Heyhey everybody. First off, thank you all so much for coming to the audition workshops and showing interest in our Fremont High School Winter Percussion. It no doubt will be a great season.
I'm posting this entry to give some helpful tips as to how to approach, play, and become confident with the music for this year. It is very unique and challenging, but we need to be able to present it as if it were stupidly simple. So, here's some helpful suggestions
1. LISTENLISTENLISTENLISTEN
This piece does not sound or feel "weird" to me anymore because I've just listened to it a while. Just like memorizing one of your favorite songs, after a while, you start to understand how the song moves, and what lyrics (or notes) are coming up. Having just a sense of familiarity with the piece will definitely help you approach and succeed with this music. Here's a .midi file of our opener.
2. Back to basics
Remember when you were just starting to learn how to read rhythms, and you wrote "1" "&" "2" "&" under each note? Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, please do that now. Though most of this piece is in something-over-4 (3/4. 4/4, etc.), there are lots of rhythmic phrases that feel like they're in a different meter. Being able to identify where each note fits in the measure will be very helpful to keep the ensemble together.
-Note : Make sure to ALWAYS have a pencil on you at all times. We may be writing in these counting structures, or explaining phrasing, or anything else.
3. METRONOME
After doing step 2, make sure that you can play all your rhythms in relation to a metronome. Obviously the 5/8 stuff it's so easily done, but definitely for anything-over-4, a metronome is a must. A big challenge of this show is that since the music doesn't move in a very..."traditional" way, we ALL must be on the same page at all times, or else it wont work. Metronome work, very important.
4. Memorize music
The quicker you memorize your music, the quicker your brain can start focusing on the meters and the entire ensemble. If your music isn't memorized, then your brain is trying to read the music, play the music, read the meter, and listen around to the ensemble. Try at all times to get your brain to do the least amount of (necessary) work as possible. Memorizing your music will help that a lot.
5. Double-check with friends
Find someone who has more experience than you do, and play a passage for them, or ask them questions. The staff of course will always help you with any questions you have, but there is lots of talent in our percussion program so most likely, they could answer the same question.
6. Think ahead
Once your music is memorized, or even when it's slightly memorized, you need to start thinking ahead. With how quickly this piece moves, by the time it takes you to focus on one measure, the following (which is probably in a different time signature) has already passed you.
7. Know your ensemble
Lots of parts (battery to pit, pit to battery) are written to overlap. Once you know how the ensemble is supposed to sound, it will help you be able to place your parts correctly within it. So, with that, here's a copy of the score. Read it up and down and notice what you play that may match what someone else also has.
Have fun practicing. If there's anything confusing or anything you don't understand, you can also ask me directly. Email to alec_swink@yahoo.com or call 408-431-3697.
(Alec Swink)
