Second Suite in F (Song of the Blacksmith) by Gustav Holst

[aDomaszowec]

Take a look for yourself... It's most definitely in 3/4 & 4/4.

[aDomaszowec]

The Score is on IMSLP.ORG.... go there search by composer and look for yourself.

[soccerchick418]

I'm playing the revised and edited version by Colin Matthews and it is most definitely only in 3/4 and 4/4.

[wrytte]

that anvil part <3 <3 <3

[Annickhockeygirl]

I love that end chord. To bad my band can never get it to sound that good.

[CIStories]

I play the French horn and this us quite tricky, but fun! :D

[justie1220]

Hey! Anvils! I loved venting my frustration on you. :D

[RomansRoad13]

Awesome piece. But I almost lost it when we were handed the full Second Suite in band today. Sight-reading, here we go!

[wherestheskyx]

I bookmarked this song for the top comment. lol awesome 'lyrics'

[SuperMTGfreak]

I'ts hard but I like it.

[CellPhoneMachinima]

I love this-I was looking for an excuse to bring hammers and wrenches to a practice...

[ThimsNire]

This is a fun song if your a percussionist, mainly because you actually get a little anvil 

[BreatheSleepSpin]

I hated this movement. Hardly anyone could play it, so it sounded like shit during the concert..

[moonbeast32]

I'm never going to learn how to play this song. :(

I have the base trombone part

[earlwarthog]

So today some kid said that this song sounds like a 3 year old wrote it.... no.

[Amphy720]

@earlwarthog Only if you play it badly >__< If my band can pull it off for our concert in two weeks...*crosses fingers*

[S76lewis]

Our community band played this in an outside concert. I had to play much louder to cover up another person.

People, if your wife won't let you practice, just stay out sick. A year or longer. I may forget by then but don't bet on it.

I love the march and would play it again.

Euphoniums rule!

[thewolfy7]

Did you know this song was actually supposedly sung by the Blacksmith's wife, and she's expressing how pissed off she is that he goes around sleeping with other women? I heard that from a conductor once. I enjoyed the analogy.

[phthartic]

I like it a BIT faster, but trying to impress people by playing everything as fast as possible keeps the listener's ear from being able to savor the syncopations and the holes between notes. Sounds like a concert anvil to me. In HS I got to play the anvil part though I was a baritone player because I was enthusiastic about the piece. Used a brake drum and a small ballpeen hammer. Yeah, just one. Felt more authentic.

[chris26935]

Our group played this much faster. It sounds waaaaaayyyyy better faster.

[whitemal2010]

we my band played this we had like four brake drums also we even tryed banging horse shoe together

[Sleyah]

I've played this at a much faster tempo. Maybe it's just because that's what I'm used to but I tend to prefer it much faster.

[crazyclarinetgirl]

no one has ever played the last two measures correctly. It's _ te_ te__ three ta te__ AHH!

[raddudeguy]

Trombone part during the near end. That fortisimo!!!!

[SoulfulBrutha5805]

GAH! Ringing a friggin' bike bell? I am enraged!!!!

[lordofthestrings827]

i raped the replay button

i love this song!

[Jeshii117]

x'D Sounds like a bicycle bell. Rofl...we didn't have an anvil either, but we used a brake drum instead.

[AngelSweets27]

This variation reminds me of a Blacksmith riding on a bike with a kids bell on it XD

[TheVictimsX]

Our wind ensemble is playing this piece. im percussion and we lost our music... so were listening to this over and over.

[peterpieqt8]

I HATE THIS SONG.

[pencilgerman]

I just love the 3/4 4/4 3/4 4/4 timing! Don't you guys? :D

I HATE IT

[MrSuRvIvAlmAn]

@pencilgerman yeah lol had to practice this but its a fun one

[sephiroththeman]

@pencilgerman Who cares about 3/4 and 4/4? FUCK SYNCOPATION

[unansweredquestion]

@sephiroththeman THAT'S NOT SYNCOPATION also I'm pretty sure it's in 7/8 so if you're going to fuck anything it's COMPOUND METER

[RazgrizNinjaEX8]

@unansweredquestion

LOL It's in Mixed meters, 3/4 and 4/4.

I have it right here. :P

[whisper198]

@RazgrizNinjaEX8 2/4 and 4/4. Have you even held a piece of sheet music in your hand?!?!?!?

[jdeere4450]

@whisper198

Trust me, I'm playing this in band. The third movement is pretty much 3/4 4/4 3/4 4/4

[whisper198]

@jdeere4450 The pattern at the beginning of the song switches from 2/4 to 4/4.

