody. However when your at home and your not playing the melody it sounds awkward and strange. I also think that keeping tempo is difficult at home, because i use a metronome i can't allways set it at the right tempo and i can't put the tempo up without stopping.
ReplyDeleteI find breathing sometimes difficult at school and finding that balance where you can see the conductor and the music at the same time.
At performances my biggest concern is always messing up a note that everyone hear especialy when it's just my section playing or i have a semi-solo.
When I’m practicing at home, I actually enjoy it quite a bit since I can go at my own pace and don’t have to feel bad if I play a part and it sounds gross. This is a time for me to practice rhythms that I’m uncomfortable with, as well as to work on other more technical aspects (e.g. notes that I’m unfamiliar with). Also, since I’m a flutie and we generally have the melody in every piece so it doesn’t feel awkward when I’m practicing pieces like the above mentioned “October” or “Firebird.” I guess the only challenge I face when practicing at home is when I’m trying out a new piece and I don’t actually know what it sounds like which gets sort of frustrating at times. But I like to youtube live performances of the songs that we play in band so that I can learn from the flutists’ techniques.
ReplyDeleteAt school, I’d say the most challenging part is finding my parts’ places in the band arrangement, and also playing at the same time as the other fluties so that we sound like “one.” Also, if I mess up on an exposed part, it’s sort of embarrassing some times but then I’ll learn to not do that again in the future. Another challenge also used to be that I didn’t listen to those around me, but it’s getting better, and I’m noticing the positives of listening; I don’t mess up on exposed parts as much, and I’ll know when to adjust dynamics to fit in with the band’s total sound.
And at a performance, I agree with Justin that the main challenge is trying not to mess up, especially since so many people are paying close attention to you.
The problem for practicing for me, other than that my instrument is incredibly heavy to bring home, is that my parts are really dull on their own. It doesn't sound nearly the same, and it's hard to get up the same kind of energy one gets in class without the melody and counter melody parts. Playing whole notes isn't exactly fascinating on it's own. It's also difficult to get rhythms right, especially if you have a call and answer type section, or off beats when you don't have the part that counters yours. The goal of course is to be able to play it regardless, but it is still more difficult on your own.
ReplyDeleteAt school it's much easier to find the beat and what's going on, but in some pieces, especially sight read ones, I do need the freedom of time on my own to really get the fingerings or note sequence into my fingers and into my mind, and that's difficult to do in class.
Performances are a class of their own. It is when the whole band is together, and everyone is trying their best to play the best they can, and the result is often exhilarating. The adrenaline from a good performance is fantastic. Of course there are the songs you will flop,(which is always disappointing) but it's all part of the experience.
Home
ReplyDeleteAt home, the most challenging part is actually getting time to practice. I know my schedule only has 4 academics, but it doesn't help when they are Math, Calculus, Physics, and English. Aside from studying academics, I also really don't have a place to practice. When I actually get a chance to practice, it is usually short due to the fact that almost everyone is at a different place in the house, so I'd get kicked out of the living room, which is the only place I can practice and actually hear myself. Apart from that, I always have something to do. Whether it be cooking dinner, studying, extracurricular activities, or helping other people with homework, I'm almost always occupied, yet, I'm still bored. I never really get a chance to practice at home, so I don't really have any difficulties other than not being able to practice.
At School
The challenge at school is adapting to basically, 2 different bands. Marc, Hyuk, and I, among others who I can't think of right now, double-block. In both classes, I listen for them both because they're always there other than when they're absent. If both blocks of band had the same people, then I'd probably be able to adapt more. From a smaller part of the band, Block B, to a larger part of the band, Block G, is very different. Listening for different people in different classes is also sometimes difficult because you don't exactly remember who it actually is you're hearing for because they're positioned somewhere else. For flutes, I listen for Karman in Block B and Rosa for Block G, and they are relatively in the same place.
