In her 18th year of teaching in Texas, Kim Shuttlesworth is Director of Bands and Fine Arts Department Chair for Coppell High School. Her ensembles have received recognition annually in marching and concert venues. Each ensemble has received superior ratings at the UIL Marching Contest, UIL Concert & Sightreading Contest, and the Texas State Solo and Ensemble Contest. Under her direction, her programs have been UIL State Marching Band Contest Finalists, Bands of America Regional, Super Regional, and Grand National Finalists, Shuttlesworrth’s concert bands have consistently received superior ratings. Her bands have advanced through the Texas Music Educators Association Honor Band Contest, placing 11th in 2019 for 4A with Tom Glenn High School and 6th place in 2023 for 6A with Coppell. Shuttlesworth has worked with summer programs over the past 20 years including the Music for All Summer Symposium, the Longhorn Music Camp, the Western Carolina University, and the Sewanee Summer Festival. She is an active adjudicator and clinician for marching and concert band.

The news came late. On the day that Kim Shuttlesworth learned that her top band at Coppell High School in Texas had earned an invitation to the Midwest Clinic, she was out of town assessing other ensembles. Her phone kept buzzing with friends wondering if she had heard from Midwest. When she spotted a message from the Midwest in a spam folder, she raced into the hallway and learned the news. She celebrated with her students the next day. When they first recorded their submission to the Midwest, Shuttlesworth reminded students to focus on their musical journey and not the possibility of an invitation. She has prepared her Midwest program for the convention with a focus on the family and colleagues who helped to shape her music journey. “I thought about all those people that took a risk on a young kid from Carthage, Texas. As directors, we are not just ourselves. We are made up of all these different people that have helped influence us.”

How did you get started in music?
I grew up in a small town in East Texas called Carthage and lived there most of my life until college. My mom taught choir and band in a different small town and notified the Carthage band directors that I was going to play trumpet. (My parents gave me a trumpet mouthpiece when I was 10.) After I started band, my mom decided to give up teaching band and stick to choir. She took a job in the district where we lived because she wanted to watch me grow up and push me to be the best. I played trumpet all the way through and became a Texas All-State musician. My parents bet me that if I made All State, they would buy me whatever kind of trumpet I wanted. They never expected me to win the bet, but I rose to the challenge and received a custom-made Strad. I spent summers going to different band camps and fell even more in love with the trumpet.

I wanted to become a professional trumpet player and applied to the University of Texas. About halfway through school, I decided that I should not be a professional musician. Kevin Sedatole, who was then Associate Director of Bands and Director of the Longhorn Band advised me, “The way to be a great teacher is to be a great player.” His encouragement pushed me in the right direction. At the University of Texas, I was the third female drum major in their history and had a great time. Next, I student-taught in South Austin at Bailey Middle School with the great Diane Gorzycki, a director who really influenced my life.

Then, I student-taught at James Bowie High School where Bruce Dinkins was my mentor. I was very close to him, and he wanted to keep me around, so my first job was at Clint Small Middle School, a feeder to Bowie High School. A lot of very old knowledge influenced me early in my career and led me to be the teacher I am today. After my first year teaching middle school, Bruce moved me over to the high school to fill an opening. When he passed, I took over James Bowie for the next few years before moving on to a brand-new school to see what I was made of. When you open a new school, you learn if you can really teach or not, so I became the first band director at Glenn High School in Leander ISD.

Life took a turn when my mom was diagnosed with cancer in August 2020, and I decided to move closer to East Texas. By the grace of God, the Coppell job opened in October 2020; it was meant to be. I had six good months with her before she passed in February 2021. She always wanted to listen to my bands. I’d send her a video on Friday night and by Sunday she’d call with a laundry list of things I needed to correct. She was the eternal mentor and was a huge influence on my approach to teaching ear training and singing and also how to treat kids and bring a program together. I try every day to honor her and who she was.

Are you honoring your mother at the Midwest performance?
Yes, the concert pays tribute to so many mentors who have gone before me. We will be giving the premiere of a piece by Jack Wilds on the Midwest stage that was dedicated to Diane Gorzycki. We are also playing a transcription that Bruce Dinkins would have loved and a piece by Ryan George, and Bruce is the connection to that. I’m also honoring Scott Mason, who taught at Coppell for 30 years and made the program what it is.

My father is my biggest fan and requested that we play March Grandioso because that is his favorite, and my mother loved it when I had to opportunity to play it at the University of Texas. The entire concert is a thank you to my parents.

How would you describe the band program’s culture and relationship with the community?
The Coppell Band is rich in tradition, and the City of Coppell calls on us regularly to play for events. We are happy to perform, and the community supports us unconditionally. The same is true for my administration, who I can’t thank enough. They believe in the mission of what we do and understand that is it not just music-based, it is life-based. That support was a big draw for me when I decided to come to Coppell.

Although the surrounding Dallas-Fort Worth area has millions of people, there is a small town feeling in Coppell that reminds me of where I grew up. It makes me feel at home. I already knew what the program could do musically. I wanted to see how much we could contribute and accomplish as the next phase of that. We currently have 49 National Merit Semifinalists, the highest number of any school in Texas, and seven of those are band kids this year, as well as ten band students who achieved this honor last year. Our students are high-achieving and really appreciate their teachers, which I love. I am constantly learning from them, and they make me a better teacher.

That type of culture, where students drive the learning and not the teacher, means that students are constantly trying to get better. This is as true in working on their instruments as it is academically. They thrive when you give them challenging content and help make them better. I may say “If you’ve got time and you want me to hear you play, you can sign up for a slot” and the slots are filled in five minutes. They line up at the door waiting to play. I have never seen that hunger in my career, and it makes me work constantly to be the best version of myself. I don’t want to let them down.

When did you first think about applying to Midwest?
I first applied in 2012 and 2014 when I was at James Bowie High School and learned quite a bit from that process. When I started a music program at Glenn High School, I knew that performing at Midwest was a worthy long-term goal and wouldn’t happen right away. After coming to Coppell, I intended to apply in 2022 but when my mom passed on February 12, that was too close to the recording deadline. I was away from school for a couple of weeks handling the family situation. I told myself that I would not be scared to try again, even though my mom wasn’t around. I knew Midwest would be a great experience for my students. The worst that could happen is that they would say no. I told students that we would work towards this goal, and if it happens, it happens. I just wanted to see if we could get the music to a great level faster than we had before.

Many directors should be encouraged by knowing that it can take many attempts to get the invitation. Just because you have a phenomenal band coming up next year, that isn’t your only shot. You need to build consistency and have a wonderful band over several years. Some people think there is an exact equation to getting invited, that you need to play a particular march or include a transcription in the recording. In talking with my mentors, I learned that the submission just needs to be good and exciting. It needs to have life.

Sometimes people may say that Texas bands give cut and dried performances that are technically perfect but lacking emotion. I have never been like that. When I was a kid, my mom would sit next to me and sing my region etudes to me, particularly the lyrical etudes. She’d say, “You need to give it this flavor.” I have always approached my teaching the same way. I may never win Honor Band and that’s ok because I’m not going to be perfectly in the box or whatever people think that we are. I just want to make really good music.

What music did you include in the recording when you applied to the Midwest Clinic?
I did Hail to the Spirit of Liberty, a wonderful march with a lot of personality. It is not often played but it lets you take some interpretive risks that can really pay off. Then, I did a piece that I have only heard the U.S. Navy Band perform, The Wild Goose by Ryan George. It’s fantastic. It runs about nine minutes and is about a goose chase. This work allowed me to feature my wonderful oboe and English horn players and my really strong clarinet and flute sections.

At first the kids did not like The Wild Goose. They’re music snobs and wanted to know why we couldn’t do Pines of Rome or The Firebird. I told them we were doing it, and they eventually fell in love with it. It has compound meter and sounds different and modern. All of a sudden their performance was glorious. You could hear the story of the goose throughout the entire piece. I felt this music had imagery and storytelling that we would not get any other music this year. I paired it with Pines of Rome later for my UIL assessment, and these were two pieces you could watch in your mind.

How did you approach programming for Midwest with the requirement of playing music at all grade levels?
The best advice came from members of the Midwest Board. They told me that an audience at Midwest is not just Texas ears all the time. The concert doesn’t have to be a certain way. You just need to have a concert that is fun and enjoyable for the audience. I took that suggestion to heart and tried to make the concert more of a celebration than a display of technical skill. Our performance will feature new composers and also pay tribute to the people who helped get us there.

With this approach in mind, I wanted to anchor the concert with an exuberant fanfare-style piece. I kept changing my mind about what to put on the concert. I gave careful thought to the length of the concert and how people listen, and picked Howard Hanson’s Symphony #2 as the finale. It is an old-school, major transcription that is not played much anymore but has great passion and excitement. I changed to this piece on the day the program was due. It will be my tribute to Bruce Dinkins because he used to make me go to Sewanee Summer Music Festival, and I learned about transcriptions because he directed an orchestra at the festival.

One of my favorite pieces is our Grade 2 selection called A Dashing Gallop by James Pierpont and arranged by Patrick Roszell. It is written in an orchestral overture style and naturally gets faster as it progresses.

I am excited to take our students to hear the Chicago Symphony Brass perform. The concert we are performing will test our students a bit, but this is the deepest trumpet section I have ever had. You can take the first part and pass it down to the ninth chair and they will play it without fault. The Chicago Brass will motivate all of our students, particularly the sophomores and juniors who are younger and might think “I can do this.”

How has your teaching and approach to working with students changed over the past 18 years?
When you are young and in your first job, you are cautioned to make sure that students know you are the teacher and take you seriously. I was fortunate to work with Bruce Dinkins because he made me his partner in crime and not just his assistant. Because of some of the influences in my life, I thought that the job had to be so hard. Unless you arrived at 7 each morning and left at 8 at night, you weren’t doing your job well. I spent much of my early years thinking that if I worked longer and spent a lot of time at school, maybe all of this talent would just jump in my brain, and I would be able to do it. I worked hard but wasn’t as efficient as I probably could have been.

When Bruce passed, I was 27 or 28 years old, and they handed me a nationally recognized program. My goal was not to screw it up. I learned about resilience and that it is ok not to know something but you must be brave enough to ask questions. If you don’t learn the answers, it affects kids. It’s ok not to know the answer, but it’s not ok not to ask the question.

So, I constantly tried to find people to talk to and then remember and write down as much as possible. As I get older, I appreciate when someone who has been in the business a long time tries to give the advice you need. I find myself now trying to give that advice back because I know that younger directors may not listen now, but may appreciate it later.

I have also learned over time about relationships with kids and parents. I don’t always have to be right, and they don’t always have to be wrong. I have discovered how much people can learn from each other by listening and having mutual respect and understanding. All parents want is what’s best for their kids. Many adults have a role in helping children in their journey. My principal at Coppell says the number one thing she wants us to do is to love kids because many students don’t feel that in their lives or realize that there are people who are there for them. As teachers, our tool is music but our skill is life.

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Bands at Coppell

Coppell is a one-high school town with a building for grades 10-12, a 9th grade center, and three middle schools. The Coppell High School Band program has about 450 students and each middle school has about 250 music students. The high school has seven concert bands, two marching bands, a balanced percussion program, a color guard programmed with the marching band, and two winter guards. At the high school, there are three main directors plus a percussion director and a color guard director.

Shuttlesworth admits that the schedule is tight sometimes with two bands playing against each other in adjacent rehearsal rooms. She has tried to make the busy environment into a comical situation. “You can hear everything all the time. I will open the door to one room and say ‘your trumpets are flat’ and shut the door. Everyone laughs.” When the Wind Symphony was working on Pines of Rome, the band in the next room just stopped playing and listened because it was nearly impossible to get anything done.

The Coppell High School Wind Symphony performs at the Midwest Clinic on Friday, December 22 at 4:15pm.

The post Our Tool Is Music, Our Skill Is Life – An Interview with Kim Shuttlesworth appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Jeremy Lumpkin
The Hillgrove High School
Jazz Orchestra
Powder Springs, Georgia

Jeremy Lumpkin is in his fourth year at Hillgrove High School, where he directs the marching band, wind symphony, concert band, and jazz orchestra. His group is the first jazz band from Georgia to perform at the Midwest. He also taught for five years at Collins Hill High School in Suwanee, Georgia.

Deciding to Apply
Jazz band here meets after school 4 or 5 hours a week but only in the spring. My first year at the school was during the pandemic, and we didn’t do much. In the second year we started the jazz band and played our assessment, which went well. I submitted the assessment tape to the state conference, we got in, and in the third year, we played at the state conference.

I wanted to see how far we could go. I sent the state conference recording to Midwest, and now we are going to Chicago. It’s a young band with only a few seniors, but the students are classically trained and took an interest in jazz. You can see in their performance that they are passionate about what they do. Their goal this year is to put on a good concert and have a good time doing it. We are hoping that kids have bitten the bug. We now have 90 kids who want to swing.

Changing Band Membership
After submitting our tape, fourteen seniors graduated. My soloists weren’t seniors but some of the people who made the band pop graduated. I knew some strong-minded kids coming up would rise to the occasion, and they have. The young kids came in and worked even harder because they knew how big this was. I’m really proud of them. Any nerves involved picking music, which made me lose all my hair.

After selecting music, I gave students seven days to learn the notes. Some did, and some didn’t. I told them that Midwest was about the journey. The concert is the icing on the cake, but I want us to grow as musicians and people. I want our work to be only positive. The kids are mature about it but keep the light nature of teenagers. They are excited about the performance but are more excited about pizza and ice skating.

They may not understand the importance of the performance until they get older. I am selfishly excited because I never thought I would set foot on that stage. I got out of the shower, checked my phone, and saw an email from Midwest. I’m thankful and blessed.

Selecting the Music
There is a lot to learn about selecting the music, and what Midwest wants audiences to hear. The conference features significant amounts of new music from a diverse range of composers and publishers. We are playing a piece called The Moment of Truth by Australian composer Roger Schmidli. It opened my ears to all kinds of music. For every piece I picked, I probably listened to 50 others.

As we work on the music, I remind myself not to expect perfection. I stay positive but make sure players know this is the highest of the high level. When we get on stage, we will make mistakes. We talk in rehearsal about how we will recover. We have to swing as hard as we can so those mistakes are forgiven. I remind them that we were good enough to make it on stage, so we ought to have to have fun.

Some in the audience will compare their jazz bands to ours. I want that to happen because people shouldn’t think Midwest is out of reach. Our program is four years old. These students don’t take jazz lessons; they take classical lessons and are good musicians, but they came in with a passion for jazz and wanted to learn.

Lightbulb Moments
I love when the lightbulbs go on for students. I like to teach through questions. If we do a run of a chart or a section, I might ask, what did you think? They offer educated answers, questions, and critiques of their peers. Students listen to the critiques without getting mad and defensive. The conversations in rehearsal are well-spoken, and they are right. This tells me that they are doing their work. I love seeing kids work hard and discover that the sky is the limit.

Sallie Vines White
Hoover High School First Edition
Jazz Band
Hoover, Alabama

Sallie Vines White is in her 39th year of teaching and has taught in the Hoover City Schools since 1990. She also taught for five years in the Bessemer City Schools. She directs two jazz bands, a symphonic band, and teaches AP Music Theory. She also serves as associate director for competition and football marching bands. This is her third trip to the Midwest Clinic with the top jazz group, First Edition.

At Home in Hoover
Hoover is a suburb of Birmingham, Alabama, with a population of 92,000. I love the community and my students. We have a large band ­program and march about 350 students and have four concert bands and three full jazz bands, including Hoover First Edition. For marching, we have a football band that everyone participates in and a smaller competition band that does BOA competitions and similar events.

Rehearsing
We meet daily for 49 minutes during seventh period. While preparing for Midwest, we added a 90-minute Wednesday afternoon rehearsal. During marching camp, we tried to rehearse a couple of times a week with the new group, which, of course, does not include seniors who graduated. We are blessed to give a lot of performances, including a Veteran’s program and a Christmas program with entirely different music from our Midwest repertoire. We sightread often and have a lot of things in our book, but Midwest music is what we have been working on the most this year.

The Application
We performed at Midwest in 2012 and 2018 and because you can only audition every five years, I planned to audition again as soon as possible since next year will be my 40th year of teaching. Last year’s group was really strong, and we participated in the Loyola Jazz Festival, which always makes a great recording of your performance. I used two songs for the audition recording from that performance. I made a mistake during the third number of getting the audience to clap, which made it harder to stay together. My first reaction was that I ruined that recording. We ended up having to re-record that piece, but it worked out.

Musical Lessons
Their sightreading has jumped leaps and bounds as we evaluated music for our Midwest concert program. I did pick a program that is hard on the brass chops. If I could do it over, I would back off on a couple of tunes. At Midwest, you play music at every grade level because they want your performance to apply to everybody in the audience. We are doing a few easier charts, but they have the brass blowing the whole time. I am excited to present our program.

Picking Charts
Having taken a group to Midwest twice before, I had a notion of what I wanted to do. Quite a few of the charts I wanted to program were performed in the last couple of years and were not eligible for this year. I love Alan Baylock’s music and many of his charts were played recently. I learned from my previous experiences to be at the computer when they open the music reservation time. I had a list of several newer tunes that I wanted and hit these selections first. Preparing for Midwest is a learning process with many deadlines and requirements. It was wonderful enough the first two times that I wanted to do it a third time. I’m glad it worked out.

Special Guests
Marcus Printup, who plays trumpet in Jazz at Lincoln Center, is our guest artist. Many years ago, we used to participate in a competition called Swing Central Competition. If you were selected as a finalist, they sent a clinician to your school. Wycliffe Gordon came here a couple of times, and Marcus Printup also came once. He’s a wonderful musician and person, and we have stayed in touch through Facebook.

Our football program was featured on an MTV show called Two-A-Days, and Marcus had seen that. I wanted to get him as our guest artist this time, having had Wycliffe Gordon, Todd Stoll, and Jim Pugh for previous Midwest performances. He is also performing with Hillgrove High School at the convention. I am happy that my students will get to hear him and know him.

We have several directors on staff here who will be our guest directors, including Director of Bands Ryan Fitchpatrick, our assistant Matthew Cicero who directs the third jazz band, and Jeff Fondren, our percussion instructor. They will all direct a song, and I’m excited they are part of the program. They are wonderful colleagues.

Favorite Songs on the Program
My favorites include the one that Marcus is going to play, Tutti for Cootie by Duke Ellington and El Alma de la Banda (The Soul of the Band) by Gordon Goodwin, which is a really fun chart. Brian Kidd, who used to write for the Navy Commodores, wrote a recently published jazz waltz called Leading the Way, and he gave me a copy. It is different from anything we are playing and has a wonderful sax soli. One of my favorites, the only one we are doing from one of my earlier Midwest performances, is a Jeff Jarvis tune called Bistro Latino. It’s a tough but fun chart.

Program Strengths
One of the many times we we were performing at the Loyola Jazz Festival, two of the judges wrote on their sheets, “You need to audition for Midwest.” They were leaders in jazz education and that gave me a lot of confidence. The kids work hard here, we have fun, and we love it. You never know until you try, so we keep trying. I have a great passion for jazz education and always try to pass along the joy I have found in playing and teaching jazz.

Aldo Christopher Morales
Del Rio High School Jazz Ensemble
Del Rio, Texas

Aldo Christopher Morales is in his second year as Director of Bands at Del Rio High School in Texas. He spent ten years as the primary conductor of various Del Rio Non-Varsity School Bands. He currently directs the Marching Band, Wind Ensemble, and Jazz Ensemble at Del Rio and oversees and assists all aspects of the Concert Band and Symphonic Winds. This is his first invitation to take a group to Midwest.

Deciding to Apply
In the years just before COVID we started having a competitive jazz program. We traveled to various festivals in Texas and placed well against groups accepted by Midwest in the past. We started thinking that we could dip our toes in and submit an application. We sent in recordings in 2019 and 2021. This year we made it.

Our recording included Caravandalized, written by Duke Ellington and based on the famous jazz standard Caravan but with a rambunctious New Orleans sound. Australian composer Tim Davies arranged the piece, and the kids really enjoyed it, so we recorded it along with two songs out of the Essentially Ellington Library. One was Roll ‘Em by Mary Lou Williams. We had a talented senior clarinet player who knocked this out of the park. We did another song called Across the Track Blues by Duke Ellington, a slow piece that mimics the sounds of a train throughout. It uses the ensemble in different ways to create those sonorities.

The students were excited when we were accepted. Kids in the second jazz band really started practicing and showing a new commitment to jazz. When we held auditions in late May, students were well prepared because they wanted to be part of this group. It was the first Midwest invitation for our school. We were already a strong program, and the Midwest invitation took us to another level.

Joy and Passion
As teachers we all have our vision where our kids have bought in just as much as we have. It can be difficult to achieve because they are teenagers and most aren’t going to major in music. Our students are so motivated right now because of the end goal. That makes me happy because having students who are so passionate may only happen in the most competitive programs. I’m really enjoying that our standards can be much higher, which allows us to do what we imagine when we major in music and think of leading a group.

Surprises
I think the main surprise was how much things halted at the beginning of school. We auditioned students in May and started practicing towards the middle of June. There was no marching camp competing for our time. Sometimes we had five hours in the band hall. We did sectionals and full ensemble work through the end of June. When we dismissed students by about the 4th of July, it felt like we were about halfway through our preparations. We could play through our program of nine pieces, and everything was coming together. Our soloists were already knee deep in the process.

During the summer our marching band usually rehearses three times a week, and then we have a game on Friday and a marching competition on Saturday, which doesn’t leave much time for jazz. We also had region jazz auditions on September 26. On our day off from marching, we came in after school and dove into our individual etudes for the region. All of this halted our progress until the region auditions and marching ended.

We picked up the pieces in early October and feel good about our progress. You might start a song that you haven’t played in a couple of weeks and feel a little worried, but with good musicians it gets good really fast. That lets you relax a bit and feel like you can breathe.
I have talked to George Andrikokus at Hinsdale Middle School (also invited to the 2023 Midwest) on the phone, and we have shared advice with each other. He can get much more done without the marching season. In our program, jazz takes more of a backseat because marching takes the forefront during the fall. Trying to keep the ship afloat with all these simultaneous duties has been the most difficult part. We feel confident and see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Special Guests
Ray Vasquez, a trumpet teacher from Brownsville, who is coming up with the Rio Grande Valley Jazz Orchestra, is actually a Del Rio alum from back in the 1990s. Another former student, David Zamora, is a college jazz studies major. He is playing with us and also helped during the summer before returning to college in August. He really was knee deep with the rhythm section. We have tried to include people with Del Rio ties partly because we are a Title I school. Most of our kids have never been on a plane before so you know funds are tough to come by. We ran concession stands at the football games and sold merchandise online.

We didn’t have lots of extra money to bring in guest artists, so we tailored our expectations. It is so rare for a Title 1 school to reach this level. We are on the border and can see Mexico from where marching band practices. Many students have family over there. They are wonderful kids, but it is a different world compared some groups. I love that we can give this experience to kids at this level. That is the most rewarding part.

Community Support
We had to educate people about the Midwest Clinic. We are isolated geographically in a city of about 40,000 people. The nearest town is about 54 miles away and has 60,000 people. San Antonio is about 150 miles away. Our district has been great about supporting us. They are going to pay for our transportation to the airport and our meals on the trip. We had to fundraise for lodging and flights. The community learned that it was a big deal.

The recording we did over the previous three years actually became part of our curriculum. We would play back the recording and ask the saxophones “are you balancing to the lead?” Students didn’t mind that we were recording. We knew that we had a good group, and if we were selected, eventually that would be great. We knew that you can’t win unless you’re in.

Recording also has lessons for life. When you go out to perform, it is one and done. It’s different when you are going through it with the kids, and we tell them to pretend we’re on stage. It is difficult to get in that mindset. When the recording goes on, they feel the pressure of a live performance. The more times we get them in that situation where they are really focused on what they are trying to do, the more it will pay off later.

Special Stops in Chicago
When we get off the plane in Chicago, we are headed straight to Hinsdale Middle School to see them rehearse. George has been great about scheduling that with his administration. I look forward to meeting a middle school band that can reach that level. As a nerdy educator, that excites me.

George Andrikokus
Hinsdale Middle School Jazz Ensemble
Hinsdale, Illinois

George Andrikokus is director of bands and instrumental jazz programs at Hinsdale Middle School in Illinois. He has also taught in the Addison School District #4 and Bensenville School District #2, both also in Illinois. He is a graduate of Elmhurst University and will lead a group at Midwest for the first time this year.

Life in Hinsdale
Hinsdale is about 20 miles west of Chicago. The community and school district supports the arts and everything we do, especially the jazz ensemble. Our students play their regular gigs throughout the year which include opening for local big bands in and around the Chicago area. We had a piece written for our Midwest performance, and the cost came out of our budget, with some help from our amazing PTO. Parents have helped us with fundraising to offset the cost of transportation and to reduce the overall cost of the trip for students. Living close to Chicago makes the trip less expensive, but we want to get the full experience with coach buses and a group dinner in the city after our performance.

Applying to Midwest
In 2019 we performed at the Illinois Music Educators Conference, and I felt if we could keep on this trajectory we could have a shot at Midwest down the road. Coming out of COVID, we had a group of really strong 6th and 7th graders who were passionate about playing music and jazz, so as we were rehearsing and performing, everybody caught the bug to perform more. We had a successful year in 2021 so I decided to put a recording date on the calendar for the following year to apply to perform at Midwest, and told the band about the plan. If it worked out, great. It was fine either way for us because the live recording process would be an educational opportunity for our students. Last year we also had far less than 75% of the band graduating at the time. We had depth in numbers of really high-quality 6th and 7th grade players, and this year’s band has three 6th graders in it who auditioned and filled vacancies. I can’t imagine doing as well as they are with only one year of playing experience. It was the perfect window for us and on December 20th we get to be part of history.

Learning from the Process
Over the last couple of months, students have realized that we need to put on an entertaining show beyond playing the music. Our set has been meticulously put together with a mix of swing and Latin tunes in various keys and tempos. There’s a ballad in there as well; we really tried to hit every element. Our Motown closer is a lot of fun, too. I gave considerable thought to the arc of the concert and the impact it will have on the audience.

I picked literature carefully to make sure the levels of music were balanced for the students, and it doesn’t stray too far from what we would play in a normal year. We had some rehearsals and small group work over the summer, so it was business as usual for us but just a bit expedited with the December performance. At this point in the fall, we have rehearsed two hours on Tuesday evenings and two hours on Thursday afternoons to allow us to prepare the music at the highest level possible.

Most Enjoyable Part of Preparing
Our rehearsals always feel fresh and challenging because there is so much music to prepare. It’s like a giant puzzle, and I love puzzles. The bond between students outside of rehearsal is exciting to see because we are together much more this year. Retired Northern Illinois University Jazz Director Ron Carter came in to work with the band. We had a rehearsal, pizza party, and a screening of the documentary Chops, which features Ron Carter. It was wonderful for students to hang out together without instruments and build an even closer bond. The documentary captures the musical spark created by students just a few years older than them as they prepare for the Essentially Ellington Competition in New York. It shows that it is ok to be passionate and excited about making music together, and that taking big risks can lead to big rewards.

Sharing the Stage
I knew I wanted to have a variety of soloists and to feature key people in my development as an educator. First, I reached out to my professor Doug Beach, who is now retired from Elmhurst University. I am so fortunate to have learned under him, played in his band, and developed a relationship with him as a colleague. I wanted to play a Doug Beach chart at Midwest because his writing was, and continues to be, a staple for me as a jazz director. He will guest direct his tune and play with students on the final number.

Evon J. Sams was my first student teacher my first year at Hinsdale Middle School and is an amazing saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. I asked him to perform with us because he can relate to kids and knows our program. He is doing great things as a professional musician and educator.

The final guest is trombonist Christopher Bill. I had seen his YouTube videos over the years and shot him a message. He responded, “Tell me the date. Let’s do it!” He is so versatile, a classical player with a jazz and funk background. Students really decided he was legit after seeing how many followers he has online. We are excited to make music with him.

Commissions
We are playing three commissions on our concert. The first, written by Ryan Adamsons, is a contrafact on the jazz standard Black Orpheus and was just picked up by a publisher. We have a tune by Michele Fernández which is an absolute jam. Finally, I have always admired Randall Standridge and his work. He is such a versatile composer, and I wanted to see if he would write a jazz commission, his first jazz chart, and it happens to be under his publishing company. We met and discussed ideas over Zoom. I am excited to premiere this tune, which is a great contrast for our program. It’s fusion, Latin, and has some cool cinematic and programmatic elements. It has an optional solo feature for one or more soloists. It is a masterful composition written with the performers in mind. Watching students bring it to life has been awesome. Our kids have put in the hard work on these charts, now we want them to let loose and enjoy this experience. We want to make our performance a celebration of music.

Elijah Ontiveros
Hornedo Jazz Ensemble
El Paso, Texas

Elijah Ontiveros is in his 4th year of teaching as the Assistant Band Director at Hornedo Middle School. He directs the Hornedo Symphonic Band, Hornedo Jazz Ensemble, and beginning brass. The Hornedo Jazz Ensemble was invited to perform at the 2023 TMEA convention and is making its first appearance at the Midwest Clinic.

The Motivation to Apply
We were invited to appear at the Texas Music Educators Association Convention and also earned first place in our last contest of the year. I decided to give Midwest a shot and submitted our winning competition recording and it was accepted. We had never applied before, and this will be my first time even attending the convention.

One challenge of preparing for Midwest is sending a recording in the spring, and then losing players who graduated. I asked our liaison for Midwest if we could bring some students who graduated as part of our group and learned that it doesn’t work that way. I didn’t know what to do.

I have learned how capable middle school students are. Many educators take that for granted, especially in the music world. We look at them and are surprised with what students can achieve. Earning an invitation to play for an international audience makes me proud to be with these kids every day, even when it is a struggle. It almost seems unreal. We have to take time to appreciate these moments that don’t happen often.

What Students Have Gained
My students have learned about themselves more than anything else. When I first passed out the music, we were headed into summer vacation, and some of the students were just finishing 6th grade. They had played just a few charts in the entire year and now had six or seven to learn over the summer without any jazz experience. Over the last several months, they are learning more than just music. They are becoming more responsible and managing their workload and time. I explained to them how big this performance is, and I think they understand, but they won’t get it until they see it with their eyes.

Best Part of the Process
We started school at the beginning of August. Jazz isn’t offered until 7th grade, so it is a thrill to see how much students have improved since they began with me. I can’t wait to see what they will do tomorrow, the next day, and the following week. Back in August, the preparation looked like a challenge that we might not pull off. Instead, we can play a high-level music for a large audience. That’s the exciting part for me.

Guest on the Program
I have a great mentor, Al Mendez, a retired band director and fine arts director who has done so much for music in El Paso. My teaching career began right after the world shut down. My first day in the classroom was on the laptop in a Zoom with groups of students I had never met. The following year we made it back to school, and I was in charge of the jazz band. I knew Al Mendez was the best person to bring in and tell me if I was going in the right direction. I reached out to him. He had no idea who I was and came to listen to my group two weeks before our winter concert. Right after that rehearsal, he told me that he was available every Thursday. He said, “I will be here every week because you have something special here.”

When I heard that from a man who was recently named Texas Bandmaster of the Year, it was gold. He was there for us before we received any recognition, so it was an easy choice to have him conduct a piece for us in Chicago.

I had a harder time selecting a guest artist. Last year, the University of Texas at El Paso Jazz Ensemble was also invited to play at TMEA. They had an amazing guest artist, Los Angeles trumpeter Willie Murillo. I got in touch with him and discovered that he was the most down-to-earth professional I have ever met. It felt like talking to a neighbor. I told him we had something good in December and asked if he would play with us. He said, “I’ve been featured in movies and on the Tonight Show, but my passion lies in education and with students. I am happy to be a guest artist.”

Favorite Music on the Concert
I really connected with Gordon Goodwin’s song dedicated to Sammy Nestico, My Man Sam. I’ve been a big fan of Sammy Nestico since I started playing jazz music. I listened to it online and decided it was a tough chart, but I have the kids to pull it off. I thought it was probably the hardest we could go. It is a song we have been hitting hard, and it’s coming along well.

Community Support
Our community has been really supportive. We are right across the border from Juarez, Mexico, and on the bottom slope of the West side of El Paso right underneath the Franklin Mountains. When I heard that we had been invited to Midwest, I knew we would have to ask our school district for support with expenses and were able to get some help. Most of the money came from students and our program overall. Reaching out to the parents, I told them that we had to make this happen.

Our jazz students raised $18,000 to contribute part of the trip expense, which will pay for meals, artist fees, one of the songs we’re getting commissioned, and t-shirts for the kids. The El Paso Community Foundation gave us a generous donation of $2,500. Our biggest support system is definitely our parents, who have really helped out. The parents and students made this possible.

The post Making the Midwest Swing – Five Jazz Bands Prepare to Shine appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

At the time of this interview, Rufus Reid, jazz bass artist and author, had recently joined the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra. His background in both classical and jazz music made him one of the most sought-after rhythm section players.
Reid began his musical training on trumpet, which he studied from elementary through high school in Sacramento, California. He then entered the military as a trumpet player in an Air Force band. During the time he was stationed in Japan, he began to teach himself to play the bass. When he returned to the States, he studied with James Harnett, principal bassist of the Seattle Symphony. He continued his studies at Northwestern University where he studied with Warren Benfield. of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. While in Chicago, he gained extensive jazz experience playing at the Jazz Showcase with artists such as Dizzy Gillespie, Art Farmer, and McCoy Tyner. His first book, The Evolving Bassist, became the preeminent work on jazz bass playing. In 1979, Reid joined William Paterson University as director of jazz studies, helping to develop the University’s bachelor of music program in jazz studies and performance. This program was the first professional academically accredited bachelor of music in jazz in the area. After leading the program for two decades, he retired in 1999 to continue his performance and composition career. At age 79, Rufus Reid continues to teach and perform.

* * *

One of the things that has made Rufus Reid in demand as a rhythm section player is that he can swing. His powerful rhythmic drive gives any band a kick to propel it forward.

Reid knows that the strength of a band depends heavily on its often-overlooked rhythm section. “If the rhythm section is weak, the band won’t make it – even if it has a fantastic horn section,” he says. “When the rhythm section lacks energy, good lead players aren’t able to play as well as they might. If the rhythm section is really strong, the band can sound great, even with mediocre lead players.”

The main job of the rhythm section is to be an energy force to push the hand ahead. The players have to learn how to pace themselves since the rhythm section must play continuously without letting up on the energy level. When Reid works with high school musicians in clinics, he tells them to get out and play so hard that they work up a sweat. “I tell them that I don’t want them to be able to wear the same shirt the next night. It cracks up the players, but it does tell them something about their energy level.”

In the best rhythm sections, each member is playing well enough to keep a strong pulse, and the players are all listening closely to everything that’s going on around them. Reid says that school jazz bands tend to sound stiff and academic, even though the players may be technically very strong. “Any rhythm section member – on bass, piano, drums, guitar, trombones, whatever – should be able to make you tap your foot with whatever he is playing. He should generate enough pulse that he could drive the band on his own. The player also has to be able to lock into a time continuum as a unit with the other players. Then when they’re all really listening to each other, they begin to take off.”

Reid says that the thing that’s probably overlooked the most in rhythm sections is that each player has to be able to stand on their own. Very often if the drummer and keyboard player are strong, for example, a weak bass player will start leaning on them. “I learned the importance of being able to stand on my own from a drummer named Wilbur Campbell. When I first started playing with him, he kept doing things I couldn’t quite figure out. It would sound as if he was taking the rhythm in one direction, and so I’d try to follow him. When the time came to go somewhere else, he went that way while I kept going. It was like falling over the edge of a cliff, and he just left me hanging there. It was my own fault because I’d been leaning on him and hadn’t really kept the pulse myself. Once I learned what he was doing, I became a much stronger player and began to stand on my own two feet.”

So the first step in building a rhythm section is for each player to be independently strong, capable of staying on the beat without getting distracted by another player’s improvisations. Then, when the players are together and start listening to each other closely, the rhythm section can be much more powerful. Reid also recommends that the rest of the band should try practicing without the rhythm section to develop rhythmic independence, too.

Pianist Kenny Barron and Bassist Rufus Reid

Every rhythm section member is first and foremost a timekeeper for the group and must fulfill some basic responsibilities. Rhythm players should only improvise if they can do so while still fulfilling the major job of keeping the pulse. Here are the specific things Reid says are expected of the drummer, bassist, and pianist:

Drummer’s Role
• Provide these basic elements: (1) hi-hat on 2nd and 4th beat; (2) broken triplet pattern with cymbal; and (3) emphasis from the bass drum, usually on the 1st and 3rd beats (Reid adds that Mel Lewis uses the bass drum to gently accentuate all four beats for a heartbeat effect).
• Be sensitive; overcome the tendency of drummers to drown out everyone. When the drummer plays too loudly, the whole band will overplay.
• Be flexible and listen to what others are doing rhythmically; don’t try to shove your beat down everyone else’s throats.
• Maintain the same high energy level when you play slowly or softly as you do when playing loudly and fast.
• Be able to play very softly. It can be very hard to do this, especially if you’ve been working with practice pads, but it’s essential.

Bassist’s Role
• Provide these two basic elements: (1) play in steady time through chord changes to create an energetic walking feeling; and (2) supply harmonic background: chords, arpeggios, and scales.
• Remember that rhythmic embellishments and solo lines are frosting on the cake; they definitely help bring the music to life, but you shouldn’t sacrifice playing the right notes in good time for sloppy out-of-tune notes played with poor rhythm.

Pianist’s Role
• Generally use chord blocks in both hands, unless accompanying in rubato style.
• Don’t overplay; when you’re not soloing, remember that you’re accompanying, so don’t crowd the soloist with your busy lines.
• Vary your chord voicings; learn different inversions of chords.
• Consider your register; play in a different register than the soloist; for example, if the soloist is playing a high trumpet part, stay in the low register.
• You and the guitar should be aware of each other at all times; try to play in separate ranges and also to comp sparsely so you each play when the other isn’t.

Other Members’ Roles
• Keep a strong pulse.
• Don’t overplay; if the texture is getting too thick, take a rest and let in some daylight.

Strengthening Your Rhythm
You need to work alone and also with the other members of a rhythm section. Reid says that you will probably have to coach yourselves, since school jazz band directors tend not to pay much attention to the rhythm section, especially if they’ve got a decent brass section.

The first step is to start listening intently to the style of music you want to play. “I used to listen to a record over and over until I’d actually wear it out,” Reid says. “I kept hearing different things all the time. I’d hone in, just hear the bass, then the other instruments. After a while, I got to the point where I could hear the bass and also the drums, hearing how the bassist reacted to what the drummer did. Some stereo records have the bass and drums on separate channels, so you can tune into just the bass or drums in one speaker. You can also get good practice by playing along with the records that interest you or with the special improvisation records that have your instrument part left out for you to fill.”

He recalls one high school clinic with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis band where the school’s jazz band performed one of Thad Jones’ arrangements. “It was a very difficult arrangement, as a lot of Thad’s things are. The students had only heard the record once, and they probably weren’t looking at the music when they heard it. These students were destroying the music; they could read it, but there was no concept of what the music was all about. One of the advantages to playing Thad’s music is that practically all of his charts are on record. So. that’s part of doing your homework, sitting down and actually looking at the music and listening to what’s being done with it. If you listen over and over to the dynamics and the inflections, it’s easy to get an idea of how the music should go.”

The best listening exercise is to follow a score or a part to a jazz chart while listening to a recording. “Listen to the inflections and then try to mimic then exactly,” he advises. “Make markings in the score to show any dynamics and nuances – swelling, staccato, legato, etc. – that aren’t present in the published score. Listen especially for the degree of change: if a note is accented, listen to how much it is accented.

“You have to strive as hard as possible to get the same kind of sound that you hear from great artists. You can only learn to swing by listening to enough good music that does swing; eventually you’ll soak it up.” He describes “swing” as “a certain rhythmic pocket where everyone is just clicking right along together as if it could never be any other way.”

Swing requires an aggressive energy and a certain snap to push things along, he explains. To demonstrate, he picked up a pencil and tapped out even quarter notes on the edge of a table, keeping his wrist rigid. The beat was very flat and full. “The drummer who chokes like this, holding the stick too tight, will also tighten the beat. It takes real wrist action to snap the cymbal.” He demonstrated with his makeshift drumstick, keeping his wrist loose and adding a snap that suddenly gave impetus to the beat.
The same principle applies to the bass and piano. The bassist needs to use plenty of arm weight to pull on the string with a snap. The pianist should use a sharp attack rather than a mushy one. “The more energy you put in,” he says, “the more you’ll produce.”

Probably the single greatest barrier to swing is when players get so preoccupied with what notes to play that they stop thinking about the pulse. Young players are often so anxious to show off their dazzling technique that they forget about keeping the beat. By listening to how various great players put real impetus and drive behind even the simplest rhythm patterns, you can see that the timekeeping job doesn’t have to be monotonous.

“I can’t overemphasize the importance of listening to a lot of records and then copying what you hear. School players tend to be great readers but they just don’t listen enough so their ear isn’t developed. If you don’t listen to records, you’ll keep coming up with something you think is new even though it was done before you were born.”

Check a local library or record store for vintage recordings so you can hear jazz of all eras. Then you can soak up sort of a history of jazz and also develop a repertoire of jazz styles, which is essential for free-lancers. “If you’re hired as a bassist for a job and you’re told to play something in the style of Stanley Clarke, you’ve got to know that it would have a freer feeling than earlier jazz bass styles and that that bass line might have something of a samba feeling. A pianist who is told to play something like George Shearing had better know that Shearing was known for playing block chords, moving around with the entire hand.”

Troubleshooting
If your band ever starts to fall apart rhythmically during a performance, you should have several emergency plans ready. “Talk about what to do in that situation.” Reid says. “Everyone should agree on whether they’re going to yield to the soloist, or follow the drummer (it’s easy to hear the hi-hats on the 2nd and 4th beats), or listen to the piano player. Don’t be afraid to look around at each other and maybe have one player cue the others somehow by raising a hand, shaking the head, or whatever. Just make sure that everyone knows whom to follow.”

Some common problems are that at medium-slow tempos, everyone tends to drag, while at faster tempos the band may not be relaxed enough, and when a drummer tenses up, the tempo starts rushing. Bass players generally tend to drag tempos from lack of control and from tightening up; Reid suggests that they work on breathing evenly to stay relaxed and to keep phrases even as they play.

The metronome can help develop steadier tempos. “I sometimes practice with a metronome,” he says. “You can swing with it, too. It can help you dissect a rhythmically difficult chart, so you can figure out exactly where the main beats lie. You can have some fun trying to play with a friend while staying with a metronome; the results can be pretty funny.”

As the rhythm section works together, balance is sometimes a major problem. Either the bass and piano are drowned out by the rest of the section, or if they’re amplified, the entire band plays too loudly. Reid recommends that the bass player use a foot pedal for volume control with either an electric bass or amplified acoustic bass.

The rhythm section can control the volume of the whole band. “If the band is playing loudly and then suddenly the rhythm section cuts the volume to a softer level with the same amount of energy, the rest of the band, if they’re listening to the rhythm section, will all play a little more softly too.” He says that in Thad Jones/Mel Lewis’ band he enjoys the way the band can really swing when it plays softly. He also cites Count Basie’s band as a phenomenal band that can really swing and stay very crisp at a soft level. Basie’s band also has mastered keeping the whole section together at a very slow tempo, too, which demands so much concentration that many players become unglued.

It’s clear that Reid is proud to be a part of the Thad Jones band, especially for the way the players all listen to each other intently in the concerts instead of just being absorbed in their own playing. “It’s great. The band members will come up to each other after the concert and say, ‘I really liked what you did during that solo’ or ‘You were really nice on that tune.’ It’s very refreshing, and I find that it’s made me really happy in the band. It sounds corny, but since I joined the band I’ve suddenly found myself walking down the street humming and whistling.”

To maintain a high energy level in playing means that you have to fight extra hard to com­bat the natural human tendency towards laziness, Reid says. He learned a lesson in the value of practice through an unusual incident involving the great swing bassist Ray Brown. When Reid was first taking up the bass while stationed in Japan in the Air Force, he met Brown, who was on tour with pianist Oscar Peterson. “I got a chance to hang out with him for a couple of weeks and made a nuisance of myself I’m sure. He’s such a phenomenal musician and a grand person that I was really in awe of him. Everything about him was so positive.”

One encounter with Brown was a turning point for Reid. “Up until then, I’d practiced in spurts, but never developed a real routine. Things come easy to me I guess, so as soon as I’d pick something up, I wouldn’t worry about it any more, and when I’d go to reach for it, it might not be there securely. At the time I met Ray Brown, he seemed to me like the only bass player in the world, and he could do no wrong.

“One night after a late concert he had invited me to come see him the next day. So the next morning I went to his hotel at about 10:00 and was surprised that through the door I could hear him playing. After I knocked, he came to the door in his underwear. He hadn’t even gotten dressed yet and here he was practicing scales, with the bow and everything. That floored me. Here was the greatest player in the world; why should he practice anymore? I began to understand: that’s why he’s the greatest. He had made it a routine that he must touch the instrument at least a certain amount of time each day. That incident did a number on me, it really did.”

Since then Reid has established a set practice routine. “Now even when I can’t practice the instrument physically, I’m practicing mentally. That is, when I’m working on a song, I’ll try to hear it or visualize it in my head. So when I actually pick up the instrument, it’s not cold turkey right away. The first time I got a chance to play with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis band, I didn’t have a chance to rehearse with them. I had a three-hour bus ride to the job, so I went over the tunes mentally. I wouldn’t haven’t been invited to join the band without that practice.

Photos by Kishore Seshadri

The post Rufus Reid on Rhythm Section Playing appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Béla Bartók once said, “Competitions are for horses, not artists.” Musicians are often called upon to compete like horses, and it is important to remember that the constant evaluation and pressure of competitions, juries, auditions, masterclasses, and weekly lessons can build up and eventually quash the artistic spirit. There is also concern about the viability of a professional career in music. These pressures can cause immense stress for young musicians, sometimes to the detriment of their artistic efforts. My most memorable lesson with Carol Wincenc at Stony Brook taught me the power of well-placed encouragement. A teacher’s insight and advice can help students put aside these worries and truly concentrate on music study.

I knew that I wanted to pursue music as a career from the tenth grade, but my ideas of just exactly what I wanted to do within the profession vacillated considerably throughout my time in school. Upon graduating with a master’s degree from the Yale School of Music, the stark realities of the profession were staring me in the face and huge pressures began to build. I knew that parental support would not be available after graduation; those student loans would no longer be a cushion to live on but would soon become bills. Being from Canada, I knew that I would also need some kind of visa or green card to stay in the United States. With a lack of work for flutists, the odds seemed impossible. It became more and more difficult to simply play music when the pressure to succeed built exponentially.

These stresses in combination with hearing horror stories about orchestras folding and downsizing and grave notes from teachers and professional musicians about the implausibility of a career in music took its toll on my playing. Every time I played, I heard a doubtful voice in my head constantly saying, “Am I good enough?” “Is this all a waste of time?” “Will so and so recommend me for work if I play well?” “I won’t amount to anything unless I win this competition!” “If I play that way, no one with hire me.”

Needless to say my energies became focused on practicalities versus artistic energy, and I lost focus.
I made yet another leap of faith to continue my studies and enrolled in the DMA program at Stony Brook University to study with Carol Wincenc. My first lesson with her is one that I will never forget. I played the first movement of the J.S. Bach Partita in A minor. Knowing that this degree was the last stop of my formal education, my worries were at their peak. I was determined to prove myself, to show her that I could be someone that she could recommend for work, to show that I was worthy of her time – all while being terrified that she would think that I wasn’t good enough. My thoughts were entirely devoted to what her evaluation of my abilities might be. This imbalance showed clearly in my playing.

Following my performance in the lesson, which was hindered by shaky breathing, an inconsistent sound, and some awkward phrasing, Wincenc sat in silence for a moment to think, looking out the big windows of the flute studio onto a green courtyard and a sea of 1960s academic architecture. Then she said one very powerful thing, “Don’t worry, hon, there’s room for you.”

