November 2018 Archives - The Instrumentalist

Remembering Katherine Hoover (1937-2018)

theinstrumenta — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 21:47:21 +0000

Katherine Hoover, composer, flutist, and teacher, died September 27 from a stroke. She was the recipient of the National Endowment Composers Fellowship, an Academy of Arts and Letters 1994 Academy Composition Award, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Flute Association. Hoover, a student of Joseph Mariano, earned a BM in music theory and a Performer’s Certificate in Flute from the Eastman School of Music. After graduation, she spent two years in Philadelphia studying with the legendary William Kincaid. She said on many occasions that he influenced her writing as well as her flute playing.

In 1961 she joined the faculty of Juilliard Preparatory Department as a flute teacher. Then in 1969 she began her tenure as a theory professor at the Manhattan School of Music, where she had previously earned a MM in music theory. During the 1970s she continued to perform, playing for summer ballet performances at the Metropolitan Opera House and as principal flute for New York Grand Opera. For ten years she soloed with the New York Concerto Orchestra at Damrosch Park in Lincoln Center, performing all three Mozart Concerti, the Bach Suite in B Minor, Telemann Suite in A Minor, and the premiere of her Summer Night.

During this time, she also began to arrange music and then to compose. During the early 1980s she wrote Medieval Suite, Lyric Trio, a Double Concerto for two violins and strings, a piano Quintet Da Pacem, and orchestral works. In 1990, on a trip to the Southwest, she composed Kokopeili for solo flute. This work has sold more than 13,000 copies.
When asked, “What should a performer know when performing your works?” she once commented, “It is best to learn the piece by yourself and not listen to others. Develop your own musical ideas. Start by carefully following the dynamics, rests, and tempo indications and listening carefully to shapes of the phrases.”
When asked in a 1991 Flute Talk interview where serious music is headed, Hoover said, “It’s struggling right now, veering wildly and scrambling for direction. We’ve had a number of fashionable trends, such as minimalism. Companies are looking for the young, new composer heading in a new direction to save us instead of investing in quality and variety…. A composer is either in the loop or not; getting performances by a major orchestra is tough.” The interviewer then asked her, “Are you inside or outside that loop?” She replied, “Outside for a combination of reasons…. I like to use any and every harmony, whatever my current project. My obsession is clarity, using dense or simple harmony, complex or obvious rhythms, as long as it is clear and can be heard. Because of this obsession with clarity I have often been labeled conservative, which amuses me. I’m a loner, and I guess that’s one of the reasons I’m not in the loop. An individualist pays the price, but there’s no other way.”
Hoover was a member of the Flute Talk Board of Advisors. Throughout the years she was interviewed and contributed many articles for the magazine. The September 2018 issue featured her final essay, Learning to Listen: The Sound of Silence, in which she wrote, “So, how can someone who aspires to be a fine musician learn to listen, hear, and play with the individuality and finesse in the cacophonous environment? The answer is in the silence. Silence is golden – seek it, sink into it, and enjoy it. Learn to listen to your own thoughts with interest and respect.”

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15 Rules of Effective Practice

theinstrumenta — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 21:34:58 +0000

An old adage asks: “How do you get to Carnegie Hall?” “Practice, practice, practice.” While only a select few of our students will ever make it to Carnegie Hall, the key to success at any level is learning how to practice. Over summer I was working with a couple college music majors who return for coaching when the spring semester ends. We laughed when they would make a mistake, and then they repeated many of my favorite lines about practicing. It made me realize how many of the following phrases come up weekly in lessons with all of my students at all levels.
Identify the problem. An auto mechanic recently told me, “I can’t fix it if I don’t know what’s broken.” The first step in practicing to correct an issue is actually to identify the problem.
Isolate the issue. How many times have you heard a student make a mistake, immediately go back to the beginning, start again, and then make the same error? Repeatedly making the same mistake is practicing how to play it incorrectly. Focus on what needs to be fixed.
Start with your eyes, not your fingers. The majority of errors that students make are in translating the dots and lines into directions for their hands. Take time without the instrument to figure out what’s actually on the page.
Slow down. If you can’t play something slowly, you will never play it fast. You can always speed it up once you know it.
Remember the basics. Check the key signature. Carry accidentals through the measure. Identify the structure. Check the time signature. Count the rhythms out loud. Find the strong and weak beats. Lead to the downbeats. Subdivide.
Use a pencil. Professional musicians live with a pencil and mark their parts often, because if you keep making the same mistakes, you lose your position or don’t get hired back. If using a pencil works for professionals, students should do the same.
Distort the rhythm. When you struggle with a technical passage, alter the rhythm to give your brain and your fingers time to process the printed page in different ways. Turn groups of four sixteenth notes into dotted eighths and sixteenths. Reverse the pattern: play a sixteenth followed by a dotted eighth. Turn an eighth note and two sixteenths into a triplet (this one is great for voice leading), or reverse the pattern. Just a few minutes of distorted rhythms on an isolated problem can eliminate hours of unproductive woodshedding.
Distance is time. If your fingers are too far away, it takes longer to get to the keys. Keep them curled and close so they’re ready to react; this is especially important for pinkies. Avoid a teacup hand position.
Do not be afraid to experiment. Use alternate fingerings. Substitute trill fingerings in fast passages. Know your instrument. Find fingerings that work for both technique and intonation. Even if a fingering is not in the method book or fingering chart, if it works for you, use it.
Get beyond the notes and rhythms. Dynamics and phrasing on a wind instrument come from breath control. Practice playing the phrase without changing notes. Focus on deep inhalation and controlled exhaling.
How the notes start and end determines the style. Look up all the musical terms on the page (including any in the title) to know what style the composer intended. Read the articulations carefully. Alter the way you tongue based on the symbols and terms. The differences between staccato, legato, marcato, marcatissimo, and leggiero depend not just on how you begin a note, but how you end it.
If it sounds bad, it doesn’t matter how many notes you can play. Tone quality is of primary importance. If you cannot produce a good sound, no one cares how fast your fingers can move.
Do not let the mechanics get in the way of the music. Your audience does not see the printed page, and there are likely to be few, if any, people there who play your instrument. They don’t care about your reeds, that sticky pad or valve, the difficult key signature, the extreme range, how nervous you are, or why the composer wrote that terrible lick. Find ways to overcome the obstacles so you can focus on making music.
Let your ears be your teacher. Most students only have lessons once per week. The other six days, students must rely on their ears to identify and correct problems. The best way to tell how the audience will experience your performance is to record yourself and listen critically to whether what you hear is what you intended and whether the things you worked to convey are apparent.
Practicing is the only means to the goal. The objective is an artistic, musical experience. The techniques you use to improve your playing help you achieve your goal. The more time you spend diligently practicing – not just playing – the better the performance will be.

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Caring for Single-Reed Mouthpieces

theinstrumenta — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 21:28:16 +0000

The mouthpiece might be the most integral piece of clarinet or saxophone equipment. A carefully maintained mouthpiece can help a student develop at a faster rate, but a damaged mouthpiece can impede progress. In addition, do not underestimate the importance of playing on clean and sanitary equipment. Fortunately, keeping a mouthpiece in good working condition is simple for both teachers and students.

