Denial: Thinking to myself that this cannot actually be happening.
    Anger: “The rain has stopped, and the sky is clear,” I say angrily to the father, who is clad in shorts and a tank top.
    Bargaining: To the father: “If it is raining when we arrive at the contest site, I will make him stay on the bus.”
    Depression: After the father ignores my pleas and marches down the hall, his flip-flops flapping, son in tow.

    It is at this point that I move toward the fifth stage, acceptance, by thinking “it could have been worse” in increasing levels of severity:

    It could have been someone who marches in step.
    It could have been the first-chair clarinet player.
    It could have been one of my bass drummers.
    The earth could have opened up and swallowed the entire flute section.
    It could have been my first-chair trumpet soloist. 

    It is at this point that I feel better and am ready to move on with the job at hand.
    Then there’s the closely related saying “There’s always somebody worse off than you.” This phrase might not work for you at all. If you are particularly sensitive, the phrase might even make you feel worse, because you now have someone else to worry about. Furthermore, taken to its logical conclusion, it means there is someone somewhere on this planet who actually has it worse than everyone else. Nevertheless, used in moderation, it can also be helpful in righting the mental ship.
    Here is an example: My superintendent tells me that the school district is taking the football concessions away from the band. After going through the first four stages of grief, I move towards acceptance by thinking of those worse off than me, including a band director with no budget at all, a concert band with 13 alto sax players, someone struck by lightning, or an NFL kicker who misses a game-winning field goal in the playoffs.
    If you are ever in a situation that is absolutely as bad as it can get, you might be able to take some comfort in another phrase, “There is nowhere to go but up.” You may even find some solace knowing you have comforted others when they discover their situation is not as bad as yours.
    I hope you have found this article helpful, but if you didn’t, just remember, it could have been worse.

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    Technology in music education presents many opportunities, but also some significant challenges. The key is finding a balance between an embrace of technology and traditional music instruction as we know it.
    Technology gives students access to mountains of knowledge, and with that development the role of the teacher has quickly changed from a dispenser of facts to a conduit connecting those facts with performance practice. In their book, A New Culture of Learning, Douglas Thomas and John Seely suggest that the role of the teacher has evolved into a bridge of two worlds – one that is information-based (software, web sites, search engines, and games) and another that is intensely personal. They say that what makes this new culture of learning so powerful is how the imagination is cultivated to “harness the power of almost unlimited and informational resources” to create something personally meaningful. The fusing of unlimited information and a structured environment (our world) fuels this new culture of learning, they say. “The primary difference between the teaching-based approach to education and the learning-based approach is that in the first case the culture is the environment, while in the second case, the culture emerges from the environment – and grows along with it,”
    They describe this process as cultivation. A farmer takes nearly unlimited natural resources and consolidates these into a bounded and structured environment – a garden or a field. Thomas and Brown see the new culture of learning as a similar process of cultivating minds instead of plants.
    My eye-opening experience with this dynamic echoes what Thomas and Brown say. In the past, it has been difficult to get jazz students to listen to professional recordings. The advent of YouTube made this easier because video piqued student interest. They can see the interactions between performers and the techniques first hand, particularly for rhythm section players. Students started to get into the habit of listening, but then a learning community engaged. 
    Students began sharing links to recordings and videos (among themselves and me), then started gathering in the school’s music production studio to listen together. Roles had changed. I used to dispense history and facts, but now my job is to help students connect the dots with the disparate facts and bits of listening. 
    They hear Clifford Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, and Louis Armstrong and enjoy it all, but I show them how it these seemingly unrelated parts tie together. I explain that before Louis, jazz vocabulary as we know it didn’t exist. Transitional big band players such as Roy Eldridge influenced Dizzy, who influenced a generation of players, including Clifford Brown. If they like Wynton Marsalis, I show how he is influenced by all of them. This culture of listening emerged without me saying a word.
