Final reflection

Listening back to my earliest recordings, I have changed so much from when I first started Concert Band as freshmen, especially in this last year. From when I didn't get into Symphonic band at the end of freshmen year, I truly realized how much effort I would have to put in so I could get in the next year. With this as a goal, I spent my sophomore year of band becoming a better musician, and it is evident to me now listening back how completely unprepared I was for anything challenging during freshmen year and how much I have grown in tone, technique, style and artistry over this last year. We as an entire band have grown so much over the year and have all become better artists, which shows the hard work each and everyone of us put in to get ourselves to the level that we are currently at. Obviously, some things still need work and even things that we have improved upon can be further bettered, but our artistry has improved and is continuing to grow as some of us move forward and others stay behind, improving both bands. I feel that personally, I have become so much better than I used to be and this year of Concert Band was instrumental in making me a better artist because I knew that if I didn't perform and work hard this year, I was never going to achieve anything better than where I was at. Our whole band put so much effort in this year, and it was a great year of band overall and I really enjoyed it.  

Improvement Reflection

Three things that we can improve upon in our music before the concert:

1. Intonation - This is the biggest thing we have to work on. Intonation is one of the harder things to fix because it is a constant problem throughout all of our pieces. We have to pay constant attention to intonation and be continuously checking and fixing while we are playing. Tuning beforehand will help this immensely, but everyone has to take responsibility by checking themselves and letting others know if they hear something out of tune. 
2. Technique - In order to make our pieces sound the best, our technique has to be precise as well as clear. In each piece, there is a technical section that needs to be worked on by everyone in the band to make it clear as well as at tempo. We need to take time outside of rehearsal to make sure that we can play all of the technical sections properly so the pieces will sound better in rehearsal. 
3. Style - We need to play each piece in the style that is given and if everyone plays in that same way, our pieces will sound better already. Playing legato, staccato or any other style makes our playing more artistic and more appealing to the audience, especially at this concert, where the pieces we are playing are more familiar to the audience. If we can play with the proper style, we are already half way to a better performance. 

Sample of Piece Reflection

For this post, I played measures 9 - 25 from Incredibles. This part is really important because its pretty technical and flutes have the main melody.

I feel that I had good rhythm and all correct notes throughout. I could work on my style of playing, adding more weight to accents and paying attention to more dynamic markings. I have the turns down, except they could be more clearly executed. My tone was pretty good, except there were some notes that didn't come out as clearly as they should of due to the faster tempo. Intonation was pretty good throughout, as was articulation, because I slurred and tongued the correct parts. Basically, I have the basics down but I need to work on the details to make this part better than it currently is at. 

Festival Reflection

This year's festival was a great experience and I think that we did good, although there was definitely room for improvement. Our pieces were well - suited for us but I feel like with more time we could improve a lot from this performance.

Category #1: Tone 

I feel like our tone was pretty good throughout although there were some notes that stuck out a lot. We could definitely improve a lot on our tone to make it fuller and richer, especially in slower legato sections like the first part of Prairie Songs. There were some wrong notes and such throughout, but overall, I would say our tone was decent, but could definitely use some work. 

Category #2: Intonation 

This is where we need to work the most. There were so many notes that were way out of tune in both the high and low registers for all instruments. We really need to work on individual tuning as well as section blend and total ensemble balance. In Prairie Songs, especially, the high notes at the beginning were not played confidently and the lack of air made them really sharp. Intonation really needs to worked on.

Category #3: Rhythm
I think we did pretty good on our rhythms in all of our pieces. In the march, we slowed down a little in the trio and the dotted rhythms were not as clean and spaced as they should have been. I feel like this is one of our strengths as an ensemble.

Category #4: Technique
Our technique needed some work as well, as we were not together in some places, such as the slower sections of Prairie Songs and the second strain of the March. We really need to spend more time individually working through the technical sections of our pieces in order to get them really good at the performance.

Category #5: Interpretation
I think that our interpretation of our pieces was pretty good but we missed a lot of opportunities as well. We had god dynamic contrast, especially in the trio of the march. We also kept the tempo steady throughout and our ritards and accelerandos were pretty good, although they could be better. Our balance could use some work, as the brass overpowered the woodwinds in some places and the percussion was really loud in some places. 

Pieces for Spring Concert

Piece #1: James Bond
http://www.jwpepper.com/10427444.item#.VQlqakK24jA

This piece is entertaining and fun to listen to. Its a very popular theme that everyone knows and will enjoy playing. This piece suits our strengths as an ensemble because the time and key signatures are pretty easy and it allows all areas of the band to shine. This piece will challenge us because it is a longer piece, meaning that we have to improve our endurance. Also, this piece is a Level 4, meaning that it will be a little harder to learn, but I think that we can definitely play it if we work hard.

Piece #2: Guardians of the Galaxy
http://www.jwpepper.com/Guardians-of-the-Galaxy/10490871.item#.VQlxZ0K24jA

This is piece is very enjoyable to listen to and I like it because I think it would be fun to play and the whole band could get into it. This piece plays to our strengths because the notes and rhythms are pretty simple throughout and there is nothing out - of - the - ordinary. This piece would challenge us because of the different styles throughout the piece, which would require us to work more on balance and dynamic contrast.

Pre - Festival Concert Reflection

Last week was our pre - festival concert. We were about 60-75% through the process of getting ready for festival and it was a good way to see where we were at and how much more work needed to be done. The first piece that we played was Rough Riders(the March). I feel like this was our best piece because we kept a steady tempo throughout the piece, and played all the correct notes and rhythms. Also, we had good articulation and intonation in most places, except for a few trouble spots, such as the high E-flat in the flute part. Some things to work on include playing with a more marcato style, which is something that is a struggle when the music gets softer, and playing with more contrasting dynamics, with louder fortes and quieter pianos. The next piece that we played was Prairie Songs. I think that the main thing with this piece is intonation. The notes, especially in the flute part, are ones that can easily go sharp in the upper register. I feel like if we control our intonation then we can play this piece so much better. Our notes and rhythms were good, and I thought that articulation was pretty well done except for some trouble spots, such as making the 8th notes shorter. I also felt like the end needed lots of work because we weren't really together. The final piece we played was Joy. I think that this is the piece that needs the most work as it is our newest piece. I think that the notes and rhythms were for the most part correct, with some issues, but now we need to work on the light, happy style of the piece, the blend and balance of the ensemble, as well as articulation and intonation. We also need to work on adding dynamics to the piece to make it a little bit more interesting to listen to. Overall, I think that we have a lot to do before Festival to make our pieces as good as possible. 

And the Fire Raged Practice Reflection

After working on measure 46 to 84 in class, here is my recording of that section after some more practice on my own. 

I think that I have improved a lot in this section, especially on the technique. My accuracy has improved greatly and I am playing almost all of the notes correctly with the right articulation. I think that I can still improve with continued practice and accuracy is an area I can always keep improving in. I think my intonation and tone was pretty good and clear throughout although at the end of the phrase it starts to get a little airy so I need to keep working on my breath support. Overall, this section is pretty good but requires continued practice to improve tone and technique.