Posted by Rick Denney on June 22, 2000 at 14:29:01:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: how long will band music survive? posted by D. Seebaugh on June 22, 2000 at 13:51:41:
I've played an arrangement of Innagaddadavida for tuba quartet with the TubaMeisters. In Polka form. The Schmenges would be proud.
But I think you'd have to admit that Purple Haze (and Innagaddadavida) *are* baby-boomer tunes, and that both would sound pretty horrifying in concert band transcriptions.
On the other hand, music composed for symphonic band, or some orchestral music that lends itself to band transcription, will appeal to anyone. Think of some modern composers who are adept at speaking to younger audiences... John Williams (Star Wars), Bruce Broughton (Silverado), Elmer Bernstein (Batman), and so on. These make fine transcriptions, when the transcriptions are done well and retain the color and texture of the original. Of course, that tends to make them hard, and many transcribers want to make them easy.
Transcriptions can't be any better than the original, but they can sure be worse.
Rick "Tired of playing junior high music" Denney