    Andrew Boysen, Director of  Bands at the University of New Hampshire agrees that the rise of technology is changing how students learn and that the sword has two sides. He says easy access to recordings makes students better informed as they begin the preparation. “This has changed how I can approach my rehearsals, even for the first one,” he said. Student exposure to recordings coming in has led to an “increasing level of expectation for students’ performance and knowledge.’ 
    The downside is that technology “is too easy sometimes…and too tempting to be distracted,” he said. Boysen contends that the ease of finding recordings can be a downside if students find inferior recordings or musical interpretations. In this case, Boysen must become the interlocutor that the new culture of learning describes. 
    Another challenge is cellphones and their place in a music classroom. At Cape Elizabeth High School phones are not allowed to be out during class. Whatever your policy is, it needs to be clear from the beginning. Make the point that the beauty of music is that you can’t multitask. For your students, music is one of the few times in the day when they are unplugged. 
    Technology has been a big boost in the teaching of percussion, according to Chris Marro, a freelance teacher active in southern Maine. Marro uses technology, particularly in teaching writing and recording, but seldom in teaching performance. “The act of doing outweighs the act of watching,” he said. Marro has found it necessary to teach students a balance between screen time and practice. “Solid practice requires the ability to disconnect completely and to be on task. This is difficult if you are checking the number of likes you have or your last social media post between each exercise,” he said. 
    Marro’s comments point to the changing role of the teacher as it applies to technology. If your band room isn’t a cell-free zone, you might consider that. The transition might have its challenges, but the result will be worth it. Your students deserve and need an unplugged part of their day. Technology has its place in our lives, but the tail can’t wag the dog.

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    Directors often accept the fact that more beginning players fail on brass instruments than with other instruments, but few directors determine the underlying cause of the problem. The simple fact is that students progress poorly on brass instruments because their teachers do not understand how to teach these instruments and cannot solve problems that arise.
    The brass sound is created by air resonating within the instrument, much as a string resonates on a violin. The brass sound is not produced by the embouchure or the instrument itself but is the result of moving air vibrating the embouchure to resonate the air column in the instrument to produce a specific pitch. If the embouchure does not vibrate at the correct frequency, a poor or missed note will result. Players should think of the air column as a lock, the key to which is a conscious awareness of pitch.
    Most brass teaching focuses on overcoming missed notes, incorrect em­bouchures, and a lack of breath control; the concentration should be on teaching students to play correctly. Brass students would do better using Arnold Jacobs’s concepts of song, wind, and diction. Even professional musicians have improved noticeably by using Jacobs’s approach, and beginning students will benefit even more from these concepts.
    Because air column resonance begins in the mouthpiece, students should begin by playing on the mouthpiece alone. Without any valves, slides, or other distractions, this simple approach allows students to focus on the pitch produced. So long as students buzz, the embouchure and air will produce some sound on the mouthpiece even though it may not be the intended pitch. Students will hear any pitch difference and adjust accordingly. Working with just the mouthpiece eliminates the distractions of reading music and translating this into fingerings, and students will have only the sound to concentrate on. This is the concept of song.
    Beginning brass students should play on only the mouthpiece, using ample quantities of air, for at least a week. Without sufficient air they will not develop a good sound or enunciate syllables precisely. Students should not concentrate on breathing, tonguing, or forming the embouchure, only on the sound produced.
    Students should respond to the sound without any awareness of which muscles caused the result. When speaking, walking, or writing, people do not consciously control specific muscles. In fact it is impossible to direct the hand muscles to pick up a pencil; this function is too complex for the rational mind. Only the subconscious mind can complete the task designated by the conscious mind, and any interference from the conscious mind will hinder the effort. With a mouthpiece attached to a brass instrument, any changes the player makes to the air flow are almost undetectable, yet changes to the sound produced will be readily apparent. Students should focus on the sound, not on the exceedingly subtle muscle changes that produce or alter the sound.
