Would you rather have a former band director or a former coach as your principal?

Would you rather listen to a bad oboe recital or a bad violin recital?

Would you rather have an undependable yet immensely talented first chair trumpet player or a mediocre yet immensely dependable first chair trumpet player?

Would you rather march in the rain or march in the snow?

Would you rather march in a Christmas parade or an Independence Day parade?

Would you rather perform a Sousa march or Fillmore march?

Would you rather have a bad horn player or no horn player?

Would you rather have an equipment truck breakdown or a mental breakdown?

Would you rather meet with your principal or stick a needle in your eye?

Would you rather perform a contest show titled Primordial Soup or one titled Elvis!?

Would you rather teach beginners or high school players?

Would you rather conduct the Marine Band or the New York Philharmonic?

Would you rather have a tuba player quit or a clarinet player quit?

Would you rather spend a day with Mozart or Beethoven?

Would you rather conduct with a baton or without one?

Would you rather have a band with great technique but poor tone quality or poor technique and great tone?

Would you rather watch Mr. Holland’s Opus or Drumline? Drumline or The Music Man? The Music Man or American Pie?

Would you rather listen to 10 straight hours of Kenny G or Phillip Glass?

Would you rather love your job and get paid $30,000 or hate it and make $60,000?

Would you rather have your band star in a reality show or a soap opera? A drama or a comedy?

Would you rather pull a stuck mouthpiece or trim a reed?

Would you rather have a superintendent visit your rehearsal or not?

Would you rather sell hand-crafted toilet plungers or monogrammed Bermuda shorts?

Would you rather drink a bottle of valve oil or spread cork grease all over your lips?

Would you rather sit in a teachers’ meeting or be lashed 50 times with a saxophone neckstrap?

Would you rather administer a standardized test or be dropped from the football press box?

Would you rather have your school’s football team lose a state semifinal game or not make the playoffs at all?

Would you rather have your whole trumpet section puff out their cheeks like Dizzy Gillespie and play like Dizzy Gillespie or have the whole section play everything up an octave like Maynard Ferguson?

Would you rather play a clarinet like Richard Stoltzman or a guitar like Jimi Hendrix?

Would you rather be trapped in an hour-long conversation with the most boring band parent you have ever met or have your head used as a bass drum?

Would you rather hear your drummer play rock style or Latin style three hours a day for a month?

Would you rather hear your band play “Louie Louie” or “The Horse?”

Would you rather have the football fans watch your band at halftime or buy food from the band concession stand?

Would you rather be referred to by the students as Commandant or Maestro? Your Majesty or Sensei?

Would you rather fight the head football coach or the cheerleading sponsor to the death?

Would you rather have a tattoo of John Philip Sousa or Kurt Cobain on your right arm?

Would you rather drive a school bus full of band kids or get a root canal?

Would you rather hear studio applause whenever you enter the room or have everyone bow respectfully?

Would you rather watch a one-week marathon of The Andy Griffith Show or Glee?

Would you rather spend six hours at parent-teacher conferences or six hours working at a concession stand?

Would you rather have your band play at a homecoming bonfire or be thrown into a bonfire?

Would you rather be a famous virtuoso on an instrument or a famous band or orchestra director?

Would you rather have your band guest conducted by William Revelli or Arturo Toscanini? Lindsey Lohan or Justin Bieber?

    Feel free to ask other band directors for their answers to these dilemmas if you are ever at a convention or other gathering of band directors and there is that rare moment when the conversation grinds to a halt. Or if you teach a band methods class, use them to stimulate interesting debate.   

The post Would You Rather appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Burnout
    One morning, I walked into Principal Payne’s office and announced my decision to retire. I was burned out. He looked shocked and thought I was kidding. He suggested that I come back the next day before making a final decision. He spoke with the superintendent and members of the school board and they granted me the first sabbatical given in the history of the district. He emphasized that a sabbatical report would be expected.
    I thought about taking a trip around the nation visiting directors to learn how they raise funds and operate their programs. The idea ripened into a 7,000 mile trip interviewing 222 band directors in 13 states. The materials from these interviews became “The Band Director’s Brain Bank,” published by The Instrumentalist in 1970. After this invigorating trip, it was easy to return to the excitement of the Chaffey band.

