Cornet player and brass tutor Mark Rodgers gives us an insight into the world of Brass Bands with his column Brassed Off.
IT’S 2014 and another year of banding is upon us. Things will now be settling back down to normality, there will be another DFS sale on and people will be getting back to the daily grind.
The strains of seemingly non-stop Christmas music will have ‘jingled’ off into a quiet dark room for at least ten months. Bands will happily hand in their December folders and try to find their normal rehearsal and concert music. Some pieces that usually receive a derisory groan will actually be welcomed for a few weeks after all the festive fare.
For most bands there will be only a handful of bookings on the calendar, usually annual engagements that have become traditions. All the other gigs will gradually filter in as the year gathers momentum.
If a band has bookings well into double figures by the start of the year, they are lucky and are guaranteed regular stage performances and, of course, the much needed revenue.
The one date that will feature in the diaries of all but one or two of our bands, possibly highlighted or with a big red circle around it, will be Sunday, March 9. This is when all the bands of the North West do battle, in their relative sections, to try and qualify for the prestigious National Finals in September.
Saddleworth will easily have the highest concentration of bands from one district competing. In fact, walking through the Winter Gardens or hanging around outside is very much akin to a Saddleworth reunion, especially considering that many locals play for other bands from further afield as well.
For some bands this may be their only contest of the year, but it is a necessity. Even if you don’t win or qualify, the placing points gained this year could mean the difference between promotion or relegation and obviously these factors, as in football, can make or break a band.
A few of our local bands will be keen to get their contesting eyes and lips in before Blackpool and will be using the Butlins Mineworkers Contest this month and the Brass at the Guild contest at Preston in February to get some competition experience under their belts. Of course I will keep everyone posted of local achievements.
As I enter my third year as a columnist with this paper, I hope to continue to bring you more detailed news on your local favourites each month.
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