(I put this video up for the music. This is exactly the piece we are playing. Although we are not an orchestra. Same idea. Ten minutes. At least listen to a little of it. I just play it for the music not the video, because it is obviously outdated, plus I don't think the conductor is particularly good at his job. Could just be the lag time in the video that's messing with my perception of his directing. I don't think so. Anyway enjoy.)
Isn't it amazing how perspectives can suddenly change? For the past couple of months the community band I'm in has been preparing a piece for our upcoming February concert that has proven to be quite a feat. It's Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5 Finale. Originally composed for an orchestra the rather difficult part of the violins thereby falls to the oh so lucky clarinets when it was arranged for concert band. And as you might have guessed, yes, I am one of those "lucky" clarinetists. Rapturous joy.
So like I said, we got this piece maybe two or three months ago in preparation for this concert because our conductor knew it would need lots of work before it was ready for us to actually perform it. Was he ever right. The first month of running through snippets of it just to get a feel for the piece every rehearsal was agony. For me anyway. Even though I have a good understanding of music (thanks to all those mini music theory lessons in band and choir back in the day and Emily W.'s college level music theory class back in high school) and how it's composed, for the life of me I just could not figure out what Shostakovich was thinking when he composed this piece.
My main reason for disliking it was because it sounded too exposed. There are a bunch of parts throughout the piece in which just one or two sections carry on the music for several bars. I never have liked that. It's easier to hide within your section if more sections are playing, especially brass. So from the start I knew that if I was going to play this piece in the concert I would actually have to practice my butt off because there will be no hiding within my section this time.
And indeed I have practiced more than I usually do for our concerts. Usually I'll just go regularly to our once a week rehearsals and use that as my "practice" time. Good grief, no one needs to tell me how lame it is for me to do that and how conductors hate that. I can't count how many times I've heard from various conductors in my high school band days that would, sometimes not very kindly, inform individuals or sections "Practice on your on time, not the bands time! (or my time)" So yes, I am well aware that this is not the best way to go about preparing for concerts, but so far it has worked well for me and I must say several others in this particular band. Not to mention any names, but my sister, aunt, and several fellow clarinetists (fondly known as the "geezer team" or "team G" by my aunt) follow the same example. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I have pracitced my butt off, but pretty darn close.
The past month of rehearsing this particular piece has made me fall in love with it. I was determined to never enjoy playing this piece because it was just too hard for me. And I was justified in the fact that it is seven pages long (a little over ten minutes of straight playing depending on how fast the tempo is) and it is especially difficult for clarinets. Through the encouragement of a friend in band I began to look at this piece differently because he was so enthused about getting to play it. Regardless of the fact that he plays tuba and his part is totally different from mine I slowly came around to look at it the way he does. I absolutely love it now! Every rehearsal I can't wait to play it. I would much rather play Shostakovich than a rather lame arrangment of Amazing Grace that will also be in the next concert. The only good thing about that one is that we will have a bagpiper playing a large section of the piece that the clarinets would have normally had to play. And my part was sustaining the same note for seventeen excrutiatingly long measures while the first clarinets carry on the melody giving the effect of bagpipes. Anyway, the point is my perspective has changed in the way I view Symphony No. 5. In a very good way.
That happens a lot to me. You'd think I would learn something. Anytime we get a new piece of music that proves to be challenging for me I'll put it on the side and not practice it because it's just too hard and I'll dread having to rehearse it with the band. But as soon as I begin to practice it I fall in love and can't get enough.
Is that what it's like to truly be in love with God? All I have to do is practice setting aside time throughout my day to immerse myself in His word and then I fall in love all over again and I can never get enough of Him. I want more of Him. I want more than my fifteen minutes of faith. I want to know Him more.
So like I said, we got this piece maybe two or three months ago in preparation for this concert because our conductor knew it would need lots of work before it was ready for us to actually perform it. Was he ever right. The first month of running through snippets of it just to get a feel for the piece every rehearsal was agony. For me anyway. Even though I have a good understanding of music (thanks to all those mini music theory lessons in band and choir back in the day and Emily W.'s college level music theory class back in high school) and how it's composed, for the life of me I just could not figure out what Shostakovich was thinking when he composed this piece.
My main reason for disliking it was because it sounded too exposed. There are a bunch of parts throughout the piece in which just one or two sections carry on the music for several bars. I never have liked that. It's easier to hide within your section if more sections are playing, especially brass. So from the start I knew that if I was going to play this piece in the concert I would actually have to practice my butt off because there will be no hiding within my section this time.
And indeed I have practiced more than I usually do for our concerts. Usually I'll just go regularly to our once a week rehearsals and use that as my "practice" time. Good grief, no one needs to tell me how lame it is for me to do that and how conductors hate that. I can't count how many times I've heard from various conductors in my high school band days that would, sometimes not very kindly, inform individuals or sections "Practice on your on time, not the bands time! (or my time)" So yes, I am well aware that this is not the best way to go about preparing for concerts, but so far it has worked well for me and I must say several others in this particular band. Not to mention any names, but my sister, aunt, and several fellow clarinetists (fondly known as the "geezer team" or "team G" by my aunt) follow the same example. I wouldn't go so far as to say that I have pracitced my butt off, but pretty darn close.
The past month of rehearsing this particular piece has made me fall in love with it. I was determined to never enjoy playing this piece because it was just too hard for me. And I was justified in the fact that it is seven pages long (a little over ten minutes of straight playing depending on how fast the tempo is) and it is especially difficult for clarinets. Through the encouragement of a friend in band I began to look at this piece differently because he was so enthused about getting to play it. Regardless of the fact that he plays tuba and his part is totally different from mine I slowly came around to look at it the way he does. I absolutely love it now! Every rehearsal I can't wait to play it. I would much rather play Shostakovich than a rather lame arrangment of Amazing Grace that will also be in the next concert. The only good thing about that one is that we will have a bagpiper playing a large section of the piece that the clarinets would have normally had to play. And my part was sustaining the same note for seventeen excrutiatingly long measures while the first clarinets carry on the melody giving the effect of bagpipes. Anyway, the point is my perspective has changed in the way I view Symphony No. 5. In a very good way.
That happens a lot to me. You'd think I would learn something. Anytime we get a new piece of music that proves to be challenging for me I'll put it on the side and not practice it because it's just too hard and I'll dread having to rehearse it with the band. But as soon as I begin to practice it I fall in love and can't get enough.
Is that what it's like to truly be in love with God? All I have to do is practice setting aside time throughout my day to immerse myself in His word and then I fall in love all over again and I can never get enough of Him. I want more of Him. I want more than my fifteen minutes of faith. I want to know Him more.
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