In band class, I enjoy most of the songs we play, but a few really stand out as being really fun or beautiful.
5. Lola Flores by Alfred Sadel- This is by far my favorite march and has an Italian carnival feel that makes it very fun to play and listen to.
4. Vesuvius by Frank Ticheli- Although the event it’s based on is sad, the piece is very driving with a beautiful, sorrowful section in the middle.
3. 3 Wise Guys by Julie Giroux- A jazz mash up of We Three Kings and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, it’s become one of my favorite christmas songs!
2. Arabesque by Samuel R. Hazo/ Strange Humours by John Mackey- I put these two together because they are very similar; Arabian dances with grand endings.
1. Seal Lullaby by Eric Whitacre- My personal favorite, It’s a beautiful, emotional song, that I find very inspiring!
Once you’ve become proficient on your instrument, you can begin to memorize music. Maybe you need to do it for a performance, or marching band, or just for fun. Depending on the person and difficulty of the piece, the amount of time to memorize something varies. One way is to memorize the fingerings, the notes, or to memorize a picture of the sheet music. If you play multiple instruments, it might be helpful to play your piece on each one or if you try to write out the piece from memory. The most important step is repetition. The most ideal form of memorizing music is muscle memory where you don’t have to even think about it. I’ve found that it is easiest to memorize music that you enjoy. Good luck!
Oak- Very sturdy, oak is useful for projects for the outdoors, such as deck chairs or picnic tables. It can be painted, stained, or neither and it is a medium brown color. Keep in mind that oak is a little more expensive than poplar and a lot heavier.
Maple- One of the hardest woods, it is pale wood with a beautiful grain. I have often used s for cutting and cheese boards. However, because it is so hard you shouldn’t use it for projects that involve carving or shaping the wood.
Walnut- Similar to Oak, but not as hard, it is more often used for indoor furniture and is a beautiful dark brown. I am currently using it for the base of my cheese board
Ebony- One of the most expensive woods, I would save it for very small projects or for accents. Its colors range from a very dark brown to black and is very heavy. I was going to use ebony for a small box, but opted instead for dyeing a piece of poplar black.
Bloodwood- My personal favorite, it is a beautiful red-orange perfect for accents or small projects. It is a more exotic wood and therefore more expensive, but I’ve used it a lot in my cutting boards and jewelry boxes.
I hope this is helpful when you start your next project and let me know if there are any other woods you want to know about! Something to keep in mind when choosing more exotic woods is to check if it is toxic or food safe if you are using it for cooking related projects or when working the wood. Here’s a link for wood toxicity: