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Re: alternative instrument for cornet players

D4VIS wrote:

>The sop could also double on a piccalo.
> 
> This would give more scope and colour to the top end of the band.  You could
> also ask the trombones to double Eb alto trombone if you realy wanted to!
> 
> I don't think this is too mad.  We ask our percussion sections to play any
> number of instruments.  This would mean also that we still keep the older
> established pieces in play, and new ones could be written to take in the newer
> instrumentation.

Makes a heap of sense to me.

I have long held the belief that we need to be more flexible in our
instrumentation. 
I'm not advocating massive change just for the sake of it, but I cannot
help thinking that we may have discouraged some of the great composers
from writing for the medium. Just imagine what composers like
Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Bernstein, Copland, Britten, etc. etc. could
have contributed, were there no instrumental straightjacket. (not to
mention the contest piece time constraints, which almost alienated one
of our own composers recently, but that's another topic for discussion!)

We don't need to replace any of the parts in the band, it's a tried and
trusted formula, but if a composer/arranger wishes to add another sound
to the existing ensemble, (eg. Piccolo Trumpet, Alto trombone, Eb
Flugelhorn, Bass Trumpet, Contrabass trombone, etc.) for the purposes of
music, then he/she should be allowed to do so. At the end of the day,
music should be the prime consideration and if it doesn't suit the
traditionalists, then so be it.

Orchestras over the years have seen the need to adapt their
instrumentation depending on the wishes of the composer. The basic
makeup of any orchestra remains the same, but progress and instrument
technology has armed them with the ability to develop further. 
Without that flexibility, they would have never developed from the
classical orchestra of Mozart, Haydn etc. and as a result, would
probably not have survived to the present day. Imagine Mahler, Bruckner
or Strauss played by a Mozartian orchestra......

Although we have seen a major increase in the sound colours available
from a brass band, (thanks to Messrs. McCabe, Howarth, Wilby, etc.) I
doubt that we have even scratched the surface of what is possible. It's
time we gave composers a freer rein, before they, too are all dead.   


Cheers,
Adrian J. Raven


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