Nicholas O’Sullivan sounded like a man in a hurry when he wrote for us in 2009. Just 24 years old a the time, he discussed his successes in the first two years of teaching at Governor Livingston High School in New Jersey. Although he knew it would be difficult, he aspired to produce a great high school program like the one Frank Battisti built years ago at Ithaca High School. Most of all, he refused to mark time and take the path of least resistance for the next 40 years. His unquenchable enthusiasm for the profession impressed us, and we decided to check in on his progress.
    Having inherited a band program with 37 students, O’Sullivan noted that band enrollment had since doubled to 80. He hopes that enrollment will continue to rise slightly and allow the addition of a second band. “We have grown the program, but it is still not where I want it to be. With a possible second band, the school is taking a Field of Dreams approach: if you build it, they will come.”
    O’Sullivan admits that he would like to have the three-band arrangement that exists at many New Jersey schools but does not know if two small suburbs 25 miles from New York can support that many groups. He recruits by attending as many concerts at nearby schools. “People are really impressed when you care enough to attend their concerts. You hope that commitment will produce dividends.”
    He realizes that teaching a large ensemble while connecting with students as individuals is one of his greatest tasks. “Any way that you acknowledge students as people makes them feel more strongly about the program. That can be as simple as a glance or a smile.” Although he respects the strict directors of the past, he feels that this approach no longer works in the 21st century. “You are not the enforcer on the podium. Students have to do it for themselves.”
O’Sullivan says that the greatest lesson learned from his teachers at Rutgers is to fix one thing a day in rehearsal. He recalls that in his early years, he “tried to fix everything at once and it was a losing battle. Sometimes when you fix one problem, others are suddenly resolved. You try to fix things that have the biggest result in that class.”
    Having avoided burnout over the last several years, he credits variety as a key ingredient in his teaching. “I am always tempted to do things that have worked in the past. Invariably when I go down that path, it is not what I remembered. A piece or a method may have worked at one time, but that time was different. For me, burnout comes from relying on things that feel safe. It takes extra work to find the next challenge, but this approach fights boredom and mental fatigue. Your mind stays active, and students see that.”
    O’Sullivan admits that maintaining the right balance of work and personal life remains an ongoing battle. “I see directors who are amazing and also have a great family life, and others who have problems with that. I am not the best at taking care of myself. When you walk into the rehearsal room after exercising, eating right, and getting enough sleep, you can tackle the issues of the day. When you sacrifice yourself too much, that is when burnout happens.”
As part of his effort to keep his teaching fresh, O’Sullivan has spent the year working on difficult key signatures. “So many band pieces are written in Bb, Eb, Ab, and C. We are trying to go to E major and C# minor to expand our range. It sounds horrible at first, but that is fine. Students should feel comfortable with the idea that failure will happen before success. I enjoy pushing what is normal. When our students play in the pit orchestra for the school musical, those pieces are written in horrible keys like Cb major. Some days I teach in the box of what band is, and the next day you destroy the box to keep it fresh.”
    Over the years, O’Sullivan has had the opportunity to meet such distinguished directors as Eugene Corporon, Ed Lisk, and Frank Battisti. He marvelled at their generosity. “People think these incredible directors are on their own plane and do not want to come down. That is the furthest thing from the truth. They may have some tough things to tell you, but they are so supportive about it. You walk away with your head up knowing that you have work to do.”
    It was inspiring to hear just how much Nicholas O’Sullivan has accomplished over his eight-year career. He knows that he will never stop learning and sees that as a key to longevity in the field. He still has big goals for his program, but has found a more measured pace for the journey.

(You can read Nick O’Sullivan’s original essay, Great Expectations .)

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Introduction of Terms
    Even if you do not have an orchestra, you may have a string bass bow with your percussion equipment. If not, it is best to find some sort of similar device that can provide visual assistance to the students. I will often use my conducting baton when rehearsing a new group to save time if a bow is not readily available. If a bow is obtainable, it may be most effective to use it during the initial setup of the idea. Afterwards, a baton should be sufficient to convey the idea during everyday rehearsals.

    To begin demonstrating string bowings to wind players, I identify the parts of the bow and the general concepts of string performance techniques. The vocabulary between bowings and other techniques can grow as the demands of the music and your interpretation dictate, however I keep explanations as simple as possible. It is the visualization that is important.
    Several sample phrases I may use include: up bow starting at the tip, start at the frog and only use one third of the bow, and to play this passage lightly and at the quick tempo desired, think about performing this like a violinist using a ricochet bowing. When first introducing these terms and ideas, I will prepare students by finding a video clip from the internet that demonstrates the desired interpretation. In many cases, the style, articulation, dynamics, and other musical attributes improve after a brief visual demonstration. Achieving this performance unity is vital to giving musicians and the audience the best overall experience.

Execution: Articulation, Style, & Dynamics
    The two most basic aspects of string performance are using the bow and pizzicato. When band students are shown these concepts, the relationship to the amount of tongue, airflow, and general performance style becomes clearer, resulting in better rehearsals and performances. Once the ensemble has a general understanding of how the conductor will employ the given techniques and terminology, using the method in practice can begin promptly. Excerpts from the first movement of Gustav Holst’s First Suite in Eb, Op 28, No. 1 work well to demonstrate these concepts.

Soft Articulation, Legato, and Soft Dynamics
    Using the following example from measures 1-8, I would describe the opening attack as an up bow, beginning at the tip, with each subsequent note be performed under one full bow stroke. The natural tendency when playing the anacrusis is to perform this as an up bow. Although this can always be modified to fit the interpretation of the conductor based on the literature’s demands, it is generally due to the weaker emphasis of the attack. Wind players may not have this innate sense as we do not have a visual mechanism in place to differentiate how the attack may differ. This is where the visual motion of the bow may assist. For the wind performer, not having the visual stimulation may make the performance of the anacrusis potentially identical to the performance of the stronger downbeat.
    If a string player was asked to mark their bowings, it may look like this:

At the indicated tempo, no string player can play either four-measure passage on a single bow stroke well, but wind players may best understand the visual concept better if a less technical information is given.

