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

STRINGS & BAND TOGETHER

TBA in the fall. ANTICIPATE! ;-)

STRING ENSEMBLE

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.

Mahler Symphony No.1 Movement II, arr. Sandra Dackow. Click the title link to listen to the demo soundfile of the piece and to watch the score go by. Click on the small picture of a single page of music under “Preview”. Arrows on the side move you to the next page of the score.

Terkisher Klezmer Fest, by Julie Lyonn Lieberman. Follow the link to hear the demo recording of our piece - you can watch the score as you listen. Arrows on the side move you to the next page of the score.
What is a Terkisher?? Click here:https://www.yiddishdance.com/user/image/terkisher.pdf
Check out this amazing klezmer fiddler: Daniel Hoffman - Original Klezmer (klezmer fiddle)

Swan Lake Act 2 #10, P.I. Tchaikovsky/arr. Michael Hopkins. Follow the link to hear the demo recording of our piece - you can watch the score as you listen.
Do listen to the original version with full orchestra.  This is Leonard Bernstein with the New York Philharmonic in 1970.

Nimrod (from "Enigma Variations") Edward Elgar/arr. Lloyd Conley. This link will take you to the demo soundfile of our arrangement. You can watch the score as you listen.
Here is a recording of Leonard Bernstein conducting the BBC Symphony Orchestra in 1982.  Oliver says he won't take the Nimrod quite as slow as the recording, but the holding of tension is just unrivaled.

BAND - SUMMER

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.

Farandole, arranged by Robert Longfield. Here is a link to our arrangement with a moderate tempo!!  To see the score and listen to the recording, follow this link to the J.W.Pepper website, then click on the little icon that looks like a piece of paper, to the right of the little speaker (it is under the word, “Preview”)
Here is a YouTube performance of Farandole, played by Deutsch-Niederländische KammerPhilharmonie; the Allegro vivo e deciso is about MM=170.  

Choral Prelude, BWV 727 (“Herzlich tut mich verlangen”), by Johann Sebastian Bach. The link will take you to a YouTube performance of the original organ prelude, played by Gilberto Guarino. Watch your music as he plays and see if you can hear your lines in the organ part.
BachChoral-BWV727-Practice Here is the practice soundfile with a count-off and measure numbers. LISTEN more than you play!

Linden Lea, a classic English song written by Ralph Vaughan Williams, arr. by John W. Stout. There are several links to performances here. This link above will take you to the band version we are playing, in a performance by the Tacoma Concert Band.

Kvetchers (Surprises in Controversial Time), by Laura Estes. Click on the link to watch the score and listen to the music. See if you can hear the humor in the unexpected odd harmonies and rhythms.

Highlights from "Phantom of the Opera" Click on the movie camera icon to watch the score go by. You CAN NOT play along with this recording, as we have changed the keys in our version...

Highlights from the Sound of Music, arr. Johnnie Vinson. The link will take you to the demo soundfile.

Colonel Bogey March, by Kenneth J. Alford, arr. Andrew Balent. There is no demo version that is just like ours, but here is a link to the United States Marine Band, The President’s Own, playing Colonel Bogey

The pieces below have practice soundfiles with count-off and measure numbers.

Shenandoah

SummNights

BallGame

BAND - FALL

Soundfile links to be added soon, meanwhile go back to the email with the music to find what your directors said about these pieces and links for the soundfiles.

You should have music for:

Holst First Suite
Pavane
Windsong
Golden Jubilee

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 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)