Dave Payn
Active Member
I'll lay my cards on the table from the off. I was brought up as a trumpeter and spent most of my early playing years in orchestras, wind bands, brass ensembles and the like. However, having spent 25 years in brass bands being involved both as a player and a conductor (I don't claim any degree of expertise, mind - but I will stick with banding all the same!), one difference I've noticed between the two is, on a GENERAL level (not top section banding) is that muting is a compartively rare thing if you don't play a cornet or trombone. My experience in lower section banding is to see a whole array of different mutes on show when a 'uniform' is asked for. (i.e, a passage marked 'straight mute' no intentional reference there, David! - only to see players put in cups, harmons, wooden mutes, etc. etc. and it gets even more varied throughout a section when a cup mute or harmon mute is indicated by composers and arrangers!).
Let me state now, that though I kicked off the French horn debate for 'tone colour' purposes, this is not directly linked to French horns, but the common denominator is 'tone colour'.
Having played in many a brass ensemble over the years, an array of mutes was expected rather than desired. Many brass bands, obviously, struggle with the finances just to get a decent set of mutes for cornets and trombones, let alone mutes for basses, euphoniums, tenor horns and baritones! Many top (or near top) section pieces nowadays are written/arranged with the extra muting in mind and those bands with sponsorship and the like are more able to afford a complete set of mutes (not a jealous rant, just an observation). However, most 'bog standard' pieces written and arranged playable by lower section bands rarely ask for muting outside the trombone and cornet circles. (Certainly true of the older repertoire)
The National Lottery provided an opportunity for many bands to acquire a complete set of new instruments, uniforms (and in some cases, I dare say, mutes!) but the general 'band' culture is just to have mutes for cornets and trombones (and even then, not always a complete or consistent set)
My question, having rabbled on for so long, is this; wouldn't the banding outlook as a whole benefit from some sort of funding (or indeed putting aside some funds) to (a) provide the vast majority of bands everywhere, no matter what their current standard is, with a set of mutes for all (I'm not going so far as to say EVERY instrument in a band should have straights, cups, harmons, plungers etc. etc.) but to 'open some doors' to composers and arrangers to provide some variety in tone colour in their works, but where they may have felt restricted to a degree beforehand because of the 'tradition'?
I accept that mutes for non cornet and trombone players aren't readily available to all, but if only (again, this is more a hypothetical 'plea' than anything else) someone or some thing could kick start this, then I believe the true versatility of the brass band would be fully realised and maybe the 'rarer' mutes would become more available (accepting that the instruments with the bells pointing up would find it more difficult to insert/extract mutes than the rest!).
As I said, I'm not writing with any degree of 'expertise', it's just that the brass band could become such a wonderfully versatile body of musicians (correction, it IS versatile but so much more could be made of it from a general banding level with opportunities to vary the 'palette').
I accept that I could be talking complete tripe from a 'lottery grant' front (amongst other things) but I haven't experienced a band that has applied for funding from a 'muting' point of view (other than cornets and trombones!).
Comments, of course, welcome, but particularly from (a) composers and arrangers and (b) lower section bands; what collection of mutes do you have? Have you 'substituted' a passage in a concert indicating 'harmon mute' with a straight mute? I've seen it happen!
(Edit -addendum) Also, what about Salvation Army bands; is it a case of most bands with mutes just for cornets and trombones, or more?
Apologies if this is a case of 'taking nothing very much far too seriously' but there you go!
Kind regards
Let me state now, that though I kicked off the French horn debate for 'tone colour' purposes, this is not directly linked to French horns, but the common denominator is 'tone colour'.
Having played in many a brass ensemble over the years, an array of mutes was expected rather than desired. Many brass bands, obviously, struggle with the finances just to get a decent set of mutes for cornets and trombones, let alone mutes for basses, euphoniums, tenor horns and baritones! Many top (or near top) section pieces nowadays are written/arranged with the extra muting in mind and those bands with sponsorship and the like are more able to afford a complete set of mutes (not a jealous rant, just an observation). However, most 'bog standard' pieces written and arranged playable by lower section bands rarely ask for muting outside the trombone and cornet circles. (Certainly true of the older repertoire)
The National Lottery provided an opportunity for many bands to acquire a complete set of new instruments, uniforms (and in some cases, I dare say, mutes!) but the general 'band' culture is just to have mutes for cornets and trombones (and even then, not always a complete or consistent set)
My question, having rabbled on for so long, is this; wouldn't the banding outlook as a whole benefit from some sort of funding (or indeed putting aside some funds) to (a) provide the vast majority of bands everywhere, no matter what their current standard is, with a set of mutes for all (I'm not going so far as to say EVERY instrument in a band should have straights, cups, harmons, plungers etc. etc.) but to 'open some doors' to composers and arrangers to provide some variety in tone colour in their works, but where they may have felt restricted to a degree beforehand because of the 'tradition'?
I accept that mutes for non cornet and trombone players aren't readily available to all, but if only (again, this is more a hypothetical 'plea' than anything else) someone or some thing could kick start this, then I believe the true versatility of the brass band would be fully realised and maybe the 'rarer' mutes would become more available (accepting that the instruments with the bells pointing up would find it more difficult to insert/extract mutes than the rest!).
As I said, I'm not writing with any degree of 'expertise', it's just that the brass band could become such a wonderfully versatile body of musicians (correction, it IS versatile but so much more could be made of it from a general banding level with opportunities to vary the 'palette').
I accept that I could be talking complete tripe from a 'lottery grant' front (amongst other things) but I haven't experienced a band that has applied for funding from a 'muting' point of view (other than cornets and trombones!).
Comments, of course, welcome, but particularly from (a) composers and arrangers and (b) lower section bands; what collection of mutes do you have? Have you 'substituted' a passage in a concert indicating 'harmon mute' with a straight mute? I've seen it happen!
(Edit -addendum) Also, what about Salvation Army bands; is it a case of most bands with mutes just for cornets and trombones, or more?
Apologies if this is a case of 'taking nothing very much far too seriously' but there you go!
Kind regards
