What did you play today?

[bort2.0]

If i didn't mention it before, the band is doing Russian Christmas music.

I like it.

I think it's now called AIN* Christmas Music

*vis-à-vis the Olympics, where Russians aren't allowed, but they are sorta allowed under the name AIN for "Individual Neutral Athletes"

[gocsick]

Columbus Tuba Christmas...

It's a long day.. Registration opens at 1.. and if you want a seat on the stage you have to get there early. Rehearsal at 3-4:30. First concert at 5:30 and the second at 7:30.

This year was the first the whole family was able to play together. It was my daughter's first time so I played Euphonium 2 with her.. She didn't have the stamina for rehearsal then back to back concerts.. So she watched the second from audience. For the second concert I played Eb tuba. My wife was on the Eb sousa (she also only played the first concert).. and my son on his 186. His girlfriend (not pictured) joined us as well..

[the elephant]

I played scales and arpeggios against the strobe tuner and drone pitches all day (three hours) to work out the kinks between my F and a different mouthpiece.

And I played through all the music for my last five holiday gigs, including one formal Christmas brass quintet recital on Thursday. (I've got two more rehearsals, too. BUSY!)

And after a two-hour break, I spent another hour on the Broughton Concerto.

[bloke]

a whole bunch of electric bass guitar scales and bass lines and riffs from a whole bunch of songs...LOL... Including teaching myself that instrumental interlude from "Sir Duke" in B-major, all to convince myself that I've got this 1990s Peavey bass amplifier working well again before I insert the electronics back into the cabinet

[gocsick]

I played scales and arpeggios against the strobe tuner and drone pitches all day (three hours) to work out the kinks between my F and a different mouthpiece.

And I played through all the music for my last five holiday gigs, including one formal Christmas brass quintet recital on Thursday. (I've got two more rehearsals, too. BUSY!)

And after a two-hour break, I spent another hour on the Broughton Concerto.

Wade.. I love seeing your practice notes .. I forward it to my son... it is a good reminder for him of how much time actual pros of into the tuba... versus what an aspiring student puts in.

[Mary Ann]

And, scales and arpeggios NEVER get old. They apply FOREVER.

[the elephant]

Full Christmas recital with quintet and drummer… with NINE of my arrangements on the program!

WHOOP!

[bort2.0]

Just wrapped up the orchestra 's Christmas concert.

I'm.always pleasantly reminded of the high talent level of community orchestra wind sections*. For that matter, all around, there's quite a lot of talent in the orchestra, it sounded great. Even had a ringer tonight to play the harp.

*That is... talent, plus me. I guess I'm okay. But I could sure be better.

[arpthark]

Even had a ringer tonight to play the harp.

Pretty impressive to do that on handbells.

[bloke]

I played a somewhat leaky wood Noblet bass clarinet at a new school customer, today (a school sort of past the outskirts of Tupelo, MS - maybe twenty minutes from the Alabama state line) with a cheap mouthpiece and a used reed.
The lyre holder is busted off (sorta ugly screw holes, from when it was torn off the instrument)...We're not replacing that, because they don't march with them.

It played both registers, but HARD...but - at least - it played in both registers.

Mrs. bloke is charging less to fix that one than a plastic Vito one they have (which does not play at all). The Vito is missing its floor peg, but they put an adjustable guitar footstool in the case (on which to rest the bell)

We visited five spread-out schools (pick-ups and deliveries) between 10 A.M. and 3 P.M. A sixth school (which should have been the fifth school) closed by the time we finished up at the (surprise/add-on) fifth school...but we REALLY need to spend more time in more serious discussion with that director...many more repairs to look at, as well as discussing some pretty serious future purchases of new instruments...so we'll meet with that gent after the holidays - when returning all the stuff to the other schools (ie. not holidays for us).

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also, I'd like to thank the boisterous, obnoxious, blunt, no-filter, braggart with orange skin for allowing my to put fill up the tank of my not-particularly-impressive mpg work van (at the end of the day) at this price:

[bort2.0]

Even had a ringer tonight to play the harp.

Pretty impressive to do that on handbells.

I told the bass trombone player that he was there exclusively for Sleigh Bells. Which was funny... To me.

Orchestra jokes X dad jokes is an awful combination.

[prodigal]

Ran through Tuba Christmas carols on the Piglet. Dreaming about that Rudy 5/4 or a Symphonie, and 20 year old chops.

