PYBB Newsletter
May 18th 2020
Preparing Poynton Youth Brass Band for
life after lockdown
Hopefully, everyone is keeping safe and well during this
extended lockdown.
Until
the official guidance from government allows, it will not be possible to hold
rehearsals and concerts, and Poynton Methodist Church is closed until the
emergency is over.
Once
the crisis is over Poynton Youth Brass Band will be back, rehearsing and performing.
In
the meantime, our players can be using the lockdown to practice and be ready
for the day that we can restart usual band activity.
Firstly,
is your instrument in good and playable condition? Do all the valves and slides
move freely?
Take
each valve out, one at a time to ensure they don’t get mixed up, clean with
diluted washing up liquid, dry and apply a light coating of valve oil.
For
tuning slides, apply a light coating of petroleum jelly.
Do
you own a music stand?
If
not, please get one from an online music shop or Amazon.
Do
you use a metronome when practicing?
A
metronome is an essential aid to practice to ensure that your playing is
consistent and in time. There are free metronome apps available for smart
phones and tablets, “The Metronome by Soundbrenner” is a good example.
Do
you practice for at least 30 minutes a day?
30
minutes practice each day will improve your playing. If you find an exercise
difficult, play it slowly and consistently, with the help of a metronome, and
eventually increase the speed in small incremental steps.
Those
scales and basic exercises are important, keep practicing them.
Find
a favourite piece of music and practice playing it, again with the metronome to
ensure that the tempo is consistent. If you find a particular passage
difficult, isolate that passage, play it slowly over and over until you can
start building the speed up to the tempo of the piece as a whole.
What
to expect from PYBB in the next weeks and months
As
it will be some time before the band can get together, we will be setting some
homework for all our players. In the days and weeks to come we will be sending
out a piece of music, appropriate to each ability range, which we will be
asking you to practice and learn to play to the best of your ability. Each
player will be asked to book a time slot, a few weeks later, for a short video
session with their band conductor where they will be asked to play their set
piece.
The
intention of this exercise is to focus all our band members, throughout the
ability range, on their playing and to let them know that the band is
continuing to function, even in lockdown, and will be there when the health
crisis is over.
We
want to hear from you via the band’s Facebook
Let
us know what you are doing, or if you wish to, send us a video of you playing. Remember,
the band’s Facebook page is there to keep us connected.
Reduced
membership fees during lockdown
From 1st May
2020 the membership fee for Poynton Youth Brass Band is £5 per month, per family
until further notice. If you wish to take advantage of this reduced
membership fee, please cancel your existing standing order and create a new monthly
payment of £5.
The bank details are as follows
Account name: Poynton Youth
Brass Band
Account number: 83042561
Sort Code: 09-01-28
Reference: your family name
Any family which is suffering financial hardship at this time may just cancel
their standing order.
Remember – keep
practicing and we’ll have a great band to go back to!