Activity A: What is popular music?
    On a sheet of paper, have students independently answer questions such as: What is popular music? Who creates popular music? For whom is popular music written? Does popular music need to be from now, or could it be from another time? Is the music you like now going to be considered popular music in ten years? What isn’t popular music, and why? After students have written responses, engage the class in a group discussion about their opinions, and record key words and ideas on the board. As a group, develop a working definition for popular music that is agreeable to the class. Post the definition in the classroom to help guide students throughout the unit.
Materials: Notebook paper, pencil, dry erase board and marker.

Activity B: What types of popular music exist?
    Ask the class to come up with genres of popular music, and record them on the board. Ideas might include such genres as rock, hip-hop, or techno. Then select five or six genres from the list. Divide the class into groups, and assign each group a style. On a piece of poster paper, each group creates a visual representation of that genre, illustrating their ideas of what instruments it uses, what words might be associated with it, and so on. For example, a group exploring heavy metal might draw electric guitars, a drum set, and a giant amplifier, and they might include words such as loud and intense. Students might also include names of groups they feel are representative of the genre they are depicting. After creating their posters, each group shares their ideas with the class. Another discussion topic might cover stereotypes associated with different genres of music, considering why they might exist.
Materials: Poster paper, markers, dry erase board and marker. 

Activity C: What similarities and differences exist across various popular music genres?
    Frequently, students have strong beliefs about what types of music they prefer and why. This activity is designed to help students better describe what precisely it is they appreciate about a certain music genre, while also helping them consider how that genre might be similar to another in ways they may not have realized. Distribute two to three Venn diagram sheets (sample below) to students. Pre-select four to six music videos that are around three minutes each. (Be sure to pre-screen for lyric and visual content.)

    Students watch the first video, try to identify the genre of music, and record it on the A side of a Venn diagram sheet in the space provided. As they watch, students will fill in Circle A of the Venn diagram with words describing what they see and hear. They must come up with a total of six descriptive words. Students may use up to four of those words from a provided word bank (example below), but at least two should be created independently. These words should describe the music and imagery and not reflect students’ opinions of the style.

    Next, students will watch a second video. They will similarly identify the musical genre and complete Circle B of the Venn diagram. Once this is finished, they should see if any of the words they chose occur in both Circle A and Circle B. If there are any repeats, those words should be written into the center of the Venn diagram. Engage in a brief class discussion about the similarities and differences between the two pieces of music and respective videos. Repeat this activity as desired, using videos representing different music genres.
Materials: Laptop, projector, speakers, YouTube, Venn diagram worksheet (pdf available at www.theinstrumentalist.
com), descriptive word bank.

Activity D: How are popular music songs structured?
    This activity explores how elements like verses, choruses, and bridges can work together to create the structure of many different popular music songs, regardless of genre. Engage in a brief, basic instructional segment discussing the difference between a verse (tells the story), chorus (the theme of the story), and a bridge (develops the main idea).
    Next, select a song (preferably one that is familiar to the students) with distinct verse, chorus, and bridge sections. (Katy Perry’s Firework worked well for our first try at this activity.) Provide each student with a copy of the song’s lyrics so they can follow along as you play the music. Talk them through how each segment sounds slightly different from one another. Aural cues can be used to help identify when the chorus returns, another verse happens, or the bridge repeats itself. It can be helpful to have student volunteers stand at the front of the room and hold up signs that read verse, chorus, or bridge when the corresponding section is playing.
    Once the song is complete, you could listen a second time without looking at the lyrics sheet to see if students can identify the sections simply by listening. Students might even like to get active, by showing jazz hands for the verses or throwing their hands up in the air during the choruses. Repeat this activity songs in different musical genres. By the last song or two, do not hand the students a lyric sheet. See if they can identify the song structure solely by aural cues on the first listen.
Materials: Song lyrics, mp3 player, speakers, song section signs.

    These are just some activities to help implement popular music into the curriculum. Other activities worth exploring include lyric projects (students create an original verse to their favorite song), guest artists (local popular music artists present their work and answer student questions), or even original popular music composition. Of course, a performance of high-quality arrangements of popular music is a great approach, as well.
    Adapt this strategy to break other music topics into manageable and interesting units. Teaching students about many aspects of music adds tremendous value and depth to their education and may reignite their interest in music.           

The post Add Fun to Lessons with a Dash of Popular Music appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Bow Placement
    Beginning bassists are generally taught to start down bows at the frog and up bows at the tip. For young players, it is necessary to develop the muscle tone to have an even bow and control at both the tip and frog. Getting control at the frog is fairly simple, but getting the bow to support what you want it to do when it is at the tip takes more practice. Starting up bows all the way at the tip builds that muscle tone so tip control is as developed as that of the frog.
    For students learning bow control it is sometimes helpful to divide the bow in half so students get a sense of what portion of the arm drives the bow. From frog to midpoint, the bow should be driven from the shoulder and the back. From the midpoint to the tip, the bow should be driven from the elbow to the hand, so the elbow opens up for the upper half of the bow. Which part of the arm is the focus depends on whether you are playing in the lower half or upper half of the bow. My teacher, Frederick Zimmermann of the New York Philharmonic, would get a piece of chalk and make a mark at the center of the bow. Chalk is ideal because it can be brushed off the stick of the bow before a performance so it will not be a distraction.
    Because of the way bowing has usually been taught, students assume an up bow is always at the tip and a down bow is always at the frog. However, the best choice might be a down bow starting near the tip rather than at the frog, and such choices are just as important as whether to use up or down bow. This is a nuance that raises good playing to artistic playing.
    The correct way to choose bowings is to first find a musical arrival point, such as a phrase ending, cadential resolution, or climax note. A piece might begin with simple alternating down and up bows, but which to use in measure one may be determined by what happens in measure five. If there is an extremely clear arrival point, then it is usually ideal to play a down bow there and work backward.

    In the above example, the quarter note is a clear arrival point and should be a down bow. Because of this it would be ideal for the preceding whole note to be an up bow, and this makes the eighth-note pickup awkward. Continuing the pattern means the pick-up eighth note should be a down bow, which students may assume means starting it at the frog. However, having to traverse the entire length of the bow for that eighth note will make it unnaturally accented, too thick, and too long. The correct solution is to start the down bow in the upper third of the bow so there is just a small amount of bow available. I have met many bright young people who would be diligent about this if they knew it, but it had never been explained to them before. When I assign bowings and say something like “This is going to be a down bow placed at the tip,” I receive blank stares from students who have never heard of this idea.

    If a half note takes the place of the eighth note, as in this example, the down bow should start in the middle of the bow so there is a little more length available. If students start the half note too high on the bow, they run the risk of running out of bow, or they may have a thin sound as they move the bow slowly in an attempt not to run out.
    Students do not always realize how close to the end of the bow they are. There doesn’t seem to be the muscle memory sense that I was taught to develop as a student. My teacher would hold a method book above my bow hand and tell me to stop the bow an inch beyond the chalk mark in the middle. I was supposed to know by muscle memory the position of the bow arm whether I was one inch or two beyond the middle. For tip control, he would have me practice stopping three inches from the tip while blocking my view with the method book. If it was only an inch before the tip, I would have to try it again. Such games and challenges were great way to develop a sense of where I was on the bow.

Bow Speed
    Some bassists use the same bow speed regardless of what they are playing. This is like driving a car at the same speed, whether on the highway or in a residential area.
In the following example, the tied whole notes should be one long up bow.

    The passage is not loud, so bassists can play two bars of up bow at a slow bow speed. At an average speed, however, they might run out of bow and have to switch directions, which destroys the intent of a long, unbroken note. For students unused to thinking about bow speed, this is difficult, and they often adjust the music to accommodate bow speed instead of the other way around. Planning bow speed is just as important as planning which part of the bow to start a bowing.

Pizzicato
    The differences between the pizzicato in orchestral music and that used for jazz bass are striking and can color or shade a piece improperly if care is not taken to employ the correct style. The difference between classical and jazz pizzicato is comparable to the difference between a jazz vocalist and an opera singer. Each is wonderful, but the styles are extremely different and will sound strange in the wrong place. Imagine the beautiful pizzicato line in Bach’s Air on the G String played jazz style. It does not work.
    Orchestral pizzicato on the bass is done the same way violinists, violists, and cellists play pizzicato. The thumb is gently supported on the edge of the fingerboard, and the bassist holds the bow with the third and fourth fingers. The motion is to pluck the string with the tip of either the first or second finger, or both together in a forte passage. Some players can alternate between the two fingers for fast passages. There is a circular motion that the hand adopts to get the note to ring. Most of the time, bassists are holding the bow while plucking because they will likely go back to arco soon. The German bow should hang down, while the French bow sticks up. Occasionally I see German bow players notice their French bow colleagues with the bows up, they then try to hold their German bows up as well. The German bow isn’t supposed to be held that way, and it is awkward and inefficient to move it into that position from the standard German grip. I also see French players point their bows down, and this is just as bad.

German Bow Pizzicato


The German Bow should hang down from the player’s third and fourth fingers during pizzicato.

The hand comes off the string after pizzicato in a smooth, continuous motion.

German Bow pizzicato bow hold, underside view.

French Bow Pizzicato

The French Bow must be held pointing upwards during pizzicato, as is a cello bow.

French Bow pizzicato bow hold, underside view.

The string is plucked during pizzicato.

The hand comes off the string after pizzicato in a smooth, continuous motion.

    Jazz bassists usually do not hold the bow while playing pizzicato, and the hand position is entirely different. The thumb is downward and parallel to the fingerboard as well as against it. They use the entire first finger to pluck the string, and the string is played with a downward feeling so the string springs back up.
    Bass players should be familiar with different styles to produce what the conductor and ensemble require. Occasionally in orchestras, the principal bassist may be called upon to play a jazz bass line. Nuance in pizzicato is extremely important; there are subtle differences between jazz, bluegrass, and folk bass pizzicato styles. Where I am, in New York, there are many opportunities for studio musicians, and if you are hired to play something that calls for a jazz feel but cannot produce it, you will not be hired again.

Fingering
    The main fingering problem I see is preparing a note that follows an open string. As soon as a finger goes onto a new string, the bow wants to follow. Many young bass players have insufficient independence of the hands.
     In this case, the G is open, and the F would be fingered with the second finger on the D string.

 Students should already be fingering the F while playing the G. When the F is already fingered all that has to move is the bow. As long as the fingers are rounded, as they ought to be, pre-fingering will not cause any difficulties.

Waiting until the last possible second to finger the new pitch only makes things more difficult, because then in addition to a string change and a change of bow direction, a fingering change is now added. In legato passages, this can turn messy, so set fingers ahead whenever possible. Given the notes the bass strings are tuned to, and the most frequent keys used in elementary and middle school string music, this will happen often.
    When shifting, a similar principle applies.

When bowing the E, which is fingered with the first finger, set the second finger on the G string (as shown below) in preparation for shifting up to the new pitch. In my day this skill was heavily emphasized, and students did not move beyond it until they could make a proper shift or a proper string crossing. If I spent two hours on two measures of a piece of music, that was time well spent, in my teacher’s opinion. My teacher used to say that when playing music with string crossings or shifts, it should be impossible to tell when they occur. The bass should sound like it has one string in legato playing. It is not always possible to place fingers ahead of time, but when it is, bassists should do so.  

When preparing to shift to a second-finger C on the G string after playing a first-finger E on the D string, set and press the second finger on a Bb on the G string ahead while the bow is still resonating the first-finger E on the D string. Then, smoothly shift up to the C with the second finger while simultaneously moving the first finger onto the G string as well.

The post Beautiful Bass Sounds appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Two Trumpets
“Hey, man. When’s the last time you got out of this joint?”
“I’ve been stuck in this cubby hole for months. My man Tim pulls me out for class, and then afterward it’s hasta la vista, baby. He used to take me out all the time. Now I guess you could consider me homeless. And he wonders why he’s last chair!”
“Your finish is looking a little tarnished, too.”
“You think that’s bad? My slides are stuck, and my valves are moving slower than a beginner on Festive Overture.”

Two Seniors
“I can’t wait until last period is over.”
“Why?”
“I get to take my flute home and practice!”

Between Two Old Drums
“Kids these days wouldn’t know a rudiment if it double-dragged them across their heads!”
“Every kid who has ever hit a pot with a spoon or played Drum Hero thinks he knows everything there is to drums.”
“I wish my kid would play the xylophone a little bit. Even some timpani.”
“Then he’d have to read music!” The drums roll over laughing. “See you later. I think my owner is about to ratchet the pitch up even higher. What a headache!”

Two Football Coaches on the Sidelines
“Boy, the band sure sounds great tonight.”
“I’ve got a mind to forget the halftime talk tonight and stay here and watch the band.”
“Yep. We may stink, but at least we got the best band.”

Metronome to Tuner
Metronome: “Kids just don’t like me.”
Tuner: “Can’t say I blame them. You have to admit that your constant ticking is like Chinese water torture.”
Metronome: “But I only want what’s best for them. If they would just play evenly and maintain a steady tempo, we’d all be a lot better off. Besides, your droning Bb isn’t much more popular.”
Tuner: “I know, I know. And aren’t these cobwebs a pain?”

Two Reeds
“Hey, Chip. What’s up?”
“I’m worn out and should have been retired weeks ago.”
“Why haven’t you been changed?”
“She’s been telling her band director she doesn’t have any money, but I know for a fact she bought three candy bars from a friend yesterday. She put them by me in her case. Now I smell like a Snickers.”
“At least she doesn’t leave you on the mouthpiece like my Fred does. Maybe if we could find a way to glue him body-length to a big sheet of plywood he would understand what it’s like.”
“I don’t get it. You’d think that when she turns three shades of blue and her sound has more air running through it than an air-conditioning unit vent she would get the hint.”

Junior High Athlete and Musician
Athlete: “You band kids are nothing but nerds.”
Musician: “You may be a big shot now with all the athletic glory heaped on you by our sports-crazed and short-sighted society, but one day you will wake up in your saggy old bed and look down at your paunch that hasn’t seen a sit-up in 20 years. You will throw on your faded letter jacket, head to work in the same Ford truck you drove in high school that still has a moldy tassel hanging from the rear-view mirror, and when you get to work you’ll see me and say, ‘Hey, Boss.’ Now put your headphones back on, listen to all of those nerdy musician millionaires, and leave me alone.”

Four Band Students at Lunch
First student: “Let’s get together and practice First Suite together after school on Thursday.”
Second student: “Do you think Mr. Dunkins will mind?”
First student: “Are you kidding me?”
Third student: “It seems like I have something else that afternoon.”
Fourth student: “What could be more important than band?”
Third student: “I see your point. I’ll be there.”

The post Imagine appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Equipment
    Many intonation errors are caused by a poor mouthpiece and reed combination. Students should use a mouthpiece designed for classical playing, which will have a moderate tip opening and a moderate facing. Jazz mouthpieces offer more power and sound brighter, making them inappropriate for concert band.
    For the first month or two of playing, a 21⁄2 strength reed is permissible for young students. After that, a strength 3 reed is sufficient for almost every intermediate and advanced player. In this case, stronger is certainly not better.
    Over time, reeds grow weaker with use, and an old, worn-out reed can cause intonation havoc. Students should have at least four reeds in rotation at the same time. This way, if one breaks there is a ready replacement. Also, if one starts to soften up it will be extremely noticeable compared to the others. A student who plays on just one or two reeds will get used to a gradually weakening reed without realizing it, causing the embouchure to lose strength. A new reed will feel too hard by comparison. Reeds that begin to soften with age should be immediately discarded.
    To make reeds last, students should get a reed case that keeps the tip flat. They should also wring the reed out by using the thumb and forefinger to very gently squeeze off excess moisture. Getting rid of that moisture keeps the reed from warping, and its life will be substantially prolonged.

Reed Placement
    The tip of the reed should line up with the tip of the mouthpiece. If it is too far in, there will be problems getting the reed to respond. This can lead to the upper range being quite flat because the student is working so hard just to get the instrument to sound. If the reed is too far past the tip of the mouthpiece, there will likely be intonation problems in the lower register. If a student looks at his mouthpiece and pushes the reed down, the tip of the reed should line up exactly with the tip of the mouthpiece.

Fingerings
    Some misconceptions about fingerings still occur. The most widespread is the one-and-one Bb, played with the index fingers of each hand. While widely taught, mostly to beginners, this fingering is abysmally out of tune, almost a quarter tone flat on some saxophones. Most professional and advanced saxophonists use the side Bb and Bis Bb for almost every situation. One-and-one Bb is seldom used by serious players.
    The side C fingering is so far off pitch as to be unusable and should be relegated to trills between B and C. Whenever C must be sustained, the second-finger fingering should be used. Moving between B and C is a concept similar to crossing the break on clarinet; sometimes teachers make such a big deal about it that is causes the problem they were trying to avoid. If beginning students are taught to make a smooth transition between B and C when they first learn the fingerings, and make sure they understand that hearing a blip is unacceptable, then many of those problems will never occur. If teachers do not mention the potential problem, there will rarely be one, and the change from first-finger B to second-finger C should be no more of a problem than the change from C# to D.
    One popular fingering among saxophonists is called covered C#. Used for   C#5, the fingering is the octave key plus the left-hand third finger. It opens the first octave key, which raises the pitch slightly but does not cause the note to jump the octave. C#5 is normally extremely unstable, but this fingering will correct the pitch and better match D5 and C5 in timbre. Once students get used to it, it is an extremely smooth fingering, especially going to D. The D5 and D#5 will be more in tune as well, because students are not making awkward adjustments to bring the C# in tune.

Tuning
    The most common mistake made by young saxophonists when putting the instrument together is placing the mouthpiece too far out on the cork. To play in tune with the mouthpiece out too far takes a tight, pinched embouchure. Also, by making this mistake, the saxophone becomes too long, and the nodes will not be in correct positions. This destroys the acoustical integrity of the saxophone, resulting in intonation discrepancies across the entire range and causing some notes to become unplayable, especially low C, B, and Bb.
    With the mouthpiece too far out, response on low notes is also going to be considerably diminished. If the mouthpiece is pushed in to the proper position, as long as the embouchure is relaxed, the low range, after a little bit of work, actually responds quite well on most well-maintained saxophones. When band directors ask why students can’t play E, D, or C, I check the mouthpieces first, and the offendinging saxophonists usually have them pulled too far out by half an inch.
    The saxophone should be tuned to concert A with saxophonists playing written F#4, C#5, and F#5. While any one of these notes may be forced in tune on an out-of-tune horn, if all three of these are relatively well in tune, it will be possible to play all of the other notes in tune as well. It is much easier to lower pitch on the saxophone than to raise it, which is another reason to keep the saxophone mouthpiece pushed in.

Adjusting Intonation
    The phrases “lip up” and “lip down” should disappear from teachers’ vocabularies, although this approach to adjusting saxophone intonation is still too frequent. Tightening or loosening the embouchure actually causes many intonation and tonal problems rather than fixing them. The embouchure should remain almost entirely static regardless of dynamics or range. Instead, adjust intonation by changing tongue position in the mouth. Introduce students to this concept using vowel syllables. Have them say the letters E and O, and point out that the back portion of the tongue is nearer the roof of the mouth on E and lower in the mouth on O. Have them use the feeling of the E syllable to raise pitch and O to lower it.
    To practice this concept have students bend pitches downward without using the embouchure. Start on B5 and see how far they can bend the note. This will take students some time to learn to do, but once students can do this, adjusting pitch by smaller degrees across the saxophone is a matter of fine-tuning and listening. Saxophonists should work on pitch-matching exercises, starting with unisons, then moving to octaves and fifths. When students can tune such intervals well, and if they have ear training incorporated into band warmups, they will have little difficulty adjusting pitch on the fly.
    Students who struggle with moving the tongue rather than the embouchure should practice in a mirror, and if there is perceptible movement of the facial muscles, have the student reset the embouchure and start again. The purpose of the saxophone embouchure, properly formed, is to keep the air sealed in and the reed cushioned.

Finding Resonance
    Something that will help both tone and pitch in the upper range is to listen for resonance. B5 and A5 are extremely out of tune, especially with young players, and these notes usually possess a dull, thin sound. Have students manipulate the pitch of these notes until they sounds resonant; there will be a sweet spot for each note. The saxophone is meant to play in tune, so when a student produces the resonance, chances are he is in tune anyway.
    It is worth noting that many young saxophonists  prefer the sound of one part of their range over the others. To expand this pleasing resonant sound, young players should be encouraged to do resonance matching exercises. Students should find a note on their instrument that they like the sound of, determine what they like about it, and then try to reproduce those same qualities on other notes, starting near the favorite and working toward both ends of the range. Students will adjust automatically if they know what qualities to listen for.

Beginners and Dynamics
    The saxophone sounds best when the sound is allowed to resonate freely at all dynamics. In beginning band, sax players will naturally play louder than many of the beginning woodwinds, and when directors force their volume down to match the other sections, saxophonists get into the habit of producing a stuffy, thin sound while trying to control volume. It is okay if beginning saxophonists play a bit loudly if it means the sound is good and the embouchure is correct. Better volume control with a fine sound will come in time.

    Given these pointers, the saxophone should be able to shed its reputation as an intonation problem and take its rightful place in band rooms as the wonderful instrument it is.     

The post Getting Saxophonists in Tune appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Rehearsal Room Atmosphere
    One objective of each rehearsal is that the ensemble should be able to do something at the end of the session that it couldn’t do at the beginning. This simple statement has implications that are surprisingly complex. By examining each phase of a rehearsal it is possible to come close to establishing the best way to get the most done in the shortest amount of time.
    Studies have shown that the environment has an effect on the way people work. Distractions, poor lighting, improper materials, even decor are some concerns.
    Keep a Clean and Carefully Arranged Rehearsal Room. This means that extra chairs and stands are stacked or removed, and musical instruments not in use should be properly stored. In other words the rehearsal setup should be as orderly as the set-up on the concert stage. Ideally, this would demand that the rehearsal room not be in use during the period prior to the rehearsal, but because this may not be possible, you may want to start the rehearsal a few minutes late while a few students set the stage for the efficient rehearsal.
    Maintain Proper Lighting. This is extremely important in an ensemble rehearsal. The musicians should not have to compromise posture and instrument position by leaning forward or squinting in order to see the music.
    Eliminate Outside Distractions. Personally, I like a room without windows. With windows uncovered, rehearsal efficiency can be affected by good or bad weather, visual activity outside, and noise. Drapes or Venetian blinds are a simple solution to the problem, and in some cases they improve the acoustical properties of the room as well. Placing the ensemble with their backs to the windows is also possible.
    Eliminate a Visible Clock. Ideally, time should fly in a rehearsal. Realistically this won’t happen for all performers all of the time, but clock watching in rehearsals does not help the music unless the clock is used as a metronome. You should keep track of the time or have the concertmaster keep you informed.
    Designate Areas for Storage of Books, Coats, and Instrument Cases During Rehearsals. This can be a problem in many rooms depending on the availability of space. Do not permit material other than that necessary for the rehearsal to be taken to the chair in the rehearsal room. It is messy, distracting, and provides the means for some to concentrate on other matters. Solving this problem in some rehearsal rooms may be perplexing, but it is important enough to insist on a solution.
    Have Students Maintain a Decorum As They Enter the Rehearsal Room. Students must realize that they are special people doing a special job requiring a special room. Dignity and seriousness of purpose should prevail in a rehearsal. The degree to which this can be accomplished is probably directly proportionate to the pride ot the students and the influence of the conductor. It can set the tone for the work about to be done.
    Rehearsal atmosphere can be ignored and good rehearsal; results may still be possible. But if better results can be achieved with attention to rehearsal room atmosphere, then that atmosphere must be examined and properly adjusted. Just as a church uses soft music and lighting to aid a quiet, prayerful entry into the worship service, just as a factory uses background music to provoke efficiency, just as a football team uses the crowd, marching band, and cheerleaders to motivate the team, so the conductor must use the atmosphere of the rehearsal room to benefit an efficient rehearsal.

Warm Up
    The warmup and tuning phase of the rehearsal usually reveals the philosophy, maturity, training techniques, and attitudes of a conductor. It is at this time when the self-discipline and practice habits of the ensemble and the influence of the conductor are most evident.
    Various research projects, papers, and books have validated the fact that pitch will vary on instruments relative to the rehearsal room temperature and as a result of warming up. Therefore, warming up first is necessary to be able to tune reliably.
    The warmup should be done either individually or within the ensemble with prescribed direction and pace. The warmup should make it possible for each player to execute every facet of necessary performing ability — range, facility, tone, dynamics, attack, etc.
    Individual warmup is probably the preferred method for the simple reason that each player can proceed at his own pace and in his own way; however it is not feasible because there is not enough time in a typical school rehearsal schedule and unfortunately, many students do not have the ability or self-discipline to warmup properly. The following steps can be used for ensemble warmup.
    •  Step 1 (30-60 seconds). Sound concert Bb using a tuning device, clarinet, oboe, or trumpet and then have the students match the pitch. This is not the time for tuning but the moment when the ensemble finds a pitch center from which to proceed.
    •  Step 2 (2-3 minutes). Perform a chorale, march, alma mater, or any short selection with the following characteristics: no extreme registers, full ensemble scoring, and dynamic levels that permit individuals to hear themselves.
    •  Step 3 (2-3 minutes). Play something in a contrasting style. If the warmup music was a chorale with concentration on tone and legato style playing, conclude with either a short selection that focuses on articulation or play unison pitches, chords, or scales with specified attack patterns. If the warmup number was a march, perform long tones or sustained chords, scales, or chorales that emphasize tone quality and legato playing. This warmup schedule takes only five to seven minutes. Ideally, this is not enough time, but it is realistic for most rehearsal schedules and it should permit reasonably reliable tuning.

Tuning
    Ensemble tuning can take from a few minutes to a few hours, and many musicians have probably observed a rehearsal where every moment was used for tuning. While this is easy to understand and might be justifiable in some cases, it may not be the wisest use of an entire rehearsal. There are some basic ideas that are primary to understanding the problem of tuning.
    •  The student must know when he is out of tune in order to be able to play in tune.
    •  Almost everyone can learn to play in tune and recognize pitch variance.
    •  A student must learn the tuning peculiarities of his particular instrument. For example, flutes tend to be sharp in the upper register, trumpets are flat on D4, etc. When learning how to tune and in practicing tuning, students should know which pitches tend to be sharp or flat on their particular instrument, and the conductor must know all of the many tuning peculiarities for every instrument.
    •  Students should not be afraid or concerned if occasionally they are unable to decide whether a pitch is sharp or flat. Tone quality, for instance, can make tuning more difficult at times. The problem can be alleviated by making larger tuning adjustments, i.e., going very sharp or very flat before returning to the pitch center. For example, valve brasses can pull out their tuning slides and then slide up to arrive at the pitch center, much like a trombone.
    •  Be aware of the effect of rehearsal room temperature on tuning. In a room below 70° F it is difficult to stay in tune because the instruments will cool off quickly when they are not played constantly.
    The longer brass and woodwind instruments are played, the sharper the pitch tends to be, up to a point. This degree of sharpness will vary for each family of instruments.
    Here is a tuning procedure you can follow:
    •  Step 1. Sound concert Bb. If you are not using an electronic or fixed pitch device, have the solo clarinet, oboe, or trumpet sound the pitch while watching a stroboscope. It is unreasonable to expect the first chair player at any level, public school or university, to always give a perfect tuning pitch.
    •  Step 2. Have the woodwinds and the horns match this pitch. Each member must play loud enough to hear himself but soft enough to permit others to hear themselves.
    •  Step 3. Sound concert Bb again and have the brasses, minus the horns match the pitch. Again, the students should be asked to be dynamically astute.
    •  Step 4. Sound concert A for the string bass and for further tuning of the woodwinds and horns.
    •  Step 5. Play an unmeasured scale slowly to further establish the pitch center on more than one or two notes.
    •  Step 6. If time permits and the ability of the ensemble warrants it, play a chorale or series of chords to further establish good intonation on something other than unison or octave  exercises.   (Of course, this technique should also be used in the context of the music being rehearsed.)
    I also often tune a particular troublesome note or chord in the first selection to be rehearsed, or take time to point out tuning problems in a particular register of a specific instrument. In other words the tuning process can be continued. In fact I think it should go on, but within the context of the rest of the rehearsal.
    Ensembles bored with the routine of predictable warmups and tuning are, unfortunately, all too common. Challenging and interesting warmup material executed by the conductor with purpose and enthusiasm is essential. Tuning that isolates problems and identifies individuals who are in error is mandatory if tuning is to be meaningful. This is the conductor’s first moment of truth in the rehearsal. He must evaluate pitch, be able to state the direction of pitch change, and reverse a decision if he’s called it wrong.
    The director’s constant analysis of tuning and his willingness to realize that there is always something to learn about the subject is essential for the growth and effectiveness of both the conductor and his ensemble.

Problem Solving
    The main portion of most rehearsals (after the warmup and tuning) is usually spent in problem solving with the intended result being the making of music. There are many ways to solve problems. The method outlined here represents one approach with the ideas being adaptable to any routine.
    There is one truth that must be accepted before this portion of the rehearsal can be considered a success: At the end of the rehearsal, the ensemble must be able to perform something better than they could at the beginning of the rehearsal. This accomplishment might consist only of a technically difficult four measures, a complex rhythmic figure, or the tuning of intervals in a passage involving extreme registers. Whatever it is, it must be improvement that is obvious to all participants. In other words, the rehearsal must be worth having and worth attending.
    Before the downbeat is given, the following considerations should be checked.
    Music Stand Height. Is it high enough for the player to look at the music and see the conductor, at least with peripheral vision? (Marches printed on quick-step size paper may be paper clipped to the top of the folder in order to facilitate eye contact.)
    Players Per Music Stand. Are there more than two people per stand? There should not be if correct body position and instrument position is desirable. The instrument, eyes, and body should be facing the conductor.
    Posture. Is the body in a position forward on the chair, sitting erect, with the knees down and the legs relaxed with both feet on the floor) that permits maximum attention to the requirements of the rehearsal?
    To illustrate the correct placement of a music stand, ask the musicians to put their instruments in playing position and to look at the last note of the first selection to be rehearsed. Then raise your baton within the conducting field, and ask the musicians if they can see the baton without looking at it (peripheral vision). If they cannot see the baton ask them to adjust their music stands or body position so they can.
    Begin the rehearsal (after the warmup and tuning) by playing a selection, or part of a selection, as close as possible to the designated tempo. After playing a passage the analytical phase of the rehearsal begins. The key word is isolate. Identify the elements of the music by isolating them and pointing out the problems to the students. Assume the band has played through a traditional march and is going to rehearse by practicing only the first few measures. Isolate the component parts of those measures.
    First Attack. Did everyone start together? Did the musicians take a rhythmic breath with the preparatory beat? It is important to know that the air stream on wind instruments should not be stopped or frozen before release. The air never stops moving.
    Balance. Is every chord heard in such a way that no single pitch can be heard more than another? (Of course melodic and occasional harmonic considerations may alter this equality.) I usually balance chords by starting with the lower pitches and building to the soprano instruments. You will most likely find yourself asking for more volume from the middle or alto line or second and third part instruments and less from the first or top soprano line instruments. A good rehearsal device is to play an alia breve march in slow 44 time or the quick 68 march in a slow six beats per measure. When doing this, listen only for the balance of parts.
    Blend. Direct your attention to the instrumental blend by listening for tone qualities that do not fit the ensemble sonority. Bad blend or tone quality can often be mistaken for bad balance — and certainly the two can be interrelated. It is in this phase that the conductor must identify individuals and initiate remedial work. If a student’s tone quality cannot be changed, it may be necessary to ask the individual to play softer than is indicated in the music. This need not be a demeaning experience for the student, it is simply a corrective action, the same as correcting wrong notes, rhythmic mistakes, and intonation problems. The sonority of the entire ensemble is largely dependent on this isolated area.
    Tuning. It is important for musicians to know what the chords sound like when they are played in tune. Whatever tuning reference is used make sure it is in tune before starting to tune intervals and chords. I often use the tuba as the starting point. It is common for that instrument to go sharp after a “heated” rehearsal, but it is advisable to check the pitch on an electrical tuning device before beginning the process. When musicians do hear a chord in tune it is usually easier for them to repeat it by doing what they did again (lipping up or down) and listening for that gorgeous in-tune sound.
    Style. This area is too often ignored as an ensemble technique, particularly if there are strong lead players executing their parts correctly. It is mandatory to know which style is required – detached, legato, cantabile, classical, romantic, baroque, etc. – and find an example to imitate. Sloppy or inconsistent execution of style separates the good band from the great band. Conductors usually take special note to find out the style of a selection, to understand it, and to be prepared to make value judgments as to its execution during the course of rehearsal and performance.
    Phrasing. The shaping of a phrase is too often confined to starting and stopping the band together. Though this is important it should not be the only end result of good phrasing. The conductor needs to teach all aspects of phrasing, (including breathing, dynamics, accent, emphasis, tension, release, and precision), being sure that those who are playing non-melodic lines also know where the phrases are. These players then must feel the melodic progression and shape their lines the same as the melodic phrase.
    Playing Facility. Conductors must be concerned with getting correct notes at the correct time. The danger is being satisfied with correct execution as the end result. Actually it is the beginning of making music.
    After isolating these components the band should be able to execute a musical phrase perfectly. If the music isn’t performed as well as the finest ensemble, further remedial action and work is required. It may be impractical or unnecessary to emphasize each isolated component in each measure of each selection. Transfer of learning and musical expertise may negate the need for continuous isolation. It is important to be prepared to diagnose trouble, isolate the problem, solve it, and get on with the rehearsal.

Content and Planning
    Some of the many factors influencing the content of a rehearsal include the age of the members, the length of the rehearsal, the difficulty and the style of the repertoire, the proximity of the rehearsal to the concert, and the performance ability of the musicians. Consider the following plan, based on 60 minutes of rehearsal:

Section I. Warmup and Tuning (10 minutes)
    It should be mentioned that the students’ schedules prior to the rehearsal will determine the content of this section. If individual warmup and tuning time is available, this section can be short. If warmup and tuning can be done only in rehearsal, this section will need to be longer.

Section II. Problem Solving (30 minutes)
    If all execution problems have been solved, more rehearsal time could be spent on other sections. If problem solving is needed, here are some points to consider.
    •  Don’t work too long on a seemingly impossible passage. Repetitive, shorter drills accomplished during many rehearsals may be a better way.
    •  Don’t spend too much time with only a part of your ensemble. You could bore and lose the others quickly.
    •  If all players are involved and progress is evident, extensive time can be spent on isolated
passages.
    •  Don’t let individuals hide. Ask your students to play alone, in pairs, or small groups. They must realize they are all equally important.
    •  Don’t stop unless there is a problem; and each time you do stop, express a specific, clear, and concise reason.
    •  Don’t be too talkative; let your baton say it.
    •  Recognize accomplishments and establish new goals.

Section III. Reviewing and Solidifying Material (15 minutes)
    This section of the rehearsal is usually the most enjoyable because everyone feels the results of their musical efforts.
    Playing through the portion of the music that has just been drilled will solidify the problem solving that has just taken place. It provides proof of accomplishment.
    Continue to play the repertoire that has been learned in the past days and weeks. If reviewing is not done on a regular basis, problems which were once solved will soon need to be solved again.
    As the run-through takes place, continue to point out melody lines, supporting lines, harmonic structure, counter-melody, form, style, etc., working toward student understanding of the repertoire.
    This process is sometimes called “routining” because it permits the musician to develop reliable performance habits based on a familiar routine that leads to self-confidence. If the performer can execute the repertoire with a degree of relaxation, then thought can be directed to the real task of musical expression.

Section IV. Sightreading (5 minutes)
    This aspect of music making is of great importance for the performer, particularly when auditioning for ensembles at the high school, college, or professional level. Most auditioners, conductors, and teachers equate the person who is a good sightreader with the one who will require a minimum of rehearsal to achieve a high level of performance. Although this is not necessarily true for every performer, there is evidence to support the practice of evaluating a musician’s capabilities through sight-reading. It should be included in a daily rehearsal routine. The ability to sightread effectively can be learned by most musicians. Here are some considerations that must be brought to the sightreader’s attention,
    Rhythm. The single, most important aspect of effective sightreading is comprehending the rhythm. To practice, set your instrument aside, and concentrate on the notes alone. Set a tempo and use a single pitch to sing the rhythm.
    Facility. Limited technique hampers sightreading ability. If the player comprehends the rhythm, it is then important to keep the tempo going and “fake” through the notes until adequate facility is gained.
    Reading Ahead. The musician’s eye movement must be steady, always looking a few notes to a measure or more ahead of the notes being played. If a mistake is made, the player should not look back to see what went wrong, or his problems will increase.
    Posture and Position. It is essential that the musician use every aid at his disposal.
    A Check List. Scan the following before sightreading: key signature, time signature, tempo, repeat signs (Coda, Dal Segno, and Da Capo), style indicators (Maestoso, Grazioso, Grave, etc.), dynamics, and problem areas (rhythm patterns, unusual intervals, awkward fingerings, accidentals, phrasing, and range).
    With some practice this scanning can be done in a matter of minutes. It is important to practice the technique of preparing to sightread before the actual challenge of playing the music at first reading.
    The time frames for each of these four sections of a rehearsal can be shortened or lengthened to suit the conductor, based on the performance needs at the moment. It is my belief that all the sections should be used at each meeting. Close attention to content and planning will provide the excitement, challenge, accomplishment, tension and relaxation which should be a part of every rehearsal.

Conductor Concerns
    Special attention is given to the rehearsal conductor in this final part of the “Anatomy of a Rehearsal.” The conductor’s intelligence, talent, organizational skill, knowledge of the profession, and courage to honestly self-evaluate are measured in the degree of success or failure of the ensemble rehearsal. These obvious concerns are identified to complete this anatomy.
    Knowledge of the Literature. It should go without saying that the conductor should know the score. Faking with little more than a beat pattern, is not enough. The score should be researched, studied, and marked to assure a meaningful rehearsal. Research should include knowledge of the composer, period, and style, as well as performance requirements peculiar to the selection.
    Organizing the Rehearsal. The conductor should plot each phase of the rehearsal, identifying goals and planning their accomplishment. The informed conductor should be able to anticipate the problems that will be encountered in a rehearsal and be aware of the time needed to be spent on each. Understanding the score and knowing the ensemble’s weaknesses will help the director to plan an efficient rehearsal.
    Pace. Keeping the rehearsal moving is important. Good pacing is directly related to the conductor’s leadership skills and effectiveness in dealing with people. The conductor’s unique personality as well as complete preparation and planning for rehearsals is important. Look around at the faces in your rehearsal room and have the courage to assess your effectiveness. Pace could be a factor.
    Percussion Section. It is awkward to isolate a section as needing attention. However, anyone with public school experience knows the percussion section is of common concern. The playground atmosphere of the fascinating equipment is a natural environment for non-musical activity. Organization is essential and prescribing the exact arrangement of instruments is just as important for the percussion as it is for the winds. Choosing a percussion section leader and assigning jobs to individual section members is a director’s responsibility that requires careful consideration. Provide extra chairs for percussionists not involved in a particular selection.
    Self-Evaluation. Much evaluation is left up to the annual contest rating, but regular self-evaluation can serve as one facet of an ongoing analysis of personal effectiveness. Conductors, you should have the courage to listen to recordings and compare what you hear with the sounds coming from your band, go to conventions and concerts and listen honestly, go to contests and take what is coming to you, invite proven conductors to work with your ensembles, change rehearsal techniques and/or examine your philosophy of education if things are not working, and invite student evaluation.
    There are many ways to improve. These are some. Good luck.

The post The Anatomy of a Rehearsal appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Flute
    The major concerns on the flute are pitch, tone, hand position, head joint position, and breathing. Begin students on low F, working to develop a dark, wide, beautiful tone. Monitor the head joint in relation to the mouth, making sure the corners of the mouth are pouting, and students are using the diaphragm to develop the air stream and vibrato. We teach vibrato early, because it helps students develop a proper air stream. Allowing a small, weak sound will only lead to difficulty in coming months; we encourage beginners to play at a solid mezzo forte. When students can hold a strong low F for one minute, proceed down to E, D, and C, maintaining and checking the air stream, correct breathing, pouting, diaphragm and vibrato. Students should be able to play low C within a few weeks, and within a month flutists should be able to produce a C scale in two octaves. When students can play a C scale in two octaves and an F scale in one octave with correct posture, technique, and sound, then they are ready for the chromatic. Students have already mastered low C and can move to the high C, so adding the higher notes will be easy; playing past high C is all air stream, posture and mouth placement. Students and teachers need only monitor the physical elements of playing. This is the check list we give flutists:

Do not roll the instrument moving between B flat, C, C# and D.
Keep the pout.
Maintain great hand position.
Do not to pull the corners of the mouth back to produce the higher notes.
The headjoint should not slide back and forth when playing.
The head should not move drastically.
The air stream is should be constant, with no breath during the two-octave C scale.

    Teachers should check to make sure the equipment is not interfering with the low C. Sometimes the pads for the F, E, D, low C, and Eb keys may not seal or hit the tone holes at the same time, and this will cause students problems. The flute will feel more difficult to blow through and will not speak correctly.

Clarinet
    The clarinet has the longest chromatic scale (low E to altissimo G) and requires the most attention. Without proper reeds, mouthpiece, ligature, hand position, mouth placement, position of the right thumb, air stream, pressure of teeth on mouthpiece, or breathing, beginners will have many problems. The major concerns for the clarinet are usually difficulty jumping the partials, poor tone, tonguing, pitch, and inability to play high notes well.
    The chromatic scale for the clarinet will fix all the bad habits; it is simply impossible to play the chromatic scale correctly and play the instrument incorrectly. To reach high G, a strong, healthy reed must be used. Superb mouth placement and tongue position are required to play all the notes. Without a good hand position students will be unable to play a smooth, uninterrupted chromatic. Wrist positions, thumb position, pinkies, mouth, teeth, tongue position, air stream, and weight on both thumbs are all important; the list for the clarinetists to monitor seems endless.
    Clarinetists should be able to hold an open G and a low E for one minute without hearing or seeing any adjustments before moving to the chromatic scale. For the clarinet, a simple cheat sequence can provide quick results:

    Two pinkies, one pinkie, left pinkie, no pinkies, inside pinkie, two fingers, one finger, fork, C, C#, D, fork, E, F, F#, G, G#, A, B flat. Then, start all over, adding the register key. After high C, it is two fingers, one finger, fork, C, C#, D, D#, fork.

    The C#5 (left pinkie) will usually chirp because the fingers slide around. Also, check that at the high C the embouchure is still good. The last eight notes are the high notes after the High C above the staff with the left hand first finger pulled away.

Saxophone
    The quality of the mouthpiece, reed, and ligature will have a substantial amount to do with students’ success. Students should have an excellent neck strap; a poor one will cause a multitude of problems. Check how saxophonists sit. The saxophone should be positioned in the center with a slight angle to the left to relax the wrists. Check the pads for G, low C, and the octave key. These keys tend to shift if the instrument is not cared for properly, and if the pads are sticking, the student may not be swabbing out the instrument after playing.
    The full range of the saxophone is one of the easiest to learn. When a saxophonist can play a written B4, and the teacher can press the octave key and the tone jumps to the higher B, then the student is ready to move down the saxophone to A, G, F, E, D, and C in one breath. In addition to watching tone, pitch, and tonguing carefully, teachers should make sure students can play the low C and the higher notes without moving the jaw or lips. Monitor the jaw and stability of the teeth against the mouthpiece, making sure there is no movement of the mouthpiece and instrument when adding the right hand. Check to see if the upper teeth and jaw are aligned properly. Before going to the chromatic scale, students should be able to play F#5 with correct pitch and breathing for 1 minute. For the chromatic scale, teach the side C key and forked F#.

Brass
    The brass chromatic is best taught in pieces and then reassembled later. Young students have difficulty understanding what a partial is, so we refer to them as levels. The word level makes students feel special as they become able to play each new one. After being able to play a long concert F, we teach students to produce the seven fingerings or positions of level two descending from concert F down to concert B, taking the time to teach the science of the instrument. The instructor will disassemble a trumpet and show students the length of each of the tubes. We show students how the valved instruments directly relate to the trombone. It is easy to see the trombone getting larger, but we show how the trumpet is actually getting larger too as we descend through the fingerings.
    The physics of sound is discussed, and I connect this lesson to weather too. Cold air (a cold front) moves faster and warm air (a warm front) moves slower. Students get a thorough lesson on how air travels through the instrument. When the horn gets longer, the pitch goes down. We connect this to intonation lessons. If the sound is too high (sharp), making the horn longer will slow the air down, which brings the pitch down. If a note is too low (flat), make the horn shorter; the faster air has a shorter distance to travel, and thus the pitch goes up.
    Once a student can play level two well, we move to level one, concert B flat down to concert E. Soon after, we learn level three-concert B flat down to concert G flat (only five fingerings). Remind them to keep the abdomen tight. Four levels is our required minimum for the first year of instruction, although each student will likely be ready for level four (four positions or fingerings) at a different time. Some students usually make it to level five (three fingerings), and we teach students that level six goes back to five fingerings. Students may not have the ability to play that high B flat yet, but they will enjoy learning about those notes to be intrigued enough to try.
    Once the brass players feel good about playing the first two or three levels descending they simply turn it backwards from the way they learned it, beginning with their lowest note. The fingering pattern should first be memorized descending, in line with teaching students how the instrument is built. Brass players may need to play down to their concert E at first, but a goal is for them to be able to produce the note immediately without having to work down.
    After the brass players can play the chromatic scale well, we then show them the fingering chart and brag about how many notes they can play. Every student plays their chromatic for us with a tuner and a piano several times a school year to make sure they are matching pitch and playing an in-tune minor second. Horns, trombones and tubas especially must hear the correct pitches and match. Trombones must learn that each position is wherever it is. Each note is an Easter egg hunt, and they must find the pitch with the ears, mouth and hand.
    When the brass students are comfortable with a number of levels, we encourage them to begin lip slurs, where the different partials are produced without changing fingerings. To make it fun, we ask brass students to create their own bugle calls. We also use this opportunity to remind brass students that warm, slow air produces low tones and fast, cold air helps to produce the higher notes. We ask the student to put a thin stream of air on the tip of their finger and then blow warm air on their hand as if they are fogging up a window on a cold winter day. Students remember this when they physically experience the sensation of this lesson.
    Make sure students produce the highest notes with a tight belly and some tension of the embouchure within itself, but not great tension between the player and the mouthpiece. Students should not push the mouthpiece hard into the face to produce the high notes. Show them what a pinched and forced sounds are. Encourage brass players to stretch themselves out of their comfort zone but only to play an amount of the chromatic scale that they can do well and do correctly for grade, chair or clinic auditions. Sometimes less is more.

Reading the Chromatic Scale
    Once students can play a portion or all of the fingering chart in the beginning band book, we want them to know all the notes for the generally accepted range of their instrument. Although we may cover the chromatic by teaching the skill and then showing them what they have done, we certainly want them to have a thorough understanding of what they are doing. We always include an in-depth lesson on enharmonics and an explanation of the piano and all percussion keyboard instruments. We also move to larger fingering charts and encourage students to research on the internet to learn the entire range of their instruments.
    We also like to show students that not only do the notes have two names, but they can be spelled two different ways on the staff. The students can give you many examples of homonyms, words that sound alike but are spelled differently. We show students how a C# looks on a staff and how the composer might spell the note on the staff as a D flat, but it still has the same sound.
    Along with spelling comes reading. When the students practice the chromatic, they may have the finger combination memorized, but we insist that they look at the notes so they know what they are doing. They must be able to recognize the notes in their literature so that they learn to read. We tell students that they will probably do fine when they see a B flat in their literature, but they might just panic for a moment when they see an A#. Point out and highlight these notes as they are discovered in students’ music.

    The chromatic scale is the key to success, the key to good tonal support and pitch, and eventually a requirement for technique. Students must know all the tendencies of all the notes on their horn and all the flaws of their instrument. Each and every note much be in tune. Major equipment problems are addressed and hopefully improved upon to help the student succeed quicker and easier. If a student has a problem with the chromatic, then there is a problem with the basics. 

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What is the key point to remember when planning a marching show?
    Ultimately, our marching show is our textbook. Other classes do not get to write their own textbooks, so it should be the single finest textbook we have to offer. My mother is a middle school English teacher, and when she picks books for her class, she wants something that will get her students fired up about reading. Music is the same way; we want our students to be excited about the music. This is why I pick a lot of classical music. Our students might not ever have another opportunity to play something like The Barber of Seville. There are band transcriptions, but not every student in every ensemble gets to perform classical masterworks. We can choose snippets of a piece, so students don’t have to attempt a work that may be, in its entirety, too difficult for them.
    When people ask me how difficult they should make their marching show music, I say that whatever level your top band is playing, the marching show should be two levels under that. If your top band plays grade 4 literature, the marching show should be grade 2. Some arrangers might see that a group played Holsinger’s Havendance at contests and think they can write something that difficult for a marching show. If students are going to go on the football field and sit down, then yes, they will be able to handle that level of difficulty, but if they are going to march and play, it is not feasible. The reason for aiming two grades below the top concert band is because students are outdoors and on the move, and this makes playing more difficult. It may seem frighteningly simple to go down two levels, but when students are successful at the end of the season, you won’t care if the show was a little too simple, because you’ll be the hometown hero.

How do you plan your marching shows?
    We start thinking of the next fall around October or November of the previous year, making some decisions about the direction we feel the program needs to go. From a creative standpoint, we consider what stories we want to tell and how we want things to look. We typically have four or five shows in production at one time. Forcing ourselves to develop multiple ideas gives us options. If one idea isn’t working, we can immediately move somewhere else. In my opinion, the show that is right for our group in a given year is always the one that wins out. The remaining shows might get redeveloped the next year. Several years ago we did a show about King Midas. It had been in the books for quite some time, and it never seemed to be the right time or the right group, and then in 2011 it worked really well for us.
    After generating ideas, we get into planning. We pull the full staff together and take a topic. If we were going to do a show about butterflies, we would suggest anything we could think of having to do with that topic. The meeting gets extremely silly sometimes, because we are getting as many ideas out as we can. Internet image searches are a wonderful tool for this. What pops up is brilliant and often something I never would have imagined.
    With our Midas Touch show a few years ago, we tried to come up with as many ideas for things that could represent gold. We thought about what we could turn into gold; how we could make a flag or a rifle look like it changed from its original color into gold. We started throwing out crazy ideas, and when we have a lot of them we can start eliminating down the ones that are silly or unrealistic. Over time the shows develop, and this approach works well.
    Marching shows typically fall into three groupings. There is the random gathering of objects, which is similar to a still life in an art class. Then there are shows more similar to an art gallery, akin to going to a museum and pulling every painting that has ballet dancers in it and putting them all in one gallery. The third grouping, and the one that seems to be most favorable of late, is the progression of ideas, or a storyline. There is development, drama, tension, and release.
    I also think the new trend of telling old stories in a new way is great for marching band. I joked with my wife over Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, but there is something to be said for taking an old story and retelling it. Reading books and watching movies, I ask myself at the end whether it would make a good marching show. Almost everyone on staff has young children, so we look to children’s literature or mythology, always seeking something new and different.
    We also love collaborating. This year we worked with Si Scott, a British graphic artist who makes ink drawings, on a retelling of the Pied Piper story. Si had a drawing of a stylized rat, which we found on an internet image search. We liked it and asked whether he would be interested in helping us with the rest of the show. The three main elements of the Pied Piper story are the rats, the money, and something to symbolize the piper leading the children off at the end. He had never worked with a marching band before and was interested and quoted us an reasonable price for the amount of artwork we were getting. We took Si’s artwork to a local print shop and put everything on vinyl. All the panels across the front were Si’s drawings, and every flag was based on Si’s drawings or actual digital prints of his drawings on silk flags. It enabled us to create a visual world done by one artist. I feel comfortable creating a musical backdrop, but not with making large visual backdrops. I prefer to leave that to set designers and graphic artists. To be able to go to people who have such skills and have it all come from one mind nearly assures that it will be cohesive. When we went to contests, judges would comment that the artwork was fascinating and they were intrigued before the show even started. In addition to the marching performers and the green field and white lines, we had a new element that changed the overall feeling of what we were about to do. We had created a world within a world.
    We have worked with choreographers and vocalists over the years as well. Several years ago Carson Dorsey, currently a student at the Cleveland Institute, was a student in our choir program, and I would hear her in the practice rooms all the time; she had a beautiful operatic voice. She was friends with all the band students, so we asked her to sing with the marching band. As we were thinking of ways to use her, someone suggested Nessun Dorma, but with a female singing it instead of the traditional tenor. I proposed the idea and she eagerly agreed. It was a solo element in the show, and the audience loved it. Marching band audiences will clap politely for an instrumental soloist, but when you get a vocal soloist, that’s new and different from what they have been hearing all day. It makes the shows memorable, which is always our goal. I do want students to score well and be finalists, but performing a show that is memorable is far more important and meaningful in their lives.
    Once we get into how the show flows and have visual content that works, we prepare a storyboard. On our storyboard sheets, we have a grid. On the horizontal lines, we will have music, visual, guard, general effect, and props. Down the columns there is a marker for every 30 seconds of show time. Although the storyboards are created in Excel, we do this for the first time on a giant bulletin board with yarn lines on it so everything is easy to rearrange. We go through the pieces and start plugging ideas and linking things. We know how long the music is, so we go through and ask, “What event needs to happen here?” In every 30-second column, there has to be something to elicit a reaction from the audience. The golden mean is also important to show planning. Bach used this extensively, and we want the peak of our show to happen right there. At a little under two thirds (61%) of the way though the production, the music, or the marching show, should peak. Getting the peak of the show correct is important. If the peak is too early, the crowd gets excited while it happens, but the rest of the show seems to drag.

What are some tricks to eliciting a good audience reaction?
    People need to feel secure before they will clap. There are obligatory moments where we know to clap. A soloist at a jazz concert plays, and then people applaud. However, we have all seen a soloist finish but stay at the microphone through an eight-measure fill before coming back in. This is an awkward situation for the audience; they do not know whether to clap. Marching band audiences go through that as well; they are unsure whether they should applaud, so they don’t, figuring they can always clap at the end of the show. We should find ways to get the audience to clap and certain time-tested tricks work nearly every time. Have a guard member toss something really high. Everyone will clap – provided she catches it. Cool drum breaks are another applause winner; if the drum break sounds like hip-hop, they’ll clap for it. Technical woodwind moments or brass double tonguing will get applause. Soloists and company fronts always get applause.
    The average marching show runs about 71⁄2 minutes, so if you think in 30-second blocks, that is around 15 moments where you should try to win applause. They don’t all have to be applause moments, as much as something interesting to watch. They might be tender moments or places that draw oohs and aahs from the audience. They might also be moments of intrigue. When I was younger, I would go into a critique with a judge and hear that my show seemed unfocused. I wondered what that meant until a judge explained, “I didn’t know where you wanted me to look, and I didn’t know what you wanted me to listen to.” Knowing ahead of time what you want people to pay attention to alleviates this.
    Once we have plugged all those applause points into our storyboard, we see how everything fits. We use blue dots for our big moments, and sometimes a 30-second moment will be overloaded with dots in every caption – music, visual, guard, and percussion. There might be dots in only one or two captions for smaller effects. Sometimes these effects are coordinated, but other times one just may not have the desired effect on the audience.

What are directors likely to forget when planning marching shows?
    Directors should spend more time on the endings of tunes. If you end a tune well, people clap louder. This often happens at rock concerts; many popular acts know how to end well. They might take the ending of a tune that everyone knows from the radio, then add another verse and chorus, and just keep building to the point that by the end you think, “I have to clap for this.” In marching band, we can be too quick to end a tune, but if someone spent 32 counts to write a good ending, the audience will respond twice as much.
    People sometimes remark, “I can’t afford an arranger or a drill writer,” but there is an arranger and a drill writer for everybody. If the budget is zero, then the director is the arranger and drill writer, but even with just a little bit of money, you can call a top writer and tell them your budget. They might respond, “I can’t write for that amount,” but have a suggestion for someone young and good who is trying to build a solid reputation. Chances are, the lesser-known arranger will do a good job, better than using a stock arrangement.
    I am not against the stock arrangements, but if you use them, have a skilled arranger look at it. If nothing else, ask the arranger to make the endings of the tunes better. It is important to punch up the end of a tune. If that is all they did, for a modest figure there are lot of people who could do that. They can take the stand-tune ending and make it into a marching band ending.
    There should be variety in voicings. Melodies in the flutes and trumpets are predictable. The same melody set in the tubas is completely different. A sense of contrast is important. Young directors may hear that and think it refers to dynamic contrast. That is important, but it also refers to high and low. Is a high melody countered with a low melody? How are the middle voices used?
    Consider the strengths and weakness of the sections. I advocate that young directors give each section of the band a score from 1-10. If most members of a section are young and struggle to make great sounds, rate them a one. If a section is phenomenal down to the last player, they get a ten. Once you number it out, that makes writing much more scientific. There’s no more need for such thoughts as, “I think my flutes can handle this.” It becomes “I gave my flutes a three and my saxophones and eight, so I will give the saxes the 16th-note line.” Even giving these numbers to an outside arranger can be helpful.
    Understanding the audience is important. Some audiences are comfortable with cutting-edge shows and the newest, hippest trends. Others just want a simple theme show that they understand. The band is going to perform in front of judges maybe five to eight times at most, but they will perform in front of their football audience at least ten times, plus any playoff appearances. It is important to consider that audience and their comfort level.

Why is it important that marching shows be memorable?
    When our students look back at their experience 20 years from now, I don’t know that they will remember every piece they played or every award that a performance won. I do know they will remember how it feels to them and how proud they were of their hard work and the end product. We have been as high as fourth place in the state and have had times where we haven’t made the finals at local marching shows, but in the end, students are ultimately proud of the work they are doing, which is what it should be about. With that mindset, and attention to quality, I think the awards come anyway, but they become secondary.
    In facing the reality that maybe 60% of our students will play the last note they ever play at the spring concert of their senior year, it is beneficial to consider the larger skills we teach students. I took calculus classes in high school, and although I don’t use that knowledge any more, I do use some of the skills I learned through calculus, such as logic skills or the idea of breaking large problems into smaller ones. These skills transcended calculus for me.
    As music educators we can get wrapped up in teaching about music, but some of the students in our lower ensembles are here for social reasons. Band may be the only place they feel they fit in. We have some extremely quiet students, and this is where they feel they can be themselves while being expressive and competitive at the same time. They may not have put in tons of time in middle school to become Texas all-staters, but what they did do is make a commitment to stick with this and they are following through extremely well. This is admirable, and we make sure those students are getting an amazing experience, even if their musical life may not be as long as some of the others in the top bands.
    We do a great job of teaching students how to be on time and prepared, which are things that will help them in the corporate world. We set students up for success. I was invited to give a guest lecture on this for MBA students at Southern Methodist University.
    Music students learn that when you make a commitment, you have to follow through, even if it is difficult. My brother earned his law degree at Vanderbilt, and the first time that students had a major writing assignment, everybody left the classroom with distraught looks on their faces after reading the professor’s comments. My brother asked several people what was wrong, and the responses were, “The professor hated my writing. I should give up; I’ll never make it through this.” My brother, who had been in bands in both high school and college, said, “What’s the big deal? You just go back and do it again.” He told me later that at that moment all of his band training had kicked in. There are some corporate headquarters near our school. A number of band parents are in management, and they tell me that they can identify the arts students because when asked to revise something they will turn in a completely revamped project with everything better. Every sentence is more polished, every graphic is clearer, and they weren’t insulted at being asked to do the project again. They took it as a challenge to do better.
    In band, we can have them do things over and over and ask for more each time. Sometimes I liken show preparation to climbing Mount Everest. Anyone can do the first 100 yards of Mount Everest. As for the last 100 yards of Mount Everest, I would say that there is no way I could do that, because that is a task beyond my ability right now. Music is similar. On the first day of band camp, everybody gets better instantly. The second day everyone continues to improve, but at some point everyone hits a wall where it is difficult to keep going up, and they have to work extremely hard to keep climbing. That our band students push through that and keep going is what will set them apart when they get to college.
    They don’t take criticism personally. It isn’t a personal reflection on someone if they play a D flat instead of a D natural, they just need to be more careful. If you are getting criticism, it is loving. It is because someone wants you to be better. The time to worry is if as directors, we are not saying anything, because that means we’ve given up on you – but I am not going to do that. Criticism is what makes you better, and that is how directors show care for students – by delivering criticism in a professional manner. But that’s a difficult thing for directors to figure out.

How do you handle recruiting?
    It starts the first year of band. We have three goals for students coming out of sixth grade. First, they have to love band. If we put loving band first, we have created life-long music learners. They will be the community band members and the school board members to keep arts funding where it needs to be. Second, students have to understand the fundamentals of music, including notes, rhythms, how key signatures work, and fingerings. Finally, they need to play six notes, concert A, B flat, C, D, E flat, and F, with a great sound. I want students to love their tone quality for those first six notes. A former student was a broadcast journalism major. He spent time in college recording his voice over and over again, listening to it, analyzing it, breaking it down, making notes of things he liked or disliked how he said. Our students should likewise spend more time falling in love with their own sound. The more they love their sound, the better off things will be. It makes getting a balanced sound much easier if students have great individual sounds. As a clarinetist, I’m not always happy with my sound on altissimo G. There are people, even some of my students, whose sound I do like, and I work to imitate that.
    We have a great plan at the middle schools to produce instrument balance in the program. There are monthly section parties for the sections where retention is most important. If we need more tubas, there will be a tuba section party, to which the tubas get to invite one other section. My son is a tuba player at the middle school, and last month, the tubas invited the flute section to be their guests at the tuba party. They serve pizza and soda on Wednesday afternoons right after school. Keeping these sections involved helps tremendously. I have to credit Marty Ball, who started it at one of the middle schools.
    When Wakeland High School initially opened there were 68 students in the program, and we’re now just above 220. Frisco is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. Until fall of 2003 we had one high school; there are now six with a seventh opening next year. All the high schools have about 2,000 students in them. Here, one of the challenges is making sure that every student finds a place as the move in from all over the country. Some students were the first chair player at their old school but may not rank as high in our programs. It can be difficult for such students to feel like they fit in. It isn’t that these students were under-taught; they were just the biggest fish in small ponds and had been pushed as far as they could be.
    We make sure that every ensemble has its own culture and climate. I find when I go into a lot of programs the first band has a climate that is awesome and every kid wants to be a part of it, but the
second band will be just a transitional group before the first band. We strive to make sure that all the ensembles we direct are our pride and joy. Our fourth band is never treated like scale jail. We make them into a performing ensemble, and they get the same sectional time and great clinicians to work with them that the first band does.  Those six beautiful notes that students could play in sixth grade eventually expand to 12 notes, then 24. Students see that the quality doesn’t change as they move up, just the difficulty of the music.
    One thing I think we have done particularly well over the years is creating a tremendous amount of build-up toward finding out what next year’s show is. We keep it secret for a long time. Some directors tell their students what next year’s show is back in November or December. It is good for directors to know this that far ahead, but I think the big reveal in spring generates more excitement. The week that I reveal the show just happens to be the week that students talk with their counselors about signing up for classes the next year. We are fortunate to have great counselors here, and I coordinate with them to pick a date that is right before when the counselors will be there. We create a movie slideshow with clips of the excerpts used in the show, and I do some simple sound editing. The movie includes explanations about what each piece means and how it will all flow together. The staff proofs the video, and we put it online as a sneak peek just before we show it to our classes. Usually a couple of students find it early, and it gets the buzz going and the students talking. Even some of the middle school directors show it in their classrooms.
    Many students go into the summer already knowing they want to march in the fall, but some students are fence sitters. Some have not made up their minds whether to do band, theater, or athletics. The athletic director and I work to make sure students hear the same script from both of us. We tell students thinking of dropping athletics for band or band for athletics to do both their freshman year of high school. They might make both an athletic team and band as a freshman, but they don’t have a job or a car, just school, so the load should be bearable.
    Other students are simply unsure they are up to the task. The only thing that many middle school students know about high school band is what they see on the field, which to them looks extremely difficult, and what they have done in middle school. They assume high school band is simply an extension of middle school band, and it is not. High school band, especially marching band, is a different world. To introduce high school band to incoming freshmen, we have Hype Day, which is a preview day for marching band.

    Hype Day is on a Saturday in May. In the morning, we show how marching fundamentals work. The entire band attends, not just incoming freshmen, and we separate students by section to do a couple activities and icebreakers. Then we get into the details of marching band rehearsals, and take students through a pretty full version of stretching, running, and everything we do in rehearsal. We spend a couple hours before lunch teaching students how to march. The goal is for students to do eight forward steps with their horns up. More than teaching students how to march, Hype Day is about showing students what the climate and pace are like. When the say the reality of how small the steps are broken down and what our approach is, they realize they can handle it.
    We dispel all the myths. After lunch we pull students in and have a music rehearsal with the same step-by-step approach, so students see what happens in rehearsals. Again, this is because students only see the finished product; I do not want students to think the music is too hard for them to ever play well. We excerpt two minutes out of the show and run a number of stand tunes as well. I take the parents to a parent meeting while my associates continue the rehearsal. I speak briefly to parents about what we have done and encourage them to engage their children and ask many questions. Just as we have to teach students how to be band students, we have to teach the parents how to be band parents. I give parents some of the specifics they can bring up to get students to do more than shrug their shoulders and say everything was fine.
    In the last 30 minutes we do a show and tell for the parents. The guard does a one-minute routine. The drumline comes out and plays warm-up exercises, as does the front ensemble, then the wind section comes out and we play some full band tunes. At the end of this, students feel extremely invested. About 50% of the fence sitters come back after that day, saying, “This isn’t at all what I thought it would be, and I absolutely want to try it.” Of our students who are still sitting the fence after this, I tell parents that it would be smart to have them come try again when band camp starts. They have just invested three years in middle school band and should be absolutely certain before they give it up. Band is not like choosing a movie; students are choosing what to do with their lives.  

Some of the resources discussed in show planning and recruiting are available at .

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