Monday
Work started at 0830 this morning as our 0730 phys session was cancelled. I
play the French horn and for the last week I couldn't play due to a nasty cold
sore on my lip, so this morning I started with lip flexibility exercises, which
I did until stand easy to try to get my lip back.
Today was the first round of the Cassel Prize solo competition, so after stand
easy I prepared the piece I was going to perform, the first movement of Richard
Strauss' Horn Concerto No 1. I worked on the opening bars, making sure I couldn't
split the notes, and a few other areas which were not as good as they could
be.
After lunch it was back to work at 1300 for recitals. These recitals are part
of the final M3 exams which my term are taking at the moment. Two of my closest
friends were playing today, Musn Charlotte Butchers on the clarinet and bass
clarinet and Musn Georgina Dawkins on the violin.
At 1400 there was a concert band rehearsal which I could not attend as I was
due to perform my piece for the Cassel Prize. My piece went quite well although
nerves took hold of me a little!
At 1500 I had a professor's lesson with Tim Jackson, principal horn of the Covent
Garden Orchestra. We worked through Mozart's Horn Concerto No4 as I was meant
to be performing it with the orchestra at 1600. We worked out some difficult
semi-quaver passages, looking at how fingering and articulation could help make
them easier. In the orchestra rehearsal we looked at a new piece by Sibelius,
which we got on quite well with. We didn't go through the Mozart concerto though
as the violin instructor didn't think the strings would be able to manage the
parts.
1730 and at last we can relax. After going to scran (dinner), I went up to my
room and watched TV and took my washing to the laundrette.
Tuesday
This morning I got up at 0615 to go to the gym before work. After 15 minutes
on the cross-trainer and several sit-ups/press-ups etc, I felt wide awake and
ready for the long day ahead.
We had to be in work for eight this morning. I did my warm up routine and a
few lip flexibility exercises again. I then set to work on one of my M3 recital
pieces, Morceau De Concert by Saint Saens. I particularly looked at the last
page where there are several technical difficulties. After breaking down the
semi-quaver arpeggio-like figures, I finally managed to play them fluently without
splitting any notes. After this my lips were quite tired so I started doing
scales for ten minutes before stand easy.
After our break I finished going through all my scales. Some of my minor scales
and three octave scales were not so good, so I concentrated on these till lunch.
After an hour lunch break, I looked at a couple of studies, one by Otto Langley
and one by Fritz Huth. These both concentrated on pitching. For the Langley
I was making sure that I kept a strict rhythm and that I reached the high notes.
I had only just started the Huth, so was making sure I was pitching the intervals
correctly. This still needed some more work. Next was a scales test with Cpl
Moss. Myself and Musn Lindsey Carnegie endured an hour of scales, but we did
manage to side track our instructor for a little while!
After stand easy, Cpl Moss and I chose a study for my M3 practical exam. There
were a couple of possibilities so we went through them to see which one was
best.
On Thursday we are doing a concert with Southampton Youth Brass Band and tonight
they came to HMS Nelson to rehearse with us. We mainly concentrated on a piece
called Gaelforce, along with looking at a few marches.
Wednesday
Today started with parade band at 0800 with our Bandmaster, Mr Hodge. It was
just a musical rehearsal so we sat outside as the weather was nice. We went
through marches for our Open Day parade.
At 0900 we returned to our cells and after a warm up routine, I started working
on my M3 study. I decided to do the study out of the Fritz Hugh 'School for
Horn'. There are a lot of difficult intervals to pitch and it took me quite
a while to work out if I was playing the right notes! It also depends a lot
on lip flexibility and the range is constantly leaping from low notes to very
high notes.
After stand easy, I worked on Morceau De Concert. I was having trouble with
a particular passage where I couldn't get the high notes at the end of the figure,
so I practised doing scales which went higher than the top note hopefully making
that note seem easier. Along with slowing the passage down a bit this worked
and I was then able to take it up to full speed.
In the afternoon I went to play squash as it was RT afternoon. Quite a lot of
Training Company went on a trip to a water park at Poole arranged by our new
PTI, CSgt Laughton.
Thursday
We were all in work for 0900 in the concert hall to collect leave passes for
our long weekend which starts tomorrow. But just as I was about to go in to
the hall, the Drum Major called me over to him and told me the Director of Music
wanted to see me. So I went up to the cottage to the DOM(T)'s office where he
informed me that my draft had changed to Scotland, instead of Dartmouth. I had
already heard a rumour that this might happen so I was not too shocked.
I spent the morning doing a warm up routine and all my scales. People who were
on the concert were allowed to leave at stand easy to do their kit and have
their lunch. First of all I collected my car from the garage on base as it had
been having some work done on it. I then did my kit, got into my suit and went
to scran.
When we got back over the School we loaded up the lorry with instruments and
equipment we needed for the gig. Before we left for the gig though, it was Musn
Stuart Forthergill's (Foggy) M3 recital. He entertained us on his clarinet with
pieces by Mozart and Bernstein and ended with performing in a trad band, brilliant!
Once at the school in Southampton where the concert was going to take place,
we set up the stage and had a musical rehearsal. At 1800 we went upstairs for
a dinner, a buffet which had been put on for us.
The concert started at 1930 and went well, for both us and the Brass Band. Well
done to our soloist Musn Nick West, who played Midnight Euphonium brilliantly
and to all of the brass band who acted very professionally.
Once back in Portsmouth we had to unload all the kit from the lorry. My head
touched the pillow finally at midnight and we could now all look forward to
a well-needed long weekend.