Princess Leia. Forrest Gump. Indiana Jones. Marty McFly. Hedwig (Harry Potter’s snowy owl). In honor of yesterday being the first National Film Score Day, I have a pop quiz for you: What do all of these well-known characters have in common? Yes, they all appeared in popular movies, but what else? That’s right, music fans, […]
Time to Tune
One major difference between professional ensembles and many amateur ensembles is the focus on tuning instruments before the rehearsal or performance. Pros know how helpful this is, since it’s obvious how awful an out-of-tune band or orchestra can be – kind of like a car horn or the old nails-on-the-blackboard sound. I am constantly amazed […]
Audience Etiquette for Formal Concerts
The “rules of etiquette” for attending a formal orchestra or band concert have been in place for hundreds of years, and they exist to help make a performance (whether amateur or professional) as enjoyable and distraction-free as possible for both the audience and the performers. Keep these rules in mind to make your concert experience […]
Common Hand-Held Percussion Instruments
Hand-held percussion instruments are important to the style and flavor of a musical piece. They can be found in both non-profit and professional groups, and are played more often in a band than in an orchestra. Hand-held percussion instruments are also called auxiliary percussion, or more informally, “toys.” However, they are certainly no less important […]
One, Two, Three, What?
Even with years of performance experience, an innate sense of various musical styles, and a professional demeanor, one of the unfortunate situations encountered by community musicians is an unorganized and/or unprepared director. I would guess this is not an issue that professional musicians must deal with. Conducting Style It’s all about communication. Numerous times I’ve conducted […]