Those were the exact seven words I needed to hear. She had intuited my inner turmoil and anxious need to prove myself. Performing with such doubts and insecurities was all I knew up to that point. She figured out exactly what was going on in my head and exactly what wasn’t – the music. She reached out to teach the whole student and that made music possible.

A vote of confidence, confirming that somewhere, somehow, there could be room for me in the profession, reenergized me and allowed me a tremendous focus on the music. In one sentence she disarmed some of my greatest fears and showed her approval. Instead of instructing me about how to quell nerves in a stressful situation, (which can be helpful for a younger student), she turned my focus entirely to the musical score.

Then she began to demonstrate, and that is truly worth a thousand words. After a brief talk about the sincerity of the piece, she had me play the Allemande again, this time improvising a bass line with her voice and gesticulating accordingly, attempting to keep me focused at every turn. Her ability to sing a bass line along with me was so inspiring. An ultimate chamber musician, she alternated leading and following, teaching via powerful example the subtleties of phrasing, rubato, and dynamic intent. It would have taken hours to describe all of these nuances verbally. She tied everything together by demonstrating certain sections, and all of a sudden it made sense where to breathe, where to build climactic intent, all while providing endless possibilities for character and shape.

Wincenc provided example and demonstration at every turn and her positive attitude and dedication to the music was contagious. This love of the flute and music was constantly radiant and continued throughout every lesson that followed.

When I demonstrate, I have often found that sometimes student’s faces reflect an “I will never be able to sound like that” defeatist attitude, or they may want to rush in and try the idea themselves without listening and processing the example. I have even had students fail to see the point of demonstration and simply think that I was a showing off. I firmly believe, however, that modeling music through demonstration is both setting the bar and providing a reachable example. One of my high school teachers, Susan Hoeppner would play portions of every piece for me, and every week I would say to myself, “How on earth is she doing that? I have to figure that out.”

Music is an aural tradition and very little can be produced that does not exist inside the ear and heart. I also often recommend excellent recordings for my students.

Later in that year of study at Stony Brook, I was selected along with four other flutists for the live round of the Haynes International Flute Competition based on my recording of the Partita. Without confidence, love, support, and solid example, I highly doubt this would have happened. After hearing my Nielsen Concerto at one lesson Wincenc gave me a couple of suggestions and then simply inquired, “Have you played it with orchestra yet?” After sheepishly replying that I hadn’t, she said, “Don’t worry, you will – I know it.” It was the exact boost of confidence I needed and I won the Stony Brook’s concerto competition a few months later.

Sometimes the job of a teacher reaches beyond music, beyond the scales, arpeggios, long tones and etudes that are assigned by a great pedagogue. Great music making comes from balanced lives and focused minds, and is best shared through encouragement and terrific example.

The post The Best Lesson Ever: A Vote of Confidence appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Pull the headjoint from the body about ¼ inch as a starting point. When assembling the flute, the embouchure hole and the keys should be level and when playing, pointed to the ceiling. If the keys and embouchure hole are rolled back towards the player, the tone will be small, tight, and flat. If the keys and embouchure hole are rolled away from the player, the tone will be airy and sharp.

Play a second octave D, mf. This is a good tuning note to start with because the flute is stationary in the student’s hands.

Have students download a tuning app or purchase a tuner. Most students attack the note so vigorously that the beginning of the note is sharp, and then as the note progresses, the pitch settles. Alternate starting the tone with a HAH attack and then the TU attack. The HAH attack usually is on pitch, while the TU is a bit sharp. Also use the tuner to play the “keep the needle still game.” Keeping the needle still means that students are gaining control of the air stream. Even air is the key.

2. How do I teach vibrato?
Vibrato is the slight variation of the pitch that is produced in the larynx, not in the abdomen or diaphragm. With the right hand on the barrel, start with a B in the first octave playing breath attacks (HAH staccatos) HAH, HAH, HAH rest, mp. Be sure there is no movement in the jaw, chest, or abdomen. Once students can play these staccato (no touching of the notes), then have them alternate the HAH staccatos with the slurred HAHs. HAH, HAH, HAH rest followed by the slurred HAH, AH, AH rest.

Practice vibrato pulsations on each note of a scale starting with two pulsations on each note slurred, then three, and finally four. Beginning band books, hymnals, and scales are good material for practicing vibrato cycles. Practicing four vibrato cycles to a quarter note also teaches students how to subdivide beats. There are some excellent videos on YouTube of the role of the vocal folds in vibrato production. Flutists produce vibrato the same way that sopranos do.

3. What about double tonguing?
The first step in achieving a great double tonguing is to master single tonguing. Just to review, the tip of the tongue is placed in the aperture, the air builds, the tongue is pulled back and the tone is released. Beginning students are taught this concept by spitting one grain of boiled rice off the tip of the tongue. In France, fig seeds are used. This type of tonguing produces an in tune attack. Once the flutist can play four sixteenths single tongued at quarter = 120 or so, double tonguing is introduced. For many years teachers taught a Da, Ga or Du, Gu attack but that was before we understood the anatomy of the tongue. The goal now is to have the second syllable as far forward as possible in the mouth – perhaps using the TU or THI, KEY syllables. With this type of usage of the tip of the tongue, flutists are able to double tongue even faster than the Da, Ga type of stroke, and there is little fatigue in doing it.

Since muscles learn in chunks (playing something of short duration followed by a rest), have flutists practice T, K, T rest on each note of a scale. Then T, K, T, K, T rest. For triple tonguing, I prefer T, K, T, and then T, K, T, because of the strength of the beat rule. Once learned many flutists understand that the air stream only needs to be snagged, not totally gone through. With this type of tonguing, there is almost no limit as to how fast a flutist can tongue.

4. Which B flat fingering is best?
The answer relates to what type of passage a student is playing. For example, the lever is often the best choice for chromatic passages while the thumb Bb works well for playing in flat keys – except when there is a Gb in the key signature. The Gb will squeak if the left thumb is on the Bb key. The flutist should stop and analyze which Bb is the best for each passage. Personally, I use the long fingering (Thumb 1 0 0 0/1 0 0 4) most of the time because my first teacher thought it balanced the flute better in the hands. I also like the set up of the left hand when the left thumb is in the B natural position rather than the Bb position. For trill fingerings I usually use the Thumb Bb. The one thing to avoid is having the thumb move back and forth in a passage.

5. What are the most common fingering mistakes?
The most common mistake is leaving the left first finger down on the second octave D and Eb. Leaving the left first finger down produces a note that lacks clarity. The second incorrect fingering happens more with doublers (saxophone/flute) – using the middle F# fingering. In the 1980s many flute manufacturers began experimentation with the flute scale. When this happened, there were small adjustments of key placement which affect how flutists finger a top F#. Flutists are now better in tune when using the middle F# fingering in the top octave and the fourth finger in the lower two octaves. (RH: top octave: 0 2 0 4. RH: octaves one and two: 0 0 3 4).

6. How do you start a flute choir?
One of the goals of playing in a flute choir is to learn how to play chamber music without a conductor. I have found that starting with a duet with half the flute section playing first and the other half playing second is far better than having one on a part until the students learn the basics of ensemble playing. Also, playing a duet with many players on each part helps weaker counters strengthen their counting skills.

Teach how to start a piece by having students get in playing position and watching the leader take a breath to start the first note. All lift the end of their flutes together for the upbeat and move the end of the flute down on the first note of the composition. This teaches students to breathe together. Next work on cut-offs with one flutist signaling by making a small circle with the end of the flute to cut off the note. After this is mastered, work on tapering the ends of the last note of the phrase.

Discuss who has the melody and who has the accompaniment. Melody is played louder than accompaniment. Work on looking around while playing to use the eyes to communicate tempo including ritards, fermatas, etc. A good duet to start with is the two-movement Beethoven duo found in the Rubank Vol. 2 Flute Duet book. After several duets have been mastered, move on to trios and quartets before progressing on to flute choir music. There is a lot of repertoire for five and six C flutes. Eventually add in alto and bass flutes.

7. When breathing, do you open the mouth by dropping the jaw or by rocking the head back away from the embouchure plate?
Do not rock the head back when breathing. The goal is to balance the head on the spine. If the head is rocked back, then that balance is no longer present and tension is produced.

8. Should taking a big breath be the goal?
Rampal, the famous French flutist, said in a masterclass in Nice that he never was able to control a big breath. Instead, he used many sip breaths. A sip breath is named after the type of breath taken when taking a sip of a beverage with a straw. James Caldwell, legendary Oberlin oboe professor, thought that the tone was better with notes where the air hadn’t been in the body long and advocated the sip breaths.

In teaching breathing, we have focused on the inhale far too long. The key to expressive playing is in the exhale. Learning to control the exhale is the goal to expressive playing.

9. How do I prevent sloppy fingers in beginning and intermediate level flutists?
The problem occurs in the study of beginning method books. In order to keep the class playing together, flutists play too slowly for the first several years. When playing slowly, the fingers tend to become stiff and unresponsive. The answer is to have students play a cluster or chunk of trills each time they learn a new fingering. For example, once B and A are learned then practice trilling from A to B and B to A (prep for playing Baroque and Classic era music) in small chunks followed by a rest. Once they have learned three notes (B, A, G), then practice playing all three notes up and down slurred like playing a Pan flute. One of my favorite groups of notes for swishing up and down are C, B, A, G, F, E, and then E, F, G, A, B, C. This exercise helps players develop intuition as to which note might come next. It also teaches students how to play many notes on one blow of air.

10. How many flutists should share a music stand?
Ideally, there should be one flutist to one music stand because of the asymmetrical nature of playing the flute. In a pinch, no more than two should share a stand. Remember in setting up a flute ensemble or in band, the flutists’ chairs should be turned 45 degrees to the right with the goal of an alignment of the aperture/embouchure hole, left elbow, left big toe to the center of the music stand. This type of alignment is excellent for all instrumentalists who play an instrument off to the side.

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   Conscientious instrumental teachers help students choose proper reeds, mouthpieces, strings, and bows to match players’ physical dimensions, playing experience, and musical needs. Percussionists make the same choices about sticks and mallets to perform their best, and they are faced with many more options for many more instruments. This article offers guidelines for choosing sticks and mallets to match the most common instruments in school programs, as well as insights to help directors apply those choices to other instruments.

Snare Drum
   Perhaps the most common percussion instrument throughout school programs, the snare drum requires sticks that match the student’s arm and hand size and strength, and that provide solid response from the drum or pad. For both single and bounce strokes, the sticks should rebound naturally and require minimal physical force from the player. A common mistake made by many students is using sticks that are too small, requiring considerable effort with little reward, especially when playing doubles and buzzes. Make sure students start with sticks specifically designed for concert snare drum. They will be able to use these sticks for other instruments like concert tom-toms and field drum also.

Drum Set
   Many students will shift from snare drum to drum set when needed and may try to use their snare drumsticks to play it. While the drum set does include snare drum, it also typically requires repetitive playing on the hi-hat and cymbals. Smaller sticks work much better for this part of the job. The smaller bead and lighter weight provide a more articulate sound on cymbal surfaces and reduce the washy snowball effect of the strokes.
   The snare drum’s role within the drum set is typically less involved than in the concert setting, so the benefit of smaller sticks on the cymbal surfaces far outweighs the challenge of reduced rebound and response. In certain situations, such as Broadway-style musicals or concert medleys, the drum set player may be able to quickly alternate between snare drumsticks and drum set sticks to enjoy the benefits of each during unique sections of the performance. For example, if an up-tempo two-beat toe tapper is followed by an ominous military march, the player may have time to switch from smaller sticks to larger ones and make the most of both approaches to the instrument.

Timpani
   Generally, a range of felt-covered mallets will provide all possible articulations while setting these large instruments into maximum vibration for a satisfying sound. Timpani should generally sound full and resonant; the felt mallets help to create lots of pitch and body while minimizing the attack. Smaller, harder mallets will produce articulate sounds for staccato passages, while larger, softer mallets will produce legato sounds for sustained notes and rolls. Pay close attention to the condition of the felt as timpani mallets age. If they contain bald or heavily worn spots, rewrap or replace them as soon as possible.

Bass Drum and Suspended Cymbal
   High-quality mallets for the concert bass drum are similar to timpani mallets, with a wooden shaft and felt-covered head, but are much larger and heavier. The weight of the mallet head and length of the shaft help players get a big, full sound from the instrument. Consider keeping at least one very large mallet for playing loud single impacts and two identical smaller mallets for rolling sustained notes.
   Players can use multiple options for approaching the suspended cymbal. Characteristically full notes and rolls work best with soft mallets specifically manufactured for the instrument or yarn-wrapped marimba mallets. Especially for rolls, the mallets should produce no attack sound but plenty of resonance. In other situations, players might use thin wooden sticks, triangle beaters, small metal rakes, brushes, or even coins to strike or scrape the instrument for effects indicated by the composer or arranger. Encourage players to be creative about finding the best sound in these unique situations. Sometimes the best mallet choice is something not designed for musical performance.

Keyboards
   Keyboard instruments require several different pairs or sets of mallets due to the wide variety of bar sizes, materials, and densities. Players can use small, hard plastic or brass mallets for orchestra bells (glockenspiel). Any-thing softer will produce a thin, superficial sound and could also damage the mallets. For xylophone, move to slightly softer plastic. Manufacturers will often call these medium, medium-hard, or medium-soft, and some will even designate them specifically as xylophone mallets. For vibraphone and marimba, yarn-wrapped mallets are generally the best choice. If possible, buy a set of four for each instrument. Note that shaft and head dimensions and materials are usually different for these two instruments, so avoid having players use the same mallets for both. One specific note: rattan and birch shafts feel very different when playing. Have students try both to see what feels best to them before purchasing. Crotales respond best to small brass mallets, though triangle beaters can serve as a viable substitute. Chimes sound best with rawhide or plastic hammers. Maintaining all of these mallets for their specific purpose and instrument is crucial for producing quality sounds across the keyboards.

Accessories
   Percussionists should play the triangle with high-quality metal beaters and should have matched pairs of several different diameters or beaters with a tapered diameter for dynamic and articulation changes. The woodblock works best with medium or medium-hard rubber mallets. Softer yarn-wrapped mallets or harder sticks can be used with caution in some situations, but these options can produce weak sounds and damaged woodblocks, respectively. Tam-tams and gongs sound best with large, heavy yarn-wrapped mallets designed specifically for these instruments. As with all mallets, be sure to have a matching pair so that players can roll effectively for sustained notes.

Combo Mallets
   Various combination mallets are commercially available and quite helpful. The most common options contain two different heads on opposite ends of a shaft: timpani/snare, glockenspiel/snare, and timpani/glockenspiel, for example. Other combinations are also available and, perhaps most important, you and your students can create any combination desired with a bit of ingenuity and engineering. These innovative mallets can save the day when a student needs to play, for example, a long timpani roll followed by several quick triangle notes. Having a bit of hard metal on the butt end of the timpani mallets helps students shift swiftly and directly from one instrument to the other.

Marching Percussion
   Players can use the same general guidelines for marching percussion instruments, with a few slight but important distinctions. For marching instruments, snare drumsticks are generally larger, bass drum mallets are smaller and denser, and timpani and keyboard mallets are harder. These differences help the instruments project more on the field at a distance. Also, quad or quint players may want to use a pair of disc-shaped sticks designed specifically for these instruments, although marching snare sticks also work.

Maintenance
   Maintenance or replacement of mallets and sticks is crucial to success for percussion students. Even the best percussion instruments will sound only as good as the condition of the implements used to play them. Consider the parallels to brass, winds, and strings: Damaged mouthpieces, reeds, and bows simply cannot produce high-quality music. Listen carefully during rehearsals, check your mallet inventory frequently, and encourage students to do the same to help you catch mallets in need of repair or replacement. Take care of mallet problems as soon as possible, to avoid additional damage to them and to the instruments.

Final Thoughts
   The percussion family contains more instruments than what I have described here. My hope is that these recommendations are helpful for approaching the most common instruments in school programs and for providing insights as to how teachers might apply these concepts to others. Choosing the right mallets and sticks will maintain the health of your instruments and produce the best music. Trust your musical ear and encourage students to do the same when making mallet choices. Take the time to review and replenish your mallet inventory frequently. Finally, a little creativity goes a long way toward solving musical problems through mallet adaptation and even invention. Getting just the right sound is always worth it.

Photos by Kirby Fong

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