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well, i did play at an absolutely wonderful wedding this last weekend.. i guess it was on the 14th. I played with this awesome trio of sisters, ages 14, 16 and 17 (?) .. so very very very accomplished.. 2 cellists, a capella singing, a violinist.. they all conducted at times, all played and sang.... just a work of art.

So i played the organ and it was spectacular. anyhoo, it certainly was lots of fun.

here is a little news video of the sisters taken about 18 months ago.

http://www.kmbc.com/news/26749295/detail.html

boy were they ever professional.

Apple: awesome girls

I came across this YouTube clip on Facebook, and I don't *think* it's been posted in this thread thus far, but it would be pushing the limits of surfing-the-internet-while-working for me to read all 46 pages of this thread to confirm that.

At any rate, here is a minute long clip of a drummer, with the caption "This is what happens when you drink too much but still think you can play the wedding." It does not show the happy couple's reaction, but I'm guessing the band didn't get much of a tip.

[video:youtube]gCgMtD1LMx0[/video]

i've been meaning to come back to thread and watch the drummer crash.

i did.

Definitely a good idea to remain sober when playing a wedding!

I know it's off topic, but the setup was so perfect I have to share it.

I was at a musical event this weekend, a combination of seminars and concerts by some world famous brass players.

At one of the sessions, a trivia question was asked. "Who wrote the verse to Basin Street Blues?"

Blank looks from most, but I jumped in with: "Well, John Basin, of course!"

Turns out the right answer was Glenn Miller. Ah well, I was close.

Off-topic is a tall order in this thread, or as best I remember it.

I've been pretty busy with Real Life lately, despite playing less than I used to, and haven't been keeping up with PW.

We were down two singers on our last gig, and invited a female singer some of us used to play with to sit in. She was in good form and provided a nice change of pace from our usual repertoire. One of the songs we played was "Respect".

After the set one couple took a moment to compliment her on her performance, mentioning "Respect" in particular. The woman then added that she noticed that not many people danced during that song. She said sotto voce, "It's not really an Obama crowd here..."

Geez.

Hope everyone is well.

Hey,

I run a music agency in the UK that just specialises in providing pianists for weddings. We often get asked about lots of different types of piano music and whether it will work on the piano or not.

Our website now has over 160 demos of piano arrangements of popular songs / indie / rock / film music and lot of other things. It would be nice to hear what you think of our arrangements: http://www.pianodj.co.uk/wedding-pianist-music-list.html

James

As quiet as it's been, I only feel a little guilty sharing this last performance.

I play with a local wind ensemble and they always program a trombone feature.

This spring it was Frolic for Trombone. I had never heard of it, but apparently it is a staple of the brass band scene, judging from the youtube selections. (very different from the traditional US wind ensemble genre)

Now, trombone is a brass instrument, but they make them out of plastic. There's a new entry called the pBone, which outrages traditionalists and incites all sorts of flame wars.

Here is me playing lead on Frolic for Trombone, on the plastic pBone:
http://www.box.com/s/5d0254f346c991a7d0fa

I don't think you can tell it's not brass. (It's not a perfect performance, it was late in the gig and I had tired chops, but we played with enthusiasm to make up for lack of finesse.)

I bought a pBone when they were first available here in the UK. As a sometime teacher of brass instruments, I'm excited at the idea of a cheap student-grade 'bone that is lightweight and practically indestructable. You can just about guarantee a young player will bruise or dent the slide of a brass 'bone, requiring frequent visits to the repair shop if they are to play with any agility. In this context I find the criticism of the pBone slide rather unfair - it's a bit scratchy, but it's a LOAD better than a bruised brass one! It plays nicely enough and, in a band contest,I think you'd have to listen very hard to criticise the sound. Another point is that aspiring trombonists tend to buy larger bore instruments, maybe perceiving them as more "professional". Playing a smaller bore pBone can be a reminder of the virtues of a less ponderous sound.

The pBone was launched in the UK at a very reasonable 50 GBP. Now it has acquired a distributor the price has risen rather closer to that of an entry-level brass 'bone. A pity.

I enjoyed your performance of "Frolic". Maybe it suffered from being taken at a rather pedestrian tempo? The woodwind section certainly disagreed with the conductor over the pace of some of their interjections!

Sigh. This band is about half adult community members and half students from a two year junior college (they take it as a class for credit.) So membership (and instrumentation) varies from semester to semester. Sometimes we play very well, sometimes we struggle. This year there was no percussion, except for last minute additions who only made the performance.

By the way, the recording was done with a simple Zoom H2, set about halfway back in the audience. No professional microphones nere!

I agree with you about the usefulness of the pBone. My slide is scratchy but certainly better than most student horns - I am appalled by what we make beginners play on. The light weight makes a huge difference. (The Spurling is even better, but now we're talking high dollar slides.)

Has this topic died?

I've been wondering the same thing. Sure hope not.