[gocsick]

Listening to my son work on the Lebedev... I figure why not work on a solo piece myself.. just for fun

Worked through the first half of Ricercar.. I pulled this out a few years ago and played through it once or twice, and promptly put it away. This time I spent about an hour on it. I don't particularly love it as a piece but it is a good technical level for me.. Sits in a good range for both the BBb and Eb. I think I can get a lot of learning mileage out of it.

Deliberately not listening to any tuba recordings of this. There are enough interpretations by cello players... I don't want to be influenced by YouTube tuba players.

[bloke]

I don't want to be influenced by YouTube tuba players.

wise decision 95% of the time, and some of those 95% teach

[bort2.0]

this price:

Wow. Up here, we just broke below the $3.009 mark. I guess the state has inherited some... um... "extra costs" recently.

[bloke]

Wow. Up here, we just broke below the $3.009 mark. I guess the state has inherited some... um... "extra costs" recently.

TUBA GODDHH ACTIVATED !!!
YOU HAVE BEEN BANNED FOR SIX MONTHS
FOR OBLIQUELY REFERRING TO

[prodigal]

2.65 here for regular makes me feel better about filling up the Exxon Valdez, the bottomless tank in my truck!

I was riding around with a studio member going flyfishing before our graduation in April of 2003. Gas was .79 a gallon at Sheetz. I said I wish we could buy a million gallon tank, sometime gas will be over $3 a gallon. Sunoco standard 110 leaded was $2.65 at the time, it's about$13-14 a gallon now.

Remember when a brick of 22s was $5 and Yuengling was $12 a case?

[bloke]

When I was buying gas as a kid for mowing some commercial properties on Highway 70 aka Summer Avenue (in Memphis) two blocks over from my parents house, there was a place right in the middle of all those properties that sold gas for 20 cents a gallon.
It was 91 octane leaded, called "regular".
I ran that through an inflation calculator from then to today and today it's about the same price as 87 octane unleaded today adjusted for inflation (as far as the price I just showed you).
Of course, tax rates on gas are much higher today, so today 87 octane gas is actually cheaper adjusted for inflation,
the other factor being that they now dump 10% corn liquor into gasoline which offers no benefit and 10% less gas mileage, at least when I've compared 10% corn liquor gasoline to pure gasoline and checked gas mileage.

Politics?
No, economics:
(and most people think they're the same, and maybe they are)
Unlike what children are taught in college, the Fed has caused most all of our inflation, with the specific purpose of keeping us flailing and scuffling.

"A little bit of inflation is good."
Yeah. "The serf class losing a few percent of their value of their savings every year - more loss in value than the interest they're being paid on their savings, if any - js good.

In 1974, I paid $1,800 for a four valve 186C
(a ton of money and a suddenly/shockingly higher price).
Around 1968, my teacher only paid $700 for the same model.
2 years later, Wichita band instrument company hit the national scene and was offering instruments like mine for $1, 500 to attract attention. I bought a 184 - at that time - from them.

[the elephant]

“Crimmuh” gig rehearsal. (4 more gigs to go.)

[bloke]

I did my annual quintet/organ/choir Christmas eve (vespers and midnight mass) rehearsal (Episcopal), this morning.

This is where I cover a mixture of bass trombone parts (on the gigantic bore - B&S-made, shortly after reunification - compensating euphonium with the Elliott contrabass trombone mouthpiece stuck in it) and bona fide "tuba" parts (whereby Fat Bastard drowns out the organ - when called for/appropriate).
Wade and I have discussed playing the Anglican Willcocks (yes, spelled like that) Christmas carol settings.
When one of Willcocks' brass intro's is more mediocre in quality, we're cutting those, and the organ is doing those intro's...
For the really cool ones that Willcocks wrote quite well, we're playing those intro's (aka "fanfares").
We're doing four carols out of the Willcocks collection (plus a mixture of other stuff).
The anthem (which actually occurs in the PRELUDE is weirdish, and difficult for the choir...
I think the choir (without us) has one more rehearsal on it...Welcome All Wonders - Richard Dirksen - c. 1977

Towards the end, we're doing (only one, thankfully) of Richard Webster's overly-busy brass Episcopal carol/hymn settings (Joy to the World).

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Here's a pic from last years (after the choir was done) rehearsal...
' same people, and mostly the same music...
...except this year it was 60 degrees at 11 A.M.




BONUS PIC !!!:

Mrs. bloke and our son at last year's Christmas Eve vespers service
(taken with my $90 phone during a tacet stanza)
...another thread: Between services, the horn player and I always go to a place called Yang's...She and our son came along with us, last year.