Royal Wedding

What is it like to be part of history and perform at a ROYAL WEDDING?

30 years ago the United Kingdom had a national holiday – a day I worked!
Yes – I performed at the wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Stillwood Frances Spencer 30 years ago on Wednesday, 29 July 1981 at St Paul's Cathedral, London, United Kingdom. The marriage was widely billed as a "fairytale wedding" and the "wedding of the century".

I was then the principal flute with the Band of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines and considered it an honour to be part of what was “history in the making”. As the big day comes closer for Prince William and Kate Middleton I cannot help but think back and make some comparisons.

As it is today, the nation was in a celebratory mood and rehearsals and preparations for the grand event are very much the same. We (Royal Marines) rehearsed before the event in the early hours of the morning (all streets being closed) and on the day of the wedding it was a 5.00am breakfast before getting ready for the Pageantry. Every detail (over 300 pages) is planned, rehearsed and then rehearsed again. The Band of the Royal Marines led the procession and also provided a fanfare team inside St. Paul’s cathedral for the wedding ceremony.
There were 3,500 people in the congregation at St Paul's Cathedral. It was held at St Paul's rather than Westminster Abbey because St Paul's offered more seating and permits a longer procession through the streets of London. It was estimated that 750 million people watched the ceremony worldwide, making it the most popular programme ever broadcast, and this figure rose to a billion when the radio audience is added in. Two million spectators lined the route of Diana's procession from Clarence House, with 4,000 police and 2,200 military officers to manage the crowds.
After the ceremony, the couple went to Buckingham Palace for a dinner for 120. The couple had 27 wedding cakes with the official wedding cake being supplied by the Naval Armed Forces.
How does this compare with the Royal Wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton?
Rehearsals have gone similar to those of 30 years ago and below is the schedule that will be followed Friday April 29th, 2011. The Band of Royal Marines will once again be first in line and will be the band stationed right outside Westminster Abbey at Parliament Square.

Friday April 29th, 2011
From 0815 to 0945 - The general congregation will arrive at the Great North Door of Westminster Abbey.
09.15 -10.45 The guests of Prince William and Catherine will start arriving at Westminster Abbey.

10.20 The Band of Royal Marines will leave for Parliament Square from the Wellington Barracks.

10.25 The Band of the Grenadier Guards leave the Wellington Barracks and head to Marlborough Road.

10.50 The Band of the Welsh Guards leave from Wellington Barracks and head to St James’s Palace.

10.50 Members of Parliament from Commonwealth countries, the diplomatic service and other VIP guests arrive to Westminster.

11.10 Prince William and his brother/ best man Prince Harry will leave Clarence House driven in a Bentley. They will pass the Horse Guards Parade, the Cenotaph war memorial, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

11.20 The 1st Battalion the Irish Guards will be playing in front of Buckingham Palace.Various members Royal families from around the world arrive at the Abbey as Catherine’s mother Carole Middleton and brother James depart from Goring Hotel, Kensington.

11.25 The first Members of the British Royal family leave the Palace.

11.35 Prince Andrew and his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence leave Palace.11.40 Prince Charles and Camilla leave Clarence House.

11.40 The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh leave Buckingham Palace and will be the last guests to arrive at Westminster Abbey, at 11.45hrs

11.50 Catherine’s Bridesmaids and pages leave Goring Hotel.

11.55 Catherine Middleton departs from Goring Hotel in a Rolls-Royce Phantom VI with her father Michael Middleton and shortly after are at the Abbey. Once she arrives at the church, details about her wedding dress will finally be revealed. Photo moment !

12.00 Marriage service starts at Westminster. The Dean of Westminster will be conducting service and the Archbishop of Canterbury will marry the couple. The Bishop of London to give the address.

13.10 Prince William and his wife Catherine leave Westminster.

13.15 Procession headed by the newly-weds travels to Buckingham Palace. William and Catherine will travel in the horse drawn State Landau Carriage, specifically built for King Edward VI in 1902 (pictured). If it rains however, they will ride in the horse drawn Glass Coach. The carriage carrying the bride and groom will be followed by the Queen’s carriage and members of the Household Cavalry. Two of the horses taking part in the ceremony are named after William and Catherine. They will pass The Mall, Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall, and Parliament Square. Other members of the Royal family will follow in other horse drawn carriages including Prince Harry, Pippa Middleton (Kate’s sister and the Maid of Honour) the bridesmaids.

13.30 The Carriage Procession will arrive at Buckingham Palace.

14.25 Palace balcony appearance with the William and Catherine, Bridesmaids and the Queen with members of the Royal family. The Royal kiss is expected for the cameras.

14.30 RAF fly over followed by the official pictures taken by photographer Hugo Burnand.

16.00 – 17.00 Wedding reception ends. The newly-weds will change outfits.

20.00 300 guests start arriving for the private dinner hosted by William’s father Prince Charles. After Queen retires an 80s-themed disco will start and the best man will give his speech and ask William and Kate to take the first dance.

03.00-04.00 William and Kate will leave the party and retire to the Belgian Suite in Buckingham Palace.

Flute Playing Tips

As air moves slower a low note will result.
Don't tune by using dynamics.
Don't push lips foreword for high notes unless they are soft.
Don't advertise a breath.
Practice with no vibrato to hear true sound.
Don't cover up a problem - expose it & fix.
Look like you are sharing with the audience.
Soft is short.
Don't confuse endings with diminuendos.
Keep head up to slacken the jaw.
Forte = longer note length. Piano = shorter note length.
Forte & Piano are different tone colors.
After a long faded ending due to long phrase begin again at the same strength you left off.
Vocalize before playing.
Don't accentuate the obvious.
Don't edit on the basis of poor technique.
Sound must stay the same when using the tongue.
Every note has a life of it's own.
A short note is always preceded by a shortened note.
Players duty is to present what the composer has written - not what you think he has written.
Intonation is 90% knowledge of instrument.
Look for tension in fingers.
Rules of music are independent of the instrument.
Practice by eliminating that which you don't do well.
Fix one little thing each day.
Anything that you can't do is important.

Posture

· Put the head joint over the shoulder and turn you head.
· Try not to look at the stand. Have the stand turned slightly.
· Keep your shoulders down
· Get in the Habit of looking down at the music so sound doesn't get blocked.
· "[You] must not move the flute with your hands...you can with your jaw.

Warm Up
· Warm up should be done without music.
· Start with a good tone
· Do Taffanel and Gaubert Scales
· Sequences
· Finger Exercises - No Slow fingers
o If you have slow fingers, raise them really high and slap down on the key.
o Use the Bb shake key because it is harder.