Critique of Our Band Performing Dark Fortress

1020 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Concert review critiquw

I watched the piece “Dark Fortress” being performed by the Hopewell Middle School Band. I was amazed at their posture, and look of attentiveness before they started playing. The trumpets started the piece, and their dynamics were good, but their articulation could have been much better,. They sounded quite muffled, and it was not very clear. As the piece went on, I realized that trombones and french horns were doing a wonderful job with their tone, dynamics, and articulation. However, I felt that the flutes and clarinets we drowned out, and they needed to play out more. Additionally, I felt that band was together for most of the performance. Still, it felt like the song was dragging along, I felt that if they had had a little faster tempo the song would have sounded better. The percussion sometimes overpowered the rest of the band, but they played with almost perfect dynamics, and their rhythms were clear, and correct. Overall, I felt that the brass section were probably the most showcased section in this piece, but they did have some intonation problems. They had a nice style, but at times the drowned out the flutes and clarinets. Sustaining notes was a big problem with this band, they kept clipping their quarter notes and whole notes, which was resulting into a chopped up sound. This also help ruin the flow of the music. The band itself, seemed very attentive, and they seemed a lot more focused than many other middle school bands that I have seen. Also, the ended very well, they were together and had a nice big finish. The band had many different styles that went well with each other.Additionally, the band acted very well on stage, they were wearing all matching clothing, and they looked professional. Mostly, the band did grea...

... middle of paper ...

...out the character from this piece. As a band we did do this, but if we had further emphasised these things, the piece would have been much better. We could also done a better job being together in the beginning. Lastly, we played the song “Heroes Return”. Our beginning was very off and were not together at all. We also need more articulation in the beginning. Also, we needed to have better change in dynamics, and played more in tune. However, the saxophone played out well during the piece. We played better as the we got towards the middle and end. Our main issues for our performance, were our dynamics, and the fact that whole band was not together at times. Also, we needed practice come pieces more, so we could perfect the begining, and other things, such as articulation. Still, I was impressed with our concert and I think we did a good job for our first concert.

Show More
Related

  • Second Suite in F “1. March” Critique

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    First, the entire band had good and bad moments of its performance of Second Suite in F. First, the intonation of the piece fluctuated. During the parts of the music when the entire band played, like in measures 11 through 18, the intonation was impeccable considering the high temperature of the stage. However, parts of the work where most instruments dropped out, like measures 19 to 26, were not quite in tune. Next, the balance and blend was perfect except for a few specific parts. During measures 79 to 109, the trumpets stuck out too much and did not blend in w...

    Read More

  • Why Band Directors Stick with it and Teach

    493 Words  | 1 Pages

    Band is family. When your student walks onto campus, he or she is instantly adopted into the strongest society on campus. They will be spending their school days among the top achievers on campus, with fellow students who look out for one another and steer each other away from trouble instead of towards it. Teachers, staff, parents, and volunteers watch over all the kids as if they were their own.

    Read More

  • The History of the Bands of America National Concert Band Festival

    3126 Words  | 7 Pages

    Payne, B. (1997). A review of research on band competition. Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, 33(1), 1-21.

    Read More

  • Humberside Collegiate Choir Concert Report

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    This song began with a strong 4 part harmony in SATB, balanced due to the fact that their were two boy parts and two female parts, that way you couldn’t hear more of one gender. However in the second half of the song the strength of the harmony faltered; this is due to the fact that the boy’s were letting go of the volume, making it sound unbalanced. I did find that the words in this song got jumbled and their meaning lost because of the lack of diction. During the chorus the sopranos were showcasing their ability to sing high notes, they did a good job hitting them and remembering to hold back on the volume so that the rest of the choir could be heard. For the entire song the choir sang in forte and had no dynamic changes, I found that this made it seem boring because they weren’t doing anything to keep us hooked. I think that this song could have used more articulation, like staccato and slurs so that they could showcase their technique as well as their voices. At the end of the song the entire choir cut off at the same time showing that they had been watching their conductor. I wish that they had projected their emotions more in this song, whether that be by smiling or using a tone of voice to suggest feeling, I think that it would have enhanced their performance. The Humberside Collegiate Choir did an amazing job making sure that they all breathed on time and together without c...

