On his first experience playing oboe:
    “I vividly remember the first time I tried to produce a sound on the oboe. At age 16 after having played the clarinet for two years, I decided to try the oboe. As I tried to produce a sound, my immediate reaction was that no air was going through the instrument. Probably I was closing the reed too much, but even after I improved the embouchure and the reed vibrated, the amount of air going through seemed too tiny. My body reacted to this very low flow rate, and it was as though I were holding my breath.”

On overcoming breathing challenges:
    “The oboe has been called the most difficult of all the wind instruments, and if this is true, the main reason is that it takes so little air. … somehow I had to handle the breathing problem. It took many years of experimentation for this to happen, and this was the best way for me at least, because I learned more thoroughly that way.”

On working with Arnold Jacobs:
    “My last teacher taught me more about the basics of oboe playing than all of the others, and he was a tuba player. The tuba is the opposite of the oboe because it uses more air than any other instrument. When I joined the Chicago Symphony in 1953, I was fortunate to be a colleague of one of the world’s great tuba players, Arnold Jacobs. We worked together for most of the 40 years that I played first oboe with the Chicago Symphony and discussed all of my experiments and ideas.
    “Whenever I had a problem with some aspect of tone production, I soon learned that Arnold had encountered it many times before with students on every brass and woodwind instrument. I might have been the first oboist he worked with on breathing.”

On breathing and posture:
    “Oboists seldom use more than half of the available air. Because the oboe takes so little air many young players can get away with just lowering the upper chest (by hunching the shoulders forward). … Over time, this approach to blowing feels quite normal and easy, but big trouble arises when students play more sophisticated music. The best, most efficient way to play the oboe is with the chest high and regal, like any competent singer. I have seen and felt my chest rise slightly as I play through most of a phrase. It only comes down at the end if I need all of my breath, which is almost never.”

On a rehearsal of Beethoven’s Fifth:
    “During one very hot afternoon rehearsal at Ravinia, the outdoor summer home of the Chicago Symphony, we worked on Beethoven’s Fifth with conductor James Levine, who was an old friend. Everyone was a bit sleepy, and the orchestra almost played this all-too-familiar work by rote. I decided to play the solo in the Scherzo using the reed alone, even though those four C3s are a prominent oboe solo. Levine cued me and did a double take when he discovered that I was playing on just the reed, but no one else in the orchestra noticed it.”

On practicing and training:
    “The training to condition the blowing muscles is extremely difficult and can only be learned by doing it. Just as a prizefighter has to learn how to survive in the ring by experience and training, so too is it necessary for oboists to spend a great deal of practice on these arduous passages. It is futile to spend most of the time making reeds in the hope that a great reed will get us through it. Take a mediocre reed and learn to survive without stopping.”

On advice given about breathing and blowing:
    “A final word about breathing and blowing concerns frequent comments and advice by professional oboists about spinning the breath or speeding it up with the tongue position. To me, all such advice is just so much hocus-pocus. It is absolutely immaterial where the air has passed before reaching the reed.
    “Whatever psychological adjustments a player may imagine are irrelevant to the reed and the sound unless these images alter the embouchure or the air pressure. The reed couldn’t care less about what happens as the air moves from the lungs, through the mouth, and to the reed tip. However, psychological images can make a great deal of difference in coping with the common feeling that an oboist is suffocating from too much CO2. With good breath control, the air will get to the reed in the right quantities at the right time.”

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    In April 2013, Paul Worosello, director of bands at Klein Forest High School in Houston for 34 years, announced his retirement. This announcement spurred a tremendous tribute, the likes of which is rarely seen in any profession.
    At the time Worosello became the head band director at Klein Forest High School, the World Wide Web did not exist, gas was $0.86 per gallon, and the Sony Walkman was about to make its debut in stores. Under Worosello’s direction, the Klein Forest band program built a reputation for excellence. Highlights and accomplishments for the band during Worosello’s tenure included a performance at the Midwest Clinic and three performances at Carnegie Hall. The band also earned honors as a Grammy Signature School.
    In the band directing profession, it is rare for someone to stay in one place for twenty years, much less over thirty. During that time, Paul saw hundreds, if not thousands, of students go through his program at Klein Forest. His integrity, musicianship, and honesty had a profound impact on his students that went far beyond the musical experiences in which they took part.
Upon the announcement of his retirement, the members of the Klein Forest band staff and Paul’s wife, Susan, went into overdrive to plan a tribute concert worthy of Paul’s legacy and his 34 years at Klein Forest High School. A secret Facebook group, “Mr. Worcello’s Opus” (intentionally misspelled so that Paul would not accidentally stumble across it), was created to contact former alumni and disseminate information to alumni and friends who would want to participate in or attend the concert. This page became a virtual reunion for current and former Klein Forest band staff members, band alumni, former band parents, and mentors and friends of Paul. As of the day of the tribute concert, the group numbered over 850 members.
    Guest conductors who would hold meaning for Paul were lined up, including Mike Connors (a fellow assistant director with Paul at Klein High School in the 1970s and the godfather of Paul’s children), Bob Blanton (former Klein ISD Director of Fine Arts and the person who hired Paul at Klein High School), Randy Vaughn (another former Klein High School director and colleague of Paul’s), Monte Mast (the current Klein ISD Director of Fine Arts), Kenny Bierschenk (former Klein Forest High School Associate Band Director and arranger of the music for all of Klein Forest’s marching shows throughout the 1980’s), and Jim Shaw (former Klein Forest Band member and former head band director of Klein Forest’s middle school feeder program at Wunderlich). Of special significance was the inclusion of former West Texas State University band director Dr. Gary Garner, who was Paul’s college band director and the most influential mentor to Paul during his career.
    Through the Facebook page, a band comprised of alumni and colleagues was formed. Band instrumentation numbered over 100 when the group had to be closed due to size limitations of the Klein Forest stage. Assistant directors at Klein Forest, Lynda Eubanks and Ryan Barker, percussion specialist Eric Ridenour, and Paul’s wife Susan worked to put together a program consisting of pieces that had special significance to Paul. The pieces they chose included Lo, How a Rose E’re Blooming; The Earle of Oxford Marche from the William Byrd Suite by Gordon Jacob; movements from Lincolnshire Posy by Percy Grainger; The Cave of the Winds by Russell Peck; the Lucien Calliet arrangement of Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral by Richard Wagner; and the Nimrod movement to Elgar’s Enigma Variations. The program also included Kenny Bierschenck conducting his own arrangement of a medley of tunes from Klein Forest’s various marching shows through the Worosello years, titled Sounds of the Stadium. In addition, Paul himself would be called to the stage to conduct Frank Ticheli’s Blue Shades, a piece that Paul was involved in commissioning, and this performance would also feature Paul’s son, Tygar, playing the clarinet solo.
    The concert would conclude with Bring Him Home, arranged by Lynda Eubanks. This last piece was to be accompanied by selected audio clips from an interview with Paul in which he discussed his teaching philosophy and his reflections on his career.
    The tribute band came together on the Friday evening prior to the Saturday concert. Membership ranged from professional musicians and band directors who played their instruments every day to alumni who had not touched their instruments in fifteen years or more. After five and a half hours of rehearsal spread out over Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, the band took the stage on Saturday evening.
    As the time of the concert neared, Paul was told that the staff wanted to meet at Klein Forest High School one last time before heading to dinner. When Paul and Susan arrived at Klein Forest and saw the abundance of cars parked in the lot outside of the auditorium, he looked at his wife and said, “We’re not going to dinner, are we?” After a quick sandwich to tide him over, Paul was led to the auditorium where he was greeted by thunderous applause from the hundreds of audience members and band members on stage. After being temporarily overcome with emotion and hiding his face in his hands, Paul was led to a front row seat where he sat with his wife and daughter, who had flown in from Las Vegas for the event and surprised him, while Master of Ceremonies, Dan Potter of DCI fame, took the stage to introduce the evening’s event.
    Throughout this magical evening the guest conductors paid tribute to Paul with short anecdotes and remarks regarding how he had been a part of their lives. An alumni drum corps burst into the room in the middle of Sounds of the Stadium, performing a cadence that had been popular in the Klein Forest band throughout the 1980s. The Klein school administration also made a special presentation, declaring that the music wing would be renamed the Paul J. Worosello Performing Arts Center. The concert concluded with Paul conducting the alumni band through the Klein Forest school song. An hour after the concert had ended, Paul was still standing in the exact same spot in the auditorium while he greeted hundreds of concert attendees who lined up to pass on their congratulations and best wishes.
    All in all, it was an inspiring evening, not just for Paul, but for all in attendance and even those who were unable to attend but kept up with these happenings through Facebook. Many alumni made remarks to the effect that they were ready to start playing their instruments again. This alone speaks to the incredible legacy that Paul Worosello passed on to his students.

Quotes from the Facebook page:

Thank you Paul for everything you have done…today as I reflect on last night I was reminded of one major quality that Paul has and that KF has – and many other schools aren’t so fortunate to possess – and that word is “CLASS.” Paul, Kenny & Keith played such a major part in shaping the person that I am today, like so many others that have gone through the ranks…you laid the strong foundation that allowed all of my musical successes to build and stand on. I am so thankful for my years with you. Thank you guys, much love!! – Sean Salinas, former band member and current percussion instructor at Westfield High School

The post A Lasting Legacy appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    The bass trombone occupies an inconsistent place in many school band programs. While some large programs always have at least two or three bass trombonists, in others the instrument is unknown or is used only by the occasional student who takes it up at his own initiative. Many an instrument room contains an aging bass trombone that is played only on the rare occasions when a director deems it necessary for a certain piece, and then by a student with minimal training and even less knowledge of the instrument’s characteristic sound. These latter scenarios are unfortunate, because a well-played bass trombone greatly enhances the tonal palettes of both concert and marching bands.

The Bass Trombone’s Role
    When considering the role of the bass trombone in concert and marching bands it must be admitted that this instrument is a luxury. Even concert band works in which the lowest trombone parts extend well into the trigger register can be negotiated reasonably well using a tenor trombone with an F attachment. Examples include Movement IV of Gustav Holst’s Second Suite in F.

 
and Eternal Father, Strong to Save by Claude T. Smith.

    However, the rare piece that includes a B1/Cb2, such as Chance’s Incantation and Dance, will require using a false tone or adjusting the F attachment tuning slide to E if the lowest part is to be played on a tenor trombone.

    Although the bass trombone is not absolutely necessary to hit the notes in low third and fourth trombone parts, it is essential if those notes are to be produced with the best possible sound. The larger bore, bell, and mouthpiece of the bass trombone enable the player to extend into the lowest part of the range while maintaining a characteristic trombone timbre. Moreover, a diligent player who specializes in the bass trombone will have spent much more time developing skills in that part of the range than a less diligent tenor trombonist who is placed on the third part because his audition landed him at the bottom of the section.
    The overall band sound should also be considered. The desire to hear a seamless, homogeneous brass section sound from the trumpets down through the tubas can be thwarted by the large difference in timbre between the tenor trombones and the euphoniums. The warmer and darker, but still characteristically trombone-like, sound of the bass trombone provides a bridge between the sounds of the tenor trombones and euphoniums. In this respect, using a bass trombone on the lowest trombone part is beneficial even for pieces in which the tonal range does not necessitate the larger instrument. I have observed similarly good results when using bass trombones in marching bands, even though the lowest trombone parts in those groups rarely extend very far into the low register. The bridging effect of the bass trombone between the tenor trombones and the lower brasses applies here also, and the result is rather pleasing.
    In jazz bands the bass trombone moves from luxury to necessity. Even intermediate-level jazz band charts will call for excursions into the valve and pedal registers in the lowest trombone parts. The frequency and intensity of these notes only increase as the music becomes more advanced, and a double-valve instrument is almost certainly required. Likewise, in schools that have orchestra programs that borrow wind and percussion students from the bands, a bass trombone will be needed on the lowest part because of both range requirements and timbral considerations.

Choosing Bass Trombonists
    Having determined that placing one or more of the band’s trombonists on bass trombone will benefit the ensemble, the next step is to decide which students to consider for the larger instrument. (There are instances when players of another instrument, especially euphonium or tuba, might be considered for a switch to bass trombone as well.) Here are some identifying markers of trombone students who might make good bass trombonists:
    The student is of sufficient physical stature to handle the weight, air, and embouchure requirements of the bass trombone. The bass trombone is a large and heavy instrument, requiring significant upper body strength to hold and to manage. Moreover, the amount of air required is significantly greater than that required for the tenor trombone, because of both the size of the instrument and the tessitura being played. Finally, even the smallest mouthpieces that yield a satisfactory bass trombone sound are significantly wider and deeper than most tenor trombone mouthpieces, requiring a student with large and strong facial features. The bass trombone might be an especially good option for students who seemed more suitable for trombone than for tuba as beginners, but whose embouchures have filled out as they have gotten older. Bass trombone should by no means be limited to large students, but the physical requirements are significant and should be taken into account when considering students for the bass.
    The student should also have a good characteristic trombone sound. While the bass trombone is a specialty instrument, it is still a trombone and should sound like one, only larger. Remember, one of the primary reasons to include the bass trombone in the wind band is that it is a bridge between the timbre of the tenor trombones and that of the lower brasses. A student who is incapable of producing a full sound on the tenor trombone will certainly be unable to fulfill this role with the bass trombone, especially given the latter instrument’s greater air and embouchure requirements.
    The student should enjoy and perhaps be strongest when playing parts in the middle and lower registers. This is not the same thing as saying the student is weak in the upper register. Moving to the bass trombone does not eliminate all requirements for high range development, and thus a student who struggles in that area on the tenor trombone, especially if the struggles are due to lack of effort, will not find the bass trombone to be a panacea for this difficulty. However, a student who truly excels in the lower register without neglecting the upper range might find the bass trombone to be an excellent fit. In a few cases, the larger mouthpiece actually helps with the student’s upper register, which will lead the newly minted bass trombonist to soon having an exceptionally large range.
    The student should also be able to think and work independently. While the bass trombone is still a trombone and even shares most of the same slide positions as the tenor, there is still a learning curve for the student who switches from tenor to bass, most especially regarding slide positions using the second valve. Whether because of insufficient class time for individual attention, unfamiliarity with the bass trombone on the band director’s part, lack of available private instructors, or a combination of these factors, students who move from tenor to bass trombone often have to teach themselves the new instrument in large measure. The student who is a good candidate for bass trombone is thus one who is able to take the instructional materials provided and run with them in an independent manner.
    The student should be one who wants to take up the bass trombone. This is an important factor that should not be dismissed. Although it is sometimes necessary to persuade otherwise uninterested students to change instruments in order to improve the balance of the ensemble, such changes are most successful when the student is willing to make the switch and even enthusiastic about doing so. The switch from tenor to bass trombone should ideally be made only by students who truly desire to make that change.
    Although there are a number of physical and musical traits typical of trombonists that can make good candidates to move to bass trombone, there are some characteristics that should not be used as criteria when choosing students to switch. First, the students currently playing third trombone in the band are not necessarily the ones who should be considered for bass trombone. If a student is sitting at the bottom of the section because of lack of practice, chances are that switching from tenor to bass trombone will do nothing more than exchange a mediocre tenor trombonist for a mediocre bass trombonist.
    Secondly, while a student who struggles with the upper register might be a good candidate to move to bass, this is not true in every case. When compared to tenor trombone music, the upper range requirements for bass trombonists are not reduced nearly as much as the lower range requirements are increased. In other words, bass trombonists are often required to have the largest tonal range of the entire trombone section, and this makes the transfer of a student from tenor to bass trombone in an attempt to evade a range problem a potentially foolhardy choice.
    Another preliminary consideration is when to move students to bass trombone. Given the multiple shared slide positions and techniques between tenor and bass trombones as well as the substantial size and weight of the bass, I do not advise moving a student to the bass trombone before high school.

Choosing Equipment
    In recent years the number of commercially available bass trombones has increased dramatically, with a wide range of options for bore and bell sizes, mouthpieces, valves and valve configurations, and other characteristics. These developments are great for the bass trombone community but can make choosing instruments and mouthpieces a daunting task for students who are new to the bass trombone. There are broad guidelines that directors and students should consider when choosing a mouthpiece and instrument.
    The choice of mouthpiece might be more important than the choice of instrument. Given the desire to produce a big sound as quickly as possible, directors or students might be tempted to purchase the largest bass trombone mouthpiece they can find, but this is almost certainly a recipe for disaster. The dramatic increase in air and embouchure requirements brought about by the largest mouthpieces will likely be overwhelming, and the sound produced will be more similar to a poorly played tuba or euphonium than a trombone. A mouthpiece with a cup diameter of approximately 27mm, for example the Bach 1.5G or Schilke 58, is big enough to provide the desired timbre without being overwhelming because of excessive diameter or depth. Larger mouthpieces can be considered once a student has adjusted to the bass trombone, but the sound produced with mouthpieces comparable to those I have mentioned is satisfactory and moving to something larger is not a necessity.
    Likewise with instruments, bigger is rarely better. Bass trombones can be purchased with .562"/.578" dual-bore handslides and bell diameters as large as 10.5". As with the largest mouthpieces, these gargantuan instruments most likely will not yield the desired sound. High school bass trombonists should stick with a more reasonable .562" bore instrument with a 9.5" bell. Such instruments are perfectly capable of yielding the darker and warmer sound that is desired while still maintaining a trombone character.
    The choice of valves and valve systems is also important and might be the most confusing aspect of considering bass trombones. First of all, only double-valve bass trombones should be considered. Single-valve instruments are not fully chromatic in the lower register (B1 cannot be played on a single-valve instrument), and the second valve, once mastered, greatly enhances facility throughout that part of the range. Double-valve bass trombones are available with both independent and dependent setups. In both setups, the first valve is an F attachment, just like that of the tenor trombone, and in both setups engaging the two valves together almost always lowers the first-position fundamental pitch to D. The difference is that in the independent setup both valves are mounted to the main body of the instrument, so that the second valve can be used independently (yielding a fundamental pitch of Gb), whereas with the dependent setup the second valve is mounted to the first valve’s tubing, and can only be used in combination with the first valve.
    Both systems have their advantages. The independent setup provides more alternate slide position options, while the dependent setup sometimes feels more open when the valves are not engaged, since the player is not always blowing through two valves. The choice between independent and dependent setups is entirely at the discretion of the director and student.
    Bass trombones can be purchased with rotary valves, axial-flow (or Thayer) valves, or a number of other proprietary valves. The differences are usually limited to the subjective feel and response experienced by a player and not readily perceived by listeners. When considering instruments for a beginning bass trombonist, and especially if the school is purchasing the instrument, the most cost-effective valve type (usually rotary valves) is usually the best choice.

