CHERYL’S PICKS

Handbells

I perform with the Sonos Handbell Ensemble.  Here are several of our videos:

•  J. S. Bach’s “Toccata”
•  Edward MacDowell’s “Hummingbird”
•  James Meredith’s “Smirti” (Remembrance of 9/11) for handbells, handchimes, and cello

•  Tour Concert 3/2014 - School assembly program at the Maharishi School, Fairfield, IA (introduction, clips of “Chester,” “Grace,” “Maria from “West Side Story,” “Mambo” from “West Side Story,” bell technique demonstration, “Comin’ Round the Mountain,” Q&A, “Smirti,” closing statements)

•  Tour Concert 12/12/2015 at Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, MO with guest vocalist Frederica von Stade and the St. Louis Archdiocesan Choir
•  Tour concert 12/14/2015 at Walton Arts Center, Fayetteville, AR
•  Tour Concert 12/18/2013 at Central Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, GA

“Misterium” by James Meredith is the first composition for virtual handbell ensemble.

Jokes

Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony (link)

Here’s what the drummer’s part is like for “The Star Spangled Banner”
            Oh, say can you BOOM, CRASH
            By the dawn's early BOOM, CRASH
            What so proudly we BOOM, CRASH
            At the twilight's last gleaming?
            Whose broad stripes and bright BOOM, CRASH
            Through the perilous BOOM, CRASH
            O'er the ramparts we BOOM, CRASH
            Were so gallantly streaming? 3 &
            1...2...3...
            2...2...3...
            3...2...3...
            4...2...3...
            5...2...3...
            6...2...3...
            7...2...3...
            8...2...Oh,
            BOOM BOOM BOOM
            BOOM BOOM BOOM
            BOOM BOOM BOOM
            BOOM BOOOOOMMMM; BOOM
            BOOM BOOM BOOM
            BOOM BOOOOOMMMM; BOOM
            BOOM BOOM BOOM
            BOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

Other Music Groups in the News

Young musical prodigies cover Michael Jackson’s Heal the World.

New Orleans Brass Band (Postmodern Jukebox) with vocalist Aubrey Logan play Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop the Feeling in Dixieland style.

The Melbourne Symphony plays bottles for a Victoria Bitter Beer commercial

 Travel Wisconsin made this commercial to promote both the arts and the climate with a symphonic snowball fight.

The Really Terrible Orchestra plays “Trumpet Promenade” (website) (Wikipedia)

Musicians with Too Much Leisure Time

Line Rider with Grieg’s “Hall of the Mountain King” as the soundtrack.

A view of life if it was actually set to music – orchestra hidden camera pranks.

One bored member of e-Mnozil Brass performs “Lonely Boy” on nearly every other members’ instruments – at the same time.

Jazz is not just for people, as demonstrated New Hot 5 (an American-based jazz band) plays for a herd of cows in Autrans, France.

Buddy Greene plays classical tunes on his harmonica in Carnegie Hall.

Michel Lauzière plays Mozart’s Symphony No.40 (Mvt. 1, Theme 1) using wine bottles and rollerblades.

Les Luthiers play a duet with piano and basketball horns.

Maestro Music plays a variety of music using bulb horns.

Stay through the introduction to see this early home video innovator perform every part in the Nola all by himself.

Listen to J. S. Bach’s “Air on a G String” blown entirely on tuned bottles of water.

You will definitely enjoy the beautiful “CATcerto” played by cat piano soloist with orchestra.

Learn how to beat-box using the words boot and cat.

How to teach your dog to play the piano – really!

How you can make changes to a live choral concert with your remote control.

It’s Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story is now Web Site Story, updated to reflect the modern-day electronic lifestyle.

“A Grand Grand Overture” by Malcolm Arnold features the Hoover Quartet.  Our own NCCBand played this number at its August 2010 concert “Musical Chairs.”

Gustavo Dudamel conducts Leonard Bernstein’s “Mambo” from West Side Story with the Venezuelan youth orchestra.

Do It Yourself Instruments

Peruvian jar whistles at the Incan museum in Cusco, Peru.

Ice musical instruments created in an snow cave in Swedish Lapland.

Ken Butler makes his own instruments from found objects.

Pictures and soundbytes of instruments from around the world.

Workers play a selection from Bizet’s “Carmen” on found, created, or discarded instruments.

