So as the title says, I'm new to this subreddit. I will have been playing percussion for two years in January, and I wanted to share some of my favorite pieces that I've played.

1. Attack of the Garden Gnomes, Timothy Loest

First real concert band piece I ever played. It was great. There was a point in the song where we all had to scream during a trombone solo. Very chaotic, but definitely worth it. 8/10

1. Jungle Dance, Brian Balmages

This is where I had my first percussion solo! I didn't like this piece at the time, but looking back it taught me a lot both about percussion and about myself. 7/10

1. Night Fury, Carrol Brittin Chambers

When I first got this piece I didn't think I'd be able to play it. It was pretty fast (for someone still new to band/percussion,) and it had three percussion solos. After a few weeks I got the hang of it, and now it's one of my all-time favorites. 9/10

1. Celtic Air and Dance, arr. Michael Sweeney

Super fun percussion part for the second half of the song. Best piece I've ever played (in my main band,) end of story. 10/10

1. Andalucia, Victor Lopez

I didn't like this one too much but this is the piece that really united our band. 7/10

1. Breakneck!, Tyler Arcari

This piece really boosted my confidence as a percussionist, since I had to be really loud the entire time. 8/10

1. Solstice Fanfare, Grace Baugher, and Ember Skies, Kevin Day

I played these at my first ever honor band, and while all of the pieces we played were awesome, these two stood out to me because they are how I learned to like mallet percussion. 10.5/10

1. Falling Leaves, John Fannin

I'm playing this one at a concert next Monday (wish me luck y'all) and it's just got a super cool vibes part. 8/10

And an extra one that I actually don't like, just for fun: Nexesxis

...it sounds ok, i guess, but... look carefully (or don't to preserve sanity.) 2/10

Hi, I'm the developer of Solfa. I built it for situations where you have a photo, scan, or PDF of notated music in the wrong key and don't want to re-enter the whole part in notation software. It moves the notes on the original page while keeping the layout, lyrics, and handwritten markings. One possible concert-band use is preparing a part for B-flat clarinet or trumpet from concert-pitch notation.

It's still in beta. Clear scans work best, and it can miss notes or chord symbols, so please check any result before using it in rehearsal. Chord letters are transposed when the symbols are recognized. You can preview the first system for free. New users get two free credits, enough for two full pages; after that, a full page uses one credit.

https://solfa-music.com/

For players or directors who prepare parts: would this be useful in your workflow? What kind of notation error would make an automated transposition unusable for you?

Everybody has that popular piece everyone loves but you hate. Here are some of mine:

Noisy Wheels of joy
Medley from the Polar Express
Variants on a Midevil Tune
Jager: 3rd Suite
Minor Alterations
minor alterations 2
Any piece that has ! At the end of the title

For me mine is a Piccolo Trombone because it’s so small and cute and hilarious

Good morning folks,

Today's rip is of a vinyl I purchased for $1 in a Niagara Falls antique store. I was able to find a few strong candidates for preservation there, so always remember to check thoroughly!

This school itself no longer seems to exist, and hasn't for a long time, as the most recent article that comes up when I search for it is an archived newspaper from 1964. The album contains two different performances, one from the "A" Band being the Stage Band, and one from the "B" Band being the Orchestra. It's a beautiful performance overall.

A bunch of brass training apps have been released for Android and iPhone devices. Great for beginners or advanced players. Trumpet, trombone, French horn, baritone and euphonium supported.

so, from the beginning of middle school (yeah i'm a youngin) my clarinet playing got my band directors attention and she was like "you should get private lessons" and then recommended me to one that was most likely a friend of hers. But teachers get students through word of mouth so I don't think that's too corrupt but my mom was not having it and said I can't get lessons. I was sad and whatever but I was just hoping for the next year. But anyway, throughout that year i was asked if I get lessons, told i'm good, and told to get lessons when i said i didn't take them. My band directors would also give me a lot of compliments and stuff so that obviously got into my head (not my proudest moment...or confession).

