Day 272: We Can Be Heroes…

…if only we could play it.

Tonight saw the debut of the finished version of David Bowie’s Heroes for brass band. It sounds great on the computer through Sibelius. Not so good in the band room. A few reasons why, poor tuning, bad intonation, strange bass playing… all sorts. I’m convinced it can work well. I’ve put far too much work – including most of today – into it for it not to work.

There are options still. I can leave it alone and not do anything with it for a while, say until mid-week when my head is a little removed from it. I think I’m too close to it now to see what can be altered. I can place some of the parts which people are struggling with onto other instruments which isn’t that big a job, just faffy – if I plan it well, it’ll work ok. I could also take time to simplify some of the rhythms, creating less pressure on people – however that will then lose a lot of the tight, mechanical style it needs to be successful. It’s not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, but it has spurred me on to arrange other things over a longer period of time. I can’t immerse myself in one song like this again as it has driven me to distraction.

In other news, Kit has worn her head collar for most of the day and looked thoroughly grumpy about it. She requires it to try and break the cycle of her over grooming. She currently has a bald patch on her side and front leg from it. It’s not nice seeing her getting used to it, but I do think she will overcome the burden of wearing it soon and function fairly normally. We placed it on her while we went to band, knowing that we wouldn’t be out too long and she had made her way upstairs and onto our bed, however she had got her paw stuck in her collar, leaving her stranded until we released her.

This video from the other day shows how it restricts her movement – she walks backwards because she thinks she is in a tunnel, apparently: