Extracurricular group workout 7

A Tuning the Air Journal

Wednesday, October 5, 2011 – Extracurricular group workout 7

The final Wednesday afternoon extra workout before opening night. Chris, Greg, Mary Beth, Carl and myself, with Travis playing hooky from work long enough to join us for the first hour.

In the first hour we worked through some transitions and details of timing and ensemble work on “Little Red Truck”. On “Fallout” some work through the sections, giving us a chance to look closely at the new melody and how it relates to the rhythm section. Tightening up the timing and feel.

After Travis had to depart, the remaining players worked through “I Am The Walrus”. I taught Chris and Carl the rhythm of the “juba juba” chants at the end of the piece, and Greg the “umpa umpa stick it up the umpa” rhythm. We ran the final Eggman chorus into the Outro a number of times, incorporating these additions. Then, through the piece, giving Greg and Mary Beth some time to work on their new parts, covering some string and brass sections. Lot’s of detail work.

A quick review of the bass part from the B Section of “Slow Burn”, and our time was up. The Wednesday work group had been organized as a way to get a little more work in as we prepared for the season. Chris asked if we would like to continue once the season begins, and the consensus was “yes”.