    Begin by asking students to move large amounts of air in and out. They will readily understand the analogy of imitating a vacuum cleaner. While holding a finger near their mouths, students should suck air in as rapidly and loudly as possible. Although some teachers advocate quiet breathing, for beginners the resultant sound of loud breathing will motivate them to move large amounts of air. After inhaling, students should blow air at their fingers without pausing. Students should repeat this procedure three times in succession, making a louder sound each time. Do not overdo this procedure because it will sometimes produce dizziness from hyperventilation. The exercise should be practiced each day until deep breathing becomes a habit.
    The importance of playing a brass instrument with full breaths results from the fact that the greatest amount of air flow is produced when exhaling with full lungs. As air is expelled the maximum air flow that can be produced gradually diminishes. The last third of air in the lungs is so difficult to expel that this air is basically not usable in playing an instrument. If a player begins with lungs only 2/3 full, he has only half of the effective air to use and cannot generate the same air flow. Students should learn to fill their lungs to capacity, gradually coordinating breathing with the teacher’s downbeat. This acclimates students to the elements of starting sound on cue and avoids the bad habit of holding back.
    Teach students to fill their lungs completely by holding a pencil in front of a class, saying it is a candle, and asking the students to blow it out. The teacher decides when the students have blown enough air to extinguish the candle and should repeat the exercise several times, requesting increased amounts of air each time. Most students will take larger breaths, but some will use short bursts of wind. Demonstrate how to take in a large breath and rapidly exhale the air in a sustained manner, and have those students imitate the demonstration. Teachers can demonstrate the amount and force of air needed to play an instrument by blowing on students’ hands and having them imitate. By blowing on their hands, students become aware of the quantity and force of their air. Focusing on blowing with moderate force usually eliminates puffed cheeks because they are a breath rather than embouchure problem. The next step is blowing air through a mouthpiece onto the hand. The goal is to blow a large, sustained stream of air on the hand, not to buzz.
    Once students are using enough wind, begin teaching them how to buzz the lips. Imitation works best: draw students’ attention to your lips, make the buzzing sound, and ask them to imitate. Then move on to buzzing with a mouthpiece, and finally transfer the mouthpiece and buzz to an instrument. Large tuba mouthpieces usually prove advantageous, the large size giving plenty of room for the lips and fostering large quantities of air. Give students having trouble buzzing smaller mouthpieces, such as trumpet or horn, trombone or euphonium mouthpieces. After buzzing on a larger mouthpiece, players can usually transfer to smaller ones. Players should not buzz without the mouthpiece after the initial external buzz because it causes them to play with a shorter length of embouchure, resulting in a less resonant tone. Students then can begin playing simple familiar melodies such as Mary Had a Little Lamb or America the Beautiful in the middle register with clear articulations and a resonant buzz.
    Introduce precise diction at this time. Use words, not complicated explanations of how to use the air and tongue, to teach the proper execution of articulation. Vocalization is the first step in learning articulations; speech has already established the function of breath and tongue. The basic marcato attack should include the T consonant and an open vowel sound such as ou, oh, or ah; tah is most common because it is the most open, but tu or tah are not incorrect. The tongue does not produce sound; it only interferes with the wind. Minimize this interference with the precise pronunciation of open vowels. Do not use a variety of syllables in different registers or the closed vowel ee. Multiple vowels produce inconsistent tone in various registers and complicate playing. Follow H.A. Vandercook’s mandate: keep it simple. The use of multiple syllables is not necessary to resonate the air column.
    Some teachers recommend a closed vowel syllable to help upper-register notes. Their theory is that the smaller mouth cavity produced by a closed vowel causes a faster air stream, making the notes easier to execute, but the closed vowel results in changes of tone color especially noticeable in lower brass instruments. With proper development brass players have greater potential for volume and resonance with using an open vowel because they will use more air, producing consistent tone in all registers.
