wow band at my base school is totally whack yo.
they were playing 'my heart will go on' and i was like, "dude where the hell is the heart?!" lol it was really bad. the style of their band is that one of the band members would be in charge of a different song - as in they conduct the band for the piece theyre responsible for... its just that... theyre really bad at conducting. man i was like where the heck is the groove where the heck is the spirit. you swear they were playing at a funeral or something... wait a minute, they were worse than a funeral. because at a funeral the musicians actually convey the emotions of pain, mourning, and lament. lol. it was such a big shock. i was like, why isnt anyone getting into the songs? there was a studio G suite that they were practicing and i was like, 'what the heck is UP yo?!' because all the movements are supposed to have a distinct feel right? like totoro is supposed to be spirited, refreshing, and childlike. laputa is supposed to be majestic fantasy, and all the fanfares are supposed to be blaring right? uh no. aw man, my heart was bleeding. like at the end one of the girls was like, 'hey how is the end supposed to feel?' (it was a retard into a last hold on a whole note) and the girl conducting the piece was like, 'eh, just normally...' and other girl was like, "should we crescendo or something?" and conductor girl was like, 'eh, err, well uh let's try it i guess.' then they played it with an almost crescendo - more like a sorry excuse for one really haha and then conductor girl was like, 'eh yeah. we can do it like that then.' and i was like - oh. my. goodness.
now im not saying the band is crap. they've got discipline and respect and courtesy and all that good stuff. they can play clean notes (though their entrances and cut offs ARE crap) and play their licks fine. they just need soul and heart and all around FUN when they play. because using your instruments to generate a series of tones is leaps and bounds away from MAKING MUSIC.
i swear i was going crazy in my corner. i think i nearly got bloody nose from the frustration haha. but yea - they dont suck, theyre just kinda zombie-like. which makes no sense because when they take breaks in the halls and stuff theyre actually /gasp .laughing. and .smiling. they treat music like an academic class i know - its part of their culture and whatnot, but you can be serious about your music and have heart at the same time too. what also annoys me is that these guys have had this piece for well over a month and have been practicing every day and yet theyre all on one dynamic, they have no spirit, their balance is all wrong, and... yea they should be better than what i heard today. the music wasnt even hard.
there are a handful of third year girls who have the right idea though. too bad theyre too meek to lay the smackdown though. pisses me off. i just wanted the conductor girls to yknow actually tell people what to do: conduct. they were being too jp - "er maybe it would be better if you..." or "um, please flutes more... better... please" or "please trumpets, be... careful at 66" they should just tell their buddies theyve been missing their F sharps, to play louder, that theyre horribly out of tune and to not lag at 66." goodness gracious. theyre all buddies too. nothing to feel bad about. break out! break away! step back!
maybe im being too harsh lol
anyway, thats my freakish american pov going crazy haha.
i'll still play with them though... and SHOW THEM THE LIGHT. i feel like a missionary lol.
1 comment:
I was in band up thru HS, in Las Vegas. Some of those kids had parents who played in jazz bands on the Strip, a few of them had already had jobs and were union members (Every musician in Vegas was a union member). In comparison to them, I sucked. Because they needed bodies for the Marching Band, they kept me in the mix. But to actually perform, and especially to get a seat in the school's jazz ensemble, you had to be Outstanding, and there was NO mercy during rehearsals.
The kids themselves preferred Maynard Ferguson, which to try to describe is like Herb Albert on supra-steroids. Imagine a trumpet solo with literal knockback impact, and still very enthralling music emotionally.
I think you have to be exposed to real musicians to "get it" and even then if your body doesn't easily learn to speak thru your instrument, you'll end up as an appreciator, only a few will actually play.
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