1812 overture nailed by a Japanese H S wind ensemble

[dave_matheson]

If you haven't already seen this You Tuba video of the 1812 Overture ... as performed by a Wind Ensemble from a Japanese High School in Osaka ... please watch it. I was certainly blown away by the level of musicianship ... these young people are SCARY GOOD.

The "all girl" 5 Tuba section sounds awesome ---> ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8ykekip_AM

[Z-Tuba Dude]

It's interesting to watch the clarinet section at 4:05.

[Ace]

Thanks for posting that link, Dave. What a very impressive performance by those young people.

Ace

[roweenie]

Surprising to see only one bassoon in a band of that size and caliber.

[bort]

Surprising to see only one bassoon in a band of that size and caliber.

I know... you'd think they'd ditch them altogether.

One thing that always bothers me about watching high level HS bands (Japanese and otherwise) is when they move around in unison (like the clarinets at 7:15). I've never really understood that, and I think it looks goofy and robotic. Just my opinion, and I'm happy to just listen and not watch. I've got no problems with the sound!

Anyway... this is the result when children start music early and take it VERY seriously.

[toobagrowl]

It's interesting to watch the clarinet section at 4:05.

One thing that always bothers me about watching high level HS bands (Japanese and otherwise) is when they move around in unison (like the clarinets at 7:15). I've never really understood that, and I think it looks goofy and robotic.

+1

[Z-Tuba Dude]

My guess is that they all study privately, with the same guy!

[tokuno]

It's interesting to watch the clarinet section at 4:05.

One thing that always bothers me about watching high level HS bands (Japanese and otherwise) is when they move around in unison (like the clarinets at 7:15). I've never really understood that, and I think it looks goofy and robotic.

+1

I was wondering if it's the vestige of a teaching technique. Like associating hand motions to learn solfege, perhaps the association of certain body motions with types of rhythm, phrasing, or etc., helped unify the expression, timing, or ?? when they were beginning instrumentalists?

[WC8KCY]

Surprising to see only one bassoon in a band of that size and caliber.

But they have an alto clarinet.

[Three Valves]

It's interesting to watch the clarinet section at 4:05.

One thing that always bothers me about watching high level HS bands (Japanese and otherwise) is when they move around in unison (like the clarinets at 7:15). I've never really understood that, and I think it looks goofy and robotic.

+1

I was wondering if it's the vestige of a teaching technique. Like associating hand motions to learn solfege, perhaps the association of certain body motions with types of rhythm, phrasing, or etc., helped unify the expression, timing, or ?? when they were beginning instrumentalists?

When you play clarinet in a Japanese HS Concert Band that's as "crazy" as you get.

It's not like the trombone section in Jazz band over here!!

[imperialbari]

The term robotic in an above posting says most about this over-rehearsed performance.

Where is the spontaneity?

The opening had a good sound and the domination of the saxophones was a good trait in my ears. But now they had worked this hard, why hadn’t they fixed the intonation of the inner voices? The chords at the phrase endings were not stable.

Of course better than what one mostly hears from that age group, but somehow at the price of being human.

And of course the addition if the brass-in-the-wings had an ear-grabbing effect. Must be a ressourceful school.

Klaus

[dave_matheson]

My take on it was a bit different, Klaus. I thought that the way these Japanese High School students performed (which was fabulous, by most people's measurements) indicated the difference in cultures between Japan ... and America / Canada ... over in Japan, young children are taught to study hard, work hard and be disciplined all their life, in order to get ahead. We used to have that "work ethic"in our North American teenagers, until about 40 years ago ... but not now (with exceptions of course. I'm not saying that EVERY North American teenager is undisciplined or lazy or unmotivated ... before I get "blasted" on this thread).

In any event, my main point is that these Japanese kids are "typical" teenagers of their culture. They are not "robots" ... they are teenagers who love life, but they don't horse around in school. They take their education (musical or academic) very seriously ... it showed in this rendition of the 1812. These Japanese kids did a better job of this arrangement than the community Wind Ensemble I'm in is doing ... we're working on this same arrangement for a Spring concert, which is how I tracked down this "You Tuba" video clip. I felt somewhat humbled listening to how well the Tuba section from this High School plays some of the tough sections in this arrangement compared to how I'm currently playing it

[imperialbari]

As a retired schoolteacher I am not against education, not at all. I am protesting what happens to the Danish school system, because many school districts have far too many kids starting without even being able to talk our language (invasive immigrants establish their own separate sub-societies).

