Bolero on Veteran's Day program in France

[timothy42b]

I watched some of the program on CSPAN3 last night.

I wasn't paying a lot of attention until I heard Bolero start, then I got up and stood in front of the TV. (Not seeing well at the moment, can barely read music at all, have to be about 3 feet from the TV; cataract surgery scheduled for early December.)

Will the trombone player clam his entrance note? Inquiring minds want to know.

I really ought to get the score. Seems to take forever before the trombone part.

But no, whoever it was (someone here maybe???) played it fine, though a little symphonically for my taste. But then, it was an outdoor event and I'm not sure about the sound board.

[BGuttman]

The trombone solo is about 2/3 of the way through the piece. You get to sit there for 10 minutes knowing you are about to die. A good part of the difficulty of the solo is the long wait. Then you have to play it 3 times: once solo, then once in a small group, and then at the end where it shifts gears into a new tonal center (but you have almost all the orchestra playing with you).

[timothy42b]

Wait, you get to rest 10 minutes, and have plenty of time to set your chops for the tessitura? And there's no big leaps, and no technical difficulty? Shouldn't be such a big deal then.

[Burgerbob]

Wait, you get to rest 10 minutes, and have plenty of time to set your chops for the tessitura? And there's no big leaps, and no technical difficulty? Shouldn't be such a big deal then.

Play along with a recording and get back to us.

[imsevimse]

Not just physics, a lot of psychics going on in those 10 minutes. A capacity of 200% and 300% confidence, then anyone can do it. It's easy.

/Tom

[Pre59]

The tbn of 1928 is a very different from the gold belled .547 of today. I don't understand why people don't use a horn more in keeping with the style of the time. After all, many players will use an alto tbn without a second thought, so what's wrong with a .500 bore with a 6ish m/p? Pride?

[paulyg]

The tbn of 1928 is a very different from the gold belled .547 of today. I don't understand why people don't use a horn more in keeping with the style of the time. After all, many players will use an alto tbn without a second thought, so what's wrong with a .500 bore with a 6ish m/p? Pride?

Using an alto trombone vs. tenor should not come down to range requirements. I know I can play higher on my tenor than I can on my alto. It's really a choice about sound.

Also, as far as "period" instruments are concerned, I would hazard a guess that the reticence to use smaller horns on Bolero is due to the more direct sound those instruments produce at lower dynamics (and the associated hand flapping from the podium). Second-rate conductors have a hard time distinguishing between "heat" and "volume," and will often shoot a disapproving look at a section/soloist that deigns to deviate from a euphonium timbre. Nobody has time for that during a nerve-wracking solo.

[timothy42b]

Wait, you get to rest 10 minutes, and have plenty of time to set your chops for the tessitura? And there's no big leaps, and no technical difficulty? Shouldn't be such a big deal then.

Play along with a recording and get back to us.

Yeah, but..................

we all had a high Bb in high school. Seriously, 10 or 20 years later we don't have one more solid note? Something's wrong here.

[Bach5G]

And yet ...

[Burgerbob]

Play along with a recording and get back to us.

Yeah, but..................

we all had a high Bb in high school. Seriously, 10 or 20 years later we don't have one more solid note? Something's wrong here.

Like I said. Go give it a shot.

[timothy42b]

Well, I did intend to inject a little humor.

And yet, physically it just isn't that hard. The problem here is mental, right? Ten minutes to think about how you're going to clam the first note (one you used to hit in 9th grade), thereby disgracing yourself, getting fired, losing the career you studied 25 years to acquire, and basically ending your life.

[Savio]

I did see this bolero from France on TV, sadly just before the trombone solo the Norwegian tv speaker began to talk and the solo was put very low in background. Disappointing. It's a nice solo.

Leif

[imsevimse]

Well, I did intend to inject a little humor.

And yet, physically it just isn't that hard. The problem here is mental, right? Ten minutes to think about how you're going to clam the first note (one you used to hit in 9th grade), thereby disgracing yourself, getting fired, losing the career you studied 25 years to acquire, and basically ending your life.

As I said; if your capacity is 200% of what you are going to play physically then everything is easy if you are confident and mentally strong enough. A lot of people have good confidence and 10% capacity of what they are going to play, and even though it is strange, that's just as easy for them, as long as they think they are doing great and no one tells them they are doing it all wrong. Most people are struggling in between. Everybody is different.

/Tom

[paulyg]

Well, I did intend to inject a little humor.

And yet, physically it just isn't that hard. The problem here is mental, right? Ten minutes to think about how you're going to clam the first note (one you used to hit in 9th grade), thereby disgracing yourself, getting fired, losing the career you studied 25 years to acquire, and basically ending your life.

Nope. Physical problem. Lot of people have a high range that isn't actually in tune. Causes problems trying to pick off a dominant 7. Same line, a lot of people have a high range that isn't on time. Miss the beat and guaranteed clam.

Most people (myself included) didn't have a Bb in 9th grade. We had SOMETHING in the neighborhood of the right pitch and time and timbre, but with a couple exceptions we all had a long way to go to making something out of it with musical utility. It doesn't count as hitting the note if everyone involved needs earplugs for it to sound acceptable.