The Transition to Bass Trombone
    When I have visited high school band rooms and seen students struggling with the bass, the two most common problems have been poor mouthpiece choice (usually too small, such as a large-shank tenor trombone mouthpiece, but occasionally too large) and ignorance of how to use the second valve. In many cases the slide position charts available in band method books and other materials marketed to school band directors also lack information on the second valve, so both directors and students are lost when trying to determine how to use it. Happily, some of the method books listed below include slide position charts for the double-valve bass trombone. Position charts and warm-up exercises are also available on my website:

    On the bass trombone, the slide positions when both no valves and the F attachment are engaged are the same as those of the tenor trombone. As usual, when the F attachment is engaged, the distance between slide positions lengthens so much that there are only six positions possible when that trigger is used. The locations of the positions using an independent Gb attachment are similar to those using the F attachment, and when both valves are engaged the distance between slide positions increases even more, so that the instrument then has only five positions. While fine-tuning intonation determines the precise location of each position, the diagram above shows the approximate locations of the slide positions with no valves, one valve, and both valves engaged.
    The chart shows that sixth position with one valve engaged is precariously close to the end of the slide but does not appear to be as far away from fifth position as it should be. The handslide would need to be a little bit longer to yield a true sixth position with the valve engaged. This is one more reason that the double-valve instrument is preferable.
    Once a student has a basic understanding of how the bass trombone works and the location of its slide positions, the following method books can help to increase facility on the instrument. Although these studies are best undertaken with the guidance provided by regular private lessons, students can also work through these independently with some success.
    The Double-Valve Bass Trombone by Alan Raph (Carl Fischer). Following introductory materials that provide a basic understanding of the bass trombone, the book quickly progresses to etudes and exercises, which will to increase the student’s overall facility and familiarity with the valves used individually and in combination. This is a fine first method book for a diligent student who is transitioning from tenor to bass trombone.
    The F&D Double Valve Bass Trombone: Daily Warm-Up and Maintenance Exercises by Paul Faulise (PF Music). This book contains exercises that can be used for daily warm-ups and to increase understanding of the valves and how to use them. The difficulty ranges from simple long-tone exercises to advanced slurring and articulation patterns using both valves.
    70 Progressive Studies for Bass Trombone by Lew Gillis (Southern). This older method book is annotated for use with a single-valve instrument but can also be used to develop facility with the double-valve bass trombone.
    Melodious Etudes for Bass Trombone by Marco Bordogni, arranged by Allen Ostrander (Carl Fisher). Ostrander has transcribed several of the etudes from the well-known Bordogni/Rochut method into keys suitable for bass trombone. Like the Gillis book, this book is annotated with a single-valve instrument in mind, but is equally useful for double-valve bass trombones and is a great tool for developing smooth, lyrical playing in the lower register.
    24 Studies by Boris Grigoriev, arranged by Allen Ostrander (International). These musically pleasing etudes make thorough use of the valve register of the instrument. This is a common source of bass trombone audition etudes for all-state bands.
    New Method for the Modern Bass Trombone by Eliezer Aharoni (Noga). This book is similar in format and intent to the Alan Raph book, but the etudes here are more difficult (and more interesting).
    In addition to these materials, be sure to direct students to recordings of professional bass trombonists so that they can begin to develop a concept of the instrument’s characteristic sound. There are tremendous resources available, including YouTube and other audio and video streaming websites as well as commercially available recordings.

Summary and Conclusion
    Most band programs can get by without bass trombonists, but the instrument should not be viewed as a mere luxury with limited benefit. Adding even one bass trombone will yield improved tone quality on the lowest trombone parts in concert bands, a more seamless brass section timbre in both concert and marching bands, and the necessary bottom trombone voice in orchestras and jazz bands. Implementing the foregoing suggestions on selecting, equipping, and transitioning students to the bass trombone will provide a good start to any director seeking to incorporate this extremely useful instrument into the music program.

The post The Role of the Bass Trombone appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Stretching
    Stretching should occur before and after practice to prevent soreness and promote flexibility. A 5-10 minute brisk walk or jog prior to stretching increases circulation to the muscles, which warms the tissue and makes it more pliable for the stretches. Make sure students breathe through stretches.
    Perform the following sequence of stretches, holding each one for a 10-15 second count.

Calf stretch
    Stand with one leg extended in front of the body. While holding the back leg straight, bend the front knee until you feel a slight stretch in the back calf. For a deeper stretch, bend the back knee. Repeat on the other leg.

Hamstring stretch, standing with chair
    While standing, place the leg to be stretched straight out in front on a chair. Carefully bend the knee of the standing leg while gently bending forward at the waist until a stretch is felt in the front leg. Repeat on the other leg.

Lying hamstring stretch, with partner
    While lying on the back, lift a leg up in the air. Have a partner gently push the leg back further. This should be slow and should not reach the point of pain. Repeat on the other leg.

Hamstring stretch, forward bend
    This is an advanced stretch. Stand with the feet shoulder-width apart. Bend forward until the fingers reach the ground and walk the fingers slowly out in front until a stretch is felt in both hamstrings. Do not bend the knees during this stretch.

Quadriceps stretch, standing
    Stand with the feet a few inches apart. While balancing on one leg, bend the other knee while pulling your foot towards the buttocks.

Shoulder stretch
    While standing, bring the arms behind the body (keeping the elbows straight) while interlocking the fingers. To intensify the stretch, raise the arms higher while maintaining the interlocked fingers.

Shoulder stretch
    While standing, place the arms out to the sides with the elbows bent (arms and upper body should make a w). To intensify this stretch, pull the arms back further or straighten the elbows. This can also be done in a doorway by placing the hands on both sides of the door frame and walking forward.

Shoulder stretch, with chair
    Grasp the top of a chair while keeping the arms straight and bending at the torso.

Neck rolls
    Slowly and gently rotate the head in a clockwise direction. Stop and repeat in a counterclockwise direction.

Aerobic exercise
    Being able to jog a mile without stopping is comparable to an entire show performance. Other choices for aerobic exercise include using an elliptical or  stair-stepper machine, walking stairs, or biking. Aerobic exercise should be performed for a minimum of 15 minutes, which is a bit longer than a halftime performance.

Strengthening
    Weights are not necessary to strengthen the body, although hand weights can be used if desired. Keep in mind the weight of the instrument, which can range from under a pound for piccolo to a 45-pound bass drum. While strength training, remind students to breathe in when the muscle is working and out when the muscle is returning to the starting position. Each exercise (except for the planks) should be done for three sets of eight to ten repetitions.

Areas of focus
Calf raises
    Stand, with the legs a few inches apart. Raise up on the toes, then lower. As students progress try doing this with one leg while holding on to a chair for support.

Planks 
    Have students start by lying on the stomach. Raise the body onto the forearms and toes, keeping it in a straight line. Hold this position for twenty seconds. To progress, push the body up onto the hands while still maintaining a straight line. Another option is to start on the side and raise the body onto the elbow, again while keeping the body in a straight line.

Superman
    Lie on the stomach with arms outstretched in front. Raise arms and legs simultaneously while contracting the abdominal muscles. Relax and repeat.

Core crunches
    Lie on the back, with the knees bent. Crunch the torso, but be careful to avoid neck strain.

Crunches with a twist
    Lie on the back, with knees bent. With hands behind the head, crunch up so that the elbow is drawn closer to the opposite knee. Do not pull on the head and neck.

Push-ups against a wall
    Stand with the arms straight in front against a wall. Lean forward, pushing the body weight against the hands while bending elbows.

Modified push-ups 
    Perform a push-up on the knees. Be sure to keep the body straight. This can then progress to a full push-up, with the body weight placed on the hands and toes.

Squats
    Stand straight up with the feet shoulder-width apart. Slowly lower the buttocks, while bending your knees as if to sit on a chair. The upper body should bend forward, and the knees should not pass over the toes.

Just for the wind section
Forward arm raises
    Stand straight with arms at the side. Slowly raise straight arms in front until they are even with the chest. Lower and repeat.

Side arm raises
    Stand straight with arms at the side. Slowly raise arms straight out to the side, keeping elbows slightly bent.

Static hold
    Hold the instrument in playing position as long as possible

    Stretching exercises should be done daily, and cardiovascular exercises should be done three to four days per week. Strength training should be done two to three times per week but not on consecutive days. Introduce students to these exercises before the end of school and encourage them to stay in good physical shape as they prepare for marching season next fall.
Marching band members may not be typical athletes, but they should do the same preparations for cardiovascular conditioning, strength, and flexibility. By preparing in advance for marching season, practices will be easier, music will be stronger, and students may avoid discomfort and even injuries. 

For a video that demonstrates these exercises and stretches, go to

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    Stan Mauldin had been retired for five years, living in Houston, enjoying his motorcycle, and running his motorcycle apparel store, when he got a call from Clarke Boyd, who had been the superintendent at Holliday (Texas) High School when Mauldin had taught there. Boyd was now superintendent at Pecos-Barstow-Toyah Independent School District, and the band and staff there were struggling. “I came in to help for a week, with the job of teaching the teachers how to make it better. Those directors left, and then I helped look at hiring a new director, but it was July by the time Mr. Boyd knew he needed a new director, and there wasn’t anybody left, so he asked me to take the job for a year.”
    In 2011, Mauldin rode his Harley on a 10,000-mile trip from Houston to the Arctic Circle in Alaska to raise money for Houston’s MD Anderson Cancer Center. It may be that this trek prepared him for the commute from Houston to Pecos, which is 583 miles. “I fly more this year than last, but sometimes I drive out there and stay all week, driving back Friday night. It is an eight-hour drive. My wife is a year away from retirement, and I’m not going to ask her to move out there. Besides, I have a business to run, and I’m not going to close it, but I enjoy teaching in Pecos. I got to liking the students a lot, so after the first year I stayed a second year, and I’ll stay at least one more.”

