Posted by glennled on March 28, 2011
I’ve decided there is something wicked about any composer or arranger who writes music in the key of F-sharp major! Why in the world would you choose to do that, when right next door, a mere half-step up or down the scale, are either the key of F (with one little flat, B-flat) or G (with one little sharp, F-sharp)? When I was young, I might have played in the key of F-sharp, but at my age, why should I want to or have to? Holy cow, come on! 😉
Last Sunday, I played trumpet again in that wonderful church orchestra about which I wrote in my post of 25 December 2010. During the two services, we played a total of 8 pieces. Wonderful worship services! Loved the music selection and most of the arrangements…except the one for “Let the Church Rise.” Great piece, but tell me—why six sharps for B-flat instruments including the trumpet? For C instruments such as the piano and flute, that is the key of Concert E, which has four sharps and is bad enough in itself. Mercy!
My theory is that Mr. Arranger must be bored or demonic or both. Must have played a string instrument or piano, I’ll bet. Hates brass. Must be on a crusade to force musicians to practice. Mean guy. The devil himself must be behind this…sneaking the key of F-sharp into church music for laughs. Spoiler…saboteur. Yes, Mr. Arranger is possessed.
Now listen, students, if you’re still reading this—this is called “venting” or “blowing off steam.” It’s also called “whining,” “avoidance,” and “blaming” others for your troubles. It’s refusing to take responsibility for yourself. Another name for it is “stinkin’ thinkin’.” Consider this: is the horn designed and built to play in six and even seven sharps or flats? Answer: yes. Then the question is, “Can we, can you, can I do it?”
The truth is that if you want to master the horn, you must practice enough to play well in any of the 12 key signatures. That’s just how it is. No shortcuts, no excuses. Come on, Glenn, get to work. Watch your self-talk. “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7).
“Just do it,” says Nike. “The Lord rewards those who help themselves,” they say. “If you pray to God to move a mountain, be prepared to wake up next to a shovel,” someone said. Go practice the scale, arpeggios, and etudes in the key of F-sharp, Glenn, and be better prepared the next time you’re called to play in this church orchestra. It’s what they do, and so can you. The fact is that they like certain arrangers who like certain key signatures with lotsa sharps. It is what it is. Get on board the train. 🙂
Posted in Church Music | Tagged: arranger, as a man thinketh, brass, church, composer, F-sharp, flat, key signature, Let the Church Rise, mountain, orchestra, self-talk, sharp, shovel, trumpet | 8 Comments »
Posted by glennled on March 26, 2011
7th Grade Band (center), 5th Grade Band (left) & 6th Grade Band (right)
“Have you ever seen or heard anything like it?” “No, never!” “How was it?” “Unbelievable!”
That’s how the proud audience of parents, relatives, and friends felt after the 5th, 6th, and 7th-grade bands performed their concert in the gynmasium at Skyview Jr. High School in Bothell last Thursday night.
1st-Year Elementary Band
The concert began with the 5th Grade Band playing “Furioso,” followed by the 6th Grade Band’s “American Spirit March.” Then the 7th Grade Band played three pieces: “The Firebird,” “Black is the Color,” and “Legend of the Alhambra.” Next, Mr. Shawn McGinn, Director of Instrumental Music, joined this band’s percussionists in performing a Latin piece, “Mario Brothers.”
For the finale, Mr. Ginn conducted the combined 6th-7th Grade Bands in the dramatic piece, “Second Storm.”
It is remarkable to witness the progress being made by all these young musicians [especially the trumpet and trombone players, I say]! Band is so fun!
"Second Storm," played by the combined 7th (left) and 6th (right) Grade Bands
The combined 7th (left) and 6th (right) grade bands play the finale, "Second Storm"
Mr. McGinn joins the 7th-grade percussionists to play "Mario Brothers"
2nd-Year Elementary Band
Posted in School Concerts | Tagged: 5th, 6th, 7th, American Spirit March, band, Black is the Color, Bothell, elementary, Firebird, Furioso, gymnasium, Legend of the Alhambra, Mario Brothers, percussionists, Second Storm, Shawn McGinn, Skyview Jr. High, trombone, trumpet | 2 Comments »
Posted by glennled on March 24, 2011
Several of my students want to play in a group someday but either are not yet ready or haven’t found one to join. You are not alone. Many people all over the Greater Seattle area have the same desire, and if you go to the 4th annual Honk! Fest West on 13-15 May, you’ll see hundreds of other musicians. Bring your own trumpet, if you want–you’ll find a way to play–or just come to listen and meet people. “No noise is illegal!” they say about this street fair.