Staccato and Medium-Strong Dynamics
    The passage at measure 32-40 has a large number of wind players performing a rhythmically identical passage.

The vast number of interpretations that may be performed of this passage could be as high as the number of players assigned to the parts. To gain consistency among the 17 similar parts, I would ask the performers to listen to the snare drummer perform the selection. I would then have the performers picture using two to three inches of the middle portion of the bow played against the string with greater pressure, producing a heavy and biting attack, or a martelé stroke.

    Although there is little need for band conductors to know an extensive vocabulary of bow strokes, I find that using some of the most basic bow terms limits how much time it can take to explain my interpretation. It can also give wind players the opportunity to connect if they perform in an orchestra. This is especially helpful if the conductor of the orchestra has limited experience working with wind players.

Marcato Style and Strong Dynamics
    For stronger sections, I might ask wind players to perform as if executing a down bow motion. The stronger I wish to have the articulation and dynamics, the closer I will ask the wind players to execute the down bow closer to the frog. Using the excerpt from measures 41-48, I would ask the low saxophones and brass to perform all notes down bow, beginning at the frog, and only using one quarter of the bow. If a string player were to mark the part, it might look like this:

    The resulting performance, given this visual assistance, should be marcato, at a strong dynamic, and with slight resonance, but having separation between each note. Giving all players the same focus should also result in consistency among the players who have this part.

    Although there are numerous ways to present visualization techniques to assist with band rehearsals, I find the use of string performance techniques beneficial because I can use a baton as the visual device. By providing a more visual model that relates to wind playing, students’ understanding and performance may be greatly enhanced in rehearsal, resulting in higher quality experiences for all.  

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    Most ensemble directors begin rehearsals with a warmup routine for good reason: every musician benefits from a daily routine that addresses the fundamental aspects of music making in a systematic manner. For brass players, such a routine is essential. Brass players are the only musicians for whom the source of vibration is a part of the body not used in a similar manner in any other activity. Inefficient, improper, and even harmful usage of those otherwise little-exercised muscles can occur if they are not adequately prepared for strenuous playing. An effective series of exercises also establishes the mindset necessary for correct playing and emphasizes good playing habits. While warmup routines used by different teachers and programs will vary, the most effective routines are comprehensive and efficient, delivering great results while occupying relatively little rehearsal time.

Contents of an Effective Routine
    There are many appropriate and effective routines. Indeed, a thoughtful teacher will tailor exercises to the needs of a given student or ensemble. Still, there are certain features are present in every effective brass warmup, at every level. These include:
    Breathing exercises. Every brass warmup, whether in individual or ensemble practice, should begin with a few exercises from The Breathing Gym or some similar program. Low brass players will be particularly aware of the benefits of beginning by moving large quantities of air in a robust yet relaxed manner, but all wind instrument players will reap benefits from these exercises.
    Mouthpiece buzzing. A bit of mouthpiece daily buzzing promotes good pitch and helps to eliminate inefficiencies in student embouchures. Have students buzz simple exercises or familiar tunes, always using a pitch reference so students are hear and reproduce pitches accurately. Overuse of mouthpiece buzzing can sometimes be harmful, so limit buzzing to just one or two exercises or tunes during the rehearsal, at least at the beginner level.
    Long tones. Conscientious practice of long tones enables the player to work on the inhalation, attack, tone quality, intonation, dynamic level, and release of each note. Timing of these elements is crucial in these exercises, as is the pursuit of a strong, vibrant sound.
    Lip slurs. These exercises build strength and flexibility in the embouchure. Start beginning students with descending slurs; ascending lip slurs are more difficult and should be added a few weeks or months later. With all slurring, teach students to blow a constant stream of air and use changes of vowel shapes (oh, ah, ee, etc.) to produce note changes during lip slurs.
    Range extension. Have students systematically test the outer limits of their ranges each day through assigned exercises. The use of vowel shapes as mentioned above is important here. Developing the physical capacities to play high and low is often challenging, but it need not be complicated. Still, the teacher must be vigilant in addressing particularly harmful habits, such as excessive mouthpiece pressure.
    Articulation. At the beginning level articulation exercises serve to promote correct technique more than to build speed. Simply hearing the teacher say tah or dah during a brief tonguing exercise can guard against the tendencies of some students to use a pah attack, breath attack, or some other improper technique. As students develop, faster tempos and multiple-tonguing can be introduced, as well as legato tonguing and other refinements. Articulation exercises can also be used to introduce and rehearse scales.
    While the above might sound like quite a bit of material, once the students learn the exercises well, a routine addressing all of these areas can be completed in 5-10 minutes. This is enough time for a thorough warmup for beginning students, as well as a routine sufficient to prepare older students’ embouchures and bodies for the needs of a band rehearsal. Advanced students will benefit from additional time spent on such exercises outside of the ensemble setting, though the exercises in their longer routines will likely still fall within the above categories.

Getting Started
    While some teachers do not teach a dedicated warmup routine until weeks or months into the first year of playing, I advocate introducing a routine by rote during the first few days of students’ playing careers. Many educators dislike rote memorization, and students certainly need to learn to play well at sight. However, the occasional and judicious use of rote teaching can be effective, and this is one such instance. Here are a few reasons for this.
Embouchure development. Having a comprehensive daily warmup routine is good for students’ development and need not be delayed until students’ reading ability improves.
    Range maintenance. Sometimes while choosing instruments students will unknowingly execute a large playing range on what will be their chosen instruments, only to have that range reduced after seeing the limited number of notes used in the early pages of every band method. Their limited knowledge of written notes and fingerings shrinks the parameters of what students subconsciously regard as possible, and some initial skill is lost. Assuming that students have been placed on appropriate instruments and embouchure formation is adequately explained, there is no reason why beginning brass players cannot cover an octave or even a bit more on the first day, and then extend that range through imitation and repetition before their reading ability catches up.
    Finding fingerings and positions. The typical beginning band method does not cover all of the fingering possibilities or slide positions in the first year, saving fifth and seventh positions (and their corresponding fingerings) for the second year. Finding those positions might be less daunting task for trombonists if they are introduced and regularly reviewed from the beginning (granted, reaching a true seventh position is often impossible for young beginners). Even valved instrument players will benefit from learning all of the chromatic fingering possibilities from the first day.
    Ear training. When playing exercises by rote students have to listen to and mimic the sound being played or sung by the teacher. This develops the connection between the ear and the embouchure which is so vital to musical success.
    Ease of introducing new written notes. When warmup exercises are learned this way, students start out playing most of the notes that will be introduced in the first and second year method books. Thus, when a new written note is encountered, the teacher can indicate that students have already been playing that note in the daily routine, and much difficulty with mastering it is eliminated. To put it more briefly, students’ playing ability should stay ahead of their reading ability.

