A few years ago I took up alto sax to keep my brain active as I was heading for retirement. In May 2021 I heard about a band rehearsing in the local park that wanted new members so I joined for the fresh air and exercise. I never ever planned to play in public but, with Lara's support, here I am dressing in green and doing gigs of all things!
Reasons I love Bright Sounds:
* I get to play joyous, uplifting music with lots of improvisation.
* I play drums for at least 80% of the rehearsal, not sitting round whilst the guitarist's decide on a key etc.
* I get the chance to play with high calibre musicians, complete novices and recently returning musicians in a supportive, non-judgemental environment.
* It makes me smile.
Bright Sounds has been great for developing my skills and confidence in playing without sheet music, developing playing by ear and playing from memory. Not having the sheet music in front of me has made it easier to for me to concentrate on what other players are doing and really listen to everyone else. It's also great for looking at people dancing and enjoying the music! It's a lot of fun, and I can recommend it to anyone whatever level you play at.
Having played music following the traditional method for years, Bright Sounds has really helped me to understand music in a different way and develop improvisation skills. Furthermore, it has given me the opportunity to be part of a supportive family which has encouraged me to take part in the Bristol music scene. I don't think I could have achieved it without Bright Sounds!
Manu really enjoyed his time playing with Bright Sounds and benefited from playing with other great musicians. the gigs helped him grow in confidence and start to develop his own sound and style. Lara is passionate and an incredible inspiration to them all!
I'm 15 years old and I played trumpet in Bright Sounds for nearly two years. The energy was amazing and I really enjoyed playing as part of a large group. The songs we played were all really fun and the gigs that we got were great
I learnt the clarinet at school - all classical, all sheet music. And even though I've wanted to return to it (and have tried to SO many times over the years) it was only with Lara and Bright Sounds that I got to the point of being able to say I can actually play the clarinet again! It's been a safe place to develop improvisation skills, be part of a supportive group of musicians of all abilities, learn that it's OK if it goes wrong, and discover that actually some times it can go so right! I'm very grateful to the Bright Sounds community and to Lara.
As a percussionist l am always looking for new sounds, challenges and (more importantly) fun. Bright Sounds has been a joy to rehearse and perform with. My name is Damian and I am an alcoholic. I am now over one year sober. Bright Sounds has added greatly to my mental health and ability to overcome my addiction and crave something better, more music. We need more music like we need more cowbell...
Practising with Bright Sounds is the highlight of my week. It's a really lovely, friendly supportive group of people to play with and a safe place to try your hand at improvisation. We're mixed abilities, from really quite good players to people just starting out or just coming back to playing, but it doesn't really matter. We all have fun and since we started out we've all improved loads. Before joining I played the sax, but lacking people to play with it generally just started in its case. Now I have a load of musicians to play with, and they're starting to be friends.
It takes a lot of time and energy to learn an instrument. Even when you've started to get the hang of it there's only so much you can achieve practising at home. Lara creates a friendly supportive atmosphere where the group works on songs together. There is a wide range of abilities across brass, woodwind and percussion. No strings! We learn the tunes by ear and Lara backs this up by sending out the 'dots' (sheet music) later. People's confidence visibly improves along with the performances. We play one or two gigs a month. Even better, they're a friendly bunch!
Bright Sounds has given me the opportunity to learn a new instrument, as well as teaching me valuable ensemble skills that I can transfer elsewhere. The band has such a great vibe. You feel welcomed and supported from the moment you start the first groove.