[macosx406]

@whisper198 Having arranged the work for brass band, it is definitely in 3/4 and 4/4

[whisper198]

@macosx406 ...Whatever you say, Gustav Holst...

[sephiroththeman]

@unansweredquestion lol there is no 7/8. Have you actually played this before?

[ScarceCastle2]

@pencilgerman It's not that hard to count.

[mcainsmaul]

4:4 3:4 4:4 3:4 4:4 3:4 >.<

[TheZipding]

@mcainsmaul BLARARGAGARGAHGGH! It makes it very hard to count when it's syncopated like that and always changing time signatures.

[derexnh]

the best part - but too slow :(

[defyingravitythruHim]

@derexnh agreed.

[LifeCouldBeADream11]

Soooo slow!

[christiansarao1]

this song is GREAT!!!!

[ETCreations]

This song is so fun to play in band class!

[fireyheart]

The Two Rivers men march with this song.

[SingularlyDatarific]

They need to play this if you craft a cool weapon in TF2.

[gyinagal]

@j0hnptastic The clarinets don't start until measure six, so I'm gonna go with yes :)

[J0hnptastic]

Am I the only one who heard the clarinet start too early in the beginning?

[TheZipding]

The final chord sounds so wrong, yet so right at the same time.

[westiepup369]

The key to the rhythm in this piece is to not take it slow, but to ignore the time signature marking changes in every measure while you are playing it, so you can simply focus on the notes. I am not saying that you should not focus on the time signatures, because that is absolutely critical in this piece, but to get the rhythm down, but imagine there is just a bar line. It has helped me as a bari sax player and my friend who is a euphonium player. This helps so you don't have to slow it down!

[Kenleypolanco96]

woah ur right it aint an anvil not kewlll

[JTruth9419]

I'm a blacksmith working all day, making swords and $#*! like that...

A blacksmith, I am so great... but I'm not some aristocrat!

I was born with a HAMMER IN MY HAND,

and with that, I live a life that's just grand.

Ha ha-ha ha ha (Ha ha-ha ha ha)

Ha (ha)

Ha (ha)

Ha (ha)..... I'll kick your ass.

Misheard random lyrics NOT by me.

[raddudeguy]

@JTruth9419 You sir have won a band themed internetz

[CharlieBladeRemus]

@JTruth9419 And to think I actually just tried to sing that....LOL I feel dumb :P That was pretty cool though

[JTruth9419]

@CharlieBladeRemus Lol! Two of my friends made that up the year we played the song--the funny thing: it stuck with the whole band! Including the directors! XD

[duhcornmaster]

ok we had a substitute come into class yesterday to conduct this piece and she almost cried =D

[emmerklinger]

Everything's easier slowed down... I play trombone, this was (almost) the easiest of all of them... my band teacher had us play it faster though when we did it. Great job though!

[cokeobsession]

I would speed it up a tad. Its not that hard on trombone, especially in comparison to the last movement.

[SpedunkTV]

@HighSchoolBandRocks Dude I would even take it slower...

[SkipRunFallLaugh]

Much love for this piece :) In this recording, personally, I think the hammering sounds a pit dainty but that's all open to interpretation. Our conductor had the percussionist use two hammers on .. whatever it was.. but it sounded more raw and unrefined, which I liked.

[evilwombat51]

its supposed to represent a blacksmith. who lifts a heavy hammer and repeatedly pounds an anvil. let me know when you are capable of hammering eight notes at this tempo.

[Skiiermt]

How about song of the devil

[EternallyConfuzled]

this is the hardest song to learn. the key signiture changes like every two seconds

[flyfisherman1001]

The kid in my band who played the anvil struggled mightily with this one...oh, and this tempo is perfect, btw

[predfranklin]

This song just makes me smile XD

[5610winston]

Geez! This schleps! Pick up the tempo It ain't a funeral march!

[hihiemogrl]

my director shearch for a real anvil it was great!

[BandGeek6241]

Yeah, it's a bit slow, but other than that it sounds good.

[TuckTuckTucker]

We stole an anvil (not a big one, a medium-sized one) and a ball peen hammer from the school's workshop and I don't think we ever gave it back... and we played it faster than this. Our conductor was in a military band and insisted that if it didn't sound good fast, it didn't sound good.

[dragonyoshi]

@TuckTuckTucker Your conductor is dumb in the face.

[Bush611]

My high school's band used a brake drum and a hammer haha

[zwigoose]

@HighSchoolBandRocks The tempo for this song is actually not meant to be all that fast. It's mean to depict a big 'ol scruffy blacksmith singing. Now you can't seriously tell me he'd sing at 180 bpm!