When a wedding starts to feature trombones, it has crossed over a line. No offense to trombones; I love 'em, but...

Last December 27th I posted a short clip of a trombone trumpet tuba trio I'd written for the Christmas pageant.

The same middle school tuba player wants to play again, so I've just arranged a simple hymn for him. We'll do it in a couple weeks and I'll post the recording, maybe. He's got an walking bass line while I take the melody on the first verse, and he'll do melody while I do some dixieland fills over it second verse. Of course it'll be my bright blue plastic trombone like last time, and his tuba (I just found out NONE of his tuning slides move, not the main one or any of the valve slides - but the trombone is one big tuning slide, I'll just have to match him)

But I promise, not at a wedding.

Go get 'em, Tim.

I believe the expression "trombone trumpet tuba trio" is surely unique in all the many centuries of Music. If one added "triple-tongued" in there, it would defy the human mouth. You could take the title in Speech as well as Music; maybe we should just say in Sound of any Description.

This is not intended, by any means, to overlook the timpani and the triangle.

Perhaps Ravel and Vaughn Williams are looking down from Music Heaven, with interest, for so few since their time have dared to tread. But they were nothing, if not musicians who did dare. There is a fairly interesting story about this:
http://www.berliozhistoricalbrass.org/35-2_Wint08.pdf

Fascinating article, thank you for sharing.

Gustav Holst was of course a trombone player himself.

Now, when it comes to triple tonguing, you can keep your Carnival of Venice and Blue Bells showoffs.

I like Bayrische Polka, and here is my favorite version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUv76QcT_5c

Though I played in a German band a number of years, I've never seen the sheet music for this one, but I play it in the practice room hoping i get the chance someday. Besides playing by ear is always worthwhile.

I thought about trying to work in an overall theme for this one; perhaps Groundhog Day, or some turn on a “moveable feast” or a Yogi Berra quote. But that doesn’t seem to be my strong suit.

Our band is working less these days than we used to, but we still do several gigs a month. A couple of weeks ago we played at The Church Oldies Dance. The word “the” in the previous sentence is not a typo.

Although we have never been to this “venue” before and have never played for this particular chapter of fraternal order, we have played this job hundreds of times. I have come to believe that there is a storage locker somewhere, large enough to store this entire event until it’s time to cart it off to the next date and location. The folding cafeteria tables, the stick-on ’57 Chevys and jukeboxes on the walls, the hanging plastic 45 RPM records, the basketball backboards folded up to the ceiling, the scoreboard with the little round bulbs in it, the sterno cans and foil trays, the “Bring Your Own” drinks, the electrical outlets that can only be found in front of the stage, the harsh glow of classic fluorescent lighting, the pastor’s blessing and, of course, the people.

Predictable as they may be, and as hokey as some of the requested music is, I enjoy these events. The people are invariably well-mannered and appreciative. They are typically “of a certain age”, and don’t go out much; too much fuss, bother and expense presumably. The Church Dance is perfect for them; local, not too late at night, not too costly, relaxed dress code. There’s usually some charity component as well. As one recent host put it, in a Catholic facility, a “50-50” raffle is a legal requirement.

Only a portion of such people dance, but they all applaud. Applause used to be a given, but it has become much less common, especially in clubs. Even when the crowd is convulsed in frenzied, joyous dancing during a tune, at the end most just sit down, or wait for the next number. But The Church Dance isn’t up on the latest social trends. At The Church Dance they applaud. Even this late in my demi-career, I like that.

We played a different sort of gig this past weekend, a "Class of '62" High School Reunion. We've played several of these over the years as well. It was about what you would expect, a couple hundred people in their late sixties (excepting the occasional Class of '87 Second Wife) wearing name tags with their yearbook photos.

There was one memorable moment. I'd like you to picture the scene. 200 68 year-olds to one side, an eight-piece band on the other. The eight of us are all male, the youngest of us is 54 years old. A note is passed to the band, scribbled on a cocktail napkin: "Katy Perry Songs", it said.

Our bandleader said a few words to the crowd about the request , highlighting the age and gender disconnect. He ended by saying, "We don't do Katy Perry". Our drummer, Mr. Malaprop, leaned into his microphone to disagree: "I'd 'do' Katy Perry".

Drummers and microphones: a questionable mix.

A drummer thought that fast? Sorry, I gotta throw the BS flag on that one. Wish it HAD happened, though!!!

Here's a quote you could have used instead:

Oh, it happened alright. Our drummer increases his "quip speed" by skipping all the cumbersome mental processes most people employ between the initial germ of thought and the final utterance. Most of us pause for a moment, gauging the appropriateness of the comment to the audience. Not Tommy. He's streamlined, efficient, direct. There's no "filter" to bog down the words on their way out.

At least these days he has to lean into the mike. In times past, he wore a headset mike - a direct thought-link to the audience poised an inch from his lips at all times.