March 19, 2012

Beatles Forever

Please listen and critique this recording of "Beatles Forever" that was made this morning.

http://www.darienps.org/teachers/jminnis/BeatlesForever.mp3.

Your review should be posted by Wednesday, March 21 at 9:15 a.m.

56 comments:

Emily G said...

In Michele, the viola "solo" has the wrong rhythm for the eighth note triplets. We need to work on being together and more exact.

Rebecca L said...

The first violins should improve in their dynamics. Accents should be emphasized. So far it sounds ok, but with more work we can sound better!

Taylor H said...

In general, the group should work on dynamics and intonation as well as observing the full value of notes and rests. Coming in early makes it sound a bit sloppy. With more practice it can improve.

Graham S said...

In general this was a solid performance. The second and first violins should pay attention to rythms that they are playing. Sometimes the recording sounded as though two different rythms were being played. Beyond that the usual intonation and dynamics would improve this piece.

Haley Miller said...

For Lady Madonna, the melody has to be tighter. It's sort of like popcorn with everyone playing slightly different rhythms. For Michelle, first violins have to work on dynamics, primarily being softer, because that's going to really effect the emotional impact of the song. Also, being piano in the right spots will allow the lower instruments when they have the melody or when they have harmony to be heard and add depth to the piece. Also, when the cellos have the melody they should play out even more so they aren't over powered by the violins.

Corinne T said...

We should work on dynamics. It also does not sound like everyone is together at some parts.

Molly P. said...

I think that up until about 40 seconds into the recording we generally stayed together and people were listening to each other. Once the higher notes hit however, the first violins fell apart and remained apart for about ten seconds. They were pitchy and no longer listening to one another which might have thrown off other sections. Other than that I think that overall it was good. Once we get the notes in tune and we start listening to each other then we can work on accents and dynamics so it'll sound much better.

Emily A. said...

Coming at the beginning, we're all rather scattered, and don't all come in together. We're getting better at following the changes in tempo, but there are no dynamics whatsoever. Violins need to work on not coming in early or late whenever we have rests.

Haley Rissolo said...

The violins overpowered the the cellos and the bases so it was very hard to hear them at all. also the second violins in Michelle seemed to get a bit lost and out of sync sounded. All of the instruments need to work on the high notes they sound squeaky. There was a nice transition from Michelle into the Sgt pepper.

Adrienne Dean said...

We need to work on the precision of notes (by listening to people around us and watching Ms. Minnis), and we definitely need to work on intonation. If we play the notes wrong, it will never sound right!

Christine I said...

We need to work on coming to the song all together, instead of sounding all over the place. Second violins should also work on their dynamics, I can hardly hear them. By practicing these things more we should sound better.

Luisa C said...

The beginning could use a little more work on dynamics and rhythm in general. Also throughout the piece, it would sound more dramatic and interesting if there were more dynamics. Also during the "Michelle" part of the song, the violins should really try and connect their notes and listen to each other.

Anne J said...

I thnk the beginnong was great, i t is loaud, crisp, and full of energy! But i feel like in Michelle the cellos and basses are being overpowered and are barely heard. Also a few times during the middle it sounds as if everyone is playing a slight variation of the real song so it does not go well together. However, all together i think it sounded very strong and the transition between the first two pieces was good!

Alex Molwitz said...

The violins seem too loud, and we aren't together enough.

cjanson said...

Intro wasn't together. The long notes that are held out are very flat--not in the sense of intonation, but there's nothing happening with them. They just go on, without an artistic feel. Second violins need to be more confident with their harmonies. Balance issue on cello solo. We should explore phrasing, which involves dynamics and articulation.

Daniel T said...

The intro sounded good. Although after that we lost the beat a little bit. The basses and cellos I felt were holding out the notes too long, which slowed the tune down a bit.

Emma said...

I think we really need to work on articulation and intonation-the notes don't sound very crisp at the moment. We also need to listen to each other and make sure we (the violins) aren't overpowering the other sections. In addition, we need to watch Ms. Minnis and focus on the dynamics and that'll help improve the song

Sofia M. said...

I thought that we sounded pretty good except in someparts. Overall , i believe we should practice on dynamics. thoughout the piece we stayed at the same dynamic, which made it kind of boring. Second violins should increase their volume; I could not hear them. Also, at measure 19, the pitch/intonation was really off. It made me shiver. At measure 60, I think the cellos should increase their volume since they have the melody.

Hanna V. said...

