Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms Solo

[bman94]

I'm going to try and do this solo for solo and ensembles in febuary. Any tips or suggestions on how to approach this solo?

This is the best video I could find of it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAwbBgUZcg0

[davewerden]

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms Solo

Off the top of my head, I would suggest a couple performances you could listen to:

Demondrae Thurman

Demondrae's is quite recent, done with a small brass group, but it is the same solo.

David Werden

This is me with full band, from 1979, playing my old Besson Imperial with a 6-1/2AL (much smaller than I use today).

Look for a vocal recording on YouTube and listen to the words. You should build your interpretation of the main them based on how the notes and words fit together (and also the gereral mood of the long song's words). Here is a pretty good example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxERpGTbKPA

[pam]

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms Solo

There's also a free recording of Demondrae and pianist Martha Fischer on iTunes.

link in thread

[bman94]

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms Solo

Thanks these recordings are really helpful. Question: What grade is this piece? Florida Band Master's website says grade 6, but the other publishing companies I've seen it from says grade 4.

[davewerden]

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms Solo

Hey, I wrote the arrangement and I'm not even sure what a fair rating is! I think a grade 4 player could play the piece without some of the fancy (and optional) extreme high and low notes. Grade 6 players will still find challenges: the high and low notes, faster tempo, more expression in the theme, etc. When I first played this, it was my 3rd-ever solo with the CG Band, and I worked pretty hard to get it ready. But I also taught it to some of my high school students, so...

Most of the rating systems use some objective standards, such as range. I'm not in touch enough with current grading systems to know what to call it today. I leave that to my publisher, who is very much in touch with the standards (but may or may not agree with specifics).

[RWiegand]

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms Solo

Here is a link to Arthur Lehman playing his interpretation. #15 at the bottom of the page. It is an older recording from 1957, but the style is there.

http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/audio_resources/discography/bi_disc3.htm

[bman94]

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms Solo

Okay, so far I've been getting through the piece fairly decently. The biggest problem i'm having is the third variation. I'm not quite sure how to approach it. I'm playing the notes (much slower for now) but I sounds almost completely different from the recording. Any tips or ideas on how to get this area sounding well?

[davewerden]

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms Solo

Starting slowly is a good idea, so you are on the right track. The factors are fingers, chops, and air.

At least once a session as you practice slowly, go through the entire last variation and really bang on the valves as you press them down and release them just as dramatically. Fast down and fast up. It will make more valve noise, but that's OK. It helps you train your fingers to move really quickly and also builds some finger strength. And during all your slow practice on the 16ths, listen carefully to the rhythm of the valve noise. In fact, you can practice that part without blowing at all. Just work the valves and listen for as close to a perfact rhythm as you can produce. As you do this (and always) try to keep your fingertips on the valve caps. If your fingers are overlapping the caps, you are losing a little efficiency.

Now, AIR: as you practice slowly (and always!) try to make every single note sound good. Go even slower and work toward producing a good, solid tone on each note, and work so that each note sounds even compared to the next. This is done with a combination of air and chops. Your air has to support a good tone throughout, even though some notes are stuffier than others. AND your chops have to follow the line exactly so you can get a centered tone as you pass from note to note.

The previous paragraph discusses the type of things that people often work on during a slow melody. That's good. But we need to work just as hard on tone and consistency during fast passages. That's what makes them sound professional.

[bman94]

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms Solo

Could you critique me so far? The video should work because I placed it as public but this is me playing the intro, theme, 1st variation and 2nd variation. I need to have it performance ready by the 17th of February. I'm Playing on a Besson Soveriegn BE967 with a Denis Wick Steven Mead Ultra SM3U mouthpiece. For the actual performance I may use this horn but I may also use a Wilson which I use at my school.



http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=1831979294659

[Snorlax]

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms Solo

Hi...
You are off to a good start, but please heed the advice about SLOW AND STEADY. I noticed, among other things, that you sped up for comfortable things and slowed down for the things you don't yet have under your fingers. A judge will certainly detect that.

Starting slow will also ensure that you play the proper notes instead of practicing mistakes.

Start slowly with one or two phrases and don't bump up the tempo until you can execute cleanly numeous times in a row. Then string a few phrases together.

Another general comment is to keep the air going--get the slurs in the theme smooooooth and get rid of the bumps and gaps. That will also help in the variations.

Preparing a solo is a real marathon, especially when the solo is stretching your ability. Slow and steady is your friend, repetition is your friend, and listening to yourself is your friend. How pleased were YOU with that video performance?

Jim W.

[davewerden]

Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms Solo

First, ditto to everything Jim said. Good advice and observation!

I would suggest getting a tuner out and playing through the melody very slowly. The high F concert is sharp on most horns, so you need to learn to control it as much as possible.

Also remember that motion is important even in a slow melody. There are pauses at the end of phrases, of course, but the motion does not die. Think of it like a roller coaster coming to the top of a hill, it slows but does not stop, it happens gradually, then it takes off again on the downhill side. In many ways, that theme section is the most important part of the piece. It sets the tone and can show a person's musicianship better than the fast variations.