Bernard J. Dobroski, who served as Dean of the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University from 1990-2003, passed away on February 19 at age 76. His many professional titles included tubist, administrator, educator, and editor. In his early career, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in music performance from Carnegie Mellon University and a Master’s in music performance and music history from Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. From 1968-1972 he was a tubist and keyboardist with the U.S. Navy Concert Band. He had a number of performing and conducting roles during his time in the Navy.

Dobroski earned a a PhD from Northwestern in 1981 and held several faculty and administrative positions at the the school between 1974-1985 before joining the University of Oregon School of Music as Dean in 1986. He remained in the post at Oregon until becoming the sixth Dean of the Northwestern School of Music in 1990. His time leading the School of Music has been praised for work on student and faculty recruitment, expanded courses for non-majors, and increased community engagement. After completing his tenure as Dean in 2003, he remained part of the Northwestern faculty until retirement in 2020.

He also served as the founding editor, along with colleague Cliff Colnot, of Accent magazine. The publication, aimed at high school musicians, was a lively and less-serious younger sibling to The Instrumentalist, and was published from 1976-1982.

The post Bernard J. Dobroski appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

“I am sorry, but you are not our first choice.”

No one ever wants to hear those words, but there I was, hearing them after being called into a meeting. We often talk about and praise the successes of people in our field and rightfully so. We post on social media the great things that happen. We get the congratulatory messages, and it feels amazing. There is much more to the story.

I have had three college teaching positions in my 22-year career. The first was a one-year appointment that turned into a three-year job when my predecessor chose to not return after a year away. The second lasted 11 years and was the 11th job I applied for that year and only the second interview. Neither of these positions became tenure track until after I left.

They were great positions, and I was quite happy in both. Jobs in our field are hard to get, and it can seem inexplicable why someone is selected. There are so many qualified people for so few jobs. As a mentor once told me, “every person on a committee has a different view of what the job of a percussion teacher is.”

As we get older, many of us start families and want our children to grow up with closer contact with their grandparents. This was true in my case. My parents were no longer with us, so I wanted our daughters to be closer to the grandparents they still had. I began looking for jobs closer to Alabama and applied for pretty much everything. For a couple of the positions I really wanted, I didn’t even receive an interview. Those jobs have now had eight teachers combined in the later years.

Finally, a one-year appointment at a job that seemed perfect for my particular set of skills (I owe Liam Neeson for that one!) came open. The position included a heavy marching program along with percussion studio work. It seemed perfect, but I knew that leaving an 11-year position for a one-year appointment was a huge risk. You know that the job will become open in a year, and you will have to apply once again. I applied, sat for an interview, and then was offered the position.

My wife and I discussed it and decided the risk was worth taking, even if just for a year. I had built a career getting interviewed for positions and losing out to the person already in the job. I had enough hope that this time, I would get to keep the position. We packed up and moved.

The new program was already strong, so my first job was to avoid messing it up. I did my best to keep the program moving while making some small changes. The year felt like a success.

Later in the year, I was interviewed again. There are few things more awkward than interviewing for a job you already have. I have been interviewed by phone with hiring committees sitting in the office directly underneath mine. I have also rearranged my teaching schedule to be off campus on the days when someone one else is coming to apply for my job. Students and teaching colleagues meet job candidates and decide they like someone better after a single day than they like you after working together for a year.

“There is nothing you could have done differently. It was just not quite the right fit.”

There it is. This line is so hard for teachers to hear and understand. Having participated in several searches as part of the hiring committee, I still don’t know exactly what they mean by the right fit, but understand it better now. Someone can seem great during the playing, teaching, and interview portions and seem like a slam dunk hire. Once they get to campus on a daily basis, sometimes things just don’t feel right. These instructors are not bad. They are doing the right things, but they just don’t fit into the overall program. This feeling is difficult to quantify, but it can only be identified after a hiring decision

My reviews to that point had seemed fine, but something clearly was not working. More importantly, I was now unemployed and all of the jobs that had been open (which I had applied for to hedge my bets) were filled. Suddenly, I began the most focused panic mode of my life.

I quickly reached out to mentors and colleagues seeking any kind of available work. I started thinking about what other fields I could go into. I imagined uprooting a family that had grown to love the community and their schools after only a year. Everything was upside down. I was in a daze, but also as focused as I have ever been. I had to do something.

“Do you still want the position?”

Then, the phone rang on the way to dinner after a long week with no new information. On the phone is my now-former boss. “Do you still want the position?” I breathe the largest exhale of relief of my life. I have a job again. I have security. No one has to be uprooted. The funny thing about tenure-track positions is you have to go through a similar process again several years later.

You settle into the gig, molding the program closer to your vision. You feel like it is going well. Then it happens: the mid-tenure review. Now, most of the time this is “You are doing great. Here are a few things to look at doing.” Occasionally, the review is so brutal that you draft a resignation letter that day, thinking it is time to leave the field entirely. All of the work you thought had been really good hasn’t been viewed that way. Remember this from earlier: “Every single person on a committee has a different view of what the job of a percussion teacher is.” This is even more true on tenure lines. Now you know you have two years to fix that which took you three years to break.

You take the criticism deeply to heart. You try and address every weakness that you see, going overboard to fix everything. In a happy ending, you get a promotion, tenure, and more. That’s what happened to me, but it is not true for so many others. Having gone through all of this, I feel deeply for them whenever it happens. It is awful, it is depressing, and it makes you angry. It makes you doubt yourself. Then you have to pick up the pieces and move forward.

I write all of this because someone recently told me that they have watched me over the years as an example of staying in the fight. I taught fourteen years of non-tenure-track, and eight years later have been promoted to professor. For so many people, that’s all they see because social media is a curated timeline of what we want people to know about us. We see everyone’s successes. This is the story of my failures. I was fortunate to have a happy ending, but there were many moments when my path seemed utterly hopeless. It is important for people to see that side as well.

To those out there fighting the fight, I admire you and root for your success. I respect that you are in the arena trying to make it happen. For those who have moved on to other careers, I also see how successful and happy so many of you are after that change. I wish the best for everyone on this journey.

The post Staying in the Fight appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Getting students willing to think creatively and improvise fearlessly is a challenge and an opportunity in jazz education. A step-by-step process with a little teacher creativity thrown in can pay huge dividends. Once you have taught the basics, there is an approach that will stimulate student creativity and create a positive and enjoyable rehearsal atmosphere. I call it Pick a Card, Any Card.

The key to a successful experience for beginning improvisers is sequencing. In fact, sequencing is everything. Sequential, logical presentation of new concepts provides a scaffold for student success. Skip a step, and the scaffold collapses. Your opportunity to develop a fearless improviser vanishes. Recovery, I have found, is nearly impossible.

So what is the scaffold and how does it apply to Pick a Card? In this instance the scaffold starts with the blues, a springboard for many beginning improvisation instruction approaches, but not in the way you may think. Because the blues scale absorbs clashes with the dominant chord harmony used in blues progressions, the common approach is to slap a blues scale on that progression.

Herb Pomeroy, the great jazz pedagogue who taught at Berklee College of Music for 40 years, disabused me of the notion that the blues scale first approach is the best way to teach beginning improvisers. I recall our conversation vividly. “Tom, I never teach the blues scale. It desensitizes them to the fact that the blues has harmony. They end up finding that scale naturally.” There is much wisdom to this statement.

Photo by Kirby Fong

Think of it this way: the Bb blues scale is Bb, Db, Eb, E, F, Ab, Bb. The I chord in this progression is Bb. So, right off the bat the Db in the scale clashes with the D natural in the harmony. Herb’s point is proven as soon as the second note of the scale is played.

A better way is to start by teaching them a major pentatonic first – Bb, C, D, F, G. This sound is consonant on the Bb dominant chord. They are now aware of the harmony of the I chord. You have one, three and five as well as two and six (both of which are consonant.) The second chord in many blues pieces is the IV, or Eb. We will put this one off to the side for the time being.

The first key structural part of this progression is measure five. We make this change by giving them a target note for the Eb chord – the root. “Hit that note on the downbeat and you’re on your way.” I call this root default. Early on you have taught them that the blues does indeed have harmony. The other key structural spot is measure 9 – often a V or ii chord. V often goes to IV, so it is easy to say. “In bar 9 your target note is F. This slides down to Eb in the next measure.” A minor chord on measure 9 is another easy teaching opportunity. “Your target is a C, the root of the minor chord that occurs here. This is the only minor chord in this blues.”