Onatrio/Chaffey Community Show Band
    In 1985, after 27 years at Chaffey High School, I finally convinced my administration it was time for me to go. I enjoyed six months of peace and tranquility until one afternoon there was a knock on the door. There stood Ontario’s Chief of Police, Lowell Stark. Lowell had been first chair trimbone in the concert band and the top sergeant of the marching band. He brought greetings from 42 former members of my high school band and asked if I would organize a Chaffey Alumni Band. I had many questions about music, a rehearsal hall, and an auditorium for performances. He assured me these problems had already been solved.
    The new band became part of the Chaffey District Adult School. Musicians signed up to take band as a class. With great hesitation I accepted the position under three conditions:

1. I will never rehearse the band.
2. I will never hear any bad notes.
3. I will be the only band member with a monopoly on making mistakes.

    My hidden purpose for these rules was to make certain that the band became a recreational activity for all of us.
    On the night of the first rehearsal, I arrived. With 15 minutes to go before the call time, no one appeared and it looked like the end of a crazy idea. Suddenly, the door burst open and one group of musicians followed another. It was like a family reunion with hugs and laughter. I was caught up in the festivity, and things didn’t settle down until I suggested that maybe we should get out our instruments and tune. The band has continued on for 27 years.
    My career began with a single year in Three Oaks, Michigan before eventually coming to Chaffey for 54 years. During that time I have taught six superintendents and sixteen principals. All became strong supporters of music education in the development of young men and women through music education. Of all the accolades from my career, the dedication of my band room as Mercer Music Hall remains the greatest.  

The post Still Going Strong appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    After 40 years in the music business I’m quite aware of how we directors see ourselves. I’ve wondered lately, though, how others see us, and whether outside of our profession the idea of a concert band has much of an identity. For several years in my travels I’ve been asking people, “What’s a band?” So far, the results are not encouraging. The people I’ve questioned have identified a band as a marching band, a rock band, or a dance band, not as the concert group that requires so much of our energy and affection.
    It appears that the idea of the concert band, our reason for being, the centerpiece program that justifies music’s place in the curriculum, is not in common parlance. In spite of some sixty years, thousands upon thousands of students, and an extensive, varied repertoire, our public does not perceive us as we do.
    An elderly music patron who attended my first wind ensemble concert at the University of South Florida demonstrated this inconsistent perception when, following the concert, he came backstage, looked up at me, and said, “Well, young fella, I really enjoyed that concert, and I hope your little band just grows and grows.”
    At the time I wrote off the comment with a defensive shrug. He obviously had not read the program notes. They clearly described the wind ensemble concept and its literature. Maybe the old geezer forgot his glasses? “Little band just grows and grows” – what was his problem?
    Time, distance, and experience have enabled me to reassess that well-intentioned commentary. At least that band supporter knew what a band was. So far only two respondents to my question, “What’s a band?” have replied that a band was a concert band. In fact both, well into their late 70s or early 80s, identified the band as a park band that they remembered from their youth. Among those under 30 in my research there is very little question but that the word band refers to a rock group or a marching band, and the former is by far the dominant identity.
    Is it possible that in our quest for recognition the public sees us primarily as band coaches preparing for this competition or that parade to pick up yet another trophy confirming this image? If you don’t believe that, ask school administrators their perception of the band.
    Frank Battisti, one of our most perceptive spokesmen, addressed how the music we perform reflects on the profession at a conducting conference held recently. I was late getting to this session and when I walked in, this is what I heard:
   

    You know, I just love the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Anything about these periods attracts me: the architecture, the sculpture, the painting, the music, I love it all. There is one quintessential model of the Renaissance in Florence. It’s Michelangelo’s David. A fantastic work – huge, muscular, with dominant curvilinearity – so dramatic. You ask what makes this so great? It must be the form, right? Wrong. What makes it great is what it’s made of. It’s made of Carrara marble, a marble that picks up light like perhaps no other in the world. Now, what if, instead of Carrara marble, that statue were created from dried horse manure? You see, what I want to ask you folks is simple. When you go home and look at that band folio you work from, is it filled with Carrara marble or. . .?

