Brass band

During my high school years my experiences have been positive and diverse. Freshman year I joined marching band. Sophomore year I began working and earning my own money. High school has taught me much about myself, others, and community. I have found that lifelong learning is key to personal growth and success. The next step in that process is college. Marching band is hands down one of the biggest influences in my life. It has impacted me in a positive way from friendships that will last a…

the preceding decades. The most popular recording artists before the sixties featured a recognizable star as the leader of the performers. Duke Ellington, Muddy Waters, Glenn Miller, and many others were widely known and their bands were mostly unknown musicians. Rock band from the sixties mostly had group names. The Rolling Stones, Cream, and The Beach Boys all typified naming this convention, creating a collective identity for their group and their sound that was absent in earlier eras of…

Memphis was founded on May 22, 1819. It didn’t take long before the first Memphis brass band was created. This brass band was created in 1850 and was led by all Germans. The group called themselves the “Memphis Brass Band”. The Memphis River being a nice replacement for the Rhine, was chosen to hold the Mai Feste. This brought a little of Germany to Memphis on that day. The people dance and sung to German brass bands and their choruses. This event was publicized in the Daily Appeal on October…

I’ve been playing an instrument since the fourth grade, and all through fourth grade to present day, I’ve been in the band program at my elementary, middle, and high schools. With being with the band program since fourth grade, I have played a number of various pieces thus far, each conveying different emotions. Since I am a person that is very drawn into pieces that have a more cinematic feel to it, the piece…

“Marching band was the best time of my life,” Stephanie said at the beginning of the interview. She took me back to her favorite year of marching band—sophomore in high school. Their show’s theme was “Pyramids of Giza”. She ran me through their schedule on competition days. The day of the competition, they would meet at the school around sunrise. After attendance, they would load all their supplies: uniforms, instruments, background props. The band got on the school bus when everything…

Sing Sing” by Benny Goodman. “Sing Sing Sing” is a fast pace swing song that features mainly trumpets and saxophones, a driving drum, and an unmistakable solo by the famous clarinetist- Benny Goodman. Benny Goodman was one of the driving forces of band desegregation during his time as a bandleader. “Sing Sing Sing” by Benny Goodman was a killer diller number, a popular dance piece, that embodies the swing era, and brought jazz out of the dark and into the homes of millions in the United States…

conductor. His concert pieces have been played around the world by many musicians from amateur to professional performers. I was influenced to select this piece by one of my colleagues who I once heard perform the piece in her concert band. When the members of the band performed, life took form. I was so moved by the way each and every aspect of the piece co-existed. The piece itself is lyrical. The melody is strong throughout while its harmony is consonant, and its timber is warm while its form…

Tchaikovsky, which commemorates the successful Russian’s defence of Moscow from Napoleon’s army in 1812. The musical work incorporates the French and the Russian national anthems. The original score includes not only a large orchestra, but also military band, cathedral bells and even cannon fire. It is argued that the programme music is just a metaphor for what it tries to describe and it needs to be accompanied by an explanation of what the music piece is about or for the listener to be able to…

didn’t start out as Jazz, it was once called Ragtime. This was a composed piano style and was the first major black music style. Jazz was an innovation from Ragtime, they had similar music in them like the piano, but Jazz added sole and also added more brass instruments. Ragtime started in Sedalia Missouri where artist like Scott Joplin and Jelly Roll Morton got their taste of fame in the music world. Scott Joplin was an African-American pianist and composer. He was born into a musical family…

setting. The need for an amplified sound arose because the classical acoustic guitar was just not loud enough. This problem became more apparent in the concert hall music of the 1880’s, and later on in the 20’s the big bands got their power from the banging drums and roaring brass sections thus making the acoustic guitar a second tier instrument not usually even heard in those pieces. Beauchamp and Rickenbacker met in LA at a guitar manufacturing company called Dopyera Brothers. Around…