Discussion Forum (Archived)
Guest
Welcome to the forum, rfbrownwards!
Yes indeed ... "almoner" it is.
I recently "discovered" what should have been an obvious aid in situations like this. After 2-3 rewinds trying to figure out what word(s) were just spoken, I just turn on closed captioning to see it. Not all shows provide that video feed, but many do.
Ironic that I spent big bucks on the speakers for my home theater system, and now my aging ears can hardly tell the difference. Too many years listening to loud rock & roll I guess. 🙂
Tromboniator said: ... but I also sit in the orchestra’s brass section, and right in front of the timpani.
Damn, do you wear any kind of hearing protection? 🙂
I played trumpet in HS band, and the trombones and tubas were behind us smaller brass. But the french horns were in front of us. The timpani was way in the back in the corner, probably to take advantage of wall reflections. Makes me wonder if there's any kind of "standard layout" in which an orchestra is arranged? Or is it up to the conductor?
No, I don't wear hearing protection. In general the loudness is quite tolerable. In truth, it is rare for the timpani to be painfully loud. It can be worse with a bass drum in loud passages, and triangle, xylophone, or bells can be much worse yet. I tend to get more pain from the trumpets, on my right, who are usually separated from me by the first and second trombones. I generally play bass trombone, which is ordinarily the third or fourth trombone part. Tuba, normally just one, on my left. There is a more or less standard orchestral layout, though it is up to the conductor. Arrangement of players depends on how large the ensemble is for a particular concert, and what particular instruments are needed; size and shape of the stage; what particular sound the conductor wants; whether or not there is a chorus involved. Percussion is always in the back, but how it's distributed is highly variable, and depends in part on whether we have two percussionists or eight. If the orchestration calls for a harp or two and a grand piano, layout may vary.
I've played in a lot of different band layouts, usually toward the back and usually toward stage left, but not always. I think it's less standardized than an orchestra. Depends on band size and yes, conductor's preference.
That instrument that is wrapped around the musician is rarely a tuba. Typically, a tuba is shaped like a bigger baritone, and typically school bands opt for the less expensive forms of brass bass. The one I played looked like a sousaphone to me, but I'm told there's difference. Tubas are an E-flat instrument, and I played a BB-flat bass.
Our director claimed that because it took a long time for sound to travel through certain instruments, those instruments were located in the rear,while flutes and piccolos are right up front. A bassoon player said, "That doesn't make sense. If we're going to play together, shouldn't the quick response instruments be in the rear, so we all play together for the audience?"
The director said, well, there are two reasons for that. For one thing. those who play flutes and piccolos are a lot slower, and that more than makes up for the instruments. For a second things, flutes and piccolos weigh a lot less."
A percussionist said, "How does the weight of an instrument matter?" and the director said, "It doesn't hurt nearly as much if I get hit with a piccolo or flutist when I criticize their playing. If one gets hit over the head with tubular bells, it could cause a concussion!"
We never knew whether he was kidding or was serious...
Orchestral tubas tend to be BBb (flat) or CC, but once in a while one shows up in Eb of F. Unusual to see a Sousaphone in an orchestra. There are also helicons which wrap around the player, but I've never seen one on the hoof. Bands are more apt to have Sousaphones, especially marching bands, and schools like them because they are generally cheaper than tubas.
deaconB, I think I would have liked your band director. I think the brass instruments gravitate toward the back 'cause they're louder than the others, and some people actually want to hear the flutes and clarinets; and the tubas and Sousaphones are a bit opaque for the rare player who actually wants to be able to see the director/conductor.
I would love to learn to play tuba, but having lugged a trombone up Buffalo St. hill for several years in the late '50s, early '60s, and hauled around a bass trombone for the last dozen years or so, I'm thinking of taking up piccolo, or maybe triangle.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
1 Guest(s)