In this simple way you have taught them the progression. The added bonus: they now have ears for dominant chords that will be invaluable when you move to non-blues progressions. How often have you gone to jazz festivals and heard soloists who sounded great on a blues but less impressive when applying the blues scale to everything else? That is most often the teacher’s fault.

Once students learn that blues does have harmony, teach them the minor pentatonic. Don’t add the blues scale quite yet. Now is the time to point out, “This sound clashes with the harmony, but that clash is the essence of the blues sound. When you use the minor pentatonic, there is no need to use root default, but you can if you wish.” A short time later, you tell them, “Add a raised fourth note to the minor pentatonic and you have a blues scale.”

Now they have three options – major pentatonic with root default, minor pentatonic, and blues. Once you get this basic note vocabulary taught, the challenge is teaching students to acquire a rhythmic vocabulary. Many younger (and older) improvisers get stuck in what one of my teachers referred to as “run on sentences.” The Pick a Card game can help here.

Here is how it works. First, illustrate that our jazz heroes often traffic in small cells, deceptively simple ideas. On a recent long term assignment I had as a substitute teacher, students and I discovered this while studying Red Garland’s Red’s Good Groove, Horace Silver’s Song for My Father, and Oliver Nelson’s Stolen Moments. Tenor Joe Henderson and pianist Horace Silver often play little licks on 123 or 134. Trumpeter Freddie Hubbard and Henderson, play their incessant, quickly repeating 321 321 321. In Stolen Moments, Nelson plays two note, long note ideas with sweet resolutions. The cards get the students out of their comfort zone and encourage them to try different improvisation concepts.

Make up flash cards with concepts such as, Minor Pentatonic, Blues, Major Pentatonic, Root Default, Root Solo, Short Ideas, Solo with Space, Longer Lines, Cliche Lick, Call and Response, Triplet Oriented, 123 (creating the three-note idea used by so many hard bop players), Vernacular (a solo with bends or drops, or guttural sounds and glissandi.) Connecting this discussion on three-note cells with the listening you have done is critical. Students need to experience, “I can do this, too.”

Red’s Good Groove works beautifully for this exercise because the harmony is blues, but enriched. For example, measure five’s Eb7 slides into E diminished in bar six. This is a perfect place for a root solo or root default. The ii-V sequence in measure 9-12 provides a chance to teach a cliché lick for the C minor 7 moving into the F7. C Eb G Bb leading into A, the third of the F7. You can extend this by adding the F, Eb and C on the way down. This resolves beautifully to the Bb. They now have ears for ii-V, presented in a non-threatening way.

We start every class with improv, and everyone has to play the same concept. The anticipation is intriguing to watch. I will take out the cards and tell a student to pick one.

The first time we did this, the card was Short Ideas. As we went round robin, there was not a run-on sentence in the room. After class, a sometimes reluctant improviser came up to me and said, “I loved that. That was a lot of fun.” It is also a great in-class assessment tool.

The next cards could focus on the style of Joe Henderson, to teach a few of his accessible licks, and Horace Silver’s iconic use of rhythm. Other cards might include the very different accompaniment styles of drummer Philly Joe Jones, Papa Jo Jones, and Roy Haynes. For the pianist, good options might include the styles of Red Garland and Bill Evans. The possibilities are endless.

One further word on listening: You must listen in class, and it must be active rather than passive. Come armed with a handout that includes personnel, a bit of background on the composer, and information about the style of the piece. Then, use questions specific to the recording to lead into a discussion. This has many benefits. Every student gets to be heard, and they get into the habit of listening. They really get the feeling that they, too, are jazz musicians. The students will eat this up.

Before learning Stolen Moments we did a directed listening. There was a study guide question on the vibe of the piece. Students referred to the piece as foggy and misty. We read the chart, and they had an immediate grasp of the meaning and style of the piece. On Song for My Father the drummer referred to the feel of the piece as “floaty.” Perfect!

Teachers ask students to be creative. We must be as well. If we do, the collective experience will be incredibly rich.

The post A New Way to Teach Improvisation appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

It seems with each new band composition, the writing for the flutes is becoming higher and higher in range. When students bring in these challenging works, I have often remarked that today’s high notes become tomorrow’s low notes. The fingerings for the third and fourth octave notes are more complicated than the first two octave notes because they are based on overblowing lower partials and then opening or closing other fingers to be in tune. These hybrid fingering are a challenge to learn, execute, and play in tune.

Getting Started
When working on flute intonation, always begin by checking the cork placement. The goal for the flute section is for everyone’s flute to be similar in length. If one person’s cork is ¼ inch off towards the crown, then their flute is longer than the others, and pitch is affected. Use the line on the cleaning rod to find the correct placement of the cork assembly. When inserted into the headjoint, the line should appear at the half-way point in the embouchure hole. If the line is closer to the tenon end of the headjoint, simply screw the crown clockwise until the line is in the center. If the line is closer to the crown, then unscrew the crown a few turns and push the crown assembly in until it is centered. This step may need to be repeated a few times depending on where the line first appears.

Pulling Out
Headjoints are made to be pulled out. This is so the player has the ability to raise the pitch if necessary. Most student and step-up flutes are made on the sharper side of the pitch, so they definitely need to be pulled out. How much should the headjoint be pulled? Start with ¼ inch. For some flutes the amount will be as much as another sixteenth of an inch. Have students play a second octave D with the tuner. This is an excellent tuning note because the flute is quite stable in the hands. (On most flutes the first and second octave A’s are a little flat.) Tune the first and second octave D. When these two are in tune, the headjoint is pulled enough.

Alignment of Flute
Looking at the assembled flute from the footjoint end, align the center of the right-hand keys (D, E, F) with the center of the embouchure hole. This is the classic alignment. Some flutists use the modified Rockstro where the embouchure hole is turned a bit farther back towards the player, but many flutists have found that this alignment may cause pain issues in the future especially in the right shoulder.

Mark It
Once the headjoint is pulled for the best tuning and the center of the embouchure hole is aligned with the centers of the right-hand keys, use a felt tipped marker to place six or eight lines around the headjoint and body of the flute, so students can align the flute properly each day. The felt tipped marker lines will disappear with repeated handling of the flute, so they will need to be redone every ten days or so.

Balancing the Flute
Being able to balance the flute in the hands is one of the most challenging aspects of playing the flute. The goal is to have the flute balanced in the hands so the keys are always pointing towards the ceiling. When playing, the tube of the flute body remains stationary with only the fingers and keys moving. Practicing trills is an excellent exercise in learning to move only the fingers. The fingers (all except left index finger) move from the third knuckle back from the nail and are kept as close to the keys as possible when moving.

Many flutists incorrectly let the keys tilt back towards the player. The downside of this is that the flute is resting on the left-hand thumb. Then, when the left thumb needs to be removed for C, C# etc., the entire instrument changes position. Working on a B to C trill helps students learn the correct balance point. The secret though is to position the flute on the index finger just above the third knuckle back from the nail. Do not place the flute on the side of the finger as there is a nerve running along there that will get inflamed. Rather, place the flute on the palm side of the left index finger.

Flutes Need Space
Every flutist in band should have their own music and music stand. If two or more are sharing a stand, then the alignment of each flutist will be off. When the alignment is off, intonation suffers. Better to spread the flutists out so each can sit in their chair properly and not bump into another flute player. Another reason for separating the flutes is to protect their hearing. Many professional flutists wear an ear plug in their right ear to prevent hearing damage. Almost all piccolo players wear one or more ear plugs. Like the trombones, flutes need their space.

Top Octave Fingerings
Of the 15 notes (C4 to D7) in the top octave, six of the notes are fingered by removing the left thumb. If students cannot remove the left thumb without the flute rolling back towards them, then these notes are out of tune (flat). If students do not remember to roll out into the proper position after playing the thumbless notes, then all of the other notes will be out of tune due to the angle that they are now blowing. Learning to keep the flute stationary in the hands is truly one of the most difficult aspects of playing the flute in tune. Just a reminder that the left thumb is straight and points towards the ceiling.

Which Fingers Move
When I was studying with William Kincaid (the legendary principal flutist of the Philadelphia Orchestra and Curtis Institute Flute Professor), he remarked when playing octaves from the second octave to the third octave, don’t think of the fingering chart, but think of which fingers move. This proved to be excellent advice. The following is a chart of which fingers move.

