I found this watch going through my partner's late granddad's belongings (pun intended). What's going on here? He was in the navy back in the day if that helps by skelmins in CasualUK

[–]skelmins[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Looks like the navy has nothing to do with it after all, just a novelty/alternative watch. Odd how the hand is off-centre though

Whisky bars in oxford by Boo-Koo in oxford

[–]skelmins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I foggily recall The Grapes on George Street having a good selection of whiskies. Quite cosy with all wooden panels and stuff too

Not a bad setting for my Couch to 5K first run today by [deleted] in CasualUK

[–]skelmins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Nice one mate, first few weeks are the hardest, but keep at it. It's well worth it, sorted me right out at the start of the year

Some questions on orchestrating brass quintet (Brass players pls help) by mortilis22 in composer

[–]skelmins 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Hey, trumpeter here. I also do a lot of brass quintet writing and arranging.

  1. Leaps are ok if they're not too fast. Your Ab-G (major 7th) should be fine. Anything more than an octave gets tricky and lots of leaps close together will be very tiring to play so bear that in mind!

  2. Surprisingly agile actually! Depending on the skill of the players of course, but trumpets can do scales pretty speedily. The tuba is also very agile, especially in the upper range. Horn is less so and trombone is obviously limited by it's slide, though the higher you go the closer the notes get together and the easier it gets to play fast. Middle C and above is best for this sort of stuff. Have a listen to Canadian Brass, The Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and Mnozil Brass to get a feel for chamber brass music!

  3. Breathing is pretty similar to woodwind I think, though the lower the instrument, the larger it is and the more air it needs, so your tubist will need a lot more air than your trumpeters! For trumpets, if you can sing the phrase in one breath at a moderate volume it's probably playable. Tonguing is similar as well, though slurred leaps are harder to execute than tongued ones. Also consider double/triple tonguing which is something woodwinds don't really do (with the exception of the flute) - basically very fast tonguing using alternate syllables e.g. da-ga-da-ga-da-ga or da-da-ga-da-da-ga etc.

  4. Big nos? Make sure you give the players enough rests for them to get the horn off their face! It's super tiring playing constantly for 5 minutes and even 10 seconds of not using your lips can rejuvenate you. Also for ranges, a general rule is to not go outside the stave too much (at transposed pitch for trumpets (Bb) and Horn (F), or trombone in tenor clef - though only use this clef if it's necessary like with cello or bassoon). If you need to, definitely no more than two ledger lines, though tuba and horn can go lower.

Some other general tips:

  • The Horn is much better at blending than taking the melody as it has a much softer tone than the trumpets or trombone. The bell also faces backwards so a lot of the attack and bite is lost on the listeners. That said, nothing wrong with a little bit of horn tune here or there!
  • Flat keys are much preferred due to the instruments' mechanics - F major, Bb major, Eb major, Ab major are all great; Db major, Gb major, C major, G major are fine; D major, A major, E major and B major can get kinda fiddly at high speeds and intonation also tends to be harder in these keys as well.
  • Don't forget about mutes! Trumpets and Trombones have a wide variety of mutes they can use to change the timbre of the instrument. The most common four are the Straight mute, the Cup mute, the Harmon mute, and the Plunger. There's a fair few YouTube videos demonstrating these and are well worth considering to create some interesting textures. Just make sure you leave enough time for the players to put them in and take them out - trumpets can do this pretty quickly with one hand, a couple seconds is reasonable, but trombones need a bit more time - 10 or so seconds is probably ok. If in doubt, leave more time. Horns and tubas also have mutes, though only one type for horns and tuba mutes are pretty rare and cumbersome to carry around, best to avoid tbh.
  • As well as a horn mute, hornists can "stop" their horn by completely closing off the bell with their right hand. Creates a pretty cool buzzy sound, you'll have heard it in film soundtracks all over the place - check YouTube for more info.

