7-17-09 Rehearsal Recordings
By the way… these recordings are our raw sound… no reverb or eq. That room sounds pretty good for us.
This is a before and after showing progress with the horn articulations in the second ending. I edited out the rehearsal, so this is one of the first takes then the later.
Tuba and trombone sound good together! Balance with the horns, though, needs to improve. I think this will happen as the horns get more solid on their part.
last bit shows the nice piano phrasing in the high brass. Keep this in your ear and continue developing it. As the final bit continues notice the instability in tempo. We can fix that.
A few select takes of our rehearsal on the high voice melody. Improved, but I would still like it lighter with more clear/crisp articulation and of course very steady time.
when we go on, that is our first take… good job, Jake, on the Eb counter melody! Rich and Jake give a listen to balance during this bit. Rich seems to be backing off second time, and I think it is not necessary.
Finally, last part is the before and after with the accompaniment. Long notes sound better to me! Get this sound in your mind… it will almost always be better longer.
Before and after rehearsing. Second time better style, better balance, better ensemble! Get this sound in your head!
Next are a few sections of which I included our best take.
The duet with Aaron and Rich was good! Good work you two! No repeat from now on.
The last bit shows some places we get too lound and out of balance. Also, I am still not happy about the big crescendo spot before the long held note… we still need to get softer. We did rehearse and improve, but it is not included here… could still improve.
first bit is the last and best take of Aaron’s slow solo. Good job, Aaron. The accompaniment could still get more delicate… notice the overblown climaxes that momentarily cover the solo. Also, tempo could improve here.
next bit is the fermata before the gallop. This was our final take working on the entrance of the gallop… still not quite perfect if you listen closely. And when we get to the owl bit in the trumpets, balance could improve. Horns, I think you could fill things out tremendously by continuing to work on length to the accompaniment notes… length not volume. This will add presence and support to the melody without overpowering them. Also, everyone notice intonation and precision here… can still improve that.
next, “three before the first ending, take the second ending, and give me a big dynamic change.” I don’t hear a big dynamic change! Second, the final time we worked on it… still no change. Actually, looking at the meter on my audio software, the volume after the dynamic change actually peaks out higher than before on a couple of notes… both times! We can do better.
Don’t forget to look at the rhythms between B and C.
Next bit is C. Nice job horns, though more pronounced articulation would improve it still. Trumpets could work on getting better response at the soft dynamic. It starts out nice and soft but with response and accuracy problems. As this passage goes on, response and accuracy improve BUT because it is because we get louder. Work hard to keep your softs soft AND have your instrument work… this is the perpetual challenge of being a brass player… beautifully exemplified in this passage, ha ha. We can do it!
After the fermata, there are numerous folks not playing their parts… I left it off the recording, but look it over. Same for I to the end, especially J.
Pretty good… give a listen and add your own comments below. I can hear that some folks, though, are missing repeats. Fix that!
After the stop and “this ending is fine,” I edited in the final bit of working horn and trumpet balance… improved! Horns focus on “brick notes” not “football notes,” and trumpets focus on getting inside the horn sound.
And it ends with our best run of the ending to 10th Reg.
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That is it from our last rehearsal. I was not in best form, but listening to these recordings has been great for me… we did make some good progress, and I am extremely excited about working with you all again this Friday. Also, you folks did great work despite my being partially out of it.
I agree with the old saying, “you are only as good as your last performance.” By that measuring stick, we are still not where we want to be, but the bright side is that we are on a fabulous upward trajectory. Think about the improvement from the Jacksonville to Springfield concerts. And now these rehearsals are going to make light years of difference. You folks are doing great… keep up the good work, keep striving to improve, and know that I’m having a blast working with you all… I hope you are having a good time as well.
I look forward to your comments on this page, and I’ll see you Friday!
~Todd
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So I’ve now listened to this a few times on various computer speakers… it was much more informative on my nice stereo… I suggest headphones if you have them.