Honk! Fest brings out musicians of all stripes and sounds. This year about 20 bands “large and small (anywhere from 8 – 60 members) will come from 7 states and one Canadian province, ready with old ditties, new tunes, fighting songs, protest marches, funeral dirges, swinging gospel, Balkan folk, tin pan jazz, and everything in between marching bands, samba lines, horn players, drum corps, and others,” according to the festival’s website, http://honkfestwest.com. Among the 11 bands from the Seattle area are the Seattle Seahawks Blue Thunder Drumline, Seattle Sounders FC Soundwave, Tubaluba, Orkestar Zirkonium, and two bands from Garfield High School. Or maybe you’d rather hear the bands coming from Montana, California, Arizona, Illinois, Oregon, or British Columbia. At the Honk! Fest West website, you’ll find links to the websites of most of these bands, where you can see pictures and hear samples of their music.
On Friday, the main site is in Georgetown, and on Saturday, it moves to Fremont and Gasworks Park. The finale on Sunday is at Seattle Center and the International Fountain. For more details, visit the above website. Ask about the Pick-Up Band that will be formed during this event. Now mark your calendars, and maybe I’ll see you there, somewhere!
Posted in Festivals & Competitions | Tagged: bands, Fremont, Garfield High School, Gasworks Park, Georgetown, Honk! Fest West, Hubbub Club, International Fountain, Joe Mabel, Orkestar Slivovica, Orkestar Zirkonium, Seahawks Blue Thunder Drumline, Seattle, Seattle Center, Seattle Sounders FC Soundwave, trumpet, Tubaluba, Yellow Hat Band | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on February 21, 2011
Last night, the Washington All-State Band and All-State Orchestra played their annual concert, sponsored by the Washington Music Educators Association (WMEA), at Benaroya Hall in downtown Seattle. I was not there. I wanted to be there. Someday, I want to go see and hear one of my trumpet students play on the concert stage in the Washington All-State Band or All-State Orchestra. Who will it be?
Posted in School Concerts | Tagged: All-State, band, Benaroya Hall, concert, orchestra, Seattle, trumpet, Washington Music Educators Association, WMEA | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on February 16, 2011
Something special happened in Bothell last night—315 young musicians filled the floor of the spacious gymnasium at Northshore Junior High School and gave the adoring audience some thrilling sounds! It was the annual Honors Concert of the 22 elementary schools within
Honors Band (foreground), Orchestra (center), and Choir (background); Mr. Shawn McGinn (lower left)
the Northshore School District. Equally packed were the stands, overflowing into standing-room-only spaces for the many relatives and friends in attendance. And outside in the rain, their cars crammed into every feasible space in the school lots and out along the streets of the surrounding neighborhood for blocks. This was a big deal!
I attended because I teach some of the kids in the 105-member Honors Band. I am an Instructional Assistant to Mr. Shawn McGinn, band director at Skyview Junior High (see my blog post, “Glenn Now Teaches Brass…,” 6 September 2010). On Mondays, I teach the trumpeters and trombonists of the 2nd-year elementary band, and on Fridays, I conduct that entire band.
From Mr. McGinn’s band program, 15 students were selected for Honors Band. Of these, there were three flutists, four clarinetists, one bass clarinetist, one percussionist, two trombonists, and four trumpeters. They come from either Canyon Creek, Crystal Springs, or Fernwood elementary schools. I’m so proud of them all.
Honors Band, Janie McDavid conducting
Janie McDavid conducted the Honors Band. She currently teaches elementary instrumental music at Kenmore Junior High and Meridian Park and Echo Lake elementary schools. She led the band in three selections which ended the concert: “American Spirit March,” “The Tempest,” and “Eye of the Tiger.” Outstanding!
