Has it started already?

[Queeg2000]

Love it or loath it, it's like marmite to us. Personally it's the highlight of my year and it's about to kick off if it hasn't already.... Yes, the annual pilgrimage in the cold playing Christmas carols.

Had our Christmas party on Saturday and kick off the hard work on Wednesday with a concert followed by the usual supermarket foyers from Friday.

Have you started yet? Are you sick of it already or do you love it?7

 

[GER]

We don't do much outside playing in December, do a lot of concerts, nearly every Fri, Sat, Sun up to christmas, and a couple of concerts at local theatre, so quite lucky. With previous bands didn't mind the street collections, but didn't like going into restaurants, hotels etc playing for works Xmas 'do's'.
Already started did first concert on Friday, second one yesterday

 

[jobriant]

... Have you started yet? Are you sick of it already or do you love it?7

Harold Schoenberg, the long-time music critic for the New York Times, once wrote that his idea of going to hell was to have to listen to Christmas music for all eternity....

 

[Queeg2000]

I might get a bit sick of it after eternity, but a month disappears far too quickly for my liking and then we get back to playing test pieces again. Give me a carol book over a test pieces any day (in December)

 

[GJG]

 

[MissBraz]

My band don't do any carolling, very sad. Normally a small group of us go out and carol for charity unfortunately not managed to this year.

I love doing it . But something my band has never done....

 

[Queeg2000]

My band don't do any carolling, very sad. Normally a small group of us go out and carol for charity unfortunately not managed to this year.

I love doing it . But something my band has never done....

Is there no bands nearby that would need a hand? We're always desperate at Christmas, everyone seems to have some excuse to get out.

I love it myself, even offered to help out in the SA as they had no cornet players, was due to play on Saturday morning but they cried off with some drizzle.

 

[MissBraz]

Is there no bands nearby that would need a hand? We're always desperate at Christmas, everyone seems to have some excuse to get out.

I love it myself, even offered to help out in the SA as they had no cornet players, was due to play on Saturday morning but they cried off with some drizzle.

any bands in the Glos area reading this that require help carolling I'm available (tenor horn)

a bit of drizzle cried them off?? This snowflake generation haha!

 

[Queeg2000]

any bands in the Glos area reading this that require help carolling I'm available (tenor horn)

a bit of drizzle cried them off?? This snowflake generation haha!

I was a bit taken back by it. I thought the SA were all into helping the homeless etc but it turned out they were only able to do that if it's sunny.

 

[4th Cornet]

I was a bit taken back by it. I thought the SA were all into helping the homeless etc but it turned out they were only able to do that if it's sunny.

I'm a bit taken back by this unnecessary comment. I'm sure they had their reasons.

 

[Queeg2000]

I'm a bit taken back by this unnecessary comment. I'm sure they had their reasons.

Yes, it was raining. I was stood outside their hall, it was a bit of drizzle.

 

[2nd tenor]

any bands in the Glos area reading this that require help carolling I'm available (tenor horn)

I’m not in your area but otherwise I’d be forwarding something to our Secretary ASAP. I believe that you’re in North Gloucestershire and looking at the Brass Band Results Map I see that there are several bands there. It’s unlikely that any of those Bands will see your comment here but if you called or emailed a few with your kind offer then you’d almost certainly get welcomed with open arms!

Edit.
“I love it myself, even offered to help out in the SA as they had no cornet players, was due to play on Saturday morning but they cried off with some drizzle.”

I’ve wondered about this in general terms, I’m always willing to help another Band or music group. IIRC, from another thread some time back, the Sally Ally always refuses help from anyone who isn’t from within their organisation. Perhaps times have changed or perhaps someone accepted an offer when they shouldn’t (by the own rules) have done so. Having been ‘sent’ some rain perhaps they felt able to cancel an arrangement that in hindsight they shouldn’t have made.

With regard to the weather yes a little drizzle doesn’t put most of us off once we’re there, but playing outside in the rain isn’t something I’d want to do and it isn’t good for the health of your band’s members either. If I was the Band Master and rain was forecast then I’d call off playing too rather than risk later loosing half my players due to (avoidable) flue and colds. Snowflakes? Maybe but I think for the typical Sally Allay Band it’s more likely to be a case of older folk who are hanging on to doing what they can still manage.

I know that some Christian and Sally Ally types grate at times, and I hate the Bread plus Bible method of some charitable Christian groups. However, when you think about the many good things that the Sally has done it’s really not that hard to set-aside what might otherwise be thought of as imperfections. YMMV.

 

[Queeg2000]

It's a pity that the the poll is heading for the majority hating it. I think if it were my band it would be even more of an extreme though.

I wonder if there would be a change in bias between sections.

 

[2nd tenor]

It's a pity that the the poll is heading for the majority hating it. I think if it were my band it would be even more of an extreme though.

I wonder if there would be a change in bias between sections.

