In an ongoing effort to improve marching bands everywhere, I propose that halftime shows and marching contests follow the lead of sports by implementing what would be the quickest feedback ever used: refereeing crews. As of now, directors are relegated to listening to recordings and watching videos after marching events. Why not speed up the process? These proposed musical referees could make the calls without even stopping the band mid-performance. However, it might be a good idea to allow the director one challenge that he indicates by throwing his baton onto the field of play. A decision based on video replay could be made between selections.
    Referees would have to undergo proper musical training, of course. They would also have to learn the necessary hand signals as shown in the chart.
    Using musical referees would be more educational for everyone involved. It would provide the average audience member and even school administrators with a way to understand what is really happening on the field. Well, on second thought, I think I’ll ditch the whole idea.

The post Marching Madness appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    Once upon a time, I was in a high school rock band. We branded ourselves Laissez Faire, which was a French foreign economic policy that we learned about in World History. Literally translated it meant, “Hands Off,” which we of course thought was profoundly cool. We managed to record two albums of original songs and distributed them to our peers on cassette tapes. We mainly played in church basements, raising money for various mission trips and youth groups.
    I can distinctly recall practicing for hours on end in my best friend’s basement. It was a fairly small, square room that was maybe fifteen by twenty feet. All of our amplifiers were fairly large, by comparison, and we generally practiced at deafening volumes. I often would lean over with my ear just a few inches from the cone of the bass speaker during practice sessions so that I could clearly hear myself above the raging guitars, drums, and vocals.
    On occasion, I left practices with a ringing tone in my ears, or felt like my hearing was muffled. I would wake up the next day with my hearing presumably fully recovered. This was routine for me and my friends during our three year stint as a band. I had the same experience when I went to arena rock concerts. Like any high school student, I never thought about the potential ramifications for my hearing in the future.
    In college, I rehearsed two hours a week indoors with a 300-piece marching band. The trumpet section alone numbered 64. Needless to say, the rehearsal hall was designed for a 100-piece symphonic band at most. The marching band barely squeezed into the room. It was commonplace for the drumline and piccolo section to wear protective earplugs, but the rest of the band didn’t give it any thought. I played in the marching band for just one year; I can only imagine what it must have been like for the director year in and year out.
    Now that I have taught high school band for close to twenty years, I can see the blatant error of my ways back then. Unfortunately, hearing loss is permanent, and nobody was spreading the message when I needed to hear it. Thankfully, I have not lost as much hearing as one might presume. I had my hearing tested a year ago, and although there is no baseline according to age, my hearing loss to date has been mild. So now I have set about the task of not only protecting my own hearing, but making sure that my students understand the risks as well.
    At New Trier, we recently partnered with a local audiology clinic to distribute free musician ear plugs to every member of the pep band. The clinic sent two audiologists to help fit the students and then gave a half-hour presentation on hearing loss. The students were genuinely interested in the information shared and were eager to make practical changes to their listening habits. For example, the audiologist explained that generally you should not listen to your mp3 player at higher than 60% of the total volume. If you do, you will be guaranteed permanent hearing damage over time.
    They also gave us a dosimeter, a device that reads the level of sounds being produced and can alert you to dangerous volumes. I can use the dosimeter while rehearsing a concert band, jazz band, or pep band to determine the decibel levels of the group. There are applications readily available for smartphones that can accomplish the same thing.
    If you don’t own a set already, I highly recommend purchasing a pair of musician’s earplugs. Traditional foam earplugs muffle noises unequally across the sound spectrum, making it impossible to lead a rehearsal. Earplugs designed for musicians cut noises evenly, allowing you to hear nearly everything you normally would but at a slightly softer volume. They are not necessarily ideal for the nuances of a wind ensemble rehearsal, but I feel they are great for pep band, marching band, and jazz band rehearsals when needed.     Depending upon the situation, directors might even consider getting form-fitted personal earplugs. Though they cost considerably more, it is worth it to avoid hearing loss. Whatever you decide, be sure to use them consistently and explain to students why they are so important.
    Directors should take care of their hearing away from school too. I use foam earplugs when using virtually any of the small engines that populate my garage. I also would not advise trying to drown out the noise of the lawn mower by using noise-canceling headphones to listen to music instead. Sometimes silence is golden.

The post Protecting Your Hearing appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    When leaving home for a concert or gig, musicians routinely check to be sure they have instruments, music, and maybe a music stand, pencil and of course, glasses. For serious freelance musicians, however, a bag filled with some basic essentials will prepare you for almost any emergency and avoid last-minute scrambling as you go out the door.

1 Scotch tape: This is an essential that always has proven to be very useful. Of course, taping music together is the obvious use, but other purposes come to mind such as to tape that pesky hem on your pants that won’t stay put. Tape can also be used to hold music in place if you do not have clips – see #2. By the way, duct tape (best kept in the car trunk) is always useful too.

2 Clips: Music that will not stay put is always a problem. I have seen musicians use many things to solve this, but the best in my opinion are old-fashioned clothes pins that you can buy at any grocery store very cheaply. They tend to disappear, however, so make sure to have a good supply. Binder clips will also work.

3 Business cards: Keep cards handy so you do not have to root around in the bottom of your purse. This looks unprofessional, and they can quickly become dirty and beat up. Be careful about handing out your card if you are not the contractor for a gig.

4 Stand light: It is worth it to buy the battery operated lights so that you don’t have to deal with #5.

5 Extension cord: Be careful with its usage. If the cord is stretching across an area where people are walking, get permission from those in charge. You don’t want brides tripping down the aisle.

6 Quarters & dimes: If a gig is downtown, have change available to feed the parking meter. One ticket could cost you whatever you might make at the gig.

7 Small sewing kit: Pack a plastic bag with black and white thread and needle (preferably with the needle already threaded) and a small pair of scissors. Include one black and one white button.

8 Nail clippers: These can be used in place of scissors (see #7).

9 Small temperature gauge: This is helpful to monitor the temperature of outdoor gigs. Make sure the contract states the weather conditions you are willing to play in. Most musicians can stand as low as 60 degrees, but check with your colleagues beforehand.

10 Sticky note pads: These come in all sizes; I prefer the smallest. They are very useful for directing colleagues to the correct page for a lightning fast change – like from the processional music to the bridal march. Just label them bridal party, music for parents to walk to, bride’s music, etc. and put them in the appropriate places in the music.

11 Dental floss: Besides the obvious, floss is actually pretty strong and can be used in a pinch for tying things.

12 Phone numbers: Keep colleagues’ phone numbers on your cell phone, so in a last minute emergency, you might be able to dig up someone who lives nearby.

13 Tiny screwdrivers.

14 Hair scrunchies: For those with long hair, black hair scrunchies are very helpful for windy outdoor gigs.

15 Medical kit: Pack your own first aid supplies and include band-aids, headache medicine, antibiotic cream, disinfectant wipes, etc. Travel size packets work well.

16 Music stand: Keep an extra music stand in the car always.

17 Underarm deodorant: The small travel size fits nicely in the bag.

18 Bug spray and sun screen: Again look for travel sizes and preferably unscented varieties.

19 Water bottle.

20 Sunglasses.

The post What’s in Your Bag? appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    It is difficult to know which question is more common in the band – the forlorn bassoonists asking why they are there or the band director wondering, what to do with them. As a player, perhaps I can offer some insights that may help foster better music from happier band bassoonists.
    The bassoon fills a distinctly different role in the concert band than in the orchestra. The first bassoon in a symphony orchestra plays the important solo passages, while the second bassoon usually provides the critical bass line that establishes the bottom of the chord for the entire woodwind choir. Both bassoons are heard frequently and are indispensable to the total sound picture.
    In the concert band, however, the bassoons are used quite differently. The second bassoon of the band does not have nearly the importance it has in the orchestra. In fact, when the Marine Band travels on tour, we use only a first bassoon and find that the second part is seldom, if ever, missed. As a section, the band bassoons are most often used to double other lines. Of course, they have their own moments now and then, but basically they will double the bass line of the tubas and other low brass, the counter-melodies of the euphoniums, the offbeats of the horns and percussion, or the chords of the saxes and horns. In a traditional orchestral transcription for band, such doubling results in a serious endurance problem. Most transcribers will first give the orchestral bassoon solos to the first bassoon, and then both bassoons will double cello and string bass parts, horn and viola accompanying lines, trombone and tuba lines, etc. Although often unplanned, the bassoons usually play from the beginning of the selection to the end with very little chance to get a breather in between. Rest is necessary for a bassoonist because the vibrations of the large reed quickly tire the lip. Orchestral bassoonists get small periods of vital rest here and there throughout the music, but the band bassoonist does not. Even more frustratingly, the bassoons in the band (doubling so many powerful instruments) are seldom ever heard.
    The problem then becomes how a band bassoonist can muster the energy to endure the playing of his solo parts as well as the parts being doubled by other instruments. A workable solution could be to establish a principal/assistant system, much like that used by the horns. The first bassoon will play all solo parts. Also, he will play by himself soli parts that may be doubled in the second bassoon if, for purposes of good ensemble and balance, only one bassoon is really needed. Both bassoons will play other exposed sections which sound best when doubled (often marked p or pp). Then, the second bassoon will assist on other parts as the first player rests during, perhaps, a forte tutti section in which the bassoon line is completely smothered by the rest of the band. If more power is needed in a first bassoon solo, the second can temporarily drop his already-doubled part and play along with the first. The goal is to save the lip a bit. Those bands lucky enough to have three bassoons can have the middle man assist both players.
    In sections indicated ff, where the bassoons double tubas, trombones, euphoniums, baritone saxes, and bass or contrabass clarinets, the lip can be saved by lowering the dynamic level, perhaps to f even mf. With all the instruments playing, the bassoons just don’t have the power to compete, so why abuse the lip? This system takes some practice, but it will allow both parts to be covered adequately while still giving both players – especially the first – the needed time to rest and recover.
    What a shame that most arrangers and transcribers use the bassoon mainly as a doubling instrument where it is covered by the masses, instead of taking advantage of its rich, beautiful tone to add a unique color to small groups of instruments within the band.

Adjust the Parts
    Sometimes it can help to alter the parts slightly as long as soli and exposed passages remain unchanged. For example, in the second section of the trio of The High School Cadets March, the bassoon part is formed by combining the tuba and horn parts. The first bassoon part in particular is very awkward and unnecessarily complicated. Why go through all this when the part will never be heard? Just have the bassoon play either the bass line, or the offbeats.

    A transcription is also likely to have troublesome bassoon parts if it gives the bassoon a straight copy of a string part. A cellist, for instance, doesn’t worry about breathing as he plays, but a bassoonist does. Some notes in a lengthy part may have to be omitted to allow the bassoonist to breathe. Also, repeated sixteenth notes are easier bowed on the cello than tongued on the bassoon. Consider this exposed phrase near the end of The Flight of the Bumblebee:

    At a really brisk tempo, it is just too hazardous for the bassoonist, especially when played staccato. Because it goes too quickly for the double notes to be heard distinctly, have the student play eighth notes instead. The resulting line is much cleaner and more rhythmically dependable.

    Another example of sensible editing is in the “Polovtsian Dances” from Prince Igor by Borodin. In one section of the band score, both the first and second bassoons are given nearly an entire page of a single pitch repeated over and over in a very fast 68 (in two).

    This figure is doubled and relatively unimportant at the beginning; the rest of the band covers it with the theme. However, about two-thirds of the way through, the scoring thins out and suddenly the two bassoons are carrying the figure – now exposed. However, by this time, the tongue has become too fatigued by the rapid figure, so the conspicuous passage becomes extremely sluggish; the conductor wants to keep the tempo moving, but the tongue does not. I feel that it is far better to rest the tongue during the heavy tutti part and save it for the important passages later. Play the figure as:

    As the exposed part nears, switch to the printed articulation. The part will come through crisply and accurately, and the tempo will keep moving.

The Whisper Key Lock
    The whisper key lock can really be a lifesaver, but few school band bassoonists make sufficient use of it. This small device on the side of the instrument locks the whisper key closed and thereby frees the left thumb to move freely in the lower register of the bassoon. (Some bassoons are equipped with a left-hand lock activated by the thumb, but most have the right-hand type.) This exposed passage in Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Dance of the Tumblers” from the Snow Maiden becomes a breeze once the thumb is freed from upper Bbs and Fs.

    Without the lock, the whole thing is a mad scramble, especially if the conductor really wants to go. How much easier the bassoon solo in Percy Grainger’s adaptation of the Irish reel Molly On The Shore becomes with the lock on and the trill fingering used at the point noted below.

    The locking device should be added to any school-owned bassoon without it, as it is very much a part of good bassoon playing. The director should ask students to mark on the music not only when to use the lock, but also when to take it off. An upper octave solo could be disastrous if accompanied by lower octave growling caused by a depressed whisper key.

Key Changes Cause Problems
    Serious bassoon students will study orchestral excerpts, often committing them to memory, as part of their applied music curriculum. However, they encounter new difficulty when the same solo must be relearned in the band key. Directors don’t always realize how difficult this process may be and that it is not especially beneficial to the bassoonist’s overall development; in fact, performances in both keys tend to suffer. The hours the student has spent practicing the solo from Rossini’s La Gazza Ladra in the original key of G major, will not reduce the time necessary to master the band key of Gb major. Moving the overture to The Marriage of Figaro up a half step from D major to Eb major completely changes the feel of the solo and forces the use of a rather false trill fingering to cope with the opening figure. Stravinsky scored the “Berceuse” from the Firebird in Eb minor. The band key is lowered one half step to D minor. However, in the original key the slurs are much easier to execute because there is less chance of the pitches dropping to the lower octave. (Overblowing the octave can be quite difficult on the bassoon when slurring is involved, but in the original key the chromatic upper fingerings are very different from the lower octave minus the whisper key.) In just the first four-measure phrase, the supposedly easier band key has twice as many notes that could drop to the lower octave. In the example, the pitches marked x are fingered exactly like the lower octave minus the whisper key; slurring makes response on the bassoon difficult for these notes even when flicked or vented for the upper octave.

    Many school bassoonists have bewildering difficulty with this solo in the new key. In the Marine Band, most of the transcriptions we play are done by in-house arrangers and usually left in the original keys. It makes it so much easier to learn a major solo passage once and for all.

Tuning and Intonation
    Because bassoons in the orchestra control the woodwind bass line, they have a major role in maintaining the pitch, at least as far as the woodwind choir is concerned, but in the band the bassoons lose most of this control since they will probably have to adjust their pitch to the section they are doubling. During an outdoor concert in midsummer for example, brass is quick to heat up and may cause the pitch to go slightly sharp. Because bassoons are often doubled with the tubas and other low brass, the bassoonist must listen carefully and adjust.
    Sometimes when a doubled theme is indicated ff, band bassoonists will try to blow much too loud, trying to match the volume of the brass, which causes the pitch to flatten drastically and also produces a most displeasing buzzing sound. In massively scored passages where the bassoon line is heavily doubled, it’s a good idea for bassoonists to play with moderation and not be expected to mimic the power of some of the other instruments.
    More school directors question me about intonation problems than any other area, asking why their bassoons cannot play in tune. The most obvious problem, of course, may be with the bassoon and reeds. Truly fine, professional-type bassoons in the public school system are a pleasing but rare sight. However, many of the school models, if maintained and cared for properly, are not bad and should serve adequately. Reeds are always a problem. If there is a symphony or college nearby, directors should contact the bassoonists and try to obtain handmade reeds for their students. Serious students studying privately can depend on their teachers for well-made reeds.

Resonance Keys
    Assuming that both bassoon and reed are at least adequate, the bassoonist can attain a higher level of intonation through the use of resonance keys. Several keys on the bassoon can, in addition to their regular capacity, be used to alter the pitch of other notes. One of these is the low Eb key, operated by the little finger of the left hand.
    On most bassoons, G3 is usually extremely sharp and often too loud when compared with the other tones. By adding the low Eb key, the intonation will improve. In fact, most bassoonists use this as the regular fingering for the note, although many band method books omit it. The Eb key should also be added to improve E4 and F4. I also add the low Eb key to the basic forked Eb3 and further stabilize the note by also adding the Bb key and the first or second finger of the right hand, whichever sounds best on the particular bassoon. Unfortunately, many method books don’t include these extra keys and some instead present the alternate D# trill fingering as standard.
    Suppose your bassoonist has a whole note on C4 in a passage where it is very exposed, very sharp, and unstable. First try adding the low Eb key to the C and then try it with this key only halfway down. It will usually improve the tone markedly. The low Db key is another resonance key that may make the C even better. Also try it halfway down. Depending upon the particular bassoon, one of these combinations should greatly improve the response of the note. These keys also will help improve B3 and Bb3. However, they   should be used only sparingly when these tones are very exposed and held for some length of time. Here they are not regular fingerings, but special ones.
    If there is a problem with C#3/Db3, try adding the low E key (or, as it is sometimes called, the pancake key) to the regular fingering and it should flatten, soften, and stabilize a bit. Once again, this is a special fingering to be used only in exposed passages and when one has time to get to it. Through experimentation (every bassoon is a little different) you may find that these keys will help other notes to stabilize in pitch. If your bassoonist is drastically out of tune on a long, exposed pitch, experiment with one of these.
    The pancake key can be used to stabilize a note during a change in dynamics. As the decrescendo is made, the open F will often tend to stop speaking because of the difficulty involved in controlling the soft tone. By slowly adding the low E key as the de-crescendo progresses, the pitch will keep from sagging and will be much easier to control.

    Sometimes a new reed will tend to produce a very flat E3 or open F3. As the reed is broken in, these pitches are corrected through nature. However, if your bassoonist has to play an exposed E and must, for some reason, use a new reed, the flatness can be corrected by adding the G key with the third finger of the right hand. This fingering is for emergency use only and should never become the norm.
    The notes on the bassoon that use the fewest fingers need the most lip for their control. Open F and the E below naturally want to go flat and must be held up by the lower lip. As fingers are added, this lip pressure lessens because the notes are more and more in tune. In an unexposed part such as this, the first bassoonist could simply double the lower part and save his lip quite a bit.

    In a situation that calls for a C2 or D2 to be played extremely softly, add the low Bb key (reach carefully around the low B key so you don’t depress it) and these pitches will be much easier to control at a low dynamic level.
    An alternate fingering can sometimes solve an intonation problem. Often it will be a slightly different pitch than the regular fingering. If F#3 is sharp in an exposed passage, perhaps the alternate fingering will be a little flatter.
    Sometimes doublings with other instruments just don’t work out, even when certain trick fingerings and techniques are used. Although this case is relatively rare, one of the instruments may have to drop out. Once in a while, for instance, a bassoon/euphonium doubling may become a solo for either instrument. It depends upon range, dynamic markings, the musical situation, and the players themselves.

Volume, Projection, Frustration
    Few people who have not played bassoon in the band can really sympathize with the utter frustration of having to play an instrument that will rarely be heard at all. In the orchestra, projecting over the full tutti string section can be difficult, but projecting over just the full brass section of the band is nearly impossible. One thing that can help is good positioning. Too often directors put the bassoons in the back row of the band, near the tubas and other low brass. Although it makes sense to group instruments that share the same lines, it is a poor arrangement for the bassoons. They are overwhelmed by the power of the brass and often try to compensate by fiercely overblowing which produces an out-of-tune, raucous line. A much better seating arrangement would be to put the bassoons up front and on the end of a row. Also, keeping the bassoons and oboes together is a good idea. They share similar problems and can give each other moral support. The bassoons should be near the other low woodwinds. These instruments often play similar lines, and it should help compensate somewhat for their lack of brass power by keeping them grouped together, near the front of the ensemble. I recommend seating the oboes in the first row and to the conductor’s right – and the bassoons immediately behind them. The alto and bass clarinets should be next to the bassoons, and the saxophone section should be in the row behind these instruments.
    Of course, the ultimate degree of projection, whether in the band or the orchestra, is heavily dependent upon a finely-built bassoon matched with a good bocal and a centered reed. With all this, even a pianissimo has a chance to cut through and be heard. A little bit of buzz in the reed gives it life and is necessary, especially in the band. There is no way a dead reed can make it in the band.
    A sound system can be most beneficial to the rather soft bassoons. Outdoor concerts will almost always require the use of microphones if double reeds are to be heard at all. By using the seating plan described above, one microphone positioned near the bassoons will also pick up the other less powerful instruments. A good sound system can make playing outdoor concerts a pleasant experience for the bassoonists.

Final Comments
    Two final observations seem to be in order. First, bassoons should never be used in marching bands. Expensive instruments, coupled with delicate reeds and fragile, soft-metal bocals just weren’t meant for movement on the field. Besides, the volume contributed by the instrument in that situation would be negligible at best.
    Bassoon students should be encouraged to use a seat strap, and it is also a good idea to have a neckstrap available to support the weight of the instrument when standing. The National Anthem and the school’s alma mater are often played at formal band concerts.     When I must stand to play, I make it a habit beforehand to remove the reed from the bocal, put it in my mouth, then stand and put the reed on again. In the cramped quarters of larger bands, such a procedure often prevents the breaking or chipping of valuable reeds. I reverse the order for returning to the sitting position.
    Truly, band bassoon playing does have its problems – most more serious than standing up or sitting down. It is no wonder that students tend to become frustrated. Perhaps some of the ideas suggested here will assist you in guiding your bassoon players carefully and letting them know that they really aren’t the neglected band members.

The post What Directors Should Know About Bassoonists in the Band appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

   We recently visited a school noted for consistent superior ratings each year and the highest percentage of All-State students in their state. The students were in groups of two to four and spread out all over the band room. Everyone was practicing at the same time. This might be a nightmare to some teachers, but because the directors made a point of developing strong student leaders, students were doing excellent work.
    A strong leadership system imparts knowledge at a high level, encourages rigorous teaching and learning with respect and discipline, and rewards eager young players while inspiring the weaker students. This system should develop teamwork, teach the strong performers to assist others, and build everyone up to their highest potential. Leadership in this system will look different for students and teachers. For students, leadership is the ability to genuinely care for members in their section and to help everyone do well and save time for the director. For directors, leadership is the management of student ensembles into performing beyond their learned capacity. This takes the development and modeling of a selfless approach to learning.
    Hopefully, in a typical setting, the leadership skills that are developed every day through demonstrated knowledge, thoughtful interactions, clear expectations, and honest evaluations will eventually carry over into the students’ relationships with others in your band program. These leadership skills will affect every single student in your band program and feed over into the next generation.

Instrument Night
    Leadership begins with trust. The students should trust your ability to help them succeed and protect them from failures, humiliation, and self-defeating attitudes. The director’s responsibility is to estimate the potential success of each student on an instrument and help students decide on an instrument that suits them best (even if it might not be that student’s first choice), bearing in mind the instrumentation needs of your ensemble and the ensembles that your program feeds. To pass this knowledge along, directors have to teach the fundamentals of tone production on any instrument to a potential student efficiently; teachers earn trust from beginning students by having the knowledge needed for a good start.
    At instrument night, appoint new students who show great potential on an instrument to assist you and others with that instrument. Ask students to do anything that you trust them with; this makes students feel important in the band room, and they will view it as a good place to be. This is the time when directors will have substantial influence over parents and other students in selecting an instrument; show immediate respect by referring to all parents and students as “sir” or “ma’am.”
    As students try instruments, require correct playing at all times. Immediately begin teaching students to diagnose, evaluate, and fix instrumental problems. There is no reason this cannot begin even on the first night. Good questions to ask include “Which students are matching this pitch on a mouthpiece?” or “Can you hear highs and lows?”

The First Week of Band
    The director leads this time by implementing and establishing a routine to develop skills with daily work on basic musicianship. This includes sitting on edge of chair, keeping feet flat on floor, tapping toes, and looking to the podium for instruction. Encourage enjoyment of performing. Praise students frequently for effort and results. Allow for mistakes. A mistake is okay, but poor effort is not. Always insist that the instrument be played correctly even when a note or rhythm is incorrect. Remind the students of all the fundamentals. Create a concise checklist for the students to follow each time the instrument is placed to the face. Outside of rehearsals, keep teachers and parents informed of progress and inform parents and students of private lesson opportunities.

Before Rehearsal Begins
    While students prepare for rehearsal, directors should observe them, making note of musical problems that arise as students practice, as well as any physical or emotional changes. Section leaders should learn the strengths and weaknesses of their sections and hold each other accountable. All students should be encouraged to assist each other in developing skills and preparing for rehearsal.
    Create a businesslike atmosphere and a culture that respects making good music by making sure each student has a job to do once they enter the classroom. We give students five to seven minutes before stepping on the podium. This is primarily the time for students to explore their instruments, including checking the condition and response of their instrument (and reeds) by playing part or all of the chromatic scale. Students can also tune and should be preparing their music and working with each other on it. Percussionists should make sure all the instruments are ready to go. Everything that happens during this time should have a purpose.

Warmups
    After the alloted time is up, warmups begin. The room should be silent the instant your foot hits the podium, and no other prompt should be necessary for students to be silent and still. Another important rule to establish is that all eyes are on you when you lift the baton. Warmup time determines the success or downfall of a program, because this is when the band’s sound is established and the rehearsal procedures and the expectations are set. Directors and students should both know how the band is supposed to sound.
    We start warmups by requesting a tuning note from a student. Once this student is in tune, prep the band to match the pitch. Have the band hold the pitch for one to three minutes with no fluctuations or deviations in pitch, insisting that students exit, breathe, and come back in without notice.
    After this, we proceed through exercises and scales, holding students to the established expectations. This can include breathing together, starting and stopping together, matching pitch, and placing all of the tuning mechanisms in their correct places to match the ensemble daily. Warmups are also the time to teach and review the skills to be applied to the literature later in the rehearsal.
    Although warmups are primarily a time for the director to lead, section leaders can walk around their section to monitor and fix problems. First chair players of second and third parts should also be leaders who check to see that everything is operating correctly in the section.

Rehearsal
    This is where the joy of making music comes into play. If the warmup is productive, then students will like their sound and enjoy making music. A good warmup that is applicable to the rehearsal agenda and pieces to be played can save substantial rehearsal time. When the concepts covered in warmups appear in the literature, students should recognize them and be able to play them correctly.
    Rehearsals are time to build trust with students. The director should make eye contact with each player, evaluating them visually and aurally. Every student should be your favorite. Never humiliate a student. Find ways to single out and fix problems without making a struggling player wish he was somewhere else.
    Teachers should have an unwavering commitment to helping students achieve their highest potential. Avoid short-selling beginners because they are young or withholding information that will help them improve.

Conclusion
    Band is a business built of hard-working students. Give all students a responsibility. Leadership comes in many forms, and students who are made to feel important are students who care. Designate who is first chair in each section, but also make note of students who have particular musical strengths; these players can be put in charge of tempo if they have excellent pulse or in charge of pitch if they consistently play in tune. To incorporate the strengths of all students, leaders may also be appointed to library, supplies, or rehearsal logistics staff.
    Success follows band directors who respect and trust each other, and this mutual feeling carries over into students’ interactions with each other. In just a couple years, students’ improved practice skills, shared musical expectations, and better discipline and behavioral habits will lead to a more positive band room atmosphere and easier and more enjoyable teaching and learning experiences.

The post Leadership Training for Beginning Band Students appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    Back in the days of chalk and erasers, the progress of the school day could be measured by the gradual buildup of chalk on the board. Squinting to distinguish math problems from the gray powder of dust surrounding them, I knew that it must be close to lunch time. Each day we looked forward to knowing who would be chosen to clean the board with a wet sponge, which would magically reveal a glossy, pristine black surface.
    As brass players, we too often fall into a comfortable fiction, believing that our instruments are clean inside. After all, the outside looks so shiny. The ugly truth is this: what goes into our instruments stays there. Sugar in our saliva, particles of food, and whatever else that tooth brushing missed remain.

Red Rot
    The brass used to make instruments is an alloy of zinc and copper – usually in a ratio of 30% to 70% respectively. In the most extreme cases of neglect, trumpets or other brass instruments will develop red rot, a breakdown of the zinc portion of the alloy, leaving the metal weak and fragile.
    Red rot typically first shows up as a reddish blotch on the outside of the brass. However, this is just the visible evidence. In reality, the pipe is being eaten away from the inside out, and eventually holes will develop. Once detected, red rot can be slowed, but eventually the affected tubing will need to be replaced.
    The lead pipe is the most common place for red rot to develop. This is the first stop for food particles, minerals, and acid in the saliva leaving the mouthpiece. Most larger food particles get deposited here, although some continue through to other parts of the trumpet. Besides the lead pipe, other areas prone to corrosion are the tuning side crooks and the crook attached to the third valve casing.
    To prevent red rot or to slow its progression, students should try to remove as much moisture from the trumpet as possible whenever they finish playing. A thorough cleaning once a month is also key to preventing a problem with red rot. These practices will also help to maintain the overall health and playability of the instrument.
    Share these simple guidelines with your students:
•  Always carry a toothbrush, and brush your teeth before you play.
•  If you can’t brush your teeth, rinse your mouth thoroughly with water.
•  Empty all water from your trumpet after each practice and performance.
•  Run a clarinet swab through the lead pipe and tuning slide before putting the instrument away.
•  Run a mouthpiece brush through the mouthpiece twice a week.
•  If possible, do not eat before playing.
•  Avoid acidic beverages like tea, coffee, lemonade, and soda before you play.
•  Also avoid milk-based beverages before playing, because these thicken the saliva and can cause sticky valves.

Cleaning the Trumpet
    To clean the trumpet, students will need to have a cleaning kit (available from the local music store) and a few common household supplies. The following items will be needed:
•  Mouthpiece brush
•  Two clean, dry bath towels
•  Cleaning snake
•  Hand towel
•  Slide grease
•  Valve oil
•  Soft, lint-free cloth (no paper products; wood fibers damage the finish)
•  Liquid dish soap (with minimal additives)
•  Plastic tub large enough to comfortably fit trumpet and slides.
    When cleaning and polishing the outside of the trumpet, remember that the brass is protected with either clear lacquer or silver plating. Acids in our perspiration break down this plating. If students do not wipe their instruments after playing, their sweat will dissolve the plating and eventually eat through the brass itself. To protect the finish, students should wipe the trumpet clean after each practice session using a soft cotton cloth (e.g. an old t-shirt) to remove the oil and acid left by their hands. Students should also polish their instruments monthly using a cloth designed specifically for their finish (such as a lacquer polish cloth or silver polish cloth).
    Liquid silver or lacquer polishes are also available, but these should be used only every six months or so, because the strong chemicals in these polishes will wear down the finish if overused.

Removing the Valves for Cleaning
    Students should bathe the trumpet once each month to clean out the bacteria, food particles, and saliva deposits (acid) that are placed in the trumpet each day. If students clean their trumpets monthly, the instruments will perform better, and they also will smell and look better.
    If you are serious about having clean instruments in your band, you will want to walk your students through the cleaning process during class. Although  some of this instruction can be done verbally, one step you should be sure to show them is how to safely remove the valves, since this is an especially delicate procedure.
    When the valve is inserted correctly, the holes of the valve will line up with the holes in the valve casing. Have students observe this for themselves by pressing down the valve key, removing the corresponding valve slide, and looking into the valve slide opening. If the valve is in the wrong casing or if it is facing the wrong way, the holes will not correspond, and this will obstruct the airflow.
    As you instruct students on how to remove the valves, be sure to let them know that the valves are the most delicate part of the trumpet. Students should understand that dropping a valve can have disastrous consequences. Instruct your students to place the trumpet on their lap, with the bell facing to the right. Next they should unscrew the top valve cap on the first valve, and then slowly pull the valve straight up, halfway. There may be a small 1 stamped on the valve, signifying that it is the first valve.
    Ask your students to look for the valve guide, a small piece of plastic or brass located near the bottom of the spring inside the valve. Both sides of the valve guide protrude from the valve, locking it into place when the valve is inserted into the valve casing.
    Students should observe that one side of the protruding valve guide is a little larger than the other. They should identify whether the large or small side of the valve guide is facing them, because this information will be needed to re-assemble the trumpet. If they make a mistake, the holes in the valve will not line up with its slide, and the air will not be able to pass through. 
    Students should practice this step with you. Make sure that all questions are answered, so they feel confident in bathing their instrument at home, with their parents’ help.

Preparing a Trumpet for the Bath
    As you walk students through the process of bathing the trumpet, emphasize to them that they should use only liquid soap, not detergent. The strong chemicals in detergent are not safe for the instrument, and they may scratch or damage the finish.
    Students should run a lukewarm bath for the trumpet in a large plastic tub or bath tub. A moderate amount of liquid soap should then be added – just enough to make the water sudsy. There is a tendency to think that more soap will make the instrument cleaner. In fact, the opposite is true; too much soap can make it hard to get all of the soap off the trumpet. The residue from the soap can lead to sticky valves and slides, which will leave a foggy film on the plating or lacquer.
    Next, instruct students to place a folded bath towel next to them on a stable, level surface. Students should also have a hand towel nearby for the parts of the instrument that will not be bathed. There should be two places for the trumpet and its parts: a bath towel for the parts that will be washed, and a hand towel for parts that will need to remain dry.
    The parts of the trumpet that do not need to be washed are the top valve caps, finger buttons, pads, and third valve slide stopper. The pads located on the valve stem must remain dry. If these pads get wet, they will become misshapen and will not fit properly. 
    The parts that should be washed are the three valve slides, the valves, the mouthpiece, and the bottom valve caps. Disassemble the trumpet (using the steps described below) and carefully transfer each part to the appropriate towel. Each part should be handled with great care, since even a tiny ding or dent can cause the trumpet not to  work properly.
    If any of the valve caps (top or bottom) become stuck, students should run hot water over them, and then use a rubber grip to carefully remove it. If this does not work, warn students not to proceed any further: destruction is imminent the moment that pliers enter the scene. Instead, when this problem arises, students should take the trumpet to a qualified repairman, who will have the professional tools needed for this purpose.

