Topic: How to attend the symphony

[Bonk]

How to attend the symphony:

1) If you have a cough or cold, don't. Stay home.
2) If you cannot control your cough reflex, don't. Stay home.
3) Sit correctly.
4) Sit still.
5) Do not wear fabrics that rustle or crinkle (especially if you cannot sit still).
6) Do not eat. (especially items in crinkly wrappers)
7) Do not sing along. (For the love of God, please!)
8) Do not hum along.
9) Do not tap your feet.
10) Do not stomp your feet.
11) Do not "bang your head".
12) Do not "chair dance".
13) Do not fondle your date.
14) Do not fondle yourself.
15) Do not nose whistle. (learn to breathe quietly, your breath should not be louder than pianissimo violins)
16) Do not loudly scratch the rough surfaces on your body. (see sit still)

I think that just about covers it.

Someday I want to see a big city symphony somewhere like Prague or Vienna or Paris. I have this funny feeling that they already know these basics of common courtesy.

I just spent three hours sitting beside a nose whistling headbanger. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for headbanging, but at a rock show, not the symphony! I still enjoyed the performance despite my nose whistling, headbanging, foot tapping, chair dance seat row rocking, sing-along, hum-along friend.

[FoaS_XC]

I've been to a show in NYC like that, the people there were actually really polite - sucks that you had a douchebag next to you :/

[Bonk]

Yeah, I was thinking New York might be a good bet too, or Vancouver, but definitely not Toronto!   I have this thing for Prague though, I really want to see it before my time is up. (and I always seem to get along really well with Czechs, Poles and Russians)

The funny thing about my headbanging friend tonight though, was that he was the only one in the hall headbanging, and I could see the knowing smiles and glances from the musicians as they noticed it. It must have looked pretty funny from behind as well. My assessment was that he did not want to be there and was doing his best to make sure his wife would never make him go again.

Nevertheless it was a good performance and I enjoyed it. I just would have enjoyed it more without the distraction and interference. Being a bit of an audiophile, the symphony is it for me. It is what every stereo system strives for but never achieves. No clipping, no distortion, no sampling artifacts, no psycho acoustic compression techniques... it's the real thing man! And especially the pieces played tonight:

Miramichi Ballad
Kelsey Jones

Violin Concerto
F. Mendelssohn

Symphony No. 5
P.I. Tchaikovsky

The Miramichi Ballad, by a local composer was not bad, it had some good parts but too many ponderous and forced parts, you could tell it did not all fall out of his head at once like Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, which he wrote at the age of fifteen.  And Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 in Em was awesome of course, but it took 15 years to write by comparison (note the numerology). It was an interesting mix and I totally dig Em.

[FoaS_XC]

I didn't realize you were such a classical music buff I'm impressed.

[762_XC]

The NY Philharmonic is widely regarded as the best in the world.

I saw them do Tchaikovsky's 5th about....um....15 years ago. I had heard maybe 3-4 recordings of it before that, and theirs was the best performance by far. And I am a huge Tchaikovsky snob.

Of course that's when Kurt Masur was still conducting. Though I believe the current conductor is Zubin Mehta's brother.

If you do end up going to New York Bonk, let me know. I can put you on to some good restaurants, including a terrific French bistro near Lincoln Center which is owned by Josehpine Baker's adopted son.

[FoaS_XC]

He had better come to NYC at some point, I'll take the raritan line up and actually meet him there

[Nemesis]

17/ The conductor conducts YOU do not.

[knightstorm]

Gee, and I always thought it was acceptable to eat Stella D'oro breadsticks at symphonies.

[Sirgod]

<---- Huge fan of the symphony and Opera. I recently received an invitation to play at the old lady of Brady theater with their ensemble after something like 20 years. IT was made by one of my old dear friends, Horace Young, and my old Instructor, Dee Angel.

I humbly declined, as I haven't picked up a trumpet since 1995. But man it is tempting.

BTW, IF you ever see Sarah Brightman in your area, Run, don't walk to get tickets. She is indeed an Angel sent to us from above.

Stephen

[762_XC]

Didn't know you were a trumpet player Stephen...trumpet was my second instrument (after horn).

[The Postman]

Boston Symphony is right up there in that small group of the best

@ 7.62, Your a Horn player? I have been playing horn for over 30 years

[762_XC]

Yes sir....oral surgery threw me off many years back, but I still have my 8D in reasonably good condition.

[Sirgod]

Well heck yeah. I played Lead jazz trumpet for the better part of 25 years or so. Haven't played much in the last few years, But I love it.

Trumpet of choice F-Besson MEHA .460 bore with a Jerome Callhone custom mouthpiece.

But yeah, there is not a Brass Instrument I can't play, From the tiny Slide Trumpet, to the Trumbone, to the horns in "F" to the Tuba. I've played them all.

That is great though that after all these years, we have yet another thing in common.

Stephen

[762_XC]

There you have me. I could never get the embouchure right for the lower brass, with those fat-ass mouthpieces, and trombone seemed far more trouble than it was worth. Going from horn to trumpet was relatively easy though.

[The Postman]

Trumpet was an easy transition for Drum Corp as well as Bugle for doing Taps and other bugle calls.
I play a Houlton horn
I have and play a civil war cavalry bugle, among the many I own, which should be no surprise for Stephen

[Sirgod]

Not at all Postman. That does not surprise me at all. I imagine your pretty darned good also.

@762, My first horn was a Trumpet, that I got when I was about 9-10, and I played it for a year in Elementary school, when our band director John Groan left. We got a new guy, well back then, Dee Angel, and he saw how fast I picked things up, so He switched me over to the Baritone, and Valve Trombone for a few of the pieces in normal band. Now normally you couldn't get into the Jazz band until around 13-14 yo, But I got in at 12, granted it was third chair.

Switching from all those styles of horn actually gave me tremendous air flow, which helped when I decided I liked Maynard Ferguson at around 14. LOL

The hardest part for me with the French horn, was trying to keep the teeth apart, I finally told myself, Imagine a pencil in your mouth, and that did the trick. It's funny, Denny and I had been married about 5 years, and she had always heard I used to play , but never really believed my family and friends when they would tell her about it. So one day, at the Pawn shop, I saw an old Bach Trumpet, that had pretty good play in the valves, Gave a few warm up scales, then broke into Fergusons Version of Pagliacci, Triple G's and all. I even surprised myself, since  between then and the last time I had played, I did have some damage to the lip, when a nut job tried to take my face off with a screw driver, years ago.

But yes guys, Jazz, and Good Trumpet music has always been a passion of mine all my life. Right up there next to SFC and Copenhagen.  Shoot I can remember when kids where struggling with the Treble or Bass Clefs, I had already started reading the Alto Clef for example, and transposing between them in my head. Shoot Ed, some of the guys who post on Facebook, Horace Young, Jeff Smith, etc, are old Band mates from elementary through college, etc.

Stephen

[762_XC]

That is so funny...I remember all the trumpet players in H.S. being total Maynard groupies. I might have even bought a tape or two....in fact I remember Maynard's rendition of the Alexander Courage Star Trek theme. *snicker* I think I even saw him live once...and yes, I'm pretty sure he pulled a triple-high C.

I am kind of impressed you were able to transition to horn without much difficulty. For me it was my first instrument and I am reliably told it is much much easier to start on as opposed to switching to later. Apparently the immense length of curved tubing (which gives it the beautiful mellow sound but makes accuracy very hard) and the hand positioning in the bell make it hard for many folks.

[Sirgod]

I got to the point where I could bypass Valves all together, just adjusting the embouchure.  For example, I could easily go from a Middle "C" and play up to an "E" or "F" without hitting the valves at all. Of course the higher you went, the easier it was.

But instead of open valves, all three, 1&3, 2&3, 1&2, 1, 2, etc. I just left them open and wailed away. Now of course for anything more than a quarter note, I would use valves, but it became so instinctual after so many years.

yup, I've been a Maynard Groupie for years, I even have some early stuff when he was with Stan Kenton around here. Don't get me wrong, there was a lot of Doc, Miles, and Al Hurt being listened to also. Oh and Glenn Miller, The Duke, etc.

Never cared much for scat though.

One of the best shows I ever saw, was Pearl Baily, right before she passed away, she came out, said her feet where tired, kicked off her shoes, and sang her heart out. God I miss that kind of music. Everything else is just so much noise for the most part.

Stephen

[Bonk]

Why do I find the thought of a Dynaverse.net Brass Band so amusing? 

Hey, wait... there might be a place for new soundtrack material soon. If only I could dredge up Magma... (a sound engineer I used to know).

It never ceases to amaze me the breadth and wealth of talent, experience and skills we share here. 

"Does anybody here remember Vera-Lynn?" More Rog... now the album plays from that point on in my head...

I knew a fellow many years ago who could play the trumpet like he was born with it as an extension of his respiratory system. He blew my mind in grade six with a trumpet rendition of the Eddie Van Halen guitar solo from "Jump" completely off the cuff and entirely accurate. Could do the same kind of thing with just about any musical instrument. Unbelievable. Ironically and sadly he committed suicide. I forgave him for stealing all my grade-school girlfriends. Epic musical talent.

[Sirgod]

I tell ya brother, it get's in your heart like nothing else. I was lucky, as I had a great family that supported my addiction, of course it helped that my Grandmother and all her siblings grew up with Jazz/Swing, so I had a plethora of reference material, stories, and flat out support.

I know we got peeps here who write Choral music, Capt. Mike does Skynard with his Church/bluegrass group and it is awesome. But yeah, the talent we have here is amazing, in all things not just music.

I need to get a hold of my old Friend Jeff, and get the old Studio Tape we did in like 9th grade. Our first experience in a music studio, but man it was a blast. Sure the music was simple Jay Chattaway pieces, But man, we had fun back then.

Stephen