What was the situation at Pecos when you arrived?
    The students at Pecos had had 15 band directors in 16 years. When a band director leaves, he usually knows by March or April that he won’t be returning, so he leaves a pile of music in the library. No one who leaves ever puts anything back; they leave it for the next person to take care of, because he will arrange the library the way he wants to anyway. When I got to Pecos there were 15 such piles. The students at Pecos also didn’t understand what it was like to win. For the last 20 years they had gotten second and third division ratings at band contests, and the last few years they started making fours. In addition, directors would promise a trip every year, but it never happened. The band hadn’t taken a trip since some of these students’ parents were in band. On top of that, band had a reputation for being uncool, and the band students, who are all extremely intelligent, had been made to feel otherwise. They were beaten up pretty well.
    The district had also had six superintendents in five years. Part of that is because the parents were used to going straight to the school board, and the superintendents would get upset about it. Instead of trying to work things out, past superintendents would just quit. One person took the job and then never showed up again. He went home to get his furniture and never came back.
None of this is the students’ fault. It is the system’s fault for having these guys who leave after a year. It took a while for students to start to believe that. We had to rebuild students’ trust in the school system and in us as individuals. It helped that the superintendent was a friend of mine; we told the students that we were going to be there for a while. That was where I started.
    Then we had to get them to trust themselves, which meant we had to allow them to make a lot of mistakes. We would play and work through things as they happened. At first, I would tell students how to improve something, and they would either not believe me or dismiss it as something they had heard before from someone who had come and left. A lot of what I had to do the first day I came in was remind them that it wasn’t their fault that the band wasn’t very good. “It’s not your fault” became an often repeated phrase.
    That first year, we started from the very beginning. There are stories of Vince Lombardi when he first took over a struggling Green Bay Packers team working with Max McGee, who was an all-pro tight end. Lombardi said, “Max, this is a football.” Getting all the way back to basics worked out well for the Packers, and the same holds true for band students. If no one taught you how to hold your instrument correctly, that isn’t your fault, but it means that is where we start. This was the case at Pecos. Trumpet players were all playing with their horns on their chests. I called it the clarirumpet: part clarinet, part trumpet.
    I showed everyone how to hold their instruments. Flutes started with just the headjoint, and we worked on embouchure. Brass players started with the mouthpieces. Clarinetists were in the habit of dropping the left hand to the lap when playing open G, so I put the tuner on and had them play G with the left hand in the lap and then again with the left hand where it was supposed to be. Using the tuner I was able to convince them where their hands should go.
    Early on, I asked students where the tongue went when they tongued a note, and they said they didn’t know. So I had them try a couple notes to figure it out. They realized how much better they sounded when they had the tongue in the right spot. Students started to believe pretty quickly after that.

Why is attitude so important?
Your attitude determines how well you do something. Before being a champion, the first step is thinking you can be a champion. Part of that is the attitude students come into class with every day. If students know that I am going to scream at them and call them names, their attitude will be poor, because much of their attitude depends on how I treat them. I like them all as people, and I’m excited to be there. I told them in January that I was 60 years old and had more energy than all of them. That raised the attitude of the room a bit. From there, I try hard to find good things to say. I’ve heard it called a negative sandwich: say something positive, find something that needs correction, and then tell them something positive again. That way, students get two compliments for every correction you make.
I laugh a lot in class and try to get students to do the same. I have fun with students, and it seems like they have fun too. Finding opportunities to have fun in class is simple. I have a horn player with a mouth full of braces. She smiled the other day and I told her she looked like Stevie Wonder with braces on. She laughed. Students will laugh at comments like that if they know you like them. If I always yelled and screamed, that same comment would come across as an insult. Having fun is important because if I can get students to loosen up and relax a bit they’ll play their horns better. I will find anything I can do to get students to have a good time.
I have a horn player and a clarinet player who are dating. They came in late together one day, so I just pulled my glasses down over my nose and looked at them when they walked in. All the other students giggled because they knew what was happening. Instead of yelling at them for being late, I just pulled my glasses down and gave them the look. Instead of a moment of tension, it became a moment of levity, but at the same time those two students got the idea about their lateness.

What are the keys to improving students’ playing quickly?
    For inexperienced players, the answer to everything is air. The Pecos band has grown to the point that the answer to everything isn’t always air anymore, but it used to be. A note is out of tune? Use more air. A note doesn’t want to sound? Use more air. What is Michael Jordan’s nickname? Air. Air is the answer. While I was emphasizing this, I had a student show up late to rehearsal. When I asked him why he was late, he answered, “Air,” and we all laughed.
    Tongue placement is important, too. If I want to play a high A on trumpet with an oh syllable, it will never come out. The reason some notes crack is that the player was breathing with an incorrect syllable. If you want an ee sound, don’t breathe with an oh syllable. This gets the tongue in the right spot.
    I see a lot of wind players who rip the horn off the face as soon as they finish a note. They had just gotten to the point at which they were making a good sound, and now they have to start over. This is my 50th year of playing, and I still have to think about where my embouchure goes, meaning that I cannot expect a student who has only been playing a couple years to have it down. Students want to wiggle, but when they do, the tone wiggles with them. I have a standing offer that if anyone can play a note on a wind instrument, take it off the face, put it back on, and play the exact same pitch, I will pay them a dollar. I have had this offer standing since 1979 and never had to pay on it.
    Freeze is something I learned from Tom Bennett, who was band director at the University of Houston for a while. Students can get going with a good sound, but when they come to a multi-measure rest, they take the horn off the face, wait until the last second to put it back on, and expect the same sound to come out. This will never work, so I tell students to freeze after they finish every note, and when they come back in, they will be at the same pitch.
    We leave the mouthpieces on the mouth for the entire period. To set the mouthpiece, most wind players first have to moisten it, whether this is sticking the reed in the mouth or licking the mouthpiece. As a saxophonist, I put the mouthpiece in my mouth, swallow twice, take a breath, and then I’m ready to play. This doesn’t happen instantly. So if you put the horn down, you have to reset everything, and it just isn’t worth pulling the instrument away for three measures of rest.

How do you motivate students to practice areas of weakness in their playing?
    My trumpet players struggled with range this year. The way to get trumpet players to work on improving their range is to find something fun they want to play. Then they will work on that range.
    We run a fireworks store and raise $20,000 a year from that. All we do there is sell, so I use it as an opportunity to show students how to sell things. Across the street from the fireworks store is a rodeo grounds, and one night there was a dance there. The students could hear the music inside the store and were all dancing to it. I asked them what it was, found a recording, and transcribed it for the band. I wrote the trumpet part up to an Ab5, but at the time none of them could hit it. They eventually learned how to play that high because they wanted to play the song they liked. By late January one of the trumpet players who couldn’t hit an Ab at the beginning of the year is up to a high C now, because she wanted to do it.
    The flutes and clarinets dislike playing scales, especially the chromatic scale, so I started a scale-playing competition. Our competition was that whoever played it the quickest got a free ice cream cone from Dairy Queen (which gives us coupons). The key is to identify a weakness and then find a fun way to make it appealing for the students.

How do you define the job of being a teacher?
    I believe that to be a teacher means you just go to work every day. We start on time, work really hard, and then stop on time every single day. One of the students recently asked when our next day off was, and my response was to ask him when school ended. That will be the next day off. On the flip side of that, I don’t add rehearsal time. I’ve seen some music teachers say, “We’re not good enough yet. Let’s add more rehearsal time.” The way I see it, we have however much time we have, and when that time is done, it is what it is. If we can work on a daily basis, respect each other, and put in the time and the effort it takes to be really good, then the trophies will take care of themselves. A year ago our group was a fourth-division band, and now we are first division.
    I want students and parents to understand that it is their program. I tell them that I am the front of the boat. My job is to clear all the clutter out of the way and set a path for us to accomplish our goals. If you want to travel, we will travel, and if you don’t, that is fine. A program can be tailored either way. Every year, I ask students, “If you were the band director, what would you change?” It is their program, and I want them to be able to offer opinions. Students are usually explicit about what they want.
    To go to the Midwest Clinic, we raised $112,000, which is about $100,000 more than we raised last year. Students had a clear objective, and I was out in front helping everybody do their work. It turned out well. Students want the band to be a state qualifier next year. It is going to be a difficult task to accomplish, but I have no doubts that we will be pretty close to it. I think they want to go to Tokyo down the road. We’re going to try to figure that out.

What does it mean to be a leader?
    I have heard band directors comment that their students don’t push them. They shouldn’t push you. You’ve gone to college and have teaching experience, and they are high school students. Teachers should push their students. If I show up unprepared, I am giving the students permission to be unprepared. Sports psychologist Peter Ferrido said, “As we go, they go.” In other words, if the leaders come late, they give the regular members permission to come late. If the drum majors don’t know their music, that gives the section leaders permission not to know their music, which gives the rest of the band permission not to know their music. If the first chair trumpet isn’t going to learn her part, the second chair trumpet won’t learn her part either.
    We talk about punctuality and discipline a lot with upperclassmen. Leaders have to show up on time. Drum majors have an earlier date by which they have to know their music. The leaders have to know it a week later, and the rest of the band a week after that. If those who are supposed to set the example come late and goof around, all they are doing is teaching the freshmen that this is okay. So we choose not to let the leaders do that, and the leaders choose not to do that.

What is your approach to geting students to do things like showing up on time and learning their music?
    I am pretty strong willed and used to get on students for not doing what they were supposed to. I finally started to see things differently seven or eight years ago. We switched to voluntary marching band, and I told the students who came to marching band that I was assuming that they wanted to be there, so if they wanted to be there they needed to come on time and learn their music. The only thing that people actually have to do is eventually pass away. Everything else is optional, although there can be consequences. I don’t have to pay my taxes, but if I don’t, then I’m going to go to jail.
    In the beginning, students would not arrive on time. In the past they had been told to arrive at 7:30 so they could start at 8:00, but this only taught them to come half an hour late. I did not get angry, because it wasn’t the students’ fault they had learned they could come half an hour late. Instead, I told them that everything was optional. “You don’t have to come on time, but you can’t stay here.” “You don’t have to show up for concerts, but if you don’t, then you can’t stay with us.” “You don’t have to be quiet during class, but if you are going to talk, you have to leave.” When things are optional, all discipline becomes self-discipline instead of external discipline.
    On the first day, no one was on time to rehearsal, but I started doing breathing exercises by myself anyway. I even had the metronome on. We started at 7:30, and around 7:40 the first student showed up, so I started doing warmups with him. It took students a couple days to figure it out, but now we start on time all the time. In January, I was talking to a visiting band director when it came time for rehearsal to start. Because I wasn’t out there to start things, the drum major started the rehearsal. The key is to turn it into the students’ program. If it is their program, then they get to choose. If they don’t want to be very good, it’s their program. It means I can’t stay there, but it’s their program. Now they work hard, practice, and show up on time.