Disassembling the Trumpet
    The first step in disassembling the trumpet is to examine the cork on the water key, which is located on the tuning slide. (Some trumpets will have an additional water key on the third slide.) Make sure that the cork is in good condition and seals correctly. Gently rub a drop of valve oil into the cork; this should be done once every week.
    Next, unscrew each finger button from the valve stem. Unscrew each top valve cap and slide it over the stem.
    Place the finger buttons and top valve caps on the hand towel, keeping all of the hardware for each valve together.
    The next step is to remove the felt pads from the valve stem and set them on the hand towel. The pads will need to stay dry. Keep them well away from the cleaning area to avoid splashes.
    Unscrew the nuts or screw on the third valve slide stopper and carefully put them on the towel. Make sure these small parts are safe and cannot slip down the drain. (If these parts are lost, students can obtain replacements at the local music store.)
    Place the valves themselves on the bath towel. Then place the mouthpiece on the bath towel. Next remove all three valve slides and place them on the bath towel. Finally, place the bottom valve caps on the bath towel for cleaning. Be sure never to remove the first, second, or third slide on the trumpet without depressing the valve of the slide you are removing. If you forget to do this, the air pressure you have released will create a pop and the metal will expand rapidly. Over time, this expansion will become noticeable, and the slide will no longer make a proper seal.
    The tuning slide may be moved freely without the need to depress any valves, since it is open at the lead pipe.

Trumpet in the Bath
    Place the trumpet and the contents of the bath towel into the bath. Let these soak for about 15-20 minutes to loosen dirt and deposits.
    Run the cleaning snake or mouthpiece brush through each trumpet pipe, valve slide, and mouthpiece. Be careful not to scratch the inner or outer surface of any trumpet part.
    Next, run the snake through the tuning slide from both directions to remove all dirt and deposits.
    Soak the trumpet and parts for five more minutes to loosen any remaining deposits.
    Then drain the water out of the trumpet, turning the instrument in different directions as you do so. Run lukewarm water through several times to rinse out any remaining particles. Drain the trumpet and carefully shake out excess water.
    Finally, return each cleaned piece to the bath towel, including the trumpet itself. Dry each section of the trumpet thoroughly with a lint-free cloth.

Reassembling the Trumpet
    Make sure there is no standing water in any pipes or slides, and then allow the trumpet to air-dry for two hours. Apply slide grease to the raw brass portions of the valve slides and re-insert. Then apply slide grease to the raw brass portions of the tuning slide and re-insert.
    Apply valve oil to the first valve and insert it into the casing in the correct orientation. Replace its felt pad, top cap, stem, and finger button. Repeat these steps for each of the remaining valves. Then insert the mouthpiece. Play a few notes to make sure everything is in place.

Valve Alert
    If students discover that air cannot pass through the trumpet after they have replaced the valves, the first item to check is that each valve is in the correct casing, using the numbers printed on the valves. Students should turn each valve until they hear a click and the valve is no longer free to rotate, which will indicate that the valve is in place. 
    If air still cannot pass through, lift the valve out of the casing and rotate it 180 degrees. The students should again hear a click as the valve guide protrusions fit into place. The valve should now be in its correct position.

Do-It-Yourself Acid Bath
    Even if regular cleaning is done (and especially if it is not), trumpets will accumulate deposits in the pipes that cannot be removed by a regular bath. An acid bath helps to get rid of mineral deposits, stubborn buildup and oils, and any corrosion in the pipes. 
    An acid bath should be completed at least once a year, and this is especially important for students whose trumpet hygiene may be inconsistent. A professional acid bath may cost around $130, but students can do this process at home, which will save money and substantially increase the life of the instruments.
    Supplies needed for an acid bath include those needed for a regular bath, plus a plastic tub (which reduces the amount of vinegar needed to a manageable amount), four gallons of white vinegar, and baking soda.
    Here are the key steps in the acid bath process:
•  First perform a regular trumpet cleaning with soap and water. 
•  Fill a plastic tub with 4 gallons of pure vinegar, and immerse all of the just-washed parts for 15-20 minutes.
•  Do not add water. This is the acid part of the bath. 
•  Pour out the vinegar and rinse everything thoroughly with water, including the tub itself.
•  Add baking soda gradually to running water, stirring constantly. If the baking soda stops dissolving, stop adding! Any undissolved baking soda will leave grit on the slides and in the trumpet.
•  Soak the trumpet and slides for 15-20 minutes in the baking soda solution in order to neutralize the vinegar residue.
•  Thoroughly rinse the trumpet and slides in clean water.
•  Bathe the trumpet once more using soap and water. This ensures that all vinegar and baking soda deposits are removed. Please note that all residues of both chemicals must be completely rinsed from the instrument.
•  Reassemble the trumpet following the process described above.
    If a trumpet will be stored away for a long period of time, make sure that the valves and slides are well-oiled and greased to ensure they will not become locked from lack of movement. Slides should be fully pushed in to make sure that the raw brass is not exposed to air.
    When storing a trumpet for long periods, ideally it should be placed in a sealed bag with as much air removed as possible. Keep the case in a clean, dry environment, and place reminders on your calendar to check the instrument every six months and perform any maintenance as needed.
    When a brass instrument is correctly cared for, there is no reason it should not last for fifty years or more.  Proper daily, monthly, and yearly maintenance routines will help to ensure preservation of your valuable investment.

The post Cleaning Trumpets appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    Derek Gipson is the brass caption head for the Bluecoats drum and bugle corps. “As caption head, I am mostly responsible for coming up with the technique program. I write the day-to-day lesson plans and assign what the other brass teachers on staff are to do that day. One of the secrets of success at Bluecoats is that I record the group every time we do a run-through of the show. I use a portable but decent recorder to get a good-quality recording rather than try to pick everything up on my iPhone. At night I listen to the recording while I study the score. From there I make notes and come up with a solid lesson plan for the next day. That time is the most important part of my day; listening, score study, and planning are extremely important.” Gipson, who earned a music education degree from Louisiana State University, runs the brass program with Dave MacKinnon, a former Bluecoats caption head who is now brass supervisor. “MacKinnon has been around the Bluecoats since 1994. He brings an experienced set of ears and offers many great suggestions about scoring and musicality. Dave and I work well with brass arranger Doug Thrower, who has been with the Bluecoats since 1992.”

How do you warm up the Bluecoats brass?
    Every day we start with a session called breathe-sing-buzz. We use ideas from The Breathing Gym by Pat Sheridan and Sam Pilafian as well as supplemental exercises that other staff members and I have learned over the years. We don’t do these with instruments or in any formation.
    This is followed by singing. We use a tuner to go up chromatically instead of a piano, but the singing warmups are similar to what a choir might use, starting with exercises on vowels (mee-meh-mah-moe-moo).

    In using these as a warmup, students learn how to match these vowels, which applies to getting a blended sound. For playing, the vowel shape we teach at Bluecoats is ah in the throat and oh in the mouth, and we realize that sometimes upper register high brass may have to change the oh in the mouth to something smaller, but we try to get as open a space in there as possible. Students won’t be playing much with an ee sound, but the idea of getting a good, blended choral sound is important.
    We also sing scales and arpeggios and will harmonize scales and modes. Singing in harmony helps to match pitch and give direction to both the line itself and also the energy through each pitch. It is easy for vocalists to go flat if they do not concentrate on the entire note. One exercise we frequently use is to go up a scale together in unison, and on the way down, one group stays on the top note, another stops on la, another stops on fa, and then, as the last group goes from re to do, la goes to sol and fa goes to mi.
    We do that not just in major and minor scales, but also in modes. Having students know where the half and whole steps are in any given key is a beneficial skill, so we do a fair bit of ear training with these.

    I also use simple Gregorian chants, which are great unison works that do not require accompaniment. Chant music lends itself well to proper phrasing and giving direction to the line, as well as matching pitch and blending. They are a good way to sing authentic music without extensive vocal training, plus students enjoy them.
    Vocal warmups are an excellent way to get students to focus. I have also noticed that doing these warmups can be emotional for the members who are aging out; there are some teary eyes doing the vocal warmups the last couple days of the season.
    After vocal warmups, we buzz mouthpieces. We mix buzzing exercises up quite a bit, with different staff members rotating in and offering different perspectives, but commonly used exercises include sirens, long tones, and pitch matching. Over the past few years, Matt Stratton, the assistant caption head, has developed a technique called magic buzz point. Players blow air through the mouthpiece with a slightly wider than normal aperture and then gradually let the lips wrap around the air until a buzz forms on its own with as relaxed a face as possible. The point at which a buzz forms is the magic buzz point. It is a way to get a natural embouchure without tension. This works especially well with students who have tight sounds or tight apertures. If they start with a more open aperture than necessary and let things happen, the sound just starts without them trying to force it. This also usually produces a more resonant buzz.
    The next step is to go to the horns. Most of our warmups are done in a circle, in integrated instrumentation. Trumpets aren’t all together. We put trumpets next to tubas for intonation reasons and also to encourage trumpets to play with as round a sound as the tubas. We also put the second euphonium voice next to the tubas because the two instruments often play in octaves. Integrating instrumentation can expose weak spots and make it easier to help people who are producing a different sound than everybody else or not playing up to the same level.
    On the horns, we start with long tones, and I use a number of different long tone exercises. Variety is a way to keep warmups interesting. In drum corps, the difficulty is balancing the fact that everything, including warmups, is memorized with having enough exercises in the manual to keep these good musicians interested. Drum corps members today are much different from when I marched. They are a lot more talented. I want to keep them interested without having them memorize so much material that I have to shift the focus from talking about the concepts behind the exercises to making sure they have everything memorized.
    In addition to Remington exercises, I use one by James Stamp. I like this one because it can be played with a sense of phrasing and connectivity through lip slurs. In addition, the whole step head start into the lip slur at the end makes it a little easier.

