perkusi

VINCERO! From the Aria "Nessun Dorma" - meaning "I will win!"

VINCERO! From the Aria "Nessun Dorma" - meaning "I will win!" Rene' Conway MB Bontang PKT Bontang, East Kalimantan Indonesia

The problem is . . . I'm in Indonesia . . . on the island of Kalimantan . . . there are no private teachers here outside of my staff. I'm just looking for some alternate methods of getting good results. You said it right, different strokes for different folks, what works for one person might not work for someone else, so it helps to have some new ideas to try out. So I'm going to have my 1st trumpet players spend some time doing some exercises on baritone and perhaps a little on tuba. If it helps them to improve their sound, then I'll know it works. If anyone has any other advice on this, please don't hesitate to share. Thanks

I'm really interested in the comments about how playing baritone can improve your sound on trumpet (centering of pitch / tone quality). Can someone help by elaborating on this a little more? What types of exercises are best to use on baritone in order to improve the tone quality on trumpet, or is it a given that this will happen because of the muscles in the embouchure that are being used, etc etc etc? My 1st trumpet players are using the WD1 mouthpieces put out by Wayne Downey and get a good sound, but there are times on their solos that I'd really like for them to get a fuller / thicker sound. Will playing on baritone in any way cause difficulties in your upper range on trumpet over an extended period of time, or will it have the opposite effect, as with pedal tones? Thanks in advance for your comments. Rene'

I've purchased a few Drum Corps Brass Scores over the years. I get them in their original Bugle Score form (from corps like BD, Madison and Phantom) and they usually range from between $100 - $250 each for just the Brass Scores, depending on their length and complexity . . . and also the arranger - some are more humble, while others know they are good and their prices are reflective of that). If you want the Corps Arrangers to do an original arrangement for you, it can run around $750 on average for just a Brass Score, and if it's a really complex arrangement, the sky's the limit. Regarding Percussion Arrangements, I read the following post by Don Click regarding his philosophy (I hope he doesn't mind me quoting him . . . my apologies if he does): _______________________________________ I write a lot of fall and winter music, and have a "general" guideline I use: Pit OR battery only: $175 per minute BOTH pit and battery: $300 per minute Show design: Quoted Per I take into consideration MANY things though....if I have to come up with the concept and basically block the show, I'll charge more. If the band has NO money, but I would still like to write for them, I charge less. I also use this when determining fees: Band Director can choose ONLY 2 from the below 3 choices: 1. What I write is GOOD 2. I write it FAST 3. It's CHEAP So....if they want it GOOD and FAST...it's not going to be cheap! If they want it FAST and CHEAP...it's not going to be good! If they want it GOOD and CHEAP...it's not going to be fast! Don Click _______________________________________ According to another post, Jim Casella (SCV) charges $400 per minute . . . so obviously it varies. And that's coming from a well established Percussion Instructor / Arranger. I would assume that Brass Arrangers have a similar philosophy. Hope that helps.

The man in charge of Madison's Percussion in the late 70's early 80's was Chris Theo (aka Christos). He also designed the 1979 DCI Logo which was pretty cool. As far as I know, he was the Madison Percussion guy until '83 when Chris Thompson took over, although he still did some consulting from time to time, from what he told me when I spoke to him in the mid 80's. As for the rest of the staff, can't tell ya that, but Dan G. is on here and he can probably clear that up for you. Rene' Conway Director - Marching Band Bontang Pupuk Kaltim Bontang, East Kalimantan, Indonesia Dynasty USA Percussion Clinician for Indonesia Phantom Regiment Percussion Staff 1984