Normans 50th Year = 50% off Besson!

In 1959……

• Bryan Adams, Robert Smith and Sheena Easton were born.
• Two monkeys, Able and Miss Baker were the first living beings to successfully return to Earth from space aboard the flight Jupiter AM-18.
• The original Mini designed by Sir Alec Issigonis was launched.
• ……most importantly of all, Normans were established!

With Normans now being in our 50th Year, we are in the mood to celebrate!

As our gift to you, we are offering a 50% discount on Besson Instruments purchased during the 2009 Areas.

Offer only available on current stock, while stocks last.

Only 1 Instrument per Customer.

Offer valid until end of business on Sunday 22nd March 2009.

Buy online now!, call us on 08000281415, or

Come & talk to us at the Areas:

Drew Rutland Inbound Sales Manager	1st-2nd March, North West Area, Blackpool 14th March, Midlands Area, Bedworth
Gary Bond European Sales Manager	14th March, Welsh Area, Swansea 21st March,  London & Southern Counties Area, Stevenage
Martin Hughes Education Sales Manager	14th March, West of England Area, Torquay 21st March, Scottish Area, Dundee

Normans @ Mountbatten Festival of Music

19-21 February 2009

Normans @: Mountbatten Festival of Music 2009

The Mountbatten Festival of Music is an annual event held at the Royal Albert Hall in London over 3 nights during February.

All profits are distributed to a number of Charities, with the main charity being The Sargent Cancer Care for children.

Now in its 36th year:

The Mountbatten Festival gathers together the massed bands of Her Majesty’s Royal Marines, and the Corps of Drums and Ceremonial Fanfares.Along with the traditional rousing patriotic tunes, military marches and fanfares this concert also features arrangements of James Bond themes, and other hits from stage and screen.

With over 120 musicians on stage, augmented by the Corps of Drums and Ceremonial Fanfare Trumpeters, this festival is the showpiece event of one of the World’s finest military bands!

Shure is a great deal!

Shure Beta 98H/C Clip on Instrument was £238.28 Microphone x 1

Brand new, Boxed.

The Shure Beta 98H/C is a premium cardioid condenser instrumental microphone that clamps onto the bell of wind instruments or onto the rim of percussion instruments. The integrated gooseneck and ratcheting swivel joint allows the microphone to be easily positioned and secured in place, and an isolation shock-mount reduces the transmission of instrument ‘key noise’ and other mechanical noise. A gooseneck angle brace is included to provide better retention of the microphone placement during more active performances.

The Beta 98H/C features transformerless preamplifier circuitry, which improves linearity across the full frequency range. The pickup pattern of the Beta 98H/C provides high gain-before-feedback and excellent rejection of unwanted noise. Its high maximum sound pressure level (SPL) enables it to handle the extreme demands of brass, woodwind and percussion instruments.

The microphone is supplied with a snap-on windscreen, a storage bag, a gooseneck angle brace, and a cable management device.

Bid now - Was £238.28 – We have listed this on a 1p auction!

5 days left!

A Mute for all seasons

Just in time for the big Regional kick off to the 2009 contesting season, we are offering some great deals on Brass accessories & mutes. All the tests… from ‘Salute to Youth’ to ‘The Talisman’ & especially the first Section set work, ‘Pentacle’.. we want to make sure everyone has the right musical ‘tool’ for the job! We have picked a selection of our popular mutes & accessories below, to make ordering even easier for you:

Browse more great Brass deals in our


Brass
section

Normans Mute Ad on 4 Bars Rest

youtube- symphony orchestra

The world’s first collaborative orchestra

Youtube invited musicians from around the world to audition for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. The video entries have been combined into the first ever collaborative virtual performance, and the world will select the best to perform at New York City’s Carnegie Hall in April 2009.

* February, 14 – 22 – Vote on your favourite entries
* March, 2nd – Winners announced
* April, 15th – Event at Carnegie Hall

Read more on the youtube blog here

if music be the food of love, play on.

“If music be the food of love, play on” We have selected some great gift ideas for February 14th, all at Normans great low prices!

Gifts anyone would love to receive!…. why not treat yourself!

Did you know….

• The red rose was the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love. The color red stands for strong romantic feelings making the red rose the flower of love.
• Verona, the Italian city where Shakespeare’s play lovers Romeo and Juliet lived, receives about 1,000 letters every year sent to Juliet on Valentine’s Day.
• The oldest surviving love poem till date is written in a clay tablet from the times of the Sumerians, inventors of writing, around 3500 B.C.
• In the Middle Ages young men and women drew the names from a bowl to see who would be their Valentine. They would wear this name pinned on their sleeves for one week. This was done so that it becomes easy for other people to know your true feelings. This was known as “to wear your heart on your sleeve”.
• Approximately 110 million roses, the majority red, will be sold and delivered within a three-day time period.
• Chicago’s post office rejected more than 25,000 cards during the late 1800s, on the grounds that they were so indecent that they were not fit to be carried through the U.S.. mail. This was an era when racy valentine’s cards were very popular.

How to Look after your heart on Valentines day: If music be the food of love… then it also lowers the cholesteral (times online.co.uk)

“Take a tune and come back to see me in the morning. Doctors have found that prescribing music can improve heart health and lower cholesterol levels.

