• davewerden

    by Published on 02-15-2024 07:12 PM     Number of Views: 1063 
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    What Is a Double-Bell Euphonium?
    What Was It Used For?
    What CAN It Be Used For?

    On the Double-Bell Euphonium Facebook group, observers and new users are asking questions about this unique instrument. To provide a decent knowledge base, I borrowed some of my article "The Euphonium Family," revised it, ...
    by Published on 08-26-2023 06:37 PM     Number of Views: 4349 
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    The Wisdom of Werden, Talking Euphonium with David Werden
    Trey Reely
    Part 1, from February March 2023
    (Used here with permission of The Instrumentalist Magazine)

    Editor’s Note: Mr. Werden had so much intriguing and useful information during our recent interview that we have divided the article into two parts. This first part covers many practical playing tips for directors and players. In the next issue [included here], we will go into more depth on his remarkable career in music.

    A graduate of The University of Iowa, David Werden was the euphonium soloist with The United States Coast Guard Band for 26 years. He has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, England, Japan, and the former Soviet Union. In 2012 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Tuba-Euphonium Association.

    What can directors do to encourage kids to start on the euphonium and stay motivated?
    One good tool is YouTube. It is simple to create a playlist with examples of euphonium solos and ensemble music in various styles, including pop and jazz. Having a petting zoo where different instruments are ...
    by Published on 01-06-2021 03:27 PM     Number of Views: 6361 
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    FOR BRASS TEACHERS
    Carl "Doc" Severinsen:

    How Great Is the Difference?
    Reprinted with permission of
    Getzen Company, Inc.

    This is a question that has come to my mind after observing and playing with a wide range of school musical organizations in recent years. Most students and some teachers would lead me to believe that there is some great mystery or miracle within the gap that separates the "finished" players from the "unfinished." Many of the questions that ...
    by Published on 04-24-2020 01:38 PM     Number of Views: 7098 
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    Some thoughts on playing the euphonium
    by Geoffrey Whitham

    Published with kind permission of British Bandsman:
    www.britishbandsman.com

    It is advisable for the euphonium student to learn the extensive use of the 4th valve. Most players think that the 4th valve is for extending the ...
    by Published on 12-07-2019 06:23 PM  Number of Views: 9559 
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    Mouthpiece Design

    originally written by Tranquillo Forza
    summarized for this site by Silvano Franzi

    I have observed that several euphoniumists do not have a precise knowledge of how a mouthpiece is made and how it can influence the sound we get from our instrument. This is due, in part, to the scarce or almost non-existent literature on the subject. To remedy this, I would like to point out an interesting work written by one of my compatriots twenty years ago which examines the various aspects of the mouthpiece and provides an exhaustive picture of the subject in all aspects. I purchased this book in 2002, from which I learned ...
    by Published on 07-09-2019 04:59 AM  Number of Views: 13252 
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    Dublin Silver Band: Brass Band 101
    (used here with permission)


    List of roles for every seat in the traditional British Brass Band

    The Brass Band is too often mistakenly treated like a brass ensemble or EVEN a wind band. These are a few concepts that are what set the brass band apart from other ensembles.

    • The brass band should be thought of as a combination of many 4-part ensembles stacked on top of one another:
      • Front row cornets
      • Back row cornets
      • Horns
      • Euphoniums and Baritones
      • Tubas
      • The "oddball" section is the Trombone section. This section must be very conscious of their specific melodic, textural, and harmonic roles.
      • Each individual member of these four-part
    ...
    by Published on 09-22-2017 05:21 PM  Number of Views: 17392 
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    ME, MYSELF and I:
    Are Orchestral Brass Players Losing the Concept of Being Team Players?
    by Douglas Yeo
    ...
    by Published on 02-01-2017 12:19 PM  Number of Views: 11358 
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    Audition Day at the Coast Guard Band
    by: MUC Chris Howard

    Usually, on a Monday following a late Sunday afternoon concert, Leamy Concert Hall is a quiet place. Monday, October 17th, 2016, however, was a different story. Forty-four French horn players from across America ...
    by Published on 04-14-2016 12:00 AM     Number of Views: 13111 
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    Band History 101
    by Richard Barth
    (Used with permission of www.bigmouthbrass.com)



    Introduction:

    In my career I have had the great good fortune to have met, played for and learned from some legends and giants in the music industry. The Cleveland Orchestra's Summer Home, Blossom Music Center has a concert band comprised of some orchestra members and other
    professionals from NortheastOhio. I had the good fortune to be a member of that band when Meredith Wilson (shown on the left) was the Director. For those that ...
    Published on 05-07-2015 05:42 PM  Number of Views: 18739 
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    The Entertainment Value of Novelty:
    Women Brass Musicians on the Vaudeville Stage

    by
    Dr. Joanna Ross Hersey
    The University of North Carolina at Pembroke

    "The changes that separate us from the Victorians date to the turn of the century, and they were acted out on the Vaudeville stage."1

    On a December evening in 1905, trombone soloist E. Ralphena Parsons prepared for her usual night's work. Parsons was in the middle of a nationwide tour as a member of the Cleveland Ladies Orchestra (see Figure 1), and that night they were performing in Boone, Iowa. Parsons, advertised as the "greatest of all lady trombonists,"2 shared the stage with cornet soloist Adda Hutchinson. Both women performed in the ensemble and as soloists in theaters and parks across the country. On that chilly December evening in Iowa, Parsons might have played an opera aria by Donizetti, or perhaps a popular favorite written as a theme and variations such as the Blue Bells of Scotland. The variations would allow her to show off her technical skill, ending with a flourish of double or triple tonguing designed to leave the audience, and perhaps Parsons herself, breathless. The two women went on stage that night as usual and received rave reviews for their performance in the local newspaper the following morning. "Miss Parsons' renditions on the trombone were such that she was recalled for the third time," noted a Daily News reporter. "The work of the entire orchestra and soloists was of the highest order. The members played with vim and precision and showed such command over their instruments that the audience was fairly fascinated."3

    This article will examine the publicity material and press coverage of numerous touring chamber and symphonic music acts performing with female brass players between 1890 and 1930. Groups such as the Phillips Sisters Orchestra, the Cathedral Trumpeters, and the Brewer Concert Entertainers toured the nation performing on the established vaudeville and theater circuit. These groups never made the big time, and most left no recordings.


    Figure 1
    The Cleveland Ladies Orchestra, with soloists Adda Hutchinson and E. Ralphena Parsons, ca. 1905
    All photos in this article courtesy of the Library of Congress' American Memory Project

    Their stories can only be guessed at, but even the smallest glimpse provides a fascinating look at the ...
    by Published on 04-27-2015 05:44 PM     Number of Views: 26017 
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    The Euphonium Family
    The Baritone, Euphonium, and Double-Bell Euphonium

    A thorough discussion of the instruments in the euphonium family, covering their history and development, the various types of instruments, and their history of usage.
    ...
    Published on 03-24-2015 09:25 AM  Number of Views: 20297 
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    Written by William James on Feb. 17, 2015. Used with the author's permission.

    Mr. James' website is:
    http://williamjamespercussion.com/

    He is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and Principal Percussionist of the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra. His articles have been published in Percussive Notes and the PAS periodical. He has presented at the 2010, 2012, and 2014 PAS International
    ...
    Published on 12-20-2014 02:00 PM  Number of Views: 15603 
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    My Friends in the Lower Octave
    by Denis Wick

    Edited from Denis Wick's Facebook page (where it was posted on Dec. 16, 2014)

    Denis Wick has had a long and productive career as a player and teacher. And for much of that time he has been working on the "hardware" side of music to develop better equipment for players (you can learn more about that on his business site, www.deniswick.com). I personally own many pounds of Wick mouthpieces and mutes, as one example. His work on both sides has been in cooperation with some of the finest brass players in the world. Below is an article Denis Wick agreed to share with this website's visitors, which is on his Facebook page and has previously appeared in The Brass Herald. I think you will find it instructional and entertaining. ...
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