Best posts made by BigDub

@Dr-GO said in Easter Services:

THEN there was the question as to what to charge. I believe many on this forum may do this for gratis; however, the Union got me this gig and requires a contract and a 10% finder charge. So I looked all over the internet. I found a wide array of charges for Easter Services. The steepest was in NYC; however, I chose a more regional contract that came out of Illinois. I decided to use that fee recommendation, broken down between rehearsal fee, performance fee (fist 3 hours) and travel expenses. Here is the contract to give you an idea as to how this can be put together:

Hope all this is helpful to our readers, as for me, the first time arranging this (Songs and Fees) took a lot of time and research. So for those of our member venturing out for Easter, I am hoping this makes your Hippity a bit easier to Hop... I Hope!

For me, or rather us, ( Stone Hill Brass consisting 2 trumpets, two F horns, two Trombones ) we will be playing two Services, 9:30 and 11:10. We will be playing the Hymn, Christ The Lord is Risen Today, with congregation on the second and forth verse. I play an arpeggio kind of part on the C trumpet. Then the two trumpets play the Hallelujah Chorus, and the postlude will be Grand Choeur Dialogue with all of us playing with the organ. We have been working on that a lot. Hope it turns out well. Stone Hill Church of Princeton, non denominational fundamental Christian Church, is where this will take place, and where my wife and I attend every Sunday.

@SSmith1226 said in A little humour:

It’s been quiet so here it goes:
An Englishman, Frenchman, Spaniard, and German were watching a street magician. The magician realized that they couldn’t see him well so he stepped up on a high box. The magician said, “Can you see me now?”
They answered,
Yes
Oui
Si
Ja

You see, now, that there is funny. However, you must be fluid in 4 languages like myself to get it.

I bet you said to yourself, "what a moron, fluid?
It's supposed to be, fluent!"
Well, you should have said so.

@SSmith1226 said in Community Band:

I had an interesting experience this week. Several months ago I got accepted to the Florida “All Star Community Band”. It is made up of around 110 musicians from around fifty or more community bands from all over the state who are recommended by their local band directors. Every few years this band forms and performs at the State of Florida Band Directors Conference. In general, each player in the band comes from the first or second seat in their home band’s section. Through attrition, not talent, I as a three and a half year comeback player, sit in the second seat of the first trumpet section of my home band. Most of the participsnts have extended experience and are great musicians. Each piece played is chosen and conducted by different “all star” conductors from around the state.
We all got together for the first time Monday afternoon and evening. Our rehearsal lasted over 5 hours.
At 8:15 am Tuesday we met again and rehearsed until 5:00 pm with a 1 hr lunch break.
Wednesday we met at 8:15 am again and rehearsed until 12 noon including a dress rehearsal from 11:00 to 12:00. At 3:30 we started our 1 hr concert. By the start of the concert, my lip was like a piece of wood. Fortunately I was one of four people assigned second cornet / trumpet, but never the less the pieces were quite challenging.
Out of curiosity, have any of you experienced such intense sessions culminating in a high profile, high level performance without major rest? If so, was this at an amateur level, or professional level. Is this what a professional band or orchestra goes through routinely, or is this an exception. I felt very sorry for the first trumpet players, but somehow they held up and did a great job. I certainly had my problems often times could be heard playing unison with the trombones, or blowing occlusal air balls.
Never the less it was a challenging but great experience. If given the opportunity, I would do it again.

@SSmith1226 said in Community Band:

I had an interesting experience this week. Several months ago I got accepted to the Florida “All Star Community Band”. It is made up of around 110 musicians from around fifty or more community bands from all over the state who are recommended by their local band directors. Every few years this band forms and performs at the State of Florida Band Directors Conference. In general, each player in the band comes from the first or second seat in their home band’s section. Through attrition, not talent, I as a three and a half year comeback player, sit in the second seat of the first trumpet section of my home band. Most of the participsnts have extended experience and are great musicians. Each piece played is chosen and conducted by different “all star” conductors from around the state.
We all got together for the first time Monday afternoon and evening. Our rehearsal lasted over 5 hours.
At 8:15 am Tuesday we met again and rehearsed until 5:00 pm with a 1 hr lunch break.
Wednesday we met at 8:15 am again and rehearsed until 12 noon including a dress rehearsal from 11:00 to 12:00. At 3:30 we started our 1 hr concert. By the start of the concert, my lip was like a piece of wood. Fortunately I was one of four people assigned second cornet / trumpet, but never the less the pieces were quite challenging.
Out of curiosity, have any of you experienced such intense sessions culminating in a high profile, high level performance without major rest? If so, was this at an amateur level, or professional level. Is this what a professional band or orchestra goes through routinely, or is this an exception. I felt very sorry for the first trumpet players, but somehow they held up and did a great job. I certainly had my problems often times could be heard playing unison with the trombones, or blowing occlusal air balls.
Never the less it was a challenging but great experience. If given the opportunity, I would do it again.