Warming Up in Rehearsals
    Incorporating a warmup that will help brass players in the full band rehearsal can be tricky, as the needs and capabilities of brass, woodwind, and percussion students will differ. This is particularly true at the beginner level. While long tone and lip-slur exercises using all of the available fingerings or slide positions can be introduced to brass players during the first few days of playing, it will be some time before woodwind players will learn the fingerings needed to play the same exercises in unison with the brasses. Besides, woodwind and percussion students have their own needs to address.
    These incompatibilities are one reason that I advocate separating brass, woodwind, and percussion sections in beginner band classes whenever possible. Directors can then use daily fundamental routines that are appropriate for each instrument family. Full band rehearsals will still be necessary, particularly when preparing for a concert. When students have played with only one family of instruments at a time, playing with the full ensemble becomes a real treat.
    Again, the warmup routine for beginners, once learned, should take no more than 5- 10 minutes of rehearsal. Remember that the objectives are to promote healthy embouchure development and correct playing techniques, not to exhaust students before even looking at etudes and concert music. In this vein the requirements of horn players are worthy of special consideration. Because its fundamental pitch is F rather than Bb, the horn’s middle register does not align with those of the other brasses. Having young hornists play unison fundamental exercises with the rest of the class will often result in them playing higher or lower than is comfortable, and lip-slur exercises usually cannot be executed without changing fingerings on each note, an unhelpful complication. For this reason, I advocate having the warmup routine for horn written with the sounding pitch a fifth off from the rest of the brasses (i.e. the horns will play concert F while the rest of the group plays concert Bb). This will enable hornists to warm up in a comfortable range without moving fingers during the lip-slur exercises, and a large number of the fingerings for the horn routine will be the same as those on the other valved instruments. Some beginning band method books now take a similar approach with horns, at least in the early weeks and months of playing, so the idea should be familiar.
    The amount of time spent on fundamental exercises should increase as students develop, but the amount of rehearsal time devoted to them might not change. By high school students should be able to perform maintenance work on their own, though devoting a bit of rehearsal time each day to such exercises gives the director an opportunity to check for correct technique and ensures that all players get some healthy daily fundamentals work. At this level woodwind students should be able to play along with the brass section’s daily exercises, so a daily routine for full band can be constructed that serves the entire group reasonably well. Directors who check student pitch using an electronic tuner should wait until after the warmup is completed, as the pitch is unlikely to settle in before embouchures have been exercised a bit.  Daily use of a brief but comprehensive warmup routine enables young brass players to develop strong and efficient embouchures while also cultivating correct playing techniques and accurate aural perception. 

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    When I meet with students, they often ask, “How do I memorize and perform by heart on stage?” Many of my non-musician friends ask the same. I think they find it interesting that I perform mostly without music. So, what is so special about memorizing? Is it important? Are there shortcuts to memorization?
    In South Korea, where I spent my childhood, it was more common to perform everything without a score. I did not even realize that there was an option of performing with a score on a music stand. It never felt like a burden to memorize a piece, however, because we usually spent months on one movement before a concert. Memory always came very naturally and without much effort when I practiced one piece for so long. It would have been stranger if I could not have memorized the music. 
    At the elementary school I went to in Daejon, South Korea, every student was encouraged to learn an instrument. After playing one overture together for 20 minutes each day all semester, the entire orchestra was able to perform without a score. When parents came to this concert and asked in awe how we could play the whole work from memory, my classmates and I did not understand how unusual this was.
    The challenges of memorization began to emerge as I progressed towards a more professional level of performance. My teachers at the Curtis Institute of Music, Julius Baker and Jeffrey Khaner, required me to learn and memorize a new piece each week and perform it with a pianist. Learning any piece well in a week was already a big task, but it was an even bigger challenge to memorize everything in seven short days. I found some pieces were easier to memorize than others.
    Up to that point in my studies, my only memorization strategy was to play a piece over and over again. In those early years, I chose this primitive and slow method because it was the only way I knew. As I got busier with more concerts, I knew that I would not have enough time to continue in this way. I realized that I had to come up with a plan. Here are a few tips that I use.

1. Make sure your fingers know all the notes on the page.
    I first learn all of the notes correctly so that I do not memorize any wrong notes subconsciously. I prepare the piece to performance standards because the music should come first, and performing without music is, after all, optional.

2. Know the structure.
    You will be surprised to find out how much easier it is to play by heart when you are aware of the structure. Compare the piece to a forest. I first try to see the entire forest. Then I figure out where the forest begins and ends and which kinds of trees are located where. I imagine that I am looking at an overview of the location with a 3D computer map. As I zoom in and get closer to each tree, I observe the other creatures and landmarks around it. I scan vertically (which is studying a score to see the instrumentation and the harmonies) and horizontally (which is to know where the phrases are leading and details I must pay attention to). This creates a GPS map of the work in my head, and it becomes difficult to get lost while performing

3. Sing along in your head.
    Sometimes I really do not have enough practice time. (I have never met a musician who tells me that he or she has enough time to practice!) Do not despair. There are other ways to practice. Jeffrey Khaner once told me that musicians should think about their pieces at all times, even when they are not physically playing. He is absolutely right. At various times during the day, I find it useful to sing the piece in my head. When I cannot remember how to sing any farther, I consult the score to find out what is happening in the music at that point.