    Begin teaching the precise pronunciation of syllables by asking students to carry on one-word conversations. Ask them to say the word tah vocally, without playing, and then to speak while playing the instrument. Never say tongue or tonguing with students, because these words make players think of their own tongue and not about pronouncing the syllable. The syllable illustrates the correct use of the tongue and breath in articulation so always talk about pronouncing words. Reinforce the syllable by singing along with students while they are playing. In a classroom environment have other players sing the syllable for an individual. This approach benefits both the group and individual who all become more aware of the syllable. Repeat the precise diction on a single pitch first and then transfer it to simple melodies.
    In the beginning, students do not have to play melodies in specific keys on the mouthpiece, but it is necessary when they transfer the sound to the instrument. Encourage students to play at loud dynamic levels in the middle and lower registers where they use more air; high notes and soft dynamics discourage air. Frequently it helps students to relate the sound to a familiar object, like the purr of a kitten or roar of a lion. Playing familiar songs teaches pitch awareness because students always play best on a familiar melody.
    H.A. Vandercook’s quote, “If you can sing it, you can play it,” is true. We use the same area of the brain to sing and play. If a student is unable to match a pitch, have him hum it, transfer it to singing, and then play it on the mouthpiece. The same techniques that voice teachers use to help students match pitch also help brass players. Determine what pitch the student is playing, then have him move scalewise to the correct pitch.
    A few players will just buzz a single pitch because they are consciously trying to analyze what to do with their lips. Teachers have to distract them from themselves by using various techniques. One technique is making the sound of an ambulance siren by starting high and making a quick glissando to a lower note; demonstrate the sound. In a classroom or ensemble environment all the brass should play along with the student having trouble to reinforce the sound and cause further distraction. Another technique is starting a note at a soft dynamic and then quickly alternating between loud and soft without articulating the note. This causes the pitch to rise and fall, allowing students to experience producing different pitches. They can then transfer this pitch movement to melodies. It is similar to learning to whistle. A whistle often first occurs by accident, but the experience provides an understanding of how to achieve one.
    The most crucial point for beginning brass players is transferring the buzz from the mouthpiece to the air column in the instrument. Teach how to hold, finger, assemble, and care for the instrument separately from playing to minimize the distraction and allow students to concentrate on the sound.
    For a successful transfer players should match the correct pitch or understand why they failed. To produce the correct pitch on an instrument players have to buzz the specific pitch. Most students will buzz a C or G on a trumpet mouthpiece, but some will still have difficulty finding the specific pitch. Give those players special attention so the class as a whole can progress. Find out what pitch they are buzzing, make that pitch their first note, and then have them play to the class’s starting note in a stepwise manner. Most method books choose an open tone or first position note for the first pitch, but there is no reason why written F or E can’t be the first note on the trumpet.
    Have students hold their instruments about an inch from the leadpipe and begin to buzz the specified note. Some players will have difficulty holding the instrument and mouthpiece at the same time, so students can work in pairs with one player holding while the other buzzes the mouthpiece. Make sure the pitch is accurate and the buzz at a loud dynamic so there will be enough energy to resonate the air column. Students should sing the note three times before buzzing it, and the students who are not playing should sing for the others as they transfer the buzz (key) into the instrument (lock). Repeat the exercise several times for each note.
    The key-in-the-lock approach to brass playing works when students learn to play correctly from the beginning. It is possible to overcome bad habits, but the process is much more difficult. Excessive failure creates an expectation of failure, while successful experiences create an expectation of continued success. The key to success is pitch awareness in the brain. A quote of Arnold Jacobs provides an appropriate explanation. “There are two kinds of instruments, one in the hands and one in the head. The one in the hands is a mirror of the one in the head. It is best to be somewhat unconscious of your physical maneuvers and highly conscious of your musical goals.”

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    The breath is a vital component of playing any wind instrument. Certain occasions call for directors to address breathing, such as when we encourage beginners to use more air to produce a characteristic sound or recommend steady exhalation for consistent long tones. We watch for poor breathing habits and keep a list of tested analogies in our bag of teaching tricks. Rather than waiting for poor breathing habits to appear, I recommend teaching proper breathing techniques from the beginning.