On the Instrument
A mouthpiece patch protects the beak of the mouthpiece from teeth marks, in addition to dampening vibrations that students may experience while playing. For many, use of a patch, whether thick or thin, also makes playing the instrument more comfortable. Although avoiding scratches or tooth indentations may not be a concern for individual students’ mouthpieces, it is important for larger mouthpieces on instruments owned by the school. A pronounced indentation from a previous student’s embouchure can lead future students to contort their embouchure to fit into that indentation, causing them to play in an uncomfortable position.
Students should also take great care when securing the ligature on the mouthpiece. Over time, an excessively tightened ligature can cause the mouthpiece facing to warp. This results in a stuffy feeling, and can hinder response, articulation, and reed friendliness.
As obvious as it may seem, a mouthpiece cap should be placed over the mouthpiece whenever an instrument is unused; this is especially important for students in marching band. A cap should be made from plastic or rubber, not metal, because on a metal cap, the ventilation holes punched into the top often have sharp bits on the inside. If the mouthpiece is stored loosely inside the cap while in the case, the jagged metal from these holes may scratch the delicate tip rail of the mouthpiece. Plastic or rubber caps have no such problem. In addition, a plastic or rubber cap is far less distracting if or when it falls out of someone’s pocket during a rehearsal – or worse, a performance.

After Playing
Once done playing, students should hold the window of the mouthpiece up to their lips, parallel to the floor, and blow through the mouthpiece to remove excess moisture from the chamber. In this position, the bore of the mouthpiece will point to their left or right. This prevents bacteria and mold from growing inside the mouthpiece.
Performers and instrument technicians have long debated whether swabbing the inside of a mouthpiece can change the dimensions of the chamber and bore. After careful consideration and discussion with several mouthpiece experts, I have concluded that a mouthpiece should only be swabbed with a silk swab furnished with a rubber-coated weight. The weighted end should be pushed through the bore and out the window of the mouthpiece. Be careful that the weighted end does not contact the tip rail or side rails. I prefer to pull the weighted end through at an angle, so the swab does not contact the tip rail.

In the Case
The mouthpiece should be stored so it does not move freely inside the case. Most cases have a dedicated slot or area for the mouthpiece to rest. The mouthpiece be stored with a cap, which should fit snugly over the mouthpiece. If the cap does not fit snugly by itself, then I recommend storing the ligature on the mouthpiece as well. Besides creating a secure fit for the cap that will protect the mouthpiece, this has the added benefit of ensuring the ligature maintains its shape. However, leaving a reed on the mouthpiece while not in use should be avoided; it is both unsanitary and can lead to a warped facing.

Cleaning
When cleaning the mouthpiece, it is best to avoid warm or hot water, as the temperature can cause the rubber to oxidize, resulting in an unsightly green color and a somewhat unpleasant odor. For regular cleanings, running cool water through the chamber and across the exterior will suffice, followed by a gentle drying with a soft cloth that will not scratch the mouthpiece. A cotton swab can be used to clean out any corners inside the chamber.

In addition, there are several commercial sterilizing sprays available with the intention of being used in a public school music classroom.
After several weeks or months of playing, calcium deposits may begin to form on the sides and beak of the mouthpiece. The easiest and safest way to remove these is to fill a small container with lemon juice and let the mouthpiece soak for approximately 10 minutes. As the mouthpiece soaks, the acidity of the lemon juice will soften the calcium deposits to the point where they can be removed with a soft cloth or rinsed off in the sink.

Conclusion
A damaged mouthpiece can be a hindrance to a musician of any level, while a well-kept mouthpiece can help students of all ages to grow and develop as artists. Although equipment is no substitute for diligent practicing, a pristine and sanitary mouthpiece can make practicing much more enjoyable.

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Keys to Successful Programming

theinstrumenta — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 21:23:32 +0000

When I started teaching in 1985, I had scant knowledge of young concert band literature except for the pieces I had played in junior high school, and even then I could barely remember the titles – Concord Overture, March for Tomorrow, Kensington Overture, and Olivia Newton John’s Greatest Hits were among the few I did. My new band room had a long built-in cabinet with drawers containing ancient, cobwebbed choral books with original melodies by Pope Gregory himself. However, on top of the cabinet were quite a few abandoned reel-to-reel and cassette tapes of past contest performances. Pleased that the previous director was not the sentimental type, I listened to every one of them, gleaning ideas on pieces my band might be able to play at contest the next spring. Along with those tapes, an Arkansas required music list, and advice from more experienced colleagues, I managed to piece together a program for that year.
Not to make it seem like we had it so bad in the old days, but putting together a program of any type these days is easier in many respects than it was 30 years ago. However, many aspects remain exactly the same, and you must understand these to be successful whatever the performance venue.

Know Your Band
Do student opinions matter? I mean, we’re the ones with degrees in music. What do they know? Actually, they know what they like, and that should matter a great deal if we want the best performances from them. That does not mean we should cater to their every musical whim; like a master salesman, one of our tasks is to expand their musical horizons so they not only appreciate, but also enjoy many different types of music. When we succeed, it can be an amazing thing. A couple of years ago I heard some of our choir students practicing a florid piece by Handel. What’s more, they were actually enjoying it. When I thought about the impoverished backgrounds of these kids, it almost brought tears to my eyes. Where else would they learn to like Handel but in a school music program?
Make sure you have the instrumentation for a proper performance. Determine as early as possible – even the previous year if possible – whether there are instrument switches that can be made and extra lessons that should be taught weeks or months ahead of time. You control this more than you think; there is no reason to be stuck with eleven saxophones and one trombone in your ensemble. Students enjoy learning new instruments, and switches are often an easy sell. However, be ready for a little wheeling and dealing if need be. I have promised players if they would play an instrument for a semester, I would never ask them to switch again. Often they like the new instrument so much they want to stick with it. If you get a jazz band program going, that can provide more versatility for switches, as students often have to learn a new instrument to make the instrumentation work for the jazz band.
Mix optimism with a good dose of reality when selecting pieces for contest. Choose music that exploits strengths and either hides weaknesses or challenges weaker sections in a reasonable way. A little group psychology may be in order. Some groups accept challenges, others do not. I am straightforward with different sections of the band, telling them exactly what they need to do help the whole group succeed. They do not want to let their friends down, so it is rarely a tough sell. I set up individual lessons and sectionals to address areas of concern.
Edit parts and provide easier rewrites for weaker players who struggle with technical passages. This is much better than not allowing them to play on large portions of the music.
Another consideration is the maturity of the group and whether it is capable of the concentration a particular piece requires. This is especially true of percussionists. If they would wreak havoc in the dark recesses of the rehearsal room if left alone, perform music that keeps them busy. If you have discipline problems regardless of the music you play, it may be wise to go with technically simpler music choices until you have matters under control. With fewer technical concerns, you will be able to focus more on fundamental but essential aspects of performing like tone, intonation, balance, and expression.