4. Use your photographic memory.
    You might be thinking, “but I don’t have a photographic memory.” I believe that everyone has a photographic memory to a certain degree. Just as people can remember and differentiate each other’s faces, they can learn to mentally photograph a score. It helps me to be able to mentally visualize where I am at any given moment in the score. It is worth taking the time to take a closer look at the visual appearance of the score.

5. Do run-throughs with the instrument.
    The more run-throughs you do, the more secure you will feel. Performing is a complicated activity. There are many different issues to think about spontaneously, and sometimes an unexpected accident can happen in a split second. To prevent this kind of unwanted, unpleasant, and unnecessary experience, play the piece through many times at home. I find that sometimes my fingers can fail, but I have my road map in my head. Sometimes my road map gets vague, but I can picture the score in my head and find out where I am. When I cannot find it in my head, my fingers will go automatically to the correct places, and so on. Things happen on stage. However, if you have enough layers of protection, that you have run through many times, you are quite safe.

6. It is your heart that counts.
    How much do I love this piece? How much do I love playing my instrument? Show how much you care. Do not be one of those robots who can play all the correct notes without expressing any thoughts or emotions. Love the piece you are playing; have the never-ending curiosity to bring the piece alive; give your whole heart; and immerse yourself fully in the piece. The rest will come naturally.

7. Let it go and enjoy.
    In the end, you have to free the piece and let it fly on its own. Remember that it is not about you, and certainly not about how well you can memorize. Performers are only a bridge between the composer and the audience. Put in your best effort up until the time of the concert so that you can enjoy the time on stage to the fullest. Focus on the message from the piece and then play your heart out.
    These are a few of the techniques that work for me. Explore other ways to discover what works best for you. There is, however, one thing I would like to emphasize. Sometimes when I hear students performing, all I can feel is that they are thinking only about what note comes next. The next note is important, but it is more important to play so the audience hears and feels the music.
    If you are not entirely confident about stepping onto the stage without a music stand, then it is far better to bring the score and be comfortable. No one wants to see a performer who appears worried and scared on stage. Both performers and audiences seek something that touches the soul. They should be able to purely enjoy the music at ease.
    In lab orchestra for the conducting students at Curtis, the professor, Otto-Werner Mueller, told a student that if he could not write down on staff paper every detail of a page in a score, he should not attempt to conduct without music in a concert or even conduct it at all. This is extreme, but he had a good point. Whether you decide to play by memory or not, prepare until the last minute as if you will because this type of preparation requires a deeper understanding of the music, and your playing will improve.   

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The Lure of the Band
    The band holds an entirely distinctive place in music. It affords a means of stimulation that cannot be acquired in any other way. This is such a common experience that to comment upon it is scarcely necessary. Oh the thrill that travels up and down the normal spine when a fine band is heard marching down the street!
    The smart band of today can boast the most ancient ancestry in music. All in all it is the oldest combination of instruments that we use. Many of the instruments in the band of today are lineal descendents, ancestors of such remote Asiatic origin that historians are at a loss to discover their beginnings. The oboe and the bagpipe are older than Methuselah. The first brass wind instruments of the Egyptians, as their barges floated down the Nile toward the mysteries of Karnak, were apparently straight metal trumpets blown through a cupped mouthpiece. These were much like the straight trumpets which Verdi used so ingeniously in the “Triumphal March” in Aida. Curved brass instruments apparently were not used until Roman times. Therefore when Local No. 46 appears in the Temple in the Second Act of Aida, playing an assortment of modern trumpets and tubas from American instrument factories, they present an anachronism as ludicrous as Shakespeare in plus fours. Yet the players usually wear spectacles and carry modern printed music scores, so we must not be too carping. Still, what would this Second Act be without that inspiring band to put the flavor of brass into that vivid scene? In fact the pomp and circumstance of fate are almost unthinkable without a band.

Bands in the Middle Ages
    Instruments of the band began to improve in the Middle Ages. It must be understood that at first bands were an outdoor affair. The blare of the instruments of that time would have been insufferable indoors. However, with the coming of the great inventors and innovators, such as Boehm, Sax, and Wieprecht, the instruments were so vastly changed and improved that the most pianissimo effects were obtainable; and the band is now equally effective indoors and out. More than this the instruments have become infinitely easier to play, and the effects comparable with those of the orchestra are now easily attainable. The Boehm flute, for instance, offered great improvements in facility and intonation, and, because of similar betterments of many of its instruments, the band of today is even cleaner cut than the orchestra. The double bass of the orchestra has much less capacity for execution than the basses and tubas of the band. Only in the case of real virtuosos of the double bass do we have that definition and unity of intonation in an orchestra that we expect in the brass band.
    In tonal mass, naturally the band can produce large effects with fewer instruments. Let us make a comparison of the concert band and the symphony orchestra. A band composed of one hundred players would have a far larger volume than an orchestra of 156 instruments. The following outline affords an excellent means of comparison.

    The average man of today gives small consideration to the enormous improvement in thousands of things that make life more wonderful than at any previous period in history. This has affected musical instruments quite as much as it has transportation, communication, hygiene, and the thousand-and-one domestic toys which add alike to our joys and our electric bills. Wind instruments have improved so much that Mozart and Beethoven would dance with delight if they could hear one of their compositions played by a modern orchestra or band. In fact it may be safely said that they had but a small conception of how their works would sound as we now hear them daily at concerts or over the radio.

Introduction of the Tuba
    It was but a comparatively few years ago that the bass of the band was an ophicleide, which was nothing more than a cumbersome keyed bugle in the bass clef. Wieprecht, head of a musical department in the German army, invented the tuba that is used today. The limitations of the ophicleide account for the fact that many of the European bands have used string basses. In fact the famous Belgian Band that toured America in 1928 employed string basses. The expert tuba player, as I have said, can far excel the average double bass player in intonation, and therefore string basses in a band are wholly unnecessary. They have disappeated in practically all American bands.
    When I became conductor of the Marine Band in 1880, practically all of the instruments were of French and English manufacture. At that time comparatively few good instruments were made in America. The foreign instruments, the best at that time, were not capable of really first-class intonation. Now I believe that by far the best wind instruments of the world are made in America. There is not a foreign instrument in my band. A protective tariff plus the great growth of music in America has fostered this industry. Quality, however, is the determining factor, and if superior instruments were manufactured abroad, we would have to pay for them. At present, however, I would be willing to pay a premium for American instruments, as compared with the best I have heard from overseas. The industry would not have arrived at its present position so quickly if it had not been for protection, but quality is, after all, the thing that holds it there. When the matter of increase in tariff came up in Congress years ago, I urged that some of the revenue should go for an increase in the salaries for the marine bands.
    It would be a thrilling experience for the average music lover to visit a factory where band instruments are made. Machinery, with the precision of a fine watch, is employed in producing many even frail parts that formerly were obtained only by cumbersome hand tools. Of course there is still a great deal of hand work in finishing delicate processes.

The Quest for Tone Color
    The history of instrumentation has been largely that of a quest for tone color. The pigments of the composer’s palette are the voices of the different instruments of the orchestra and the band. The quest for new tone colors is more intense now than ever before. Of course exquisitely beautiful effects can be achieved in musical monochromes, just as art rises to great heights in the blacks, greens, and sepias of the master etchings of the great painters, from Michelangelo to Whistler. Every new instrument introduces a new color. Even in the string quartet the violin has a different tone color from the viola or the cello.
    The pipe organ does, it is true, have a great variety of tone colors, and the combination of the pipe organ with the band or the orchestra sometimes produces magnificent effects, but the organ is always an organ. This is due to the overpowering effect of its diapasons and other characteristically organ pipes. The imitation of strings produces an effect that is often very beautiful in itself, but it fools no one.

Tone Color of Instruments
    The piano has a distinctive tone color all its own, as well as its literature. The great facility with which music of all kinds may be transcribed for the piano accounts for its eminent position and universal employment. New instruments are often very slow in gaining recognition. The sax-ophone, which (with the exception of the soprano saxophone) is one of the mellowest of all instruments, was invented in 1842 by Antoine Joseph Adolphe Sax. It was instantly and warmly endorsed by Berlioz; but it was not until some 70 years later that it became one of the most popular of all instruments, a rage that started in America.
    I am often asked if age affects wind instrument players. This, unfortunately, is the case. The sound in wind instruments is merely the intensification of vibrations of the lips of the player (called embouchure) in the air chambers of the instruments, which are lengthened or shortened by the valves or slides. The lips can stand this strain only just so long. The period varies with individuals. The embouchure must always be fresh. Most brass players are obligated to retire at 60 or 70 except in abnormal cases. Woodwind (especially reed in-srument) players are not affected so much as those of the brass.
    To the question, “What instrumentalists command the highest salaries?” there is no final answer. It is purely a matter of supply and demand. Instrumentalists that are hardest to secure are the ones who earn the most money. Just now the instruments that are not used in the orchestra, notably the cornet and the euphonium, are hard to secure. Some players receive as high as $200 a week. My players receive, on an average, far above the union scale.
    The problem arises as to the nature of the material of which an instrument is made and its effect upon the sound of the instrument. It has always seemed to me, and I am sure that many physicists will agree, that the only thing that counts is the vibrating column of air. Flutes of wood, silver, brass, ebonite, or glass, made identically, would sound identically. The old silver cornet bands, such as the one in which President Harding played, and which were the joy and delight of the countryside, were not silver cornets at all, but instruments made of brass or alloys and then silver plated. What a smashing appearance they made when the perspiring boys got together on a Saturday night of June and fought their way through the Poet and Peasant Overture or General Grant’s Grand March.
    Now the brass instruments are made of brass, often silver and gold plated, and the woodwinds are likely to be made of ebonite. Big bands have become the fashion in modern times, but when they become too large they are inelastic, cumbersome, and inartistic. Patrick Gilmore, years ago is his Peace Festivals, used to resort to mass bands. Recently in Madison Square Garden I led a massed band of 2,000 players.

Wonderful School Bands
    The student bands in our public schools are reaching an amazing status. There is far more interest in this activity in the West and Middle West than in the East. The normal boy always finds a joy in playing in a band. He seems to incline far more naturally to the band than to the orchestra. It is about as difficult to coax the average boy to play in a band as it is to coax an Airedale to eat beefsteak. He soon finds that, however delightful it may be to listen to music, it is ten times as much fun to play the music himself. He forgets the routine of practice in his intensified interest. Start a boy in studying music in the right way – get him past that critical point where he has acquired sufficient technique to make playing easy – and you have a boy who will be in music for life. No matter if he rises to the highest office in the land, he will find that his life interests are enormously expanded by music.
    To my mind the introduction of student bands in public school work is a godsend to America. Take my word for it, these organizations will galvanize thousands of lackadaisical and undisciplined youngsters in a way which would not be possible in any other manner. Authorities in prisons have found that the introduction of bands has a wonderful influence upon discipline and character. The trouble is that they are brought in too late. The boys that are playing on musical instruments behind bars might never have gotten there if they had learned to play them before they got in. A boy with a cornet or a saxophone, learning to play Massenet’s Elegy or Bizet’s Toreador Song has very little time to lay plans for becoming a gunman. Playing in a band gives a boy pride; he throws his shoulders back, he is somebody. He must live his life in accord with his new position.

The Native Lure of Music
    Music, even in its most primitive forms, seems to have an influence upon some portion of mankind. The Salvation Army, for instance, has depended upon banjos, accordions, guitars, tambourines, anything that was musical, to spread its gospel. From this has grown many fine bands, here and abroad, and I was recently honored by having a request from that great woman, Evangeline Booth, to write a Salvation Army March. Of course I gladly complied, and the March will be played by Salvation Army Bands all over the world.