You referred to band programs as a partnership between directors, students, parents, and administrators. How do you get those other three sides to buy in?
    All of us teachers are passionate about music; the trick is to get that passion to rub off on everybody else. During my work with drum corps, I remember a conversation about whether there should be stripes on next year’s uniform pants. At that point in time, the director was close to retiring and was happy to let others decide. Eventually, I got to a similar point, so when it came time to order uniforms, I asked the parents and students for their opinion. Having input about the uniform design made them more enthusiastic about the process. Someone has to care about whether there are stripes on the pants, so I gave students the option to make this choice.
I do not choose the concert music. I pass out ten to twelve pieces that I like, and then let students tell me what they want to play. There isn’t anything in the folder that I wouldn’t want to play anyway, but giving them a vote makes them feel like they have a voice in what we are doing.
    The same is true with the parents. It doesn’t make any difference to me whether we leave at 3:00 or 3:30 for a football game, so I will ask the parents who help haul equipment. One time a response was that the parent didn’t get off of work until 5:00, and he suggested 5:15. This worked well, too. They have a say in how we move from place to place, and it makes them more invested in the work there is to be done.
    To make the administration happy, I do everything we are asked to do. Many of our students are Catholic, and the priest at the local church wanted to have a parade, so we marched in the parade. There is a 4th of July parade, a Christmas parade, and a concert in the town park, and we attend all of those events. This keeps the administration happy, seeing that we are doing good things.
    The administrators at Pecos and I are all about the same age, and we often see things the same way. We understand that we’re using the band as a tool to teach the students rather than simply trying to be Bands of America grand champions. They also like that I get my work done promptly and communicate things with them in plenty of time. That is how you get an administration on the side of the program. Make sure they know what you are doing and when you are doing it. It’s a trick, but it’s easy.

What should teachers know about their students?
    I led a region band in January and asked those students what their greatest fear in band was. Every one of them said failure, or specifically failure in front of their friends. Students hate failing in front of their peers, and they do not want their peers to know they don’t have the answer. When I was in school, the band director would ask who needed help, and we would raise our hands. These days, nobody does that. Instead, I ask who has the part learned. The ones who do are eager to show off, and you have a second or two to see who is slow to raise a hand. These are the students who need help.
    As students start to memorize music, I have them stand up if they can play a section from memory. They know that if they stand up I might call on them to play it, so they can’t fake it. We play the whole thing full band, with half the band standing. After a couple repetitions, I ask who has it now, and more students stand up. We keep working on it until everybody is standing. It puts peer pressure on the students who haven’t learned the music yet.

What advice would you give to other teachers?
    Choose battles you can win. I had a student who didn’t show up to football games. In mid-term I talked to his parents, who said he would be there for the next performance. He didn’t come, so I finally told him he had missed ten performances and just couldn’t stay with us. I did not kick him out; he gradually went to another place. If I wanted to fight, I could have been going at it with his parents tooth and nail from the first football game on, but I wasn’t going to win that battle. Parents can be extremely defensive about their children. I chose to let him make the decision. At my age I rarely choose to fight battles like this anymore, because it isn’t worth it.
    In the old days I might have been stricter. Years ago, a student told me he wasn’t coming to a football game. I gave him an extremely hard time about it. Then, his father came by and told me he wasn’t coming to the game. I argued this with the father until he told me that he was an astronaut, and the reason his son wouldn’t be at the game was that the family had been invited to the White House. After he said that, it made sense. Given the choice between meeting the President or going to a regular high school football game, I’d choose the White House too. I wasn’t going to win that battle either.
    After that I started asking more questions than before to find out whether a battle was winnable. This semester, a girl didn’t show up for a contest. I gave her a 50 for her grade, and her mother was livid because it put the girl off the honor roll for the first time in her twelve years of school. I asked what she wanted me to do. I had given the girl a 50, but I offered to change it to a zero, which was her real grade, considering she never came to the contest. The mother understood that I was giving half credit for nothing and let it go. This was a battle I could win.
    The decision to choose winnable battles is the reason I do not have students fill out practice cards. A parent’s signature might show that a student practiced ten hours in a week, but I can tell by listening that the student has not practiced at all. This means that someone has skewed the process. I’m not going to tell those parents they are liars. It isn’t a winnable battle.
    I always ask my assistants why they became band directors. Invariably it is because of how much they loved band in high school. I tell them they should try to recreate the atmosphere they enjoyed so much in high school that made them want to become music teachers. If they do this, their students will experience the same enjoyment that they once did.

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    Before any great chef begins cooking, he will spend hours planning, researching, and practicing to ensure that, when the diners arrive at the table, the meal will be second-to-none. In preparing for next year’s marching band show, there are numerous techniques that we employ to create a seamless process as the drill writer, colorguard choreographer, and percussion arrangers begin to put pen to paper and flags to music. These techniques apply to everyone, whether it is a large staff or a one-person operation.

Music Arranging
    Methods abound for selecting music for marching shows: browsing the internet, listening to pre-arranged shows from large and small publishers, hiring custom arrangers, or writing it ourselves. In selecting music for our shows, we are looking for a set of pieces that creates a tableau and communicates a concept to the audience. I recently viewed a superb documentary film, Six by Sondheim, which explores Stephen Sondheim’s approach to composing musicals (and which I would highly recommend for its many insights on composing and music making). At one point in the documentary, the interviewer asks Sondheim if he considers himself a poet. Sondheim rejects this idea of the composer as a poet, explaining that when he writes for musicals, “there’s music, there’s costumes, there’s lighting … there are a lot of things to listen to and look at. And therefore, [what we write] must be simple. It can be full of complex thoughts, and can certainly have resonance, but it must be easy to follow. That’s not necessarily true of poetry.”
    Sondheim’s remark about musicals is good advice for planning marching music – that is, keeping the concept simple is best. We aim to choose music that best communicates the main idea of the show, and we try arranging it in a way that best showcases the talent of our students. There are a few important considerations that we make as the design process takes shape. We begin by looking at the identity of our marching band within the greater community. Some parts of the community (most specifically, our football spectators) are comfortable with concept shows that are non-traditional and out there. We also consider which shows our parents discuss after a marching contest, attempting to give our stakeholders the most memorable impression. Finally, we consider which shows will be most interesting to our administrators. It is always good when a marching show can get the administration excited about the band.
    Next, we consider the musical performance level of the ensemble coming out of spring semester. We usually aim to have a marching show arrangement that is approximately two grade levels below where our top concert ensemble performs. Thus, we consider what the students are able to achieve in a calm environment while seated and then set the marching show two levels lower than that. This approach usually offers the greatest chance at success when on the move. There are no precise rules about how difficult the music needs to be, and we try to select or arrange music based on the ability level of the ensemble that is on the field. As a general matter, we have taken the view that marching band is not a place to seek advancement in musicianship; rather, it is an opportunity to showcase the fundamental skills and musicianship that we have worked to develop in concert band from November to June.
    To simplify the arranger’s work in making the music well-suited to the group, each section of the ensemble is graded by skill level, based on a scale of 1 to 10. Sections that have multiple All-State and All-Region performers may be given a 9 or a 10, while sections that are younger, or in a rebuilding phase, might score only a 4 or 5. As part of this process, potential soloists within each section are also identified. The arranger should not be limited to just one option for a soloist.
    Finally, we try to identify sections that might need a break from playing at some point during the show. It is generally a good practice to provide the trumpets with an occasional break from playing, as is allowing time for the mellophones, trombones, and euphoniums to take a phrase off now and then. For the purposes of arranging, we additionally discuss which sections are young or are likely to encounter endurance difficulties as the show progresses, and we attempt to have our arranger give these sections some much-needed rest during the middle of the show. Because our students will perform this music for several months, it essentially will serve as their textbook for the fall semester. We therefore seek to ensure that the arrangements are suited to our students’ skill sets and will be a worthy and defensible curriculum for our band program.
    The next area of focus concerns the frequency of viewing for the different audiences of the band. The judges, for example, will view the show only once or twice in a season, and for them, we try to ensure that all our ideas can be easily communicated on a first read. Shows that can be comprehended only after several viewings are generally not well-received. With the football fans who see us perform more often, the concern is different, and we evaluate whether the show will remain interesting from week to week. One practice we put into place many years ago was to change something noticeable every week. For example, the marching band might begin the season with the guard in dance blacks and with practice flags. Then, as the season progresses, the band would unveil new costumes, prop artwork, and show silks to add a level of interest for those who are seeing us regularly.
    Once we have selected a set of literature for the show, we consider the amount of contrast offered by the music. We want to ensure that it offers multiple highs and lows, that it has loud and soft sections, and that it features intense moments to contrast with lighter moments. Above all, we are seeking to avoid sameness. We do not want the trumpets to have the melody throughout, nor do we want the percussion to just provide time without taking the lead here and there. We also look at the length of phrases, making sure that it is varied throughout. Another goal with the music is to be sure that the music supports the visual effects we are striving to achieve.
    Finally, we focus on pacing. To do this, we will listen to the show over and over again for several days or weeks to ensure that the entire field production has a sense of flow. When we go through this listening process, we are seeking music that has breath, resonance, life, and motion. We are also checking that there are no awkward moments that will leave the audience wondering what they should be listening for or looking toward.