Know the Audience and Occasion
Concerts for parents. A colleague told me he once had a parent come up to him after a concert and say, “When you guys played Do Wah Diddy Diddy it just sent tingles up and down my spine.” Sadly, it’s unlikely that even First Suite in E-flat would have had the same effect, but it underscores the fact that people like what they know, particularly when their baby is playing it. I know this is musically sacrilegious, but every now and then I will have my jazz band pull out a piece in rehearsal and ask them to play the piece about as badly as they can while still keeping it together. We usually have a good laugh over this, and then I’ll ask how many of them thought their parents would still think it was wonderful if we played it like that. Most of them raise their hand; I suppose love overcomes a multitude of wrong notes. All jesting aside, give parents what they want: their kids playing something they can relate to. There are certainly concerts where you will perform contest literature, but avoid the temptation to make other concerts too high-brow. I’ve seen this over and over again at all-region and all-state concerts. Parents cannot relate to any of the music and wonder why they paid for their children’s instruments.
Awards concerts. I give most of our awards at a band banquet and save the more prestigious awards for the concert. This shortens the concert and deserving students avoid receiving only a slight smattering of applause because the audience is in a concert-induced coma. Consider having junior and senior high concerts on different nights or having the high school band perform first on a long night so the young players are there to see where you want them to be one day.
School concerts. Have a principal introduce you and set expectations for behavior. Your students deserve better than an inattentive, unruly audience. Instead of a concert setting, be creative. Go to the people. I’ve had ensembles play in the school cafeteria during lunch. This year, my jazz band played for the junior high movie club. We called the event “Jazz and a Movie.”

Know Proper Pacing
The pacing of most programs should be based on mood. I think the ideal concert program is upbeat in nature with a dash of slow. If I were aiming for that mood, I would choose music that fit the following categories:

1. An upbeat work on the shorter side.
2. A slow and emotional work.
3. Something rhythmic, such as a piece with a Latin American flavor.
4. A flowing and beautiful piece.
5. Something peppy, such as a march.
6. An upbeat movement of a solo feature.
7. Lighter fare, such as a pop selection.

Know Your Plan
Get the whole year’s concert music out as soon as possible, Preferably within a week after marching season ends. Lighter fare for later concerts can provide a break from contest and festival music. Do not spend too much time sightreading music to see what you like and your students can play. Listen to recordings online, and if you know your band, you can get things right the first time. For sightreading, use a sightreading book, such as The Sight-Reading Book for Band, Book 1. (Jerry West; Wingert-Jones Publications).

Know the Dangers
Parents are recording and posting on social media, which has added new meaning to the phrase “a concert only a mother could love.” Now the mothers can share the love all over the world.
With an immature group, think carefully before programming music that is slow from beginning to end. You may find your self with tuning and balance problems from start to finish.
Do not use concert music as your bands’ sole means of musical development, because it can leave some students behind, particularly tuba players and percussionists. Such materials as scale sheets, method books, private lessons, sectionals, and tone development sheets should be used consistently.
Know the school calendar and anticipate interruptions. Schedule emergency rehearsals closer to the event, so you have a back-up plan. I’ve often had an open rehearsal before a concert so parents can see how I work the pieces before we perform them.

Know How Judges Judge
Early in my career I would get hung up on not being given enough credit for the difficulty of a piece when judges determined the final rating. I soon realized, however, that it is impossible to objectively factor that into the scoring. A director should not expect a judge to give a pass on poor intonation or faulty technique just because a work is hard. Whatever you choose to do, you must do it well.
Some states have training sessions for judges. See if you can attend even if you are not experienced enough to judge.

Know the Literature
In some ways, this is more difficult than it was years ago, because there is so much more music to sift through to find high-quality music for your band. Of course, the reliable ways of using state required music lists and recommendations from colleagues is still viable, but now you can view scores online and listen to recordings any time. Facebook pages for band directors are great sources, but use the search function first so you don’t annoy members with requests that have already been posted on the page a dozen times.

A Select List for Young Bands
In past issues I suggested music lists of Halloween selections (September 2017) and novelty tunes (May 2016). Here are some of my favorite grades 1-3 pieces, spanning over thirty years, sorted by composer. It is in no way exhaustive.

Brian Balmages: Colliding Visions (1), Falcon Fanfare (1), Spirit of the Stallion (1), Jungle Dance (2), March Diabolique (2), Among the Clouds (3).
Andrew Boysen: Unraveling (3). This is one of the most exciting pieces for this grade level.
Timothy Broege: Sinfonia Six (3). This is a golden oldie by a composer who thrives on creating interesting tonal colors.
Jack Bullock: Variants (3). I fell in love with this oldie the first time I heard it.
Matt Conaway: Factory Riffs (2).
Elliot Del Borgo: Modal Song and Dance (1), Festive Scenario (2). If you are looking for something with a sound that contrasts with other pieces, his works fit the bill.
John Edmondson: Command March (1). This is my favorite easy march. His Winchester March (1) ranks up there as well.
Henry Fillmore marches arranged by Andrew Balent: His Honor (2), Americans We (2).
Rob Grice: Zeal (1).
Brant Karrick: Cumberland Falls Overture (3), Spy Chase (3)
Bob Margolis: The Two-Minute Symphony (1)
David Shaffer: Excellentia (2), Fire Dance (2), Last Ride of the Pony Express (2), Noble Heritage (march, 2)
Claude T. Smith: A Thousand Hills Overture (2), God of Our Fathers (3).
Robert W. Smith: The Tempest (1). Don’t hand this one out unless you are ready to hear kids play it over and over again to the exclusion of everything else. They love it.
Jared Spears: Adventures (1), Thunder Mountain Overture (1). His percussion ensembles are good as well.
Randall Standridge: Snake Charmer (3).
Hugh Stuart: Three Ayres from Gloucester (3). You will need a good horn section for the second movement.
James Swearingen: Denbridge Way (2), Northpointe Fantasy (2).
Frank Ticheli: Cajun Folk Songs I (3), Fortress (3).

Other good programming possibilities include performing easy arrangements of classic works. I like Palladio, Mvt. 1 by Karl Jenkins, Bolero by Maurice Ravel, arranged by Jay Bocook), Ye Braes and Banks of Bonnie Doon by Percy Grainger, arranged by Michael Sweeney, Salvation is Created arranged by Michael Brown, and Shepherd’s Hey by Percy Grainger, arranged by Chip De Stefano.
Solo features are another great way to add variety to a concert. I sometimes divide up a work by phrases and feature two players.
Consider a commission project. Prices can vary greatly, but you can find a reasonable price if you seek out an up-and-coming composer, because in some ways they need you as much as you need them. Either way, have a specific idea of what you want so you don’t get stuck with a cookie-cutter piece the composer was going to write anyway. For more expensive composers, contact them as soon as possible and schedule some fundraisers so everyone to perform the piece contributes toward the project.

Conclusion
Selecting music that is appropriate for all audiences and shows your band in its best light takes more than just a cursory look through the band library and the latest publisher recordings. With thorough planning and foresight, your program will give even the toughest critics a tingle up and down their spine when they hear it.