    I also use a long tone exercise by Bill Adams, who was a somewhat esoteric and philosophical trumpet teacher. We tell students that the number one indicator of whether they are doing it right or wrong in getting the right sound is not how it feels or what the embouchure looks like, but how the instrument sounds. The most important muscles we have are our ears. My trumpet teacher was a protégé of Adams, and he would occasionally tell me I was thinking about the wrong end of my instrument. We give instructions about the throat and tongue placement, but it is all for the purpose of getting a better sound, and that should remain the main focus.
    In the Bill Adams long tone exercise we use, all the notes have fermatas over them. Often in drum corps we do things in tempo and while marking time, and sometimes students need a break from that to relax and focus on getting a good sound. I especially like to use the Bill Adams exercise after a stretch of long days. We work on just getting great sounds like they would in a practice room at home.

    After that comes air flow studies. The concept is maintaining a sense of resonance and follow-through with the air while wiggling the fingers. When brass players start wiggling the fingers or using the tongue, they sometimes change the way the air flows or move the embouchure because they are trying to control the change of pitch, but this is unnecessary and detrimental. The first air flow study we usually do centers on concert F.

    Another air flow study we use includes lip slurs. The beginning still works around half steps, and it expands from there. All of them feel very relaxed to play, and they are a good way to get a free buzz going.

    After these we do lip slurs and articulation exercises. Brass parts for this year’s show include double tonguing, so I have also chosen some double tonguing exercises from the Arban book.
    We also play chordal studies and chorales and make a point of playing these at louder volumes to work on projecting a good sound. High school bands aren’t going to play as loud as a drum corps, but in my experience, once you get into orchestral music, brass players will need to play as loudly as they do in drum corps. We have experienced this in the Bluecoats. We were commissioned to play a Khachaturian piece with the Canton Symphony, and the conductor kept asking the trumpet players in the drum corps to play louder. He was right, too; the Bluecoats trumpets were not loud enough to match the orchestra. Sometimes there is an idea that drum corps teaches students to play too loudly or to play loudly the wrong way, but we work to project with the best possible sound.
    During camps that warmup may take 90 minutes. By the end of spring training it will be about an hour, and once we get on the road it is usually less than an hour. As we get on the road and the available time each day diminishes, sometimes there is just time to warm up before going straight to full-corps rehearsals. As the time for warmups becomes more compacted, we will only hit on one or two things from each of those categories.

What are the keys to keeping the best possible sound while on the move?
    All of our visual teachers talk plenty about separating the upper body from the lower body and playing with good posture. The breathing exercises we use emphasize efficiency and proper airflow and relaxation but also filling up. The more you fill up your body and the instrument with air, the more there is a sense of cushion between the feet and the upper body. Much of that comes from using your air correctly as well as good posture. This is easier said than done, and mostly it is learned through experience.
    We try to avoid sitting in an arc and playing. Early on, when we are primarily talking about such concepts as vowel shape, musicianship, and pitch and interconnecting these, which takes our full concentration. However, once we get through that stage, it is important to get on the field, get in the drill, and work on the music that way. We rarely stand still and work on show music. We play on the move as brass alone, and even in sectionals; the trumpets will practice their music in a sectional while going through the drill at the same time.
    We also do some technique exercises on the move. Members learn circle drill exercises in marching practice. We march straight in toward the center for eight counts and then back out for eight. We also go around the circle for 16 counts, then back around for 16 more. We do variations of these combinations so students get practice marching straight forward with the intervals getting closer, marching straight backward with the intervals spreading, and then having to march to the right and turn the shoulders to the left when going around. Students have to keep their shoulders and bell turned toward the conductor when marching around the circle. This seems simple, but it can be difficult even for people with marching experience to do it well. Students have to pull the shoulders around, look strong, and still not have the interval fluctuate while playing with a good sound.
    Circle drills like this have been around for years, and many drum corps add long tone exercises to the circle drill so marchers are doing something challenging visually for them and overlaying the responsibility of playing on top of that. A good way to check the sound is to have students play the exercise standing still and immediately follow it with playing on the move and let students experience the difference in the sound.
    The show music in the drill gets more secure as members get the long tones in circle drill more secure. We spend quite a bit of time in the circle and spread apart. We do not use a double circle; there is no one behind another player. This makes it easy for people to hear themselves and for staff members to offer encouragement or guidance. When students get a beat in their sound from marching, it is often because they are not letting the air flow through their throat in a relaxed way. They are constricting something, and any time there is tension, especially in the throat or shoulder area, the feet are going to jar the tensed part of the body. However, a more relaxed and properly positioned upper body is going to have some cushion there.
    We also play in a parade block, although this is primarily for working on the show music. So much of teaching is isolating different skills, so we take away having to change directions or pay attention to drill counts and just march forward in a block while playing our show music. This does a great deal of good. We call it tracking, because years ago the corps would do this on the track surrounding a football field. After 30 minutes of working on the music in a parade block, we put it back on the field in a drill, and the sound is much more confident and controlled.
    One surprisingly effective strategy for improving the sound is to play everything at piano, so students can focus on strictly controlling their bodies. It is difficult to control everything while moving around and playing softly, and performing the show softly makes it feel easier when we go back to written dynamics.

What are some other rehearsal tips you would recommend?
    We have long days and need to preserve students’ strength, especially if there is a show that night. We have several good strategies for keeping students from blowing their chops in rehearsal. Sometimes we sing on the move or just blow air through the instruments and finger notes. We have also run the show with members changing every note of their music to concert F. Sometimes we do what is called bopping, where we only attack the beginning of the notes. We also run drill with just one section playing. This is especially useful for finding hidden errors or weaknesses in the show, and it gives the other sections a bit of a break.

What are the secrets to getting the best possible sound?
    Many band directors faithfully record their concert bands, and I would like to see more do the same for their marching bands. When I critique a marching band, sometimes I get the sense that that same level of dedication isn’t happening. Attention to such details as knowing who plays which line at what time and at what dynamic is what will help directors take a marching band to the next level.
    As an added bonus, if time is taken in marching rehearsals to teach students how to pay attention to melody, countermelody, and accompaniment and how to know how important their part might be, they will already know to listen for such things when concert band kicks into high gear.
    Additionally, just as what should matter the most to brass players is the sound that comes out of their instruments, what should matter the most to marching bands is how they balance the ensemble sound. One technique that I have found works well for marching band or drum corps is to assign all the dynamics a level; level one is piano, level two is mezzo piano, and so on, up to levels six or seven. I do this because dynamics are relative; a forte in a brass quintet is going to be different than a forte in an orchestra. However, although dynamics are relative, the levels are not, and I define these for corps members. If someone is behind the second hash, they might play at level five while everyone else plays at level four. The aim is to make what the audience perceives match the dynamic written in the score, but depending on staging, voicing, and the nature of each part, I might assign different levels based on numbers to students to produce that perception. There is something about the numbers that helps students understand. “My page is marked mezzo forte, but I have to play at level two, which is softer, because I’m right in front and not playing melody.” It speeds up getting good balance and blend.

What aspects of performance do you reiterate the most over the course of the season?
    I am most proud of our resonance, projection, clarity, and blend that help make up the signature sound for which the Bluecoats brass are known. However, once we get that going, we end up talking about timing for much of the year. This is one of the most difficult parts of teaching marching. We ask students to use their ears all the time to match tone, pitch, and style, and then we tell them to quit using their ears to play together because the speed of sound plays a role on the football field. If someone plays while standing right on the front sideline at the 50-yard line at the same time as somebody standing on the second hash on a 25-yard line, the player on the 50 will sound as much as half a beat ahead at 120 beats per minute.
    Often we use the conductor or drum major to adjust for students. If there is a group that needs to enter in the far back. We will conduct more ahead of the sound to bring them in. Nevertheless, even with that kind of help from the drum major, players still want to use their ears. Students have to ignore what their ears tell them and go right with the drum major’s hands. It can become rather scientific as we talk about the speed of light versus the speed of sound.
    Half of our music score is percussion, and while they work hard on getting an excellent tone quality, they are mostly rhythm. If the brass can’t play together with them, it affects not only the music ensemble but even the percussion score, especially if we’re playing something without the battery percussion. In addition, a slow, ballad-style piece might be mostly brass and front ensemble. If the brass and the drum major are inconsistent with each other, the front ensemble has difficulty playing together with the brass.

