Yaww.

Eww, brass?

Eww, brass?

I agree.

Eww, brass?

Yeah, that's the reaction I get whenever a string player spots me emptying vast amounts of spit out of my instrument... :D

It's not that I don't like brass, I'm not in the mood for writing for solo brass.

Then wait for next month's competition, please. Remember what happened with the Symphony Competition? A million people fought like crazy and scalloped and moaned to have the competition be a Symphony competition, and then in the end, we get 3, count 'em, THREE!!!! entries. I think we've had enough agree to a brass quintet to go ahead and do it.

Then wait for next month's competition, please. Remember what happened with the Symphony Competition? A million people fought like crazy and scalloped and moaned to have the competition be a Symphony competition, and then in the end, we get 3, count 'em, THREE!!!! entries. I think we've had enough agree to a brass quintet to go ahead and do it.

Well, the requirments for the Symphonic competition were for a full symphony. Notepad users were unable to enter it. That might be one reason why there were only 3 entries.

Well, the requirments for the Symphonic competition were for a full symphony. Notepad users were unable to enter it. That might be one reason why there were only 3 entries.

If that was a concern, then people should have voiced it. I don't recall anyone doing so, however.

The point Nick is trying to make is that it's perfectly possible to spend a long time debating over what form a competition should take and then end up with nobody bothering anyway. So you may as well just keep trying different things and see what happens. Brass quintet might be a flop, or people might be surprised to discover that they enjoy writing for it. We'll see. :P

Then wait for next month's competition, please. Remember what happened with the Symphony Competition? A million people fought like crazy and scalloped and moaned to have the competition be a Symphony competition, and then in the end, we get 3, count 'em, THREE!!!! entries. I think we've had enough agree to a brass quintet to go ahead and do it.

I agree.

Should this brass quintet piece have any specific form?

If that was a concern, then people should have voiced it. I don't recall anyone doing so, however.

The point Nick is trying to make is that it's perfectly possible to spend a long time debating over what form a competition should take and then end up with nobody bothering anyway. So you may as well just keep trying different things and see what happens. Brass quintet might be a flop, or people might be surprised to discover that they enjoy writing for it. We'll see. :P

So when is this new competition going to start? Next month?

Yup, we'll get the ball rolling when May comes around.

Mark, as far as I am aware, the only restriction is the ensemble.

Yup, we'll get the ball rolling when May comes around.

Mark, as far as I am aware, the only restriction is the ensemble.

you know, it be really cool if someone familiar with composing for brass instruments wrote something about it to provide some information for us who don't have much of a clue when it comes to brass.

I'd imagine you would be fine just using Google and Wikipedia...the simple things like ranges would most likely be catered for using those sources.

Brass really isn't hard to write for.

I don't understand the whole 'brass-phobia' thing.

Whatever.

I'm very happy to be writing for a competition that isn't all

PIANO-STRINGS-CHOIR BAHHHHH.

Mitchell in his own habitat, expect unresolved tritones! :)

:)

A tiny brass lesson:

I'm currently learning the brass instruments, and the knowledge I'm gaining is proving to be valuable in my compositions.

1st off: realize how the instrument works. Let's take the trumpet for example. The standard Bb trumpet has a number of 'default' pitches when played with no valves down(standard has 3 piston valves). These pitches are called 'partials'. Each partial can be played open or they can be affected by the valves. Each valve opens cavities inside the instrument, opening space inside the instrument, thus making the pitch of each partial go down. Each valve opens a default interval lower, being 1/2 step, 1 step, and 1 1/2 step. These in combinations can alter a partial up to 3 steps (all valves down: 1/2 step + 1 step + 1 1/2 step = 3 steps.

The common written partials for Bb trumpet: G below mid. C, mid. C, G, C, E, G, A, Bb, C...etc. But the common range (written): G below mid. C - Bb or C.

Horn in F works the same way as trumpet, but there are more partials due to the instruments extended range. Trombone has few partials (Bbs and Fs, and D above mid. C), but works with the slide that opens the instrument lower instead of valves. The slide can generally go down 6 half steps in a given partial.

Hopefully that's not too much mumbo-jumbo. IF that gives you any insight into being a brass player, than good! Obviously, the use of these crazy partials makes it apparent that fast runs are not exactly idiomatic brass writing!