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Maintaining Good Shoulder Health: A Guide for Conductors

theinstrumenta — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 20:30:51 +0000

A recent survey of 700 band directors from all levels of expertise revealed that 65% of band directors experience problems with pain in their shoulders.¹ Of those who experience pain, 74% feel this pain while they conduct or directly thereafter. This is in stark contrast to the fact that only around 24% of adults experience shoulder pain as a whole.² There appears to be at least some correlation between conducting and shoulder pain. Although conducting may not initiate the pain, it can exacerbate existing pain, keeping the shoulder from properly healing. This being the case, it is important for conductors to prepare their bodies to handle the work necessary to be successful and healthy on and off the podium.
Before going into detail on how to promote good shoulder health, it is necessary to make sure conducting technique supports good shoulder health. Below is a checklist to help assess if your conducting technique might be contributing to your shoulder pain.

1. The right hand should hold and support the baton without gripping or squeezing too tightly.
2. The wrist should move up and down, side to side, and in clockwise and counterclockwise circles freely without feeling torque or excess tension anywhere in the arm or hand.
3. The tip of the baton should lead the movement and use the most space. If after video recording yourself you see that the tip moves less than the arm, you are initiating your movement in the arm instead of the baton.
4. When conducting, you should not feel excess tension in the muscles in your arm and upper body. Let go of that impulse and trust your body to move without that excess tension, movement, and work.
5. The beat pattern is primarily at the tip of the baton, not in the joints of the arm. You will overuse your arm if it is overly invested in making the pattern.
6. Keep your conducting plane close to the middle of your torso, generally around navel height. The higher the plane, the more it can hurt your shoulders.
7. Trust your ensemble. How much do you feel you need to show your players in order for them to be successful? Do you find yourself overworked after a rehearsal or performance? If so, you may be doing the work for them instead of guiding them through their work. It is the players’ responsibility to maintain the beat and play at a steady tempo.

If this checklist reveals technical problems, work to improve technique while seeking additional methods to alleviate shoulder pain. Even if you do not currently experience pain, addressing these areas could keep you from experiencing pain in the future.
Although improving overall conducting technique can help alleviate shoulder pain, it may not eliminate all existing pain. If you are experiencing significant shoulder pain it is best to see a doctor or physical/occupational therapist as soon as you can to help create a strategy to improve your shoulder. You can certainly try the stretches and exercises detailed in this article now, but if you feel it is exacerbating your pain, stop immediately and see a doctor. The pain will only get worse if nothing is done to improve it. Once you have a strategy in place and experience better shoulder mobility and reduced pain, try these stretches and exercises to promote the continued good health of your shoulder.
If you experience only mild to no pain or discomfort, you can try these now and make them a regular part of your physical warmup. It is important to note that these exercises are not solely for those who are experiencing pain; they help promote shoulder health in all conductors and thus can help strengthen and stretch shoulders to keep pain at bay. If you feel perfectly healthy, these stretches and exercises will help you maintain that state of healthiness.
These particular stretches and exercises focus on the full shoulder (or pectoral) girdle and use specific shoulder movements common in conducting (see previous page and above for diagrams). Using varied shoulder movements, including all the muscles that support shoulder movement, creates balance necessary for good shoulder support. These stretches and exercises are not the only ones you can do; however, when done together, they support the entire shoulder girdle.

Shoulder Stretches

The twelve figures to the right are a series of stretches for the upper body, neck, and arms. These are a great starting point to alleviating stress caused by repetitive upper body movement. Do these in the morning and at night.
The following more intensive stretches also support the muscles involved in conducting movement.7 It is best to begin these stretches only if it is comfortable for you to complete the twelve stretches on the previous page.

Scapular Retractions. Draw the shoulder blades back and down, holding for one second each time. Repeat ten times.

Wall Push-Ups. Place your arms out in front of you with the elbows straight, and stand so that your hands just reach a wall. Bend the elbows slowly to bring the chest closer to the wall. Keep feet planted on the ground the entire time. Repeat ten times, holding the position with the chest closest to the wall for one second each time.

Serratus Wall Slide. Place your forearms and hands along a wall, pointing toward the ceiling, with the upper arm roughly parallel to the floor. Move the shoulder blades away from the spine and then slide the arms up the wall. Hold for one second, then return to the original position. Repeat ten times.

Prone W. Lying face down with the elbows bend and palms facing down, slowly raise the arms toward the ceiling while squeezing the shoulder blades downward and toward the spine. Repeat five times, holding for one second each time.

Pectoral Stretch with Arm Raised at 90°. Stand at a corner or doorway. Place the front of the shoulder and entire arm onto the wall. Slowly turn your body away from the wall until you feel a gentle stretch in the front of the shoulder and chest. Repeat ten times, holding for five seconds each time.

Supine Pectoralis Stretch (Snow Angels). Lie on your back with a foam roller or stack of pillows aligned under the spine. Point your arms at a 90-degree angle to your torso and let them lower to the floor, if possible. Hold this position for 30 seconds before bringing the arms above the head, while keeping them touching the floor. Hold this position for another 30 seconds, then return the arms to the original 90-degree angle. Do this exercise in two sets of five repeats each, with a short break in between.

Principles for Weight Training
When starting any weight training program, keep the following steps in mind to prevent injuries.8

• Follow a pre-exercise stretching routine, such as the one previously diagrammed.
• Do warm-up sets for each weight exercise.
• Avoid overload and maximum lifts.
• Do not work through pain in the shoulder joint.
• Stretch as cool-down at end of exercise.
• Avoid excessive frequency; get adequate rest and recovery between sessions.
• Never do exercises with a barbell or dumbbell behind the head and neck. For shoulder safety when working with weights, you must always be able to see your hands if you are looking straight ahead.

The best way to strengthen the body is through progressive resistance exercise. Here are principles of progressive resistance exercise (PRE) to follow.8

• To build muscle strength and size, the amount of resistance used must be gradually increased.
• The exercises should be specific to the target muscles.
• The amount of resistance should be measurable and gradually increased over a longer period of time.
• To avoid excess overload and injury, the weight or resistance must be gradually increased in increments of 5-10%.
• Resistance can be increased gradually every 10-14 days when following a regular and consistent program.
• Adequate rest and muscle recovery between workouts is necessary to maximize the benefit of the exercise.
• Use common sense. If the PRE principle is followed too strictly, the weights potentially will go higher and higher. At a certain point, the joints and muscles will become overloaded and injury will occur. This eventuality can be avoided by refraining from using excessive weight during strength training.

Getting Started
At the end of this section is a series of seven exercises that strengthen muscles involved in movement specific to conducting.⁷

• Start with three sets of 15-20 repetitions. Training with high-repetition sets ensures that the weights that you are using are not too heavy.
• To avoid injury, performing any weight training exercise to the point of muscle failure is not recommended. Muscle failure occurs when the muscle is no longer able to provide the energy necessary to contract and move the joint(s) involved in a particular weight training exercise. Joint, muscle, and tendon injuries are more likely to occur during muscle failure.
• Build up resistance and repetitions gradually.
• Perform exercises slowly, avoiding quick direction change.
• Work on strength building two to three times per week.
• Be consistent and regular with the exercise schedule.

