Posted by Klaus on May 05, 2003 at 16:31:35:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: too many ? posted by Rick Denney on May 05, 2003 at 12:10:32:
"who thinks the world needs more well-educated amateur tuba players"
That statement certainly is very true. And it goes for every other imaginable field of instrumental and vocal performance.
The problem with music, as much beauty and depth of human sentiment it can carry, is, that it also can be a terrible source of pollution. Societies have some rules about that, so that people generally are not exposed to huge street parades or rock concerts right outside their bedrooms during normal sleeping hours.
But there also are cultural aspects of, what we perceive as aural pollutions.
I easily can perceive the beauty of Balinesian Gamelan music. But the tuning and scales are hard on my ears, so I do not listen much to it.
Some African jazz oriented ensembles with multiple wind instruments are not playing up to our ideas of good tuning, even if they play trumpets, saxes, and trombones every bit as good as the ones we use. Some of them transmit a musical message of such a strength, that one forgets about their tuning.
I liked Miles Davis' recording of "Time after time" very much. When the teacher of a jazz camp ensemble class ridiculed MD for no longer being able to play the trumpet and used TaT as a sample of his "bad" intonation and control, I went rotten and simply left the class. In my ears MD was still extremely expressive and still did everything exactly on purpose.
When it comes to wind ensembles there are lot of national schools. I by far don't have in-depth knowledge of all of them, but still I will make a few comments, outdated as some of them might be.
The opening of the 1980 Moscow olympics presented two and a half hour of original music composed for the 250 piece massed military band (a reflection of the Soviet military conservatories having dedicated high-level classes in composing for wind-band). It was clear, that the general quality level of the instruments was not on the Western level. Inner voices were not prominent, trumpet playing was not very flexible, but the oval Kaiserbariton lines were marvellous and were marvellously played. Even if the instruments most likely were on a St. Pete quality level.
German wind bands, maybe especially those playing "folksy" music, move within a tonal area somewhat more narrow, than that of the Russian bands. Some, even in my country, call that German music by a fourletter term having a "z" in the 3rd space. I don't agree. Where the Russian band music more or less inevitable expresses a basic pain of human life, the German band music very often expresses a longing for the simpler life of days long gone. Naive maybe, but not evillish. And the torchbearing musicians/bands play by standards not only very professional, but revealing them as true artists. Even if they maybe are a bit too commercial in their strive to "blow the underwear off elderly ladies" (but wasn't that also, what "Old Blue Eyes" did?)
I mostly know French band music from military marching displays. The playing is of high standard, the special French traits of rhythmical drive and of using large non-valved bugle sections in the full band context being especially impressive.
The British military and brass bands have extremely high quality top performers. But I must admit, that as soon as the bands/players and the composers are not the very best available, then British band music comes out dull to my ears. The extremely effective blend introduced by the use of cornets over trumpets also tends to take out much of the exitement of the music. But the euph lines often are very remarkably played. I liked the old style marine band euphs very much. But also within more recent years I have heard the SINGLE euph player of a full size Dragoon Guards band fill a large stadium with a wealth of dark and beautiful sound. Carrying strongly, but unforcedly, through the combined band and drum corps.
I have heard very good US band playing. Technically impressive and very brilliant. But some, if not most, of the music played basically is boring, because there is not much content behind the scintilating surface. And when lesser bands play that stale music, it even might be questionable, whether the result is musical at all.
This posting may be misplaced according to threads on this board. Actually it is so at will. Rick's true internym statement inspired me to make a more or less discrete reply to a couple of recent threads.
JoeS advocates doing the major and the 3 variants of the minor mode scales in all keys and over 2 octaves. I cannot disagree with him, as I have been there myself. Actually in more octaves on bassbone and euph. Also incorporating dorian, mixolydian, eight-note, chromatic, and whole tone scales. Joe is a virtuoso player, which I never was. But I think, that we agree on the idea, that music must be played with a true understanding of the pieces performed.
Playing the various scales provides musicians with a great understanding of how half and whole (even augmented whole) steps are not just half, whole, and augmented whole steps. They are extremely dependend on their horizontal and vertical contexts. Joe and I both have worked on trombones. That is a very educative instrument, as one will be hopelessly out of tune, if one does not understand the music. The British army (at least 40 years ago) required all wind players to play a bowed and non-fretted string instrument for exactly the same purpose.Which was not popular among the wind students at Kneller Hall.
There are amateur players, which in some ways qualify as "local-area virtuosos". Some of them can rattle off truckloads of notes in milliseconds. Can read very well. Or play anything by ear. But very often their attitude to sound and intonation is like this: My sound and intonation is the one coming with the instrument, that my band provided me. If improvement is called for, then they should give me a better instrument. Or: Why should I use the 4th valve in the low range? I was taught on a 3 valve instrument!
Also there are bands using limitless ressources on uniforms, but shy away from investments in adequate instruments. One can find persons building their whole social environment on being band members, even committe members and chairmen, but who never invested anything in learning to play or in aquiring a decent instrument.
I see, or rather hear, a problem in that, as the artistic medium we work in so easily transforms into aural pollution.
Being no saint of no latter days my first hand knowledge of the area of musical crimes comes from my having committed a lot of them myself. But not only humans can learn. They shall learn. Being pros or amateurs.
Klaus
PS: But I think Joe will be with me, when I say, that already the command of scales circling in fifths from Gb major (6 flats) trough B nat major (5 sharps) played in 1 octave will constitute a huge improvement for many players. Some will already now look through the reasons for my only apparent liberalism. Others are welcome to ask!