At Performances
My biggest challenge is at performances. Although we played in the auditorium for a while last year, I still can't get used to it every time we walk in there to perform. The sound from our instruments are projected differently and the people I usually listen for sound differently. It is also different because both blocks are combined, meaning position is yet again, different. So sound is different, positioning is different.... Oh wait, there's the audience!! I'm scared of performing. Whether it be band or martial arts, I've never been able to concentrate 100% on the certain activity. I hate to have people watching me. It makes me nervous. I usually stare down a person who looks at me a funny way because it really annoys me. Look away...
At home:
ReplyDeleteI feel that the biggest challenges to me at home are probably almost the same everyone elses. It's pretty hard to practice being as loud as you want to at home for pieces like "Firebird" when you don't want to disturb your parents. It's also wierd to practice random notes that aren't the melody and don't really sound like anything except the same notes over and over again. It's pretty hard to shove room into your life and juggle all 3 science courses, practicing two instruments, and then trying to get all your chores done. Doesn't help that you've got to go to work as well. So all in all, I feel that my difficulties practicing at home are mainly getting time in to actually practice, and also practicing correctly without bashing my parents over the head with sound.
At School
During rehearsals, I think my problem lies in me trying to correct myself for every single mistake I make. Everytime we play and I make a mistake, I tend to attempt to go back to the mistake and fix it instead of moving on. It's a bad habit, I know, and it's something I've gotta work on to get rid of. Not entirely forget about the mistake, but mark it down instead of wasting the entire band's time on my single mistake.
Home:
ReplyDeleteOther than the already stated obvious things like, tempo and finding time.. I also have trouble with practicing hitting high notes. I mean, firstly, I have to wait for my mom to go to one of her 10000 weekly meetings, then spend time trying to hit the notes, run up, do scales really high, and so on. That's a main issue, is getting the time at home to practice high notes. (Have to wait for mom to leave, she yells when I'm not even playing remotely high.) And now at home, it's weird because we're mostly playing Chaos Theory, October, and Lyric Essay. (With the addition of a few other pieces.) So, like, right now, it's strange because I don't know if I should practice my part for Chaos Theory anymore... Yeah. Bit weird.
In Class:
Okay. Being one of 5 clarinets, and usually the only (or like, one of 2) 2nd or 3rd parts, really leaves me quite.. let's be optomistic and say that I'm independent. Okay, uhhh.. example! Firebird. I'm the only 2nd Clarinet in B Block, so I really have to play out and like, blast my part at the beginning. There's also a huge disadvantage with my independent parts as when we get a new piece, or go to a part we haven't played often, I have no idea when to come in, or what exactly is going on in everyone else's parts.
Performances:
A big thing with performances, for me at least, is getting used to the idea of being so God damn large. I mean, my class is like, half of the other one, so when we're all together, it's really weird to be sitting like, off to the side. Another freaky thing is like, hearing my part. Yeah. That also goes kind of hand in hand with my playing out thing, like, I have to tell myself 'SHUT UP HAYLEY, YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE LOUD HERE.' because there's more of me. :D
At school:
ReplyDeleteIt's a little squishy I find it a lot easier to play is someone is with me, but I can't hear other people with the same part as me that well sometimes. I find tuning myself difficult with other people.Counting was a problem for songs with long rest, firebird 68 bars of rest in the beginning, but it was only a problem in the beginning.
At home:
Everything I have troubles with at home has been said such as, playing uninteresting parts alone, playing loud, keeping in time, etc.
At performances:
Not much different from playing normal, but takes along time, which is a problem sometimes.
When I practice at home it feels weird because I practice in a small enclosed room where the sound are different.Also knowing my family is able to hear what I play and when I finish practicing they are going to judge me.
ReplyDeleteAt school I can hear where my part fits in and if I lose track of where I am, I know I can just slip back in when I figure out where we are.
WARNING: VERBOSE RESPONSE LIES UP AHEAD.