    This observation, of course, raises another one of those marks of our trade, an all-too-familiar programming practice. It creates a dilemma for us, doesn’t it? To illustrate the point I would like to share with you an experience I had as a clinician at the British Association of Symphonic Bands and Wind Ensembles in Manchester, England. One of my clinics focused on the nonverbal rehearsal. Selecting two contrasting works, Wagner’s Trauersinfonie and John Cheetham’s concert march Kittyhawk, I explained the clinic procedure to the audience and band. Having heard my clinic group, the Irish National Wind Ensemble, in a wonderful concert the evening before, I didn’t feel a technical rehearsal was necessary. The band responded to the prescribed and improvised gestures on the Trauersin-fonie with remarkable sensitivity for about 25 minutes.
    Considering the time it took to make the introductory instructional comments, there were fewer than 10 minutes left for a summary statement. Sensing that there was little more to be said about the demonstration I thought the audience would enjoy a reading of Kittyhawk to send them on their way to the next session. I explained that we would read it through, for fun, and would not stop to rehearse. The reading was less than complimentary, at best. Getting to the end together was a cliff-hanger.
    The kicker, however, was not that unfortunate decision, but the comment made to me by an English conductor I admire a great deal who has a real commitment to bands and wind music. Quite testily, he admonished me, “You’re just like all the rest of the American band directors, Jim. You can’t let a sublime moment make its own statement; it has to be followed by a march or a novelty. How do you expect serious musicians to ever attend concerts of wind music with the same expectations they would have of an important choral or orchestral concert?”
    He made a telling point. Even today we don’t program serious contemporary music with much more concern than did John Philip Sousa. Furthermore, Sousa at least had the integrity to note that he was not interested in educating his audiences as much as entertaining them. We have to admit, however reluctantly, that much of the band literature performed today is really quite insignificant.
    While addressing this problem we can also bask in the glow of some genuinely redeeming satisfaction, for never before has there been available the amount of interesting and important wind music that exists today. Not enough of it is played, but it is there for those willing to accept the challenge.
    However, a distressingly funny thing happens to those who accept the challenge of preparing and performing this creatively conceived music. All too often while we gain approval from a critical musical community, we lose much of the audience the band has traditionally enjoyed. At many schools of music, even wind and percussion performers ignore other band and wind ensemble concerts. For the most part audiences attend serious band concerts because they feel obligated, not because of the wonderfully exciting or imaginative music they might hear by a thoroughly and thoughtfully prepared ensemble.
    If you want an audience these days, perform a Sousa-style concert or a concert in the park. If you want a sparsely filled house, put a lot of money into postage and advertising, alerting the public to the fact that you are going to give a triple-crown performance of Hindemith’s Symphony in Bb, Holst’s Hammersmith, and the incomparable Dahl Sinfonietta. I’ll guarantee there will be plenty of parking space.
    If we are to see ourselves as others see us, if we are eager to serve audiences that aren’t sure just what today’s concert band is, we have to deal with this dilemma of programming and instruction. If we use Carrara marble exclusively, as the purists suggest, we have no audience. If we use dried horse manure, we send the wrong signals as to what we represent musically and educationally. I’m not so naive that I don’t know that the answer doesn’t reside in some kind of balance between these purist-entertainer polarities. My concern is simply in addressing a few factors that focus on how others see us.
    Those who feel that acquiring a room full of trophies affirms their values will not take alternative perceptions very seriously. They will shake their heads and quite likely offer a hand that will lead us to an enlightenment that many of us have been missing all these years.
Those who have kept the faith and venerated that Carrara marble in spite of peer rejection and dwindling programs and audiences, should reconsider the path you’ve taken.
    Those who have found the magic balance, whose programs prosper, who enhance the musical experiences of their students and audiences through wise and judicious programming practices, who meet the needs of students, parents, colleges, and communities, please help us. Show us the light, keep it burning brightly, and shine by your example. Help others to see us as we want to be seen.  

The post Seeing Ourselves As Others See Us appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    When they can play it comfortably, you can then go over the analysis.  Start with the basics of analysis, such as time signature and beat identification. Show where beats one, two, three, and four are. Use the time signature to explain why we only count to four, and use the quarter and eighth notes to show the differences in note duration. Explain the differences in the look of the notes, specifically the ones that are barred together. Avoid going much more in depth; students need not think too hard about the analysis yet. The next step is to change it slightly.

    The small variation teaches that two black dots that are joined together go by faster, but evenly, than ones that are not. Continue to make the variations longer and more complex with more eighth notes, half notes, rests, and duets on different rhythms. The trick is varying the rhythm slightly instead of repeating the same exercises over and over. Once players can identify and perform the written rhythm, they are ready to learn the analysis, which is a frontal lobe process. I think of teaching from the back of the brain forward.
    Just as students do not become literate by reading the same book repeatedly, musical literacy comes from playing a variety of music. Simply memorizing repeated rhythmic patterns does not help when faced with new rhythms. The better focus is developing a rhythmic vocabulary that can be applied in a variety of ways.
    With older students these techniques transfer well to more advanced subdivisions. These subdivisions often prove difficult for middle school students.

