In the example, the chord tones (1,3,5,7) fall on the weak part of the beat (with the exception of the first root), making it seem as though the chord is actually 1-2-4-6 instead of 1-3-5-7.

    The bebop scale adds an extra note (the natural seventh), which places all the chord tones on the strong part of the beat.

    There are four rules to the bebop scale:

1. Start the scale on any chord tone (1, 3, 5, or 7).
2. Start the scale on the strong part of any beat.
3. Play continuous eighth notes until ready to stop the phrase.
4. Do not skip notes.

    When all the above rules are followed, an improviser can play the scale, switching direction at any time, and the chord tones will always remain on the strong part of the beat because of the scale’s symmetrical nature.

    Below is an example of a simple use of the scale, applied to a blues progression. There are actually three different bebop scales in use, one for each of the chords.

    The transitions between the three different chords and bebop scales in this progression must be smooth. On the last eighth note of the measure before a chord change, play a note that is a half step below or above a chord tone of the new scale. Below are examples of the different transitions.

    With the use of the bebop scale, young improvisers can begin to move beyond the confines of the blues scale and start exploring other possibilities. As their knowlege of this scale expands and they become more comfortable with its use, their solos will continue to become more interesting and mature.   

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Single Tonguing
    As you are probably already aware, single tonguing is used when the notes are at a slow enough tempo that the tip of the tongue has time to return to the hard palate (roof of the mouth, toward the front) for each new note, resulting in tou tou tou tou tou tou. As notes become faster than players can single tongue, students will alternate tou with kou. This alternation is called multiple tonguing.
    Many method books spell the tonguing syllables tu and ku. The most popular pedagogical source of these syllables was a book written by Jean- Baptiste Arban, a Frenchman. For this reason, the pronunciation of these syllables should be understood in that language, and they should rhyme with boo. This article will spell them tou and kou to emphasize the correct pronunciation.
    The tou and kou syllables allow a quicker double and triple tongue than American approximation tuh and kuh. The pure tou is pronounced more towards the front of the mouth, while kuh is pronounced in the back of the mouth. The efficiency of the tou will create a smoother, quicker articulation for your students.
    Try having your players pronounce tou tou tou tou tou out loud, keeping a seamless, steady sound. Have them keep the air flow constant – the tongue simply intersects the airflow to create the articulation at the beginning of the note. The tongue never stops the air; it merely interrupts a continuous airflow.
    Now have them try the same thing with kou. They should use the very tip of their tongue to pronounce tou, and the front middle portion to pronounce kou. Once they have practiced these syllables out loud to a high level of consistency, have them try the same thing on their instrument.

Multiple Tonguing
    Once students have established a fast and consistent single-tonguing on both syllables, they are ready to begin multiple tonguing. You will actually have them start with triple tonguing, since this does not require them to switch between tou and kou on every single note.
    Once they get a firm grasp of how to triple tongue tou-tou-kou, they will be better equipped to handle the rapid alternation of the tou-kou in double tonguing. Triple tonguing combines the syllables of double tonguing in a three-note pattern. If triple tonguing has already been established, you simple have to drop a syllable for double tonguing.
    Like single tonguing, multiple tonguing must be practiced slowly and carefully to maintain good control at every speed. In multiple tonguing, kou is the weakest syllable, simply because students have used tou since their beginning days.
    Now that players have learned multiple tonguing, practice articulating slow passages using only the kou. The goal is to make the kou sound identical to tou. Once they feel comfortable with this articulation, have them add the tou and kou together slowly. Have them gradually increase the speed, varying the dynamic as well so their tonguing is flexible.
Multiple tonguing is a rapid reflection of their single tongue. If your students do not have a rapid single tongue, their multiple tongue will not be fast enough either.  

Etude Books That Focus Specifically on Tonguing

Complete Conservatory Method by Jean-Baptiste Arban (Colin, 1981).
Exercises for Double and Triple Tonguing by Edwin Franko Goldman (Carl Fischer, 1912).
Double and Triple Tonguing by Sigmund Hering (Carl Fischer, 2004).
Practical Studies for Trumpet by Edwin Franko Goldman (Carl Fischer, 1921).
Trumpet Method (Book I) by Allen Vizzutti (Alfred, 1991).
Twenty-Seven Groups of Exercises by Earl Irons (Southern, 1977).
Thirty Six Etudes Transcendates by Theo Charlier (Leduc, 1946) – etudes #16 and #18.

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Check the Instrument
    First, check the student’s equipment to make sure that it is appropriate to the task and in functional condition. A damaged mouthpiece or leaking instrument can make low range playing difficult or impossible for even professional saxophonists. In addition, a reed that is too soft or hard, damaged, or worn out can cause many problems. A moderate mouthpiece with a medium-strength reed, a high-quality ligature, and a functional saxophone are all essential.
    Next, make sure that the student’s mouthpiece is not pulled out excessively. Most saxophones are designed to perform correctly when the mouthpiece is pushed fairly far onto the cork. If pulled too far out, not only will intonation suffer, but the response of both the lowest and highest ranges will be thrown off greatly.

Resist Change
    An innocuous suggestion to help many young saxophonists in the low range has actually caused most of the anguish surrounding this range of the saxophone. The instruction “drop your jaw” will make it virtually impossible to play in the instrument’s lower depths. Instead, young players should fight every temptation to change their embouchure. At every range of the saxophone, the best course is no change at all, whether in the lips, jaw, or airstream. For every note of the saxophone, the student should focus on breathing low in the abdomen and allowing all air to flow out of the bell.
    Another piece of advice along this line is that soft dynamics in the low range of the saxophone should not be emphasized too early. The first attempts at performing and articulating in the lower range should be attempted at fairly strong dynamics so that proper air support can be achieved. Once students are comfortable, they can transfer these new skills to softer dynamic levels.

Flicking
    One technique can make performing lower pitches a bit easier once the above is kept in mind. The lower the note, generally speaking, the longer the air column in the saxophone that must be activated. This contributes to the difficulties in starting low notes.
    The flick technique is used by many saxophonists on initial articulations in the lower register to ease performance. When playing an F4 or below, the saxophonist should raise the first finger in either the right or left hand. At the split second before initiating the attack, the open finger should be closed, helping the airstream to begin vibrating. This may take a bit of work to avoid out-of-sync finger closing, but ultimately, it will help the performance of lower notes.

For Advanced Players
    A final word should be mentioned about a small trick that can be used only once the performer is comfortable with lower pitches. The saxophone is sometimes called upon in both solo and wind ensemble literature to begin passages very softly in the lowest reaches of the instrument. Once all of the above has been fully developed, the saxophonist can aid soft attacks by pulling up slightly into the reed with the lower lip. This will dampen the vibrations of the reed, causing a more easily controlled attack. This is the only time that I ever advocate any change in saxophonist embouchure at all.

    These pointers will help young saxophonists with a skill that often seems difficult. Once the lower range is mastered, saxophonists will be one step closer to having complete control of their instrument.   

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    We spend countless hours instructing students how to navigate the nomenclature of music, but as Alice Parker¹ stated in The Anatomy of Melody, “My belief is that a page of music conveys about five percent of the information needed to perform it.” This suggests that the written page at best conveys only part of what a musician needs to know for a successful performance. The process must move beyond the written page to include an internal sense of what provides creativity and soul to a performance.

Score Study
    Score study is an ongoing process that empowers a conductor to hear the score in such a way as to know the parts both individually and collectively, making it possible to anticipate what comes next in the music without looking at the score. The macro-micro-macro approach to score study is recommended.

Macro
    Learning a score is not simply a matter of memorizing what note follows another. Rather it is the process of discerning the composer’s intent. Begin with a brief scan of the overview of the piece, casually turning through the score. Points of interest include: key signatures, time signatures, tempo, major section changes, the overall simplicity or complexity of the piece, and groupings of instruments.

Micro
    Each successive look at the score takes the conductor deeper into the process. The first thing to look for is melody and whether it is major, minor, modal, pentatonic, or synthetic. On the second pass through the score, analyze the harmony. This should be followed by study of phrasing, development, style, meter, rhythms, transitions, cadences, modulations, groupings of instruments by color, overall form (binary, rondo, sonata, through composed, programmatic), and contrast.

Macro
    Finally, take the small building blocks and gradually piece them together until the work is again seen as a whole. By now the conductor should have a working knowledge of the tonal and harmonic scheme, overall form, and style as intended by the composer. After some initial analysis, begin the rehearsal, realizing that more analysis will be necessary as the process evolves. This also spurs thought for determining what elements of the music exist outside the printed page.

Rehearsals
    It is during rehearsal that a true back-and-forth between what is on the page and what is not begins. Rehearsal is where the process towards attaining perfection becomes paramount, from how to approach the first run-through to how style is taught, technical problems are addressed, intonation difficulties are resolved, and all the minutiae from one measure to the next involving tone quality, accents, articulation, and balance are addressed. Michelangelo once said, “Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.” Simply put, Michelangelo understood that his task was to eliminate all the stone that was not the intended object. Likewise, our job is to eliminate everything that doesn’t constitute the piece of music at hand, from the notes on the page to the unprinted subtle refinements. A block of marble is sometimes sacrificed to early sculpting attempts, but musicians get to try as many times as necessary until the product is refined. While methods for achieving this include an exhaustive list, here are a few suggestions, some of which may seem a little outside the norm.

Learning the Notes
    British oboist Léon Goossens² said, “It is most important to eliminate the garbage between the notes so there is no noise.” Eliminating the garbage between the notes means finding the most efficient method of achieving technical mastery of a music passage. To begin, practice slowly. Repeatedly practicing too quickly is similar to the definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different outcome. Clarinetist Eddie Daniels² said, “I slow things down so much, it’s maybe to the point where I’m playing sixteenth notes as though they were whole notes, and I listen intently to each note.”
    Students are especially prone to working out a passage too quickly, so I tell them to reduce the tempo to where they cannot miss a note – so slow that it is boring. This usually takes several attempts, until the optimum slowness is achieved. Practicing slowly allows musicians to move smoothly from one note to the next, thus eliminating the garbage. The aim is to smooth the transitions between notes before speeding up the tempo. Continue by increasing the tempo by small increments. The subsequent repetition allows the sequence of notes to become second nature.
    If a musical passage remains problematic, here are three suggestions. First, when working out a sequence of several notes, the initial attempt usually involves starting over multiple times at the beginning. After working at a slow tempo, if attempts to speed up the sequence are unsuccessful, try playing the sequence backwards. This provides a different perspective to the fingering pattern. After a couple of times through this process, playing it forward usually goes better. Granted this is only practical with individual practice or ensemble sections playing the same line.
    In similar fashion, when practicing an extended line, try starting towards the end (the last measure or two), then work back gradually, adding notes and measures until arriving at the starting point. This is more efficient than starting at the beginning of the passage repeatedly and never reaching the end with satisfactory results. Shifting the focus to the end of the passage insures a more balanced number of repetitions for the entire line.
Another option is to focus immediately on the problem spots at the next practice session. Rehearse them and then play through the piece without stopping; this provides a more accurate gauge of where real progress has been made as well as identifying what spots need to be isolated next.

Problems in Articulation
    When working for consistent articulation, there are a couple of areas that might be cause for concern. Sometimes wind players do not separate level of volume from level of attack. For instance, when playing at fortissimo they tend to accent the notes accordingly, even when not indicated. Conductors should work with their ensembles to distinguish between the two.
    Another critical point for wind players is fast articulations. The faster the articulation, the more the tongue inhibits the airstream. As a consequence, if the notes do not respond smoothly, the fingers and the tongue get out of sync, slowing the process down. When this happens players need to be reminded to keep the air speed up and push more air through the instrument while tonguing. If the sequence of fingerings is working smoothly and the airstream is no longer inhibited by the tongue, the passage should play at a higher speed.
    To encourage better airflow, have the students direct fast, cold air on their hand placed about six inches in front of their face. Then have them tongue several times in a row without stopping the airstream, feeling as close to the same amount of air on their hand as possible. Have the students use the same amount of air on a set pitch such as concert F, tonguing at whatever tempo is deemed necessary. After these steps, apply the same concepts to the original music. Conversely, when playing slower articulation in a marcato style, it is important to develop the ability to play several notes, each one establishing a somewhat separate burst of air all on one breath.

Style
    Style is crucial when considering the composer’s intent. Knowledge of the time period when the music was written as well as other works of the composer is necessary. This is the point at which going beyond the printed page becomes crucial. For example, one must determine what a particular notation might or might not mean in the context of the music at hand or by preconceived ideas. One has to interpret what is meant by such symbols as:

Each of these markings comes with questions:

1. How short is staccato? Is it always half the value of the note? Does it depend on style period or tempo?
2. How long is tenuto? Should there be any space between the notes for the sake of clarity, or are they completely connected?
3 and 6. Is there any space between accented notes? If so, how much? If not, how do these two markings differ?
4. What does this mean? Is it any different than playing in a marcato style?
5. Is this shorter than marcato, presuming there can be agreement on what marcato means?
7. How much accent does this note get? How long is the note?
8 and 9. Although the definitions are consistent, what determines the length of implementation?

