Firstly I must say that I was truly blown away at Sarah Markham’s birthday gig in Huddersfield in April.  I’d never been to Huddersfield University before and upon entering the concert hall I was greeted with the sound of saxophones.  The Tribune Saxophone Octet were rehearsing at the time and from that point on I knew the day would be something special.    I was there to play with Equinox, Sarah had been depping for Gayle who has recently had a baby.  I had never thought a contra-bass saxophone could be played “sexily” until I saw The National Saxophone Choir’s smaller ensemble play Crazy Rag, what a laugh!  The whole evening showed just how much Sarah is respected in the saxophone world, praising comment after praising comment from her friends, colleagues and ex-peers.  Then came her performance of Ibert’s Concertino da Camera with the YSE and she certainly hit home just why she has so much respect.

Equinox played: Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No2 first movement, Two from Grieg’s Holberg Suite  and Alun Cook’s Boris Goes to Dublin.  I feel that we held our own but at the same time this was an eye opener with regards to how we fair against similar combinations of instruments.  I think it’s important to be aware of people who are better than you and then try to evaluate why that might be.  This can be the steepest yet most rewarding learning curve.  Earlier in may we always played with the Masson Mill’s Brass Band in my hometown, Chesterfield.  We received news that the bands MD Stephen Shimwell had unfortunately passed away.  The band played a touching piece composed by Stephen in his memory and I’m sure he’d be proud of the performance they gave.

Results time:  I must say I was nervous about the grade 8 theory, I’ve been a teacher for quite a number of years now and I have taught a fair amount of theory so I felt that my pride demanded that I passed.  I’ve played in front of hundreds of people before now and I don’t think I’ve been quite as nervous as when that brown envelope fell through my letter box.  And, well, I passed!   What does this mean?  Well it means that I’m off to Sheffield University in September.  I really want to teach music in Secondary Schools and this is a step in the right direction.

Oh and did I mention that I’ve started selling sheet music?  Watch this space for more information on that.

Thanks for reading,

DC

Hello reader, thanks for visiting again or taking the plunge as a DC.net first timer.

It’s been a while since I last posted something, this is mostly due to the fact that my head has well and truly been sandwiched between pages of ii-V7-I progressions, diminished/chromatic chords and the ability to compose and complete scores of music without the assistance of an instrument!

Yes, you guessed it, I decided to take the plunge and go for my Grade 8 theory exam.  Now there are many reasons for this, mostly it’s because I want to exorcise my demons, of sorts.  The last theory exam I sat was way back in 1998 when I took my ABRSM grade 5 so that I could progress onto the higher grades.  Now, back then and for a long time afterwards and like many of my younger students, I despised theory.  My mindset in my youth was always “Why do I need to know what a cadence is when all I want to do is play my exam pieces?” well young Daniel of the past however do you expect to finish that blistering jazz solo when you don’t know how to end it?   Without some knowledge of theory I think we’d all be stuck in an infinite cycle of non-sense in the middle of that Sax solo in Tequila.  Chris White would still be on stage in Sydney playing a 23 year long solo in Dire Straits “Your latest trick” well you get the idea…

I’ve always been a “practical player” the theory never interested me and it wasn’t really until I started composing that I actually thought: Why does Mozart sound so good?  Just why did Procol Harum base “A whiter shade of pale” on Bach’s “Air on a G string?”.  Understanding a little more about the theoretical aspects of playing has made such a huge impact on my playing.  Recognising the preparation, dissonance and resolution of a suspension gives you so much scope in regards to really make the most of the composers intentions.  Suddenly you find yourself playing the music with more realisation of the composers intentions and you have more artistic freedom when it comes to the performance of a piece.  When playing in a group, which notes are more important? Who should be heard?  Who has the melody? Who has the counter-melody? Which degree of the chord are you playing?  These are all questions that, without a little theoretical understanding, we really don’t have the ability to answer.

Now I don’t have the time to tell you absolutely everything that has sparked this enthusiasm for the less practical side of music but one thing I did find fascinating was figured bass.  Now unless you have looked into A level music or post Grade 5 theory you probably haven’t come across it.  Figured Bass was basically the guitar “chords” of the 1500’s.  They were used to tell the performer which chord to use and in which inversion.  This was a very early example of improvising, the stars of the time were people who could perform amazing keyboard “solos” based upon the single notes written under the music.  We do the same today, although we use “AM” instead of a 53 written underneath an A.

Well I thought I’d share some thoughts on some elements of theory, many of my students have felt the wrath of my enthusiasm for theory and have definitely benefitted from it on a practical level.  For you theory novices out there, do have a look.  DanChristian.net guarantees you’ll be amazed at the results on many levels.

For now, happy playing!

Daniel Christian – danchristian.net