Nov 142019
 

Guest article by swlamu of Swan Lake Music

The term Brass Band is used to refer to an instrumental ensemble comprising brass instruments with percussion. Within this term, there are five different styles of groups that include British Style, Balkin, New Orleans, Low Country, Zanzibar, and Polynesian.

With its rich, mellow sound, the British Style Brass Band dates back to the Industrial Revolution of the early 1900s in England. Seeing the craze of newly invented instruments designed by Belgian musician and inventor Adolphe Sax, bosses of factories and pits saw a new leisure activity for the employees. With the mass production and technological advances of the instruments, the brass band became a favorite pastime by the 1850s and served as an expression of aspiration and solidarity of growing communities. Because of its popularity, brass bands began to spring up all over England, and by 1860, over 750 groups were representing the military, churches, villages, pits, and factories in the country alone. With its popularity, the number of brass bands extended globally, and today there are brass bands throughout the rest of the United Kingdom, Europe, North and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.

Unlike other brass groups that use trumpets and French Horns, the British Style Brass Band uses specific instruments. These instruments include the following.
1 Soprano Cornet
9 Cornets
1 Flugelhorn
3 Tenor Horns also known as Alto Horns in some countries
2 Baritone Horns
2 Euphoniums
2 E Flat Tubas 
2 B Flat Tubas
2-4 Percussion

Jan 082018
 

ancient syria

Professor Anne Draffkorn Kilmer, a professor of Assyriology at the University of California and a curator at the Lowie Museum of Anthropology in Berkeley, California, has developed an interpretation of the oldest written piece of music discovered to date. Written on tablets on dated at about 3,400 years old, the music and words found in the ancient Syrian city of Ugarit in the early 1950’s and is approximately 1,400 years older than what was thought to be the oldest written music at the time.

Professor Kilmer developed an interpretation of the song based on her study of the notation. She wrote a book (“Sounds from Silence”) about her work. Amazingly, the oldest written music is based on the diatonic major scale. Professor Kilmer is quoted as having said, “We are able to match the number of syllables in the text of the song with the number of notes indicated by the musical notations.” Harmonies, rather than a melody comprised of single notes, are the result. The chances that the number of syllables would match the notation numbers unintentionally are astronomical.

The idea that music was written using the seven-note diatonic scale and harmony 3,400 years ago is astounding. That blows up all of the theories and concepts of the evolution of Western music.

The sheet music and sound recordings of the oldest written music ever discovered are both available online and off-line. The music is not bad. It is not awe-inspiring, but it is not bad either.

Those who are genuinely interested in music and the way that music has evolved over the centuries will be curious enough to track down a copy of this music. Music does last forever!

Dec 282017
 

music2

A person who speaks Chinese and a person who speaks French cannot hold a conversation. Oh, with the use of hand motions, a primary form of communication might be possible; but it could hardly be called conversation. A person who only speaks Spanish cannot have a real conversation with a person who just talks any one of the Vietnamese dialects. All languages are different — all languages except music, that is. Music is the same in every language.

There are seven notes in a musical scale, and it does not matter what country you are standing in or what language you speak. There are still only seven notes in a musical scale. Granted, those seven notes might have different names in different countries; but the music is the same, and if the note is written on a musical staff, every musician plays the very same note.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said, “Music is the universal language of mankind.” He was right. All humans have the same well of emotions. We can all feel happy or sad — hopeless or hopeful, joyful or depressed, defeated or victorious. Moreover, the same music can evoke the same emotions in people who speak different languages. We all bleed red, and we all feel the same inside. We all understand “music” no matter what language we speak.

I cannot imagine a world without music. Sometimes music merely is background, and sometimes music is the star. However, there is always music, and it is a language that all musicians can read and “speak,” and all the rest of us understand.

Moreover, it is not only humans who understand the language of music. Music therapy has proven effective in plants and animals, too. Furthermore, it has shown that both plants and animals respond in a positive way to the sound of music.

Cover tiny file
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The Red Sarafan for Chamber Orchestra
Composed by Alexander Varlamov (1801-1848). Arranged by Lisa Lenke Sousa. 21st Century, Romantic Period, Classical Period, Folk, European. Score, Set of Parts. 34 pages. Published by Lisa Lenke Sousa (S0.298957).
Nov 082017
 

Classical Gas is one of the most requested and most familiar instrumental pieces of all time. This tune is always asked for whenever a bunch of people and a nylon string acoustic guitar are in the same room. Even though it is not a great technical showcase for fingerstyle guitarists, it is a great vehicle to show off the sound of the classical guitar.

 

Classical Gas, released into the world in 1968, was a song that The Doors prevented from turning into a number one hit; but, it remained in the second place for two weeks. Today, it is still among the most familiar tunes of all time and, along with The Anonymous Romance and Lecuona’s Malaguena, regarded as an essential element of the classical guitar repertoire. Moreover, nobody can say why.

 

The impact of Classical Gas is way more than the sum of its parts. There are very few musical ideas in this composition. It is mainly repetition of a theme made up of a few notes. There are a few parts that are unforgettable “surprises” making use of syncopation, scales, strums, and rough time signature changes. Somehow all the bits link together like pearls on a necklace, and the final note adds a sublime resolution.

 

The composer, Mason Williams, states on his website, “I did not have any big plans for it, other than maybe to have a piece to play at parties when they passed the guitar around. I envisioned it as simply repertoire or “fuel” for the classical guitar, so I called it Classical Gasoline.” Mason Williams’ day job was as a comedy writer and stand-up comedian who had lots of other projects besides writing a classical guitar instrumental.

