Well, just got back from my course and here's how it went.
Monday evening, arrived in time for dinner, which was wholesome and plentiful. 8.30 - 9.30pm was put aside for a group combo; there were 12 of us in all, two Baritones, two sopranos, two tenors and 6 altos, although some of the altos had a tenor or soprano as well. We were of mixed abilities, of which I was, by far, the most inexperienced (12 months compared with several years in some cases). The two course instructors were quite young, energetic and extremely knowledgable and talented.
The days comprised of four, 1.5 hour sessions of groups of 4-6, although we usually ended up the day all together playing anything from Gershwin to Mozart. There was some free time on the second afternoon, which I chose to use as practice time. I found it very tough, as I am hopeless at counting and kept losing my place, especially as I hadn't seen the music before and was sight reading and trying to keep time. However, I found that it got easier the more I played and the others were very patient with me. One thing that I was concentrating on was counting the bars and, if necessary, just playing the first note of each bar if it was a particularly difficult piece. At least that way I could stay (roughly) in time.
On the third day, we were given the option of attending another ensemble or a technical session, which I opted for. This was really useful, as the instructor addressed many of the basics, such as posture, embouchure, slings, mouthpieces, reeds etc. We practiced scales using the mouthpiece only and I was surprised at how many notes I could achieve with a little practice.
The final morning was more of the same, culminating in a group ensemble and I came away having learnt plenty. The course was what I expected. I knew that I would be challenged and, although this was the first time that I had played in an ensemble, I didn't find it too daunting. My timing has massively improved and I'm now going to take the plunge and join a local band run by my instructor.
I recommend this for anyone looking to improve. Benslow run a number of courses throughout the year for all abilities. The cost was around £220.
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