Depuis la rentré je fais partis du Big Band de l’école de Montgeron (Essonne), j’ai dons l’occasion de jouer mes styles de musiques préférées: le jazz et le funk ! Le big band est composé d’une dizaine de sax, de 5 trompettes, de 2 trombones, d’un euphonium et de 2 gros ! Non seulement ça souffle, mais en plus ça swing!

Pour ceux qui seront dans le coin nous joueront le 27 Mars à 20h à la salle des fêtes de Montgeron, avec au programme:     Sophisticated lady ; Vamos a bailar ;  Respect ; Blues brothers revue ; Blue train ; Chameleon ; Milestone  ; Fly me to the moon ; Caravan ; Shaft (et d’autre surprises).

Et en parlant de Shaft, hop je vous en met une version par un autre Big band amateur:

I’ve frequently noticed how popular tubas are as the subject of photography. Their eye-catching size seems to be a magnet for artists as well. I occasionally trawl the internet for tuba-related art and found some of the more interesting works below. Okay, some of them are officially sousaphones, but they all caught my eye.

Tuba Fats by Allen Flattmann (Bryant Galleries)

Found at the blog about books Seven Impossible Things, this illustration is by Dave McKean from the illustrated book
The Wolves in the Walls written by Neil Gaiman.
“The biggest, fattest wolf of all was playing an old wolf melody on Lucy’s father’s second-best tuba”

Tuba Player by Mia Wolff from her blog Wolff Brain
Gato Loco featuries Joe Exley on tuba

Tuba Player by Andrei Aserivants

Dessin Tuba by Jean Coulon

Tuba Sculpture by Jordan Janesko


Tuba by Don Stewart

Tuba (bronze) by Alex Palkovich

Good Morning BEEE!
Well, this is quite a stormy morning. Unfortunately OneBBO claims the garage for her own car and our Kaa has to stand on the road. That’s not really fair, is it?
As you might remember my tune is Moon River. I’m still under my flowery hood with glitter as far as it’s not town away by the storm waaaaaaa
My studies of music are going on well. I passed the practical tuba test 2 months ago. So I’m concentrating on the piano now. I hope this won’t disturb you? I’ll have to play at least 5 hours per day, otherwise I won’t pass the next tests.
Yours
Florinda

Good Morning BEEE!
Well, this is quite a stormy morning. Unfortunately OneBBO claims the garage for her own car and our Kaa has to stand on the road. That’s not really fair, is it?
As you might remember my tune is Moon River. I’m still under my flowery hood with glitter as far as it’s not town away by the storm waaaaaaa
My studies of music are going on well. I passed the practical tuba test 2 months ago. So I’m concentrating on the piano now. I hope this won’t disturb you? I’ll have to play at least 5 hours per day, otherwise I won’t pass the next tests.
Yours
Florinda

Good Morning Florinda,
it was quite a stormy night as well, even with Furopax in my ears I still heard the wind whistling and roaring throughout the tempestuous night. I hope all the feathery fraternity (and sorority) were safe in their little nests last night. When I came out this morning, several magpies were loitering in the trees around the Palace waiting to come down for their breakfast. What a life.
Fair? Fair? Do you really expect any fairness from OneBBO after all these years of overbearing selfishness? Don’t worry though, the Kaa is well insured with the Waldovia Inc. Comprehensive Insurance Plan. I have heard tales of mushs deliberately felling trees onto their cars so they can claim the insurance and get a newer, bigger model. Their fraud investigators are kept pretty busy.
Aaah, Moon River, another one of my all-time favourites, I look forward to that.
No that’s perfectly okay for you to tickle the ivories all day if that’s what your study requires. I know you’re pretty good so I shall enjoy all the nice music in the background as I work. Of course, you will be sitting here some of the time too!
During the Royal Walk yesterday we stopped at the hat shop on the Hindenburgstrasse and for the first time I consciously saw a pill-box hat. And therefore I would like to start this week with another quote from one of the Master’s past songs:
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Well, I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Yes, I see you got your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Well, you must tell me, baby
How your head feels under somethin’ like that
Under your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
Well, you look so pretty in it
Honey, can I jump on it sometime?
Yes, I just wanna see
If it’s really that expensive kind
You know it balances on your head
Just like a mattress balances
On a bottle of wine
Your brand new leopard-skin pill-box hat
And now … a cup of the hot brown stuff…
Yours
Beeeeee

The vocal folds, or vocal cords, are the part of our larynx that vibrate creating sound in our voice. When these are made to vibrate, they make sounds such as we wish, like ah, ee, or oo, The mouth assists in this process. But, the folds are critical in the quality of sound production. Not only this, but they gauge the air flow as it leaves the lungs. Therefore, when we play brass, the vocal cords determine the shape and flow of the air stream.

A simple exercise will show this. Open your mouth and say, “Ha.” Now, take one hand and form it in a circle, with your thumb over your index finger. Bring that hand up to your lips, placing your lips on your fingers, and then blow air through the opening in your hand. You should feel a slight difference at the throat. That is, the throat will feel less restricted. This is because the air passes through the larynx with less tension. The tension that forms with many sounds we make is unnecessary, and much of it develops at the larynx, changing the air flow and the quality of sound.

So, the first effort arises from complete relaxation and goes on to complete relaxation maintaining an unrestricted air flow.

Most mistakes occur when the air flow is restricted in some way, a bump, a spasm, a pinch. You can hear and feel this in your playing.

Notice the tongue is attached to the throat and larynx, so when you tongue the larynx is effected. This causes tension, too, which can disrupt the air flow. Therefore, practice complete relaxation when you move the tongue. The goal is a relaxed control over this movement, so you tongue in concert with the unrestricted air flow.

The soft palette sits in back of the hard palette on the roof of the mouth. Take your tongue and scroll it back on the hard bone until you find a soft place and that is the soft palette. This plays a role in the shape of the air as the air comes up from the lungs. Therefore the shape of the soft palette determines somewhat the shape of the air stream. If you keep the soft palette lifted up and open, like a yawn, you can influence the relaxation and easy flow of the air stream. You also make room for the movement of the larynx and tongue.

Tuba is clean because it really has natural contents. It is a natural juice from the coconut, so it has nutrients and vitamins that are also found in the coconut tree itself. And the barok(powdered mangrove bark) is also a natural product.

Because of the known health benefits of tuba, it became more popular among those living in rural areas because it is where big coconut plantations are found. Tuba is cheaper than other artificial medicines used to cure the ailments or other health problems.

Whenever you get fever you can then wipe tuba vinegar all over your body! This is because some believes that this kind of vinegar acts as heat trapper, thus, lowering your fever! Other people also use the vinegar from tuba as disinfectant for dog bites and wounds. They put the vinegar in cotton balls or a soft cloth, then they wipe it on the sides of the wound. Others pour the vinegar directly onto the wound or dog bite.

But anything in excess is harmful! Drink for your health!

Source:http://www.phil-islands.com/health-benefits-of-tuba



Tuba

Palo, Leyte, Philippines. Nine thousand three hundred “Warays” make a Guinness world record for a wine-tasting session of Tuba. An Waray Party-list and the Leyte local government organized the activity. It was held at the MacArthur Shrine where General Douglas McArthur landed upon his return to the Philippines during World War II.

Read more…

Convección invernal en la llanura, sin fenómenos tormentosos, que crea dos tubas (aparentemente “funnel cloud”), una muy clara a la izquierda, y otra en forma de pequeño ápice a la derecha de la base nubosa.

Reste plus qu’à travailler

Cliquez ici pour télécharger le concertino (pdf).

On Monday, November 16, 2009, The Lesson Studio (TLS) will begin its Winter/Spring Semester registration!

The dates for our Winter/Spring Semester 2010 are: January 9 – May 21, 2010

TLS has instructors for guitar, piano, voice, drums, bass, violin, viola, saxophone, clarinet, trombone, trumpet, tuba, euphonium, ukelele, oboe, cello, flute, mandolin and banjo! We also offer music therapy, a free workshop series, and summer music camp. We have an in-store drop-off/pickup for instrument repair. Included with your semester tuition are weekly instruction with the teacher of your choice; supplies including weekly goal sheets, staff paper, CDs, and music charts; assistance from three administrative staff people; free Wi-Fi in the reception area; 10% off coupon for a local music store; and best of all, an end-of-semester recital! Our Fall recital is held at the Old Main Chapel at CU and our Spring recital is held ON STAGE at the Boulder Creek Festival!

If you are a current student, be sure to let our staff know if you prefer the same day/time or a new time slot for your music lesson. If you are new to The Lesson Studio, please call 303-543-3777 for your FREE CONSULTATION today!

As always, please visit http://www.thelessonstudio.com for more information.

You get it?  Circle… tuba… tubas are round?  No?  Oh well, it was worth a try.

This past weekend, it was homecoming for my alma mater, The University of Hawaii at Manoa.  Like every year, alumni of the marching band are invited to come back and play the pregame show, as well as some pep band tunes during the football game.  It’s been 10 years since my last active season with the band so I decided to go back to see some familiar faces before I dawn the shackles of being a parent.  Not that I’m not looking forward to being a parent, but I figured I’d do some socializing so that people know I’m still alive before I disappear into a world of dirty diapers and soccer games.

