Sounds of Music C

[zyzzyva980]

I have had an exam every tournament, an unofficial interview twice, and only one official interview (over three tournaments). So you may have to expect a little of both.

[Gillen]

For my regional we had both a written test and an interview. The written test was more over the physics of sound, while the interview was more about our how out instruments worked.

[Starapollo1]

But have either of you seen music theory on your exams? Jw

[doctor]

yes at regionals they asked stuff about how a violin's string works (thank god i play violin)
there was also a part that asked you to name the composer for these pieces of music which my partner and i kinda bombed
i think there was a part on music theory, i dont quite remember but it wasnt related to physics at all
either way, expect the unexpected

usually the interview is to explain how ur instrument works and hte physics behind it and the written test is general stuff on physics and stuff

also jw at any comp did they have stands for you or did u have to bring ur own/tape music to the wall?

[AlphaTauri]

I can see them asking about vibrating strings; after all, that's part of the physics of sound, but Music Theory on exams? Seriously? Thank goodness my partner took APMT...

Also, the rules doesn't say that they'll provide music stands for you, so I would bring your own just in case (even if it is the crappy folding kind that tends to tip over if you put too much stuff on it).

[doctor]

idk at athens invitationals sounds was in a music room so we kinda just used some stands we found in the corner
i brought one of those crappy folded stands to regionals but i left it at the gym thinking i wudn't need it...oh well
the judges were nice enough and didnt mind our backs facing them so we ended up just taping the music to the wall (the tape we 'borrowed' from a poster hanging on the wall)

[Gillen]

I have a stand that can be taken apart, so I built a thing on my marimba to hold it. We can put both our music on there, so it works quite well.

[stevenrkeyes]

I know several regionals have happened by now, and I'm curious as to what wind instruments you all built for your regional. I've heard panflute and a flute, and I've built similar instruments with limited success. Has anyone had success with these or other instruments?

[stevenrkeyes]

As noted before, the range for the wind instrument is very low. As you can see in the wikipiedia article on range, C4, C-261 is at the very bottom range of the concert flute, which means it's difficult to play even for many experienced high school flautists. If you aren't familiar with flute playing, you may suggest lengthening the tube to lower the notes, but the issue is that notes with longer air columns are easier to overblow, which jumps a harmonic, up an octave or so.

Thus, I've been working for a couple months on edge-blown flutes with limited success. I've built a couple side-blown flutes (like concert flutes), and they're all difficult to play, and the holes for the low notes are a stretch for my hands. There's also the overblowing problem. I've also built about three fipple flutes (recorders). These are way easier to avoid overblowing because I can adjust the windway to control the air speed at the fipple. However, low holes are still a stretch, and some of the low fingered notes don't play well; I might try increasing the hole sizes. Also, the fipple is not reliable; sometimes it plays, sometimes it doesn't. This is probably due to spit buildup.

However, two kinds of instruments that fit well in the required range are trombones and saxophones. Trombone is probably easier to build, but my SO team has no low-brass players, so I'm opting to clone a sax, which is my primary instrument. Anyone tried this?

[zyzzyva980]

I have not, but a word of warning if you do try a trombone- I did see one in competition a couple tournaments ago, and the sound was quite pinched. I'm pretty sure this was because of the instrument and not the performer. The tone quality is vital; this might be why some teams are opting to go with the flute- difficult to get the full range, but it at least sounds good and is easy to build.