Shoulder Flexion. Start with your arms down by your side. While holding a free weight with your palm facing your side and your elbows straight, raise one arm forward until it is parallel to the floor, then return to the starting position. Repeat ten times for each arm. This exercise can also be performed with both arms at once.

Bilateral Scaption. Hold a free weight in each hand, then raise them both up and away from your sides. The elbows should remain straight, and the movement should occur in the plane of the shoulder blades (no more than about 45° to the side). Do not shrug the shoulders. Repeat ten times.

Chest Press. Lie on your back with your elbows bent. Slowly raise the arms while straightening the elbows. Repeat ten times.

External Rotation. Lie on your side and with the arm on top, hold a weight while the elbow is bent at 90 degrees and rested on your side. While keeping the elbow bent, draw up the arm toward the ceiling. Repeat ten times, then switch sides and do ten with the other arm.

Internal Rotation. Lie on your side and with the arm on the bottom, hold a weight while the elbow is bent at 90 degrees and rested on your side. While keeping the elbow bent, draw up the arm toward the ceiling. Repeat ten times, then switch sides and do ten with the other arm. This exercise might be easier of you are rolled slightly toward your back; this takes pressure off of the shoulder.

Shoulder Abduction/Scapular Retraction. Lie face down with an arm dangling toward the floor and the elbow straight. Retract the scapula toward the spine and downward. Slowly raise the arm, keeping the elbow straight. The palm should be facing down as the arm raises. Repeat ten times per side.

Prone Extension. Lying face down with arms dangling and elbows straight, slowly raise the arms toward the hips while keeping the elbows close to the body. Repeat ten times per arm.

Conclusion
These stretches and strengthening exercises are not the only exercises one can do to promote good shoulder health; however, when done consistently in conjunction with sound conducting technique, they can fend off shoulder injuries and are beneficial for anyone. Everyone knows the important of warmups for instrumentalists, and a director would be foolish to start a rehearsal without making sure students are properly warmed up. Nonetheless, it is easy to forget how important a physical warmup is to a conductor’s body. Take a few minutes before the day’s first rehearsal to at least stretch. After rehearsals are done, stretch again. Making a little time for this every day can keep the shoulder doctor away.

References
¹ An informal poll here of band directors and shoulder pain. Could you answer below according to your experience? (Facebook status posted on June 28, 2018 by C. Snyder in Band Directors closed group). Retrieved from
² Shoulder Pain by R.J. Murphy and A.J. Carr (published online at BMJ Clinical Evidence, July 22, 2010).
³ Public domain illustration by LadyofHats (Mariana Ruiz Villarreal). Retrieved from
⁴ Anatomy and Physiology. (Rice University, OpenStax College). Retrieved from
⁵
⁶ Hands, Arms & Shoulder Stretches (Mindful Wellness Massage and Bodywork). Retrieved from
⁷ Exercise and stretches compiled by Christine Philip, OT/L (Home Exercise Program, HEP2go, Inc.). Retrieved from
⁸ Strength Training for the Shoulder (Massachusetts General Hospital. Retrieved from

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My Band Got a II at Contest and That is Excellent

theinstrumenta — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 20:02:50 +0000

After enduring my first year of teaching in 2011, I was excited to take on year two. No longer just trying to survive, I approached the year with determination and a concrete plan. One component of that plan was to take band students to a large group contest for the first time in over a decade. After agreeing to host a contest and preparing my groups, I was anxious to receive outside feedback. We performed a Karl King march and Petite Symphony by Brian Balmages, and I felt the ensemble represented itself well. There were some missed entrances and poor intonation here and there, but their overall performance went as anticipated. Next was the clinic section, and once again the students responded well. As the contest organizer, I didn’t see our results until later: 37, 32, and 34. In Minnesota that amounts to a I, II, and II (one point away from a I), meaning we were one point out of 40 from getting an overall score of I. I was shocked. We had performed well and progressed greatly but, I could never in good conscience accept a I for our performance.
Some directors might be disheartened to receive a II at contest, and some of my students were, too. As we debriefed from the experience, we listened to judge comments and reflected on the entire process. One student raised a hand and expressed what many were thinking, “Why didn’t we get a I?” I told them that of course a I was our target, but asked if they had learned anything from watching so many bands yesterday and hearing the judge and clinician comments. Most timidly nodded, and then I asked if they knew what the II meant. In Minnesota, a II represents an Excellent rating and a I means Superior. I asked them, based on the comments we received and the other bands they heard, if they thought we deserved a superior. Some begrudgingly shook their heads, and then one said, “Maybe not, but I think we did good!” I replied, “You did better than that, you were excellent.”
If my group received a I at contest, our efforts would have been undercut. We improved over the past two years but were far from our destination. We took pride in our performances, and the program’s culture improved steadily. We felt we were beginning to achieve great things and could create something beautiful if we kept going. While I emphasized that the focus of this contest was on the comments from clinicians rather than a single rating, many would have taken a I rating as a clear indication that the band had reached its destination. That feeling would have diminished our attempts to push the ensemble further. This experience, many others since, and conversations with many wonderful colleagues has led me to one question: What can be done to enhance the large group contest experience and maximize the educational and musical benefits associated with it?
Contest reform is a complicated and hotly debated topic. While there is no consensus on fixing the process, many agree that reforms are needed. The focus on scores has eclipsed many of the educational merits of contests. How many directors prioritize the rating above the comments and critiques received at contest? How many bands perform Grade 5 literature and then implode sightreading a Grade 2 or 3 because they have been rehearsing the Grade 5 music for months? The chance to learn from expert adjudicators, observe other bands in performance, and perform for them in turn has devolved into an event more suited for a an athletic arena than the concert hall.
I do not have a silver bullet to fix contests but hope to promote a discussion that will someday elevate contests to the artistic and educational experience that our students deserve. Any conversation of reform should begin with a discussion of the desired outcomes of large group music contest.

Expert Evaluation and Feedback
Arguably the most significant goal of contests is to receive expert evaluation and feedback. A successful clinician will identify and emphasize concepts introduced by the instructor throughout the year and perhaps present them to the ensemble in a novel way. Furthermore, the clinician may identify areas for improvement that have eluded the director or had perhaps been avoided to devote time to other priorities. The comments and feedback are equally beneficial to the students and the director. By reviewing adjudicator comments over several years, a director can identify priorities, strengths, and areas for growth. In some ways, the evaluations comment on the musicianship of the director as much as the students.

Choosing Appropriate Literature
There is no shortage of articles, dissertations, and books on music selection. Still, nestled safely within the comforts of our home auditoriums, performing for friendly audiences, some directors eschew this responsibility. Absent a fine arts supervisor or a veteran colleague from a nearby school, a director is often the only person qualified to assess repertoire. Contests add an element of peer review that encourages directors to select more educationally sound literature at the appropriate level of difficulty. While a band might muddle through a subpar performance of a Grade 5 work at home, ensembles face a higher standard at contests.

Watching Other Bands
Most students do not hear other bands very often. There are plenty of excellent recordings, but seeing a performance live is special. At contests, students can hear several area groups perform. It is one thing to hear the Dallas Winds perform Blue Shades and quite another for students to see peers performing it. The experience can open eyes to what is possible in their ensemble.