    Read More

  • Free College Admissions Essays: Marching On

    673 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sweat dripping down my face and butterflies fluttering around my stomach as if it was the Garden of Eden, I took in a deep breathe and asked myself: "Why am I so nervous? After all, it is just the most exciting day of my life." When the judges announced for the Parsippany Hills High School Marching Band to commence its show, my mind blanked out and I was on the verge of losing sanity. Giant's Stadium engulfed me, and as I pointed my instrument up to the judges' stand, I gathered my thoughts and placed my mouth into the ice-cold mouthpiece of the contrabass. "Ready or not," I beamed, "here comes the best show you will ever behold." There is no word to describe the feeling I obtain through music. However, there is no word to describe the pain I suffer through in order to be the best in the band either. When I switched my instrument to tuba from flute in seventh grade, little did I know the difference it would make in the four years of high school I was soon to experience. I joined marching band in ninth grade as my ongoing love for music waxed. When my instructor placed the 30 lb. sousaphone on my shoulder on the first day, I lost my balance and would have fallen had my friends not made the effort to catch me. During practices, I always attempted to ease the discomfort as the sousaphone cut through my collar bone, but eventually my shoulder started to agonize and bleed under the pressure. My endurance and my effort to play the best show without complaining about the weight paid off when I received the award for "Rookie of the Year." For the next three seasons of band practice, the ache and toil continued. Whenever the band had practice, followed by a football game and then a competition, my brain would blur from fatigue and my body would scream in agony. Nevertheless, I pointed my toes high in the air as I marched on, passionate about the activity. As a result, my band instructor saw my drive toward music and I was named Quartermaster for my junior year, being trusted with organizing, distributing, and collecting uniforms for all seventy-five members of the band. The responsibility was tremendous. It took a bulk of my time, but the sentiment of knowing that I was an important part of band made it all worthwhile.

    Read More

  • Kid Nobody Could Handle

    728 Words  | 2 Pages

    George Helmholtz, as the head of the music department at Lincoln High School, is very determined with his regular students and the gifted musicians of the band. Each semester and year at school he dreams of “leading as fine a band as there was on the face of the earth. And each year it came true”. His certainty that it was true was because he believed there was no greater dream than his. His students were just as confident and in response, they played their hearts out for them. Even the students with “no talent played on guts alone” for Helmholtz.

    Read More

  • Music 101

    1175 Words  | 3 Pages

    The concert was on March 13, 2014 at 12:30 pm the performers were Lisa Fujita, Brendan O’Donnell, Daniel Mitnitsky, Yannick Rafalimanana they performed five different Piano Quartet pieces. The first was a Piano Quartet No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 15 it was Allegro Molto Moderato, the next was III. Adagio and both of these pieces were written by Gabriel Faure. The next was a Piano Quartet in E-Flat Major, Op.47, called Sostenuto assai- Allegro ma non troppo this was written by Robert Schumann. Lastly there is the Piano Quartet in G-minor, K.493, I. Allegro, III. Allegretto and these two pieces were by W. A. Mozart. This was not the exact order and they did change a few thing like the way things would be played and they change the Quartet from E-Flat major to G-Minor because they said that it was difficult to play. By playing different types of music they offered us diverse experience. I really enjoyed the entire performance. Each of the Performers played a different instrument. Lisa Fujita played the violin, Brendan played the viola, Daniel played the cello and Yannick played the piano. Each of them played a very important role. Each of the performers looked calm and as if they knew what they were doing, they were dressed very formally but the audience was not dressed as formally due to the fact that it was during the school day and the event wasn’t a black tie event.

    Read More

  • Personal Narrative: The Jazz Experience

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    The band played together in such harmony and joy, and they exchanged looks as if they're talking to each other and understood by looks. As it turns out the guest go the nigh George Gazone was the professor who taught the band members music. Garzone Played the Saxophone like no other, he’s solos were magical it was fascinating watching him and the admiration his student have for him. The music sounded beautiful, yet seems the band are not well prepared for the evening. There was a lot of improvisation and as if every band member wanted to show off his skills which was really good. Improvisation is an element of jazz I was looking for, also, there were a lot of call and response between the band members different ones at each piece they played.