    It is important that students can identify the ways that these two patterns sound different. If the cerebellum and auditory cortex (located in the mid-brain) cannot decipher the difference between these two patterns, reading and performing them correctly will be impossible. Once again, think about teaching the brain from the back to front.
    When the brain can decipher the notes by sound, it can then process the written notation and anticipate changes. This anticipation occurs in the frontal lobes. This frontal part of the brain allows humans to anticipate future events. We learn to anticipate based on experiences. As our brain reacts to external sounds, it develops an entirely different set of expectations.
    Recently, I was playing tuba in a rehearsal of El Salon Mexico by Aaron Copland. The low brass parts are mostly on the strong beats, however the meter alternates between 5/8 and 6/8 with a 7/8 thrown in for fun. Students struggled with the changes. Our brains are always anticipating what will happen next, but some music does not lend itself to this. It takes a change of approach to perform the offset beats.
    The way to teach it is by fooling the brain and turning off its ability to anticipate. Because anticipation occurs in the cerebellum, it is necessary to preoccupy other lobes with information so we do not try to anticipate the offset beats. We do this by subdividing. The eight note is constant (and can be anticipated), but the accents and hyper-rhythms are not. We occupy the cerebellum with the eight note pulse while the frontal lobes process the offset beats. Put more simply, we subdivide.

    Subdivision is a feeling in the cerebellum. It is a more accurate way to anticipate what comes next. By the time students learn to subdivide, they already know the concert of pulse. The key to progress on subdivision is exposure and analysis. I love music that uses compound meter and asymmetric  time signatures and listen to it regularly. I can anticipate compound meters such as 78 and alternating 34 and 68 much better than my students simply based on exposure to music. The music students listen to often uses common time signatures, and few seek out anything that is different.
    Progressive rock and heavy metal have many examples of these time signature. Because most students are more familiar with rock and pop music, they will be more open to the music and be able to remember the sounds better.
    I recommend the following songs for introducing asymmetrical meter:
    Schism by Tool (12/8  as 2+3+2+2+3. Tool rarely sticks with one time signature for long).
    Clocks by Coldplay (8/8 as 3+3+2).
    Living in the Past by Jethro Tull (10/8  as 3+3+2+2).
    Hanging Tree by Queens of the Stone Age (10/8  as 3+3+2+2). The subdivisions in these songs move slowly enough to allow students to process the asymmetry and find the groove. Unless they have heard this type of music before, they will not properly hear the subdivisions, and if students cannot hear it properly, they will not be able to play it or analyze it.
    Teaching by rote before learning the notes is not a new concept. However, neuroscience research expands on this idea by giving further insight on what happens in our brains as we process information. That continuing knowledge can help teachers improve their methods. 

Suggested books:
This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel Levitan.
Musicophilia by Oliver Sacks.
Music, the Brain, and Ecstasy by Robert Jourdain.

The post Rhythm and the Brain appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Timothy McAllister
    I realized the importance of double tonguing early in my training upon hearing such great players as Al Galladoro, Rudy Wiedoeft and my mentor, Donald Sinta. In high school I studied with Don LeFevre at the West Texas A&M summer band camp, and he stressed the absolute necessity of this technique for all ages, so I started on double tonguing as early as 15 years old. As I learned how closely practicing related to other forms of physical conditioning, I started to incorporate repetitive activity designed to build endurance and muscle response using the K sound. Because this consonant, whether taught as kay, kee, or kuh is different from the traditional tah or dah articulation most students learn in beginning band, it is a tongue motion that must be isolated and practiced long before incorporating it into double tonguing.
    I have students first verbalize an aggressive kuh or koo simply with their tongue and voice, while forming an embouchure. Next, students should get used to using K as a type of release of the airstream. I have students take a full, deep breath but hold the breath from escaping using a K syllable with the back of the tongue. Air pressure should build as students attempt to hold this tongue position in place. When the pressure reaches maximum, release the tongue and fully exhale with great force. When this is understood, add the saxophone mouthpiece and neck combination. Repeat the process, again, using K or G syllables and start to produce attacks only with these. Repeat as often as possible with increasing speed until reaching the point of fatigue. If students generate fatigue and even a slight bit of strain, the muscle action involved will begin to acclimate and rebound, thus becoming stronger. Caution students not to overdo practicing this.
    Set a metronome to q = 60 and start using the kuh syllable exclusively while playing eighth notes. Vary how much accent is used and work to keep the rhythm perfectly steady over four to eight beats or until the breath expires. Students should take one minute to rest between phrases before increasing the tempo on the metronome and see how fast they can tongue using only the kuh syllable. It should be easy for students to tell when they have reached their limit, at which point they should discontinue the exercise for the day.
    This activity is a good way to learn and develop the motion itself, but later it becomes a warm-up before incorporating the alternating tah attack. Practicing the kuh attack should give it enough focus and ease that it matches the tah attack learned in beginning band. The articulations possible while double tonguing motion can range from a biting tak-kat to an effervescent  dee-ga or lee-ga.
    None of these effects are possible until the body is properly conditioned to play them, which must happen long before the musical applications. If we start teaching them early enough, young saxophonists will have never known a time when double-tonguing was considered an extended technique.
    Timothy McAllister is associate professor of saxophone and co-director of the Institute for New Music at the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, as well as soprano saxophonist of the PRISM Quartet.