ReplyDeleteAt home:
Probably the biggest issue for practicing at home is... well, I don't. The tuba is such a hassle to bring home (especially since I walk, sometimes with a cello, and have 3 sets of stairs to climb at home) that often I just don't unless required. In the previous years, I used to substitute with a baritone at home, but that always threw off my embouchure so I never knew if I was really hitting the right notes on the tuba. It's been easy getting away without practicing since the tuba parts usually don't have anything technically difficult, but lately I've been finding myself needing practice time for the more challenging pieces (e.g. BCMEA stuff, soon-to-be Lonely Beach, etc). For that, I've been coming in during my study blocks to practice at school. My biggest challenge with THAT is probably that I get self-conscious of other people hearing me play and make mistakes from the other room. However, I usually become so immerse in playing that I forget about them (exception: when they’re in the same room WITH me. I’ve yet to overcome this obstacle). I also have difficulties in motivating myself to play certain pieces, especially if I have only whole/half notes. I get bored with it, think “I don’t need to practice counting notes”, and then move on, which could really hinder me from noticing issues with certain passages (e.g. hitting the low E at forte in Chaos Theory 3.0). Or if it’s not from the copious whole notes, then me getting bored and distracted is from just sitting for hours straight, which winds up with me finding it incredibly difficult to resume practicing again. I also sometimes have a pride issue where I’d intentionally not play a passage because I don’t want to admit that I can’t play it as well as I think I can (e.g. RAF).
During rehearsals:
During school practices, I’m always worried that I’m never playing at the right volume (usually not strongly enough), and the fact that I’m in the back, I’m extremely pedantic about details, AND (in my opinion) I have a small air capacity just adds on to the worry—I never know how it sounds at the front. Despite that it’s -really- nice to have Monty playing with me, sometimes it’s harder to hear myself distinctly and figure out what needs to be adjusted. I also admit to sometimes getting too caught up in neighbouring conversations that I don’t pay nearly as much attention to the music as I should.
During performances:
Same issue as school rehearsals, I’m worried that I’m not playing at the right volume, that because of the auditorium’s acoustics I may be putting in too much bass or not enough bass in the piece. I also worry that during concerts, even though the piece has been rehearsed thoroughly, I never play the exact interpretation that I want, which sends the wrong message to the audience and destroys the piece. I also get concerned with chair positioning as sometimes a saxophonist’s head (it’s been saxes specifically, I’m sorry) gets in the way of my view, and neither I nor he/she can adjust due to the tight spacing. And what with me adjusted to specific settings, having to adapt to a completely different environment in 1-2 rehearsals if any at all, contributes to me not feeling very solid during concerts. I try to abide by the philosophy of just playing what feels good and not worrying about the miniscule mistakes that no one notices, but I can’t forget those concerns completely. Surprisingly enough the audience's presence is never a concern for me, but probably with the gargantuan band we have and the supporting non-melody parts I have, it's easy to blend in and hide my mistakes.
At Home: When I am playing at home the troubles I come across is actually having time to practice. Since I play two instruments it's hard to practice both instruments and have time for homework. But when I practice I can't play too loudly since the walls in my house are pretty thin, that makes it hard to play pieces such as Firebird.
ReplyDeleteAt School: At school, the biggest challenge for me is actually following and watching the conducter for the tempo, since at home you can go at any tempo you choose. Also for me it's really hard to count in my head. For example when another section in the band is playing something else and the flute part is different from, it's really hard for me to keep count because I end up counting the rythem the other section is playing.
At Performances: In performances I get really nervous and start messing up with my notes and then when I make a mistake, I get even more nervous. Therefore I end up a nervous breakdown mess. Also when I am nervous about something I underplay and when all the flutes are playing for example a high D, I play a low D and it stands out. Then I get even more nervous, and the cycle starts all over again.