Soap-Soup-Salvation
    The Salvation Army’s first medium of appeal, as I have said, is music. Once in Pittsburgh, I asked Gen. Ballington Booth how he got such a firm hold on the down-and-out man and helped him back. His reply was, “First we give them soap, then soup, then salvation, and plenty of it.” We have gotten to depend upon ourselves and our machinery so much that we are in danger of forgetting that there is a God. Nothing brings us closer to God than beautiful music. If you want to know one of the very good reasons why the world needs bands, just ask one of the Salvation Army warriors who for years has searched carrying the Cross through the back alleys of life. Let him tell of the armies of men who have been turned toward a better life by first hearing the sounds of a Salvation Army band. The first time you hear a Salvation Army band, no matter how humble, take off your hat.
    Many of my most successful marches were written for special occasions or organizations. The Washington Post was written for the paper of that name in Washington. The High School Cadets was written for a high school in Washington. King Cotton was written for the Lousiana Exposition. Semper Fidelis (Always Faithful), now sometimes known as The March of the Devil Dogs, was written for the United States Marines, and my latest march, The March of the Welch Fusiliers, was written for the great regiment of that name that joined the United States Marines in the protection of Tientsien, during the Boxer Rebellion, when our President Hoover, as a young engineer, was given charge of the all-important matter of caring for the defense and food during that critical time. The march was recently performed by the U.S. Marine Band in Washington, before President Hoover and many of the greatest men of America, at the annual dinner of the Gridiron Club.
    Two questions are put to me over and over again. One concerns itself with my name. Years ago someone circulated the absurd rumor that I am a gentleman of alien birth (usually Italian), that when I first/landed in America my name was John Phillipso, and that I added U.S.A. making it John Philip Sousa. I was born in Washington, D.C. My mother was an American of Bavarian extraction and my father, Antonio Sousa, was born in Spain of Portugese extraction. He had served in the U.S. Navy. Perhaps a  photostat of my birth record in Washington would convince the skeptical.

Stars and Stripes Forever
    The other question has to do with the composition of the Stars and Stripes Forever. Greatly as I have enjoyed other countries, I have always come back to the United States a better American. If you have ever been away from our shores a long time, you know something of the joy that is felt when you are on a boat with its prow pointed for Sandy Hook. The Stars and Stripes Forever was written on the high seas as I returned from Europe. As I walked up and down the decks, this march, which was a translation of my feelings, kept ringing in my ears. I could hear nothing else. When I got on shore I wrote the march. The publishers at first were unenthusiastic, and the purchasers, likewise. Some even sent copies back. The Spanish War came on at that time. A patriotic march was needed; before long this one was heard everywhere, and it has maintained popularity ever since. No one can explain the reason for a success that develops slowly as this did, but it is a fact that many of the most famous works in music have not been successes at the start. Even Bizet’s Carmen was at first a rank failure. Over for million copies of the Stars and Stripes Forever in its various arrangements have been sold, and it has netted me about four hundred thousand dollars.  

    This article originally appeared in the September 1930 Etude Music Magazine. Reprinted in the April 1991 issue of The Instrumentalist by permission of the publisher, Theodore Presser Company. Our thanks to Arnold Broido.

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• I worked for the Paragould School District from 1991-2008.
• I am currently president of the Arkansas Small Band Association.
• My home address.
• Photographs in which I weighed thirty more pounds than now.
• I am the director of Camp Omega at Crowley’s Ridge Youth Camp.
• A news release on my junior jazz band’s performance at White County Medical Center.
• My 2007 Loose Caboose 5K time of 28:58, and that I came in last (10th) in my age group. (A glance at a few more entries would show that I am not quite ready for the Olympics.)

    Most of the information above was not something I posted myself or even gave permission to post. When it comes to information we post, great care should be taken; posts on social media sites like Facebook can cause problems that result in suspensions, firings, and lawsuits. It is unwise to post personal frustrations about anything having to do with work, whether this is ranting about your boss or grousing about students or parents. Do not trust privacy settings because they are basically meaningless, and if you have a difficult time with technology like I do, you might even post it for everyone by mistake.
    As for the law, what can we say on social media? Are we entitled to First Amendment protection? Theoretically, the answer is yes in public schools, with less protection for those working in private schools. However, in 2006, the U.S. Supreme Court established a two-part test for deciding whether statements by a public employee are protected by the First Amendment: Was the statement made as a private citizen about a matter of public concern, or as an employee about matters within the scope of his or her employment; and did the state employer have an adequate reason for treating the employee differently than a member of the general public? Did the speech unduly interfere with the ability of the state employee to operate effectively? Unfortunately, this second standard can be interpreted very widely by any school district.
    Although inappropriate relationships between teachers and students have probably been around since the beginning of time, the digitalization of society has added a new dynamic to this problem. Cyberbullying and cyberbaiting are a case in point. A 2006 survey by the National School Boards Association found that 26% of teachers in the U.S. had been cyberbullied by students or parents. As for cyberbaiting, one can just go to YouTube and search for “teacher loses it” to see examples of educators taped losing their cool. Some teachers in these may have been baited into their loss of control. (Some videos are actually amusing April Fool’s jokes but, alas, not all.) It would be safe to assume that almost anything you do at school can be caught on camera.
    The proliferation of cell phones has also created new problems. Cell phone manufacturers began concentrating on teens in 2004. At the time, about 25 percent of teens used a cellphone; by 2008 it doubled; now just under 95 percent have cellphones with teens increasingly getting smartphones. Many years ago it was more difficult for students to contact a teacher (and vice versa) without their parents knowing, but now it is no problem at all. I do not believe I ever called a teacher in high school, and if I did I would have been terrified to broach such a brazen venture. With texting capabilities and a phone in almost every child’s hands, both students and parents can access teachers 24/7 by voice or text. I’ve gotten texts from parents and students asking me questions past 10:00 on a school night. (Even if it is a good question, I don’t answer them out of principle.)
    We should be careful about using digital media because the margin for error is miniscule. Below are some important tips that can go a long ways toward preventing problems:
    Search your name on the internet periodically to see what comes up. Some things can be removed and some things probably cannot, but in the case of the latter you at least have the opportunity to be upfront with an employer about a past indiscretion before they find it themselves.
    Never assume any of the privacy options you have are completely private or safe.
    Never post anything sarcastic, argumentative, or in anger concerning anything to do with work.
    Never post remotely questionable photographs. Conservative discretion is best. Avoid posting pictures of students without their parent’s permission.
    Communicate via mass text to parents and students for reasons of transparency.
    Rarely text students. Most texting should be responding to a student inquiry. Avoid initiating any kind of conversation. Have fellow students text someone for you if it is a simple reminder about something. When you find it necessary to text, keep it professional, business-like, and brief – no extended conversations. Only text during reasonable hours of the day.
    Do not friend students on Facebook. (However, using a school-run Facebook page is fine.) I will add students right after they graduate, but some directors wait until a year or two after that.
    It would be best to avoid friending parents on Facebook as well. I made this mistake, but put a stop to it after friending just two parents. I became uncomfortable with the level of familiarity it opened up and decided that it crossed professional boundaries. Practically speaking, it enabled one of them to access me constantly during off hours with annoying questions.
    The definition of friend on Facebook is a loose one; take a true, trusted friend out to dinner, eat a good meal, and discuss your frustrations then.
    Periodically evaluate your mental and emotional state, paying particular attention to how you are responding to the various stresses of life. It is often at stressful times that poor decisions with long-term negative consequences are made. Seek help if it becomes appropriate.
    Private emails should be copied so parents can see them as well.
    Avoid discussing serious topics by email (or text) if you think a response might escalate into anger or even be misconstrued by an angry reader on the other end. On the occasions when you receive overtly angry emails and texts, simply do not answer them. Anything can be read and interpreted in the worst way if the reader is so disposed. If a matter is that serious, set up a time to meet in person.
    As for my email scare, I learned my lesson: Absolutely no angry sarcasm in emails ever again. I am purely a smiley emoticon guy. Now when I periodically receive maddening emails, I simply delete them and, to my assistant band director’s chagrin, I walk to his office to vent. 