    The best way to address breathing regularly is to make it a part of the daily warm-up routine. A recent survey I conducted of Bands of America marching directors showed that 84% of respondents, or at least 29% of those whose bands qualified for regional finals in 2016 and 2017, teach proper breathing during every rehearsal, usually for less than ten minutes. As with most concepts we teach, more time invested in the beginning pays dividends later. Many breathing exercises can be taught and practiced for the first time in less than ten minutes. Once established, repetition in subsequent rehearsals can take less than two minutes.
    The back of The Breathing Gym has a useful resource for establishing routines. Sam Pilafian and Patrick Sheridan, the book’s authors, provide a chart that prescribes combinations of exercises based on how much time you have and what aspects of breathing you want to address. Possible time frames range from three to ten minutes. These prescribed combinations provide a great starting point for establishing a normal breathing regimen. Over time you may incorporate your own exercises and develop groupings to meet the needs of particular circumstances.
    The book breaks its exercises into five types: stretches, flow studies, therapies, strength and flexibility, and breathing for the brain. For my teaching I have categorized them more broadly as stretches, flow/control exercises, and vital capacity studies. The stretches improve muscle elasticity and prepare the body for physical exertion. The flow and control exercises improve breathing technique and work on consistency of inhalation and exhalation at a variety of speeds and volumes with minimal tension. The vital capacity studies are the over-training exercises that work out the breathing muscles and help students become more comfortable at the top and bottom of their vital lung capacities. When warm-up time is limited, I pick one exercise from each of the three categories. A great attribute of this pedagogy is its flexibility to meet your needs.
    Aside from incorporating breathing exercises into the warm-up routine, they are also useful to address specific problems during rehearsals. When accompaniment players struggle to keep a consistent soft dynamic with good tone quality, stop and practice consistent 16-count exhales. When the ensemble is not uniformly performing a fortepiano accent followed by a crescendo, practice it on air first, then come back and add the instruments. If you see tension creeping into breaths during fortissimo sections, sustain players not understanding stagger breathing, inconsistent staccato articulation, or uncharacteristic/unsupported tone quality, there is a breathing exercise for that.
    The most common breathing exercise described by the surveyed BOA directors is what I call “In for X, Out for Y.” It is a hybrid of several Breathing Gym exercises. I set a metronome to 90 beats per minute and have students continuously breathe in for eight counts and out for eight counts. The value of this exercise comes from its versatility.
    A few repetitions of in-for-eight and out-for-eight is great for refocusing a group mid-rehearsal, providing a short break for musicians in a taxing rehearsal, or calming a nervous body before a big performance.
    If consistency of pitch or dynamics in long tones or legato phrases is a problem, the consistency of the exhale is likely the culprit. Have students strive to achieve checkpoints throughout the inhale and exhale – one-quarter of the way on 3, half-way on 5, three-quarters on 7, and full or empty right on count 1 as you turn around the breath. This is particularly useful for playing soft dynamics. Start with eights and then work the exhale to 12, 16, 24, or 32 beats – or more. As students develop the ability to exhale consistently for 32 counts (with checkpoints at 9, 17, 25, and 1), the support and consistency of air at pianissimo will improve.
    If tension at peak flow is the problem, start with eights and gradually work the number of counts down to two and two. As the numbers get smaller, focus on maintaining the relaxation that was easily achievable with the eights.
    If the music calls for a one-count breath and students have trouble taking in the necessary air, decrease the length of the inhale until you are inhaling for one and exhaling for eight. 
    If students have been holding their breath briefly before exhaling into the instrument, sometimes called capping, focus the students’ attention on a smooth transition between the inhale and exhale. Remind them that their breath should resemble an oval, rounded at the top and bottom with air always moving, not like pistons.