Their research found that if a patient listens to 30 minutes a day of their favourite music, it does more than relaxing them mentally – it also benefits them physically by expanding and clearing blood vessels.”

Music can relax the listener – or have the opposite effect

— Motivate yourself with positive-sounding artists such as Rihanna, Queen or Red Hot Chili Peppers

— Ozzy Osbourne and MIA are likely to make you feel more stressed

— Calm down with Mozart or Miles Davis

— Improve mental focus with the symphonies of Bach or more modern music by Philip Glass

Normans: Butlins Mineworkers Open Festival

When Normans went to Butlins…

17-18 January 2009, Skegness, Lincolnshire PE25

Did you know….
The Mineworkers Championships originate back to the 1950s, when the Coal Industry Social Welfare Organisation (CISWO) was set up. The Finals in Blackpool from 1962 onwards.

In its pomp it was regarded as the ‘third banding major’ but following the last Miners Strike in 1984 the contest lost many of its competitor bands.

The first winners in 1962 were the Carlton Main Frickley Colliery Band and the last in 2002, Grimethorpe Colliery.

The contest was resurrected in 2003 under the banner of the Butlins organisation and has since found a new lease of life at the Skegness Butlins Skyline Resort. (read more about this on 4barsrest.com)

As the bands, players and supporters pile in to enjoy the test pieces and the entertainment once more… Drew & Jonty were there to represent for Normans at this years festival

The main hall on the Sunday was packed to overflowing – over 2000 people enjoying the bands. There were ‘sell out’ signs on the doors for each of the well received band concerts from Desford, Fodens and Grimethorpe, whilst the ‘in house’ entertainment was very polished and well received too.

Skegness may be cold, but the ice-cream is still flowing!

When in Rome…….

Besson BE2056-2-0 Prestige Baritone.. Article by Steven Mead

The New Besson Prestige Baritone BE2056-2-0

In the words of Steven Mead….

“The new Besson Prestige Baritone 2056 has several new features which will undoubtedly make it a leader in its field.

Its substantial and extensive remodelling from the previous
Besson 956 is sure to delight devotees of the instrument as now the instrument plays better, is easier to hold, is more in tune and has the significant benefit of a newly designed valve group, the hallmark quality of the all the new Besson range.

The valve action is quite incredible, making troublesome valves a thing of the past!

Its striking good looks with its gold trim on valve top and bottom caps, valve button tops and water keys are sure to attract attention and it sits proudly as the ‘new member’ in the Prestige range of Besson brass instruments.

The 4^th valve has been repositioned at a different angle making it much more ergonomically easier to hold and operate this valve easily. Besson took advice from several leading exponents of the instrument who suggested exactly the best position for the 4^th valve.

The previous position was more at right angles to the body of the instrument and more difficult to operate and so the new angle allows the first finger of the left hand to use this with much greater ease and rapidity.

The tuning of the instrument is a big improvement over the old model due to exhaustive testing and modification of slide lengths. Concerns over tuning have for a long time troubled baritone players and they have been forced into making changes of fingering to get the notes close to the correct pitch. This new 2056 will make playing in tune so much easier, especially with the fully compensating system that this instrument has.

By fully compensating we mean the third compensating slide on the back on the instrument is now at the correct length (compare this to the old model 956 and that of our competitors), enabling players to play the low chromatic scale from bottom C to pedal C completely in tune. In the past the lowest notes, using 2,3,4, 1,3,4 and 1,2,3,4 were very sharp in pitch as this 3^rd compensating slide on the back on the instrument was too short. The clever remodelling of the slide configuration has enabling the lengthening of this slide and still reducing blowing resistance

A close inspection will reveal
a reshaping of some of the ‘internal’ tubing of the instrument , getting rid of the tight bends in the tubing and thus reducing resistance and making the instrument easier blowing.

In short , the new Prestige 2056 is a joy to hold , a pleasure to operate and yet the crowning glory has to be the fact that
the
true Besson sound, famous for generations, has now just got even better.

All the tubing of this instrument has been made in a new way, using different high pressure water techniques, resulting in tubing that is more resonant than ever before, without the huge metal tension present in the old way of bending tubing. These benefits have been noticed on the superb Besson euphoniums as well as all the other instruments throughout the range. Up to 30% greater resonance has been measured in scientific tests.

There is a clearly detectable improvement in the smoothness of the instrument as well as a much improved centred and richness of tone in the high and low registers. The notes around and above top C play with more centre and freedom, and respond better now to extremes of dynamics. The pedal tones, should you ever need them, are massive and stable !

Technology has also benefitted greatly with the new drilling procedures of the valve group ensuring perfect fit and perfect action every time for the new 2056 Baritone. Smooth, silent action is guaranteed, summing up the remarkable achievement in valve technology demonstrated in the new Besson range. No spring noise, no excessive bouncing, just a smooth action with no sticking, meaning you can depend on these valves whatever the situation. They will never let you down.

All in all this is a remarkable breakthrough in baritone design, well and truly taking this instrument into the 21^st century.”

Available to order from Normans NOW!