Posted in School Concerts | Tagged: American Spirit March, band, Bothell, brass, Canyon Creek, choir, Crystal Springs, Echo Lake, elementary, Eye of the Tiger, Fernwood, honors concert, instructional, instrumental, Janie McDavid, Kenmore Junior High, Meridian Park, musicians, Northshore Junior High, Northshore School District, orchestra, school, Shawn McGinn, Skyview Junior High, The Tempest, trombonists, trumpeters | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on February 6, 2011
Mercer Island was my home for 33 years. One of my two sons (now living in New Zealand) played drums in the MI High School Band. And now my 15th trumpet student is a sophomore in that same school and plays trumpet in that same band. Also like my drummer son, she
Drum Major, MIHS Marching Band
has ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). It’s easy for her attention to drift from one thing to the next, and it’s hard to stay focused on something for a long time.
She first learned to read music and play trumpet when she was a young girl, but then she transferred to another school and did not play for three years. To her dismay, when she returned to school at M.I. and resumed playing trumpet in the band, she found that she had forgotten much of what she’d once known about how to read music. Now she manages to play ok but wants to improve. Marching band season is over, she’s moved into concert band, the music is more complex and difficult, and she wants to play it well. She realized she must return to the basics and re-study the fundamentals…with a trumpet tutor.
I am the lucky man who is privileged to help her. We started her private lessons on 18 December 2010. She already plays with such a sweet, solid tone. Now all we need to do is help her learn all those notes over a two-octave range, learn all those music notations, strengthen and train her embouchure, and develop her hand-to-eye coordination and muscle memory. As that happens, her confidence and pride will soar. She will play as well as, or better than, most of her classmates. And, in turn, she will enjoy music and her band membership even more!
She says she had a great time when the 300-member MIHS band went to England a month ago to march in the colossal 2011 London New Year’s Day Parade (see www.londonparade.co.uk), joining some 10,000 performers from 20 countries who marched in front of about half a million spectators along the 2-mile route. The parade, which began in 1987, is broadcast by over 700 TV stations worldwide and is watched for some three hours by about 200 million viewers. This was the M.I. band’s first appearance in this, the 25th annual parade. Roughly 200 M.I. band students made the trip. The kids and community raised about $80,000 in support of those students who could not otherwise have gone. Go to the links below to watch videos of the MIHS band’s performance in London. Other USA bands participating came from Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, and Wisconsin.
Almost one out of every four students in Mercer Island High School is enrolled in the band program! The program consists of four concerts bands, the marching band, jazz bands, and the “Animal Band” (see http://www.misd.k12.wa.us/schools/hs/hsband/bands.html). The successes, awards and accolades won by these bands are numerous; for example, over 50 students were selected to participate in the All-State and All-Northwest honor ensembles during the last five years.
Next year, they will march again in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. Hmmmm….now if only the UW Husky football team can just win enough games next season, maybe they’ll get to play in the Rose Bowl game itself. Go, Huskies! And then she and her fellow M.I. band members can watch our own Seattle team play there. It’s so much fun to be in band! 🙂
There are at least four videos of the MIHS Marching Band’s performance in London on YouTube:
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: ADD, All-Northwest, All-State, Animal Band, Attention Deficit Disorder, band, basics, concert, embouchure, fundamentals, hand-to-eye coordination, high school, honor ensembles, Huskies, jazz, lessons, London, M.I., marching, Mercer Island, MIHS, muscle memory, music, New Year's Day Parade, Rose Bowl, Seattle, sophomore, Tournament of Roses, trumpet, trumpeter, tutor, UW | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on January 1, 2011
UCLA applied full-court pressure on almost every UW possession
‘Twas the day before New Years, when a skeleton crew of the Husky Alumni Pep Band played for the crowd of 1,783 at the UW-UCLA women’s basketball game in Seattle. We were on hand because the Varsity Marching Band was enroute home from San Diego where the night before, the University of Washington football
HMBAA Pep Band in foreground
team upset the University of Nebraska, 19-7, in the Holiday Bowl. Here’s how I saw the basketball game.