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    Brandon Crawford is music director at Princeton (Illinois) High School. Originally hired as the choir director, he was also assigned to teach band four years ago and has worked hard to build both ensembles. “I live by the philosophy that it all begins and ends with music, so if I get a student in one ensemble, I can recruit them into the other. It is easier for a high school student with no prior experience to take choir than band, so I recruit heavily for the choral program, and then I recruit students into band from choir. I have nine choir members who are first-year band students. I also have two seniors and four juniors from band who are first-year choir members.”
Crawford believes that as long as desire and confidence to step into the music room are present, students can succeed. “It is a matter of suggesting to a choir student, ‘You enjoy music. You could be in band. Let’s find an instrument for you.’ Give students the confidence to want to step into the music room. A common protest from choir members is that they have never been in band, while their classmates have been playing since fifth grade. I do not believe this matters. We can teach someone the fingerings if we can get them to want to be there, and much of that comes from making the music room a place where students feel comfortable and confident enough to take risks. Students will be willing to try something different if they know they can do so without being made fun of.
    “I might say, ‘You’re good friends with Alex, and he plays trombone. Why don’t you try that? Come down during homeroom and work with Alex every day for a week. If you can’t play a scale at the end of the week, we’ll switch you to something else.’ That sounds easy enough for students to try, and if trombone doesn’t work, there are plenty of other instruments. What matters is that students want to be there, because if they don’t want to be there for themselves, they won’t want to be there for me.”

What are ways you have recruited students into the music program?
    People are more likely to leave small towns for the cities than the other way around. The community and school might be getting smaller, but I cannot afford for my program to get smaller. I have to find creative ways to recruit students. Two years ago I started a tradition of throwing out t-shirts at sporting events. I call a local store and have them get me three or four different designs for a theme, and the head coach and team pick which design is used. The theme for the volleyball shirt is Aces Are Wild. Every time our varsity volleyball girls serve and score an ace, I throw one of these shirts to the student section. The front has the design the team picked, and on the back it says “T-shirt sponsored by the Princeton High School Music Department.” The shirts are bound up in rubber bands, and inside is a piece of paper that has our band and choir concert schedule and a note that says “Are you in my class? If not, here’s your free pass to come talk to me during homeroom.” When the student comes, we might discover that he has no interest in music. If that is the case, I ask what he is interested in and what his college plans are. The aim is just a conversation with a student, not to bribe or pressure them into joining my class.
    I throw a football shirt when our defense forces the other team to go three and out, and basketball shirts are for three-pointers made. Wrestling is handled differently. The theme is Win by Pin. If a wrestler gets a pin, I give a shirt to the coach, who passes it to the player to throw out.
    I have gained 20 students in two years through these t-shirts. Some of the money for them comes from my small yearly budget, and some comes from my pocket. I keep the scorebooks for home volleyball games and get paid to do that. This goes right back into the shirts. I give up some of my time but gain students by it. If a free t-shirt gets me 20 students in two years, I will keep buying t-shirts. It has proven to be be a wonderful idea, and the coaches love it.
    I sometimes walk through the gym at the start of basketball practice and ask a student, “Why aren’t you in my class?” The response is usually “Well, I don’t sing.” I say, “Great. Why aren’t you in my class? We can work on singing or playing an instrument. You didn’t know how to play basketball at one time, but somebody taught you. Let’s have a free throw contest, and if you beat me, I will never ask you again to be in my class, but if I beat you, you have to take one of my classes.” I have been doing this for five years and gotten eleven students from it. I have lost twice, but these students still ended up taking my class because they felt comfortable. They enjoyed the conversation while we were playing the game, and I stayed true to my word and never asked them again.
    One of the two students I lost to was a sophomore when we played. I never brought up my classes again, but I would talk basketball with him every day. I had a Michael Jordan DVD collection that I lent him to watch over Christmas break. He plays college basketball right now, but his senior year in high school he wanted to be in choir. He wasn’t in band, but he came to every basketball game early to help move band equipment to the gym. I got him supporting the band, and by getting the athletes to support the band, it creates a better environment.