Here’s the fastest beatboxer I’ve ever seen.

Diego Stocco repurposes a broken piano and broken bass guitar into a Bassoforte.

The Vegetable Orchestra – need I say more?

A carrot can also be a clarinet and it sounds pretty good too, at least when Linsey Pollack plays it.

Dennis Havlena provides a video and details on how to make just about any stringed instrument plus musical saw, penny whistle, noisemakers, drums, and xylophones.

Here’s a stairway that is also a piano.  What a great idea!

This magical piano plays live without a player, interacting with people at a train station.

Linsey Pollack can play anything.  This link shows him making an instrument from a bicycle.

Here are The Bottle Boys (from Denmark) playing “Party Rock Anthem.”

Mozart is performed in the office.

Mixed Ensemble

If you’ve never heard of the all-girl band The Ingenues, this video will help you never forget them as they play the top hit songs of 1928.

Dixieland Crackerjacks play “The Original Dixieland One-Step” featuring Bert Brandsma on clarinet (he’s also in my saxophone links below)

Chico and Harpo Marx demonstrate how you must first excel at music before combining it with comedy in this scene from the 1935 film “A Night at the Opera.”

Orchestra

The John Wilson Orchestra recreates the cartoon music “Tom and Jerry at MGM.”

Flute

Watch a great video about how the flute is made.

Beatboxing flute player Greg Patillo plays “Super Mario Brothers” theme.

Here’s a fascinating breakdown on the acoustics of the flute.

Listen to a nice jazz duet with flute and contrabass flute.

Yes, there really is such a thing as the subcontrabass flute.

Clarinet

Cuarteto de Clarinetes de Caracas play “Fantasia in 6/8” (where to order their CD)

A robot plays “Flight of the Bumblebee” on an unmodified clarinet, and wins the Artemis Orchestra Competition.

Here’s a fascinating breakdown on the acoustics of the clarinet

Eleven-year old prodigy Han Kim plays the delightful “Immer Kleiner” (Ever Smaller) in which his clarinet shrinks throughout the piece.

The Discovery Channel’s “How It’s Made” program now has a Rico reed video.

Saxophone

Beatboxing sax Derek Brown plays “Falling in Love with You.”

Ever seen a “slide saxophone?” Check out this Disneyland musician’s large collection.

Toon Town Tuners at Disney World plays “Four Brothers” (soprano, alto, tenor, baritone, and bass).

Sign up to attend San Jose’s Saxophone Christmas event.

This is a comparison of a Martin bass saxophone vs. a Conn bass saxophone by professional sax player Bert Brandsma.

And to help her dream even more, here’s a contra-bass saxophone.

Here’s a fascinating breakdown on the acoustics of the saxophone.

The National Saxophone Choir of Great Britain plays “Crazy Rag”

Trumpet

The animated video “Swing of Change” shows that music transcends all boundaries – even social ones.

This is a great video showing the manufacturing process for a trumpet.

Here’s a fascinating breakdown on the acoustics of brass instruments.

French Horn

The quartet known as Genghis Barbie plays "Seal’s Kiss from a Rose".  Beautiful!

Here’s the contrabass French Horn.  I didn’t even know there was such a thing!

Trombone

Christopher Bill loops his own body percussion and trombone licks to create a cover of “Happy” that’s truly impressive.

This German trombone ensemble plays “Peanut Vendor” on so many many sizes of trombone.

Maniacal 4 Trombone Quartet really rocks while recording the Kansas song "Carry On, My Wayward Son".

See some humorous trombone-related art.

Bones Apart (quartet) plays “The Stars and Stripes Forever”

Extreme Trombone Quartet perform J. S. Bach’s “Toccata and Fugue in D minor”.

Trombonanza plays “Sabre Dance”.

Murray Crewe describes the lineage of his very rare contrabass trombone.

Discovery Channel explains how a bass trombone is made.

Tuba

Sign up to attend a Tuba Christmas event.

Brass Ensemble

The Canadian Brass performs a horse opera in one-act called “Hornsmoke.”

Strings

This string/piano quintet Salut Salon plays with style and talent to spare.

The Piano Guys play a cover of The Turtles’ “Happy Together” in which Steven Sharp Nelson spends quality time bonding with his cello.