When I got to Aloha Stadium, I was pointed over towards the available tubas.  Actually, let me technically correct myself.  They were actually sousaphones… tubas that were designed for marching.  Majority of the cases were already emptied out by some other eager alumni that probably got to the stadium 8 hours earlier to be sure they could show off their bald spots to the current 19 yr old girls in the band.  What was left was an old, black busted up case that said “Pearl City High School” on it.  What you probably don’t know is that I played sousaphone for the Pearl City High School “Charger” Marching Band from 1994-1996.

In my head, I had told myself, “no freakin’ way.”  Could it be my old high school band sousaphone?  The wood of the inner workings of the instrument case were almost fully exposed, having the outer leather layer dangling off.  Sort of like what the dead skin of a moose looks like when it’s dangling from it’s antlers after it’s fully grown.  Look at that, you just learned a moose fact in a blog about a tuba, who would’ve guessed.  You’re welcome.

Anyway, I opened up that bad boy and sure enough, it was my old sousaphone.  I was eager to assemble it until I began to remember how heavy that son of a bitch was.  Then I remembered how much it smelled because majority of the lacquer had been worn off, leaving that lovely stench of exposed brass.  Then I noticed a new feature on this sousaphone.  The first valve was stuck, which left me in a position of marching around with a sousaphone that was abnormally older and heavier than the other sousaphones on the field and not even being able to play it.

What was interesting about this sour experience was that I initially intended to reach back to my college days, when in fact, I unexpectedly reached farther back to my high school days.  While standing with that heavy hunk of junk on my shoulder in the hot Hawaiian sun, I reflected on what was important to me back then.  You know, when that heavy piece of crap was still playable.  Back then, my dream was to play sousaphone/tuba for UH.  That meant the world to me.  Geeky I know, but nothing made me happier and I never thought I’d be as comfortable on any other instrument.

Funny how things change.  Up until a couple years ago, nothing meant more to me than making it big with PIMPBOT.  Plus my comfort level on the tuba has considerably changed.  I can rock the basics on the trombone in my sleep, while the odds of me hitting the right note on the tuba are like the [insert crappy sports team] winning the [insert championship].

And now, just a couple years later, things have changed for me again.  What means the most is my new budding family.  The wife and the kid.  I still love my band to death but if we don’t make it big… I’m gonna live.  Performing makes me happy and I don’t have to be living in a tour van to do it.  I’m still comfortable on the trombone but what floats my boat the most is being on the microphone.  Not just singing but I love interacting with audiences.  Lively ones, lame ones, it doesn’t matter.  There’s an organic give and take that I experience that doesn’t compare to my delivery on any other instrument.

The thing is, sometimes we don’t see our growth until we take a step back.  This past weekend, my old, heavy, smelly, broken sousaphone was not an instrument of music… but rather, an instrument of reflection.

How was that?  Pretty freakin’ deep eh?

The band came marching in, and so did Garth Brooks, Robby Ventura and Barry Sanders during the OSU homecoming parade.

The parade was a good one, and it was nice to see all the hard work that so many put into it pay off.

I was assigned to go out and shoot some photos for the O’Colly’s website for a slide show, and took a lot of pictures. After going threw them all this one kept calling me back. I don’t know what it is about this photo but I just love it.

The reflection tells such a story, at least I think it does, about what has come and what is going. The backs of the band members, and then the shadows of the people in line draw it all together. I hope you guys can look at this and get a story out of it because I know I sure did.

To get this photo I spot metered off of the reflection in the Tuba, and made sure my spot was on the blue and not the clouds. This exposed the reflection and well the rest of it just came together.

This year homecoming was great, but I’m glad to say its done. Can’t wait till next year.

To check out more of the homecoming parade head over to www.ocolly.com and look under multimedia.

Stay Classy,

Mitch

New image in the instruments photography contest

Music man a la Disney. Nothing like a full dress band. …
Tuba Big photography picture

Zählt bayrische Blasmusik eigentlich auch als Folk? Naja egal ich habe auf jeden Fall neulich die Band La Brassbanda entdeckt. Die machen tatsächlich Blasmusik mit Tuba und so und bayrischen Texten. Das machen die Jungs aber so schwungvoll und einfach extrem groovy, dass sie sogar auf’m Roskilde Festival schon die Lederhosen gerockt haben. Erinnert mich so vom Ding her ein wenig an Mardi Grass BB. nur halt in bayrisch… Nun ja hört selbst: http://www.myspace.com/labrassbanda Am 12.11. spielen die Jungs im Uebel & Gefährlich!

yesterday i had the pleasure of taking senior pictures of/for austin. i’m still editing and will post my favorites probably later today but i just came across this one and i had to post immediately. we started downtown jasper and while he had all his instruments out (he plays 4) i said, “where is the last place you should be playing your tuba right now?” and it hit me, the football field, duh. so, to jerry brewer field, we went. the sun was setting and therefore extremely bright, but when he held up his tuba, the golden reflection that was cast on his face made me melt. i’m so in love with this picture i can’t stop smiling.

