What is this?
The Pyropolis Philharmonic Orchestra is Burning Flipside’s first orchestra. In reality, we are figuring it out as we go. 🙂
What Music do you play?
The question should be “what music do *we* play?” Last year, we selected six songs that are mostly easy, so that they would be accessible to rusty musicians like most of us.
- The Moldau- Smetana (mostly simple though some parts have a some runs that will require a little practice)
- Baby Elephant- Mancini (probably our hardest song for most parts)
- Happy Birthday (super easy)
- Royals – Lorde (arranged by one of our members, this is pretty simple)
- Waltz #2 – Shostakovich (beautifully simple waltz)
- Ode to Joy – Beethoven (medium difficulty, but fun with the audience!!!)
We expect a similar repertoire this year, likely with some of the same songs.
When do you practice?
Last year, we had rehearsals on Thursday evenings. We also did working sessions from time to time which are less formal and allow for more discussions and figuring stuff out.
For this year, we’ll take a poll of the group to find the dates and times that work for the group then post them here in the rehearsal schedule.
What if I’m not ready for a rehearsal?
Come anyway. It’s always better if you know the music already, but if you don’t please still come out and play what you can. One of the hardest things about getting a large group of people to play together is to get everyone on the same page as to what to expect. Showing up at rehearsals even if you don’t play a note helps you learn the music and how we work together. Plus it’s pretty darn fun!!!
What if I can’t make this/a/one/all/some/infinite rehearsal(s)?
That is okay. We have a number of people from out of town who only get the one onsite rehearsal. Practice playing along with the practice tracks and get the music down, and make it when you can.
What is the deal with the practice tracks?
The practice tracks are recordings of the exact score we are playing. We have them at full speed and slowed down 10% to make it easier to get the songs down. We’ve also got most of them slowed down 35% so you can work out hard parts when they arise.
I’m having a hard time getting started. Do you have any pointers for how to get started?
The biggest thing that helps with learning music is learning to hear the song in your head. You have to be able to mentally sing the song before you’ll be able to memorize it. So listen to the practice tracks A LOT!!!
The second thing that I see cause issues with learning stuff, is trying to cram too much into one session. Unless you are a professional musician, practice sessions over an hour and a half in length don’t get much more done, and result in physical and mental burn out. Short 30 minute or 1 hour sessions give both your brain and muscles an easily digestible lesson that is more likely to stick. DON’T TRY TO CRAM TOO MUCH IN!
How do you go about learning the music?
I highly recommend a three step process to take you from the beginning to the :
1.) Listen to the tracks at least 5 times each while reading your sheet music along with it. (no instrument) Listen to how your part fits into the whole. Here you are starting the process of hearing the whole song in your head.
2.) Learn the Songs individually (or in pairs). Until you’ve learned the music, gear a session to focus on only one or two songs.
Start by listening to the song like in step 1. Then play the piece note by note (no pace or metronome) to get a start on the fingerings (etc). It’s okay to be quite lost at this point.
Next alternate between playing just the notes and playing the song along with the -10% or -35% track till you start to get the music “into your fingers.” After one or two sessions, you won’t have the song entirely down, but you’ll be able to “play” most of it except for some of the harder runs etc.
3.) Polish the Songs- Here you focus your sessions on individual hard parts or cleaning up tone, etc. Spend 75%
of your practice on one or two phrases/problems etc, then finish by playing through the full set. As you find new sections you want to clean up, repeat.
I’m having a hard time getting this one specific phrase down. Do you have any pointers?
Devote a time to go back and listen to just that section while reading the music (no instrument). Start by sounding out the rhythm of the phrase and make sure you can mentally sing that, then focus on the voicings/notes. Plan fingering strategies, etc.
Once your brain knows how your part should sound, make your practice session focus 75% on just that difficult phrase. Use the -35% recording where necessary. You may not even need the practice track for this cause you can hear the song in your head now, right? Finish each of these sessions by running through all six songs along with the practice track that is comfortable.
I don’t see a part for my instrument. Does that mean I can’t play?
If you are not seeing a part for your instrument please DM Chainsaw (Jeremy Williams) and we will figure out a part for you to play.