    Read More

  • Winter Concert Review Essay

    1048 Words  | 3 Pages

    The next band was wind ensemble with the first song “Eighth Candle.” I really liked the intro and I thought I had a good sound. But the other clarinets could’ve played a little more full. But I thought a lot of the slow section sounded nice. However the tenor saxophone stuck out a lot and wasn’t playing with a smooth sound so it stuck out even more. The trumpet solo sounded good except for a couple of notes but I also think the bass was way too loud and didn’t blend well. Also when the flutes enter there was a little tuning problem. When the group holds out the last chord

    Read More

  • University Jazz Concert

    682 Words  | 2 Pages

    This piece was filled with improvisation and you could feel the creativity following from the musicians. The combo didn’t have a conductor like the big band and was significantly smaller. Although, the combo was smaller and less formal it wasn’t any less of a performance. The piece started out with a phenomenal alto sax solo by Kevin Clements of Lamar, Missouri. Kevin is a talented musician, with his dark, rich sounding solo, he hit it out of the park. Ivan Vazquez of Garden City, Kansas performed another great solo on the trombone. Maddy Beasley, Kearney, Missouri followed Ivan with a tenor saxophone

    Read More

  • Marching Band Essay

    1190 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mauricio, being a freshman that was just placed in a random band class and having no knowledge of playing any type of instrument, is now a close friend that has had a change of heart about his views of marching band. Many can say, himself included, that he was just a “kid who was in a group of guys” that he called his friends, always one to get into trouble for the most childish things, but when joining this fine art he was able to “find structure and balance out [his] life” and “find his love for music”. When joining band, it can impact one’s life, no matter what circumstances you are in, it helps you find who you are as a person, and give you confidence to be able to pick yourself up after a downfall. Mauricio was able to discover his love for both saxophone and drumming. To this present day Mauricio now a junior in high school is the section leader of percussion. Having that position is not as easy as it sounds, it took him countless days and section leader battles to get him to where he is now. Making the heartbeat of the marching band sound incredibly sensational. Mauricio has overcome his obstacles and his so called “friends” who first judged him for being a part of the “lame” marching band, now salute him for not only being able to play two instruments, but for also expanding his horizons to play all different sorts of

    Read More

  • The Many Sides of Music

    2154 Words  | 5 Pages

    Music education has always been an underappreciated concept, but as a future teacher it terrifies me to know that there are children that be...

    Read More

  • A Critique on Purlie

    618 Words  | 2 Pages

    The production had many elements which for the most part formed a coalition to further the plot. The characters, the three part scenery and costumes represented well the period of time these people were going through. As far as the performers entering and exiting the stage, it could have been more organized. There were a few times when the performers exited at the wrong times or it seemed so due to the echo of the music. At certain moments the music was slightly loud and drowned the performers. Many of the songs dragged on, so the pacing could have been more effectively executed. Though the music was off at times, the director's decision to have most of the songs performed center sage was a wise one. Also the implementation of actual white characters that were competent in their roles came as a great surprise to the audience and heightened the realism.

    Read More

  • Jazz Showcase

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ked throughout the concert. The pacing of the selections seemed appropriate. No piece sounded like the one before it. There was a great variety of songs played. There were songs played that were written by famous jazz composers and songs played that were written by some of the performers themselves. This added to the excitement of the show.

    Read More

  • Jazz Concert Critique

    659 Words  | 2 Pages

    The rest of the trumpet section was also very lively; I felt they carried the main theme in almost every song which certainly kept me interested in the performance. The conductor kept the band on time, and to me they never missed a beat. One could tell they were certainly well rehearsed and truly knew how to use their instruments. A lot of music these days has become focused on generating the catchiest lyrics or chorus, so seeing this jazz ensemble was very refreshing. I was delightfully surprised to see such remarkable music talent at a performance of that size and caliper.

    Read More

More about Critique of Our Band Performing Dark Fortress

Open Document