“I love watching this kid get owned” – Ben.

Happy Halloween!

New image in the instruments photography contest

Cropped and turned to Black and white …
In the Band photography picture

I’ve kept on hearing about this place by word of mouth of co-workers, CNN “50 reasons” lists and just the fact that it sits in an area of Ekkamai surrounded by other fun pubs and restaraunts that I frequent. So finally on a whim we go check it out.

It’s as fun, hip and comfortable as all reports have mentioned. The interior is striking, with a variety of comfortable couches, chairs and tables (can tables be comfortable?) to choose from, walls filled with photo’s & artwork and a couple of chests of drawers of which I’m not sure I can find a use for in a restaurant. No doubt, to put things in and on. And they do this to good effect. Just try not to bump the tables, ok?

Make sure to arrive during happy hour(s) – a very generous 5 to 8 pm, and order yourself a coctail. Some of the glasses are so big, that if you haven’t been doing your weights you’ll need two hands to lift them. So for people like me there’s no problems. ahem. But yeah, they’re big, and half price during happy hr – so less than 100 baht. Go and enjoy for this reason alone.

The food is what surprised me though, more than anything. It is really good. The crowd on the night was mainly Thai’s, and most looked to be satisfied as they tucked into a few dishes.

We went a bit over the top on the ordering, but it was worth it.

We ordered the fried chicken appetizers, goong foo and the Tuba signature salad dish, a seafood salad with a crowning prawn steak. (If you order this, check the prawn steak is cooked!! Chef’s note that this isn’t goong chai naam plaa!) Slightly uncooked mega prawn aside, the food rocked. The chunks of goong foo were crunchy on the outside, but juicy in the middle. The mixed seafood salad had as much seafood as salad and didn’t just taste of fish sauce. Chicken wasn’t dry, and full of flavour. Servings were very big.

Above all, Tuba creates an atmosphere that you just want to hang in with a group of friends, and talk and drink, while slouching on a couch that makes you remember the couch in your old university mate had in his sharehouse. Except this one is vacuumed properly. The music sound track cycles from Madness to The Partridge Family to Lionel Richie, and before you know it you’re smiling (thanks also to that happy hour cocktail you ordered). In itself, this is reason alone to go.

I think they need a better website though. Tuba Design Furniture & Restaurant

UPDATE: I’ve just been a second time. My opinion of the food hasn’t changed (still very good), however one thing I didn’t notice the first time is the place allows smoking inside, providing an ashtray on every table. So once dinner finishes, everyone whips out their smokes and puffs away into the night. So I’d recommend after you’ve finished your happy hour cocktails and dinner, if you want to drink into the night and avoid smelling like an ashtray, head to nearby Y50 or Gigabyte. Drinks are cheaper at these places too!

sain täna ühe ilusa maski:)
homme kunstikooli, mul on 4 maalitööd lõpetamata
neljapäeval on muusikakoolis 50. aastapäeva puhul  plaadi lindistamine ja pean ka minema viiuliga jeas
rohkem ei olegi nagu midagi?

muide kõik kes te siin lugemas käite või pilgu peale viskate, võiksite kommentaari ka jätta (kasvõi paar sõna:), siis teaksin kellele kirjutaksin või midagi sellist
dear readers, i’d appreciate if you would leave a comment so i’ll know who i’m writing for:)

I don’t remember for sure, but this might have been one of the first recordings by the Canadian Brass after switching back to Yamaha instruments.  Certainly it was one of the first albums with Jens Lindeman on trumpet and certainly shows off his talents in a unique and exciting format – the Beatles.  The trumpet duel between Jens and Ron Romm on “Come Together” is a favorite of mine, and even had a chance to hear it live a couple of times.  Jens covers the “Penny Lane” piccolo trumpet solo perfectly as you might expect.  Fans of CB will definitely enjoy Christopher Dedrick’s subtle and effective ballad arrangements.

If you don’t have this CD in your Canadian Brass collection, it’s worth adding.

Buy the CD from the Canadian Brass online store.

Download the mp3 files from Amazon.com.

You can even buy the sheet music from the Canadian Brass online store.

Here’s more from the city where concert halls are made of asphalt.

Rebirth Brass Band, live, New Orleans, 2008

With a name like this, who could resist?

Slavic Soul Party, live, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, 2007

**********

who could argue?

“New York’s Official #1 Brass Band For BalkanSoulGypsyFunk.”