Jean-Denis Michat
(Translated by Matt Taylor)
    I remember first discovering double-tonguing about 20 years ago in Ken Ichiro Muto’s interpretation of the famous Ronde des Lutins by Bazzini. Since then, double and triple tonguing entered the standard vocabulary of  saxophonists. I have always maintained the belief that their use must be connected to a musical phrase’s demands rather than a simple question of pure speed. With conservatory students, I often introduce this technique in Fernande Decruck’s Sonata en ut-diese or in the second movement of Caesar Franck’s Sonate en la-majeur. The small cadence of the Fantaisie Brillante by Demersseman can also constitute that first experience.
    Two different tongue movements are necessary to obtain technical control; however, to completely delete the unique respective identities of these two strokes considerably reduces the timbral interest of double-tonguing. Saxophonists must be able to both conceal and accentuate these two articulations. To double tongue is to evoke the same respiratory movement as is created by the bows of stringed instruments. The two tongue strokes should produce a push-pull or in-and-out movement.
    Whatever the level of the student, the keys are flexibility, slow practice, and maintaining the flow of the technique. The danger is always the mechanical double tongue like a machine gun. Even when double tonguing is performed fast, nothing should prevent the phrase from singing, with the articulation paving the way to help create an organic, free line with a certain rubato. All techniques that sound automatic should be banished.
    Jean-Denis Michat is professor of saxophone at the Lyon Conservatoire, Lyon, France.

Eric Nestler
    Multiple articulation, also known as double or triple tonguing, has gained popularity among saxophonists. Before learning double tonguing, saxophonists should first have a firm foundation in single tonguing; the majority of the repertoire for saxophone requires a flawless single tongue articulation.
    Although the actual production of multiple articulation may be difficult, the concept is simple: when the surface rhythm is so fast that single tonguing is too slow, the performer may opt to alternate between T and K syllables, as if pronouncing the word ticket. When repeating this word several times in a row the last T of the first ticket becomes the first T of the next one. If the syllable pronounced causes the tongue to be too low in the mouth the definition of pitch may be lost. Such sounds as tah, kah, dah, and gah contribute to this problem. The word ticket keeps the tongue in an appropriate position to execute a very small rocking motion between the T and K syllables. This concept is helpful when learning to double tongue, especially in the palm key register.
    For quicker results, students should first try double tonguing using isolated notes in the middle to lower register of the saxophone. One possible exercise is to begin with open C# and then progress lower, by half step. There will come a point at which the articulation and tone lack definition. Make a note of what note this is, return to open C#, and progress higher by half steps until the articulation and tone lack definition. With time and practice, the range will expand.
    First, strive to strengthen the kIH syllable. The following exercises are designed to help saxophonists equalize the tone of the kIH and the tIH syllables. Transpose the following single-note articulation patterns to all notes of the saxophone, and practice these exercises with a variety of dynamic levels.

    Students can also practice using the uneven rhythms to create an even quality of sound between the tIH and kIH syllables. Although articulation is being practiced, the emphasis should still be on playing with a good sound. In the following exercises, it may be beneficial to practice the alternation of syllables both using TKTKT as well as KTKTK. This strategy will further strengthen the K syllable.

    When attempting to develop speed, begin with just a few isolated notes and gradually increase the number of repetitions. Transpose these exercises in half steps to all of the notes on the saxophone, beginning with open C#. Use a metronome to maintain a steady pulse and measure progress.

    The next steps are to add double tonguing to short scalar patterns and then to entire scales. This will help develop finger-tongue coordination and speed. To improve sound quality while developing double tonguing, first practice a given pattern slurred, then repeat the pattern with articulation. Practicing this way will help saxophonists focus on maintaining a steady and smooth air flow and tonal support. Ideally the tone quality of the articulated passage should match the tone quality of the slurred passage.