UCLA triumphed, 60-48, with a smothering full-court press and stifling defense. The Huskies (5-5, 0-1 Pac 10) handled it well for most of the game, shooting 62.5 percent in the first half, and were leading, 36-28, several minutes into the second half. But when UW got into foul trouble, the game turned in UCLA’s favor. Three players fouled out in the final five minutes, and the Huskies committed 25 turnovers. The No. 8 Bruins (11-1, 1-0) had more depth, as one of their bench players scored 15 points. UW junior Mackenzie Argens, 6 feet 3, scored her first double-double of the year with 18 points and 11 rebounds,
Kingma hits a three!
but scoring leader, guard Kristi Kingma, was held to 12 points.
Meanwhile, the band played on. As the game was played on Friday afternoon, we were a little short-handed. For example, we like to have six trumpet players but had only four. But it was fine, and as we filed out of the stands to go check in our music folders and pack away our horns, we got lots of compliments from nearby fans. It was a good week to be a Husky. The men’s basketball team pulled off a rare sweep in Los Angeles, beating USC, 73-67, on Wednesday and UCLA, 74-63, on Friday, while the football team won their only bowl game since 2002. Wuff-wuff and Happy New Year!
Skeleton crew of the HMBAA Pep Band pauses between songs in second half
HMBAA Pep Band swings into song during a time out late in the game
Posted in HMBAA - Husky Alumni Band | Tagged: Bruins, HMBAA, Holiday Bowl, Huskies, Husky Alumni Pep Band, Kristi Kingma, Mackenzie Argens, New Year's Eve, trumpet, UCLA, University of Nebraska, University of Washington, USC, UW, Varsity Marching Band, women's basketball | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on December 26, 2010
Glenn Ledbetter plays his 56-year old Super Olds cornet
Know how a song pops into your mind from nowhere, seems significant, and won’t go away? Early during the last week of Advent before Christmas Day, my wife “heard” me sweetly playing “O Come, All Ye Faithful” on my cornet on Christmas Eve. So on Thursday I practiced it, and on Friday night in our living room filled with family members, I played it at a moderate beat with plenty of vibrato and careful phrasing and dynamics. The first verse was solo, and on subsequent verses, she joined in on the piano, and everyone sang.
And then we sang lots of other carols, too, from the booklet of lyrics which she self-published a few years ago. That’s part of the way we celebrate on Christmas Eve (see my post of 30 December 2009, on the duet we played last year—“O Holy Night”—and more).
Late Christmas morning, some dear relatives who were not with us on Christmas Eve came over to visit, and after some delicious treats, we repeated the performance. They arrived happy and left happy. And so, as Dickens’ Tiny Tim said, “A Merry Christmas to us all; God bless us, every one!”
Posted in Musical Events at Home | Tagged: Advent, Christmas Eve, cornet, Dickens, dynamics, O Come All Ye Faithful, O Holy Night, phrasing, piano, solo, Super Olds, Tiny Tim, vibrato | 2 Comments »
Posted by glennled on December 25, 2010
This past Sunday was different from any other in my long life. I’ve played in marching bands, drum and bugle corps, concert bands, orchestras, ensembles, operas, and musicals. As a teen, I led congregational singing, but until 19 December 2010, I had never played trumpet in a church orchestra.
Archangel Gabriel Wall Relief, Church of San Michele, Florence, Italy, 1359 A.D.
My wife and I have heard and joined in congregational singing with this orchestra at a local community church several times this year. It is the best of its kind that I’ve ever heard in the Greater Seattle Area. The compositions and arrangements are sophisticated and even challenging at times.
One Sunday in the church bulletin, there was an offer to consider new members in the orchestra. I auditioned and was accepted as a substitute trumpeter. There are three regular trumpeters and several subs like me. The lead trumpeter has been there well over 20 years and plays at least a dozen instruments. Another regular also has been there more than 20, and the other more than 15.
