Let’s Make a Squeal. Trumpet players square off to see who can play the highest notes.

Name That Neume. Musicologists compete to see who can identify specific Gregorian chants on the fewest number of neumes played.

American Ninja Warrior. Contestants try to make their way through a band instrument storage area the last of week of school without breaking their necks.

The Price Is Right. Contestants compete to see who can guess the correct price on band fundraising items. Winners get to choose prizes off of a graduated wall chart.

Beat the Clock. Marching bands compete to see who can complete a two-mile parade the fastest.

The $10,000 Pyramid of Sound. Musical groups perform for the chance to win $10,000 if they can play with perfect musical balance based on Francis McBeth’s pyramid of sound.

Whose Line Is It Anyway? Contestants watch halftime performances and win prizes for correctly guessing which row or column a lost band member should be marching in.

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Band directors go door-to-door hawking increasingly difficult-to-sell products. The director who gets to the top level ($25 tickets to a bagpipe recital) and sells them to 50 households in eight hours wins a million dollars for the band.

Bet On Your Baby. