Friday, June 6, 2008

What to play....what to play.....

I'm having a really hard time deciding what I want to play in DCDD Symphonic band in the fall.
Ok, my musical history in the band:

I joined in 1983 or 1984...I'm not 100% certain, but it was in the first year after I graduated college with a music degree. I was a Euphonium player in high school and college and went to Miami of Ohio....that WELL-known music school (NOT). I went there for a couple of reasons. First, I was limited to in-state Ohio State colleges because that was what we could begin to afford. My parents gave me everything they could, and I grew up never truly wanting for anything, but we never had much money either. So my choices were basically Bowling Green where 2 sisters went, or Miami where I knew someone in the music school - Pam Lump who's mother worked with my parents....I didn't truly know her until I got there and we became great friends (to this day). I chose Miami and was at least a year into it before realizing that their music school was a big nothing.

In any case, I was the star Euphonium player there. My instructor, Dr. Thomas Clay, told me I was one of the two best he'd ever had. Turns out that didn't mean that much really, but it felt good. I ended up on scholarships, did my four years and had a useless music education degree.

(boy can I tangent)

So just after college I joined the band...to immediate boredom. I've indicated before that the band sucked bigtime back then, and I was at my highest playing level having just graduated from constantly playing music. So it was like going back to 5th grade music as a somewhat accomplished musician.

Obviously I was playing euphonium at that time in the band and stayed on it for many years. Eventually I switched to trumpet for the challenge. Mary Bahr was the star trumpet and was very nice to me, helping me along playing third parts. After a year or so, a casual friend passed away, and Nora Greenleaf formed a brass quintet to play at the funeral, and asked me to be the 2nd trumpet. The group stayed together for almost 6 years and I became a decent trumpet player because we were religious about rehearsing weekly. At the same time, most trumpets dropped out of band and I was forced to become the first trumpet player, plus a swing band formed (Steppin' Out) and I played 2nd in that group, which meant that I got all of the solos. Those things made me into a reasonable trumpet player.

Within the brass quintet, we used to switch instruments at the end of rehearsals for fun, calling it Nurd quintet. I started grabbing the French Horn most of the time. I must've been richer than normal at that point in life because I ran out and bought one. I switched to French Horn in band for fun and in quintet for the last year, and eventually became our band Section Leader (I just gave it up to Steve Price after the last concert.) Over the years in band, I also played Bass Clarinet, Trombone, Percussion but mostly went back and forth between Horn, Euphonium and Trumpet as needed.

In the last few years I switched to Baritone Sax in the current Swing Band (DC Swing) and this past year also joined Sax in the City, our Sax Quartet +1. (we play Quartet music, but have an extra bari player at the moment.) At the moment, I'm probably playing Bari better than any other instrument.

So...why am I struggling with what to play? Well, over the years, I always asked the conductor what they need me to play, which was trumpet for years, then Horn for the past 7-8 years. Something happened with me on French Horn this past year. I haven't a clue what it was, but suddenly I have felt like I absolutely suck on that instrument. This past Spring, my Horn playing just never came back to me and I struggled big-time. Usually after our yearly breaks, my playing suffers for a few weeks since I don't practice much when the group isn't playing, then comes back a few weeks into it. This year, it never came back. So I'm VERY discouraged on Horn and have no desire to play it at the moment.

Trumpet....this is what I really want to play, but the band doesn't need them as far as I know, so I'll get sucky parts and won't be helping the band where I should.

Euphonium - I've not been happy with the instrument I own for years. It's a non-compensating Yamaha....decent, but not great. Three things keep me from wanting to play that...first the bad horn, second the band doesn't really need them either, and third, our new conductor is a Euphonium player in a military band and solos all over the world. No matter how well I play, I'll seem like I suck to him since it's his instrument too. So I'm intimidated by that.

Bari - forget it...love the instrument but band Bari parts are about the worst parts in band. The instrument is used to supplement tubas or low woodwinds, but composers and arrangers simply use it as a not important bass instrument in the band....translation - the parts will bore me to tears.

So that leaves me not knowing what to do. I guess I have a month or two to decide, but this is the first time in 25 years I've felt unsure of what to play....NOTHING seems right at the moment.

3 comments:

Scott said...

Have you considered percussion? Maybe even mallets? Although, yes, you count lots of rests everything you play in the section is a solo. And the section leader is fun to work with (and hot!).

Matty said...

And have you considered Trombone? We have sooo much fun back there, and we sit right in front of the hot percussion section leader ;-) We'd be very happy to have you!

Swoper said...

The band needs more trombones almost as much as it needs more Bassoons and Alto Saxes :).

I would definitely consider Trombone if I thought we needed them, although I'm not that good and don't actually OWN one.

Percussion I'd definitely consider too and am thinking about. We always seem to be short there.

Thanks for the suggestions...no closer to a decision but a few more things to think about!