Sketching the Show
    As we address all of the aforementioned considerations, we also begin sketching what we will listen and look for during the seven or eight minutes of show. To begin this process, it helps to ask how each production should end – both visually and musically. Usually the ending is far more important than the beginning of each production. Even programs that use stock arrangements for music should consider asking a seasoned arranger to dress up the endings of each work a bit. A little extra work on the endings of the music can make a tremendous difference in creating effective moments, and it can greatly enhance the audience’s engagement with the show.
    We also take a look at how the melody is voiced throughout the show. Ideally, the melody should move around the ensemble. Of course, some melodies will work only for clarinet, for example, because of its wide tessitura, while other melodies will just sound naturally as trombone or euphonium features. These natural considerations should be respected, but apart from that, it is vitally important to spread the melody equally around the ensemble, ensuring that each section is given at least some small feature or a combined-feature moment.
    Next, we focus on contrast, considering how many loud moments are written for the ensemble as compared with the soft moments. We also look at whether there is a good proportion of fast to slow productions and phrases.
    Lastly, we talk about how to generate intrigue. We consider whether there are moments in the show that will make the judges watch with rapt attention as they wonder what will happen next. A related consideration, however, is that the program shold not raise too many questions or any questions that go unanswered. We do not want a post-show critique with the judges to be about the program raising confusing questions. To avoid this, we seek to create a format not unlike the music of Mozart, with its antecedent-consequent phrase structure, and so we try to create a program with musical and visual questions that are asked and then answered in the next phrase or two. This is often the hardest concept to develop across all the productions. Research helps. This usually involves lots of video watching. The advice of experienced colleagues is very helpful too. The more time we spend on planning these aspects of the show, the better the chances are that we will have a successful start to the marching season.

Coordinating Musical and Visual Moments
    One of the most time-consuming tasks is achieving good coordination between the sound and visual aspects of the show. The main goals are to ensure that the sounds heard by the audience will match the ensemble’s visual presence on the field, and to develop visual presentation and staging that will support the musical mood. Typically, much of our discussion on this subject focuses on the colorguard and its role in the show. We first consider how much equipment we want to perform with, and how we will transition from one piece of equipment to the other while causing the least disruption in the flow of the overall presentation. The standard arsenal of our colorguard includes 2-3 standard flags on 6′ poles, rifles and sabres (although not all guard performers spin a rifle or sabre in the show), swing flags (shorter poles, larger silks, mostly for impact in the slower productions), and show-oriented props. We also focus on color. Each show needs to have a color palette that complements the marching uniform (which is a fixed element, unless you can change it easily), the green grass of the marching field (also a given), and the color of our school-owned brass instruments (lacquered brass or silver finish). We typically try out a number of different color palettes before deciding on a look for the ensemble. A key question we often ask is this: does the color palette alone let our audience know what the show is about?
    We also talk quite a bit about the use of props in the marching show. Props can create a number of logistical roadblocks, but with the manpower and budget to make them a priority, props can have the benefit of greatly reducing any empty space on the field while offering a large visual obstruction that can allow for easy transitions and add visual appeal.
    Once we have set up a plan for the colorguard and the props, we can begin to discuss the coordinated musical-visual moments that we would like to create, and how we see these moments appearing on the musical canvas that we have created. We always try to open each production with some level of intrigue – something that will make the judges and audience curious about what is going to happen next. After we have generated a level of intrigue, we then start to build toward the climax. In some works, the climax may be a drum feature, while in others, it may be a scintillating ballad high point. Once the beginning of the work is correctly designed, both visually and musically, and once the apex point is identified and programmed, we then turn our focus to the ending of each production. We attempt to end each of the first few productions in a way that will both give the audience a reason to applaud and lead into the next work. The vast majority of our time is spent developing the final ending for the show. Our goal with the ending is to ensure that the audience and judges will have a feeling that there is resolution, purpose, and growth to all of the works performed.
    We do most of our work planning out moments for the show using a large cork board that has labels like a storyboard, although this work can also be done on a computer. Once the musical productions are paced and timed out to the second, we create dividing lines for every 30 seconds or so, so that the show is segmented into 14-18 small parts. The beginning of each production, as well as the apex, will each occupy around 6-8 of these segments. The remaining 8-10 segments will need to be created in a collaboration with the music arranger, the drill writer, and everyone else who plays a role in managing the show. We look at the ideas presented in the show and the various aspects that we might expect to see as judges, and we try them out on the storyboard in a number of different configurations. We work on this storyboard process until we find a pattern that appears to flow seamlessly.
    To develop ideas for the group’s creative process, each staff member who works on the marching show employs the following process individually. First, we each begin with a copy of the score with the measures numbered and phrases labeled, along with a recording of the midi file and a handheld digital recorder. Next, we let the recording play and talk through what we see happening, what side of the field we see it happening on, and how we transition into and out of each moment. As we do this, it may help to pause the midi playback; sometimes, there are too many words and too little time to get all of the ideas out. Then, after each staff member has completed this exercise, we compile the results onto a spreadsheet. As a result of this process and with multiple people doing the exercise, there will be many ideas generated. All of these ideas are worth mentioning to the drill writer so that they can be used if the primary idea does not fit in with where the students are staged. This creative process has proven to be incredibly helpful in generating a productive visual and musical dialogue.
    We also look to create variation in the key performance moments. Each effect cannot just be based in the colorguard, and it cannot always be visual. We should strive to create a variety of effects that are produced through interesting musical and visual combinations. The idea of producing coordinated effects, between the musical and the visual, is central to a high-quality, well-composed marching show.

Assembling the Sketch with Details
    Once every effect is planned, we begin to work on transitions. If 14-16 events have been planned for 7-8 minutes of show, the key question to resolve is how to transition from moment to moment. Some transitions will be achieved through drill, while others may make more sense as choreographed dance moments. Still others work better as a scatter drill. We consider the full palette available for transitions and try to avoid repeating any transition more than twice. We also avoid having the guard running at the end of a production to retrieve new equipment. The drill should bring the guard performers and soloists to their new equipment, creating transitions that feel smooth and effortless, rather than forced and labored. It is important that every staff member involved in the design process talks through every transition.
    We also consider carefully how to stage events. Just as we want to avoid musical sameness, which can occur if the trumpets were to play the melody on each phrase, we also want to avoid visual sameness by staging events around the field and not allowing one area of the field to serve as our only feature stage for the whole show. Changing stages can create different moods and can also communicate tension and resolution. In addition, the ability to draw the audience’s attention from one stage to another can create a sense of interest and intrigue. One of the best ways to observe this effect in artistic productions is to view a memorable scene from an Oscar-winning movie with a laser pointer. In each scene, follow the action with the pointer. Notice how a great director will draw our eye across the scene in a number of different ways, moving quickly at times and slowly at others. This movement can have a great effect on our opinion of a character or a scene.

The Final Test
    Once we have finalized all our plans for the show, we test the show with a set of questions that can help us identify any shortcomings in our planning or in the structure of the show. This helps us determine if the visual presentation and music have merit before we move forward and begin teaching it to our students. Here are the key questions we ask:
•  For each production in the show, is there a clear beginning moment, a clear apex or middle moment, and a clear ending moment?
•  Is there a memorable ending for the whole show?
•  Is there evidence of contrast throughout the show?
•  Are there clear high points and low points within the overall framework of the show?
•  Does the show unfold like a canvas that develops across the production?
•  Does the show offer builds, climaxes, as well as down moments, with coordinated contributions from the winds, the battery percussion, the front ensemble, and the guard?
•  Is the drill set up to focus on the motion more than just the pictures?
•  Are we consistently guiding the audience and judges to where we want them to look?
•  Will the students be able to relate to the show?
•  Will the audience/football spectators be able to relate to the show?
•  Will the judges be able to understand and relate to the show with only one or two viewings?
    If the show concept and ideas pass the test, we can then begin communicating firm ideas to our drill writer. The set of instructions given to the drill writer will serve as the blueprint until the show is written and becomes concrete.
    It is always our hope to create an enjoyable, interesting, and intelligent show for all of our audience members and adjudicators each season. It is also our hope that the advice shared here will help to generate a productive dialogue among your band staff and colleagues. Much of the information shared here has been gained from the many talented individuals with whom I have worked over the years. It is always a pleasure to be a part of a collaborative creative process and to benefit from the group’s collective wisdom.

The post Planning a Marching Show appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

What is the most useful idea that you learned from someone else?

Richard Crain (President, Midwest Clinic):
1. Begin rehearsal with daily drills and fundamentals to develop ensemble quality. Then the musical qualities can be taken to a higher level.
2. Be prepared – don’t waste students’ time.
3. Divide the band into chamber ensembles to rehearse the music. Students become more accountable for learning their parts and understand better how they fit into the ensemble. It also improves their small ensemble skills.

Julie Carr (Ithaca College, New York): The best rehearsal technique I learned from another teacher (Louis Bergonzi) was to keep all the students involved during the entire rehearsal. When working with one section, make sure to include the rest of the group – whether it be active participation such as clapping the beat or air bowing their own parts, or passive participation such as listening for particular techniques the conductor is working on with the other sections.

Richard Floyd (Texas State Director of Music Emeritus): Joe Frank was an iconic Texas band director at both the high school and collegiate level. The final years of his teaching career were spent as a high school orchestra director in Richardson, Texas. He was an exceptional teacher, and I learned much from him during the years we taught together. He had a masterful way of putting musical concepts in terms that were easily understood by students.
    For example he would compare an isolated chord of brief duration to a basketball. Think about it. Have you ever played with a basketball that was underinflated? The ball looks right and gives the appearance of being ready for play,  but when you pick the ball up and attempt to dribble, there is no life. It does not rebound to your hand and that nice resonant ring is missing.
    There is only one thing wrong. The air pressure inside the ball is not sufficient to give it life. If you inflate the ball to regulation pressure, the shape does not change, but the increased pressure inside the ball gives it the attribute required to spring back each time it is dribbled.
    Joe Frank taught me that short notes in music respond the same way. It is the breath support (breath pressure) inside the note that enriches the tone. Just as the air inside a basketball brings it to life, increased breath support inside short notes gives them beauty and resonance. Students easily understand this idea, and all it takes is a simple reminder to make the notes at Letter B sound like basketballs to achieve a musical result.

Chris Harper (Metter Middle School/Metter High School, Georgia): The best rehearsal technique I learned from another director is to have a detailed plan (not the lesson plans that your Admin wants a million details about) of what goals you wish to accomplish. This plan should give a sense of excitement to students and subtle urgency to the director. We get so caught up in the administrative side of our jobs that we forget pacing. We cannot learn the concert march one week before festival after we have committed to a piece that perhaps we should not have worked up. It is all about a daily plan – today on the march I will first rehearse measures 37 to the large dynamic contrast at measure 54. I will run all my pieces on Fridays to take mental and written notes of what must be rehearsed or fixed on Monday. This is something specific that I learned from a well-known and highly-honored director, Deborah Bradley.

H. Robert Reynolds (University of Southern California): I have observed many of the truly great conductors in rehearsal (Ormandy, Levine, Gergiev, Dudamel, Mehta, Salonen, etc.). They all had different rehearsal styles, but one thing was common to all: they had a strong internal aural image of what the music should be, then they rehearsed in order to achieve their inner aural image. I try to do the same.

Rodney Dorsey (University of Oregon): One of my clarinet teachers, Frank Kowalsky, stressed the importance of slow practice. I have used this technique when rehearsing fast music with large ensembles. Playing fast music at half speed gives the musicians a chance to listen and focus on their tone while feeling each note under their fingers.

Garwood Whaley (Conductor Emeritus, Bishop Ireton High School, Alexandria, Virginia): There are really two important things. First, whenever asking for something from an individual, section, or ensemble, always phrase things in a positive manner and use we not I. The second idea comes from Ed Lisk, who would divide a group into SATB (groups 4, 3, 2, 1) to work on pyramid balancing during warm ups. Making students aware of their role in the pyramid can drastically change the sound of a group and improve intonation immediately.

Quincy Hilliard (University of Louisiana at Lafayette): You must have a systematic warm-up to be done as a routine every day to ensure good tone and intonation development. The warm-up must include a breathing exercise, long tones (listen and match pitches), lip flexibility exercises, scales, and a chorale.

James C. Barnes (University of Kansas): When I was a graduate student working with Robert E. Foster at the University of Kansas in the early 1970s, we were walking back to the music building after a particularly difficult marching band rehearsal. I commented to Bob that I really admired his patience with the students as we taught them a difficult new drill. Bob said, “kids don’t make mistakes on purpose.” Although I have had major slips from time to time, I have always tried to remember that when I teach and conduct.

Leola Woods (Acadian Middle School, Lafayette Middle School): Always spend more time playing than talking. The director that I learned this from always made careful, concise comments. He did stop often to make corrections or tailor sections of the music, but there was not any wasted conversation. He knew exactly what he wanted the students to do and delivered those expectations in a very direct manner. This helps keep me and the students focused and moving in the same direction.

Robert E. Foster (University of Kansas): When working on technically challenging music, the fingers (on valves or keys) must move at the same time or the notes don’t come out precisely together. I think it was William Revelli who I heard say that. When everyone is playing it is frequently hard to tell just how precise or imprecise some fast passages are. If you rehearse these passages without playing, you can concentrate and focus on the fingers, and develop precision and accuracy much faster. Try singing and fingering, instead of just playing through it one more time.

Andrew Mast (Lawrence University): The single best rehearsal technique I learned from another teacher was when I saw Mark Kelly dissect a march as though it were a frog in biology lab. He first had the tubas, then the horns, then both together play their accompaniment lines so slowly it was almost a chorale, and this gave the rhythm and harmony of the march so much more substance and style it was mind-blowing.

Dawn Meyers (Scott Middle School, Louisiana): The best technique I learned from another teacher is a routine for students to follow when reading a piece of music for the first time. After instructing them to pay attention to the time signature and key signature, they immediately begin to tah the rhythms while they are moving their fingers along with the music. I find this helps students have more confidence and accuracy when they play through the piece in its entirety for the first time.

Thom Hannum (University of Massachusetts Amherst): Repetition. Sometimes less talking and more action can allow students to progress to a greater degree than a thorough explanation of what needs to be fixed and how. In all likelihood, a balance of the two is probably best. Experienced teachers have an instinct for when each is appropriate.

Christopher Madsen (Northwestern University): Bob Lark taught me to use listening examples for students. Particularly in jazz, students respond tremendously to aural examples and are able to understand, analyze, and replicate ideas much more effectively than simply reading notes off of a page.

Christopher Heidenreich (University of Michigan–Flint): Ask players to focus on the shape or direction of the musical line when they cannot seem to find the balance, blend, or tuning. I have stolen this from Michael Haithcock, and I have found that this technique focuses the listening while improving each of these areas simply by asking the players to focus on creating a musical phrase.

Robert Lark (DePaul University): For an ensemble, section, or applied lesson activity pertaining to difficulty with a rhythmic figure, try the following method.
A: Instructor sings aloud the rhythmic figure; correct pitches are not necessary.
B: Next, the instructor and the ensemble, section, or individual student together sing the rhythmic figure. If you hear a rhythmic error, specify the portion of the figure that was incorrect, and repeat steps A and B at a slower tempo.
C: The ensemble, section, or individual sings the rhythmic figure again, this time without the assistance of the instructor. If the rhythmic error continues, isolate the specific rhythmic problem and continue steps A, B, and C at a slower tempo.

What is the best rehearsal technique that you have developed?

Rodney Dorsey: I didn’t develop this on my own, but I like to have groups play without the conductor. Students must listen inside the ensemble for pulse, melodic activity, phrase shape, and counter-melody. 

Dawn Meyers: When my group is warming up, the brass players play an eighth note/quarter note exercise consisting of lip slurs. To include the woodwinds in this exercise, I created a whole note exercise for them to play and accompany the brass players. This allows them to work on long tones at the same time.

Robert E. Foster: When one section or group plays alone in rehearsal, have the other players finger and sing their parts. This gives them additional repetition, and it keeps them more involved. Singing can be a good rehearsal device.

Julie Carr: I use singing letter names as an integral part of learning a new piece. With young beginners and new readers in my orchestras, I have found that having them sing their part helps them to learn to read the notes faster, accelerates their ability to play in tune, and encourages them to listen to the other sections of the orchestra. Because this is something we also stress in lessons, it is easy to carry over into the large rehearsal. When working with one section, I will frequently have the other sections air bow and sing their parts. Many of the students can actually sing the entire orchestra repertoire independently.

Quincy Hilliard: I learned to have a plan for rehearsal. I would work sections of the piece that need the most work at the beginning of rehearsal when the students were fresh and focused. Then, I would proceed to the next piece with problems, and finally to the piece that needed the least work.

James Barnes: After many years of rehearsing new pieces, I have found that the most economical way to get the most done in the least amount of time is to first, if at all possible, read the piece straight through without stopping. Then, go back and rehearse the final portion to the end. Next, go farther back and rehearse the middle portion of the piece, and then continue playing all the way to end. Finally, go back to the beginning, rehearse that portion, then play the piece straight through to the end. Although it drives timpanists crazy, because they have to tune backwards, I have found that this gets the most play-throughs done in the least amount of time. The players have a much better feel for how the entire piece should go.

Richard Floyd: I am always seeking easily understood, efficient strategies that communicate and emphasize desirable musical outcomes for students. One highly effective example of this technique is the use of the word tone to strengthen the concept of note shape as it relates to an isolated tone that requires both precision and resonance.
     While we view the word tone as being one syllable it actually has three components. The first sound we speak or hear is a crisp t that represents the beginning of the word. This t melds into an oh which is round, full, and resonant. Then the word closes quietly with the sound nnn. When spoken in sequence what you hear is an articulate, precise beginning, followed by a round resonant center, and an audible closure that has decay. This concept gives students a keen awareness of the optimum shape for an isolated unison or chord that requires a focused beginning, a rich full core to the sound, and a slightly tapered release.
     I begin by having the students speak the word tone. Make sure the t is light and crisp, and that the core of the word (the o) is resonant. The closure of the word (the nnn) must have audible length to create a slight taper. Once the concept is understood it is necessary to take a moment to sustain and groom the chord being addressed to create a desirable balance and blend. Then, have students say the word tone several more times, asking them to listen carefully to the shape of the word. The final step is simply to have students play the chord and make it sound like the word tone. It has been my experience that the resulting sound is articulate and rich in quality with just the right amount of length to give it tonal beauty.

Richard Crain: Make every comment positive – do not belittle or embarrass. Empasize and help students understand. It is their band. Don’t get caught up in minutiae that cause the rehearsal to lag. Avoid using the word I too much.

H. Robert Reynolds: When there are intonation problems, have all players involved sing the desired pitch. I even use this during the tuning process at the beginning of rehearsals by having everyone sing the tuning note. Players tune to their own inner image of the pitch. Singing establishes the same inner image for all.

Chris Harper: I have a band room that has a good amount of sunlight to illuminate the band’s rehearsal area. When I feel that the focus is fading due to the 90-minute block period, I turn off the bright fluorescent lights and let the natural light come through. It completely changes the attitudes, pacing from me, and musical responses from the ensemble. They end their day relaxed. Other teachers are envious.

Christopher Madsen: I have developed a technique for sightreading where, after the first run, I ask the students to zero in on places that they know were troublesome. I give them about 2-3 minutes to silently run through the figures, then ask the section leaders what one passage they would like to rehearse briefly. After going through these designated sections, we read the entire piece over again, and the results are noticeably better the second time. This is particularly effective because of its efficiency; it is like deep cleaning one spot in your carpet instead of washing the entire thing.

Robert Lark: Problem: ensemble, section, or individual rushes when performing a figure or phrase. Solution:  elongate, lengthen the notes that comprise the rhythmic figure. This is especially true when performing 8th-note and 16th-note based passages, and very often the case at the beginning of a rhythmically dense (i.e. 8th-note or 16th-note based) passage.