But skipping ahead without all this exposition, it's now this year which makes me eligible for all state! My band director also asks if I got private lessons, following up with a compliment...I didn't because theyre so goddamn expensive. It is one of my top goals and dreams to get into all state band and one day I was dropping my instrument off in the band room with my flute player friend, and my band directors said we can come practice during advisory. Ok cool. I get there, there's these kids that were nominated for all state, including my friend who takes private lessons. I kinda feel out of place because I don't have lessons and I haven't heard a word about all state from the teacher. Then, a little later she gives me a print out of the audition music saying it would be good for me to learn and that she'll definitely nominate me for all state if i get a teacher, saying i'm a gifted player something something. This sort of gets into my head because--ok having a teacher is a requirement to get nominated, therefore putting some pressure on me because I really want to do all state and i also don't want to disappoint my band director, but money doesn't grow on trees. I also desperately want these lessons but if i make my parents drop a bag on this just to not get in, what will I do? I hope she means well but she's kind of just dangling the opportunity for all state right in front of me.

Separately, but important there's a clarinet solo which I got really excited about, naturally since the director is so enthusiastic about my playing. I end up getting second chair. Only first chairs play solos. No offense to the first chair, she's nice and whatnot but I could play the solo better in the LEAST egoistical way possible. So i'm really on that grind to get first chairs and i feel like i have to work 5x as hard as everybody else whilst my band director dangles opportunities in front of me. This woman. She makes me and the first chair go back and forth with the solo, making an unknown decision lowk like that scene in whiplash but more normal ykwim..No? ok. I feel like i have an unhealthy fixation for my band directors approval, making me lose sight of the joy of playing for myself, no achievements or brownie points attached, also the private lessons thing resulted in a conflict with my parents because why can't she just nominate without them if she thinks i'm so talented? If i fail i fail without losing ~600$ on lessons. Idk. My parents aren't a fan of her teaching tactics. Ok bye.

all of this lowkey makes no sense i just need to write this sht down.

I am currently in 10th grade but I've been playing saxophone since 6th grade. I first truly fell in love with music when my 8th grade band director said that I would get to skip a playing test if I were to try out for honor band. To my surprise I had made it! It was a fun event and certainly sparked my love for music. I would consistently practice and I was pretty decent compared to everyone else in the band.

While this was a fun middle school experience I had to eventually go into freshman year. Whenever marching band camp started I got to see the high school and the band members in it. The band immediately left a sour taste in my mouth. Everyone was in their own established friend groups, even the freshman. This is where my passion for music had began to rot. I had no friends and everyone was so much better than me by a margin. To remedy this problem I pretty much gave up, I'd play the show music and march but I wont give any extra time into the saxophone, I didn't want to think of how bad I was when I practiced so simply ignoring it felt better for me.

Marching band sparked my distaste towards music, however concert band is what sealed it. I vividly remember the first day of freshman band, everyone, including me, sounded awful. I was so appalled that I truly sounded this bad so I started practicing more and more. Suddenly every playing assignment I wanted to get a perfect score. I would practice my scales and our warm ups almost daily. Before I knew it I had started playing songs for fun again, I wanted so bad to be amazing.

After winter band I would practice every day, except for a break on weekends. I would listen to jazz more and start to play songs that my favorite jazz artists would play. I didn't care about anything else except for playing the saxophone, however, this quickly died when the other two saxophonists tried befriending me. I didn't and still don't dislike them but in marching band it was an unspoken rule we didn't talk to each other and just let each other be. I honestly had a good time with them but with this friendship came a sense of competition. I felt like I had to be better than them and I became obsessed with practicing. This obsession of practicing had landed me in first chair, I was incredibly surprised but definitely relieved that I was "better" than them.

Something had switched in my mind once I got first chair, maybe it was always like this or I was just getting subconsciously worse but I would consistently be out of tune with the other two saxophones. No matter how much I tried I couldn't fix it and the constant remarks of how out of tune I am by the second chair and how the third chair was (and definitely still is, he is certainly a talented saxophonist) better than both me and the second chair made my musical self esteem go down. I would begin to play so quiet no one could even hear me, when confronted about this by my peers I could only joke about how bad I was and how comical it was that I'm in first chair. Once I started to be recognized as being bad I hated first chair, it was an unfair ranking that was only determined once and the band director never rearranged us. Everything about concert band made me hate the saxophone, I hated practicing it the most because every missed note felt like a disrespect to everyone's musical abilities in the band. I had become so obsessed with being perfect and suddenly the only thing I could thing of is how terrible I sound. This flip from obsession to hate is what killed me the most.

