Palette
I'll admit that I'm a movie music nerd and a fan of the usual suspects (Williams, Horner, Howard, Zimmer, etc.). Some others on the less...
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Michael Allen
Apr 3, 2019
Atmosphere
In early 1914, Holst heard a performance of Schoenberg’s Five Pieces for Orchestra. This seminal experience along with a suggestion from...
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Michael Allen
Mar 21, 2018
Trumpets - a primer
I've played on the same mouthpiece since I was in high school - my teacher handed me an old Conn Helleberg style mouthpiece when I was...
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Michael Allen
Nov 9, 2017
Bass Doubling
I wrote something yesterday that was confusing even to me when I read it again today. Mea culpa. The offending sentence was: Wright notes...
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Michael Allen
Sep 24, 2017
Farnaby's Conceit
The Fitzwilliam Virginal Book comprises nearly 300 works composed for keyboard by notable English court composers from the time of Queen...
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Michael Allen
Sep 15, 2017
Breaking up the Romance
Too soon? I'm having too much fun with these titles. I promised to talk about the decision to transpose this movement of Robert...
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Michael Allen
Sep 14, 2017
More advice on Romance
One of the things I appreciated about teaching was that I learned things about my own playing by observing and articulating ideas to...
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Michael Allen
Sep 12, 2017
Limoges - The Big News
Sadly, only a few of the sketches by Victor Hartmann that inspired Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition have survived. We must rely on...
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Michael Allen
Aug 24, 2017
My best chord
There's nothing quite like a well voiced, well spaced, well balanced chord written for brass when played in tune. Great brass players...
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Michael Allen
Aug 23, 2017
Euphonic Sounds
The temptation when making a brass arrangement of late 19th & early 20th century marches is to take the road more traveled - to "arrange"...
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