Nutcracker

Last December I played the Nutcracker with the Allen Philharmonic and the Allen Civic Ballet.  The Nutcracker gets a bad rap among musicians because it is played every year and most people can do it in their sleep.  As I haven't played the complete ballet all that often I am not yet sick of it.  Check back with me in 10 years and we will see how that is going.

On a side note if I never play Sleigh Ride again I will die a happy man.

One of the challenges of playing in a regional (i.e. small) orchestra is they always want to save money by hiring less percussionists then they need. So instead of three percussionists and an timpanist, It was just me and a timpanist. (the joy of being principal)

Three is really ideal and two is very doable.  One percussionist is doable with the Timpanist playing some gong, but there really comes a time when you have to decide what you are leaving out or grow an extra arm.

I can play Bass Drum and Crash Cymbals at the same time, but I can't play Bass Drum, Crash Cymbals and a Triangle roll at the same time.

But lest it seem like I am complaining, the experience is really quite a lot of fun once you figure out what decisions you are going to make.
The other fun thing about playing the Nutcracker is that there are always a lot of kids coming to the matinees and they like to look into the pit during the intermission.

The main reason for pictures is so I remember where everything is next year

Since I was set up towards the front of the pit I took this opportunity to practice things I don't actually need to practice.

Every fast tambourine part (of which there are a few) all the Glockenspiel licks, the Bass Drum and Crash Cymbals together.  Even the ratchet got a few spins. All without ever looking up and acknowledging that I saw them.

It is the closest I get to being a rock star I get and I love it.

Marking parts

There is a lot of debate about marking your music.  Some people don't like to write anything on the music, and will brag to you about it.  Others mark every little thing possible.

There isn't really a correct answer, it just all depends on what helps you play the music better. If you are playing from an original part that you are going to hand back at the end of the gig I have some guidelines to make the next person not hate you.

1. Use black pencil only. Never write in pen.
You might need to change that marking later or you might have marked something incorrectly.

2. Never use highlighter.
If you need to mark something highlighters and arrows and whatnot then make a copy of it.  Don't mark up something that someone else is going to use later.

3. Don't write in note names.
I once played Forte in a rehearsal before I realized someone had just written the note name (F) under the note because they couldn't read bass clef. The conductor stopped the rehearsal and laughed when I told her what happened while I angrily scratched it off (because of course they used pen).

4. Use small markings
Write neatly and in small letters.  Don't write COUNT in huge block letters or scratch out entire sections of music.  If there is a cut just mark a mark from where to where.  Don't black out the music.

5. Number repeats
If you have a repeated passage go ahead and write how many time it happens so you don't have to stare at the page.  You can write the number above each line or my short hand is "1-8" if it is 8 bars of something.  Then I write an 8 over the last measure because why risk it?

6. Mark in any changes the conductor asks you to make
If they want something louder or softer or what not mark it in the part. Don't trust you will remember. They always appreciate some acknowledgment as well.  I am a big fan of the head nod or the thumbs up. It is a fast unobtrusive way to say, "Got it" (You could also just say "Got it" I suppose.)

7. Erase old markings if you need to.
Unless you are subbing for someone go ahead and erase and re-write markings in a way that makes more sense for you.  I can't tell you how annoying it is to get a part with three different people markings on it. If you are subbing for someone, erase nothing and only add things that are changes.

8. Mark when to look up
There are times when the conductor is going to speed up or slow down that isn't marked in the music. Make sure you mark those so you know to pay closer attention (not that you would ever not be looking at the conductor of course)

9. Mark cues
along the same lines as looking up, if the flutes come in at at rehearsal letter G, then maybe mark it on your part. This way you have another thing to hold on to in case you lose count somewhere. I also mark if I have a rhythm with another instrument so I know who I am listening for.

Let me know some other do's and don'ts when you receive a part or what things annoy you.

Boring first post.

The first post of any blog is really not very interesting, because lets be honest, who looks at it? I am not anyone that you are going to be interested in reading stuff from without knowing who I am, nor am I someone that is possibly going to be writing anything interesting to you.  I mean maybe I will, but who can say?  At this point the only people reading this are me and the people that have discovered this blog later and have decided to read through them all.  If that is you, welcome! If you would, please go leave me a comment telling me why you read all the way through them. As this goes on these reasons might get more interesting or they might just get more filled with spam.
We shall just have to wait and see.