    Each saxophonist should start these exercises at an appropriate tempo, which may vary from one student to the next, and gradually increase the tempo in reasonable increments while allowing considerable time for drill. Although such exercises may seem pedantic, students should strive to make each exercise sound musical. Exercises are a means to an end, which is to become a musician who has effortless technique. Daily, thoughtful practice with patience combined with intelligence will yield fruitful results.
    Eric Nestler is the professor of saxophone at the University of North Texas.

Griffin Campbell
    Double tonguing has become an essential technique for modern saxophonists. To create the articulation needed for this concept I first experimented with using the middle of the tongue to create the second syllable of the double tongue. With experimentation I have found that the back of the tongue works better to create the second half of the articulation.
    When teaching this concept I have found that various exercises for flute provide a good foundation from which double tonguing can be developed and expanded upon. Almost any basic flute book will include exercises for double and triple tonguing, many of which use scales and arpeggios. Such exercises are based on familiar note passages so that tonguing can be the focus of the exercise. Although flute exercises are usually the most conducive for this type of articulation, any exercise can be creatively adapted for saxophone double tonguing.
    Griffin Campbell is professor of saxophone at Louisiana State University.

Christian Forshaw
    I had always assumed it was impossible for saxophonists to double tongue because the saxophone mouthpiece entered the mouth, unlike brass players and flautists. My motive for learning to double tongue was that as a student I developed a fear that my single tonguing was not fast enough. Every time I was employed by an ensemble there was always a concern that I would be presented with rapid articulation passages that I couldn’t keep up with. One day of course my fear became a reality, and a piece was given to me consisting of twelve pages of tongued sixteenth notes at q = 138. My single tonguing was struggling to maintain pace for that length of time, so I was in trouble. Over the next few days I managed to produce an unrefined double tonguing articulation.
    Since then double tonguing has taught me a lot about many aspects of playing, not just about rapid articulation. Most of the problems I have witnessed regarding saxophone playing stem from tension in the mouth, tongue, and throat, and double tonguing immediately highlights any problems in these areas resulting in a clipped, uneven, and blocked up articulation with many split and broken notes. Some of the problems caused by mouth tension are poor and inconsistent articulation, tightness and lack of resonance in the sound, and difficulty playing lower register notes. This tension has a number of causes, but the likely culprits are a weak, uneven, misdirected airstream or a set-up that results in too much back pressure.
    When students begin to double tongue, the movement is usually far too big, with da and ga too close together in the mouth, creating more of a tu and ku. This often causes the second articulation to break or become extremely clipped and heavy sounding. It also makes double tonguing impossible on higher notes. I began to realize that this was because of the ku action disturbing the position of the back of the tongue, which should normally be in a specific arch in order for the air speed and direction to be consistent, enabling the high notes to speak correctly. If the arch moves or is disturbed then the high notes cannot speak.
    I encourage students to push the da and ga as far away from each other as possible, which means forming a ga with the glottis rather than a ku with the back of the tongue, and that the tu or da is a light action at the very front of the mouth. This aids general sound production in a number of ways by highlighting any problems in air pressure, air direction, and choice of setup.
If the air pressure is weak or inconsistent then there will be a delay as the tongue and glottis release. Students then begin to understand exactly how much pressure is required as a constant during playing. The sensation of the articulated notes bouncing lightly on the air stream leads to vast improvements in general air support.
    If the air is shooting up towards the top of the mouth, the glottal release will cause the notes to leap up the octave or find an even higher harmonic. If the air is shooting down and forward towards the front of the mouth then the notes will not break and many concerns about intonation and poor quality of sound are resolved.
    If the mouthpiece or reed choice are too heavy then there will be too much weight put on the inside of the mouth. If they are too soft then it is impossible to build up sufficient air pressure to trigger double tonguing, which can only work efficiently when the right balance of set up is achieved. This facilitates playing in every area.
    Resolving the above problems leads to a much greater freedom when playing, releasing the body from tension in order to achieve a deeper breadth of expression. The big irony for me was that having developed a double tonguing facility, my single tonguing became much faster and more efficient. Although I chalked this up to a general reduction in anxiety about articulation, improving the three factors mentioned above helped to facilitate this.
    Christian Forshaw is professor of saxophone at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He is also the founder of The Sanctuary Ensemble.

    A multitude of techniques exist to perform this technique on the saxophone. Exploration of which aspects produce the best results will allow saxophonists to develop this technique as a staple of modern performance. 

The post Double Tonguing On the Saxophone: Tips from the Masters appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Assembling Ensembles
    The simplest way to build a chamber music program is to incorporate chamber music ensembles into the existing lesson program. Put together groups of similar ability levels first, starting with the most advanced musicians, and create the purest type of chamber ensemble, such as a string quartet, woodwind quintet, brass quintet, or piano trio.
The two dilemmas of forming chamber music groups are how to best group students of like ability and which types of chamber ensembles will give the program sustainability and growth. Every music program should have a progression of skill development, or a feeder program, to remain strong, and chamber music is the same. Younger, less advanced students can be placed in two-on-a-part groups or instrumental choirs so they build basic skills associated with chamber music. These can include flute choir, clarinet choir, double string quartet, brass ensemble, and percussion ensemble, or trios with doubled or even tripled parts. As students improve they should move to standard chamber ensembles.
    While teaching in Viroqua, Wisconsin I had two strong violinists, a star cellist, and two strong double bass players, all high school students. I also had two high school viola players who were intelligent and up for a challenge, but did not have the facility or knowledge of their instrument as compared to the others. I decided to put together a string quartet, offering a significant challenge to one of my violists, a young student who had a great attitude and desire to excel in music. The two double bass players were formed into a bass duet.
    The remaining high school orchestra students were intermediate players, and there was one seventh grade violinist who played extremely well for his age and could keep up with the high school students. I assembled a double string quartet using the seventh grade violinist with some students from the high school and put together a second double quartet of some of the more advanced middle school students. The remaining high school violinists were formed into a violin trio with three violinists per part. These were my weaker students, and they could benefit from a strength-in-numbers philosophy to gain facility while we worked on basic skills. In this three-on-a-part trio the three strongest readers were each assigned to different parts so that students who struggled had someone to lean on for support. The final chamber group was a cello quartet. This left me with a small handful of high school students who needed help with basic skills, and these students were placed into lesson groups.
    I followed a similar approach with the remaining middle school students, and by the time I finished there were only one or two students who were placed in a private lesson slot until they were able to catch up with other students and merge into another lesson group. The chart below shows how I grouped students into chamber ensembles by ability. The students not included in these charts were placed into like-instrument lesson groups or private lessons.
    The most advanced students can perform throughout the school year. Performance ideas include playing a demonstration concert for elementary students, visiting nursing homes or other community facilities, or finding a local café or mall that would welcome a student performance. Scheduling the top chamber groups to perform at these types of venues builds pride in the group and provides motivation for learning their repertoire. Program students to perform their pieces multiple times. With this practice, students will learn how to perform effectively and how to analyze their performances to improve in the future. They will also learn what it takes to really perfect a piece of music, and how to build cohesion as a chamber ensemble. Teach students the basics of performance etiquette including acknowledging the audience’s applause, tuning before a performance, timing between movements, and many other details that are perfect for small group instruction.

Planning for the Year
    Once ensembles are formed, plan your goals for each group and a detailed timeline describing sequentially how to accomplish them. List the ensemble skills students should learn. This can include chord tuning, rhythmic interaction between parts, ensemble entrances and releases, melodic and harmonic interaction between parts, sharing and passing of melodic statements, and transitions. Consider which musical skills you want students to develop, such as the keys, meters, and range of the music, as well as the level of technical difficulty. Attention should also be given to musical styles, both what you want students to learn and how this compares to their interests and motivation. This can be a specialized style such as folk songs, music from a specific period or in a specific form, or as basic as legato or staccato. Such decisions will be different depending on the age and level of each ensemble.
    I use a curriculum map detailing activities and content month by month for each ensemble. For the long-term success of the program, create a curriculum map that documents several years of educational aims. This curriculum map should document a sequence of assessments for identifiable skills you want them to understand and master by the time they leave your classroom. While scheduling the year, plan monthly goals to help make mid-year and year-end goals easily attainable. Systematically working toward building skills will help students feel successful without pressure or panic as concerts approach.
    The concert dates and curriculum map should be coordinated so that your students can showcase their hard work. In my experience, students become extremely proud of their ensemble and want to show everyone what they are playing. Keep in mind that sometimes you will overestimate or underestimate what students can handle. Be ready to adjust if needed so that students will have good performances. In my middle-school double quartet, one of the pieces had a difficult first violin part that required frequent shifting. The first violin players were frustrated and hesitant about performing the piece a week away from the concert. I asked my advanced 7th grade violinist, who had been taking private lessons for years, if he would perform with them. He felt honored to be asked to help, and the other students felt relieved to have a support system in place that would ensure a better performance.
    Lesson content should be built with a sequence of skills making sure that you are covering rhythm, ensemble skills, and learning the repertoire at every lesson. Students are likely to need work on unified entrances, articulations and releases, so exercises should be built around these concepts.
    Be sure to regularly review your the progress of each ensemble as compared to the previously written short- and long-term goals for each group, as well as the entire chamber music program. As students are learning the concepts selected, make sure that there is adequate time to prepare for concerts and enough opportunities to perform to challenge the group. One thing to evaluate periodically is whether the number and types of ensembles will fit the program for many years or should be changed.