When you judge marching bands, what comments do you make the most often?
    I do more judging on the field than from the stands, so I often listen to individuals and smaller groups. I would say that the most common thing I notice is marchers not finishing phrases or blowing through to the backs of notes. I want to hear a resonant sound all the way through the notes. Playing a note is like throwing a ball. Just as you want to continue the arm movement after you release the ball, brass players have to continue the air acceleration after they start the note.
    Often this comes up in long notes. Imagine two double whole note chords. Counts 7 and 8 of each of those will either have half the ensemble drop out to breathe or they at least stop supporting; you can see them thinking about the next note rather than staying resonant on the first note and connecting it to the second.
    One way to get around this is with careful staggered breathing. I frequently tell the Bluecoats to breathe anywhere except the barline on long connected phrases. You cannot make a chord resonate just by playing loudly, it also takes sustain. This is especially true on counts seven and eight or 15 and 16.
    Something that often adds to the difficulty in these situations is when the drill has a direction change. Not only are students thinking about the next note, they are also thinking about a difficult direction change, when they may have to go to a much bigger step size. They either all breathe on the barline or just stop supporting the note. In critiques, I suggest to band directors that they might do well to define a breath point in these troublesome spots. This way everybody takes a breath together. You keep a full sound on count 15, then everyone breathes on count 16. This presents a new challenge because you have to work on cleaning a release, but sometimes that is the lesser of two evils, especially when the other option is a phrase end that just doesn’t sound good because too many students are dropping out to take a breath.

What difficult situations do you see marching bands get themselves into?
    I have seen plenty of intermediate bands attempt advanced corps-style things, whether it is fast tempos, large step sizes, or scoring that is way too individualized. If a band has three trumpet parts for three trumpet players, it might be too much.
    The downside of trying for more than students can handle is that students and directors are not rewarded for their hard work – and it is hard work to do what the world class drum corps and top marching bands do. If a group tries to emulate this but lacks the capability to perform well at the highest levels, the scores will not be as high as they might for a group that attempted something easier and handled it well. The analogy I use is that a three-point shot in basketball doesn’t count unless you make it. It is better not to overstep your abilities. Build a program slowly.

What is your hope for the future of marching bands?
    I want people to sound good – even the ones I’m competing against. For years, the Cavaliers had a great teacher named David Bertman, and he had the same mentality. He came from the band world rather than the drum corps scene, switching over when the corps went to Bb instruments. He coached the Cavaliers to a specific sound, and they were successful with it. Bertman was always very open with other people about how he did it. He did not care who won, he just wanted everyone to sound their best. I have tried to emulate that.

The post Secrets of Magical Brass appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    For many years, my focus was on getting students to play with great breath support and characteristic tone quality. My students could do this, and we were successful at adjudicated events. However, when attending concerts at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago, I became aware that there was something different about the sound of those incredible groups. I would look in the programs and see that all of the band members were taking private lessons. So, I surmised that this was the key to the success of these bands. I would be satisfied with this for a bit, but that answer just still didn’t seem right. Upon further reflection, I realized that there was more involved than having students who played well. These bands did not sound like individual students playing with individual sounds; it was as if the musicians were creating a single group sonority. This realization helped me seek out the steps needed to develop a superior ensemble sound and develop what has become a core part of my teaching.

Deciding on Your Sound
    The first and most important step to improving an ensemble’s sound is to have a sound model in mind; my approach to teaching changed once I knew the sound I wanted my groups to have. I started by listening to exemplary ensembles such as the Marine Band, the Navy Band, the Eastman Wind Ensemble, and other wonderful ensembles that I admired. As I listened, I noticed that each group had a distinct sonority. My personal favorites are the recordings of the University of Houston Wind Ensemble under the direction of Eddie Green. I was struck by how vibrant and pure the band’s sound was while still possessing a clarity that allowed each instrument to shine through. As soon as I heard Green’s recording of a transcription of Aaron Copland’s Appalachian Spring, I knew that this was the sound I wanted my groups to emulate.
    Once you have found an ideal sound, listen carefully to decide what makes that sound appealing, while also determining how to achieve that sound. I read On Teaching Band: Notes from Eddie Green by Mary Ellen Cavitt. It covers Green’s teaching philosophy, including fundamental concepts for posture, embouchure, tone, tonguing, and releases for every instrument, as well as improving an ensemble’s timing and sound. I return to it frequently, taking something new away each time.
    In the course of my research, I started to understand more about sound. Sound is vibration, and to create the purest vibration possible, five fundamental concepts must be mastered: posture, breathing, embouchure, tonguing, and releases. The mastery of these fundamentals is essential to the development of a wonderful ensemble sound.

The Enemy of Sound
    The number one enemy of great sound is tension, which creates impurities or blemishes in the sound. Eliminating tension begins on the first day of instruction and needs daily emphasis all the way through high school. Below are some strategies for removing tension from the five fundamental concepts in your class.

Posture
    Have players strive for balanced posture with feet flat on the floor and knees over the ankles. Keep backs straight with shoulders down and relaxed. Faces ought to be soft with no unnatural creases, and chins should be in a neutral position. Remind students that no part of the body should touch another. Most importantly, ask them to remain still while resting and playing. Watch for tension in the eyes and hands, and encourage players to set posture before setting the height of the music stands.

Breathing
    Focusing on a relaxed but full breath from the beginning will eliminate the majority of tension-created problems. Students should avoid forcing the stomach to expand and instead concentrate on letting their stomachs expand as they breathe down and through their chair. Everything should feel natural. As a student exhales, the air should be directional and focused. When I start teaching breathing concepts, I ask students to take a four-count breath. Students should use their eyes to send their air to a specific spot in the front of the room as this will help them to visually focus their air at a faster speed.

Embouchure
    The development and maintenance of the embouchure takes vigilance and care. Without disciplined monitoring, bad habits can develop that will make continued musical learning more difficult. Every instrument uses a different embouchure setup, so take time to understand the subtleties of each. Students should be able to describe and demonstrate a proper embouchure setup. They also must understand what vibrates on their instrument to create sound and know the specific vowel sound used to create the characteristic sound for their instrument. Using the proper airstream and correct embouchure will produce a better vibration and result in a better tone quality.

Tonguing
    Tonguing is an important area to address for elimination of unwanted sounds. Students need to know the exact tonguing technique and tonguing syllable to use for their instrument; for example, they could use either tOO or dOO. Syllables will be different depending on the instrument, but having students know which to use will help get their tongue in the correct place. For every instrument, the tongue uses a quick motion and should strike the same spot with the same strength every time.The tongue also needs to be in the down position 98% of the time so it does not get in the way of the air. The tongue should only briefly interrupt the air stream, not completely block it. One of the most challenging concepts for students to understand is that the tongue always starts the note the same way regardless of the note length.

Releases
    Releases are often overlooked in the fundamentals of sound but can provide great results with the proper attention. The effect created when a group releases a note that reverberates in the performance venue can be moving. Notes can be released either with a breath or by stopping the air. Either way, every student must do it the same way at the same time, and most importantly, the embouchure and tongue must stay still to avoid creating any unwanted changes to the sound. With my middle school group, I prefer that students take a small sip of air on the release so they have a physical activity to place on the release which helps ensure timing. We also talk about defining the beginning of silence (a rest) as clearly as the beginning of a note.

A Plan
    To incorporate these fundamentals fully, directors must spend time daily developing these skills with all groups, from beginning to advanced, even if it is just for five minutes. Before and during rehearsals, consider the sound you have in mind, whether you are comfortable in your knowledge of tone production on all instruments you teach, how to best use warmup time to reinforce these fundamentals, and your goals for the entire rehearsal.
    I once heard Richard Saucedo say something simple but powerful: “You first have to make your instrument sound like your instrument.” We all want our groups to play in tune with balance and clarity, but to accomplish this amazing sound, students first have to play with a proper tone as individuals. Only then we can unlock the door to playing as an ensemble. All of these fundamentals can be introduced within the first few weeks of a student’s beginning year. The key is for these fundamentals to be practiced daily all the way through high school.

Recommended Exercises
Long Tones
    If we have time for just one exercise during fundamentals time, this is the one that we do, and we do it every day. The band plays a whole note concert F followed by a whole rest repeated six times. Used correctly, this simple exercise works on every one of the five fundamental concepts and lets students focus on the beginning, middle, and release of the note. Students must work to remain still and relax during the exercise, including the rests. During the rests, the director can provide feedback and guide student listening.

Articulations
    The second exercise that we focus on is an articulation exercise. For more advanced versions, staccatos, triplets, and sixteenth notes can be added. Because this exercise starts on a whole note, the director can quickly reinforce the use of directional air through each rhythm. This exercise is also effective for working on tonguing. The main goal is to make the beginning of every note the same regardless of the note length.