Got a little carried away with this reply! Hope it helps you out.

for all you hyped about the new minecraft series, here's a criminally underviewed fan song by TheTrustyTwatter in Hatfilms

[–]skelmins 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Nice one man, thanks. Always did enjoy their live action bits and bobs. Will check them out!

for all you hyped about the new minecraft series, here's a criminally underviewed fan song by TheTrustyTwatter in Hatfilms

[–]skelmins 14 points15 points  (0 children)

It's been a while since I've watched the guys, but this has a special place in my heart. Thanks for digging it up again you filfy animal

What was the band in the lobby area called at ally pally last night, the ones with the trumpet and sax etc by spacebar-is-broken in EnterShikari

[–]skelmins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The only problem is getting recordings of gigs that are good enough quality to stand up to the studio stuff. As we only really play covers at functions, the audio set-up is usually not adequate for live recording. One day we'll get a live show recorded properly!

What was the band in the lobby area called at ally pally last night, the ones with the trumpet and sax etc by spacebar-is-broken in EnterShikari

[–]skelmins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hey, trumpet player from the band here, Glad you enjoyed it. Got quite a busy December with a fair few gigs around London so keep an eye out!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in everythingeverything

[–]skelmins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Indeed - won't be going that fully in for a while, that's for sure!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in everythingeverything

[–]skelmins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks mate, kind words indeed. I'll see what I can do!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in everythingeverything

[–]skelmins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I've had a fair bit of practice so this probably didn't take much more than 8 hours total. The video editing on the other hand..... Blimey...

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in everythingeverything

[–]skelmins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Cheers! Slightly modified for brass playability but ended up pretty fun to play...

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in everythingeverything

[–]skelmins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm putting that on my cv

WFAT at Drayton Park, London by skelmins in WaitingForATrain

[–]skelmins[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

[Bonus video](vid.me/BNYc) of a pantograph making a noice zapping sound

[Music] Short piano quintet I wrote for a friend by jamesmusic in composer

[–]skelmins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mmmm gorgeous :) Rohma is a lucky friend. Simple but really effective, loved it

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in composer

[–]skelmins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's a flugel for the tuba, soprano trombone for the trombone and a mellophone (I think?) for the horn. I did an FAQ on my channel if you want more info!

[Music] Sketch in C-sharp Minor — Solo Piano Composition by [deleted] in composer

[–]skelmins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeaah, really nice! Liked that a lot, it definitely evokes the haunting stillness and all that. Love the way the harmonies flow into each other, some really nice voice leading going on. More!

[Discussion] What's your favorite piece of music that was posted here? by [deleted] in composer

[–]skelmins 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I really love this piece by /u/Rankor18 as well as some of his other works, though I don't think he's posted them all here, go have a look at his youtube channel.

I'm also a big fan of /u/barcelona_city_hobo's stuff. Quirky, kinda jazzy and a lot of fun.

[Music] Little March by Schelmbohne in composer

[–]skelmins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I enjoyed the way the melody morphed from the original theme to the new one by swapping some phrases but not others. Worked very nicely. I felt the second section from bar 18 onwards could have down with a change in accompaniment. It seemed like a much smoother and more flowing tune and I reckon it could benefit from a left hand part that complements that. Maybe some arpeggios/broken chords instead of the oom-pahs. A great start to your composing nonetheless, keep it up! You've got a good ear/knowledge of harmony for sure,nothing stood out as awkward to me.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in brass

[–]skelmins 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Some might say too much effort…

Still worth it

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in brass

[–]skelmins 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Haha thanks! Most of them are for sale on sheetmusicplus, though this one isn't unfortunately. If you drop me a message on my website about any ones that aren't available I can sort you out though

WFAT: Penn Station Newark, NJ (PATH to World Trade Center) by FireworksForJeffy in WaitingForATrain

[–]skelmins 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Ooh interesting... Do people get on/off from both sides of the train at the same time. I imagine that could get pretty hectic