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Euphonium in Popular Music

Playing popular / Broadway music on euphonium. This is meant to be both entertaining and instructive. Audiences, especially if they are not all low-brass players, will often enjoy a recital more if there is a wider variety and if they hear some recognizable music that they already like. When possible I will include a link to obtain the music I played. For younger players, trying to play these piece and emulating me or the original artists will be helpful in developing phrasing and musicianship.

  1. Alone Yet Not Alone - Video

    The is a re-mastered video that I originally posted a few years ago, but its aspect ratio got distorted when YouTube changed its tagging rules. The song is from the movie of the same name, which was an inspirational story about faith in God. The composer is Bruce Broughton (who was a euphonium player many years ago). He is an Academy Award winning composer (think Silverado for starters). The tune works well without the words, but I had the words project on our church's screen - that is what the ...
  2. Bill - from Showboat - Euphonium in Popular Music

    This is the first in a new series of posts that are about playing popular (pop, Broadway, movie music, etc.) music on the euphonium. Many times in programming a recital I have included a pop song or two. It's a nice change of pace and freshens your audience. And it is a great way to improve your sense of phrasing, which will apply to other styles of music in many ways.

    This song is from "Showboat," by Jerome Kern. The song here, "Bill," is a love song describing a boyfriend who appears ...
  3. New Video of "I Know Why and So Do You" - University of Iowa 2015

    One one of my favorite movies is "The Glenn Miller Story" starring Jimmy Stewart. First of all, it is an educational view into the life that band players went through in the 1930's and 40's. It was not an easy life! It's also a movie in which the music is very faithful to the original, having been performed mostly by Glenn Miller personnel.

    But there is a scene about 2/3 of the way through the movie that will stick in a brass player's memory forever. Miller spent the first part of this ...

    Updated 02-22-2018 at 10:59 AM by davewerden

    Categories
    Euphonium-Tuba Blog , Videos , Euphonium in Popular Music
  4. Video: If I Only Had a Brain - Dave Werden

    Here is the latest in my series of videos that might be called "Songs that Are Easy Enough for Anyone to Play, but Are Good Musical Practice." (I need to work on that title a bit, though!)

    I'm sure most of you will know the song from the classic movie "The Wizard of Oz" where this song is sung by the scarecrow. As with some of the others in this series, the style is lighter than many euphonium players typically attempt. Yet it is a very important side of musical style to develop. And ...