Being a Music Major

Concert Black

 

Exhibit A: Oak Ridge Concert Band

Each and every student in the ensemble will wear black.  All black.  No white socks, no white tank tops, no colors of any kind.  Just black.  If money is an issue, that's okay!  Why?  Because we will all be wearing the concert uniforms (provided by the school)!  Can I get a "hip-hip-hooray?"  Each of you is now only responsible for black shoes, black socks (ladies--black nylons), and a black button-up long-sleeved shirt (gentlemen only).  We want to look sharp, smart, and do not want our appearance to detract from our performance.

8th Grade Band Concert

In addition to the discussions of the performace we had in class, I would like you to post below some of your feelings, comments, and any feedback you got from our audience.  I've added some questions to consider, if you are stuck and feel like you have nothing to say:

• Which piece was your favorite?
• Which was your [insert family member]'s favorite?
• Why did you/they like this tune so much?
• Which song(s) do you think we played better at the concert than we ever have?
• Which song(s) did you play better at the concert than you have in class?
  

Dynamics: Do or Die

One of the most important parts of any performance, dynamics are the musical aspect that most obviously create excitement, emotion, and interest.  Our goal as performers should always be to produce a work that is pleasing to our audience--and playing the entire thing at mf (mezzoforte) would be just plain, vanilla, unremarkable, BORING.  This does not mean that we should instead play as loud as we can, for as long as we can!  No, doing so is, in fact, a worse performing crime than staying in mezzo-land; we would use all of our energy in the first piece of the concert and leave the ears of our audience aching.  The composer of the tunes we play has been so generous as to include dynamic indications in the music, that it would be quite crass of us to completely ignore them.

In addition to the above considerations, I implore you to recognize our station as the performers of an artistic creation by someone else.  We have a duty to the composer to practice his or her music so that we can perform it at the best of our ability.  We also have a duty to our audience to provide them with a fun, interesting, and over-all satisfying experience.

• Do you agree or disagree with these points?
• What other stylistic elements are the most important for creating an emotionally interesting performance?
• How can we better utilize dynamics and style to create the best performance we are capable of producing?
  

Music Theory: Treble Clef

Street Performers

How well does this musical troupe capture the audience's attention?  When was the music they're playing composed?  Who composed it?  What elements--visual and aural--do they utilize to create interest?  Could our ensemble produce something of this caliber?