BRASS MUSIC.................A LOST TRADITION!

 “Music is the harmony of the heart. Brass music became a part of the Goan culture though it was brought by the Portuguese,”Brass bands hold a beloved place in the Goan heart – for Catholic funerals, order for village feasts, for carnivals of every kind

The fact that players in Goa can at best hope to earn about Rs 600 per performance only partially explains why the glitter of brass instruments has failed to draw young musicians into the orchestra.

Tony Fernandes, who plays the trombone for the Goa police band, explains simply that brass is not “in.” “That’s because youngsters think it’s old-fashioned to be blowing a trumpet, saxophone or a clarinet. For them, it’s more mod, and hence attractive to strum a sleek electronic guitar or play the keyboards,”

 

 

 
 

Jose Cotta, 44, isn’t nearly as optimistic. A musician based in the village of Santa Cruz, he blames modern music gadgetry like the synthesiser for strangulating brass bands. “It is killing traditional music in Goa,” he says.Thomas Antao is another player for whom life without brass is no life at all. He resides in the South Goan village of Majorda and is now a self-styled “arranger” of brass bands. They are fading out, he says, noting that it’s difficult to even “get one hired to play at chapel and church feasts nowadays.”

 

 

I still remember my younger days when no Catholic Roce or wedding ceremony was complete without a brass band - Christian weddings were considered incomplete without their performance. Pepere..pepere doom ? Gone are those days of nostalgic and traditional music, because in these days of ear deafening music produced so effortlessly by club DJs, hearing real melody is increasingly a rarity. Especially music played by the home grown country brass bands that resonates in the air long after everybody falls silent. These days the bands are coming down in numbers, falling prey to competition from events : A pity since players are trained artists with a thorough background in music.