culture shock

[CNCBrass]

I must say that I completely agree with this person's point of view. My favorite is when the player comes out on stage, sets everything down, arranges the music and then proceeds to empty the water out of the horn. But it doesn't end there. When they reach a 10 bar rest and the pianist is playing they feel it is necessary to pull a couple of slides and dump them. I don't care how perfectly they played the piece, the "performance" gets and poor rating in my book.

DH

[Donn]

I subbed with a casual amateur brass quintet at some kind of small ensemble party, once upon a very long time ago, and the trumpet player got up and made some kind of speech about "spit valves", "water keys", some cocked up story about keyed bugles etc. Apparently referring to some comments that a string ensemble might have made on a previous occasion, I forget.

Anyway, after concluding his remarks, he turned to return to his seat, and casually opened the main water key to release about a pint of water - he had apparently filled it up at the tap. The water flowed and flowed. My point is - I forget who cleaned it up, it's the entertainment that counts.

[JHardisk]

I'm just passing along a comment. Please don't kill the messenger.

What is it with these supposedly accomplished professional artists walking out on stage to play formal recitals wearing golf shirts, brown shoes, and bringing out water, rags, and other **** with them?

I think the idea of a "less formal" dress is to promote the notion that these artists are approachable. Are we visual artists now? I suppose that haircuts and facial hair must be acceptable as well?

Water, rags, and other ****? I dunno... I tend to get kind of thirsty when I'm blowing into the horn for a while. Playing the tuba is physically demanding, and staying hydrated (also to combat nerves) is pretty important to me for a successful performance. Rags.... to clean up the condensation dumped onto the performance floor. Or, perhaps something to hold the slippery (just polished, because we're focused on appearance here) tuba in their lap? Maybe even some *gasp* valve oil, just in case!

Gimmie a break! Catch up to the 20th century, and learn to embrace the 21st. Attend music conferences to enjoy the music.. not the aesthetics.

And not for you, Joe... For your friend.

[pigman]

Yeah Joe's friend !! get with it Who cares if he's texting between rests.
Is the new TV culture

[Rick Denney]

It does seem a little silly to wear a suit for an afternoon conference recital when the audience will be in T-shirts and flip-flops. Dress is something that the gig operator should specify clearly. I attended a Sunday afternoon concert of the Royal Philharmonic in London, and was overdressed by wearing a tie compared to most of the people around us. We also attended a West-End show (Phantom of the Opera) on a weeknight and were the only ones wearing ties. If London is no longer formal, why would we expect the U.S. to be? Memphis may be a little behind the times in that regard, which probably won't bother Joe, but then I've seen him in his black suit (can you say "Blues Brothers"?).

But I completely agree on unnecessary stage effluvia, and coming out on stage with a horn full of water. In a long recital, the instrument will have to be emptied, though, and there are two ways to handle it. One is discreetly, by turning around and draining the valves. The other is to be honest about it, and maybe even humorous. I'll take either approach if reasonably executed to gurgling. But spending an inordinate amount of time before making the first note suggests some mental process that excludes the audience rather than engaging them. It becomes a crutch when their minds need a break from being entertaining.

The Redhead and I attend a bluegrass festival every year. You can tell the real working professional groups. They don't spend half their time tuning their guitars and banjos between tunes. They. Just. Play. The weekend-warrior groups must have crappy instruments, or their sense of intonation must be much more refined than those working pros. I think they turn their backs on the audience to tune simply to rest their minds, which tells me they are not really prepared to be in front of an audience. I bet an old pro like Peter Rowan spends 20% more of his stage time actually playing music compared to the lead-off group that precedes him. They seem to understand that the gaps between the songs are also part of the show.

It reminds me of old golfer Lee Trevino, who opined that (at the time) young golfer Freddy Couples must get really tired playing a round of gold, because he gook about 15 practice swings before every shot. Trevino was famous for walking up to the ball and making his shot. Those practice swings are not really practice. They are like nervous ticks--the tension of the situation leaking out sideways.

Likewise taking a swig from a bottle and emptying slides at every full stop. I do the slide-emptying thing on stage myself, and I recognize that it's become just a nervous habit.

One final thing about those bottles--I bet the number of times I've seen one kicked over, left untouched, or left behind on the stage exceeds the times the musician has actually wetted his mouth by 100 to 1. It's obviously just a security blanket.

