Posted by Randy Mac Iver on June 22, 2000 at 15:58:58:
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 think that Purple Haze is better left to the idiom it was written for and most of the stuff like late 60's tunes and early 70's don't usual transcribe well with the same spirit that it was given in the original as with most things. Back in the corps we played the State Fair of Texas in October and I remmember a small group that went around playing pop music. The group had a Tuba, a Soprano Sax, A Banjo, and a percussion guy that had a wash board with a bongo and other toys attached. They played a set of Hendricks tunes that actual sounded better than the original (To me of course) and they also did a set of Madona tunes too. None of which would transcribe for Band very well. You can bet your bottom dollar that if a group asked for it some how the Band would play it though. If your looking for inspiration for Tuba Quartets try some of Bobby McFerrin's Transcriptions of pop tunes. You might want to start aggressively suggesting tunes to play that you like in your Band. After all if your not paid they could at least humor a request or two from the Band membership. Keep playing because the only alternative is to not play and that is unacceptable to me anyway. Become a motivating factor in the Band to get people to try harder. You might lose some people but you might get others too.
Randy "Yada Yada Yada ..Yada Yada Yada" Mac Iver