But Japan has been known to run a rigid examination system, where kids not passing have to do summer schools of long hours. Kids feeling they bring shame to their families, if they don’t excel in school, commit suicide. Not really an attractive approach.

An American high school band visited my college nearly 50 years ago. Did a marching show at a high level. Then did a formal seated concert. A young girl played the first movement of the Haydn trumpet concerto. No cracked notes, but the last note of each phrase was chopped very short.

After the concert I talked to their lead baritone player. I found him playing very well, but I was most surprised, when he told me that he would stop playing the day he finished HS.

All discipline, no heart. Not the right way in my view.

Klaus

[Billy M.]

One thing that always bothers me about watching high level HS bands (Japanese and otherwise) is when they move around in unison (like the clarinets at 7:15). I've never really understood that, and I think it looks goofy and robotic. Just my opinion, and I'm happy to just listen and not watch. I've got no problems with the sound!

Anyway... this is the result when children start music early and take it VERY seriously.

Actually, with the way they are phrasing the music, it appears they are doing the equivalent of string section matched bowing. It makes for a cool effect and also seems to put some semblance of uniformity in their playing.

This is a very good performance of a very good transcription.

[Three Valves]

An American high school band visited my college nearly 50 years ago. Did a marching show at a high level. Then did a formal seated concert. A young girl played the first movement of the Haydn trumpet concerto. No cracked notes, but the last note of each phrase was chopped very short.

After the concert I talked to their lead baritone player. I found him playing very well, but I was most surprised, when he told me that he would stop playing the day he finished HS.

...because he was going on to study aerospace engineering and wouldn't have time for the baritone??

[bort]

One thing that always bothers me about watching high level HS bands (Japanese and otherwise) is when they move around in unison (like the clarinets at 7:15). I've never really understood that, and I think it looks goofy and robotic. Just my opinion, and I'm happy to just listen and not watch. I've got no problems with the sound!

Anyway... this is the result when children start music early and take it VERY seriously.

Actually, with the way they are phrasing the music, it appears they are doing the equivalent of string section matched bowing. It makes for a cool effect and also seems to put some semblance of uniformity in their playing.

This is a very good performance of a very good transcription.

Maybe...? What do I know, I'm just a tuba player of the "sit the hell still" philosophy.

[Musical_Eagle]

...because he was going on to study aerospace engineering and wouldn't have time for the baritone??

Hey, aerospace engineering is a lot of fun and I'm keeping tuba playing up.

Anyways, I really liked the rendition of 1812. I find it interesting that they all are using compensating instruments.

[imperialbari]

Best domestic euphoniums and BBb tubas.

[peter birch]

I played this piece with my secondary school orchestra in my final year at school, we worked on it for a year and really enjoyed it and it was reported that it showed, not one of those students broke a smile, or showed any joy in the performance at all, which to my mind is quite sad, despite the quality of the playing. I would share Klaus' misgivings about all discipline and no heart and quality music at the price of being human. There is plenty of time to take music seriously when they are grown up students of that age should enjoy it. You could compare them to the young people in the Simone Bolivar youth orchestra of Venezuela, great music with great fun.

[CA Transplant]

I've watched a number of videos of Japanese students playing. It's all pretty impressive, with even elementary school students turning in pretty darned good performances. On the other hand, I've also seen lots of videos of US honor bands doing similar excellent jobs. Student performers, carefully selected and rehearsed can be exceptional. What we see on YouTube are usually groups made up of highly-motivated student musicians, giving their best.

Probably many of us, during our school days, played in honor bands that also performed well above average levels. I still have an LP on vinyl of the All Southern California Honor Band I was in way back in 1962. We sounded terrific, played challenging music, and every one of the kids in that honor band was a first chair player at their high school. Some went on to careers as performinf musicians.

I was the third chair oboist in that band. I was surprised to have won that position in the auditions, but very happy to have been part of that wind ensemble. I went to the audition at the prompting of my band director, but pretty much as a lark. It was fun and scary and I learned a very important lesson from that. All around me were really superior musicians. They were kids who practiced hard, took private lessons, and took playing their instrument seriously. I realized, from playing with those kids that a career in music wasn't going to be my future.

While I won a seat in that band, it was clear from seeing those other kids that I was way out of my league. I was lucky and talented, but did not have the drive, dedication and mastery of my instrument those other kids had. I had a great time, played very well, and learned that music performance was going to be a hobby for me, not a profession. It was an important lesson. The students in that group were almost all serious musicians, even as teenagers. I was not. I was an oboe player, but playing the oboe wasn't my life. It was for many of those kids.