Boring music...

[tubaguy9]

Does anyone have any ideas about how to liven up some music that I find as very boring to play? I'm in a band that I'm extremely bored with, because of the boring music, and I've done as much as I can to give the director the point that I want harder music. So, what could I do to entertain myself with the music?

[Captain Sousie]

You just punched one of my band director buttons. You are extremely lucky I'm in a good mood or this would be an interesting flame.

Instead, here are some ideas:

1)Play with your cell phone and make sure it rings or beeps at just the right moments...we directors love that.

2)Play with your i-pod while you should be playing you instrument. For extra effect, make sure you leave one ear-bud out and turn the volume up as far as it will go.

3)Whine loudly at times when everyone else is silent about how this isn't challenging enough for you and get offended when he/she becomes annoyed with you.

4)Threaten to quit band at every available opportunity. This will surely wake the poor slob up and make them see how important you are to his/her band and how bad things will be without you.

5)Constantly pester your director to let you go and use the bathroom during this piece.

6)Make loud blats and farting noises through your horn while playing to show your displeasure with this piece and the lowly slime that is a director who would make a kid learn a boring piece *gasp*.

7)Never make the mistake of learning anything about this piece historically or otherwise. That will just make you know more about a piece you don't like and that's just wrong.

8)Never give your director the benefiet of the doubt that this might be a good piece for the band as a whole to learn something.

9)Above all, make sure never to play this song with heart and fire. That might ruin it for you and make it the jewel of the performance.

Hope these help,
Sou

[bort]

More options:

1) Use the time to hone in on technique. For example, even if it's a boring march, you can work on articulation stuff. Or, if it's all long, tied whole notes, consider it more of a breathing exercise.

2) Drop the entire part down an octave (or two) and make it a low-range workout. (Not really! )

3) Flirt with a cute oboe/flute/clarinet player across the room.

[Carroll]

More options:

Are you playing every note perfectly centered and in perfect tune?

Is your posture that your director is always bugging you about perfect? Great time to work on that!

Is your hand position, finger arch, relaxed grip all just as you know it should be?

Are you tongueing every similar articulation in exactly the same place in your mouth every time?

Can you identify every interval you play in relation to the last/next note you play?

Can you identify which chord tone you have on every note? (They might not all be roots.)

Which clarinet player has the 5th - was is high enough to be beatless, which saxophone has the third - was it low enough to lock in, which trombone has the seventh - was it high enough to lead?

Easy/boring music is a wonderful opportunity to hone and improve all of those things WE ALL need to do but simply do not make time for.

Just remember... in any ensemble, on any piece... someone is bored and someone is struggling.

[hurricane_harry]

-try hitting your horn as hard as you can, so how big a dent you can make (in high school one of our tuba players accually did this )

-have fun with you fellow band mates, nothing says fun like hot sause on somebody's mouthpiece

OR

-work hard on your technique

-ask yourself "how beautful is my sound?" "is this as good as Gene Pokorny would play this piece? how can i achieve this"



the biggest compliment i got was my senior year of high school at the regional festivle. when we were playing a ballad, and the conductor stopped to tell me how well i played a whole note. he said it was just like out of the vaugh-williams tuba concerto. thats exactly what he wanted.

the hardest music is usually the easiest. use this as an oppertunity to play a piece you don't like very well. you think the giging musican likes every piece he plays?

[hurricane_harry]

-try hitting your horn as hard as you can, so how big a dent you can make (in high school one of our tuba players accually did this )

-have fun with you fellow band mates, nothing says fun like hot sause on somebody's mouthpiece

OR

-work hard on your technique

-ask yourself "how beautful is my sound?" "is this as good as Gene Pokorny would play this piece? how can i achieve this"



the biggest compliment i got was my senior year of high school at the regional festivle. when we were playing a ballad, and the conductor stopped to tell me how well i played a whole note. he said it was just like out of the vaugh-williams tuba concerto. thats exactly what he wanted.

the hardest music is usually the easiest. use this as an oppertunity to play a piece you don't like very well. you think the giging musican likes every piece he plays?

[DaTubaKid]

Haha, reading this thread made me laugh a little.

Just remember, music isn't about YOU and specifically challenging YOU. It's about making music, and what might not be challenging for the individual can be challenging for the ensemble.

I won't even pretend that I don't have this problem (and I'm sure I'm not the only one), but in the end, it boils down to making music. It's not very often when an audience member will listen and say "Dang, that sure sounds like a hard [insert instrument] part!" It's not what we want them to say either! We want them to enjoy the performance, to appreciate the music, maybe even learn something from the performance.

When I was at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp a couple years ago, Fritz Stansel was conducting the Concert Orchestra, and he used the threat of playing music as incentive for us to work harder. As I seem to recall, the piece he threaten to pull out was "The Big Yellow Bus." I'm sure I was fortunate that he never had to resort to it, but I've never heard of the piece...