The Piano Guys are at it again, this time with Cello Wars (Star Wars Parody) Lightsaber Duel.

The MozArt Group (from Poland) bring both fine string quartet music and humor to the stage.

The PAgagNINI Quartet a more modern spin (with extras) on Pachelbel’s Canon.

The talented Willie Hall plays “Pop Goes the Weasal” with variations on the violin, only to follow it up with “Stars and Stripes Forever” using only a bicycle pump.  This is an excerpt from the 1930 film “King of Jazz.”  Willie was also a trombonist with the famous Paul Whitman Orchestra, and later worked with Spike Jones.

Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain (website)

This North Korean ensemble of very young children play the guitar  with an extraordinary talent.

A talented 12-year old plays “Cantina Band” from Star Wars on the harp.

Ethan Winer performs all 37 cello parts in his “Cello Rondo.”

Piano

To play Rachmaninov’s “Prelude in C# Minor”, Igudesman & Joo demonstrate how must have big hands

The Science Channel reveals how a piano is made.

Guitar

If you don’t have a guitar, just play your friend’s one with Four Hands Guitar.

Here’s another guitar four-hands song: Tico Tico.

Here’s a fascinating breakdown on the acoustics of the guitar.

An IPhone captures the string oscillations from inside a guitar.

Drums and Percussion

Top Secret Drum Corp are awesome with Basel Tatoo 2012.

Blast! performs a high-energy show with “Marimba Spiritual and Earthbeat.”

This is really funny!  Three drummers use someone else as their drumset entitles “Tummy Talk: and Epic Drum Solo.”

You won’t believe that Howard Wong is only 3 years old, judging by the way he plays his drum set.

This is an excerpt from a 1989 educational film introducing the parts of the percussion family.

Here’s a fun instrument called the hang drum.

Here’s a fascinating breakdown on the acoustics of the didjeridu/didjeridoo.

The amazing Teddy Brown plays the marimba. Make sure you see the ending.

Comedian Rowan Atkinson plays an invisible drum set.

Andre Avaducci play Rossini’s “The Overture to the Barber of Seville” on an extensive drumset and exceptional accuracy.

Ben Franklin’s invention – the glass armonica – is used to perform Tchaikowsky’s “Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies.”

Marching Band

His Majesty the King’s royal guard band and drill team of Norway (HMKG) perform an exceptionally precise routine.

The Norwegian royal guard and drill team (HMKG) perform another exceptional show.

Conductors

The Dutch Army Band performs music while riding bicycles.

A very talented 3-year-old conducts Beethoven’s 5^th Symphony’s fourth movement.

Victor Borge conducts Bedrich Smetana’s “Dance of the Comedians”

I have often felt like this conductor, especially when working with beginners!  This is a claymation video of Quasimoto directing a bell choir performing “Carol of the Bells.”

Dance

Dance-walking with reporter Ben Aaron.

My favorite flash mob:  Sound of Music at Central Station of Antwerp, Belgium.

This video will lift your spirits – see Matt dance all over the world!

Cleary & Harding perform a very well done dance without using your feet to the song “We No Speak Americano.”

Choral and Vocal

This collaboration between various children’s choirs and Grandpa Elliot makes a beautiful rendition of "What a Wonderful World."

You’ve got see this rendition of “Seventy-Six Trombones” from the Broadway show The Music Man, sung in competition-winning barbershop style.

Eric Whitacre masterminded this original composition using a “virtual choir” singing “Lux Arumque” (Light and Gold).  He also talks about how he made it.

The “a capella” men’s sextet The King’s Singers do a wonderful rendition of “Masterpiece” which is an historical timeline of musical composers and their styles.

Music Theory

Learn simple musical theory with Five Minute Mozart.

Here is a pop song for children that teaches line vs. space notation.

This video uses Surfin’ USA pop song to reviews basic musical symbols.

Using chant and hand gesture, this simple method teaches basic note values and rhythms.

These pop-style videos demonstrate pop song structure (Taylor Swift), musical devices (One Direction), and basic 12-bar blues pattern.

Children’s song “Genie in my Flute” uses the pitches G and E to teach hand position, simple tonguing, and timing on a recorder.

This explanation of 12-tone music is the best I have ever seen.

Synchronize 32 metronomes with a flexible surface.

This is a beautiful video called “I Want to Understand Music.”