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Interview with a Bass Flute

A Music Zombie Exclusive!

Recently, Music Zombie had the chance to meet a Bass Flute.  After some bargaining, and maybe just a little bit of blackmail, the Bass agreed to an interview.  What follows is the transcript of that interview.

Music Zombie:  Thank you so much for agreeing to speak with me.  It's not everyday that I get the chance to meet such an unusual instrument.

Bass Flute:  Well, I am not that unusual.  But I suppose that I don't make as many appearances in bands and orchestras as my higher-pitched relatives.  They like to be heard, I guess.  I prefer to just support the low end of the section.  Occasionally, I will take solos, but because I am hard to hear at times, I often need extra amplification from those nerdy sound-crew people.  And, well, you know how they can be...they're all "Can you move closer to the microphone?"-this and "can you play any louder?"-that.  Sheesh...

MZ:  Still, you make an interesting sound.  You really add something extra to flute choirs.  More depth to the sound, certainly.

BF:  I suppose.  Did you know that I read the same music as C flutes, but the sound I produce is a full octave lower?  Sort of the opposite direction that a piccolo will take.  You know those piccolos like to shriek above the music a full octave higher than the flute.  Haha!  Squeaky little things!

MZ:  Isn't it true, though, that you share some things in common with the piccolo, in terms of construction?

BF:  Well, yes.  Oftentimes, we are made without the extra keys as the foot joint (or completely missing the foot joint, as in the piccolo's case) and I lack trill keys.  I don't suppose folks have any interest in hearing basses trill. 

MZ:  Say, what is the funny foot thing you've got there near your left hand key section?

BF:  My crutch?  Well, I'm glad you noticed! Because my tube is so large, and I am quite a bit heavier than the small flutes, this crutch allows my player a more comfortable hand position.  Here, give it a try.  You will notice that it feels more stable when your left hand has more support.

MZ:  You're right!  That feels pretty comfy!  I did notice that your keys aren't really that much farther apart than on a regular flute, but the hands are more spaced apart. That means that your tube is much longer than a regular flute...but that is to be expected for a low-sounding instrument...care to elaborate?

BF:   Exactly!  Longer tubes equal lower tones.  Again, compare me to the high-sounding, short-tubed piccolo!  However, because my tube is so long, my head joint is usually built with a crook in it.  This brings the hand closer to the player.  This wasn't always the case.  The great instrument designer, Theobald Boehm, made a straight model.  It is reported to have great tone and power, but is really hard to hang on to while playing.  So, most of us nowadays are given curves.

MZ:  Fascinating!  One more thing I couldn't help but notice--your lip plate has a wall on it!  Tell me about that!

BF:  Oh that?  That little wall on my embouchure plate makes me a bit easier to produce a reliable tone.  Because flute players need to create their own back pressure, and I require so much air to play, adding a bit of built in resistance makes me speak better.  What can I say?  I guess I like to play hard-to-get!

MZ:  Well, thank you so much for agreeing to speak with me!  My readers will be delighted to hear what you had to say, and you've certainly taught me a lot!

BF:  You're welcome, I guess.  I guess I'll go back to my case now and take a nap.  Please, no more pictures.

"I SAID NO MORE PICTURES!!"

DMB at Alpine Valley, WI 2013

Here are a few pictures from the Dave Matthews Band concert my friend and I attended at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin.  The concert was part of a two-night stand at the venue (common for this band).  We attended the July 6 show.  It was awesome!

We went kayaking in Madison before heading over to Alpine Valley.  Super fun!

 The venue.  You can see the ski slopes in the background

Pre-show snack.  The "Sexy Veggie."

The opening act: Grace Potter and the Nocturnals.  They rocked!  (BTW, we had great seats!)

Carter and Dave (and cameraman)

Rashawn Ross on the trumpet

Stefan Lessard on the bass guitar

Tim Reynolds!

Lots of DMB fans

Great band!  Amazing show!

They had created a really neat animation to play behind them for the song The Song That Jane Likes.  It very beautifully depicted the lyrics of this song. 

The Song That Jane Likes is an old song.  It was released in 1993 on the Remember Two Things album.  The whole concert on this night was a good mix of songs from every album spanning the band's career.  They even threw in a Tom Petty cover: Runnin' Down A Dream.  And, I finally got to see Halloween performed live.  Incredible!!

I love this band!

Put it all on Seabiscuit's nose!

