Tricky Parts Page

Cuts, Errata, Head s-Ups,Exposed parts, etc

NOTE: This is the OLD BORING Tricky Parts page but the new page doesn’t include all the pieces. Please come to the new hopefully-more-engaging Tricky Parts page that’s just for our April 22nd show. See you soon! – Deborah

EVERYONE IGNORE THE FOLLOWING

Dear Players, Librarians & Conductors

— these notes are to give you a heads-up about tricky parts in the pieces on our program. These notes should already be written in the parts – but this list can provide confirmation if you have questions about whether those notes are current or not. I’m sure these notes will never be totally comprehensive, but I hope they’re helpful. We tried to arrange notes with Conductor notes first, “All” players next and the rest in score order. If you find tricky sections in your parts that aren’t listed here, please send me notification of them at info@HipHarp.com.

The formatting may be off because we’ve just had to move this from an old HMTL site to the new WordPress site, which doesn’t support tables so we’re clugeing this. Thanks – Deborah

The pieces are outlined below in alphabetical order, or you “should be able to” click on a link here:

996 • Baroque Flamenco • Belinda • Catcher in the Rye • Celtic Minstrel • Congratulations You, Made It This Far • Cosita Latina • Danger Zone • DeeDeedle Deedle Dee • Drunken Sailor • Earlie in the Morning (Drunken Sailor) •Frog Princess (The) • Garbage geman(The) • Macho Dogs • Merceditas • My Mother’s Mexican Hat •New Blues • Nightingale(The) • Off She Goes & She’sGone • Pava Diablo • Phoenix(The) • Ramsay’s Reel Ride •Way You Are Blues (The) • Wild Harp (The) • Holiday Shows

Baroque Flamenco
The premise of this piece is that a group of Flamenco Dancers accidentally get in a time machine and find themselves in Marie Antoinette’s boudoire. The contrast between the “Dolce” sections and the Energico or Appasionato sections should be exaggerated to cartoon-esque proportions. The Dolce sections should be truly snooty and the Energico/Appasionato sections raucous & passionate.
Condct	237	May start slower than 108 and accel poco a poco to achieve tempo in 251 (dotted half = 80 or even a little faster)
ALL	212	No diminuendo, no decrease to mf. Just steady thru 214 then cresc poco a poco to climax in 225
All	246	no ritard (unless it feels totally right at the moment)
Clarinets 1/2	149-179	Add one level to the dynamics
Trumpets	21-36 53-68 123-148	If you play in these sections, then you need to have an extremely light touch in order to contrast with the Appasionato & Energico Sections.
Trumpets	180 – 225	Stand from the pickup of K through m. 225 and play bravado, as if you were unbridled egotists (imagine you are combination Bullfighters, Flamenco Dancers and Don Juans)
Trumpets	181-187	This section seems to often fall behind the beat, so there’s probably something misleading in the way it’s composed — if you need to slur it differently to keep it in tempo, feel free to do that.
Violin 1 & Cello	149-179	Add one level to the dynamics, and if possible, split the Vn1’s and have them play the line divisi in octaves (play what’s written part plus one octave higher).
Harp	149-209	Play as loud as you can.
Belinda
This is a light little calypso — a love-song about a tree.
Cndctr	46-47	This hemiola is always a problem because I also slow down. 46-47 are in a substantially slower tempo. 48 is a Tempo.
Cndctr	70-73	I often broaden this considerably
Cndctr	92	There should be a fermata on this measure, with my pickup in tempo
Cndctr	95	The tempo here should be about quarter note equals 120
Cndctr	103	This pickup is written wrong — I do it as 3 quarter notes, not 3 8th notes.
Cndctr	104	Tempo should be around 120
Cndctr	115	As at 103, these pickups are written wrong – I do them as 3 quarter notes (so 116 isn’t as slow as you’d think from how slowly I do the pickups)
Cndctr	116	Tempo still around 120
Cndctr	124	Tempo around 114 (not 106 as written in the score)
Cndctr	138/139	accel to the a tempo in 140
Cndctr	159-160	these measures should actually be done at half-tempo
Tbns	68	delete last eight note (there should be only one note in that measure and it should be a quarter note with an accent and staccato on beat 4).
Perc	All	If you have questions about where you’re in or out vis-a-vis the “ad lib” latin percussion playing, please email as far as possible in advance with any specific questions: info@HipHarp.com
Califypso
This is a very simple audience participation piece — no tricky parts.

Catcher in the Rye
This piece was inspired by Davey Steele, a Scottish singer and Bodhran player whose voice embodied the tenderness of Scottish ballads and whose percussive playing evoked huge passion.
Conductor & Perc (Toms or Timp feature)	ALL	The timp part in the score may be played on Toms (depending on acoustics and other considerations). If so, there’s ’s a sparser timpani part that was added after the score was finished (it accents the Tom part).
Conductor & Perc (Toms or Timp feature)	167-174	Starting at 167 there’s a long, semi-improvised solo for harp & one of the following: Timpani, Bodhran, Frame drum, Snare drum. If it’s anything other than Timpani, the percussionist comes out front to play the duet with me. Depending on the drum you play, you may be miked. Here’s how it happens: Starting at Letter N, there are 4 orchestra “hits” followed by short harp solos. The fourth hit is at 162-163. I will extend the following “solo” (m. 163-166) as long as needed to give you time to come out and get ready to play with me. You’ll remain out to the end of the tune. If this tune is done with Timp, I’ll raise my arm to cue you to start the timpani solo Practice Part: Catcher in the Rye – Timpani Feature Part (2007) (pg 1 pdf) (pg 2 pdf)
ALL	199-202	The tempo should stay the same as in the previous section
ALL	203	This is in 8. NO FERMATA. Eighth note in 203 = half note in 202
ALL	204 – 207	This is in 2. Same tempo as in 199-202
ALL	208	This is in 8. NO FERMATA. Eighth note in 208 = half note in 207
ALL	209	This is in4. Quarter note in 209 = eighth note in 208
English Horn (Clarinet 1) (Conductor)	2-5	This is extremely exposed. All grace notes should be very short (jjust embellishments, the classic, mournful Celtic piper’s sound. When an English Horn isn’t available, this part can be played on Clarinet but we never supply that part unless the conductor specifically asks for it.
Celtic Minstrel, The
		(tricky parts coming soon)
CONGRATULATIONS, YOU MADE IT THIS FAR
A Gospel-type ballad for strings, harp & voice.
Conductor	77-94	• Don’t try to follow Deborah’s words — just mark each measure in a leisurely fashion, as though each measure were a candle you were lighting on a cake. • You should get to 90 before Deborah. Hold at the fermata on 90 until she has said, “And that child needs to hear something from you.” • Then end the fermata and continue to follow Deborah.
Concertmaster/mistress or Trumpet fanfar:	61-63	IF CONCERTMASTER: What I really want here is a bravado, virtuosic piece, anywhere from 15 –60 seconds. It can be anything you want, but if possible, something that SOUNDS hard without actually BEING hard. You can choose anything — the key, tempo, etc aren’t important. If you don’t want to come up with something, you can play what’s written, or you can elect another player. in one concert, a 2nd violinist jumped up and played Czardas and the audience loved it (especially those who had sat in second violin sections in high school and college; on another program, a bass played a great virtuoso thing which I think he was making up on the spot — the audience also loved that). IF TRUMPET FANFARE: There should be something written in the part. If not, any famous cartoon –type fanfare will work (see the DVD “Invention & Alchemy” to see how this works)
Prinipal Vc or Kb	64	The F# should be a whole note and the the gliss should take as long as possible. In this measure you are impersonating our fear of a long slow decline during middle age. (See the DVD “Invention & Alchemy” to see how this works.
COSITA LATINA
This piece is a pretty straightforward samba with a Flamenco cadenza.
Vn 1	110 – 168	This is requested to be played a la guitarra (I think I removed this part)
Danger Zone
This is a musical science project. NOTE FOR ALL: this is a cartoon, so exaggerate everything to the extreme.
Conductor	13	Not too slow
Conductor	108	The accel to a tempo should all take place from 144 – 148, and the final A Tempo (at N) can even be slightly faster than the original at letter B
Trombone (Bass Tbn)	123-147	Please stand and play as loud and raucous as possible through 147. You are impersonating all 76 of the 76 trombones in this section of the piece.
Xylophone	115-122	Even though other instruments are supporting you, you are the primary voice here and many players find this section tricky.
Dee Deedle Deedle Dee
This is a simple, silly audience participation tune.
ALL	91-105	8 bars between 91 – 106 will be cut. You only cut the 8 bars of tacet – but different players have different tacet bars. That means, strings cut 99-106; woodwinds and xylophone cut 91-98. The result is that everyone cuts 8 bars of tacet and everyone’s playing together for 8 bars — and all this should already be written in your parts. Trust me, it works. I should have written it that way to start witht — just don’t get confused if someone else has different bars cut.
Drunken Sailor (aka “Earlie in the Morning”)
		(tricky parts coming soon)
Frog Princess, The
		(tricky parts coming soon)
THE GARBAGEMAN
This is a pretty simple song with a percussion feature which is largely improvised – and played on trash cans. My preference is to have it played on multiple trash cans downstage in front of the orchestra, by multiple players wearing overalls – but I’m open to other suggestions. The feel is a combo Irish Reel / Swiss Polka.
Perc	89 – end At m. 89,	1-3 percussionists (or more) come out from the wings carrying tin garbagecans. You (the percusionists) can also wear baseball hats and reflector vests, if you want. You’ll set up the garbagecans next to stands and chairs (which should be out there). When you’re ready, you cue the conductor to begin m. 90. The downside is you need to get the garbagecans. Percussionists generally buy them at Home Depot. Aluminum (not plastic) with lids. Outside-Can size (i.e. not a trash can you’d have in an inside office). When there’s just a single percussionist, a fun “schtick” can be to get several sizes of cans, insert them into each other (like those Russian dolls), come out with what appears to be one can, then keep opening the cans, pulling out a smaller one, and set them up like a set of toms or a drumset. If you have concerns or questions, email me (Deborah) at info@HipHarp.com with “Urgent Garbagecan Query” in the subject heading so they’ll forward it to me. You should have an “Invention & Alchemy” DVD in your folder – if you watch “The Garbageman” track you’ll get an idea what you can do and what size cans to buy.
Xyl / (Crash Cymbals)	95-end	You’re the one percussionist who won’t come out with garbagecans. At somepoint during the garbagecan solo, I’ll play the garbagecan lids as though they were crash cymbals. Every time I do that, please play crash cymbals.
Macho Dogs
		(tricky parts coming soon)
Merceditas
Horns		I the horns are pretty exposed in this, but it’s a fairlynew piece so I’m not sure what’s tricky, yet. If you discover tricky parts, please email them: info@HipHarp.com
My Mother’s Mexican Hat
A young woman falls in love with a daring, handsome sombrero — and the sombrero falls in love with her as well. It comes alive at midnight on the full moon, teaches her to dance the Fandango, then flies off into the moonlight, never to be seen again.
Flute 1/Cl. 1	133-144	Try to bring these solo lines out as much as possible. You’re playing a duet accompanied by strings.
Tpt s 2/3	177-184	Bring this out as much as possible
Tpt 1		(apparently I meant to make a note about something for you, but it got disappeared — if you find something tricky in the part I should have listed here, please let me know: info@HipHarp.com – Thanks – DHC)
Tpt 2	185-208 193-208	This whole line should be forte or double forte — it should sing above the rest of the orchestra
Harp	3-28	This is a musical joke. I come on, pretending like I’m the world’s greatest virtuoso. I play a bunch of arpeggios. Then I play (in m. 1-2) the same notes you have written in measures 3-4. You wait about 2 seconds after my last note, then you play m. 3-4. You should try to copy my inflection (it’s easy — you’ll probably do it naturally).The same thing happens in m. 5-8 (first I play the gesture, then you copy what I’ve played).The joke is that I’m looking in my harp to try to figure out where the other harp music is coming from.The conductor probably won’t even conduct this — we’ll be responding to each other by ear. I’m happy to go over it a few times with you before the rehearsal.
New Blues
This is a feature for the orchestra harpist – but it can also feature other orchestral players. The way it usually works — assuming it’s been OK’d by administration, conductor and orchestral harpist — is that the orchestral harpist (and her/his harp) will be brought out in front of the orchestra at Deborah’s request, may be asked to play one or two short clichéd harp excerpts, then the orchestra harpist & Deborah will play New Blues as a feature with the orchestra.
Conductor	37-48	EXTRA SOLO POSSIBILITY If there’s a great blues or jazz soloist in the orchestra – or even someone jjust willing to try (tpt, tbn, clarinet, fiddle, or whoever) solos are available from m. 37 – 48. For more solos or longer solos, 37-48 can also be repeated as many times as desired.
Conductor	75-81	I’ll be playing something there — I just don’t know what
Nightingale, The
I like to float over the rhythm, so conductor shouldn’t worry about following my words. Your CUE is when I say “She was my nightingale” — it’s easy to get faked out because the intro I play is similar to what’s written in bar one. I may make reference to the melody several times during my intro, but I will ALWAYS say “She was my nightingale” before I begin Bar 1 for real.
All	65-92	The upper woodwinds are dominant, if not in dynamic, in sense of of movement — any time woodwinds have a moving line, they should bring it out and be aware of moving within the counterpoint of the other woodwinds. Horns are next in prominence and the strings are creating the greater part of the atmosphere. It’s as though the woodwinds were the birds, the horns the trees and the strings the night sky.
All / Conductor	93	No subito piano, rather truly arriving at 93 and pulling back a little at 101, with a decrescendo in 100
Flute 1	33 – 40	Pull this up at least one dynamic marking to make sure you’re heard — you are like a descant voice here
English Horn Clarinet 1	65-72	This should sound like a duet between the two of you — the EH is slightly dominant to the Cl. 1, but they are both important — bring the dynamic markings up to f (EH) and mf (Cl) at the least.
English Horn	9	Dynamic should be forte although you are playing with a Dolce feeling — you should be singing above everything else here. This line should sound as if it’s ad lib, but the underlying tempo should remain steady, so you need to make sure that any downbeat notes are actually played on the downbeat. All the triplets and 32nd notes are grace notes, so there is some liberty in where you actually place them.
English Horn	41 – 48	Bring this out — you are the countermelody to the voice
Horns	33 – 40	Bring these lines out, even though they’re marked mp — you can play them louder — you should be nearly equal with the singer — you are a countermelody to her melody
Off She Goes & She’s Gone
(NOTE: there’s no conductor score for this – it’s just 2 harps & snare drum)
Snare	Open Solo	You don’t come in until Q. At Q you should take an open, rhythmic solo 16, 32 or even as much as 64 bars long, but in some increment of 8 bar phrases.
Snare & Harp	Study CD	If you didn’t get a study CD and want one, let me know. This may be more useful for the harp than for the snare. For the harp, the CD is set-up as a kind of “music minus one” practice tool.
Pava Diablo
Gene Krupa meets George of the Jungle. Timp or percussion feature.
All (INTRO)	Intro (before 1)	DHC will do a solo introduction, ending in a rhythmic vamp to set the tempo.Conductor will start measure 1 when he/she is ready.
All (CUT)	65-70	CUT. Orchestra enters at J. I will end my last cadenza with a vamp (similar to the beginning of the piece) and conductor can bring orchestra in when ready (I mean when the conductor’s ready).
