Whew. Tough topic for me to think about. I got a degree in math and spent my working career as a programmer because back then specific programming skills were not required. I also played band, orchestra, quintets - whatever I could. Programming isn’t what it used to be. I could not do now what I did ...

There was a trombone player in our local orchestra and community band who always had with him a small wrench for tightening the base-to-shaft bolt on a Manhasset stand. I'll admit that I made use of his services a couple of times.

The newer one appears to be silver plated. You can see brass on the pulled tuning slide but I guess there could still be a lot of nickel-silver underneath the plating. Don’t both instruments have the same basic wrap? Both are Eb’s? Some photos have a watermark with a “.gr” which is the domain name fo ...

A few years ago my playing time had been reduced to pretty much just Easter and Christmas church jobs. I could pick up the horn and, with a month of fairly regular practice, be ready to go. Then there came a Christmas where that didn't work. I started working and a week or two into practice I felt ...

I’ve wondered that. Why do you rarely see silver plated trombones, student or professional, these days? Is there a reason? Silver trombones were not uncommon in the early- to mid-1900’s.

I myself prefer the look of the different materials used in building so prefer lacquer or raw.

It is SO much easier to know what pitches the dots represent and just play them on the instrument you have in your hands. ^^^This is the best way.^^^ But folks often want an easy button. There are some mental tricks that can help in particular situations. At first you find yourself thinking with ...

I am copying this post (including the poster's name at the end - not me!) from another forum where I saw this. I do not see it posted here and thought you might enjoy it, too. You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch - arranged by Kyle Myers https://youtu.be/K58npZ4cy_o Maybe you’re someone who hates high n ...

Looks like no direct kin to Mark from the obituary. https://www.salemfh.com/obituaries/Brown-Clodfelter?obId=24783113 I thought that I had read that Mark was from NC so maybe they were somewhat related. His first name, "Brown", was his father's middle name which makes me think there would be a Brown ...

Any kin to Mark Clodfelter, trumpeter, once at Appalachian State University?

I did not see the Championship section test pieces and am told that Fountain City really played that piece well. I did see all the Championship section contestants play their choice pieces. James Madison University was extremely impressive. It was also very encouraging to see a stage full of young ...

I got to attend the championships Saturday evening and heard all the championship section choice pieces. This was my first exposure to brass banding at this level. Very enjoyable! I hope to attend more of it next year and the year after. (my son plays the Brass Band of Huntsville)

jtm, I regret not buying your 186. I still think that it would be a good fit for the playing I do.

Dan Schultz has an older, fixed bell (non-Miraphone replacement bell) listed that I keep thinking about, too. He is within driving distance.

— Joe

It was just announced that Dr Preston Light has won the position.

Tuxes and tails used to be formal evening dress so orchestras wore that because the concerts were formal, evening events. I used to hate wearing a tux for an afternoon concert. It made the tux more of a uniform. Plain suits, coats & ties, etc. are more appropriate for afternoon wear. I personally ...

A few years ago I took advantage of a wwbw or musician's friend 20% sale to get $800 off on a yamaha horn that also had a $100 factory rebate. The final price was near what I was seeing as used prices on that particular model. Ever since then I have noticed that they now have limits.

In Mahler 2, 5th and 6th on stage trumpets are tacet until the 5th movement.

You might not be given another opportunity in the future. Your return flight might be spent wallowing in remorse if that bothers you. Owning or having access to an exotic instrument is a help for fly in $$. Our local group has had to go 2 states away to find a contrabasson when the local one wasn’t a ...

I think I count six model 184's (5U and the one 6U) shown in the photos but there is no 184 mentioned in the Models listed on the last page. Does that mean anything? Even though it seems popular, was it an unusual model at the time? Or maybe more of an artist's model? There is only one 185 shown in ...

I also really admired the Tennessee State University band - I wondered whether they could sustain that energy level over the whole 5+ mile route. I have really enjoyed the TSU band when I’ve seen them at football games. They perform continually at a football game, beginning when they leave the bus i ...

The comic "Funky Winkerbean" has had a story for a while about this band. Here's Friday's entry:
https://comicskingdom.com/funky-winkerbean/2021-12-31

(Beware of the comments section. They are always a bit on the caustic side for this comic strip.)