We need to work more on dynamics. The crescendos and decrescendos should be more exaggerated,especially in the first five meaures. Our tempo needs some work too; the beginning sounded really disorganized, especially in measures 16-22, though we got better at the begnning of Michelle. The second violins need to pay more attention to timing in measures 50-55 as well.

Arthur Cassidy said...

The beginning was solid in terms of rhythm and staying together, and we seemed to be able to keep that up throughout the majority of the song. However there were parts where people seemed to playing wrong or out of tune notes, and it really stood out. Also, we should try and pay more attention to dynamics to make the song more interesting.

Paula T said...

Over all it sounds pretty good as a whole although every section should work on counting a bit more so it doesn't sound off or not not in unison at some parts

Nick Vilter said...

the basses and violins are never together; there needs to be one universal tempo shared by all sections. this could easily be done by listening and by looking up at ms. minnis when she conducts.

Jesse S said...

the song sounded good, but is also felt as if the tempo was off in the different sections.

Caroline W. said...

We should work to be more together as an entire group and listen to each other. Also, dynamics need to be worked on.

seany lee said...

The intonation needs more work, especially when we start at the beginning of the whole song. Greater dynamic changes need to be improved. Michelle, the phrasing was pretty nice, but the ensemble broke the unison since the start, with some staggered entrances from each section.

Amanda Lee said...

The higher notes were all pitchy and out of tune for all the instruments. So in general, all of the sections should work on coming in at the right times and fixing fingering so the notes sound better in unison.

Alison L said...

Overall, the group needs to be more together and have a larger dynamic range. The violins/violas often seemed to be coming in at slightly different times when they had the same rhythm. Also, the violins do seem to overpower the cellos when the cellos have the melody. In general, the intonation could be much better.

Alice W said...

In general the notes can be a lot tighter - if we keep a steady rhythm and use less bow on the eighth notes in Lady Madonna, with more practice we can improve. Also for several places where we have the same note several times in a row, we can do some more phrasing to make it more interesting, like a crescendo for instance.

Doug Phipps said...

The rhythms were loose and made for a piece lacking in cohesiveness. The dynamics were also weak.

Ryoyoyo said...

In general, I think the bass line can be much stronger. For example, in Lady Madonna, the cello part gives the piece its energy and tempo. If that were tighter and more articulate, we'll sound better for Lady Madonna.
In Michelle, the 1st violins can work a lot on dynamics and expressiveness. The viola in this section can be played out louder.

Alex K said...

All parts sounded uncertain/off-beat when coming in after rests, and were temporarily out of sync with other parts. Also, the 1st and 2nd violins' melody was not always in tune.

Victoria Chao said...

In the opening measures the violins aren't in sync, but we had a strong, loud entrance. The intonation of the first violins at :44-:48 needs work. The dynamics throughout the whole piece are one-dimensional, we need to add more color and depth. The cellos' intonation at 2:33-2:35 needs work and they have to sound more assertive, since they have the melody. Overall, we should fix our dynamics and our intonation.

Justin Lee said...

I think the problem that e orchestra is facing is not sticking together. Everyone just needs to pay attention to ms. Minnis and remember to look up. Overall though, we had great dynamics that were profound enough to be distinctive but not enough to make it very obvious.

Owen Brannigan said...

I feel like the overall performance was ok. At some points we were out of tune and I think the transitions between songs could be more concise. Also at the beginning of Lady Madonna it seemed like the basses or cellos were a little behind everyone else. I think we all need to watch Ms. Minnis and accent our dynamics. If we do that we'll be looking good by the time disney rolls around

Alex O said...

I think that articulation could be improved as well as intonation. During the recording (:46) and (2:07) lacked articulation and good intonation. Other than this the pieces are very strong and with a bit more practice, these problems will be fixed.

Nicolai O. said...

I think that there is a lot of tension between the first and second violins and we need to work on making sure the harmonies are together. Also, all sections should work on brining out the melodies. We also need precise rhythms to make sure that everything stays in sync.

Emily M said...

I think in Lady Madonna, we should emphasize on the tempo and staying together. I think we could have worked better in the beginning. I think we could also work on our rhythms, however other than that i thought it was good.

Dylan Gilhooly said...

ON the whole the piece sounded well. The second violins need to work on intonation and keeping on the beat As a group we need to work on dynamics.

Claire L said...

I think in the beginning the whole orchestra should work on sounding more unified, once Lady Madonna actually starts it's pretty good but those first few measures need to improve. I also think that the viola solo in Michelle could work on the rhythm and then on being louder. As a whole, it sounded pretty good though.