Unless I misunderstand the current 5 votes for, 6 against and 5 neutral there isn’t a clear indication of the bulk of players hating Carolling. IIRC my vote was take it or leave it and I still feel that way. It’s nice to play as a band to the public and Carols have a feel good factor too. What’s not so nice is to (despite wrapping up well) come home freezing cold having raised less in donations per player than we each spent on petrol and parking fees - it’s not quite the norm but that happened to me many years back and the committee couldn’t understand why I was annoyed at such wasted time, money and effort.

To my mind Carolling and Christmas is a time to build team spirit within the Band. Party together and when playing both support each other and swop the parts around within the section. Let say the 2nd Cornet players have a go at the Rep and Solo parts (good development if they want it) and those higher up the band rest a little on the easier parts.

They might do it but I’ve never seen a higher section band out Carolling, but I anticipate that their members did so on their journey upwards via lower section bands. To an extent it’s not logical for say Black Dyke to go Carolling, the funds raised from the passing public would still be small and their players both come from further away (than lower section players, I believe) and value their time more highly. Fundraising for the higher section bands is via sponsorship and large showy Concerts with costly tickets, things like that typically aren’t available to lower section bands and hence it’s a case of Carolling in the cold and trying to look happy about it.

 

[GER]

I wonder if there would be a change in bias between sections.

I would have thought the bigger the instrument, the less popular it will be. Can't imagine it being much fun carrying a b bass around. Lot easier for us cornets

 

[*me*]

I love it. Ok it’s not so great if it’s raining but other than that I love the people being happy around us. Christmas Carols make Christmas for me

 

[Queeg2000]

Unless I misunderstand the current 5 votes for, 6 against and 5 neutral there isn’t a clear indication of the bulk of players hating Carolling. IIRC my vote was take it or leave it and I still feel that way. It’s nice to play as a band to the public and Carols have a feel good factor too. What’s not so nice is to (despite wrapping up well) come home freezing cold having raised less in donations per player than we each spent on petrol and parking fees - it’s not quite the norm but that happened to me many years back and the committee couldn’t understand why I was annoyed at such wasted time, money and effort.

To my mind Carolling and Christmas is a time to build team spirit within the Band. Party together and when playing both support each other and swop the parts around within the section. Let say the 2nd Cornet players have a go at the Rep and Solo parts (good development if they want it) and those higher up the band rest a little on the easier parts.

They might do it but I’ve never seen a higher section band out Carolling, but I anticipate that their members did so on their journey upwards via lower section bands. To an extent it’s not logical for say Black Dyke to go Carolling, the funds raised from the passing public would still be small and their players both come from further away (than lower section players, I believe) and value their time more highly. Fundraising for the higher section bands is via sponsorship and large showy Concerts with costly tickets, things like that typically aren’t available to lower section bands and hence it’s a case of Carolling in the cold and trying to look happy about it.

There must have been a few votes cast since I posted, it was looking decidedly against at the time but has since leveled out.
I don't know what it is that I love about it, in theory it's terrible and always leaves me cold wet and exhausted by the end, but within half an hour I am counting the days until we start again. There are certainly some incredible sights, recently I saw a young girl in a wheel chair, who could barely move at all nodding her head and tapping her hands, there's also a sense of camaraderie within the band while you are playing, always the same few faces that turn up come rain or shine and always the same few that always have some excuse.

I used to love it when I was in my teens and every Christmas I really missed it after I stopped playing for 30 years. When my son started playing it came out that I used to play and I occasionally helped in the junior band if they were short on numbers, then last Christmas I started playing and caught the bug again. A week to go before it's all over and already I am looking forward to next year!

 

[2nd tenor]

....... There are certainly some incredible sights, recently I saw a young girl in a wheel chair, who could barely move at all nodding her head and tapping her hands, there's also a sense of camaraderie within the band while you are playing .......

They’re both the types of thing that ‘float my boat’ too. This year one of our Carolling ‘do’s’ was in a Working Man’s Club, besides cheap beer the best thing about that job was how pleased people were to see us and hear us play. Money in the Band’s bucket is nice but to have folk say to you how (positively) much they had enjoyed our playing has a value too.

 

[Tom-King]

They might do it but I’ve never seen a higher section band out Carolling, but I anticipate that their members did so on their journey upwards via lower section bands. To an extent it’s not logical for say Black Dyke to go Carolling, the funds raised from the passing public would still be small and their players both come from further away (than lower section players, I believe) and value their time more highly. Fundraising for the higher section bands is via sponsorship and large showy Concerts with costly tickets, things like that typically aren’t available to lower section bands and hence it’s a case of Carolling in the cold and trying to look happy about it.

It depends... you do still see it, if you follow the facebook pages of some of your local(ish) top section bands you may see them posting about being out carolling, but as you say it's often dependent on the band in question, how able they are to fundraise in other (potentially more lucrative) ways and how able they are to put a group together to go out and play (with 1hr+ travel times far from unheard of, myself included, it can be difficult).

 

[GER]

Used to play with a band that did every night from 10th Dec to xmas eve, would go round villages playing in streets or round xmas tree then into town when we do the round of restaurants, pubs and hotels playing at 'works' do's. Talking about late 80's early 90's, if after paying for bus and any other expenses we didn't clear £6k it was disappointing. It was hard work but was the major income stream for the band