At home:
ReplyDeleteIt's rather awkward at home practicing by yourself, especially since the parts I have for all the pieces [excluding Lyric Essay] is Clarinet 2 or 3. What's worse is that when I practice with my mom home I always mess up in some form or other. But without somebody home it's just like, okay, this is really awkward, I wonder if the neighbors can hear me... [I live in an apartment], and my mind start wandering off. It's also really weird hearing yourself without [I know you hate the word, Mr. Reid, so I won't use blend] FITTING yourself in with the band.
At school:
During classes it's a lot better, because you have a conductor keeping time and other parts to fit in your rests and whatnot. Though I rarely hear oboes and horns and trombones and bass clarinet and baritone and other clarinets during the ensemble, as it all sorta turns into a big booming sound mushed together when I concentrate and try to keep time and such. The only instruments I can hear perfectly fine are flutes [they sit right behind me] and trumpets [with Marc Brito and Luke Warkentin it's kinda hard not to] and percussion [in the pieces they play... especially Firebird]. Oh, and Lenny. At school I'm more comfortable playing because there are other people there with instruments playing at the same time.
At performances:
Sitting in the front row is painful. Downright painful. Especially when your mom asks you which side you sit so she can go on the other side and take pictures and videos of you blowing your face up into my clarinet and show them to various family friends. It's freaky. I also fear my orchestra friends trying to find me and laugh at me for messing up some way or other. The ties don't really help, either. For our winter concert I was half choking during RAF and had to loosen the knot afterwards. And for some reason, my reed always manages to chip right before a concert, causing me to squeak. A lot.
AT HOME:
ReplyDeleteplaying at home is strange for me. When I play my parts it never sounds like what its suppose to sound like. Sometimes when I play it seems like I am always playing the wrong note. Often when I play at home I tend to move away from what i can't play.
AT SCHOOL:
Playing at school is more comfortable, bacause when I play at school I have a wonderful leader that helps me when I don't know how to play some parts. Sometimes playing at school it is a little challenging, because when I play at school it's hard to hear myself so I i often get lost.
DURING A PERFORMANCE:
At performance's it's a bit freaky. When we have preformances I sit at the end of the row. While I play I tend to get scared that the poeple sitting near the stage will hear me screw up, because of this I start to play so quiet hopeing that the people in the front rows won't be able to hear me.
When I am playing at school, it is fairly easy to listen to others and quickly correct myself, however, at home I don't have that luxury. On the other other hand, at home I can play a sequence multiple times and not necessarily always at the correct tempo; I can start off slow to make it easier.
ReplyDeleteI find that it's difficult to continuously blow eighth notes. It's either I release my air too fast or too slow.
ReplyDeleteWhen I practice at home, it's hard to tune because I'm used to listening to other instruments.
I usually practice individually in my room near the window and I personally don't think that's a good idea because I don't concentrate well.
At home
ReplyDeleteOne of the 'challenges' of practicing at home is to pull out my instrument and start practicing, however I do find time somewhere to do this. Once I do get started though, I practice for at least an hour. Like others, I find my part sounding somewhat out of place without the rest of the band there filling in the gaps. I usually just mentally fill in the other parts from what I remember during band class. If I cannot get the tempo right for a piece, I use my metronome until I get the tempo in my head.
At school
I find that a challenge for me at school is to play out stronger, this is not the case when I am practicing at home though. I think that the problem behind this is that my part to me feels slightly exposed - especially when I am the only one playing my part - so I tend to under play. Another challenge for me while playing my trombone is switching from playing low, to something quite higher, because I tend to go to high, or not high enough.
During performances
While at a performance, my challenge is to not make an extremely noticeable mistake, as well as to listen more to the rest of the band since we are in a larger space.
At home, my challenges is that it feels weird to play by yourself in a room with no exrta players to get in the melody. Also, when I play it's a bit to keep the timing in my head.
ReplyDeleteAt school, my problem in playing with the band it's kinda hard to listen to myself playing and listening to someelse's. It's gets me distracted and always ended up making a mistake, losing track to where I'm playing, and to stop playing right in the middle of the song.
