Kids and Instrument Maintenance

[andyp]

Though I'd share this one, cos it tickled me!

My wife teaches brass for an afternoon a week at the local junior school, instruments are provided by the local band, in the hope that they'll want to keep it up and join the band. As a "treat" :?: on the last afternoon of the last term she asked me to give them a talk on how to look after their instruments, cleaning etc, for about half an hour. She then told them to write a short report on what I'd told them, to see if they'd remembered any of it.

So far, the most amusing answer is;

"If you don't play your instrument for at least 20 minutes a day, it'll go stiff!" :shock:

which beat the previous best " If you don't practice your valves fill up with green gunk" - not far off, what I really said was if you oil valves with Fairy Liquid instead of valve oil they'll fill up with green gunk!

There's more to be handed in this week, so if there's any more gems I'll add them on.

 

[Seedhouse]

Lol! Like it! :lol:

I hate it at my school brass band when some of the players come in, and say "Why are my valves stuck! They won't move!" to which the conductor goes "So you've been practicing a lot over the last week," to which the reply is "Yes... everyday :roll: !!!"
Grr! :evil:

 

[Majoresteve]

LOL :lol: :lol:

 

[Northants_tuba]

reminds me of the things i did when i first started in year 7

 

[tim]

Lol! Like it! :lol:

I hate it at my school brass band when some of the players come in, and say "Why are my valves stuck! They won't move!" to which the conductor goes "So you've been practicing a lot over the last week," to which the reply is "Yes... everyday :roll: !!!"
Grr! :evil:

Fortunately I play in a school band that takes things very seriously!!! We rehearse once a day... Twice on a tuesday with oprchestra rehersals on when band isn't (either lunch or before school with a rehersal after school on tuesdays)

The worst thing ive seen is someone dropping their cornet a minute before we were walking onto the Royal Festival Hall stage (I HATE THE LONG ROOM) that was a real nightmare. Fortunately he recovered from the shock and now sits joint principal with the band.

 

[stripybananas]

Yea my school takes music fairly seriously. Although we do have those sorts of problems with the junior groups!!!!
The long room is a nightmare, and the whole back of festival hall is as bad, complete maze! When were you playing there? and what for?
I've played there a few times for National Festival for Youth! with school Concert Band and Youth Brass 2000 - altho the brass band one is fixed.....been a school band and a welsh band that got through now for a LONG time!!!

 

[tim]

Yea my school takes music fairly seriously. Although we do have those sorts of problems with the junior groups!!!!
The long room is a nightmare, and the whole back of festival hall is as bad, complete maze! When were you playing there? and what for?
I've played there a few times for National Festival for Youth! with school Concert Band and Youth Brass 2000 - altho the brass band one is fixed.....been a school band and a welsh band that got through now for a LONG time!!!

I play for the Egglescliffe School Brass Band and it was at the national festival of music for youth.

We have been down every year for the last 30 (minus a couple) ish years except for the foot and mouth.

I agree it is the same set of bands each year but there are a couple I have never seen before and wardle aren't there I don't get how because they were very good and the national youth championships. They have an excellent principal cornet player he really led the band.

Which school are you at?

 

[stripybananas]

Leicester Grammar School, although we didn't go last year, they are a weird band, not the best unfortunately, but they don't put any effort in until they get onto the stage and thats way too late. We've just started a brass band up, but I think it will take a LONG time to get that to a contest standard!
I didn't hear wardle at the national championships, but i wasn't too impressed with our own performance, we handled Cambrian Suite reasonably, but the rest of the program wasn't played so well! Lack of rehearsal time really! Not to mention alot of the players, particularly those not on end chairs didn't put too much of their own practise time in!

Which section did you compete in at the nationals?

 

[Australian Euphonium]

Lol! Like it! :lol:

I hate it at my school brass band when some of the players come in, and say "Why are my valves stuck! They won't move!" to which the conductor goes "So you've been practicing a lot over the last week," to which the reply is "Yes... everyday :roll: !!!"
Grr! :evil:

LOL

 

[stripybananas]

That's the problem with Youth Banding really though, different levels of commitment, and such varying standards. I mean you have some players who will spend every waking moment playing and practising, then you'll get ones who enjoy playing but its not serious and jus there for a bit of fun, and then the ones who's parents are forcing them.

 

[tim]

Leicester Grammar School, although we didn't go last year, they are a weird band, not the best unfortunately, but they don't put any effort in until they get onto the stage and thats way too late. We've just started a brass band up, but I think it will take a LONG time to get that to a contest standard!
I didn't hear wardle at the national championships, but i wasn't too impressed with our own performance, we handled Cambrian Suite reasonably, but the rest of the program wasn't played so well! Lack of rehearsal time really! Not to mention alot of the players, particularly those not on end chairs didn't put too much of their own practise time in!

Which section did you compete in at the nationals?

We play in the schools section.

I don't understand y cambrian suite was the community section piece this year as two years ago it was schools and supposedly community is better than schools and I found haslemere to be a much more challenging piece (well the last movement) than cambrian.

I don't think the choices were paticualarly gud but I must admit I do like A cambrian suite very nice music!!

 

[stripybananas]

Yea there are some really nice bits in Cambrian Suite....although Haslemere is very cool too!