Performance Opportunity
One frequently overlooked benefit of contests is having another chance to perform. As artists, our students work all school year to create beautiful sounds in harmony with classmates. For most schools, that equates to roughly 180 instructional class periods, plus hours at home polishing their craft. With so much time and energy devoted to making music, no opportunity to share music with others should be wasted.

Maximizing the Educational Value of Contests
With the goals listed above, what can be done to maximize the educational benefits of large group contest? What follows is an attempt to identify the challenges present within many contests across the United States along with some best practices observed from many outstanding colleagues and other suggestions to begin the discussion.

Rating Inflation
Not every band should receive a I. A II at contest is not only okay but considered excellent in many states. If our profession desires credibility in the educational community, it must acknowledge that rampant rating inflation is not in the educational best interests of our students. For any assessment to have validity, it must be honest and authentic. Without such assessment a primary contest goal is undercut straight out of the gate. Several factors have contributed to rating inflation. The first is an excessive focus on the number, which is often influenced by external pressure from administrators and parents. These factors build pressure on adjudicators to confer more top ratings. Consciously or unconsciously, adjudicators have learned that giving Is gets them hired back and giving too many IIs will get them labeled as a hard judge who doesn’t understand the local realities.
One remedy for rating inflation is a random audit of the Is awarded at each contest. Provided that each ensemble’s performance is recorded, each site coordinator randomly selects one of the performances that received a I rating. That recording goes to a statewide adjudication committee that blindly rates the ensemble. If the raters agree with the rating, nothing further needs to happen. If, however, the raters determine that the performance did not merit a I, a letter would be sent to the site coordinator and the judges encouraging them to recalibrate their expectations for each level.

Process over Outcome, Comments over Scores
As directors we can frame how students view the contest experience. At schools that consistently achieve excellent performances and high ratings, you rarely hear discussion about scores and ratings. These programs have embraced the philosophy that if you implement a sound pedagogical approach, the scores take care of themselves. Furthermore, most aren’t concerned with scores. They are there to receive expert comments that can help students progress as musicians. Creating an atmosphere that stresses process over product takes time. Students, families, and administrators lack the musical understanding to perceive incremental growth from one performance to another. This is one reason they cling so tightly to numeric scores. They may not understand balance, blend, and intonation, but they know what a I means.
Although some directors make the mistake of skipping this step, it is essential to share the adjudicator comments with students. Some contest are set up so the ensemble may receive twenty minutes to perform followed by a ten-minute clinic from an adjudicator. This approach allows students to hear comments directly from an expert and even implement their suggestions immediately. How many times has a clinician worked with your band, made a comment that mirrors what you have said a hundred times during the year, and inspired the band to a sudden breakthrough? Time with the adjudicator should be exactly that – a chance to emphasize concepts that have been covered and identify a few new ideas to focus on for the rest of the year.
Time constraints do not always allow for this kind of clinic, but playing back the judges’ recorded comments can accomplish many of the same goals. If we do not share the comments from contest with our students, we eliminate one of the primary purposes of the event. Furthermore, as directors, it can be helpful to create an executive summary of sorts for each ensemble, listing key points mentioned by adjudicators. Keep the summaries from year to year and then compare them. Are certain comments mentioned consistently? These can be great indicators of areas for improvement. A fresh set of ears might identify parts of our ensemble that we have become deaf to over time. Similarly, it can be helpful to recognize recurring compliments that show the strengths of your ensembles.
Even after shifting the focus from product to process, administrators and families likely will not have the ability to hear the musical improvements. If we seek authentic evaluations at contest, ratings will go down. If 80% of the bands at contest receive I ratings, we are not being honest. If more honest assessments do reduce scores, how can we explain to constituents that a II is still an excellent rating? Some other fine arts disciplines have removed the number system altogether. Many contests have a rating system similar to the one below, or it in inversion.

I – Superior
II – Excellent
III – Good
IV – Fair
V – Poor

In most contests, each numerical rating is accompanied by a descriptor. While it may be difficult convince an administrator that a II is a good rating, a performance described as excellent is something they can be proud of and understand. By eliminating the numerical rating and embracing the descriptors we can adapt to the drop in ratings as programs adjust to more accurate ratings.

Adjudicator Training
Rating inflation is closely tied to adjudicator training. As with music education, merely being a good musician is not enough. Excelling as a musician and excelling as an adjudicator, while complementary, are separate skills that must be learned, practiced, and maintained. Many state organizations provide helpful materials and guidelines for adjudicators. Some key points highlighted in the handbook created by the Missouri State High School Activities Association and directed toward adjudicators include:

• Music festivals are for the students. Address remarks to the performers
• Music festivals must be an educational experience. Performers should benefit from your musical expertise. Your comments should help them build, refine, and grow as musicians.
• The rating must be secondary. If you were to remove the check marks and ratings from the form, what is left for the performers? You have been hired for your educational expertise and largely for the comments you provide.
• Be warm, Be friendly, Be fair and understanding. All participants will be nervous in the performance center. Attempt to alleviate this stress.
• Use the Three C’s Approach – Compliment, Criticize, and provide a Course for Improvement.
• Assume every performer is presenting their best efforts, return that in kind.¹

The National Federation of State High School Associations recently created an interactive online course “designed to provide an overview of music adjudication and the best practices for many adjudicating situations.”² The course, titled Introduction to Music Adjudication, is free to all music educators following a short registration.
One resource that would improve adjudicator training is a set of reference recordings of a prominent work performed at each rating level. The recordings would assist judges in establishing a consistent level of what a performance at each rating should be. For example, a judge could be given five recordings of Gustav Holst’s Suite in Eb. One recording would be at a level considered a I: Superior, another at a II{ Excellent, III: Good, and so on. The ratings for these recordings could be established through a representative committee to create a unified consensus of what each rating represents. Such recordings could unify ratings across the country, providing consistency from state to state.

Encourage Students to Watch Other Bands
While the ensembles on stage at music contest might not be professional ones, students can learn plenty through observing their performances. Some directors provide students with rubrics or rating sheets similar to the ones used by the judges to promote active listening. This approach encourages students to listen critically to the ensemble on stage and stresses concepts that they will be evaluated on later in the day. These sheets can lead to fruitful classroom discussions about the strengths and weaknesses of other groups and how they relate to the strengths and weaknesses their ensemble.
For many schools, the largest obstacles to the strategies above are scheduling and busing. For some districts it might not be possible to keep students from other classes any longer than necessary. However, armed with the information about the value of watching performances, your administration may be more receptive to allowing students to stay and observe than assumed. As the saying goes, the worst they can say is no.

Contest Ratings as Teacher Evaluation
There is a growing trend in music education in the United States for incorporating contest ratings into teacher evaluation systems. In the absence of standardized testing for music ensembles, many administrators use contest ratings as a third-party evaluation of teacher effectiveness. Such decisions exacerbate the already substantial emphasis on contest scores. Furthermore, rater reliability and consistency in most regions is not high enough to give this method of evaluation credibility. A 1993 study in the International Journal of Music Education found that ratings were significantly influenced by adjudicator training and familiarity of the repertoire being performed.³ Other studies found ratings to be influenced by the length of the contest day,⁴ performance order,⁵ labels such as concert band or wind ensemble,⁶ and even conductor expressivity.⁷
By incorporating effective adjudicator training and other recommendations listed above, our profession can improve the accuracy of large group contest ratings, but the rating is only one snapshot of a moment in time. If one desires to place more weight on contest ratings as a measure of teacher effectiveness, then one strategy would be to assess the long-term trends by considering at least two years of data, and ideally as many as five years.

Conclusion
The potential educational benefits of large group music contests are vast. Contests provide an opportunity for our students to be heard and receive comments from expert music educators. They remind directors of the immense importance of repertoire selection for our ensembles and provide expert feedback for directors in the form of recurring comments from year to year. Our students are exposed to performances by schools from the surrounding area, which helps develop their critical listening skills and demonstrates to them all that is possible for their ensemble. As our contests around the country stand, several obstacles of varying origin and complexity are infringing on these outcomes, but there are ways to improve the educational value of large group contest for your students, transforming the experience into the educational and musically fulfilling event that our students deserve.

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Notes
¹ Adjudicator Instructional Booklet for the Missouri State High School Activities Association ().
² Introduction to Music Adjudication by the National Federation of State High Schools Association ().
³ “Music performance assessment: A study of the effects of training and experience on the criteria used by music examiners” by N. Winter (International Journal of Music Education, No. 22, 34-39).
⁴ “Practices and procedures in state adjudicated orchestra festivals” by G.V. Barnes and R. McCashin (Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, No. 23 Vol. 2, 34-41).
⁵ “The Queen Elisabeth musical competition: How fair is the final ranking?” by R.G. Flores and V.A. Ginsburgh (Statistician, No. 45 Vol. 1, 97-104).
⁶ “The effects of band labels on evaluators’ judgments of musical performance” by B.A. Silvey (Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, No. 28 Vol. 1, 47-52).
⁷ “The effect of conductor expressivity on ensemble performance evaluation” by S.J. Morrison, H.E. Price, C.G. Geiger, and R.A. Cornacchio (Journal of Research in Music Education, No. 57, 37-49).

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Motivation & Leadership An Interview with Jessica Fain

theinstrumenta — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 19:26:11 +0000

Jessica Fain is in her tenth year as the band director at Tioga Junior High School in Ball, Louisiana where she teachers seventh and eighth grade band students. The 2018 Bandmaster of the Year for the Louisiana Bandmasters Association, Fain is an expert on motivation and has also set up a team teaching program with high school director Ty Lege. At the high school, Fain’s primary role is as percussion instructor, and she also assists with after-school marching band rehearsals, football games, and competitions. She has been mentoring student teachers since her third year of teaching and notes that what new teachers need to be reminded of most often is “It’s going to be okay. It will be okay, and every day is a new day. This is especially something junior high teachers need to hear. We all make mistakes, but junior high students forget such things quickly. Tomorrow is a new day with chances to be better.”

How do you develop a good rapport with students?
My high school band director used to tell me, “The scary thing about you is you could lead a group of people to do something and you don’t even realize you can do it.” I didn’t believe this until I became an educator. I am a high-spirited, high-energy person, which most junior high kids relate to. Even on days when I come to school exhausted, I tell myself, “Jess, you have to turn it on.” If you are exhausted, students will react to that. I want them to have the same high energy level I do, even at 7:15 a.m.
You have to be able to read the students. I am a high-energy teacher, but there are some classes that do not respond to that, and I have to take a more subdued approach to avoid intimidating quieter students. You also cannot mimic someone else’s personality in the classroom. You have to go in and do what works for you.
Getting to know your students is also important. Although I start every rehearsal by saying good morning to the students, on Monday, this time is expanded, and I ask students to share something cool about their weekends. As the year progresses, students begin to share more or join in for the first time. If I forget Monday Musings, students are quick to remind me.
It is essential to find time for fun. For our football games, I teach students fun chants and do the chants with them. This develops spirit and pride for the organization. We also have an annual Halloween concert that is standing room only, and for our Christmas parade, sections decorate their instruments and themselves to see who can have the best decorated section.

photos by Michael Mixon

What are the best ways get junior high students excited about the music program?
Give students a sense of ownership over what they are doing. I see the buy-in happen when students feel like they have a say in the program. This can be as little as choosing their morning sectional time. My eighth graders take on leadership roles, including running before-school sectionals. These are not mandatory; students can choose whether to attend, and almost every student comes at some point. Junior high students are a lot more intimidated of their teachers than they are of their peers. The morning sectionals have helped students bond with each other. This is also important. Children want to feel connected to something.
At my school we have an activity elective class scheduled at the end of the day. Students can choose from a wide number of options, including P90X and basket weaving. All of my eighth graders chose to be with me, and I split this time between chamber music and leadership training. I teach that the most important part of being a leader is to be a servant, not a dictator. I use myself as an example. As a band director, I am serving the program by helping guide them on the path to success. Likewise, when eighth graders run sectionals, they are not there to tell younger students what to do, they are there to guide them on their path to become a better musician. It pays dividends when I hear them quote me during sectionals. I am pretty nitpicky, and they emulate that when they say something like, “No, you have to play all the way to the end of that note.” Teachers don’t realize how much adolescents pay attention.
Another key to getting students invested is to teach them the rewards that come from hard work. I think students at this age level are often rewarded too much, but I want them to know that in band hard work pays off, and I want to motivate them to have an internal drive to improve. Teaching at a school with only two grades means I have a high rate of turnover. When seventh graders arrive, the aim is to develop that internal drive. Once they have it, they are invested in the band because they have pride in the program.
One example of how I teach this is in testing. I warn students that is difficult to earn a 100 on one of my playing tests, and I stick to this. I believe that if you tell students it will be difficult to earn a 100, you have to maintain exacting standards. If it becomes easy to get a 100, then I am just accepting mediocrity. I don’t want students to be mediocre.
Students receive a copy of my assessment rubric before they take a test, so they know how they will be assessed. Some non-negotiables are always part of the assessment. These include good posture, supporting their sound with air, and correct articulations – all the common things we expect of student musicians. Other elements relevant to each test are also added. Each part of the rubric is ranked on a five-point scale. For students to earn a perfect score, everything on the rubric must be done to the highest level.
It is rare for any student to earn a 100% on a playing test, but those who do get into the 100 Club. Their names are announced over the intercom at school, and I put that student’s name on a star on the window in my office. The star stays up for a week, and then students get to take it down and keep it.