Contra- bassoon	ALL	There isn’t technically a C Bn part so if we’re playing with reduced orchestra(only Bn 1 & C Bn), play as written except: B & C (17 – 32) play up an octave 35/36 and 39/40 – If possible to play 8va, please do. 33/34 and 37/38 as written (i.e. they’ll sound an octabe lower) 45 – end: as written
Timp	1-4	tacet
Timp	49-50	Tacet
Perc	49-56	If you don’t have enough players, DROP OUT parts in this order 1) first drop the Conga 2) then drop the cymbal Timbales are the most important percussion voice here
Perc. Mallets	49-56	You can double the written line an octave below (or above, as you wish)
Phoenix, The
		(This seems to play fairly well – no real tricky parts)
Ramsay’s Reel Ride
This piece is loosely based on the traditional Irish reel “The Mason’s Apron.” It depicts the story of Johnny Ramsay, the loudmouthed, red-headed, motorcycle-driving sound-man at the Edinburgh Folk Festival and a fast-paced motor tour of Edinburgh on his motorized trike (the front end of a motorcycle and the back end of a Volkswagen Beetle.)
THE INTRODUCTION: – This section should sound very pastoral. The subtext would be: “it’s morning in Edinburgh and nobody has any idea what kind of mayhem will let loose momentarily when Johnny Ramsay roars through on his motorized trike” PERFORMANCE ISSUES: None of the individual parts seem particularly difficult, but the ensemble rhythms are very important and there are some exposed sections, particularly in the beginning. DOUBLINGS : should be fine once we hit the first “Vivo” tempo (11/11/08 – I don’t know what this means, even though I wrote it myself – hopefully it’ll be clear if you’re reading the scores or parts – DHC)
Fl. 1 (solo) (w/Cl 1)	1 –8 9-16	(see “The Introduction” notes above for the flavor of the section) Totally solo Duet with Cl. 1
Cl 1 (duet w/ Fl.1)	9 – 16 17 – 24	(see “The Introduction” notes above for the flavor of the section) Solo duet with Fl. 1 Trio with Ob. 1 & Vc Solo
Ob. 1	17-24	(see “The Introduction” notes above for the flavor of the section) Solo trio with Vc. & Cl 1
Tbn 1 & 2 Tba	68 – 109	Tb 1 has one half of a composite rhythm and Tbn 2 has the other half of the rhythm. To hear the completely rhythm you need to play both parts together, but each has to hold it’s own. To get the effect, I think we need to approach it as though the section were being played forte (with that kind of attack), but the dynamic level is much lower than that because the solo harp is improvising over this line. Tuba creates another part of this composite rhythm, sometimes enforcing the Tbn 1 line and sometimes enforcing the Tbn 2 line. Note: this all sounds more complicated on paper than it really is.
B. Tbn	112-127	(see notes for Vla, Vc, Kb & B.Tbn below)
Tuba	Throughout	The original part is hard to read because it’s written so low. If you don’t have a revised part (one that’s written up more in the staff, and with an indication to play 8ve ad lib), let me know so I can try to make you one (DHC / info@HipHarp.com)
Hrp	154-161	Exposed, loud and fast – but it’s just the same arpeggio each measure, with changing pedals. If there’s the possibility of your being amplified, that’s great for this section.
Vla, Vc, Kb, B. Tbn	112 – 127	This just needs to be strong and clean, and it’s just slightly awkward so needs a little practice
Vc Solo	17 – 24	(see “The Introduction” notes above for the flavor of the section) Solo trio with Ob. 1 & Cl. 1
Vc & Kb	92-109	See notes for Tbn 1 & Tbn 2 above. Vc is doubling Tbn1 and Kb is doubling Tbn2/Tba
Way You Are Blues, The
Cndctr	9 / 11	Conductor usually starts beating in 9 (2 bars before the orchestra comes in) or 11 (the measure the strings & drumset comes in)
Cndctr Jazz / Blues soloists in the orchestra	37-48 49-60extra solo possibilities	If there’s a great blues or jazz soloist in the orchestra (tpt, tbn, clarinet, fiddle, or whoever) they could take a solo from 37- 48 [D] or 37-60 [E]. Depending on how many people will take solos and how long each solo will be; 37-48 can repeated any number of times; or 49-60 can be repeated, or 37-60 can be repeated. The exact measures and number or repetitions is pretty much the conductor’s call. We’ve even left the section (37-48) open, with a cue from the conductor for when to go on to Letter E. It all depends on what the conductor, soloists & orchestra are comfortable with.