This is beyond anything I could imagine. Almost cruel and unusual punishment. The closest thing to that I ever experienced was my High School Band camp at the close of summer vacation. I pretty much set myself up for disaster, too, I admit, because I failed to keep my chops up in preparation for what I knew was in store. Marching Band practice every morning, 2 hrs, free time, lunch, more marching band, free time, supper, concert band practice in the evening, 90 minutes. My chops were like hamburger left on the barbecue too long. Then wake up the next morning to repeat the process!

How many times can you tear a sheet of paper in half?
Once. After that it would be quarters, eighths, sixteenths, etc.

How many letters are there in the word, Deed?
Two. Well, the other two are repeats

Requiring middle school students to have only one of two brand instruments is ridiculous.

Where'd you get that pencil? Not a Tigonderoga #2? Very bad.
Spiral notebook, you got that at Walmart?….oh, no. No. Tell your parents they have to get all your supplies at either Staples or Target or you will receive an incomplete on your report card.

There was a lost albino Dalmatian in our neighborhood.
Good thing I spotted it.

@Tobylou8 you should get out more...

I am. Two girls and a boy! Love em all!

What state would you say DOES represent the whole country, Newell Post?
Isn’t it great that we have 50 entirely different states, none of which represents the country in and of themselves?

This is a favorite female singer of mine from Norway. She may be one of the most popular singers over there, but virtually unknown here in the US. A beautiful pure crystal clear voice, she did some of the singing on the soundtrack for Titanic and never had her name mentioned...

@Dr-GO said in Hello! Welcome to TB, who are you?:

Washington DC is trying to be 51.

Oh, so sorry.
Number one, Washington is already taken.
Number two, Area 51 too.

@Kehaulani said in A little humour:

I don't know what this has with "Humor", but since we're on the subject of TSA - in my travels, I've been met with both horrible conditions and people, and easy ones. To me, it generally had to do with location. I.e., TSA in New York as abdominal and rude while TSA in Honolulu was fine.

I just don’t have the stomach for those abdominal TSA agents

@Newell-Post there are attachments that can be installed. Like a dog whistle. No one but your dog will hear it, but it will produce some monster high notes.

@SSmith1226 said in A little humour:

I apologize in advance if this post should have been placed under “Pedagogy”, perhaps under “James Stamp” or “Medical Concerns” subcategory “Hernias”. I was going through some files I had saved 2 years ago and found this one. I don’t recall where it came from. It could have been from TM or some other site. Never the less, I thought that the lessons that could be learned were so worthwhile that it should be resurrected in spite of the hernia risk.

My approach when playing with new people. Warm up as though I am the last chair third trumpet in the middle school band. It scares everyone just as much, but then it’s all gravy after they hear me really play like a fourth chair second trumpet in the middle school band.

I am thinking of writing a book called “Gullible's Travels”.
I think I have sufficient material now.
It would be the sequel to “The Blonde's Book of Common Sense”

@Bob-Pixley said in A little humour:

Official "sporting event" national anthem arrangement. Due to space constraints, only the first page is displayed...

The only correction I would make is that it started a little too high. Should have started about two or three steps down to allow for the total lack of any range whatsoever. That would be my only slight adjustment.

Let me add a clarification of my original intent of this post:
My reasons for bemoaning the deviation from the setlist is selfish, lazy, and not generally looking to improve the workings and practices of my band.
I just want a smaller amount of music to carry to the gig without the looming possibility, more probability of one or more surprise entries added to the setlist. On the spot. I do have an iPad, and I put as much music as I can on it, but as some of you have shared, it has it's glitches, not to mention my ineptness at navigating ForScore and those things that seem to come easier to others as well. I think it might be just a small trade off to what I have been doing...
Here's another admission on my part: it isn't really that hard for me to carry my whole book and a separate small gig play list folder and keep the big book near my chair for those additions. I can really do that. People run marathons and triathlons and feats of great physical strength. Also, the percussionists have to bring many pieces of equipment, and tuba players have their tubas.....I do not, so I guess I can suck it up and be a big boy now.

Woman in the stands, watching her son's first half time performance with the marching band: Look at my Bobbie! He's the only one going in the right direction and everyone else is out of step!

This is a twofold post. I wanted to share this YouTube video of a former Elementary music student of my Wife's, who taught here in Hillsborough for 40 years. He's all grown up now and a professional Horn Player. He did this 6 part video of his own arrangement. It is rather amazing and jaw dropping, if you ask me. Stay with it. It definitely gets better and better! Now the other thing, I would love to see something like this from a few brave players here, either alone or combined together. What he did. That technology would seem to work, no?
Here's the link:

Then there’s this........