flint-wwrr

Thanks for the compliment, P.J.!

I would actually be happy to share some of my theories on orchestration for the band, but if you really look closely at what I write, I use the exact same principles that QC does in his orchestral class. I would fully recommend absorbing everything QC has to offer in the orchestration masterclass, because writing for a wind ensemble is of the same difficulty, complexity, and conception as writing for an orchestra. QC's methods and approach are really quite brilliant and effective.

The reason "much of the repertoire consists of annoying concert marches and mediocre 'folk song' arrangements" is that in the past 50 or so years, most composers for band have done the "educational, safe" music path... with a lot of doubling and cross-cuing and block voicing, which makes it possible for varying ensembles (since there is no standard configuration for a wind ensemble) to play their work.

The trade off for playing it "safe" is that the music all starts to sound the same. Too much band music has all the instruments (or most) playing all the time - which, just like an orchestral tutti, sounds fantastic the first 3 minutes, and then quickly becomes tiresome and timbrally bland. Don't get me wrong... of course the tutti has its place and can be used to fantastic effect.

Think of it like ketchup... a little bit, used judiciously can make a food taste even better. But when you've got ketchup on your burger, ketchup on your fries, ketchup on your chips, ketchup on your eggs... all you taste is ketchup. It causes you to lose interest quickly.

Actually, the subject of boring band music is quite topical for me at the moment. I just resigned from an ensemble for that exact reason... every piece we played sounded the same. No independence of lines, no expression. Every piece was a) full band all the time throughout the piece, b) brass tutti with woodwinds playing noodle-y 16th note runs in the background, or c) woodwind tutti with the brass tacet. And while those can be effective when used sparingly, when the entire concert program is exactly like that, it's dull. Dull to play, dull to listen to, and simply not challenging or enjoyable. And when your music folder is full of music that high, fast, loud, or some combination of the three, it's pure torture.

But I digress...