    Francis McBeth took five of these symbols and requested definitions from fourteen established conductors and composers. As expected, the answers were somewhat inconsistent.³ Given this lack of uniformity, it will be necessary to decide what these markings mean for each composition studied.
    Here are some markings common in wind parts.

Given a tempo of q = 120 or faster, there are decisions to make about performance. First is whether the notation is to be played in a marcato style. Even if no designation is given, the markings suggest it anyway. Marcato translates as stressed or distinct with emphasis. To that end, the quarter notes and eighth notes need to be played less connected. The opposite is true of the sixteenth notes. It is confusing and counterproductive to indicate staccato on sixteenth notes at a fast tempo. At that tempo, the notes cannot be played any shorter. The staccato markings are likely meant to provide greater clarity for the articulation, but that is contrary to the definition of staccato. The result is unhelpful, especially with less experienced players. In an effort to play shorter, tone projection often drops and the tongue gets sluggish, causing the tempo to slow down because the tongue is blocking the airstream excessively.
    To counteract this effect I request that players articulate each note with plenty of front, push more air through the melodic line, and play the notes full value. The sixteenth notes will be heard with greater projection and will be tongued with more consistency without dragging.

    Although the end result does not produce sixteenth notes that are twice as loud, it does provide a more consistent volume across the measure. It also means that a correct rendition may be somewhat contrary to the original indication on the page.
    The space between accented notes is also important. The following excerpt is from King Bombardon by W.P. English:

Providing a slight space between the notes enhances the accents. Tonguing the note already provides some space in the sound, and tapering the air at the other end of the note further defines the note and enhances the implied marcato style. In this example, spacing all the notes, both on and off the beat, provides additional clarity in the interplay between the two lines. The result should sound something like this:

    As a general rule, playing in a marcato style applies to all the notes, not just the shorter ones. However, avoid shortening notes to the point that the music sounds brittle. If this happens, suggest to the players that they should feel the separation more than hear it. The goal is to provide clarity for each note, not just require space between the notes.

Finishing Phrases
    One of the rules for reading music is to look ahead. By anticipating what comes next performers lessens the potential for having to stop. However, there are situations where it is necessary to maintain attention in the moment a little longer. When the music finishes one section and transitions immediately to the next (for example, the second strain of a march leading into the trio), students sometimes lose focus on the end of the first section in anticipation of the next. When this happens rehearse the first section to its conclusion and stop. Once this sounds acceptable, introduce both ideas together again.

Finishing Notes
    Be sure wind players learn to stop the sound at the end of a note by tapering off the air instead of using the tongue. Although this is a foundation of good playing, it is not always followed.

Shaping Phrases – Hear the Rainbow
    The great cellist Pablo Casals suggested that all music is a series of rainbows.⁴ These are especially obvious when viewing the arcs written above most phrases. Make sure players adhere to these marks by creating a logical rise and fall of dynamics, while also understanding that successive arcs do not necessarily indicate the same dynamics and intensity. Also, there are times when a rainbow is needed, even though no indication is provided; a musical line should have direction – either gradually getting louder or softer, but almost never remaining constant. This is especially true when the same pitch is reiterated over and over again.

Shaping Notes
    When a phrase or melody seems dull and lackluster, equate the musical line to a spoken sentence in which each note is a separate word. As each word in a sentence has inflection and emphasis, so should the player strive to provide each note its own presence.

Balance
    Determining the correct balance is an ongoing process that must take the importance of each line into consideration. Focusing the ensemble’s awareness on each separate musical idea allows the players to understand how their parts fit. Avoid presuming students understand this without discussion. Conversely, directors should not ignore a line solely because it is not the melody or worse, because students struggle to play it correctly. Avoid keeping a part softer than indicated, hoping no one will hear it. Instead, directors should teach all lines and impress on the players the importance of each line. One would think that this goes without saying, but it does not.
    There are two ways to promote better understanding of balance between musical lines and across the ensemble. First, have everyone play pianissimo. When everyone is playing soft, the parts collectively can be heard more easily. After identifying all the parts, establish each part in balance at the appropriate dynamic level, as required by the interpretation.
    Second, if the room allows it, arrange the entire ensemble in a big circle, so everyone is facing each other. This allows everyone to hear more parts than when they are in respective rows, and players sitting in the back row have the opportunity to hear the players who normally sit in the front row. Students enjoy the change of pace this setup provides.
    Dynamics written on the page should allow for personal interpretation at times. Solos that are marked p need to be heard, and brass parts marked ff should not bury the rest of the ensemble. Sometimes written dynamics should be considered a suggestion; the number of players in a particular section (too many or too few), hall acoustics, and confidence of the players can all affect the music. To evaluate this, conductors should occasionally step away form the podium to get a better sense of what the audience will hear. Also, when a new line, either solo or sectional, makes an entrance the first note or two should be louder than indicated if the dynamic is softer than mf so audience attention is drawn to the new idea immediately rather than several notes later.⁵