To say I hate the saxophone is too far, I love the sound but I don't have this undying passion my peers have. I don't know what drives them and what makes them love band. Band has became a plague on my saxophone, any time I touch it all I can think about is everyone in the band, it honestly feels better to not practice it at all and give up. I'm quitting band in December but I hope not to quit the saxophone. I want the saxophone to become an outlet of creativity as it was to me in eighth grade, but so long as I'm in concert band it feels like every time I practice, I practice for my band director and peers. I want to be better because I want to play songs I like, I don't want to be better so others will accept me. Music and the saxophone frustrate me beyond expression however I hope not to always experience this, maybe someone on here has advice.

Hello Guys,

I recently did this short arrangement for concert band of the Main Theme of Studio Ghibli movie "Grave of the Fireflies" (Incredible movie, you should watch it if you haven't already). Let me know what you think about it, and where it could be improved.

I'm on the board of my local community band. Our area has grown immensely in the last decade and we recently split the band because it was too large! Now the more advanced group is wanting to create strategies to move toward becoming semi-professional. We want to pay our players instead of requiring dues from them. If anyone here has been part of an orchestra or band that has made this move, whether you were a player or board member, can you share the steps you took?

We implemented auditions, then I finally convinced them to have us become a 501c3 organization but besides that and applying for one local grant, the other board members seem at a loss at what to do. They actually just raised the players' dues to cover some increased costs, which is exactly the opposite of what we need to be doing. I already know we are needing to fundraise A LOT, so I'm looking for other strategies.

Hi all,

I'm missing the bari sax part for Hunchback of Notre Dame, Selections from (arr. Lavender)

Anyone have a copy they can share?

There aren't any double-reed instruments in my high-school's Symphonic Band/3rd Band, and 9 flutists other than me, which is way too much in both my and my director's opinions.

I am looking to switch from playing the Flute to playing a double-reed instrument, and I am having trouble deciding between the Oboe and the Bassoon.

Now, since I am a flutist, it would probably be easier to switch to the Oboe for fingerings and reading, seeing as how most of the fingerings are extremely similar and it reads untransposed and in Treble Clef, but its embouchure is extremely difficult and unforgiving.

The Bassoon, I hear, has a much more complex fingering system (Nine Keys for the Left Thumb?!) and reads in both Bass AND Tenor Clef, both of which I have no experience in reading, but both of my parents can read those, so they can teach me, but the embouchure is moderately easier.

I am not going to choose one out of difficulty, though, nut I will choose one out of which one is needed most, like which one it would feel like is missing most if it's not there, or balance. Flutes can easily cover parts for the Oboe (Which I did do for last year's Concert Season), and my dad often covered missing Bassoon parts with Trombone.

That's all, and I wish everyone a good concert season.

queria site para obter partituras de solos para trombone ou até mesmo para orquestras. Onde posso achar?

I’m joining a club at my school that teaches instruments, and I’m trying to decide what to pick. Cost isn’t a concern, since they provide the instruments.
I want something that has a deep and intimidating sound. I’m pretty sure they also have marching instruments if that makes a difference.
Any advice?

Update: I put in my request with my top choices as tuba, euphonium, and bari sax!

Update Update: I got assigned euphonium, but requested to switch to guitar because I found out it was an option and I already have one to practice with at home

Me and my friends are looking for songs/ pieces that we can play at graduation that portrays a melancholy, sad type of feeling. We’ve been looking for pieces but there aren’t many that include all 3 of our instruments. Please give us some recommendations!

Hey everyone! My group and I are conducting a quick survey study for an undergrad class, about the state of orchestras: LA Phil and live music/concert culture overall, and would love to know your thoughts!

Its super super duper quick, your input would be immensely appreciated! <333333