Dynamics	61 – 76	We often need more than what’s originally printed in the score
CUT	74 & 75	IF you have a cut of m’s 74 & 75 in your part, it’s good is good (but hopefully that’s been edited OUT of your part)
All	79	Keep it loud and raucous, not p, but mf or even f
Basses	94	Basses don’t play (i.e. nobody plays)
Basses	96	Arco
Wild Harp, The
INTRO: This is underscoring for orchestral harp & flute, played “beneath” Deborah’s story. See the DVD “Invention & Alchemy” to see how this works. If there’s not a copy in with your folder, you should be able to borrow one from the Music Librarian. If they don’t have one, you can request one at info@HipHarp.com
HARPIST : Fingerings – You can check online for a manuscript with alternate fingerings that might make this piece easier to play. Check at: HipHarp.com > Galleries > Player’s Page (and if it’s not there, and you want it, email info@HipHarp.com)
Flute & Harp	All	Here’s what happens: Deborah sings solo a verse of “The Minstrel Boy” (a traditional tune). She ends with the words “… one faithful harp shall praise thee.” Then you play the “Wild Harp Intro.”
Flute & Harp	11-12	There’s NO D.C Play m. 11 – 12 three times. The third time, ritard.
Harpist	Fingerings	Flute & Harp 13 M. 13 is cut – don’t play it.
Concertmaster Feature	Meas. 198	(Meas.198) – as of July 2009 there should be a sample “improvised solo” taped to the back of your part for this section– this pdf link is a written-out version of the solo(which may or may not be the same as what’s taped to the back of your part). If you’re an improvisor, this can just be used as an example.
MAIN PIECE: This is a set of jig and reel. This piece can follow “The Celtic Minstrel,” or be played separately.
Concertmaster & snare drum(s) – there’s some soloistic and exposed playing. Everyone else: the tune moves fast, but it’s basically 16 bars of music repeated over and over again. DOUBLINGS : all woodwinds and brass can be doubled (i.e. Flute 1 & 2 can play unison or 8va apart) – subject to conductor’s approval – but give it a try. Additionally, if you’re playing the melody and want to try it up or down an octave, feel free to try it. If you like the sound and neither the conductor nor I ask you to play it where written, then please write the 8va in your part. Thanks!
Tuba	Throughout	The original part is hard to read because it’s written so low. If you don’t have a revised part (that’s written up more in the staff, and with an indication to play 8ve ad lib), let me know so I can make you one.
Field Drum	Throughout	The sound I’m hearing here is the sound of the Bodhran, the traditional Celtic hand drum, or field drum. If field drum, 2 or more players is prefereable.
Perc: “Bones”	125-132 141-148	In “Invention & Alchemy,” the percussionist just happens to be a great bones player, so I created some call and response between bones and woodwinds. If nobody plays bones, or another traditional celtic instrument, the solo harp can fill here.
Concertmaster	198	This is an open semi-improvised section between concertmaster and solo harp. See Wild Harp Fiddle/Harp Cadenza Ideas page (should be in your folder) and/or watch this piece on the “Invention & Alchemy” DVD that should be provided for you (in your folder). Here’s what generally happens at K: [Solo Harp 16 bars] [Low Fiddle 16 bars] [ Doublestops 16 bars] [High Fiddle 16 bars]. Plan a little time to work on this together with Deborah unless you want to play it exactly as on the DVD.
996
		(tricky parts coming sooner or later — probably later)
Holiday Shows
		(no tricky parts overviews for Holiday show titles yet)