This is a thread for Band Geeks (like myself) who want to just talk about band, instruments, music, music theory, etc. in a comfy atmosphere.

Band geeks unite!
1- Can I post my random band music links on here, or would that slow down the page too much?
2- (continued from my intro thread) Bass clarinets require too much air.
So do trumpets, if your playing ridiculously high notes.

I don't know if it would slow down the page. Try posting a link as a test.

This is Superior Tradition, we sight read this last week.

Links won't slow it down, only things actually appearing, like vids, and pictures.

Oboe doesn't need enough air. I know, it sounds weird, but I find that I need more oxygen, and still have a lung full of air. That never happened with flute.

Viola on the other hand, is an awesome instrument to play. I don't have anything fancy to play, and I can control the ensemble without my teacher realising it.

At least you can breathe whenever you want when you play a stringed instrument, meaning that you can breathe and still play at the same time.

Actually, you still have to breath on the phrase, otherwise you get out of time.

But you still don't have to use the air in order to make sound.

Weird! We just have to breath whenever we can. And where there's a breath mark.
I do the weird breathing thing to, where I'll have to breathe, but I have to breathe out first!

I usually breathe when I have to.

I think that's probably the best way to do it.

Do either of you have to compose music for classroom studies?

Nope. There was once a Music Theory class at my school, but it was cut before this year started.

Wait! You don't take music as a subject?! That's weird.

We have three pieces of assessment every semester, for music. A written exam, a performance, and a composition. It's fun!

Of course I take band as a subject, but there is no composition part to it. That's why I mentioned Music Theory; that had the composition elements in it.

Oh, band is a class? Here, it's an extra curricular subject, as is learning an instrument in the first place...

Then you have classroom music, which covers pretty much everything there is, except learning your instrument. If you don't play one, you have to sing, which sort of sucks...

It's a class for me. But we have no after-school band stuffs, except challenges.

We play for the home football games and several home basketball games, along with a couple concerts and other events outside of school.

Yes, band is a class. However, you do need to know how to play an instrument if you want to be in band by high school.

So you don't actually have a music class? With textbooks and history, and compositional techniques, and pulling apart pieces of music, and identifying which periods, and composing things yourself?!

Wow. That's weird...

It's a band class; the only thing we do is play music (and watch movies at the end of the year, of course).

That would be an awesome class. Do you get graded for it?

Yes. Unfortunately for all who have experienced the horror of the practice record.

Do you have to keep track of your practice time outside of class?

We're supposed to, but we don't, and it does nothing to our grades.

I'm glad that I only had to keep track of my practice time for one school year.

So, if you could start learning any instrument that you don't already play, right now, what would you choose?

I think I'd go with a sax of some sort, but not soprano or baritone...