Matt Ross said...

I think that overall, it was a good performance. I think we could be stronger in the intro, and during the viola/cello solos in Lady Madonna and Michelle we (violas/cellos) could be louder, and the violins could play softer. Overall, though, it was a solid performance.

Anonymous said...

Dynamics? What are those? ...Just kidding. But I heard little to no audible change in dynamics. We can definitely improve on that. Highlight those p's and f's on your music, it'll help.
I always cringe when I hear someone play during that rest in "Michelle." Circle it five times. At least for 1st Violins, it's hard to see that rest hidden in the key signature markings in the beginning of the line, bottom of the first page.
We can definitely work on playing together. Listening to those around you and other sections, knowing the piece through practice, and watching the conductor helps.

Jessica D said...

Overall, it was pretty good. However, during 'Lady Madonna' everyone was playing very legato. It sounded kind of weird... Also during 'Lady Madonna' I thought that the fermatta (I don't know how to spell that) was held too long. I agree with everyone who has mentioned dynamics, there was a lack of those. Second violins sounded kind of out of tune... but that was probably me. Anyway, with more practice this is going to sound fantastic!!!!!!!!

Victoria E said...

As a group, I think we need to work on listenning to one another. Especially in the beginning, our start was a bit shaky and the song would sound so much better with a strong start. When the smaller group goes to Disney, it will be easier to spot out people who are off in terms of rhythm, so it is important that we work together and watch the conductor.

Miss Minnis said...

Great comments, Anonymous! But, I can't grade you if you don't tell me who you are.

Shruthi Raghuraman said...

All in all we need to work on dynamics especially in lady madonna. As a group we should fork on emphasizing the crescendos and decrescendos and put in accents where needed. Almost all the notes are correct and in tune, now we have to work on the dynamics

Rebecca D said...

I think that the orchestra needs to stay together more. We have to listen to each other in order to keep together with the rhythms and the tempos. WE also need to have more dramatic dynamics throughout the song so that it sounds interesting.

Matt Evans said...

After listening to this I had some observations. In general, it was well played but it sounded a little off. The dynamics and all of the accidentals (especially the violins) were either not played or missing. The whole piece needs to be played together, and it sounded like each section was not listenting to other sections. But overall, it was good.

Jeff Gebauer said...

in general, it was good but there were a few problems. the biggest problem is that the dynamics are not good at all. second, the intonation is a little bit off and could be improved. and third, the whole orchestra is not playing together. everyone need to listen to each other. if these things can be improved then it would sound incredible.

lexi dodge said...

There dynamics could be better overall and the tone could be improved. The temp also sounds off in certain places and we could do a better job of listening to each other and staying together.

Connor Nackley said...

After listening to the piece, I have a few comments.
There seems to be a general lack of dynamics throughout the piece. Whether or not the lack of a "professional" recording changes this, the lack of dynamics can easily be fixed by paying more attention to the conductor. There also seems to be a few mistakes relating to accidentals, these stick out a lot when in a large orchestral setting. Some good things I noticed was our unity and clarity during lady Madonna which sounded pretty good. Overall it could use some work!

Anna Leunis said...

In the beginning, the cellos were a bit behind the violins. Each person should circle dynamics in their parts and work on intonation.

Colin said...

The begining sounded good, but the violas need to work more on dynamics, so they can be heard when they should, and blend with the rest of the group in other parts.

Anonymous said...

Brandorr -
Alltogether we did not sound like we were all together. The violins were always as in sync as they should have been and they were the most prominent of all the noises i heard. The bases are bases and should be loud and the violas are too few in number to be able to compete with the rest of us. There also seemed to be a disconnect between bases and violins.

Justin Taylor Lindsey said...

The 1st violins almost covered up most of the other parts, which might just be due to the location of the mic. Also the rhythms in some spots especially michelle. Also there were some dynamic issues. Also in the middle the parts got a little off and sounded kind of messy.

Sorry this is late Mrs. Minnis the first time i submitted it the website must have though i was a robot since i submitted it from my iPhone

E. J. S said...

In general, we need to work on dynamics and innotation. A few other small things were in Michelle the viola solo needs to be worked on, the first and second violins need to focus on making their rhythms sound more together, and we should also work on not playing during rests which is small but helps.

Grant M. said...

The sync between the bass/cello sections was not always with the violins and violas. The dynamics could be improved between the sections, and the rhythms were played correctly. Coming in on the right time was also another issue with the basses.