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  1. #1

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    So one of my local symphonies had an emergency need for a fourth percussionist for their Flag Day pops concert and I volunteered. (I have played guitar with them before, and my wife is a violinist with them.) I got to bang on the bass drum, beat the triangle, got to do three cymbal styles, crashes and long suspended mallet splashes. Disney, J Williams, and patriotic things. The hardest part was counting a bagillian measures and then coming in on time. The other three guys were great helping me out, and I had a BLAST. I was very nervous in a live perf, missed a few cues, and the section leader said "Relax, we all screw up once in a while here and there." The bass drum in Williams' "Jaws" was especially fun. I would do it again in a heartbeat. One of the most fun musical experiences I've ever had. Those orchestral percussion folks are in a different world. The section leader brought a few things he built himself out of household parts.
    Last edited by Woody Sound; 06-12-2022 at 10:09 PM.

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  3. #2

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    [...] The hardest part was counting a bagillian measures and then coming in on time. [...]
    Agreed. When I was 19, a high school bandleader family friend, missing a percussionist, asked me to play temple blocks for Anderson's Sleigh Ride, with no rehearsal. I had played french horn in that band (and guitar in the dance band, without a clue) in high school I did just okay, but no one would have asked me to do it again. I would never have known how hard it is to come in after counting, and counting, and then play a precise rhythm on a device with which I had no prior experience (how hard can it be to strike a block with a mallet? Like everything else, it takes practice.).

    A couple years later I was asked by the conductor (a different family friend) to play cymbals in a piece for orchestra and chorus that only needed one crash. The first rehearsal he fell off his stool when I crashed them too hard; thereafter, and at the next rehearsal, I was a little more gentle. At the performance, dressed in a tie and jacket, at the critical moment I pushed those two cymbals together, and my tie got right between them. This produced a very different sound than the conductor was expecting.

    But it sounds like your experience was much more successful and rewarding. Congratulations!

  4. #3
    Quote Originally Posted by Ukena

    A couple years later I was asked by the conductor (a different family friend) to play cymbals in a piece for orchestra and chorus that only needed one crash. The first rehearsal he fell off his stool when I crashed them too hard; thereafter, and at the next rehearsal, I was a little more gentle. At the performance, dressed in a tie and jacket, at the critical moment I pushed those two cymbals together, and my tie got right between them. This produced a very different sound than the conductor was expecting.

    But it sounds like your experience was much more successful and rewarding. Congratulations!
    I did have one rehearsal before the concert. The triangle was suspended on a stand. I whacked it so hard it went flying into the orchestra with a loud clang. The conductor stopped, and said very calmly and politely, "The flying triangle was a beat early anyway."

  5. #4

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    I did have one rehearsal before the concert. The triangle was suspended on a stand. I whacked it so hard it went flying into the orchestra with a loud clang. The conductor stopped, and said very calmly and politely, "The flying triangle was a beat early anyway."
    funny story!
    I just got called for a show called "Dogfight" You ever play it? Anything i should look out for?

  6. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by sgcim
    funny story!
    I just got called for a show called "Dogfight" You ever play it? Anything i should look out for?
    Never heard of it, had to look it up, looks pretty cool. Do you mean playing guitar, or percussion?

  7. #6

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    Quote Originally Posted by Woody Sound
    Never heard of it, had to look it up, looks pretty cool. Do you mean playing guitar, or percussion?
    guitar

  8. #7

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    Very cool story! Fun is good!

  9. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by Ukena

    A couple years later I was asked by the conductor (a different family friend) to play cymbals in a piece for orchestra and chorus that only needed one crash. The first rehearsal he fell off his stool when I crashed them too hard; thereafter, and at the next rehearsal, I was a little more gentle.

    At the performance, dressed in a tie and jacket, at the critical moment I pushed those two cymbals together, and my tie got right between them. This produced a very different sound than the conductor was expecting.
    That is too funny.

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ukena
    A couple years later I was asked by the conductor (a different family friend) to play cymbals in a piece for orchestra and chorus that only needed one crash. The first rehearsal he fell off his stool when I crashed them too hard;

  11. #10

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    Quote Originally Posted by dot75
    Very funny! "Never underestimate the power of a snook." Boris Badenov--from Rocky and Bullwinkle fame.
    Marinero




  12. #11

  13. #12

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    Played percussion in symphony!-roger-screws-up-copy-jpg

  14. #13

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    Quote Originally Posted by Litterick
    Played percussion in symphony!-roger-screws-up-copy-jpg
    It is a nerve wracking job. When I was an undergrad music major, the percussion teacher there was the percussionist for the NY Metropolitan Opera.
    He told all his students that he used tranquilizers for every performance, and advised them to do the same.
    I didn't know anything tranquilizers back then, so I don't know if they had beta blockers , but that's become the standard classical musician drug.

  15. #14

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    [QUOTE=sgcim;1218244]It is a nerve wracking job. When I was an undergrad music major, the percussion teacher there was the percussionist for the NY Metropolitan Opera.
    He told all his students that he used tranquilizers for every performance, and advised them to do the same.
    I didn't know anything tranquilizers back then, so I don't know if they had beta blockers , but that's become the standard classical musician drug.[/QUOTE

    Hi, S,
    I never heard that from any of my Classical friends. Do you/anyone know what drugs they used? When I was playing nightclubs/bars as a horn player, I always had a Scotch on the rocks before we played our first set. Later in life, playing CG solo, I never drank until the gig was over. I believe the more you play, the greater your confidence becomes although I do know some players that suffered terribly from stage fright.
    Marinero