What are some of your other motivational tools?
When I first saw the band room at Tioga Junior High School, I noticed a plaque labeled “60 Second Scale Challenge” that had no names engraved on it. From talking with past band directors, I discovered that the goal was for students to play all twelve major scales plus a Bb chromatic in 60 seconds or less. I started encouraging my students that they could work up to this by telling them how great it would feel to know your name will be on a wall years after you have graduated. Eighth graders are required to know all twelve major scales anyway.
At the end of the year, I give students a window during which they could pass off the challenge. One particularly competitive eighth grade class had 18 people get their names on the plaque. Although I only require seventh graders to learn seven major scales, I had one seventh grader work ahead and pass the challenge. I have three filled plaques now. It has been a huge success, and I find most of the students who can pass the challenge end up as first chair in high school and are more likely to make the All-State Band.
Another student reward is the golden stand, an idea I took from a band directors page on Facebook. I spray painted two music stands gold, and when a student plays well on an assessment, improves drastically, or does something above and beyond for me, such as clean the room or set everything up, that student is awarded the golden stand for a week. At first I didn’t think it would be a big deal, but I started seeing students work had for it. Every week, someone asks when I am going to announce golden stands for the next week.
I like using Kagan strategies because they give students an opportunity to teach and praise one another. One good example is called shoulder partners, for which I say, “Turn to your shoulder neighbor and ask what the name of that note and the fingering are, and when you’re done high five them and tell them ‘great job.’” This works for many things, and not just when students are seated. When we stand for breathing exercises, I have students find a partner in a different section.
When a student does something well in my classroom, I’ll say, “Two claps for success.” Not only am I having students praise a peer, but they also have to do it rhythmically. I say, “Ready, and,” and students have to give the two claps in the tempo I give them. Students receive praise and get extra practice counting in time instead of waiting for me to give feedback to everyone.
I hand out free test tickets to students who do something extra for me. At the end of each rehearsal I tell students to push down their stands and push them up against the chair in front of them. If a student picks up trash off the floor or takes some of the pencils I keep clipped to each stand to be sharpened, I might slip them a free test ticket. I also do this if I catch them being good citizens outside the classroom. Students can use a free test ticket for anything but a chair test. They still have to play the exam so I can hear and assess them, but they get an automatic 100. Interestingly, few students ever turn them in. They have pride about knowing how they did.
I give out an occasional Most Outstanding Section award. The qualifiers and timing vary. I recently honored a section in which every member has attended sectionals five days a week since the third week of school. They come in voluntarily every morning and get to work, so they were recognized for exceeding even my expectations. I have also calculated everyone’s grade mid-quarter and given it to the section with the highest average grade. The award can even go to a section that has improved the most over a period of time. I try to award it weekly, but sometimes the award is only given every two or three weeks.
Every nine weeks our school holds a pep rally to celebrate students’ academic successes. I make sure band students are recognized during these, and will take advantage of these opportunities to announce students in the 100 Club, winners of the golden stand, and outstanding section awards.

What do non-percussionists need to know about percussion?
Some people believe that a percussionist should be stronger on either battery or melodic percussion, but I believe a good percussionist is a well-rounded one. Thus, I put heavy emphasis on both battery and melodic instruments.
I am fortunate to have a percussion class separate from the rest of the band. While seventh graders work on mallet percussion, eighth graders practice battery percussion. We switch halfway through class. I pop into both rooms, but I spend most of my time with my seventh graders. On battery percussion, students need to learn the basic rudiments required for honor band auditions, as well as techniques relevant to the music they’re going to be performing in my ensembles. The same goes for mallets. Students should know their scales and play with proper technique. When I teach at the high school, I build on what I taught them at the junior high, with the goal of developing the to the point at which they would be comfortable playing at the collegiate level if they choose to.
The other key is to treat percussionists the same as the wind players. They should have the exact same standards for everything, including breathing. I teach my percussionists that when the band breathes, they should breathe. Breath is a preparation for everyone to enter together.
If the band is playing a warmup exercise, directors might leave percussionists out entirely or give them the flute part, which is frequently of little benefit. Percussionists should be given something applicable to their instrument. While the band is playing a warmup, have the percussionists on practice pads or a mallet instrument playing different sticking exercises. This is something applicable that will benefit them long term. Percussionists get left alone in the back of the room a lot, but you want them to feel like a part of the band and be occupied at all times, which eliminates behavior problems back there.
Seek out composers who write well for percussion. Randall Standridge is one of my favorites. He is a percussionist, and he taught my cousin back in high school. David Shaffer and Michael Sweeney are also favorites. They write good percussion parts in their music. We are working on Sweeney’s Ancient Voices this fall.
I also put a heavy emphasis on percussion ensemble. The percussion ensemble literature out there now is perfect for giving students an opportunity to work on things that hone in on their skills. I combine my junior high and high school percussionists for a percussion ensemble concert. Each group performs separately, and then the junior high and high school students combine to play something together.

How do you build community support for the program?
What I learned is that you have to establish yourself in the community. The community has always supported the band program, but once people knew that I was in it for the students, I started to see a big turnaround. Traveling around the community helps. We perform at all the elementary schools every year at Christmas and at the end of the school year. In addition, any time I was asked to play at a local event, I said yes. We have performed at Walmart, local nursing homes, and Mardi Gras. That willingness to perform at community events has contributed to the large attendance at concerts.
Although the primary purpose is community involvement and service, the willingness to bring students to perform has also boosted the program at the beginning level. When I go to the elementary schools, students tell me they can’t wait to be in band. When they get to junior high and I ask what made them want to be in band, many students mention these elementary school concerts.

Describe a typical rehearsal.
Every day the daily agenda is posted on the board, so students know when they walk in what to expect and what materials they need. I have students use black binders, sheet protectors, and pencil pouches, and they have to take everything out of their binders and have it on their stand ready to go. The schedule on the board is not just an agenda, it is also a time stamp. When I mark that we are going to spend five minutes working on something, that’s how long we spend on it. It is important to keep the pacing of the rehearsal moving. I try to keep the kids playing as much as possible. When we aren’t playing, I am motivating them with praise and constructive criticism. Keep them playing and pump them up.
After I greet them and say good morning. I have students stand up and we start with breathing exercises. From there, we move to rhythm exercises. Every day we run a few lines from Teaching Rhythm Logically by Darcy Williams. We then work on technique building, which might be from a method book or from supplemental materials I find or write. We sightread three times a week.
Then, depending on what we are working on, we play different pieces of music at all different levels. I will ask for groups of instruments to play and try to put them in trios or quartets, so they can hear each person playing. Rehearsing band music in a smaller group develops independence and gives other students a chance to praise, critique, and teach their peers.
At the end of class I say, “Love you, mean it.” I got that from my percussion teacher. He did that every single day, and I didn’t realize how much that meant to me until I started doing it for my students and saw how much it meant to them. If I forget, they say it first.

Dan Blaufuss is managing editor of The Instrumentalist. He earned degrees in music education and media communication from Northern Illinois University.

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Jessica Fain graduated in 2009 from Northwestern State University with a Bachelor of Music Education Degree. She was selected by her colleagues as the District II Band Director of the Year (2011) and the Tioga Junior High Teacher of the Year (2013 and 2016), and received the Golden Apple Teacher Award (2015 and 2016). Fain is a member of NAfME, LMEA, TMEA, LBA, Sigma Alpha Iota, and Kappa Delta Pi. She is currently the District Director for District II and is also the Second Vice President of the District II Band Directors’ Association and the Louisiana Band Masters Association.

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