Rick "who once had a trombone player show up to a Sunday-morning church quintet gig--at a wealthy retirement community, no less--wearing a knit shirt and weekenders" Denney

[MartyNeilan]

One Timex digital watch, broken. One black suit jacket, one pair black suit pants. One hat, black. One pair of sunglasses.

[tubaforce]

Here's my personal reaction to the comment:

I play gigs in casinos, in elementary schools, high schools, in churches (where smaller-and-smaller percentages dress formally), decorated flatbed truck trailers, fellowship halls, parlors, reception rooms, entryways, recital halls, concert halls, and in universities' venues.

I nearly always find myself (at least 90% of the time) wearing a black suit and black shoes. Oddly, no one has ever ridiculed me for doing it, particularly since (usually) the other musicians are (regardless of the genre) dressed the same way...but I haven't ever been ridiculed for it even when other musicians are not quite dressed that way (tie only / loafers, etc.). I wore a black suit several years ago at a daytime itea type of event where I played the Hartley Sonata and a couple of one-movement works. The only other person who wasn't wearing a golf shirt on stage was a military bandsman who played a couple of euphonium solos. Again, neither of us were ridiculed for being "overdressed", and (come to think of it) the military bandsman only took his euphonium and himself on stage. If I can make a hour-long set strolling through a casino playing nearly wall-to-wall (all eyes on me) without a bottle of water, a rag to wipe my brow, a bunch of slide-emptying/other fidgeting, and without a bottle of valve oil...I can probably play the first half of a recital (pre-intermission) without all of that paraphernalia and extraneous activity. If there is some "emergency" requiring valve oil or water, both are always backstage...as surely are rags. I do recall Oscar Peterson (in his later years) sneaking a small black washcloth on stage, and setting it on the (black) grand piano. He also wore a tuxedo, only wiped his brow between pieces (when other musicians were being acknowledged) and (well...) I really believe that he burned quite a few more calories than the typical tuba player playing the typical tuba recital.

Wearing, minimally, a black suit/black shoes (or even, God forbid, tails) to show my audience some consideration is probably not going to involve any risk of audience alienation...and (who knows?) perhaps they'll forgive a few additional musical hiccups.

Hi! I agree with Bloke for the most part! Black and white (or all black for us occaisional pit players) are the default colors one expects from serious Musicians! If you want to wear golf shirts, then agree on the color/pattern, and buy all five at the same store!!! And keep yer trousers and shoes uniform while you're at it! Ladies shouldn't get carte blanche either! If you're the only female in the group, match the men's color scheme. If there are 2 or more of you, match each other as well! 5 players in tye-dye and sandals would impress me more than a hodge-podge of different outfits ! If you're worried about water from your horn(s), buy 5 matching carpet squares, and be discreet when dumping your slides! buy a case of water bottles and place one near each of you if you need hydration during a show. Keep those bottles non-discript.
I want an audience to remember the music, and maybe a few humorous remarks , not the French Horn player's argyle socks, or the Trombone player's constant water dumping...

Al

[Wu299]

On the other hand, at certain point you can wear whatever you want.

Look at Mnozil brass, I would never dare to wear what some of them had at their concert, their clothes didnt match each other, but still it was awesome and ADDED something to my impression from the concert. If they came in suits it would definitely ruin part of the show in my opinion. Of course thats an extreme situation.

Being one of younger players, I still always come to gig in black suit, as it was said you can barely leave bad impression with that, unless its obvious that it doesnt fit (aka rock or jazz) the rest of group.

[sloan]

I prefer a black suit, with the most formal situations calling for tails.

Of course "formal" requires tails. "semi-formal" is a tuxedo. The black suit qualifies as "casual".

and...it should appear that you are accustomed to wearing the outfit - whatever it is. There's no excuse for looking as if your Mommy dressed you up special for "Sunday-go-to-meeting" and you can't wait to get out of it - or that Mommy bought it for you 2 sizes ago and you can't breathe. When onstage, you should at least pretend that you've been there before.

but that's "old school".

the most important rule is: the audience should not be motivated to make a comment on your costume. They should be listening to your music. This rules out both "too formal" and "too informal" dress. Your costume is not the way to "make a statement".

Also note that this requires a change in attitude for women. In a social context, "semi-formal" or "formal" occasions call for dress that *will* stand out and be commented on. In the orchestra...not so much.
Note the difference between the 2nd viola and the solo soprano. The roles are different - dress appropriately.

[The Jackson]

Whoa! I thought everyone else kept their eyes closed during concerts, too!