When performing, I can get a bit nervous because when i have to play a solo I get really focused on playing and try not to get distracted by anybody(epecially to Raymond).
A problem I have at home is getting worn out after playing all the interesting parts of the songs. I usually spend more time to parts in the song I like and ignoring the other less entertaining parts. Then, when I get to the other parts, I am exhausted and spend less attention to them. Whenever I practice really high notes or scales my throat begin to hurt, and it last about a day.
ReplyDeleteAt school, one of the problems I have is that I usually play some of the pieces differently then what I originally practice at home. I play it well at home since I can hear my sound bouncing back in my room. However, in school, I’m in a more open area and with other instrument being played influences me on how I should play.
at home :
ReplyDeletethe biggest challenges for me would be a) playing loud and b) playing by myself. Playing parts of chaos theory 3.0 at G and H would be impossible because its so loud and the notes sound completely random. in class i can hide behind another player when i play a part wrong, but when im at home i can hear all the brutal mistakes i make. im always affraid that im playing the music wrong when im by myself because there is no one there to give you feed back or tell you if you played it wrong or right.
in class :
the two major challenges i have in class would be paying attention and the fear of making mistakes. Im the type of person who has the hardest time concentrating and the smallest thing will throw my attention away. For example : if someone walks by the door i'll look away from my music and get lost. I also have a constant distraction sitting to my left. the other challenge i have would be playing the high notes. i've never had to play a note higher than D until this year. I hate making the mistakes because its so loud.
When I practice at home, some of the challenges that I encounter, would be my tuning. Since there isn’t another flute in my house, I rely on myself for the tuning to be correct. While at school, I have the whole band and flute section for me to tune along with. As well, my rhythmic accuracy would not be accurate, and also when I play at home, I sort of quicken the tempo, which would affect me at school, while we rehearse. So I think I need to fix myself on that one.
ReplyDeleteAt school, when I play, I’m always out of breath, and I try not to breathe on bar lines!!
I think that I have more courage playing at home than at school, because I’m really afraid to make mistakes, and then I would mess up the whole song! But that’s just some times. Something challenging when we rehearse together in class would be that when I practice a song like “RAF March Past”, I slow down the song at home, and then when I play it in class, it would be slowed down and then I need to catch up.
During performances, in the beginning, I found that the spot lights were a little strong which made me lose my concentration, but that was the beginning and now I’m used to it. As well, I get nervous, when there is an audience, because I intimidated playing in front of so much people even though it’s not just myself.
Okay...
ReplyDeleteAt home:
As the other students' difficulties, I cannot play loud enough to make high notes since I live in the apartment where people cannot make 'noise'. That makes me really stressed and also when I practice I cannot find exact sounds and tempo. Sometimes I practice faster than Mr.Reid actually conducts and vice versa even though I use my own metronome. However, since I play flute, I don't feel that awkward about the melody.
At school:
It is not that hard to play at school. Yet, since the block G is BIG band class, I need to listen the other instruments as well. I'm trying but what I usually hear is Lenny's and Luke's most of the time.(Rosa is sitting right beside me so I always get to hear.) Also, because it is class time, I sometimes get bored when we go over the part more than 5 times that I cannot concentrate anymore.
At Performances:
For me at least, it is not my most challenge. When I am on the stage with my band friends, I get excited and can concentrate more. However, since I want to make performances 'perfect' in my own way, I tend to overplay. Except that, I mostly have fun.
Home
ReplyDeleteDefinitely the biggest challenge I face at home is playing the piece without the other parts. For instance, in "Firebird", my part is mainly consisted of long held notes over and over, so practicing it sounds really stupid. In other pieces, like "October", how we play it varies everytime, so just counting beats at home makes the piece boring.
School
Seeing where my part fits in with everyone else is hardest for me. I'm usually in the background, making way for the melody. If I play too loud, the melody is slightly covered, which means more work for everyone. I can't be so much out of the way that I'm not there, however. Take away the bass part of the piece, and it sounds kind of empty. I have to know when to play out, and when to sit back.