What are the keys to building strong relationships with students, coaches, and the community?
    Before school I have rehearsal from 7:00 to 7:45, but there is a 15-minute window afterward that I have free, and during those 15 minutes I roam the hallways and walk through the cafeteria and gymnasium – anywhere to make sure students see me.
    I eat lunch in the cafeteria almost every day. On the days I am too busy for lunch, I still make sure to walk through the cafeteria, passing every table and saying hi to the students, calling them by name. I introduce myself to a new student every day.
    I go to as many home athletic events as possible, even if I can only be there for 10 minutes. I go to make sure I’m seen, and while I am there, I will take note of something a student accomplished. Then I make a point to find and compliment that student the next day. This is how a teacher invests in a student – by showing you care about him outside of your class. I will talk about any sport a student plays, because if I can develop a relationship with him, I can get him in my room. If I can get him in my room, I can get his friends in my room, which means that my programs are getting bigger because I am getting a wider range of students.
    When picking out pep band charts, I put together a list of 15-20 possibilities and give it to the head coach of each sport so they can pick one or two for the band to play at games. The athletes love picking their music. It is an excellent way to build the bridge between athletics and music.
    For four years, our drumline has played a cadence as it leads the varsity football team, followed by the marching band, into the football stadium. It has reached the point where the varsity football team does not want to take the field unless the drumline is there, even at away games; the captains of the football team have gone to the administration and asked for the band to go to away games so the drumline could lead them in. The students of the athletic side want the students of the fine arts side there; that does not happen everywhere. It took four years for the football coach and me to get that to happen, but we’re there.
    While the community is watching athletics, the band is at the football and basketball games, and choir sings the national anthem. The music program is being presented at athletic events, but you also have to find a way to show athletes and their parents that the music department is supporting them. For the past two years every member of the volleyball, football, and basketball teams has been at our concerts. They support the music program because we throw t-shirts out at their game, and students are cheering during their games. The aim is to build camaraderie in the school.

How do you win over the troublemakers?
    The troublemakers are troublemakers because they feel that’s their purpose. They rarely participate in extracurricular activities. They usually have a discipline problem. I want those students because they don’t have anything to feel a part of. I will find an instrument for them to play, invest in them, and make them realize they have been missing respect. I respect you as people, you respect me as an adult and as your teacher – and together we will have a good time. I find that the students who don’t do homework for other classes are the ones who will go to the ends of the earth for me. They will not respect a teacher who does not invest in them.
    I walk through detention and in-school suspension areas and ask the students there how they are doing and why they are not in my class yet. I offer a pass to the guidance office to change their schedule. They often say, “Not today,” and I respond, “Well, I’ll catch you tomorrow then.” I have been working on some kids for four years. I still don’t have them all, but some of the ones I have gotten have told me the only reason they come to school is because of my class every day.
    My first job was in a small school in Missouri. There were five boys who were best friends and too much for any teacher to handle at once. I went to the counselor and said I would take all five of them right now. This was ten years ago, and I still talk to those five today.
    Everywhere I go, I seek out students nobody wants. Even if you never get them in class, showing these students that somebody cares about them is a big deal. Some students might not have anyone who cares that he had something to eat today. The only time some students eat is at school. Before I had music boosters, I would take $70-80 in five dollar bills and hand it out to every student who didn’t get dinner that night, saying, “If you don’t have money for concessions, come see me.” Somebody has to step up for these children. Why not you? That is how you build those relationships.

How do you fit a beginner into a high school band?
    In rehearsal, I walk by the beginners every day and find something to compliment. “I heard you play that eighth-note run. For someone who has only been in band a week, that’s really great that you can do that. I’m proud of you. Keep working.” That student will want to get better, and that is the goal.
    Every section has a student-led sectional one morning a week. The students vote on a section leader. It might not be the best player in the section, but it is the section’s choice. That leader runs the sectional. I am not in the room for most of it. During these sectionals, the experienced students teach the first-year players how to play the instrument. I have students teach each other, because if I work with a beginner he will feel intimidated, that he is not good enough. If their friends show them, students pick things up more quickly. I stay in contact with the section leaders and ask how new players did. If they report that a student is struggling with something, I ask how they would fix it and have them focus on that at the next sectional. I still work with new players, but through a section leader, so a beginner never feels intimidated by me. I visit sectionals and work a few passages after a student has a few reps under him, just to see his progress, but to get them started, I let students do the work.
    Teachers can be scared to give students more control; there is a fear that if you don’t do something yourself it will be wrong. If you do not trust your students, why should they trust you? I turn them loose. I email section leaders or meet them in the hall and tell them what to work on, usually right notes and right rhythms. If the students are conscious as musicians, making the best tone they can and playing the right rhythms, articulations, and fingerings, then they are playing good music. Students can do that without me being there. They will be adults soon enough. Treat them that way and see what results you get.
 

* * *

On Singing in Band
    I am a choir guy and never expected to teach band. I was hired at Princeton to teach vocal music, but when the band director left, the administration wanted me to teach both. I’ve taught band there for four years, and when something is wrong, I believe the best solution is to play the first note, put the instruments down, and sing the part. Any time there is a problem, sing. If students cannot hear, sing. It keeps every student involved. I require percussionists to sing, too. If the triangle player has a note on beat three, I better hear him say ding loudly enough that the trombones across the room know the part is there. It gets students listening. You have to be able to hear the sound that you want to create. Good tone is good tone, no matter how it is produced, but you have to be able to hear what it is.
    We sing something through once, then I might ask students to add more shape, and we sing it again. On the third time through, students finger their instruments while singing. After that, I ask students if they liked what they just sang, and why or why not. If they like it, we play it, and the tone becomes much warmer and richer. If students can hear a sound they like, they can recreate it.
    Singing extends to warmups, too. I do not believe that warmups are designed to warm up the instrument. Warmups prepare the musician, mind, soul, and body to make music. Sometimes we don’t play a note on the horns. We sing our band warmups. We have a list of 50 different warmups, and I might have students play the odd numbers and sing the even numbers – or sing 1-5 and play 6-10. We mix it up.
    We do this because students have all played already. Every saxophonist, as soon as the instrument is assembled, plays In the Mood. Every trumpet player wants to play as high as possible. Every trombone player has to glissando as wide as the instrument will permit. Every flute player has to play a high C. Every student has their instrument warmed up before you ever step in front of them, and if they do not, say, “I’m going to give you a minute or two. Blow some air through the horns.” While they do that, by the time you take attendance and have a sip of coffee, they are warmed up. Then we can sing.

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