 

It was Mason Williams’ work on the Smothers Brothers’ “Comedy Hour” which gave him the opportunity to have his pet composition heard by the American public. The original score of the piece shows only chords and a few notes. Mason Williams had a twenty-three-year-old composer named Mike Post finish off the arrangement.

 

At the Grammys, it won Best Instrumental Composition and Best Instrumental Performance for Mason Williams and Best Instrumental Arrangement for Mike Post who has had a career full of triumphs in the field of TV theme music. Among his achievements as a television, theme composer include the theme(s) of Law And Order, The A-Team, and the Rockford Files.

 

Classical Gas has been employed as the theme music for several news programs, the background music for the Apollo 4 movie, and featured in some other films and TV shows. Many people have mistakenly attributed Mason Williams’ solo version of the tune for a cover by Eric Clapton.

 

Classical Gas is an easy piece to play; the challenge is to play it with passion and dynamics because it appears to non-guitarists, more challenging to play than it is. Maybe this is the reason it is among the most requested guitar pieces ever.

 

 

Cover tiny file
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Classical Gas
By Mason Williams. Piano Solo; Solo. Pop. Performance part. With chord names. 5 pages. Published by Alfred Music (AP.3708CSMT).
Cover tiny file
look inside
Classical Gas
Guitar TAB. Composed by Mason Williams. This edition: Guitar TAB. Artist/Personality; Guitar Personality; Guitar TAB. Pop, Classical and Play Along. Guitar tablature songbook and accompaniment CD. With guitar tablature, standard notation, vocal melody, lyrics, chord names and guitar chord diagrams. 176 pages. Published by Alfred Music (AP.P0961GTA).
Cover tiny file
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Classical Gas
Drill Design 68/12. Arrangers’ Publ Drill Books. 24 pages. Arrangers’ Publishing Company #D620. Published by Arrangers’ Publishing Company (HL.40001744).
Cover tiny file
look inside
Classical Gas
Drill Design 83/12. Arrangers’ Publ Drill Books. 28 pages. Arrangers’ Publishing Company #D621. Published by Arrangers’ Publishing Company (HL.40001745).
Sep 262017
 

baby violin

 

There might be different views as regards music as it has a significant effect on our emotions and scientists have proved that music also affects the development of human brain too. When a baby is born, it has billions of brain cells, over time these cells grow stronger. Children who grow up listening music have strong music connections. It affects the way of your thinking, for example, listening to classical music improves your spatial reasoning, and if you are learning by playing with an instrument, it affects individual thinking skills.

Is it true that music makes one smarter?
Music controls some cells of the brain for a particular way of thinking, and after listening to classical music, one can quickly perform some spatial tasks such as solving a jigsaw puzzle. This improved performance is because the classical music pathways are similar to the channels used in spatial reasoning. When one listens to classical music, these channels are turned on and are ready to be used. These open channels result in solving the puzzle quickly but lasts for a short time after listening to music. Playing an instrument also improves the spatial skills as research has proved that music training creates new pathways in the brain.

Use of classical music
Due to the complex structure of classical music, a child who listens to classical music quickly picks out the structure and recognizes any classical music he has heard before. Therefore, listening to classical music has a different effect as compared to other forms of music.

How to nurture your child with music?
You can easily help your child to build his love for music by playing music for your baby, singing to your baby, start taking early music lessons, sing with your child or help your child to learn music education at the school.

Sep 062017
 
Originally composed by Jerome Kern, with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II for the musical, Very Warm for May in 1939, All The Things You Are is a piece that is a jazz standard performed by many performers including Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Charlie Parker, and Michael Jackson.
This arrangement for Horn Quartet is 3 minutes, 32 seconds long, and is an endurance challenge for the first part. It also should be played lyrically at quarter note equaling 120.
Sep 062017
 
Written by Richard and Robert Sherman and featured in the 1964 motion picture, Mary Poppins, Feed the Birds is a song that tells of an elderly beggar woman who sits on the steps of London’s St. Paul’s Cathedral.  As the birds gather around her, she sells bread crumbs to those who pass by for tuppence a bag.
With the duration of 3 minutes long, this arrangement of Feed the Birds is for six horns and is a great piece as far as phrasing, chamber ensemble playing and dynamic levels.
Sep 062017
 

This arrangement of No. 5 Pas de deux From Act I from the Ballet Swan Lake Op. 20 is a challenging piece for British Style Brass Band. It contains a full score including parts for 9 cornets ( 4 solo cornets, 2 second cornets and 3 3rd cornets), 1 Flugelhorn, 3 Tenor Horn parts, 2 Baritone, 2 Tenor Trombones, 1 Bass Trombone, 2 Euphoniums, 2 E flat Tubas, and 2 BB flat Tubas.  Please order this piece today!!

swan-2107052__340

Jan 052016
 

Gala is a joyful woodwind dectet in 7/8 time. It comes complete with score and parts consisting of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, and 2 Horns. With a duration of 1 minute, 40 seconds, Gala makes a great opening number for concerts and festivals.

Click Here  to purchase and download Gala for Woodwind Dectet on Sheet Music Plus.

Jan 052016
 

Cardinal Quintet in G Major is a joyful piece written for woodwind quintet. This 3 minute, 14 second work has 3 distinct movements. The first movement is in 2/4, the second, 5/8, and the 3rd is in 3/4. This advanced musical composition is an excellent choice for any concert or solo and ensemble contest.

Click Here  to purchase and download Cardinal Quintet in G Major! 🙂