The Most Challenging Fingering
For most flutists, playing from the top octave F# to the top octave G# is challenging. The problem is in achieving the perfect timing between lifting and adding fingers. If the flute is slipping in anyway, intonation is affected. When lifting a key, the sound occurs sooner than when closing a key. This interchange fingering has two fingers opening and two fingers closing. To have control flutists should practice playing the chunk F#, G#, F# rest, slurred, 10 times on day 1 and the chunk G#, F#, G# rest, slurred, 10 times on day 2. Remember the F# will not sound if the thumb Bb is used.

More on Pitch
When playing in the top octave, the jaw is dropped. Another way of teaching this is to say drop your jaw so there is space between the wisdom teeth. Opening the oral cavity creates a larger space and consumes the extra amount of air that many students use in the top octave. Having less air means that the top octaves will not be as sharp.

Dynamics and the Top Octave Notes
In the early stages of flute playing, students are happy to get the top octave notes, and most of the time the note is at a forte level. As students progress, the goal is to be able to play at all dynamic levels. The first step in learning to play softly is to direct the air as if singing in a head voice rather than a chest voice. Simply directing the air up into the sinuses is the first step. Flutists should never feel that they are reaching for a high note, but instead should envision that they are creating a passageway by lifting the soft palette. It should feel as if they are over and above the note and coming down to the pitch. I practice singing in the head voice for a few notes to recall this positioning.

The other important aspect lies in the embouchure – the size of the aperture and the angle of air. Learning to make the aperture smaller may be done by watching oneself play in a mirror. When tapering a note, the aperture becomes smaller during the diminuendo. Placing a flat or oval coffee stirrer straw in the aperture teaches flutists how to grip the air stream.

For the angle of air, practicing harmonics and multiphonics are good choices. For the harmonics, slur a first octave G to the second octave G and then to the third octave D. Once on the D, alternate this harmonic with a real fingered D listening carefully to find the sweet spot in the tone. Practicing this with vibrato improves the ring in the regularly fingered note. Repeat on Ab, A, Bb, B, C and C#.

Practicing multiphonics or playing two notes at once is also beneficial in embouchure development. Start by playing a low octave G. Once the note is sounding, do not move anything (tongue, head, lips etc.) and slightly increase the air speed until the G an octave higher is heard at the same time. Repeat on Ab, A, Bb, B, and C. This exercise takes patience but the benefits are worth it.

Tuner
When working in the top octave, do not avoid the tuner. As one colleague so aptly said, “Tuning is not optional.” For best results, begin on top octave D playing a half note with a breath attack. Once students can do this in tune with the tuner, they should begin the note with the Tu attack. Finally for the third try, use the Tu and let the vibrato come in.

Several of the notes in the top octave have alternate fingerings for tuning. These fingerings should not be used on scales but rather on melodic places or single notes in the music. The most useful is for the top octave Ab or G#. The pitch will be lowered by adding right-hand 2 and 3. For flutes with the newer scale (made since the late 1980s) the top octave F# is better in tune with the right-hand 2 rather than the 3.

Buying a Flute
When trying flutes for purchase, use the tuner to check the notes Ab to Bb in the top octave. On many flutes, the Ab is sharp, and the Bb is flat. This interval of a second is noticeably too small. The Ab needs to be flatter and the Bb sharper. This is also a good interval to check when auditioning piccolos.

Top Octaves
The top octave notes won’t be conquered by not practicing them. Students should set aside a few minutes in each practice session to focus on playing them with a beautiful sound and good intonation. Since the top octave notes are out of singing range, encourage students to play passages from their music in as many octaves as they can to develop their hearing in the top octave.
If students are learning the top octave notes for the first time, remind them to be patient. Work on one new fingering a week. They can practice using a mirror to be sure to maintain a good set up position, keeping the keys pointing towards the ceiling. In a matter of months, the top octave will be something they enjoy rather than something to be feared.

The post Top Octave Flute Intonation appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Editor’s Note: This string clinic is an Instrumentalist Classic, originally published in the September 1992 issue.

Conjuring up memories of Itzhak Perlman playing with heart and soul, a person might attribute a good string tone to vibrato and expression. Perlman’s throbbing intensity could seem out of place in a large ensemble though, where basic pure tone often blends better. Most players consider bowing the primary component in producing a good string sound. Some teachers compare bowing to breathing while others compare it to the soul. As breathing sustains life and mostly occurs involuntarily, bowing sustains sound and should be so natural it becomes intuitive.

When people scream, they first inhale to move hot air out of their lungs, across their larynx to the listener. Wind players and singers use more sophisticated methods to support the sound. String players could regard bows as a stream of breath; instead of pressing down on the string with an effect like a glottal stop for a singer, coax the sound using a bow to move the string sideways.

The simplest way to understand string tone production is by plucking an open C or G string to observe its response. Almost 25 years ago Paul Rolland produced a film showing an open string close up and in slow motion when plucked. The string forms an elongated oval as it vibrates sideways, with a visible amplitude. The harder the tug on it, the wider the amplitude and louder the volume. If the plucking is directed upward to pull the string away from the fingerboard, it produces a less reverberant sound; with a strong tug, the string will snap back against the fingerboard, making the sound known as a Bartók pizzicato. Plucking sideways produces a better quality sound with more volume, readily seen by students observing a cello or doublebass when plucked. The same can be seen with a violin placed vertically on a desk with the fingerboard facing them. They should pluck softly and then gradually more loudly to see that as they pluck more vigorously, the string vibrates more widely. This principle applies directly to bowing. Greater volume depends more on bow amplitude and speed than on pressure. Pressing down on a string crushes the sound and impedes the vibrations.

Teachers usually have beginners start with short strokes in the middle of the bow on quarter and eighth notes. Students learn to play short notes with more confidence than long tones; to compensate for this, remind them to use more bow: move the bow faster and with longer strokes. Faster bow speed increases volume and makes tiny instruments sound better. This principle is not limited to students; professional players use more bow for an open, full sound as well as for mellow tones.

Longer bow strokes often tend to go astray, which is why string teachers delay introducing them. The correct method is to bow in what is loosely called a straight line by extending the forearm at the elbow joint about two-thirds of the way to the bow point, pulling the bow forward and away from the body, and slightly in front of it. Extending the forearm produces a good, clear tone through the entire stroke and avoids a strained sound. This extension and contraction of the right elbow is one of the most important techniques in developing a good tone.

From the shoulder joint the arm’s natural swing is a semiarc toward the side and back. The bow, however, should cut across the string at about a right angle to produce a clear tone; students should compensate for the natural arm swing by extending the forearm from the elbow joint as the bow approaches the tip. Reverse this motion on an up-bow when nearing the frog by bringing the bow and hand closer to the body.

Players with longer arms find it helps to hold the instrument further to the left away from the bow arm, while those with short arms bring the instrument closer to the right arm and bow. In the past teachers advised dropping the right wrist when playing at the tip and curving it when playing at the frog, but the prevailing view now is that bending the wrist excessively tends to weaken the tone production by breaking the line between the extended wrist and forearm. Power is greater when muscles are close to their natural resting length, rather than contracted as with a curved wrist; this principle applies equally to using a tennis racket or golf iron.

Playing a long bow stroke is something like steering a sailboat by pushing or pulling the tiller. Teachers monitor a student’s bow direction and placement by checking either the tip or the frog, but players sense direction and angle more by feel than sight. It is simpler to control the angle properly by thinking of pulling in with the ring finger as the bow moves to its frog than by worrying about wrist shape. This inward pulling corrects the alignment while keeping the wrist low and powerful.

By using generous bow lengths, string sections will project a good tone quality and help small-sounding instruments or less powerful players sound better. In contrast, high school students with full-size instruments are physically mature enough to refine control of the tone. However, the consistent use of large amounts of bow restricts the range of dynamics, color, speed, and phrasing; it sounds boring and is difficult to balance within an orchestra. It is better to restrict large bow strokes to forte passages and projecting sound and to use light bowing for an airy soft sound.

Sticking to the middle of the bow, like the middle of the road, is safe but mundane. Even young students can explore using different parts and amounts of bow to vary dynamics and tone color. The phrasing and articulations in Classical period repertoire especially invite varying bow speeds, lengths, and distribution. Experiments with bow length and placement can be part of a warm-up routine. Have students use half the bow length, a quarter, and an inch or two in different tempos while playing scales at the tip, frog, or middle of the bow. A way to improve bow control is the technique of son filé, or spunout sound, playing whole-note scales with each note sustained for 6, then 7 or 8 seconds, progressing to anywhere between 12 and 30 seconds. Add dynamics or hairpin swells, a crescendo or decrescendo on each pitch. These long tones will develop muscle control in playing softly and loudly. Students can also imitate a creaky door by pressing down and bowing very slowly, intentionally forcing the tone until it becomes a noise. The experiment demonstrates the relationship between bow speed and pressure, and delineates the line between good sound and noise, with only a minimal risk that students will continue making the noise afterwards.