I finally read Laura Hillenbrand's account of the life and times of Seabiscuit the racehorse.   Great book about a great story.  Why am I mentioning this?  She had mentioned in the book that somewhere out there is a disco song referencing the Biscuit.  So I looked for it.  And there is.  I'm just as surprised as you.  I probably shouldn't be, but I am.

It's full title is Seabiscuit in the Fifth, and the song has a fairly typical disco beat with a groovy-ass bass line.  It was released in 1980, performed by Belinda West.   The title refers to a tipster telling the listener to bet on Seabiscuit on the fifth race of the day.  The lyrics also makes mention to "Secretariat in the Derby", which of course is a reference to another famous racehorse at the Kentucky Derby (Secretariat was the 1973 Triple Crown Champion).

Most of the lyrics reference the typical "man, why don't you do me right?" that is so common in pop songs, but the integration of the horse race-speak is unique.  And, she knows something ain't right, and she got it "straight from the horse's mouth." 

Now, if I can just find some footage of Seabiscuit playing the piano...

Willkommen, again.

Hello, darlings!!

Currently, I am playing the in the pit of a great musical, Cabaret.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, Cabaret was one of my favorite musicals when I was younger.  I also mentioned how I was obviously oblivious to the neutron star level gravity of the plot.  

Cabaret, the Broadway show, was based on a collection of short stories in a book called The Berlin Stories, written by Christopher Isherwood in 1945.  The stories also made their way into a stage play called I Am a Camera, in 1951.  The Broadway show was first produced in 1966, featuring the brilliant score and lyrics from John Kander and Fred Ebb.  You remember Kander and Ebb from Chicago?  Of course, you do.

The film version, directed by the irrepressible Bob Fosse, was released in 1972.  It starred Liza Minnelli, Joel Grey, and Michael York.  There are differences between the original Broadway production, the film and the 1999 Broadway re-production.  For the film, three new songs were written, one of which, Maybe This Time, sounds an awful lot like Funny Honey from Chicago.  Of the new songs, Money, Money was later worked into future stage performances due to its popularity.  Such is the power of marketing...and it is a catchy tune.

The rise of Nazi party in 1930s Berlin is a dark and disturbing theme that winds itself around the plots of the stage shows and the film.  As most anyone with half a brain and pulse can tell you the horrific results of the National Socialist movement, seeing history foreshadowed in the film and in the stage show is sincerely chilling.  Cabaret is also a musical that dares to portray bisexuality, homosexuality, abortion, senseless violence, and the seedy underbelly of life in a nightclub.  It is a non-typical, PG-13 (at least), bawdy stage spectacle that provokes thought and reflection.  That is truly great art.

It's a sign!

Me too.  Because that means there is a trumpet player nearby!

HAHA!!

The crack of the bat, the roar of the crowd...

Well, it's spring.  The time of year when people start tiptoeing through the tulips, taking a walk on the wild side, riding bicycles, and listening to the robins rockin' out in the tree tops.  Also, I recently read Moneyball by Michael Lewis and baseball season has started.  So, baseball it is.

Baseball is the kind of game I always like playing more than watching.  I played softball growing up; pitching, third base, and some outfield.  I always enjoyed being at bat though.  I have a fond memory of hitting a line drive right at my coach's stomach one day at softball practice. (He was fine.)  Lots of people love baseball, in their own way.  So, naturally, the "great American pastime" has inspired some to write songs about the game.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game is the most obvious.  It was written by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer in 1908.  These guys, surprisingly, weren't even baseball fans, and hadn't even seen a game until several years after the song was written.  There is more to the tune that most people are aware of --typically only singing the choruse.  In the song, a young lady is asked out on a date, but refuses to go unless her beau takes her to a baseball game.  Take Me Out is traditionally sung during the seventh-inning stretch.  The seventh-inning stretch is the break taken between the top and bottom of the seventh inning of the game.  People stand up, stretch, maybe take a short walk or get a snack.  When needed, the song also makes a dandy waltz!

Another popular song that captures the atmosphere of the game is John Fogerty's 1985 Centerfield.  Put me in, coach!  The opening guitar riff is instantly recognizable, and the hand claps have made their way into baseball tradition.  They can be heard often throughout a game.  The song makes reference to many baseball legends: Joe DiMaggio, Ty Cobb, and Willie Mays.  In the second verse, Fogerty references the poem Casey at the Bat, written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. 

PLAY BALL!!

SOUND!!

Been away a while.  But here's why!! 

Look what I made!