Conclusion
    Musicians usually understand they are responsible for mastering the notes on the printed page. They may not always realize that they are permitted to go beyond the page to discover the magic of the music as the composer intended. Strive to unlock the creative qualities of each piece of music.   

Endnotes
1 The Anatomy of Melody, A Cautionary Note, by Alice Parker, p. xxi.
2 The Mastery of Music by Barry Green, p. 86-87.
3 Effective Performance of Band Music by Francis McBeth, p. 18-29.
4 Casals and the Art of Interpretation by David Blum, p. 21.
5 The Dynamic Orchestra by Elizabeth A.H. Green, p. 12.

The post Past the Page, Moving from Reading Notes to Beautiful Performance appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    Mike Howard has witnessed dramatic growth and progress at Vandegrift High School in Austin, Texas, where he has taught since it opened in 2009. He expects the program to grow from 280 to 320 next school year. His bands have been consistent UIL Concert Contest Sweepstakes Awards Winners, TMEA State Honor Band Finalists, and, most recently, the UIL State Marching Contest State Silver Medalist. Now in his 13th year of teaching, Howard previously taught at James E. Taylor High School in Katy. For the past 10 years he has been a leadership consultant and workshop presenter for SASI. He is a graduate of Texas State University and lives in Cedar Park with his wife and two children.

How did you instill leadership at Vandegrift High School when it first opened?
    As a new high school we did not have any experienced high school band members, so we asked some recent graduates in the area to help during the first few weeks of the initial marching season. That was the beginning of teaching our students how to lead and teach. Our student leadership team now has 50 members.

What exercises help to train student leaders?
    We teach them the nuts and bolts of giving instruction. We discuss how and when to share information with students. As part of their training and audition process, prospective student leaders get to practice teaching students. We have 15-minute teaching units that allow staff members to  observe students teaching their peers. We provide detailed feedback during that instructional period. At some schools, leadership auditions include mostly marching and performance skills, but we watch primarily to see how students interact with their peers. We want leaders who can consistently and effectively instruct their fellow students. As we continue training, many of our team-building exercises focus on how to give constructive feedback the right way.

What are the most common mistakes in these teaching labs?
    The most common issues are fairly simple: speaking in a voice that is easily heard and understood and making eye contact with the group. Sometimes students have quite a bit of information to share, and try to say it all at the same time. We help them give quick, concise information. They tend to explain too much and lack effective communication skills. We tell students that the best way to overcome inexperience and nerves is through increased preparation. Once students get out of their shell and learn to make eye contact and speak loudly enough, the next big hiccup is identifying the single biggest problem and addressing one thing at a time.
    Student instructors begin their training by working with more experienced students. That starts them in a comfortable setting. We move next to working with eighth-grade volunteers from our middle schools. These students know how to play instruments but know nothing about marching. That is where student leaders build their teaching vocabulary.

How do you use student leaders during the year?
    The leadership team has 50 members for 280 students in the marching band and four concert bands. Everybody has a clear role. During marching season, we have three leadership roles. Our drum majors and drill instructors, provide instruction and feedback on the field. When we start the band season in the fall, those student leaders will receive daily goals. On the first day of summer band, all of my drill instructors and drum majors know that they are going to have 30 minutes to teach such concepts as posture or forward march. I always introduce the concept, but student instructors emphasize it with their sections. Those students have to turn in a lesson plan before they can teach that section on a given day. Each day in summer band, students know what their job will be in terms of a 15- or 30-minute lesson.
    We have another group of leaders to handle logistics. We have a VP of logistics in charge of loading the truck, a VP of uniforms who runs the uniform room, a VP of communications who makes copies and manages social media messages.
    Finally, we have section leaders who are musical leaders of our team. These are students listen to music pass-offs outside of rehearsals and conduct inspections before games and contests. They do not teach marching skills.
    During concert season, the logistical jobs stay pretty much the same. Our drill instructors and section leaders move into a musical leadership role. Outside of rehearsal, they have certain expectations for their sections and for pass-offs. Section leaders preserve unity in each section during the transition from one large marching band to four concert bands. We want a trombone player in the fourth band to feel as much a part of the group as a lead player in the first band.
    Students hold their leadership positions until April, and then we audition a new team that starts preparing for the upcoming marching season. Many groups have a leadership team that functions from August through October and then goes away. We try to have a full-year cycle that starts in April. Students have jobs and receive some type of training the whole time.
    The band staff tell students that leadership is a skill, not just a talent. It can constantly improve. We have leadership sessions throughout the year. Some are done in house and others are activities like a ropes course or book studies. The SASI Student Leadership Curriculum is the springboard for our leadership training and the underlying model for our philosophy. We have also partnered with K & N Management, a company that owns a number of restaurants in Austin and proposed a joint leadership program with their managers and our student leaders. For the last four months we have participated in leadership training with the heads of various departments in the company. I suspect that many of our students will someday manage other people. This program lets them talk to people who already have those jobs.

How do section leaders help maintain unity during concert band season?
    Social events are a big part of it. For many kids in the third and fourth band, music is a social outlet. They will work really hard, but do not expect to have a career in music. They want to be part of something bigger. They want a social group. We require one social event per month with the full instrument section. They may go bowling or play video games. Events at a nearby lake are also popular. It is a concrete way to have a section get along.
    I talk to students in the wind ensemble and the symphonic band (the top two groups) and ask how many times they have met a player in the fourth band to play their music with them or talk. We want constant and consistent communication between players in different groups. Validation from older students means more to the younger players than anything I could ever say.

What do the new student leaders do at the end of the school year and during the summer?
    The biggest responsibility is to connect and communicate with incoming eighth graders. We try to make the new students feel comfortable as quickly as possible. As with any program, we have eighth graders who are on the fence about continuing in music. The best tool for getting those kids in the door is the student leadership team.
    A student-to-student discussion about the high school band program is much more valuable than one with a teacher. We have a night for students and parents who are new to the band program. It consists of two separate meetings that occur at the same time. Directors meet with parents and go through costs, trips, and logistics. Students attend a meeting led by the student leaders, who hold a question-and-answer session about band and high school in general with no adults present. They break up by section and have an icebreaker activity. Calming the fears of the new students is the first big project for the new student leaders.
    In the summer there are training sessions. A couple of summers ago, students started turning social activities into training sessions. They get together at a park or someone’s house and hold an hour-long music or marching practice. Immediately following, they have some sort of fun activity. Right before marching starts up, we have a three-day training period to discuss our improvement strategies for all, staff included.

How far in advance do you set goals for your marching program?
    The band staff starts planning summer band goals in June. We hold a marching band preview camp for three hours after school for a week in May. One objective is to learn the show opener and school songs. We want to get students excited about band. The staff can then set timelines for August, based on numbers, instrumentation, and ability. Our goal is to have a month free of band starting in late June or early July.
    Once we return in the third week of July, we hold staff and student leadership meetings to map out our daily and weekly goals for the next month. For students we will specify in July when we want to learn everything. We create a production schedule, and students put it on a giant poster in the band hall. The staff takes that schedule and develops a daily schedule with our lessons for the next three or four weeks. We try to stay two weeks ahead on our planning.
    For the first eight or nine years of my career, I created plans that were either completely unreasonable or too easy. It took quite some time to get to the point at which I could determine what could be done well in a given time. Thus, we talk frequently with students about flexibility in lesson plans.

What were your improvement goals this year?
    One of my big goals for marching band was to further define marching techniques from player to player, something that was lacking last year. The foot placement and timing were pretty good, but the kids looked different from player to player moving across the field, specifically on backward technique. It was important get students looking better while moving backwards. The year before we played better than we looked. We flipped the coin and were almost stronger visually than we sounded.
    I wanted the concert bands to improve at conveying musical ideas. We were technically proficient, but none of the groups were particularly musical. You think you sound musical until you listen to a recording. That is one reason I programmed Lincolnshire Posy this year. I knew Grainger would force us to play more musically. It is some of the most emotionally invested playing that we have ever done. Our goals influenced music selection for all four bands this year. We want to marry proficiency with musicality. Many ensembles are good at one but not both.

How do you work on developing musicality beyond the music selected?
    First, the directors have to commit to professional development. After I pick my program, I consult with people who know that music really well. We are fortunate to have people nearby with great wisdom and experience, including folks at the University of Texas. We also bring in clinicians in to work with our groups. In addition, a shift in focus is necessary. With movement two of Lincolnshire Posy, I treat shape and phrase as equal in importance to intonation or quality tone.
    I monitor our progress by recording our groups frequently. People do not record their ensembles nearly enough. It is expected that the staff and I will record whatever we are running through at the end of rehearsal. We have a simple microphone plugged into an iPod or computer, and everybody records their band every day. It is one thing to make something sound good live. It is a harder to make it come off in a recording. Nine times out of ten the recording does not sound the way I want it to, so I list possible improvements or send it to somebody who is smarter than I am and ask for their ideas.
    Everybody needs a mentor, and we are in a business where so many people offer themselves and share what they know. I have a group of mentors who continue to listen to my recordings and bands regularly.

How do you develop strong individual players?
    TMEA develops a repertoire list for every instrument for all-state auditions. We use that music for our individual music component in the fall. The music is divided into sections, and students have to play those sections at a hearing time, as we call it. One morning a week they have a masterclass on that music with a professional on their instrument. Typically, members of our private lesson staff hold these sessions but not always. While masterclasses take place, the directors listen to hearing times in their offices.
    Students have a 15-minute hearing time every two weeks, and they receive immediate feedback, a score, and a grade. Once we finish hearing times for a given section, we post a ranking of all of the players in a section without including the scores. There is a certain competitiveness that develops. This goes on until November. The hearing times typically cover about 40 measures of music. Then we have mock auditions at school to prepare for the region band auditions. The region masterclass/hearing time process requires about an hour and twenty minutes of student time in the morning in addition to regular marching band rehearsals.
    In the first half of the spring, we have a set of chamber groups that rehearse. Some are traditional quintets, but there is also a choir for each instrument. There is a chamber concert at the end of the semester and other opportunities to perform. The clarinet choir applied to the Midwest Clinic this year.
    Around spring break, students get hearing times on their solos. Every student must to play a solo at our solo competition. Those hearing times are not scored but offer a chance for a short private lesson with a director. It is logistically difficult to do all of this, but it makes a difference.

What advice do you have for a new teacher?
1. Find multiple great mentors. Do not be afraid to ask questions.
2. Take private lessons on as many of the instruments as you can.
3. Find great people to work with. I am fortunate to work with Paul Pape, Stephanie Grote, and Katie Rozacky, who are all wonderful directors at Vandegrift High School.
4. Students are capable of much more than we sometimes think. There is a wonderful musician in every student. We just have to chip away to make it come out.
    I am a percussionist and when I started 13 years ago, I set up private lessons with our faculty. I asked my mentor at the time, Eddie Green, what instrument I needed to learn first. He said clarinet, so I immediately took a semester of clarinet lessons. Some of the instruments I was great at; on others, I was terrible. Gaining a knowledge of the instruments is hugely important.
    Since Vandegrift opened, I have overseen woodwind instruction, and that background came from my first couple of years as a teacher. The most important thing I learned about woodwinds is how much the mouthpiece, ligature, and reed matter. It means way more than many people think. Obviously, the embouchure matters, but the set-up is often overlooked. With clarinet, horn, trumpet, and oboe, if it is set up wrong, it is just physically difficult to play. I had a teacher who rode me on this topic. That’s when I really started to educate my students on it.
    With all instruments, the general concept is free relaxed vibration, whether vibrating a reed or inside a mouthpiece. Over time you, learn what a correct face and embouchure look like. It all comes back to air. Eddie Green, Tom Shine, and Jeremy Spicer taught me how air should be used correctly, how to use different parts of body, what should not look tense, and how to keep your body calm while moving enough fast air to create great vibrations. Their mentorship has been invaluable to me as a percussionist.  

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    There are no losers in music. Every person who sings or plays a musical instrument is a winner. Any young person who sacrifices free time and energy to develop musical talent should never be considered a loser. We know that, but sometimes our students don’t. Although I have a philosophical problem with competition among school music groups, particularly jazz ensembles, I have discovered a way to participate without compromising my beliefs.
    It is important for students to see and hear ensembles from other schools. Because competitive festivals often attract the better groups, they are probably the place to go. I have known directors who avoided all festivals because they felt their ensemble was not good enough to be evaluated, or they had convinced themselves ­and their students that their ensemble was so good that evaluation would be meaningless. Both of these types of directors have cast their students away on a musical island.
    Three years ago our jazz ensemble was scheduled to participate in a competitive festival when I became sick the week prior to the event. I let the kids decide if they wanted to perform without me, directing themselves in the warmup room and onstage. Two other teachers in the music department agreed to chaperone, and the musical equivalent of Rocky was set in motion. Off the kids went to do battle with bands that compete every month while I waited anxiously in bed by the telephone for the verdict.
    At the year-end class evaluation, the students in that ensemble wrote that the experience of performing under their own direction was one of the most meaningful of any during the four years of high school. Even now, when they stop by to visit during their college vacations, they recall that experience as important in my demonstrating trust and respect for them. They saw I was willing to sacrifice our school’s or my reputation, should they lose at the festival, in a desire to treat them as individuals. In just one day they learned that I meant what I had been telling them for years: that winning was not that important. It was more important for them to stand on their own as individual musicians, rather than lifeless performers of songs under my direction.
    Early this school year I asked our first and second jazz ensembles if they wanted to enter a competitive festival with student directors leading the ensemble. They were enthusiastic about the idea. This past weekend these bands competed in a festival in which 40 other ensembles participated. While we regularly participate in non-competitive events, this festival was only our school’s third competition in six years, and none of the students in the current ensemble had ever competed.
    Both groups had already performed their three festival selections in a concert a few weeks earlier. After identifying and agreeing on two or three student leaders in each group, our most advanced ensemble was left completely to themselves for about two weeks prior to the festival to rehearse on their own. I rehearsed the second ensemble until a lunchtime concert in our school cafeteria a few days before the jazz festival.
    To prepare for the competition, the student directors planned the rehearsals, tuned the ensemble, started and stopped the selections, and practiced acknowledging the audience’s applause. Everyone else was responsible for their own stage setup, tear down, and microphone placement. I had taught them the music; it was their job to play it.
    The day of the festival both groups organized themselves in the warmup room and directed themselves on stage while I sat in the audience, now understanding how nervous their parents feel at concerts.
    What was the value of this venture? In their rehearsals, students played through the program and discussed what was good and bad about each selection. The value of this experience was particularly evident in a comment one student made following a rehearsal. A 4th trumpet player, who had never before said much during rehearsals, told me, ‘We had just finished playing, and I had something really important I wanted to say. It was going to make a difference. Just as I was about to make my comment, someone cracked a joke, everyone laughed, and the entire mood of the rehearsal changed. I felt empty inside. The significance of my comment was lost forever, so I never made my suggestion.”
    One of the student directors made an equally enlightened observation: “Before we did this, I thought I wanted to be a music major in college. Now I know I want to major in music.”
    There are two ways of looking at the experience of performing without a director. The first says that a competing ensemble should have every available advantage with no handicaps to keep the students from performing at their best level. To play without a director in front to remind them of dynamics, intonation, tempo, and to encourage them to make confident entrances and releases, is an unfair handicap.
    A second philosophy suggests that we can participate in competitions to achieve the greatest educational potential for our students. What better educational experience can a director provide for students than to allow them to explore their own creative potential by directing themselves, thus become responsible for their own dynamic control, intonation, tempo, and confident entrances and releases?
    Perhaps we are underestimating our own students once we have taught them the music. Marching band directors who allow field commanders to run rehearsals are the closest to allowing a student-directed experience and such an experience is not possible with concert bands at contest. But what an experience it would be to turn a concert band over to a willing student director or student teacher for one or two weeks prior to a band contest. By allowing our students to direct themselves, it gives us a chance to show that we are serious when we say, “It really doesn’t matter whether we win or lose.”
    When I first started teaching, I fell prey to the temptations of competition. I called extra marching band rehearsals in a selfish attempt to fill a trophy case, all in a desire to direct my own private drum corps. I now wish I could call each of my former students and apologize. Fortunately, I managed to change jobs before having an ulcer, a divorce, or a heart attack. I got a fresh start and will never again measure success, musicianship, or my teaching ability by the contents of a trophy case.
    You are probably wondering who won the two festivals in which the students directed themselves. All I can say is, there are no losers in music.

James Warrick
May 1988

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