In recent decades, teachers are more aware of the risks from unnecessary tension and avoid language that causes or encourages it. The bow grip is called bow hold and is sometimes compared to tenderly clasping a bird or stroking velvet. The pendulum of bow strokes has swung from too rigid to sounding like fluff. For a centered sound with a core hold the bow tightly enough to feel the stick and maintain contact with the string as it slips sideways in its vibrations. Larger arm muscles should move freely and without tensing unnecessarily. Jascha Heifetz was a master of this balance in bowing; up close his sound was a little rough at times, but it projected smoothly in a large hall.

Large muscles, such as the trapezius, deltoid, and biceps, supply the power, while the smaller hand and forearm muscles focus bow direction like a steering wheel. As the arm extends, the index finger presses downward (called pronation) to drive the stroke. Pressure at the tip should be greater to compensate for the bow’s lightness, and the index finger more angled to add leverage. Bowing with the lower part of the bow puts more weight on the string because the frog is heavier. The little finger can compensate by reducing bow weight on the string. The thumb helps also, pivoting the stick slightly away to tilt the bow until less hair is on the string. String players should learn that the thumb acts on the bow as a fulcrum with either the index or little finger depressing the stick. This leverage is called getting into the string because the bow hair seems to contact the instrument string so well.

Orchestral music has many string passages with sustained tones that seem to thicken the texture too much. In Baroque continuo parts the walking-bass line or inner voices sound better with more space and reverberation between notes. Students should listen to doublebasses and cellos playing pizzicato to hear how slowly the sound decays. All strings can play staccato notes with resonance by adding a little vibrato as the pressure on the bow is released. The release and reverberation do wonderful things for orchestral balance and allow the accompaniments to be distinct without covering the melody.

Besides speed and pressure the contact point on the string affects tone, timbre, and dynamic. Because low strings are thicker and heavier than upper ones, bow C and G strings slightly closer to the fingerboard for a response comparable to the D, A, and E strings. For a soft, floating sound, bow near the fingerboard or sul tasto; for a shrill, glassy sound play very close to the bridge (called sul ponticello). Bowing near the bridge, a slower bow speed and slightly more pressure help produce a forte sound. Conversely, moving the contact point nearer to the fingerboard with less pressure and slightly more speed softens the tone.

When bow speed is constant, changing the contact point alters the sound quality. There are formulas to describe these changes to older students, who appreciate more analytical explanations. Ultimately players should practice until adjustments follow intuitively. With careful listening string players in time will instinctively choose the right combination of bow speed, pressure, and contact point.

Professionals and more experienced players know many tricks about which part of the bow and string to use. Double-stop chords sound better closer to the fingerboard with little pressure, using the tautness of the frog or tip of the bow. Most students have only a vague awareness of the gutteral, raucous sounds double-stops have when played with too much pressure and too little motion. I changed that sound at my father’s insistence, and I have yet to encounter a student who did not need this lesson. Usually younger students and lazier professionals are reluctant to expend the effort on playing close to the frog, breaking chords quickly and continuing the bow’s path out and off the string.

Younger students are often lazy about holding up violins and violas. As the instrument droops, the bow slides onto the fingerboard and produces a fuzzy, weak tone, and players are cramped for space. Sometimes students have insufficient room to bow, or music stands are too low to encourage good posture, but stands also should not obstruct the visual line to the director. Sometimes just holding up the scroll for a student conveys the message.

String sections that bow consistently in speed and direction have an open and pleasant sound that projects. It should become a habit to look at section leaders. The principal player of each section, with suggestions from the conductor, should set up-bows and down-bows and which part of the bow to use. If most players are at the tip to play softly and a few bow in the middle, the effect is diffused.

Most students and 99% of professionals consider marking up-bows and down-bows a nuisance, with the few exceptions being players who enjoy determining them for their sections. The bow weighs less at its tip than the frog, at least for the first third of a stroke. Metal, tortoise shell, and ebony add to the frog weight, and gravity pulls the bow faster for a stroke beginning at the frog. By starting with a down-bow, the sound will be heavier and louder than starting with the bow tip. The frog is useful for emphasis, short attacks, downbeats, clunky sounds, and longer staccatos. If an indiscernible attack is preferred, an up-bow allows string sections to slip into a note without an edge to the sound.

To develop bow control, practice setting the bow at the frog, tip, and middle without sound by approaching the string gradually and slowly. Since the 1930s teachers and writers have likened this to an airplane approaching a runway. Perhaps it is time for an analogy with roller blades or scraped knees. Another way to minimize a bouncing or edgy bow when starting a note at the frog is by consciously inhaling and tilting the bow so less hair contacts the string for a lighter stroke.

A string section that plays out of tune has a muddy tone that does not project well. Performers with good intonation are usually those who tune open strings frequently. The quality of an orchestra correlates to the frequency with which players check open strings. Tuning open strings is the quickest way to improve the pitch of stopped notes. It is amazing how often string players will carefully tune the A string but pay scant attention to the other three. Conductors will encourage this behavior by not allowing enough time for complete tuning. Violas and cellos should verify that the low C is high enough to blend with the violin E strings.

Suzuki tonalizations are fine warm-ups, perhaps even better than scales because they begin with a broken chord so the ear hears the key with sympathetic vibrations against open strings. They are somewhat similar to playing an overtone series and make good rote material to begin a rehearsal. Suzuki books include them at different levels, beginning in the major mode, progressing to the minor mode and higher positions. Most students play more in tune after beginning the hour with these exercises.

Like adults, students tend to think they are playing in tune while their stand partner is not, but there is no shame in adjusting; it shows a keen ear and good musicianship. Some young players are genuinely surprised to learn that it is proper to adjust intonation on a sour note instead of holding on to it unless lightning strikes. Tuning and warm-ups, whether on unison scales or in harmony, should be played softly to hear subtle intonation differences.

Bach chorale arrangements are excellent intonation material. Tune the harmonic root of each chord, adding players with an octave of the root and retuning. Add the perfect fifth next because poor intonation is more obvious on perfect intervals, and save any thirds or sevenths for last because intonation on these is open to the most disagreement, and the ear is more tolerant here than with perfect intervals.

Du Friedefürst, Herr Jesu Christ, BWV 116

Bach chorale with suggested order for tuning pitches. Notice at fermata that because E is held, A is tuned from it (perfect interval).

Practicing octaves can improve intonation because violinists and violists use an open string plus a third finger or a first plus a fourth finger on adjacent strings, forming a good hand position. While most violinists and violists regard the little finger as the hardest to tune, the third finger is probably even more difficult, having less independence and more room for error than the fourth.

If directors suggest using open strings except when they would be too strident or exposed in a passage, a section will achieve more resonant tone and better intonation. The four open strings are tuned, and their octaves, primes, and perfect intervals will vibrate sympathetically and add a slight ringing to the tone. Open strings are helpful for young ensembles, but students should strengthen the fourth finger when practicing.

Some students do not cover the string sufficiently when stopping notes. Using the center of the fleshy pad, a finger should depress the string fully against the fingerboard but without a vise-like grip. Use the portion of the flesh away from the nail instead of contracting the fingerjoints into a square, which looks neat but hampers vibrato and clarity. Only when the finger shortens the string cleanly will the tone be clear.

Vibrato warms the string tone and may mask a small degree of poor intonation. Some students avoid using vibrato because it seems difficult and troublesome; indeed it involves the intuitive coordination of 14 pairs of muscles. As students advance, they should experiment with various speeds of vibratos to enhance the interpretation and tonal color.

Good tone production on a string instrument is so closely tied to good intonation, bowing, and a concept of sound that even the best instruments cannot rescue bad playing, but they help. When selecting an instrument for purchase, begin by playing the open strings and a scale to test for a clear and even tone across the entire range. Sometimes one string sound jumps out and another is muffled. School instruments often are clunky, with useless weight in the scroll and too thick a neck. Excess weight does not affect tone directly, but it tires a player, and as the instruments droop and the bow slides onto the fingerboard, the sound diminishes. Do not buy instruments by the pound. Although shiny, new instruments attract younger students, looks do not affect sound. A handmade instrument is also no guarantee of good tone; often adjustments to a factory-made instrument produce a pleasant tone.

Repairmen can adjust instruments through surgery, such as shaving some wood inside to thin a plate, or by moving the sound post and bridge slightly to favor one string over another or to improve projection. The sound post may fit differently as the wood swells or contracts with climate changes. The sound post should contact the back and belly firmly without being too tight. Most school instruments have a thick and unfinished bridge, but a repairman can adjust it so the feet fit the arching of the instrument.

The bridge height and curve should be graduated to fit the fingerboard. When a bridge is too low, the strings will buzz with the least bow pressure and project poorly; when it is too high, young fingers have difficulty depressing the strings. Many professionals keep two bridges for their instruments, using the lower one in the summer and the higher in winter. A repairman may decide to thin the top of the bridge slightly, adjust the depth of the notches for the strings, or move the feet forward or back a little.

Teachers can use a file to sand down the notches if a string slips on the bridge. Sometimes pasting a small piece of parchment in the saddle will correct a notch so deep that the string rests below the top of the bridge; old drum heads are a possible source of material for this. The bridge should not slant forward as this will cause warping and affect intonation. Whether the bridge is centered can be determined by measuring the distance of each foot to the adjacent f-hole.

Strings should be replaced at least annually. A string becomes false when it sounds like a sick cow at the end of a bow stroke and is difficult to play in tune. Check the string condition with long bow strokes on open strings. Perlon core and metal strings last longer than gut-wound ones. They stay in tune better and strengthen the tone slightly, making them popular choices for school orchestras.

Bows should be re-haired at least annually and checked for warping. Professional players re-hair their bows more often, but students may wait until there are only a dozen oily hairs left. Students also tend to rosin bows sparingly because worn hairs without rosin assure a soft sound that escapes notice. Bows and instruments should complement each other. Experiment with combinations of them to find the best match. Instruments become the obsession of some players, collectors, and investors, but fine performers can do greater wonders with poor instruments than the other way around.

Students who have a mental image of the beautiful sound they seek will work to achieve it, and the vibrato and bowing exercises become more tolerable with a goal. It is important for students to hear examples of fine string tone to develop this concept. Recordings and concerts by great artists will change players’ concept of sound. If their concept is small, apologetic, and scratchy, they will find a way to replicate that even on a Strad, Guarneri, or Amati. On the other hand, if the ideal is rich and free, they often can coax that sound out of a beat-up or poorly adjusted factory violin, given proper fundamentals of bowing.

The post Improving String Tone appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Note: In our work on this issue, we took a journey through our well-loved but short-lived publication for younger musicians called Accent. Bernie Dobroski, whose life is remembered on page 3 of this issue, served as an editor of the publication for several years beginning in the late 1970s. Among the gems hiding in these dusty magazines was this charming interview with Frederick Fennell, published in the Jan/Feb 1977 issue.

This interview with Frederick Fennell (1914-2004) was conducted by Kim Scharnberg, a member of Accent’s National Student Advisory Board. Kim, a high school junior at the time, had played trombone the previous summer in a three-day conducting workshop at Coe College in his hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After two days of playing under the well-known guest conductor Frederick Fennell, Kim decided to ask Fennell for an Accent interview.
Fennell was agreeable, so Kim and his friend Phil Hodgin talked with him that evening. “He kept up a constant rapport with us,” Kim says, “and filled the interview with such intense discussion that we were exhausted by the end. It was very exciting to be able to play under and interview Mr. Fennell. I gained much insight into the art of conducting as well as the art of being a musician by talking with this incredible man.”
The next day Kim’s friend Tim Burke took some photographs of Fennell at the workshop. “When he was getting ready to photograph Fennell,” Kim says, “Tim asked me if he was looking at the right guy because he didn’t think Fennell looked like a conductor. He said that Fennell seemed more like a swimming coach or maybe a retired-but-still-active professional athlete because Fennell seemed “too invigorating” to be a conductor.
Frederick Fennell, often called “the father of symphonic wind ensemble,” was at the time of this interview, the conductor-in-residence at the University of Miami in Florida. He was previously on the faculty at the Eastman School of Music, where he founded the Eastman Wind Ensemble. As you can clearly see from his lively comments to Kim, Fennell was an extraordinarily dynamic person.

***

What do you feel is your greatest challenge as a conductor?
I think any conductor’s greatest challenge is to remain open, enthusiastic, informed, and in a state of constant curiosity – to have a mind always open to all musical styles. I feel that I can’t afford the luxury of having my mind made up and being tuned in to only one certain kind of vibration since I do most of my life’s work with young people as well as professionals. I think that just by being around the young people of today, I have to stay more alive and keep more avenues of communication open.

How do you get your message across to the players?
Anyway I can – by any way that is legal or moral. Whenever there’s any possible way that will help make music come alive. I’m ready for it.

What is one of the most common problems that you find in young conductors at your workshops?
I think my biggest challenge with young conductors – and their biggest challenge with themselves – is the fact that they are not yet really conducting. They’re busy beating time, which is, as far as I’m concerned, not conducting. But the making of music is infinitely more important than the automatic beating of time. It must transcend that perfunctory physical or merely functional role.

I’ve heard that you have your conducting students conduct underwater. Could you tell us about that?
Well, it’s really not “conducting underwater,” It’s actually getting conducting students to feel the same sensation of the resistance that the water gives to the arm and the hand as it makes its way through the water – the thought of water makes that kind of resistance very vivid to a person. As conductors we have to feel that same resistance and intensity when we conduct in the air – from the shoulder on down to the hand and fingers, all the parts that are active in the physical act of conducting. For some people, this experience is like a light that turns on in their head – “Oh yeah, maybe that’s why I can’t conduct legato music as well as I do staccato music!”
I also use the underwater image because I like swimming! Now in Florida my home has a swimming pool, and it’s a great thing for keeping my conducting physically free. All alone in my pool at night there’s no need to worry what my form looks like, whether my flutter kick is good or whether my feet are together on the dive. I am convinced that people are much too inhibited up on that podium. I was never really too inhibited, but there must have been some times when I stood up there like a dumb stick. I felt that my “water treatment” was one way of getting the students off the podium and into another medium, to enable them to look at conducting in an entirely different, physical way. Then, they don’t spend as much time worrying about how many sharps there are in the key of Ab and what finger should be used to cue the snare drum!

So you feel that physical fitness is really important in conducting?
Well, yes. I am very careful to keep myself in good physical shape, so for me it’s not any problem. Having thousands of kids to make music with every year really keeps me in shape – you can’t mess around with kids and not know what you’re doing! Plus the way I conduct is a kind of calisthenics, I suppose.
The aspect of using the body physically, just learning how to walk correctly and filling the body with oxygen – that’s so important. No musician can play a wind instrument without being filled to the brim with oxygen, and maybe that’s why lots of good musicians live so long. Oxygen is such a vital part of the health of the body, and it’s a vital part of conducting, at least for me – the whole body is involved in it, and I can’t do it any other way.
A lot of my colleagues share this attitude with me, but I also have many conductor friends who are just the opposite, and I have boundless admiration for them, too. They can stand extremely quiet with almost no body motion and still maintain magnificent control and achieve marvelous performances.

What advice would you give to an aspiring young conductor?
Just work like crazy, and study like mad! The first specific bit of advice I’d give is to play some instrument, whatever instrument you like – mine was percussion. You might choose an instrument that fits well with a symphony orchestra or a wind band or a jazz group or whatever type of group you’re hoping most to conduct some day. Or choose the piano, which fits everything and gives the player a passport to a great many things that sometimes other instruments can’t grant. Or choose singing, since the voice was the world’s first instrument.
But whatever instrument you select, run with it as far as you can. Not everybody is gifted enough to play an instrument as well as one of the great genius performers, but you must try to learn all you need to know about your instrument, its discipline, and its literature. After this, go to the best music school you can and study with the best teachers possible. Start studying scores as quickly as you can. Study theory, composition, form, analysis. Get into the whole bag of it just as fast as you can and as deeply as possible, and let nothing get in the way. You have to be a combination of all sorts of things – you must have the dedication of a doctor, the wisdom of a judge, and the heart and soul of an artist. If you don’t have these things, forget it.

