President's Choice?

Presidents too, it seems, are capable of lapses of memory. President Ulysses S. Grant when asked what tunes he knew replied, "I know two tunes. One of them is Yankee Doodle and the other one isn't."

He never told a lie, as the story goes. So maybe if he were alive today, President George Washington could tell a New York City library what he did with two books he checked out 221 years ago. Due to be returned November 2nd, 1789 the fines now total a whopping $300,000



Volume 12 is missing - checked out October 2nd, 1789 by George Washington.




BAND TIPS:
In order to have a good band it is essential not only for the individual to have a good fundamental knowledge of the rudiments of music and the technicalities of their instrument. It is important to have a good blend and balance.
Sir Edward Elgar once said, “A good musical ensemble is one where all the instruments can be heard at the same time without any one being the dominant”.
I believe that in order to have good blend and balance in our performing groups, not only the director, but also the individual players have to have a more delineated understanding of these two distinct terms – Blend and Balance.

Balance
The concept of good balance in the band is complicated by two factors:
(a) it does not mean equal amounts from each player or each instrumental part, and
(b) higher pitched sounds are more easily heard than are the lower pitched sounds and therefore to produce a given level of sound proportionately less volume is required from the higher pitches than from the lower ones.

For good balance the melodic line (melody, countermelody) must always be heard above the harmonic and rhythmic accompaniment. In each of the Brass, Woodwind and Percussion sections, no one group of instruments (e.g. trumpets) should be more prominent than the others.
When instruments are playing 1st, 2nd and 3rd parts, no one part should overpower the other.
No one player should be heard above the others playing the same part. Consideration should be given at all times to the balance in the chord structure of the harmony, especially in final cadences. The root and the third of the chord should always be heard above the fifth.
Check the next post for some Flute Tips: