Members' area
Welcome to Lakeside Concert Band
Twenty-Five of you are signed up for our online-sessions this term.
Please get in contact if you would like to join us.
lakesideconcertband@gmail.com
Concert information
On Saturday 7th March
We performed at Cheltenham Town Hall. It was an excellent performance, there was a good blend of sound, good energy and some dynamics. Our programme was -
Our Concert Dress is LONG BLACK for everyone!
Listening and Projects for You
Listening for March
Beethoven 5th Symphony - with animation. Listen to how the animation reflects the number of lines happening in the music. Listen to hear the french horns playing in harmony. Listen to the sad oboe tune.
Have a listen to your "listening surprise" on the News page too
Current repertoire
Online session repertoire -
Live rehearsal repertoire -
The Planets - Holst arr Douglas E Wagner - computer version here!
The Prayer - Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster arr Victor Lopez
Click on a piece to listen to a recording
Practice
'One thousand hours of the wrong sort of practice is (at least) one thousand hours of wasted time'
(Mills, J. (2007) Instrumental Teaching Oxford: Oxford University Press)
- Start off with a warm up. Long notes are a good way to develop tone. Play them with your eyes closed, this way you can really listen to the sound you are making.
- Choose what you would like to practise and then play the scale of the key that the piece is in. This will get you tuned in to the tonality of the piece and should help you to remember which sharps or flats you should be playing.
- Identify what needs work. If there is a bar or two that you struggle with, isolate them and concentrate just on that bit. Play it slowly. Try and work out exactly what the problem is. If it is fingering, for example between two specific notes, play those two notes slowly then repeat a little faster. Then add the note after. Then add the note before. Carry on like this until you build up the whole bar/phrase. When you think you've got it, start four bars beforehand and run into it.
- If you have a passage of quavers or semiquavers, try this technique. Firstly, play it slowly. Then play it swung or dotted quaver, semiquaver. When you can play it like this, turn that rhythm around so that you play semiquaver, dotted quaver - think of a heartbeat. Be warned, this is really hard and it might take you a while to do this. Then, when you've got it like that, play it normally. This technique really works and is a good way to speed up a passage that you can only play slowly.
- If you are looking at a new piece, I find that starting from the end is a good way to approach it. Look at the last four bars and play those. Then go back another four bars and play the last eight bars. Then go back another four bars etc. This way, you are always moving into familiar territory!
- When you have finished practising the bits that you need to, play the piece to consolidate your work.
- End your practise session by playing something that you know you can play well.
Remember: If you don't have a great deal of time, don't worry. 10 minutes of effective practice can be all that you need to be more confident in band.
Repertoire archive
2020:-
Hot Ashpelt - Ian Vlemmiks - variations on this Irish folk song
Prairie Winds Festival - James Barnes
Wallace & Gromit - Julian Nott arr Johnnie Vinson - something like this!
Zenith - Peter Meechan
2019:-
ABBA on Broadway - ABBA arr Michael Brown
Land of Hope and Glory - Elgar arr P Sparke
Rivers - Samuel R Hazo
Shine! - Barrie Gott
2018 :-
Dances from the Duck Pond - Tchaikovsky arr Duncan Stubbs
2017 :-
Barnaby behaves badly - Rob WiffinFanfare for the Common Man - Aaron Copland arr Robert Longfield
Guys and Dolls (Highlights) - Loesser arr Custer
Pixar Movie Magic - various arr Michael Brown (With video - definitely worth a watch)
Transatlantic Dance - Tom Davoren
2016 :-
With Each Sunset - Richard L. Saucedo
2015 :-
Romeo & Juliet Love Theme - P Tckaikovsky arr Frank Erickson
2014 and previous :-