The view from the pit

"ttyymmnn" (ttyymmnn) 04/21/2017 at 21:44 • Filed to: None

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Rehearsing Madame Butterfly . The plastic shield is so I don’t kill the second bassoon player.

The Compromiser > ttyymmnn 04/21/2017 at 21:50

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Is second bassoon, a buffoon?

OPPOsaurus WRX > ttyymmnn 04/21/2017 at 22:02

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i pulled my horn

and tried to play fanfare for the common man. it was the first time trying to play in probably 10 years. I got about 5 minutes in and it started to hurt too much.

Back in highschool the first trumpet stood up to do a solo. When he was done ashe sat back down, the kid next to him pulled out the chair and the kid went straight down to the floor

ttyymmnn > OPPOsaurus WRX 04/21/2017 at 22:09

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I would have punched the fuck out of that guy. And I’m not a violent person.

ttyymmnn > The Compromiser 04/21/2017 at 22:10

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No, he’s really quite good. The first bassoon, though, is a pain in the ass.

XJDano > ttyymmnn 04/21/2017 at 22:17

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That’s a different pit than what I was used to in the early 2000's.

ttyymmnn > XJDano 04/21/2017 at 22:20

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Not quite as sweaty.

Wobbles the Mind > ttyymmnn 04/21/2017 at 22:24

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I’m so sorry for the lost of the first bassoonist before him. My condolences.

ttyymmnn > Wobbles the Mind 04/21/2017 at 22:30

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Settin em up, knockin em down.

Mondial goes to 11 > ttyymmnn 04/21/2017 at 23:01

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I joined the local community college symphony this past fall. During warmup for the first concert I ask my stand partner “do we have shields?” Blank stare. At least the brass were on risers and mostly played over us. It’s actually motivation to play better so you don’t sit in the back and lose your hearing.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > ttyymmnn 04/21/2017 at 23:11

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My wife plays bass in the Glacier symphony orchestra. We get to go see the performances for free. I’m really getting into it finally.

Shour, Aloof and Obnoxious > ttyymmnn 04/21/2017 at 23:12

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Jealous jealous jealous.

I remember my first music history prof (202!) telling us that if we completed our degrees, that we would fall in love with opera and chamber music by the time we graduated. Most of us rolled our eyes, naturally.

By my third year, I volunteered to play 2nd clarinet/bass clarinet for Tosca, and went on to play in every opera and summer musical that our local opera company performed until I finished grad school. Opera pits remain amongst my most rewarding performing experiences, and if I could make a living doing it full-time, I would leave the middle school podium in a heartbeat.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > ttyymmnn 04/21/2017 at 23:25

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Are you a low brass player? I was a percussionist throughout high school so I know that view.

ttyymmnn > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 04/21/2017 at 23:41

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Trumpet. Still the back row, though. They’ve actually got us sitting lower than the woodwinds in front of us.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > ttyymmnn 04/21/2017 at 23:47

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Wow! I always remember trumpets being on the right side(from the pit)but it differs from band to band.

ttyymmnn > Shour, Aloof and Obnoxious 04/21/2017 at 23:51

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I wish I could make a living at it. This company only does three shows a season. There was a phenomenal trumpet player at UT when I was there who is now one of the principal trumpet players in the Met, Billy Hunter. There aren’t enough superlatives to describe his playing, and I’m sure he’s making major bank playing in NYC.

Thing is, I’d never go to an opera unless I were playing in it. My father, who has a DMA in organ performance and taught music history and theory for 30 years, is an absolute operaholic, but I never got the bug, despite completing three degrees. I got my start singing in the children’s chorus on stage in Carmen . And I actually played the onstage trumpet part in Elixir of Love on stage. It’s usually played from the pit and pantomimed on stage. I, too, love playing in a pit. Not sure why. My real favorite is Broadway shows, though.

Last summer, I played a run of Carnival for a summer stock theater. To save space, they put the (reduced) orchestra backstage, and we played with mics and headphones. We could hear the singers, and all the balance was done at the board, but it’s not the same as when you are in the same space as the stage performers and reacting to each other. The collaborative aspect of that experience is truly thrilling.

I have a tremendous amount of respect for the job you do. My son is finishing the 8th grade this year, and also plays trumpet. They got all 1's this year at festival, I think for the first time since this director has been at the school. I feel the same way about MS band directors as I do about police officers, firefighters and paramedics: they are all extremely important jobs, and I’m glad other people do them because God knows I never could.

ttyymmnn > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 04/21/2017 at 23:54

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Neat! You should try to view a concert from the wings sometime, to see what the musicians see. Or ask to sit in a rehearsal. It’s an entirely different experience to see the conductor, and to be smack in the middle of all that noise.

ttyymmnn > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 04/21/2017 at 23:56

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It does differ. In one orchestra where I play, we are on risers across the back, in a line with the trombones. My chair ends up right about stage center, which is a fantastic place to be, and I sit right next to the principal trombone. In Austin, we are stage left, sitting in front of the trombones. Sitting in front of the trombones is not fun. I have tinnitus from my years of doing that.

ttyymmnn > Mondial goes to 11 04/22/2017 at 00:01

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There is a story that makes the rounds of the trumpet world, and I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s good nonetheless.

There is a very well-known English trumpet player, John Wilbraham, who played for the BBC Orchestra and many others as well. One day, he came in to a rehearsal, sat down, and started warming up. The back desk viola players turned around and made faces about his being so close and, presumably, so loud. So he put his horn down, leaned forward, and said, “You know, if you had practiced more when you were in school, you’d be sitting up front.”

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > ttyymmnn 04/22/2017 at 00:02

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Trombones are both the worst and the best.

ttyymmnn > OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars 04/22/2017 at 00:05

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I would have to agree. They have the straightest pipe of all the brass instruments, and they have been known to abuse that privilege. Allegedly, Richard Strauss himself once said about conducting, “Never look at the brass. It only encourages them.”

The Compromiser > ttyymmnn 04/22/2017 at 00:59

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Ah I see. The First Bassoon is a big Baboon!

ttyymmnn > Shour, Aloof and Obnoxious 04/23/2017 at 11:50

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Here’s something to share with your trumpet players.

NJAnon > ttyymmnn 04/24/2017 at 19:10

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Well yeah you’re supposed to have the rised setup. Maybe I was just lucky the intrument I played meant I was always in the back so I didn’t get the full music blast.

(plastic shield? tell that other bassoon player to tighten up! jk :P)