Holiday from band - 2 weeks off! Great on the old bank balance, but not so great on the lip, especially as we have a concert in just under three weeks. The programme is quite a heavy blow - including Festive Overture to finish (love it, but it goes on and on and on!) and I'm sure Indiana Jones will be in there somewhere. I love Festive Overture - it proves certain things to me, but the less said about that the better. I am a much better player than I was a few years ago, and its nice to feel that some people have confidence in my ability. Finding the right mouthpiece was part of it, I do love the Heritage range by Denis Wick. I've had endless discussions with various people about it, and a mouthpiece really is a personal choice. The braces aren't really helping, but sometimes at the moment I am getting this really, really lovely sound - even better than pre-braces. It just stamina that is currently the problem. On Friday I was practising hymn tunes in the afternoon, just working on production etc, and someone stood outside my front door listening to me play for about 10 minutes! Not sure if that is flattering or just plain weird....
Last week my friend from Yorkshire, Geoff, came down for a visit with his other half. We spent most of the weekend talking about brass bands, and he brought Elvis down a tape to have a listen to. Amazing the sound of the bands he used to play with in the 80s - its funny how he *always* tells me about beating Dyke at the area!!!! Claims to fame, eh ;)
I have been practising the test piece for Folkestone Contest, which is in a few months. The piece has got quite a lot of double tonguing in it, if played correctly. I'm not quite sure of what speed we are aiming for, but as my front teeth have moved back significantly its all coming out a bit 'fluffy' at the moment. Practise makes, eh?
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