What do you like to see in young players?
I like to see enthusiasm. I like to see students being absolutely knocked out and excited to play – like they can’t wait to do it. Obviously, I am a very enthusiastic individual. I know a lot of people who are very cool and unenthusiastic but who play marvelously or conduct wonderfully – and that’s fine, too. But most kids have the great ability to be so enthusiastic, and that’s the way I like to be.
I’ve been all over the country for almost all of my conducting life, and in every state I’ve conducted young kids who are so much better than I was when I was a kid, and much more informed and sophisticated. These kids know what they’re doing and where they’re going and how they’re going to get there. Young people are not just a future part of the arts scene in this country – they are the arts scene today. They used to pat young people on the head and say, “Well, when you grow up” and “later.” That’s all gone – everybody’s in it now. A student who wants to get completely immersed in music by going to live concerts, instead of just by buying records, will find that it’s all there waiting for him. Just go, and don’t worry about what you know or don’t know about it, because none of us really “knows” anything about it either. There’s just no substitute for the chemistry of being in the auditorium when it takes place. You can sit on the edge of the pool for years and watch the most magnificent color films on what it’s like to swim – but until you really get in that water, you’re not swimming!

The post The Vigorous Frederick Fennell appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

A graduate of The University of Iowa, David Werden was the euphonium soloist with The United States Coast Guard Band for 26 years. He has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Canada, England, Japan, and the former Soviet Union. In 2012 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Tuba-Euphonium Association.

In part two of our interview with euphonium legend David Werden, he discusses early influences, his career with The U.S. Coast Guard Band, memorable recording sessions, and views on euphonium scoring in modern band works.

What was your first introduction to music?
I grew up in Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa, which was a blessing. I had a normal childhood. I played outside with friends, liked models and my train set. My family didn’t have money for private music lessons, but the public schools provided a short private lesson each week. Before I began lessons, I enjoyed listening to music on my big sister’s record player, the only one we had, although I hated singing in music class.

What were your early musical influences and why did you choose the baritone/euphonium?
At first, my favorite instrument was the trumpet, which I heard on radio and TV. At the time, I suppose I was listening to Harry James and Bert Kaempfert. When I was eligible for band in 5th grade, I asked to play the trumpet. That lasted about three months before the teacher suggested I switch to a “baritone” that was actually a small euphonium. My dad had bought the trumpet for $10 from a friend, so that might be a reason why it didn’t work out. In any case, I liked playing the baritone that was supplied by the school. When I brought it home for the first time, my mom said, “Why do you want to play that big thing?” I stuck with it and bought sheet music for some Bert Kaempfert songs I was listening to and tried to play in the same style as the recording. That helped me develop a sense of style and some ability to analyze what I played.

What led you to auditioning for and earning a spot in The U.S. Coast Guard Band?
I went to the University of Iowa to become a band director. As I was finishing my senior year, the Vietnam War was going strong, and I knew military service was in my future. Because I was not athletic, I did not believe I would be a very good soldier, but felt confident I would be a good player in a military band. A euphonium player who had been in the university band with me had joined The U.S. Coast Guard Band, so I wrote to him asking what it was like and who I could contact. He gave me a balanced view of military band life, and I believed I would like the attractive parts and tolerate the unpleasant parts. (I was already happy with my short haircut so that was no problem.)

The USCG Band appealed to me because it was not in Washington, DC. My audition was a little strange because the band had not yet developed a system for such things. I didn’t hear back for a while and sent my tape to the U.S. Army Band also. Just as the Army Band invited me to an audition, the USCG Band accepted me, and I joined the group. I planned to fulfill my four-year obligation and then become a high school band director, but quickly discovered that I loved playing in the band.

You have done quite a bit of recording. Describe your experience playing on soundtracks. How did you get to do this?
The United Coast Guard Band was asked to do a couple of soundtracks for specialty movies, and those recording sessions gave me a taste of what it was like. In one case, we were tied to the movie’s flow, so the conductor had to make sure we always finished at exactly the right time. My first soundtrack experience outside The USCG Band was in 1980. NBC was making a movie called FDR: The Last Year. I got a call from Sam Pilafian, who I had played with on some gigs in New York City. He described the movie and said it would include original music by Lawrence Rosenthal and some martial music, the latter being the main reason they wanted euphoniums.

I was paired with a studio musician who doubled on euphonium. I knew that we would probably run through a piece once and then record it. In preparation for this event, I sightread everything I could find. I was already a good sightreader, but this was new territory for me. When I got there, I discovered that I was playing along with many first-call studio musicians and some top players from the New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony. The tuba section was Sam Pilafian and Warren Deck. The pacing was about what I expected, and the playing went smoothly.

One surprise was how rudely the pros treated the conductor. Rosenthal was hoarse by halfway through the session because he had to shout over the chatter going on within the ensemble. My other surprise was that the conductor needed to consult with me about military protocol. For FDR’s funeral, the movie portrayed a band playing as the coffin passed. The director asked me how many ruffles and flourishes the President should get. He assumed five, because he knew somehow that top-ranking military officers get four. I had to let him know that the highest number anyone gets is four. Had I not corrected him, the soundtrack would have contained an inside joke for military folks.

I later had the opportunity to play with Garrison Keillor for Prairie Home Companion. He had a concept for a winter show and wanted a group of mellow euphoniums and tubas to play In the Bleak Midwinter. The organizer called me for the job. I brought many arrangements with me, and Garrison asked us to play “some things” at the rehearsal so he could get a sense of what we had. He chose a few to use, and then we worked through them as he did his magic. During the live broadcast, the show was changing all the time, so we had to be ready for just about anything. I played with the Midwinter Tuba Quintet a couple more times on the show with varying personnel.

After the Coast Guard, you began a career in computers Why did you make the change and how did it affect your music-making?
In 1976, the Atlantic Tuba Quartet was formed and it served as the U.S. Coast Guard Euphonium-Tuba Quartet. Because high-quality music for such ensembles was scarce at the time, Denis Winter, Gary Buttery, and I did arrangements for the group. We started to get requests for the arrangements, so we formed Whaling Music Publishers. The company became known as a source for euphonium and tuba music, and I was the person running it. The paperwork was tedious, so I decided to learn computer programming to do the books and handle the mailing list. I started with the BASIC language on an Atari computer. Along the way, I began to use some of the earliest music typesetting programs. In fact, I was a beta tester for Steinberg, Sonus, and Dr. T’s Music Software. Later, I moved to Macintosh and used Finale.

The next turning point occurred when I became the computer manager for the USCG Band. I was nearing retirement from the band, and I knew there was no hope of finding a full-time euphonium job. I needed to find a different career. My second-best skill by then was computer operation, training, and programming, so that became my new career goal.

My first job in this new world was for a startup dot-com company. They wanted someone who could do project management, design web pages, and program a website to interact with a database. The latter was rather new in 1996 and was new to me. The owner of the company liked my software skills and project management background, so he gave me a chance to audition. He provided me with demo software for website building and also for website/database interaction. I was told to build a site with a good appearance and navigation and to make it work with a database. The only database I had handy was for the Euphonium Music Guide I published, so I used that. I got the job, and the audition site turned into the site soon afterward.

One of your books is Scoring for Euphonium. What weaknesses have you found in band scoring over the years?
I wrote Scoring for Euphonium because much of the newer band music we played in The USCG Band showed that the composers and arrangers had little familiarity with the euphonium section’s capabilities. Much of the traditional band repertoire provides music that uses the instrument well, but in newer pieces, I often felt either underused or downright awkward.

The euphonium section has a large, deep sound that works nicely on melodies, countermelodies, and bass lines. Frequently, we are written as a voice in a chord, mixed in with trombones. That implementation makes a rather ugly sound balance. It would be much better to split the section to bolster the trombone harmony. For example, one euphonium part doubles the first trombone, and the other doubles the second trombone. We surely can serve as tenor tuba voice, but that role is often overused. Composers should first remember our two best roles, melody and countermelody. The book also points out some weaknesses to avoid. For example, with young bands where the players probably use three-valve euphoniums, writing a low concert B is troublesome because the 123 fingering is almost impossible to tune.

Working at the Adams factory to get my leadpipe angle customized.

How do you approach finding a professional euphonium that is the best fit?
I can’t think of a bad euphonium among professional brands, but each model has its own strengths. It is important to try a variety of musical styles to make sure the instrument produces balanced results.

A horn should be tested for tone in all registers. Ideally, this particular test should be performed in a larger room with decent acoustics. Small, dead rooms can skew one’s impressions. In a small room, a euphonium with a smaller sound will usually win in a comparison, but that is not a typical performance environment. This phase of testing would benefit from having another person listen from a distance because part of the player’s impression is from the sound that radiates from the bell and may not be representative of the sound reaching an audience. During testing, the player should pay attention to the effort required to get the desired result.