[Sekugi]

I wish my band had played at this tempo! ^^;  Unfortunately some military band members were mixed in with us, and they apparently felt that my band director's tempo was wrong and sped up. ^^; It was almost a disaster.

[zwigoose]

@Sekugi That's rough. It's a nice movement when done properly.

[duhcornmaster]

lol i've got this for a trumpet chair audition piece =D thanks this video helped alot with the rythem

[CR1621]

@duhcornmaster

[CR1621]

@duhcornmaster as do i....

[thegroupieinred]

Agreed, that anvil sounds like a little girl's bike bell.

[pinkypie18]

lol this is completely random but if any if you played mickey mouse on sega genesis this reminds me of the background music in one of the levels...it's also my seating audition piece

[doubleoxm]

Thanks for uploading! Greatly appreciated.

[CharlieBladeRemus]

Love this piece,,,but what is with that wimpy sounding anvil?! They need to use a bigger one; this sounds like a bike bell!

[DoctorSunset]

Blacksmiths are not speed demons, and neither should this song be.

[thomase13]

I wish we got to play it this slowly!

[nico060697]

THATS NOT AN ANVIL!!!!!!

[MarkDerII]

@nico060697 true :/

[ThreeFourthsFull]

@nico060697 It isn't exactly an easy percussion instrument to come by, lol. We used a ship's bell. Not easy either.

[zwigoose]

@nico060697 Sounds better than a brake drum garbage sound.

[Denkyuu]

@nico060697 Yeah, it's some kind of chime... I've seen brakedrums used more often. It's disappointing, I know, but not all groups happen to have an anvil within reach.

[joanim]

@nico060697 Then what is it?

[joanim]

@nico060697 Scratch that I misunderstood the comment. Yes that is in fact NOT an anvil. That is closer to a bike chime than an anvil.

[JOEdoesThings22]

@nico060697 yea it is, im playing this piece and we have a legit anvil, one used for forging, and it sounds exactly like this.

[siLveRscOpe13x]

@nico060697 Haha we wouldn't play that part for 3 weeks till the anvil we ordered came in xD

[jck1794]

holy geez this is slow.....

[wfbgenius]

When my school played this, we HATED the trumpets b/c the f@(*&^s wouldn't play in tempo.

[xAnukisx]

This song was one of my favorites to play in high school :) makes me miss band sooo much!

[stewkingjr]

@xAnukisx Then join it back. Or if you've graduated, join a local community band boerger.org/c-m/commother.shtm­l . No instrument? Borrow one or find on on the *bay.

[xAnukisx]

@stewkingjr I could join my college's symphonic band but that requires being in marching band and I just don't have that kind of time anymore, my major isn't music.

[stephhxc]

i really like it at this tempo. my band plays it so much faster and it's pretty hard. but yeah, i def. agree about the anvil sounding like a triangle.

[lastspartan017]

We sightread this last year and this year. Love the whole song, but this movement is the most fun.

[suby2010]

shouldnt this be faster?

[jamwar007]

this is way too slow...we played this my freshman year in highschool

[flashperson]

dude we are playing this song in our honor band it is pretty challenging, but luckily for me in the second movement song without words another trumpet is playing the solo, lol i play 5 beats go me

[brassmachine93]

@HighSchoolBandRocks ur totally rit...the problem wit most bands whom play this jus rush way too much...this is about the perfect tempo!

[untrueman]

The Anvil part sounds more like a Triangle then an anvil

[nikap64]

not everyone has a real anvil and this song isnt made for speed. Its technique. they could have had better balance.

[Snaker220]

looooooooooooooveeeeeee love love the last chord. haha i play second trombone in this, i believe i have a high F#. the only song i do not like in the set is song without words, our part is too borring. i have lunch after badn and i always have dargason stuck in my head lol

[teoic]

a bit slow. and horn is supposed to be the lead in this movement and its wayy covered up

[lauralovesherBFs]

yes it is too slowly

we also played this

[Harryuhustick]

it is an wonderful play

i think it´s a little bit to slowly

is this an really anvil

we also played it with an real anvil

lg from austria

[genekrupafan]

You'd think they could have gotten a beefier Anvil? This one sounds like a hotel bell. DING! Thanks for making this channel, by the way. I love symphonic wind bands, and can never really find any recordings in the UK.

[Typet360]

MY FAVORITE MOVEMENT :D

Mainly cause it's so hard to keep everything together at faster tempos :P