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Message for the whole Band

There follows yet another narrative.........  We are working from the bottom of the page upwards.  This time the  culprit is Tracy, Queen of the Blondes.

With the exception of uncle Paul (Musical Director), Tracy is the longest standing member of the Band (I think)

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Where do I start????


Well, I've been with the band for more years than I care to remember, but even after all that time its never boring! 
There is always a show to write/adjust, music to re-arrange, new members to teach, new instruments to try.  There is never a point in the year when we sit back and relax (well not that I am aware of)

 

 
 

Between February and April we are preparing the seasons show........selecting music, writing the drill show and deciding on appropriate guard uniforms to compliment the show.
 
Between April and June we are brushing up on the music and teaching the drill show (and adding a visual or 5 along the way!)

 


By June we are ready to start the season, both of the competitive nature and that of the carnival sort.  This part of the year lasts between June and October and is by far the busiest (and without a doubt the hardest to fit a holiday in). 
In this time period, competing alone we are attending BYBA contests and polishing and adjusting our show to improve on the previous contest and aim to improve our score with every show.  This involves plenty of hours on Sundays, soaking up the sun (or just soaking) and going over each set and hearing "one more time" more times than you could count.
Meanwhile, BYBA aside, we are taking part in various carnivals and fetes and loving every minute!  Its the perfect practise time and is fantastic for improving stamina (just ask the drummers)  Carnivals are great for letting your hair down...... joining in the atmosphere and generally entertaining a different type of audience.
By October we are giving every last ounce of blood and sweat an every last tear (and quite often tantrum) to our show ready for national finals (the pinnacle of the competitive season)
 
Once finals is over with for another year, we start working towards our Christmas concert.  This is great fun.  We learn new pieces of music which we don't really have time for within the summer season.  More often than not, the band haven't seen the music before (except the old folk) so its great for sight reading.  This is also a good time to filter in the new members, what better time to learn than when the band are learning new bits too????
The concert isn't all about playing, its about showing off various other talents, we have some amazing dancers, singers and musicians who perform outside of the band and its a good time to showcase what else we are capable of.  Its also our biggest fundraiser (the Maldon mud race coming a close 2nd) which gives us a kick start for the forthcoming season.

 

 
So, we've competed, performed, learnt, improved, taught and of course, exhausted every member of staff.  While we are preparing for the concert our presentation evening appears on the calendars.  So we lay our uniforms to rest and bring out the suits and posh frocks and have a night full of dancing and singing and generally having a good time, and rewarding those of have excelled within the season.
After Christmas, the fun starts over and we spend till February training intensely and brushing away cobwebs that have appeared over the festive season.  Don't get me wrong, the training never stops but that's the time when it gets hit the hardest.

 
So before you know it the year has passed.  Friendships between the members are becoming stronger and they alone are giving us more strength for the coming season.
Every year the same sort of question seems to crop up "so Tracy, are you marching this year?" and every year till now the answer has been the same "erm..... playing what instrument??..... yeah why not?" ......... Except this year, this year will be the last I can march with BYBA without an over age spot LOL.  In January I am ready for the question, and the answer this year will be "TRY AND STOP ME"

 

QUEEN OF THE BLONDES 

 

30th November 2007 (Not Edited except for the occasional spealing mistook. Photos added by me. And Tracy we may be able to find you a place with 2 other Over Age Members for 2009)

 

Replies or comments to webmaster@marxmen-group.org please

Message for the whole Band

There follows a narrative.........    The culprit is Mel as indicated below (at the 2007 Colchester Competition). She is the shorter one 2nd from left and I really did not notice that until now.

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As a committee member of the band I get a huge kick out of watching the younger members grow in confidence and mature, making strong friendships which continue outside of the rehearsal rooms.

Also as a marching member mainly doing Carnivals although this year I also competed due to low numbers and my arm being twisted by the younger members who wanted me to do it, now that was a experience!!

Would I do it again? Yes although scary it gives me an insight into what the members goes through, and also how forgiving they are when I mess up. But they will have to ask me!

Looking forward, I really enjoy the Concert we do at Christmas as it gives us a chance to learn new tunes which we would not normally be able to do if just concentrating on next years show, also we get to play old favourites, alongside Christmas carols. The members also get to show off their other talents we have some good guitarists, singers and dancers who all get a chance to audition for a slot in the concert. 

All this alongside the site reading exercises when new music is put in front of us, some of the new tunes learnt are then put into the road march music increasing our musical ability when performing out in public which is where we earn the money to compete in BYBA.

After the concert we then return refreshed and look forward to the next years competing show which we start to learn in the New Year.

 All in all I get a huge amount from band both as a committee member and as a playing member working and learning alongside the other members.

Mel    24th November 2007 (Not Edited)

Replies or comments to webmaster@marxmen-group.org please
 

I found this in the Photo History pages from December 1999

Braintree Dimensions put two Christmas Concerts on. Both were tremendous successes. They helped to fill the time of year that things tend to go a little slack. They did not continue into the third year as it was said that it robbed valuable time for the initial learning for the next years show music!!!

Entry ticket No. 067

24th November 2007  Replies or comments to webmaster@marxmen-group.org please

Message for wind Line Page

Can I say that if we were to learn our new show and not have a Christmas Concert that we would loose our spirit before the first competition. Also the Christmas Concert is fun and if we do a Christmas concert we have more songs for our Road March next year.

                    bye for now

*L****e K***e*  24th November 2007

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Marxmen Windline

(By Baritone Bird)

 Our windline this year has similarities and differences compared to last year. Tracy (a senior member) described our windline as a ‘family’ and, although we still have the closeness of a family, a new structure has started to appear. The easiest way to explain this structure is to picture a tree. (Sounds funny I know!)

 The leaves on our tree represent the trumpets as they tend to stand out the most. With their high-pitched tunes and solo’s, they are usually the first section to catch your eye (or ear!)

 The mellophones are similar to the branches of our tree. They support and harmonise the trumpets and tune, giving a warm and loving effect.

 The Lower Brass (including one very sexy saxophone) could be looked at as the tree trunk. With lots of semibreves and usually low music, the lower brass back up and support the mellophones and trumpets. Same as in a tree, the trunk supports the branches and the leaves.

 Although, separating our windline like this may not be a good idea. As soon as we step onto a competition field, we work as one, we play the same tunes, we march the same show because we all want the same thing. The feeling of……..VICTORY!!

By Baritone Bird. July 2005.

Don’t Quit!

  • When things go wrong, as they sometimes will

  • When the road you’re trudging seems uphill

  • When the funds are low and the debts are high

  • And you want to smile but have to sigh

  • When life is pressing you down a bit

  • Rest if you must but don’t you quit.

  • Life is strange with its twists and turns

  • As everyone of us sometimes learns

  • And many a failure turns about

  • When we might have won had we stuck it out

  • So don’t give up though the pace seems slow

  • You may succeed with another blow

  • Success is failure turned inside out

  • The silver tint of the clouds of doubt

  • And you never can tell how close you are

  • It may be near when it seems so far

  • So stick with the fight when you're hardest hit

  • Its when things seem worst that you must not Quit!

By Tracy. Tracy has an album on this site

(Every cloud has a silver lining)

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