Different brands have different intonation tendencies. No euphonium is perfectly in tune, although today’s instruments are generally improved over those that existed when I was growing up. Many euphoniums now have triggers for the main tuning slide. Remember that a trigger only helps notes that are sharp. Also keep in mind that a trigger adds some stress to the left hand, which can be a problem for players with small hands or older players who have injuries or ailments. Triggers also add weight, which is more of an issue for some players than others.

If testing is done in a noisy environment, an electronic tuner will make it easy to see the actual pitch produced. Be sure to use a tuner that allows for a microphone to be clipped to the bell.
The response of a euphonium is a key factor in getting consistent results for the player. One should play slurred and tongued scales and listen for tone and volume consistency from note to note. After gathering impressions, try the scales at pianissimo. Any stuffy notes will probably not speak. In real-world playing, we often need to play softly, and good response from the instrument will yield a better musical effect.

Above all, the instrument should be tested with a variety of music. That must include music that is tongued with accents, which can reveal dynamic responsiveness. One can make the same effort for accented notes on two different instruments, only to find that a listener hears less effective accents on one compared to the other.

Among experienced players, I think there is general agreement that the best instruments make it easy for players to get the sound and style they have in their heads. If Brian Bowman and I traded horns, Brian would still sound like Brian, and I would still sound like me, but we would each have to work harder to do so. In some cases, you may need to consider the maturity of the player. For a player who is careless with expensive items like a euphonium, I would have to suggest an instrument that is more sturdily built.

I like your YouTube video on extending the use of the Arban book. What ways have you found to get even more value from this trusted method?
Practice time, properly used, is a key path to learning and improvement. It is far too precious to waste, particularly when that time is limited. Once I left the Coast Guard and started working full time in the business world, I spent over two decades with limited time and energy available for practice. I learned to get the most out of the time I had available.

Multitasking can enhance one’s practice greatly. My simplest example is applied while playing scales, which we should all do every day. Part of the value of scales is building muscle memory and familiarity with different keys. While doing all that, one should keep in mind that scales are part of music. When playing scales, I always try to play them musically. I watch my attacks, use dynamics to create a sense of line, and keep a sense of pulse – no matter if the particular scale pattern comes out evenly at the end. I typically modify scale patterns daily to stay flexible. For example, I don’t always ascend to the octave; I may go to the 9th.

Or, during the warmup phase, I like to start with a one-octave scale in the middle range. Next, I move down a half step for the starting key but go up to the 9th. Then another half step down at the start but going up to the 10th. I may continue this until I have reached the limit of my air supply. I may use broken scales to keep me thinking (up a 3rd, down a 2nd, up a 3rd, down a 2nd, etc.). I may change rhythms. I will surely change articulations. All of this helps me warm up, but also keeps my brain engaged and makes me a more flexible and musical player.

Lately, I have focused on articulation, using the Arban single-tongue exercises. I can take one of those and make it into eight exercises. Here is what I do. Imagine an exercise in C major. I play it first as written. Then I pretend it is written in bass clef, so the first C on 3rd space would become an Eb. That has me playing down a 5th. Then I transpose down an octave from the original, starting on C below the treble clef. Finally, I transpose up one step from the original, starting on D. That gives me four exercises from a single written example.

Some days, I use these same four modifications but practice my double tonguing. I usually stay at the same tempo as I used for single tongue, which builds the valuable skill of switching from single to double within a tempo. That is especially helpful with accelerandos and ritardandos within tongued passages, so I can choose a good point to switch from one to the other seamlessly. One can also change the rhythm in these same exercises. If the first beat is an eighth and 2 sixteenths, I could make it an eighth followed by a dotted 16th and a 32nd to have a simple dotted rhythm exercise.

What do you do to improve the tone on double-tongued passages?
This is one of the times I like to let students set an example for themselves. We will start with a pattern of four 16ths followed by a quarter note on the same pitch in 24 time, using single tongue. I will have them repeat the measure at the same tempo using double tongue. Then, we turn that into an exercise, playing in tempo, and raising or lowering a half step after each pair of measures. A similar exercise can be done using triple tonguing. In this way, the student provides an example of good tonguing in the first measure, and then must try to make the second measure sound identical. Oftentimes, a little work on this will fix the tone and attack of the multiple tongue.

If a student still has trouble, I suggest slowing the double tongue tempo and then accenting each of the ka notes. It is awkward to do, but after a little work the ka should start to sound clearer. Then without the accent, the double tongue sound should be better.

Is developing an individual sound a conscious thing or a natural result of proper playing technique and physical characteristics?
Both. In reverse order, one’s physical characteristics play a part. Our vocal cavity affects our voice, but it also seems to affect the tone of a brass instrument. Thicker lips will make a fuller tone easier to obtain. I think most of a player’s sound comes from the head and heart. During the first half of my high school days, I had not yet heard a professional euphonium player in person, but I had heard recordings of Tommy Dorsey on trombone. His style and tone influenced me. I had also heard many singers, and their style influenced my playing. Then when we had Harold Brasch as a guest artist, my tonal concept changed a bit to the darker side.

Since then I have heard countless fine euphonium artists, but I think the essence of my tone still comes from early concepts that evolved from my listening. When playing, I don’t think of playing a euphonium, I think of playing music. I try to make my sound fit the music.

***

Favorite Recordings
My favorite euphonium players are David Childs and Thomas Rüedi among many others, but the euphonium world doesn’t have all the answers. Listen to other instruments as well. I love Sergei Nakariakov when he plays string music on his flugelhorn. He performs amazingly hard figures for brass but always keeps music in the foreground.
Peter Damm is a European horn player. I own his Strauss and Mozart concerto recordings and find him very relaxing to listen to because of his musicality. (He also uses vibrato, so he’s easy for a euphonium player to relate to.)
In strings, there are some great inspirations for musical performances. I like Lynn Harrell on cello. When he plays, you can hear him breathing at phrase connections, which is what we also have to do. I love his playing on the Schubert Arpeggione Sonata. I arranged it for euphonium, and it has been very popular.
I am inspired every time I listen to Jascha Heifetz play the Brahms concerto. There is a spot in a cadenza that always gives me chills. As euphoniumists, we need to strive for that kind of musicality. Pretty good players can inspire with their technique, but it takes an outstanding player to inspire with utter musicianship.

***

David Werden has a variety of recommendations for educational materials, music, and all things euphonium. For even more information visit:

The post The Wisdom of Werden, Talking Euphonium with David Werden Part II appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

   Much like a jazz solo that takes some unexpected turns, Roosevelt Griffin III has followed a different career path than he originally intended. He entered Northern Illinois University hoping for a performance career and graduated with a BM in Music Performance (Tuba). While he worked with a variety of touring groups and such performers as Diana Ross and the Three Tenors, he quickly pivoted to a teaching career and returned to his childhood middle school in Harvey, Illinois. His career accolades include taking groups to the Midwest Clinic and Chicago Jazz Festival, the 2022 John LaPorta Jazz Educator of the Year Award from the Jazz Education Network, and being named a Best Music Educator Semifinalist by the Grammy Foundation.
   Griffin also earned degrees from Concordia College and Argosy University. After nearly two decades of teaching middle school students, he was named the Walter Dyett Chair for Jazz Studies, Diversity, and Inclusion at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago and is the Youth Ensemble Director for the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic. The City of Harvey has renamed a street in his honor as Roosevelt Griffin III Avenue.

Who inspired you to teach music?

   I was raised by my mother, but my biological father was a well-known guitarist. I didn’t get any instruction from him, but I knew that he played. By 4th grade I decided to try music just to be like him and joined the band at Riley Elementary School in Harvey. The director, John Weber, is well-known even now and spent most of his time in the band room. He took me and several other students under his wing and had a huge influence on me. I recall seeing the Canadian Brass perform for the first time with him.
   When I continued in music at Thornridge High School, director David Eanes became a father figure for me, and I wanted to be like him. It wasn’t just because of music – he connected with students in a way that made me want to be like him.
   By my junior year, my career goal changed from wanting to be an architect to wanting to become a band director and build outstanding music groups in every area. I continued my musical study at Northern Illinois University where I met Ronald Carter. I went to college to major in tuba and play in the orchestra, but I was also able to get in the jazz ensemble and study with Carter for several years. He was a major influence.

What was it like to go back to your middle school as a director and work with your former director?

