David Brancazio
Base
Name | David Brancazio |
When did you start playing melodica? | 2013-01-01 |
What is your playing level? | Intermediate, I suppose. I'm a long-time piano/keyboard player, good at playing by ear. |
What musical genres are you interested in? | “Second line” style jazz (i.e. playing in the streets) Improvisational jazz & blues Jazz & rock standards Jazz/rock jam sessions |
What is your musical background? | 6 years of classical piano and music theory as a kid; Bandleader/participant in rock/jazz/jam bands Play guitar, bass, mandolin, accordion, percussion; enjoy experimenting with other instruments Bandleader and arranger for ‘street’ bands (mostly marching band instruments) |
What melodicas do you play? | So far, just Hohner 32’s & 37’s. |
Anything to add? | I live in Boston, and we have a lively “activist street band” scene which I am a part of (see http://www.honkfest.org). I started one, called the Boston Area Brigade of Activist Musicians. Since these bands are all acoustic and mobile (like marching bands), and since I’m a keyboard player who wanted to participate, I learned melodica. Playing a melodica in a marching band has it’s limitations! For one, it’s hard to compete with louder instruments. On cold days, brass instruments go sharp and the melodica sounds flat. For work, I’m a mechanical engineer who loves experimenting, prototyping, and inventing, and I’m fascinated by musical instrument design. If I can’t find a loud enough melodica, I’ll have to create one! So far, I’ve come up with some quick fixes to get more amplitude, like playing through a larger diameter corrugated tube, and cutting away portions of the rear cover. If you have ideas, I’d love to hear them. |