Sunday, August 16, 2009

top five biggest mistakes

Here is the short list of the top five biggest mistakes that I have seen when performing with professional groups.

1. Do not play your instrument between songs. Practice at home.

2. Return from the breaks a little beforehand. Don't make the band leader chase you down.

3. Arrive early enough to be completely set-up and relaxed before the performance starts.

4. Assist the drummer and band leader set up and tear down their equipment. Even if you only take an extra trip with extra stands or the band library, the effort might be enough to impress the leader to call you more frequently.

5. Do not over eat (and especially over drink) at venues that provide free refreshments.

Larry Marra
www.musicteachers911.com

Friday, August 7, 2009

100 best music major online archives

Here are two websites for college music majors that I have found very informative.

One is a page from www.onlinecolleges.net called 100 best online archives for music majors.

Here is the link:

http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2009/08/05/100-best-online-archives-for-music-majors


The other is from, Andy Zweibel, a very ambitious student from Miami University of Florida geared especially for music majors.

It is:


Yours Musically,

Larry Marra
Music Educational Specialist
musicteachers911 Consulting Services
Address: 2935 Robin Road
Dayton, OH 45409

email:
larry@musicteachers911.com

website:
www.musicteachers911.com


Be sure to subscribe to the musicteachers911 music education podcast available free from iTunes. Just search the iTunes store for "musicteachers911" and click subscribe. It's free!


Thursday, August 6, 2009

Blind leading the blind.

Here's one that happened last night as I was sitting in at a local pub involving a trumpet, piano, bass and drums. Here is the way we were situated onstage. If you were in the house looking at the stage, from left to right, 1 trumpet, 2 piano/director, 3 me on electric bass, and 4 the drummer. This was the first time I was playing with them and I met them just as we were about to perform. The leader passed out a few fake books, so I was confident that this was going to be a good night. It didn't last long...

Early on, during the standard, "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat", I noticed that the band was playing the usual meter of 12/8, while the drummer was punching out a straight four beat pattern. It didn't take long for the tempo to wander to the point where it was all a jumbled mess.

I stopped playing, hoping that the drummer and piano/director could salvage the song to the point where I would jump back in a the head (top).

This is when I noticed that the drummer had his music stand facing away from the band! I tried to get his attention, but he wasn't listening either. He was in his own little world, unaware that he wasn't playing the same "feel" as the rest of us.

OK, so now I turn to the piano/director only to find that he has his head buried in the book so deep he doesn't see me either. Remember that I am standing next to him.

I tried to get his attention only to find that he wasn't listening either.

So now I glance at the trumpeter. He is a great musician and was very aware of the disaster happening, so he stopped playing as well. All he could do was shrug his shoulders as if to say, "Whatcha gonna Do?" The piano and drums didn't even notice when half the band dropped out!

Enough is enough, so I start yelling at everyone to stop playing. They do, and the audience is relieved. I tell them that we would now play one we actually know. They chuckle because there is no fooling them, and my comment showed a human side. Humor is great for relieving tension.

I invite the drummer to pass me his music stand, so that I could place it in line with the director so he wouldn't have to turn his head anymore to watch for cues. It would have worked to, if the piano/director was giving cues. He wasn't. I ended up watching the pianist hands to see when he was slowing down or adding a tag at the songs end. Then I would tell the drummer.

Moral? A good band consists of everyone watching and listening to each other, making sure that their part is blending with everyone else. If you can't hear every other instrument onstage, someone isn't playing properly.

Worst case scenario?

You have the bling leading the blind.

Yours Musically,

Larry Marra
larry@musicteachers911.com
www.musicteachers911.com

Be sure to subscribe to the musicteachers911 music education podcast available free from iTunes. Just search the iTunes store for "musicteachers911" and click subscribe.