Posted by olituba on January 22, 2003 at 16:08:23:
In Reply to: van der Meij "Lord of the Rings" posted by Tim on January 22, 2003 at 15:30:10:
Yes, Played it numerous times, never played anything before or since in wind-orchestra or symphony-orchestra that came close when it comes to sheer playing fun .
Gandalf.. well... uuuhm, let me think. must be that chorale section right after the shadowfax thing. we were only 2 tubas to a 60 people band and still made it work, so, try this: never force on the air but LET it flow, make it a single huge sigh. Play the whole passage in one breath (it�s posible, even if you haven�t got god�s lungs) then find the spots wherebreathing is easiest to hide and start breathing there - you�ll dicover numerous possibilities there. then to increase airf flow ake it down gradually (whole step, third, fourth fifth...all the way to the octave. Still remember to play it as a huge sigh, not like a weight-lifter would blow (or rather squeeze the air out). then come back to where it�s written still useing the same amount of air as dow the octave. Result will be biger, more open soundreally broad quality in sound AND volume AND you�ll likely be surprised about the results for your air-control..
And allways have fun playing that piece. I love orchestra-music, operas... you name it, but no schostakovitch, Bruckner, Brahms, Berlioz etc is nearly as much fun as Johan de Meij�s Lord of the rings!
olituba