How to interpret Little Brown Jug
Posted: Mon Jun 24, 2019 9:00 am
Another "how to interpret" thread, this time on the Glenn Miller stock of Little Brown Jug.
For reference:
The actual charts the Miller band play often have slight differences from the publicly available stocks. There are some differences in the chart I have vs. what the Miller band actually plays. For example, the bass line played by the trombones. In the stock, the and-of-4 to and-of-1 in ms. 2-3 are both marked short, but the Miller band plays it short-long. This is one of those cases where if you happen to be familiar enough with the recording to know this, don't try to 'fix' the arrangement without getting agreement from the rest of the section beforehand. A section all playing the same thing will sound more 'right' than a section with disagreement on note lengths. As a general rule, go with what's on the page even if it's wrong until you can make the correction as a section.
Same goes with the scoop at 0:50 - in the recording the scoop is on the downbeat; in the stock the scoop is on beat 3. Match the lead trumpet you have, and unless a correction is penciled in, they should play what's written.
There's a note length issue at 1:03 also: the end of that 1-measure lick is played short in the recording but written long in the stock. Same arguments apply as above.
Speaking of note lengths, the stock is OK but at 1:39 is pretty clear that in the Miller band the trombones and saxes don't agree on note lengths. I don't like that. But, on a band stand it can sometimes be pretty hard to hear just what note lengths saxophones are applying. Technically it should be the responsibility in cases like this of the saxes to match the trombones. Just make sure the trombones are tight.
The glisses starting at 2:19 should *never* start from 1st or 2nd position. Some of them in the various parts are impossible to play (in the stock at least; Miller's band arrangement is better but unavailable to the public) as a 'true' gliss, but starting the gliss, giving it some room, and then jumping a partial sounds much better than trying to jump a partial right away and end withe the gliss. If that makes sense. Astute trombonists who have the time may want to edit the parts to make the written glisses playable, esentially making them fall within intervals closer to 3rds than the 4ths/5ths/6ths in the stock.
For reference:
The actual charts the Miller band play often have slight differences from the publicly available stocks. There are some differences in the chart I have vs. what the Miller band actually plays. For example, the bass line played by the trombones. In the stock, the and-of-4 to and-of-1 in ms. 2-3 are both marked short, but the Miller band plays it short-long. This is one of those cases where if you happen to be familiar enough with the recording to know this, don't try to 'fix' the arrangement without getting agreement from the rest of the section beforehand. A section all playing the same thing will sound more 'right' than a section with disagreement on note lengths. As a general rule, go with what's on the page even if it's wrong until you can make the correction as a section.
Same goes with the scoop at 0:50 - in the recording the scoop is on the downbeat; in the stock the scoop is on beat 3. Match the lead trumpet you have, and unless a correction is penciled in, they should play what's written.
There's a note length issue at 1:03 also: the end of that 1-measure lick is played short in the recording but written long in the stock. Same arguments apply as above.
Speaking of note lengths, the stock is OK but at 1:39 is pretty clear that in the Miller band the trombones and saxes don't agree on note lengths. I don't like that. But, on a band stand it can sometimes be pretty hard to hear just what note lengths saxophones are applying. Technically it should be the responsibility in cases like this of the saxes to match the trombones. Just make sure the trombones are tight.
The glisses starting at 2:19 should *never* start from 1st or 2nd position. Some of them in the various parts are impossible to play (in the stock at least; Miller's band arrangement is better but unavailable to the public) as a 'true' gliss, but starting the gliss, giving it some room, and then jumping a partial sounds much better than trying to jump a partial right away and end withe the gliss. If that makes sense. Astute trombonists who have the time may want to edit the parts to make the written glisses playable, esentially making them fall within intervals closer to 3rds than the 4ths/5ths/6ths in the stock.