    If students interrupt or stop the airstream in legato passages, add light quarter note or eighth note articulations to the exercise, which allows them to practice continuous airflow through articulations without having to manipulate the instrument.
    Adapt other exercises for specific purposes. If students become complacent later in rehearsal and their breathing is lazy, exercises such as “5-15-5” or “In-Sip-Sip, Out-Push-Push” can encourage students to reset their breathing to full capacity.

Overcoming Obstacles
    While incredibly worthwhile, there are some obstacles to incorporating breathing instruction in a program. Of the BOA band directors surveyed, the most common challenge described is getting commitment from students. Younger students will often put forth lackluster effort because they do not yet grasp the importance of proper breathing. Some find the exercises silly and feel embarrassed in front of their peers. Others find that the exercises require more effort than they are willing to contribute and fake their way through the process.
    As with everything we do, if the routine is monotonous, students will lose interest. The Breathing Gym DVD can be a real asset, with the authors providing instructions and effectively modeling the exercises. However, it is inadvisable to put the DVD on and follow an identical routine every day. The DVD offers an occasional reference, but I encourage you to learn the exercises and take the students through them yourself or with the help of student leaders. Demonstrating how seriously you take the exercises will likely lead to greater commitment from hesitant students.
    Another thing you can do to improve student enthusiasm is to explain the value of practicing breathing away from the instrument. Students of all ages like to know why they are doing things. Arnold Jacobs used an analogy about how race car drivers need to have a working knowledge of what happens under the hood, but once the race starts, it should be one of the last things on their minds. Similarly, we want students to understand how breathing works and develop automatic habits that they do not have to think about while performing. Football players in my bands understand that overtraining in the weight room prepares them to push their opponents around the field. Many of the breathing exercises are overtraining exercises, meant to make the body comfortable using air beyond what is typically needed while breathing at rest.
    It also helps to apply concepts from the breathing exercises to playing as quickly as possible so students can understand the benefits. While incorporating breathing exercises in the daily warm-ups is important, it shouldn’t be the only time students do them. For some, there will be a disconnect between warm-up and application, just like the students who ask, “why do we practice scales all the time?” while remaining oblivious to all the scales in their music. This requires coming up with playing exercises to bridge the gap.
    Perhaps students are struggling to take a large one-count breath without tension in a particular piece of literature. Have the students perform the “Quick Breathing” exercise. Then apply the exercise to instruments with air only while fingering the notes. Then perform the exercise on a single pitch. Finally, return to the passage of music and apply the new, relaxed breath. Remind players throughout the process that the point is a big, tension-free breath in one count. Once the students understand how an exercise will help their performance, they will have greater appreciation for the breathing practice.
    Students frequently have difficulties staying relaxed and avoiding tension during breathing exercises. A big reason for doing them is to establish good breathing habits while playing, so students should be kept from practicing bad habits while breathing away from the instrument. This takes careful monitoring from the teacher and reminders the instant tension is noticed. Do not be afraid, at any time in a rehearsal, to stop and have the students do a cleansing breath or big sigh to reset the body. This reset is especially important after performing some of the more strenuous exercises from The Breathing Gym. The final challenge described by several directors is making sure that proper breathing is maintained once the other responsibilities of playing are added into the mix. The best ways to address this problem have already been mentioned here: provide frequent reminders and find the exercises that can bridge from air-only exercises to playing.
    John Drew, Professor of Trombone at Florida State University, once said in an interview that breathing is at least 80% of what we do as wind instrument players and is the most important technical and physical aspect of playing (ITA Journal 2008). Authors of several of the most popular textbooks for instrumental methods classes emphasize the essential role of proper breathing in wind instrument playing. It is our job as directors to make sure that students are set up for success and practice good breathing habits, and using breathing exercises, such as those from The Breathing Gym, both at the beginning of rehearsal and interspersed throughout, is one of the best ways to make sure that happens.  

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