Performance
My challenge is calming down my nerves. I am confident in my playing during performances, but just the fact that people are watching unnerves me. These nerves cause me to make mistakes, which, in a reflex reaction, causes me to make a face, which is NOT good in a performance. It's kind of funny, seeing that I've been on stage for the past five years.
Home
ReplyDeleteWhen I practice at home, it feels kinda awkward playing loud in my house as there are people living downstairs and I feel like I'm disrupting them. I usually don't really get how my part fits into the band as I play 3rd trumpet because I rarely have a melody. At home I don't really know the tempo and the style.
School
At school, I sometimes tense up because I think I'm playing the wrong notes or that my playing sounds terrible.
The challenge of playing at home would be that because my parts usually sound really strange by themselves which makes me think I'm playing the notes wrong even when I'm not.
ReplyDeleteThe challenge of playing at school it that when you have alternating parts you're not sure if you're playing at the right time. Another challenge for me is that I have trouble watching the conductor for the beat rather than listening for the beat on a metronome.
Mmmmmm.... I dont get any practices at home because the instrument that I play is a double base and its a BIG instrument to play with and besides im not allowed to take it home, because of the space that it will take in my house. but I do get practices at school, and have these sectionals with my sections which are Emily(section leader),Jerry, Miss & I. What we do in our sectionals is that we rehearse some of the music like Lyric Essay, Chaos Theory, October, Firebird etc. And if we didnt have all the handouts that we would get during our band class Emily would go and print us the ones that we are missing. So its fun just practicing with my sectional.
ReplyDeleteRehearsing in class can sometimes be intense because of the pressure. And if one person would to make a mistake, everyone is in it all. But evryone has to go through that stage at some point. I do myself make a few mistakes, but they werent big ones, where someone would actually hear it. So I WOULD JUST KEEP ON PLAYING!!!
When I practice at home, I feel discouraged to play in front of family members, especially when I don’t completely know the notes and when I have a part that doesn’t sound like much on its own. I also find that by practicing at home, I’m not able to hear how my part fits into the band, and when my part starts.
ReplyDeleteWhen I practice at school, I’m not used to the tempo, so sometimes I play too fast or too slow.
Challenges I face while practicing
ReplyDeleteAt Home
When I practice my clarinet at home I try to do it away from my family and not when friends are around. I do this because I feel embarrased that I'll squeak or mess up and people will think that I'm not good or not working hard enough. Also I have a hard time practicing sometimes because: I'm playing a part that is relatively difficult and takes me a while to learn it; or I'm playing a slow part with alot of whole notes and rests that I often get bored of and don't practice it very much.
At School
I have a couple of difficulties when I'm playing at school. The thing I have the most trouble with when playing at school is keeping pace with the rest of the band. I think I have trouble keeping pace with everyone because it takes me some time to learn how to play a piece of music at the speed of the band. The other thing I have trouble with is knowing when to play and how fast to play when Mr.Reid is conducting in strange tempos (7/4) or ,in pieces like "Chaos" 3.0, where the tempo speed's up really fast and get's confusing.
In performances
During performances I usually don't have much trouble. I think it's because the presure and adreneline make me play well.
Dex
While practicing at home there can be many challenges. For me one of the gratest problems is that it never sounds right. When we play with the band, my part usually fits in pretty well, and compliments the other instruments. Nevertheless, at home i find it hard becaus i feel as if i'm only playing whole notes over and over again. It makes it difficult to know if what i'm playing is right or not.
ReplyDeleteOne of the biggest difficulties for practicing at rehaersals is that it's easy to hear other rhythmes that are close to yours and you get caught up in them so you stert to play them. There's one part in lyric essay, were i play a syncopated rythme and the trumpets are so over powering that i find i mess up my rhythme and almost start to play theirs.
As for playing in a show, the challenge is the setting. You need to be able to adapt to the way the music sounds compared to what your used to. It is just a totally different experience, what more can i say.
