Posted by Todd Morgan on November 06, 2002 at 23:59:51:
In Reply to: Stravinsky Symphony of Wind Instruments posted by Andy Smith on November 05, 2002 at 17:20:52:
Hey Andy,
I would suggest mounting a pully directly above your seat. Attach the mute to a rope and hoist the sucker above the cloud so that the audience doesn't see it. As that section approaches, lower the mute slowly at the rate of 1 inch/second. By doing this you can have one of the folks who are off stage working the pully. The slow decent will really bring drama to this section of the piece. I suggest having the mute in the bell 1 beat before you play. After that section is over, have the stage hand YANK the rope and send the mute flying above the cloud.
This worked for me my freshman year of college. The hardest part of the job was sneaking into the auditorium at night to install the pully.
I hope this helps!!
-Todd Morgan
Birmingham Community Concert Band