   John Weber is a legend. He took a jazz ensemble to IAJE back in 1988, so the program had a rich tradition, not only in jazz, but throughout the entire music program. The Harvey Grade School Band, established in 1928, is one of the oldest in Illinois, and earned its first superior rating in 1931. I knew I had huge shoes to fill when I went back to teach there.
   In my first year, Weber and I co-directed the program. I learned so much from him. Because he led the concert band that year, I took over the afterschool jazz program. I wanted to spend more time with students and have an ensemble that I could lead. Early in my career, I dreamed of becoming a high school director and said I would never teach middle school. My first teaching job after college was a full-time substitute position at an elementary school, but I still didn’t want to teach middle school.

What is a lesson you learned in the early years of teaching?

   In my first few years, I really wanted to prove myself as an educator and went too far chasing trophies. At one memorable competition, my jazz band didn’t play well. They weren’t focused and didn’t practice, but somehow we came in first place anyway. Students were excited and laughing about the surprise win. At the same event, our symphonic band was exceptional and came in sixth place out of 30 bands. Members of the jazz band made fun of the symphonic band players, leaving some in tears.
   I didn’t realize it at the time, but the jazz band celebrated the victory partly because they knew winning the trophy was important to me. That was a turning point; I realized that I was doing something wrong and shifted gears. Every trophy displayed in the band room went to the storage room. For the next 15 years, until I left, you didn’t see any trophies displayed in the band room. I wanted to make sure that everything we did was about the development of the band, and the development of individuals.
   I still wanted our groups to sound good, but I realized that I had an opportunity to do much more than just teach music. I spent more time getting to know students and developing a family that extended beyond a classroom. By my fourth year, I realized the true power of music. I was able to connect what I was sharing with those kids with what my mentors gave to me. It was an opportunity to build up these students and their families. It reached a point that it was family. I always say that my success as an educator had a lot to do with those who influenced me and also the parents who decided to partner with me to make sure that their students had great experiences. I am so grateful to those parents who trusted me.

How did your reluctance to teach middle school band change over the years?

   Students in middle school are ages 11-14, and I was amazed by their growth through those important years. Directors have a unique position because in other classes, students have a different teacher every year. We are the one constant in their lives. We can make the greatest impact because year after year they trust their band director. We have an obligation to see them through the most transformative period of their lives. We are there with them.
   Even in college, I was already interested in mentoring and working with young people so becoming a middle school director turned out to be incredibly fulfilling. I didn’t accomplish all of my early goals. Musically, I wasn’t ever able to program grade 6 music, which I thought might be possible when I was preparing to be a director. However, there was so much else I was able to do to help these students become teenagers and young adults.
   After about ten years as a teacher, a number of students came back to visit. Many were continuing to play music, but they also spoke of how their experience in band continued to be meaningful to them as adults. One former band student from around 2006 has become a general surgeon. Harvey can be a rough city, and she grew on a block near many abandoned houses. In her entrance letter to medical school, she spoke about how her experience in middle school band transformed her life.
   It is so rewarding to see how the experiences we create can truly impact lives for years. That is true for most teachers, but music is different because it empowers each student to be themselves among other empowered students. We accept students as they are and don’t try to transform them but instead allow them to grow into who they are.

What led to establishing the Griffin Institute for the Performing Arts in 2016?

   I felt like I owed the City of Harvey for what it gave to me. When my middle school students graduated from eighth grade, I had no control over what happened to them. I saw phenomenal students have a difficult time in high school, and many gave up on band. As a professional, I didn’t believe in complaining about what was or was not happening at the next level. I wanted to keep a handle on these students to help them through high school.
   The Griffin Institute allowed me to draw on my network of people who care about kids to help with this cause and mentor students. We created a place where students could hang out and we could talk to them and provide great experiences. Regardless of what school they attended, we wanted to create a place that was a steady force in their lives. It is a place that supported their gifts where they could get mentorship, play, laugh, and do homework. They might not continue in music but they would always remember being part of a family. A lot of kids join gangs and get into trouble for the same reason. They want to belong to something.
   Some of those students went on to study at Tennessee State. They just won two Grammys and became the first HCBU to perform at the Midwest Clinic. The culture and many of the principles we established have continued to the collegiate level. That means a lot to me.

How do you approach your rehearsals, and what do you emphasize?

   My rehearsals look different depending on what is going on that day. I might plan to work on a certain piece and end up shifting gears depending on the energy of the students. Right before rehearsal, we might be working on a blues, and I’ll hear something and decide to start rehearsal with a bass line. I might have everybody join and start trading fours or do call-and-responses. If the energy is right, this could go on for 30-45 minutes and take most of rehearsal. I believe in using the energy of the students to move forward the lesson or the knowledge they are expected to learn.
   Most often, I will have music playing for them to listen to as they sit down and get their instruments out. Then, I might give them a cue to listen to and then repeat the same tune followed by a discussion about what they heard. I could ask if they noticed what happened with the bass line and hi-hat. They will probably say no, so we will listen to it again.
   I don’t believe in blues scale warm-ups because students often associate them with solos. A lot of times you will hear those scales pop up in their solos, and it sounds like the same scale over and over. It is better to learn the melody first and scales second. If I use improvisation in warm-up, I put on a backing track and go around the room and have exercises where each student does four bars. I firmly believe in warming up on the same things we warm up on in concert band – long tones, lip slurs, chromatics, and more.

What is something about how jazz is taught that you would change if you could?

   All directors do the best they can, but sometimes there is a lack of knowledge about the development and history of jazz. If you are going to teach jazz, you have to take responsibility for listening to and dealing with the entire tradition of jazz. I’m not saying you have to spend the whole year on it, but at a certain point, you must teach where the music came from. Some talented directors believe that they have the skills to get the music right, so they skip over the history, the blues, and a careful exploration of the culture. Studying jazz history can be as informal as sitting down together and listening to a legend play or to interviews about how we got to this point.
   Jazz is so much more than what we hear. It is a way of life and a culture. It is like food. When I go out to eat, certain restaurants are authentic restaurants and others are commercial restaurants. Sometimes, commercial restaurants are cool, but when you go to an authentic restaurant, you are going to experience the music when you walk in, certain spices, art on the wall, and colors that all represent the actual culture.

What do you do to keep learning and growing as a teacher?

   The biggest resource for me is going to festivals as a director to learn from experts and professionals who work with the band. That has helped me the most. If I ever took a band somewhere, I wouldn’t walk off when the band is working with a clinician. I would sit down. That has been my best resource, sitting next to my band with my notepad out. That is my textbook.

   After years of teaching students just coming up in school music, you are now teaching students who will be leading those rehearsal rooms in the next generation. What have you learned from your first year at VanderCook and what surprised you about your daily work?
   I am a reflective educator who constantly measures the impact and possible impact my work. Being at VanderCook provides me an opportunity to make the greatest impact possible by sharing my perspectives with future educators. The unique skills that I developed as an elementary and middle school educator are now being used to prepare future teachers. Our goal at VanderCook is to prepare students for success in any environment they are placed. I want students to leave VanderCook with the confidence to use the communal and creative components found in jazz to serve their students in a way that assists them in becoming that best version of themselves.
   When I joined VanderCook, I was surprised at how receptive the faculty and students were to my non-traditional methods and pedagogy. They have allowed me to be as creative as I desire, and they have supported my efforts 100%. I was also impressed with the community within the college. From the leadership, to the faculty, to the students, everyone is treated with respect. The college has welcomed me, just as they welcome every student, with warm and open arms.
   In the near future, we plan to expand the jazz offerings at the college by adding courses, workshops, performances, and expert clinicians to the schedule. Although our students and ensembles are amazing and highly skilled, we are not a performance school and are clear about our mission. The expansion of our jazz offering isn’t designed to position our students to be professional jazz musicians, but they are designed to help our students to be exceptional music educators.

Having faced some challenging early years in your career, what advice do you have for other directors just starting in the profession?

   If you look at me, I was a tuba player who wanted to play in orchestras, who wanted to lead high school marching bands and win national championships someday. I was placed in a position where I had to be led by my heart. Understand that we each have fingerprints, God-given gifts, talents that only we can use. The very thing that makes you unique will be the thing that helps you reach success. With my background and because I didn’t know jazz as well as some of my friends, I came to it with a unique perspective. When I was with my students, my pedagogy was very fundamental. I also had the background of mentoring and really cared about students. All of those things got the jazz program going. I didn’t plan to do that; it just happened. I embraced who I was and did my best every moment for the kids.

The post Finding Strength in Everybody, A Conversation with Roosevelt Griffin III appeared first on The Instrumentalist.