Thom Hannum: Rehearsal effectiveness is the result of clearly communicated expectations, a quiet environment to allow for concentration, and a measured accountability for the assignment.

Leola Woods: One of the most useful, simple, and extremely effective rehearsal techniques that I have developed is the podium rule. This simple technique helps to not only maintain order but keeps students focused and attentive. It starts as a game with my beginners. They enter the room and get their instruments out. As soon as I step on the podium, they are to come to ready position and become completely silent and still. They love to compete with other classes to achieve the fastest response time. After the first year the technique is a regular part of the class routine. It is also a good tool to draw the students back in when they start to lose focus. I make a big deal of stepping off the podium; I wait a few seconds and then step back up. The students instantly realize what corrections need to take place and adjust accordingly.

Garwood Whaley: Frustrated with countless rhythm problems when I was first starting out as a band director, I developed rhythm exercises that turned into a book published by Meredith Music Publications titled Basics in Rhythm. Every student has a copy, and we begin each rehearsal by clapping and counting out loud pages from the book. By counting out loud, students develop a skill I call rhythmic solfege. That is the ability to hear the counting in their minds when playing a rhythm. This drastically improves sightreading and allows students to deal with any rhythm they encounter. With this proactive approach, my group never had problems with rhythm.

Andrew Mast: Good rehearsals come from thoughtful score study grounded in solid musicianship, and any short-term techniques are simple outgrowths of that. I fear that any perception of rehearsals as a collection of short bits degrades the artistic and education processes involved. So, I really believe rehearsals are a rich process of holistically integrated near- and long-term goals.

Christopher Heidenreich: I turn to the percussion section to demonstrate a particular type of articulation or style that I am seeking. For example, a well-played triangle helps give instrumentalists a model for a lighter tongue or bow. A woodblock models a short but more defined beginning to a note, while a bass drum allows the players to hear a fuller note with more body. At the same time, this technique focuses percussion technique, and keeps those players involved in the rehearsal as they never know when I might call on them to perform for the ensemble.

* * *

Brian Peter (Westlake High School, Westlake Village, California)
Singing Chords and Chorales
     Early in my teaching career I attended the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association conference. The band for a rehearsal techniques clinic was an outstanding college wind ensemble. The clinician asked the ensemble to play a Bach chorale, and it was wonderful. At the end of the chorale, he held and extended the final chord to give students time to make subtle adjustments to pitch and balance and further refine the sound. The sound was beautiful, and I was impressed. Next, he asked them to sing the same short chorale on the syllable AH, and use a legato DAH for articulated notes. After some encouragement, the students sat up tall, took deeper breaths, opened their jaws wider, used their chest voices, and sang out fully. As they sang the last chord, the sound was so full, pure, and perfectly in tune. Immediately after the vocal release, instruments came up, and without instruction, the final chord was played on instruments. I was in disbelief at how significant the improvement was from the first time the chorale was played. I did not realize so great a change was possible with that fine of an ensemble. The entire audience looked around and smiled, and the student performers did, too. I never forgot that lesson or the sound of that band after they sang.
     Have your ensemble play a chord and then sing the chord with AH. Look around the room and check for good posture, open jaws, and deep breathing, especially after the initial breath. At first I sometimes tell students to sing in what I call Radio Voice – “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! The MOOONSTER trucks are back!” – or ask them to imitate how announcers speak at professional sport parks. This helps students use their chest voice instead of their head voice. In radio voice, on your cue, have the group say together in a firm manner, “Sunday Sunday Sunday!!” Next, insert a ritard and modify the word to “SunDAAH, SunnnDAAAHH, SunnnnDAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH.” Speaking slowly and holding out vowels is an easy and basic way to start singing. Ask students to sing louder and louder still. They will if you insist on it. Have the percussionists join in too. Have students put their palms on their sternums until they feel their chest resonating while they sing. Next, ask them to close their lips, but keep jaws as open as possible, and huuuummmm. If done well, their noses might tickle. While humming, bring instruments to playing position. Then, immediately breathe in, and play the last fermata of the chorale. This should be done while thinking about making the instruments an extension of their voices, which is ultimately an extension of themselves, like singing. This will produce a new level of sound from the ensemble.
     Finally, point out to students that no direction came from the podium regarding flat or sharp, or softer or louder, etc. No one person was instructed to do any one thing differently. Yet, the ensemble now sounds greatly improved because they listened. Be sure that students know to keep instrument- and register-specific vowel shapes that you have defined previously. They should not all change to playing the AH vowel that was used  when they sang. For example, low brass in lower registers may prefer OH, and clarinets might prefer EEE in all registers.

Stop Tuning and Start Toning
     After warm-up, provide the ensemble with the reference pitch you use. Then, select the member of each section who has the best tone. (You can even make this into a blind tone-test game, where ensemble members in a section play one at a time, then other students vote blindly on their favorite. The student selected may not be the principal of the section, and that is ok.) Have these students sustain the selected tuning note. If they hear that they are out of tune to the reference pitch, encourage them to improve their tone first. This can be done with more air, faster or slower air, adjustment to the embouchure, posture, instrument position, etc. Once they achieve their best tone, then move the tuning slide, head joint, or mouthpiece accordingly to fix any remaining pitch problems.
     Next, add in one section member at a time and ask them to sustain and match the tone. Tell them to become a musical chameleon and match the tone they hear from the first musician. You can even ping pong back and forth between two students, having each play one at a time. Ask students to compare the differences between the two tones. (This is also a great time to speak about active and passive listening.) This exercise is obviously an active listening activity, and it is what students should do during rehearsal and performance. By focusing on tone, students will also become much more balanced, centered, and in tune. When directors only focus on tuning during the tuning process, they miss an opportunity to practice matching tone and solving one of the biggest problems with pitch, which is poor balance.

* * *

Mark Camphouse (conductor and composer, George Mason University):
My principal conducting teacher was long-time Northwestern University director of bands, John P. Paynter. My private conducting lessons with him were extremely valuable and were largely devoted to score study and analysis, given his expertise as a composition (not conducting or music education) major. He instilled in me what I view as being the number one priority for all conductors: do your homework prior to rehearsals and become, as Erich Leinsdorf said, the Composer’s Advocate. Because of his thorough score study and superb organizational skills, N.U. Wind Ensemble rehearsals under Mr. Paynter’s direction were always extraordinarily efficient, productive, and enriching … by far the most enlightening conducting lessons I ever experienced. It is highly unlikely that a conductor can possess effective rehearsal technique without thorough pre-rehearsal preparation.

Specific rehearsal techniques I learned from John P. Paynter:
• Conductors must possess excellent organizational skills. Accordingly, always post rehearsal order on the band bulletin board well prior to rehearsals to enable players to know what is expected of them. Be sure to adhere to the posted schedule.
• Rehearsals must always begin and end on time!
• When rehearsing a work for the first time, strive to not stop in order to give the ensemble a good initial (macro) idea of the piece. The micro elements and other details can come later as you engage in surgical rehearsing and sectional rehearsals.
• Be positive. Be demanding, yet kind. Be a good motivator.
• Don’t choreograph. Remember, it is about the music and your students. It’s not about you!

     There are no tricks when it comes to developing and adhering to effective rehearsal techniques. We all know the critical importance of helping our students develop good basic playing fundamentals from among the three Ts: tone, time, and technique. Similarly, good, basic rehearsal technique fundamentals by the conductor must also be developed through regular self-assessment and external observations by colleagues you respect and trust. It goes without saying that good conductors and teachers want students to acquire good time management skills. But we must practice what we preach! If we want our students to be well-prepared for rehearsals, we must demonstrate that we, as conductors, are especially well-prepared and efficient. Here is what I have found to be especially helpful in this regard:

• I cannot be at my best rushing into a rehearsal immediately following a class, private lesson, or (God forbid) faculty or committee meeting. I am fanatical about always trying to block 60-90 minutes for score study and other aspects of organizational planning prior to a rehearsal. This is critically important. It may sound a bit selfish to some, but we must find quality study time in a quiet environment for ourselves if we are going to suceed in teaching a piece effectively to our students.
• Pose questions to your students and help them to really learn to listen across the band. For example, “Clarinets, who has the melody with you at letter B?” “Tubas, what are the flutes doing three measures before letter S?” “Percussion, what other instruments have the ostinato with you here?”
• Use appropriate analogies from everyday life in order to get a particular musical point across to your players: “Woodwinds, can you please try to paint this passage with the same muted colors Mother Nature used so beautifully during last evening’s sunset?” “Percussion, the impact of your attack in measure 57 needs to be a single stick of dynamite, not a thermonuclear detonation!”
• If you are playing a work by a living composer, make an effort to contact the composer, and share their authentic creative insights and perspectives with your students.
• Always let your love of music be visible to your students, and be thankful that we have the pleasure and privilege of being musicians.

* * *

Russel Mikkelson (Ohio State University)
        To enhance student listening, rhythmic integrity, and ensemble precision, I often use a combination of two techniques. I refer to these as composite rhythm and playing attacks only. Composite rhythm is a technique of combining the rhythmic language in a given measure or section to understand and hear the resultant rhythm when all parts are played. For example:

The composite/resultant rhythm

    Next, rehearse this section by playing attacks only. That is to say, play all articulated notes staccato, removing all sustained note values. This will clarify the composite rhythm, improve student listening, and improve the rhythmic integrity of the ensemble.
    I have also written a composite melody of movement 3 of Percy Grainger’s Lincolnshire Posy, “Rufford Park Poachers.” The opening 18 measures of this movement are in a two-part canon, with part 2 moving two eighth notes behind part 1. In order to hear the interaction of both parts, and as a means of internalizing the music, I suggest memorizing/singing this melody (or a similar composite you create yourself), combining the important moving lines of both parts of the canon.

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