Rhythm skills will make or break a young chamber ensemble playing without a conductor, so build rhythmic content into lessons frequently. Have students play exercises that keep them both rhythmically together as well as independent of one another.

Finding Appropriate Repertoire
    The next step is to select literature that fits the curriculum. Choose an appropriately difficult piece that would be an ideal culminating work for the ensemble, something that students can play and that contains skills and attributes that fit your long-term goals for the group. Then, select simpler repertoire to be performed earlier in the year; these works can be used as a stepping stone for learning the more difficult piece down the road.
    I consider whether a piece will expand students’ understanding of their instrument. When choosing repertoire, there are a number of factors to keep in mind, many of which have to do with what they should be learning next. This can be new rhythms or keys, modulations and accidentals, form, style, genre, or historical period.
    Balance is important when selecting an entire year’s worth of repertoire. I make a chart, noting each of these items as row headers, and concert dates as column headers. With this type of organization, it is easy to come up with a balanced set of repertoire for your ensembles. Keep records from previous years, and document concert repertoire on the school website as a past repertoire page; this will make it easy to review a longer history of each ensemble.
    Student response is also worth considering. When students are working on high-quality repertoire, there is much more motivation to learn their parts. I look at whether the main theme is singable and if students enjoy learning that piece. Also, if it would take students more than about two months to learn a piece, find something a little easier; if it can be learned in less than one month, find something more difficult.

Building Pride and Enthusiasm
    Help the students build a sense of pride in their ensemble. Encourage them to choose a name for their group. Students may be more excited about choosing a name as they approach their first performance, since by then they would have had time to build relationships with each other. At performances, showcase how special these groups are. This can be done by purchasing corsages for the advanced ensembles so that each group is wearing the same color, or by having students wear something of the same color in addition to their concert attire, such as a red scarf, tie, or hair ribbon. Some students may want to get matching t-shirts.  Natural enthusiasm from students can help grow the program; students will talk with their friends, and the reputation of the program will improve resulting in better recruiting and retention and long-term success.

Benefits to Large Ensembles
    I started to see wonderful results, particularly in my high school orchestra, between my principal violinist and principal cellist. They started using their chamber music communication skills during full orchestra rehearsal to unite the violin and cello sections. The two students looked at each other regularly, using their body language to portray the exact entrances and releases of phrases, and interact musically with each another within the context of what I was conducting. This was most evident during slower, lyrical and rubato style pieces, but they even used these skills during fast pieces to tighten the transitions.
    Students who study chamber music learn how to interact through artistic body language to portray their intentions for entrances, phrases, releases, dynamics, musical shape, and so much more. In addition, they learn how the leading lines pass from player to player, and how that dictates who is in charge of leading the expressive content for the ensemble. When section leaders or principal players figure this out, they will be able to use those same skills to lead their sections and communicate musical ideas to each other, thereby bridging sectional communication. This will result in greater unity of musical expression, cleaner transitions, and most importantly greater enjoyment by students as they become more responsible for musical direction and feel freer to be creative.

    The viola player in my advanced string quartet worked hard all year to keep up with the rest of the group. By the end of the year, she made significant improvement to her sound, her knowledge of the instrument, and her ability to play in tune with the group. Most importantly, she developed a love for her instrument and true enjoyment for chamber music; traits that, at best, might have taken much longer to develop had she not taken on the challenge of playing in this string quartet. The other players gave her wonderful encouragement, and the four of them became good friends. They finished the year performing at the school’s orchestra concert, wearing their concert black attire, but with red-rose corsages to complete their ensemble (at their request), and tremendous pride for what they accomplished over the school year. It proves that chamber music can be a very powerful motivator for students. Because of its small group structure, students become more intimately involved with the other students in the group, the music, and their enjoyment for their instruments. The more they learn and enjoy what they are learning, the more likely they are to stick with it and succeed.  

All photos for this article were taken by Theresa M. Smerud.

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