-Emily McB A
Most of the time, it's really difficult practicing pieces at home for the percussion section. For one thing, we usually can't bring the instruments home such as the timpani's or the bass drum. So when I practice at home, on a bus, in my room, I usually just try to get the tempo down trying to improvise the instrument. For example, if I was practicing for a mallet piece at home, I would go to my piano tapping the keys with my drumsticks. Though, I do have a snare drum, practice pad, and sticks so it's a lot easier when I practice snare drum parts. The main thing when practicing percussion pieces is the tempo since we dont always have notes, so I sometimes try to use my metronome to keep my beats percise. Though before I start practicing my pieces, I usually do a five minute warm up depending on which percussion instrument is played.
ReplyDeleteAt Home:
ReplyDeleteWhen I practice at home, I get really bored or hitting my textbooks with my drumsticks, especially when my part is the same thing over and over again for 10 bars. Also, most or the percussion parts contain a lot of rests, and the parts we do play only sound good when they are played with the ensemble.
At School:
At school rehearsals, I usually get tired of waiting for my part to come up because we usually stop playing right before my part comes up. This isn't a very important issue.
At Performances:
My only problem at performances is when i mess up something that I play right in rehearsals. It really bothers me when I get it right every time when I practice it but i mess it up when it really matters. I keep thinking about it and it distracts me.
Practising an instrument that doesnt have the sense of unity (like the piano) seems extremely awkward to me. Like most times the flutes the the melodic line, but when one is practising at home, it just feels dry. No matter how good it's played, it feels dry because there's no harmony to support it.
ReplyDeleteAt school:
I think my biggest problem is listening and sustaining notes. I always seem to run out of breath. I really dont want to ruin the phrase, but i just cant hold it! Also, I should probably pay attention to what's going on underneath rather than just always listening for the melody from the trumpets.
I find it's really easy to be lazy with practicing at home. Just coming up with that little bit of personal conviction to get started is what stops a lot of people from getting their playing from where it is to where it could be (quite a big difference in some cases).
ReplyDeletePlaying at school has never been too challenging; the times it is are probably due to lack of home practice. Playing at school, if everyone has prepared, can be some of the funnest playing we get to do: we don't have to worry about an audience, and because of this we shouldn't be afraid of being creative in our playing.
Concerts can get you nervy, but sometimes it's that little bit of adrenaline that makes a performance that much better.
Things I find challenging about playing music in a wind band...
ReplyDeleteAs Luke said, it's easy to get preoccupied with other things (read: internet? tv?) and not practice, as well as being too lazy to bring home my intrument... I'm usually doing things after school where I don't go straight home, and although I'm lucky that I don't have a big instrument, it's still a challenge to carry around my oboe all afternoon.
The most challenging part of playing at school, in my opinion, would be the lack of preparedness from other students. It becomes a huge burden, and a pain when we have to go over the same sections 8 times because one section of our band hasn't put any time or effort into the section.
The hardest part that I find about playing in concerts is my postition in relation to the rest of the band. I'm right at the edge of the stage, with basically a profile view of the conductor, and often with less than ideal accoustics, lately I've been overwhelmed with all bass or low brass, and no melody coming to my ears.
At home:
ReplyDeleteOne of my biggest challenges is playing by myself. At school i blend in with everybody else and my part fits in but at home when I am the only one playing my part sounds very different then the way the songs sound. Also when practicing a song that we have only played a few times, at home it very hard practice because my part doesn't sound like the song at all and because I haven't hread the song much I can't hear it in my head.
At school:
One of my biggest challenges is being heard and hearing because I am a bass instrument and my part is usually whole notes that ride underneath all of the other parts. But I also usaully have a lot of rests in which I tend to drift get distracted and then miss my entrance.
At a performance:
One of my biggest challenges is not slacking off or getting to excited and then having all the adrenaline make me fidgity. when thaat happens I can't consentrate and totally forget what is happening around me.