(let me know if soundfiles don't work OR of omissions in info OR errors)

Always "reload" the webpage to be sure you have the up-to-date info.

STRINGS & BAND TOGETHER

American Folk Song Suite

A piece Linda wrote a while back for our band and is adapting to be band and strings. ANTICIPATE! ;-)

STRING ENSEMBLE - WINTER/SPRING

LISTEN A LOT to these soundfiles and any other recordings you can find.
The more you listen, the better you will understand the flow of the music and the faster you will learn to play the piece! That said, please do not try to learn the music by listening - it is never accurate enough.

Oliver & Kett have chosen 4 terrific classics for you.
Go back to the email with the music to find what Kett & Oliver said about these pieces.  You should have music for the following pieces.

Air on a G String - a Bach favorite! arr. Lynne Lathan. Click the title link to watch and listen to a wonderful performance (of the arrangement we are playing!) by the Boston String Ensemble (a quartet which includes our very own Oliver and Kett)

Symphony No.1, Gustav Mahler - 3rd movement, arr. by Brad Pfei. Continuing the Mahler festival started in the fall! Click the title link to listen to the soundfile of the arrangment we are playing. To hear the original, try this wonderful performance with Christoph Eschenbach conducting. Notice that the main theme is a minor key variation on Brother Martin / Frere Jacques.

Adagietto, also by Gustav Mahler, arr. by Carrie Lane Gruselle. Ah... a love song for Mahler's wife Alma. Click the title link to listen to the soundfile of the arrangment we are playing. Follow the following link to hear Leonard Bernstein conducting the Vienna Symphony in the original version of this movement - Mr. Bernstein’s score is the visual.

Habanera, From the Opera “Carmen", by George Bizet, arr. by Jerry Brubaker. Click the title link to listen to the soundfile of the arrangment we are playing. To hear Habanera in its original click the "original" link and watch a snippet of the opera.

BAND - WINTER/SPRING

You should have music for:

Holst First Suite - We played the Chaconne (first movement) in the fall and this session, we will be playing the 2nd mvt (Intermezzo) and the 3rd mvt (March). So this session there are two challengers! Let us know if you need help simplifying.

Here a links to each movement, but I really recommend that you purchase all three movements and perhaps get more than one recording! That way you can hear how different people interpret the piece. (Another reason to purchase is that if you own it and it is on your computer/phone/tablet, you can use it with the SlowDowner).

• John loves the Frederick Fennell (as do MANY musicians - it is a classic), but I prefer the one by the Royal Northern College of Music Wind Orchestra, directed by Timothy Reynish. I like his slower tempos and Brittish feel to the music. Both the Fennell and Reynish are wonderful!
• Here is a link to Fred Fennell’s iconic recording, Mvt 2-Intermezzo (1978)
• And to Mvt. 3 March
• And links to the Royal Northern College versions:Mvt 2.-Intermezzo
• and Mvt. 3 -March.

Scarborough Fantasy by Christina Huss and R. Alan Carter. This is a lovely rendition of the traditional English ballad, Scarborough Fair. Click the title link to listen to the soundfile of the arrangment we are playing.

Take Five by Paul Desmond, arr. Paul Cook. First thing, do NOT go looking for the demo soundfile or any other group playing this arrangement - recordings is out there, but if you learn what that sounds like, you will be lost when playing with us!!! We will be playing the notes in that you hear in the demo, but the style will be more like the original recording by the Dave Brubeck Quartet (1959). The difference? The style is the BIG thing - the orginal uses swing eighth notes, the demo has straight eighths. We will be playing swing.

Also, you can't use our version of the notes and play along with the original Dave Brubeck recording, unless you are a drummer! Ours is in concert Bb and the original is in Concert Gb (6 flats!). But listen to the original A LOT so that you can hear those rhythms, the swing, the 5/4, etc.

So... There is no recording that you can play along with. BUT what will really help you learn it is to listen to the original so many times that you end up singing it in your sleep! Go for the earworm. Then when you look at the notes on the page, you will more easily give it the correct interpretation.

HINTS FOR EFFECTIVE USE OF SOUNDFILES IN YOUR PRACTICE

There are several really good reasons for listening to the soundfiles of music you are playing:

1. *To get a sense of how the music sounds, its style, its phrasing, its harmonies (Most important reason!)
2. Following your music while listening to the soundfile (not playing) helps you learn how your part fits with the whole and helps you learn to keep your place
3. Playing along with the music gives you more opportunities to "practice with the group" than you can get just in rehearsals. You will not be able to determine when to play the very first beat, so come in on the next measure.
4. If it goes by too quickly, see the next bullet
5. Purchase the software, Amazing Slow Downer (from http://ronimusic.com/) and you can practice with the soundfile slowed down to where you can play along. (Soundfiles must be on the same device where the Slow Downer resides; you can not use YouTube, AppleMusic or soundfiles that are streamed from the web). For those of you cautious about what you download, this software site is safe according to Norton)
6. You can also slow down YouTube by clicking the gear and adjusting the percentage. You don't have the minute control of the speed, but it is better than nothing!

If you are new to working with soundfiles, DO NOT try to play along right away. Your first task is to listen several times while just following along in your own music (not playing), perhaps even using your finger to keep your place in the music. See if you can stay with the music, whether or not you can hear your own part (sometimes it doesn't sound like your instrument because you are playing the same thing as some other instrument and your part adds to the overall, but isn't itself distinguishable). Watch for things like holds or sudden loud spots or a change from legato to staccato to see if you can hear those as you listen. Until you can reliably follow along & keep your place in your music while listening and looking at your part, you will never be able to successfully play along. Be sure to do the listening first or it is just frustrating! Once you get good at that, try listening and speaking your rhythms. Once you can do that, then try playing with it, although you may find that it is too fast for you to keep up. (See bullet #5 above)