[dunelandmusic]

I guess I would second what all the others said, and add, how are you making the piece better for the whole band ? Is your sound helping to shape the piece ? Or are you just putting in time and dragging down the ensemble?

I play with a group locally which is made up of home school kids, the guy who runs it is very dedicated to the kids, and he has basically 3 levels of bands. They don't have a tuba player, that's why I'm there. But he has other adults fill in too. We all get to play at the 3 levels, yes, bands one and two are not challenging, but they are musical, and when I'm there, I'm focusing on how can I make this band sound better, not how difficult is this for me and how can I show off my talents.

You can challenge yourself on your own all you want, or make up some ensembles with other players and play the hardest stuff you can find, but in an ensemble, you're part of a group, which means all complaints need to be worked out with the manager, which is not you.

[tubatom91]

multiphonics? octave sweeps? a little bass playerthing I do is to go up or down a half step going into a note giving it a "ba-dump" little pickup

[TubaRay]

Sorry to say this, but . . .

If you are bored then your personal standards are too low.

I have been playing now for 32 years. I am never bored except during tacet sheets. I recognize the impossibility of playing a simple I, V, I, V, I bass line absolutely PERFECTLY. Perfection is the ultimate goal. How about shooting for it on occasion? Your musical experiences will be far more entertaining and rewarding. Or perhaps this really is not for you after all.

Yes, I am quite serious.

Good luck.

This is absolutely true! I have been doing the same for those same 32 years plus a few more. I completely agree. It works for me.

[Mark]

Sorry to say this, but . . .

If you are bored then your personal standards are too low.

I have been playing now for 32 years. I am never bored except during tacet sheets. I recognize the impossibility of playing a simple I, V, I, V, I bass line absolutely PERFECTLY. Perfection is the ultimate goal. How about shooting for it on occasion? Your musical experiences will be far more entertaining and rewarding. Or perhaps this really is not for you after all.

Yes, I am quite serious.

Good luck.

I agree. with one small exception - sometimes the tacit parts are the most exciting. When the low strings pick up the melody in the 2nd movement of Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony I think what a great seat I've got for this wonderful music.

[TubaRay]

I agree. with one small exception - sometimes the tacit parts are the most exciting. When the low strings pick up the melody in the 2nd movement of Tchaikovsky's 4th Symphony I think what a great seat I've got for this wonderful music.

Good point!

[Carroll]

Does anyone have any ideas ... to entertain myself with the music?

Get what you bargained for?

[Steve Marcus]

...you think the gigging musican likes every piece he plays?

Yes, we all love the Pachelbel Canon (well, at least the income from indiscriminate newlyweds).

Carroll asks:

Can you identify which chord tone you have on every note? (They might not all be roots.)

No relief there. All roots. All 8 notes.

In the "Home Movies" video, Chuck Daellenbach had the right idea when he taught the gardener to "play" the bass line in the Pachelbel while Chuck sprawled on a chaise lounge with a martini.

This guy also has the right idea about the TacoBell Canon...

[LoyalTubist]

Who gave you the idea that every tuba part is supposed to be interesting? And I always like to add: Usually, when we play for other people we are playing for THEM and not for us. Most audiences realistically have no idea what music is all about. Play your best. Enjoy the time together, even if you think YOUR PART is boring!

[Wyvern]

I can never understand when people say the music they are playing is boring, or too simple.

Concentrate on your technique! Take one simple crotchet - you need to consider;

1) tone (make the best you can)
2) attack (as written, or to suit music?)
3) length (not too short, or long)
4) ending (how many people end notes perfect?)
5) pitch (are you spot in tune with the ensemble?)
6) style (is it suitable for the music?)
7) dynamics (as written and balanced with ensemble)
8 ) Timing (spot on the beat)

I may even have missed something. Concentrating on all of these should keep you alert and motivated. However well you play, there is always room for improvement.

Take pleasure, from playing your very best!

[Rommel72]

OK, here is what I tell my kids when they say they are bored. When you can play the music better than the best player in the world on (insert instrument here), then you have the right to be bored, until then you have no right to be bored.

[dunelandmusic]

Although I can say one conductor I know has an affinity for Strauss waltzes, and came up with a 6 variations of the Blue Danube piece, which after 12 minutes and with about 6 minutes to go, most of the band was ready to strangle him.
I did find that piece boring. And senseless.

[MartyNeilan]

SOUND (covers a lot of ground)

INTONATION

Strive for absolute perfection on each and continue striving. Half notes were never so hard.

[Dan Schultz]

I played a couple of gigs over the Christmas holidays that most would consider very boring... each gig consisted of the five most boring Christmas carols you can imagine mixed in with the usual sermon/scripture stuff. The tunes were not a challenge and the verbage was not anything I hadn't heard many times before. BUT... the other six persons in this small church 'orchestra' were all either principles with symphonies or very well respected professors/teachers, and EVERY note was a symphony in itself! I enjoy making good music, regardless of the piece being played. EVERY note deserves my utmost attention.