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Forum » Legit Saxophone » 1st suite in Eb?


by YanagisawA-901
(312 posts)
19 years ago

1st suite in Eb?

were playn this song in our band called the 1st suite in Eb. its a "holst" song?? i think.. anyone heard of it? its a grade 5, just wanted some friendly tips for playing it and getting my whole section to play in unison and in tune. since were not a "select" band we take anyone and everyone and we have like 15 altos in our band.. blah..

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  2. by phathorn
    (165 posts)
    19 years ago

    Re: 1st suite in Eb?

    Holst's First Suite in Eb for Miltary Band is standard literature for concert bands and a piece I personally like very much (It brings back warm fuzzy nostagalgic feelings from Interlochen many moons ago, when Freddie Fennel conducted us.) That being said, getting 15 altos to play in tune on ANY piece will require patience and some blood pressure medication.=)

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    1. by s9ast
      (8 posts)
      19 years ago

      Re: 1st suite in Eb?

      also, particularly with that many altos (assuming a large range of talent), it might be helpful to get a CD of the piece on Amazon or some online music store, and have your section follow along with their scores. Search for Frederick Fennel and Holst Suites; the one I have is a 1955 (or 1956?) Mercury recording (now on CD).

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      1. by YanagisawA-901
        (312 posts)
        19 years ago

        Re: 1st suite in Eb?

        we have holst's original recording.. some highly appraised concert band played it or somthin.. the dallas winds if i remember correctly?? yea..what were going to do with it is we have the 3 best altos playing the sax part.. and then like 5 saxes down were transcribing and writing out the horn parts for them so.. and the rest were tellng to fake the whole time

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        1. by straightj
          (18 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: 1st suite in Eb?

          I played this in concert band freshman year and I loved it. The music was awesome and the alto sax solo was pretty cool too. It was one of the best pieces i've ever played. I think there was about 9 altos in at the time and we all played the same part.

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        2. by Saxon
          (100 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: 1st suite in Eb?

          Sorry to but in, I'm new to all this. What key would you guys be playing in most often?

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        3. by Saxon
          (100 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: 1st suite in Eb?

          Sorry to but in, I'm new to all this. What key would you guys be playing in most often?

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        4. by brace_face
          (43 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: 1st suite in Eb?

          I havent played the first suite- in our comunity band though I've played the second suite with them- it's one of the best pieces of work by Holst (with the exception of the planets, of course). We're about to start the first suite though, I cant wait! :D We only have about 4 altos though...infact I've never played with any more than 5! but we have enough trouble keeping everyone in tune as it is! think happy thoughts, stephanie

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        5. by kneejerk52
          (397 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: 1st suite in Eb?

          i believe everthing happens for a reason. maybe it's time to switch to tenor or bari? you know not forever just until the idiot's weed themselves out. im sure there are not 15 of these guys, are there?

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        6. by Saxon
          (100 posts)
          19 years ago

          Re: 1st suite in Eb?

          I assume that Eb is the key sig for the piano or violin. There fore easy to play on the alto sax! What about a C- melody?

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