Descending
    The third fundamental exercise is commonly known as the F-Remington or F-descending. This exercise starts on concert F, moves to concert E, then returns to F. This pattern continues all the way down to Bb. The primary goal of this exercise is to perform the various pitches with consistent sound and tone quality. Students learn that as the intervals between the notes widen, their air must be more focused to perform all three notes with the same tonal energy. This exercise most closely resembles the music that the students will perform, and is a great transitional exercise to bring fundamental concepts to the music.

Sustained Notes
    There is another exercise that may be the most powerful one that we do. Simply have students sustain any pitch for an indefinite amount of time. Students must listen and focus on keeping their tone as steady and still as possible. Without having a specific duration, students will naturally take a more relaxed breath and greatly improve their ability to hold out and complete musical phrases. This exercise builds embouchure strength and is an incredibly easy first step when having students develop their ability to listen across the ensemble. Within the first few days of instruction, my beginning students will sustain the first pitch they learn on their instruments to develop this skill. Approaching the sustained note without tempo and duration, while giving students the freedom to take a relaxed breath when needed, makes this exercise extremely effective.

Levels of Listening
    Once students start to perform the previous exercises at a high level with characteristic, tension-free, and resonant sounds, we can start to work on  advanced ensemble concepts. The important skill of listening can be a difficult concept for students to grasp. To help guide students, we break down listening into three levels.
    Level 1 is listening to self while focusing on creating a vibrant characteristic sound. At this stage, students should be aware of the sound they are making, evaluating whether they are playing with a proper tone, which includes the correct vowel shape. They should also consider whether the sound is open, relaxed, and as vibrant as possible. They should also pay attention to their bodies, considering posture and tension.
    Level 2 listening has students monitoring their sound while listening to the two adjacent players (trios) or their section. Students will listen and adjust to match volume, tone, and intonation within their trio and section. Students should focus on their dynamics and whether they can hear the people on either side of them. They should also check whether tone quality and intonation match.
    Level 3 listening addresses balance. While paying attention to everything they were listening for in Levels 1 and 2, students will also begin to listen to how their sound fits inside the sound of the tubas. If a student can hear the tubas while playing, it creates a natural balance that is the foundation of a mature ensemble sound. Every director dreams of having a perfect instrumentation, but this is not always the case. If your group has no tubas, have students listen down to the lowest voice in the ensemble. These concepts will still help your group improve their overall sound.
    The first three levels of listening are the foundation of developing a superior ensemble sound. However, this may not help us hear the most important part of the song – the melody. To help teach the three levels of listening while still balancing to the melody, I developed Level 4 listening, which consists of teaching students how to balance to an instrument other than the tubas. While students perform the long-tone exercise, I will call out a section, which will then change from a concert F to a concert G. By playing a dissonant pitch, the ensemble can more easily find that section’s sound and balance to it. Students will learn that they have to make decisions on how loud to play to make the concert G balance with the concert F. Rotate through each section, including percussion, so students can learn to listen around the entire ensemble.
    Once students are comfortable listening for the concert G, the next step is to do the exercise again, only this time when I call out a section, they remain on the concert F. Without the cue of the dissonant sound, students will need to listen intently for that section’s specific timbre to attain the proper balance. For more advanced groups, you can call out two sections, who will then play the third and fifth of a major chord respectively, creating a major triad. The goal will be to get the chord to speak while maintaining a fundamental sound. Level 4 listening helps those moments in a musical selection where a melody or an important note in a cluster chord is scored in just a small number of players.
    Level 5 listening helps students to focus on the venue in which they are performing. We often run into situations in which we have to perform in an unfamiliar hall. The focus of Level 5 is to make the performance space respond to the sound of the group. This will help students quickly gain confidence in any performance situation. By doing the long-tone exercise while students focus on playing with a full vibrant sound, the performance space should respond by creating a ringing sound (reverberating) in the hall after each release.

Variations on the Basics
   Once your ensemble can perform the basic exercises with the desired sonority and resonance, it is time to modify them to focus on skills needed to perform vibrant harmonies. In these modifications, the aim is to hear the harmonies being created clearly while getting the notes to react with each other. These variations are also a great way to mix up the basic exercises to keep students engaged and interested. Some examples include:

Long Tones and the Levels of Listening
    Build the long-tone exercise through the various levels of listening. Start with Level 1 listening, then Level 2, followed by Level 3. Use the rests to help guide student listening and reminders. Remember to include the Level 4 exercise from earlier.

Long Tones and Balance Training
    Start the long-tone exercise with the tubas, then build your group from the bottom to the top. Verbally cue in the next section that you want to add to the current sound during the rests until the entire band is contributing. As in level 3 listening mentioned above, students will need to fit their sounds inside those already playing. You can also start this exercise with just first chair players, then slowly add additional musicians. Focus on maintaining the sound and balance as the group becomes larger.

Articulations with Harmony
    After students have a strong grasp on articulations, add harmony to the exercise while asking students to keep the chords vibrant and clear. While the brass and percussion play the exercise on concert F, the woodwinds can play the exercise while ascending all the way to the perfect 5th. Play the exercise again and have the woodwinds play the concert F as the brass and percussion change notes.

F-Descending with Sustains
    While working on the Remington exercise, have the brass and percussion sustain a concert F while the woodwinds perform the exercise. Have students listen to the middle note and how it reacts to the sustained concert F. Then have the sections switch roles.

Sustains with Harmony
    The final example that I will share is a great way to let students work on listening and understanding harmonies. Start by splitting your group in half; this can be woodwinds and brass or high and low instruments. Have one group sustain concert F while the other group slowly moves up and down the first five degrees of the F major scale. The goal of this exercise is to get the sounds to vibrate with each other while also working on intonation. This is a great opportunity to introduce the concept of just tuning versus equal temperament tuning. To get the third and fifth of the chord to truly resonate, the third must be lowered by fourteen cents and the fifth raised by two cents. The more we work on this concept, the more the students can start to bring that skill to our performance music. The great thing about the exercise is that it can be done in any key.

Fundamentals and
Performance Literature
    Once students have a good grasp on the fundamentals, it is time to bring that knowledge to the music. Remember, ensemble sound starts with you. It is crucial that you take frequent opportunities to put the baton down, step away from the score and off the podium, and listen to your band. Avoid any habits, such as singing along with your band, which might interfere with critical listening. As you rehearse, pay attention to whether the group sounds the way that you want. If not, fix it. There is nothing wrong with stopping what you are currently working on and returning to the basic long-tone exercise to focus students. The sound of the group must always come first.
    When approaching performance literature, be creative with how you rehearse. Use the fundamental exercises as a foundation for rehearsing the music. For example, create sustains in the music that require students to work on phrasing. Use a drone where appropriate to help students to listen for intonation. Have small groups play certain sections of the music to help establish ensemble sound or set style. Start with your first chair players, then rotate to make sure everybody has an opportunity. You can also split your group into three or four small ensembles with every part represented. This is a great way to listen to more students and check accountability.
    One of my favorite rehearsal techniques is to play a section of music in the style of a chorale. This allows students to work through the technique and the adjustments necessary to hit the center of every note, which also improves the overall sound of the music. By working on sustains, students improve airflow, relaxation, and phrasing. On faster technical passages, have students go note by note slowly so they can learn what it feels like to change pitches while keeping the airflow constant. Students tend to chop the air up as they change notes instead of keeping the air constant, which also makes the technique more difficult. Students also tend to rush faster passages. Help students combat this by having them just finger along with the music and work to get their fingers to click perfectly in time.

Student Engagement
     While these fundamental exercises can do wonders for your band, they can easily become stale to students. One way to keep students engaged is through higher level questioning. Your musicians must be able to tell you how to fundamentally play their instruments. They should be able to describe what they are hearing. If we are always the one telling our students what we want and what should be improved, our students will begin to shut out what we are saying. You can increase student interest by frequently asking them how to improve problems they are noticing. Be creative with your questions, and do not be afraid to make them think. Students love to take ownership over the way that the group sounds. For a quick check for understanding, I will often have students show me their thumbs to see how well they understand. Thumbs up means “I understand completely,” thumbs to the side means “I think I understand but might be wrong,” and thumbs down means “I still need some more help.” The important thing to remember is that your students want to sound good, and they can tell when they are starting to improve.

Final Thoughts
    By focusing on these fundamental exercises while working to remove any tension, my band’s ensemble sound and musical expression have improved immensely. As my students and I continue to improve our fundamental ideas, more layers continue to reveal themselves. By making these fundamental concepts a consistent part of rehearsals, the level of performance will begin to improve. I challenge you to start your own quest to find your ensemble sound. Remember, it’s fundamental.

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