The day I played, there were about 18 musicians in the orchestra; sometimes there are as many as 25-30. The choir numbered about 50. On this occasion, we were not playing “And the Trumpet Shall Sound” from Handel’s Messiah. Instead, this was the music:
- “Festival of Carols” (a medley of four)
- “Angels We Have Heard on High”
- “The First Noel,”
- “Come, Emmanuel,”
- “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day.”
Bass Performance Hall, Ft. Worth, TX, by Tony Gutierriz/AP, 14 June 2002
I had not known that “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” was written as a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow after he had lost two wives and one of his sons had been severely wounded in the Civil War. He wrote the words on 25 December 1864. About four months later, the Civil War ended and peaced reigned over the land once more. Later, the poem was modified and became a carol. Its last two stanzas read as follows:
“And in despair I bowed my head;
‘There is no peace on earth,’ I said;
‘For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!’
“Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
‘God is not dead; nor doth he sleep!
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men!'”
Can you worship with a horn? Until last Sunday I was not sure—maybe concentrating on playing the music correctly would displace worship. No, to my pleasant surprise, it did not. It was a moving experience. You can worship with your horn just as surely as you do with your voice in song. And it’s especially poignant when you’re accompanying an excellent church choir like this one. Volunteer and try it someday—you’ll like it.
Posted in Church Music | Tagged: And the Trumpet Shall Sound, Angels We Have Heard on High, Archangel Gabriel, bands, Bass Performance Hall, carols, choir, Church of San Michele, Civil War, Come Emmanuel, community church, congregational singing, Florence, Ft. Worth, Handel, horn, I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day, Italy, mega-church, Messiah, orchestra, Seattle, St. James Cathedral, St. Mark's Cathedral, Texas, The First Noel, trumpet, trumpeter | 2 Comments »
Posted by glennled on December 23, 2010
Mr. McGinn leads the Jazz Band
Mr. Shawn McGinn, director of bands and orchestra at Skyview Jr. High in Bothell, wore a tuxedo with cummerbund, and the students were all dressed in solid black. That tells you how classy this concert was! It was held last Thursday in the 600-seat Northshore Performing Arts Center (NPAC), and the house was packed.
Like all of Mr. McGinn’s school concerts, this one was well-organized and well-rehearsed. The students knew what was coming and what to do when the time came…and they did it well! It was a very entertaining and impressive evening event.
More than anything, I am impressed with the breath and depth of the music program he is building. It has to be one of the best within the Northshore School District, and it’s getting bigger and better all the time. At this concert, the opening act was a self-directed jazz sextet with vocalist, and that was followed by the orchestra, conducted by Mr. McGinn. Next he led the 7th grade band, after which he conducted the 8th-9th grade band and the jazz band.
Wow! There are about 180 students under his tutelage. They are at about six levels of proficiency. Makes you wonder when and where all
The Orchestra
these groups practice. And remember, Mr. McGinn has been doing this for several years! That really pulls and stretches a teacher. Does this man have passion and drive? Does he have purpose? As an audience member, it’s a pleasure to witness all these people on stage, striving with their leader for excellence.
And just think: this is happening all over America and in some form or another, all over the world. Music is a giant. It pervades every culture. How did this come to be?—because the gifts of natural musical talent and ability are not rare. Yes, great talent is indeed quite rare, but many, many people worldwide are born with excellent musical talent and then develop outstanding abilities. It is quite common among us. Why? Is there some noble, universal purpose to this? For me, the answer is clearly yes—so we can express ourselves, so we can communicate with each other in infinite ways by infinite means, so we, too, can create beauty, so we can give and share among our communities. When we play our instruments and sing for others, even in the school cafeteria or NPAC or Husky Stadium, we are on the world stage.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear the Words of Aldous Huxley: After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
Jazz Band
7th Grade Band
8th-9th Grade Band
Trumpeter takes a solo
Another trumpeter solos
Another trumpeter solos
Opening Act: Jazz Sextet with Vocalist
Posted in School Concerts | Tagged: 7th Grade Band, 8th-9th grade band, Aldus Huxley, band, Bothell, Husky Stadium, jazz band, music, Northshore Performing Arts Center, Northshore School District, NPAC, Skyview Jr. High, trumpet, trumpeter | 2 Comments »
Glenn's Trumpet Notes 
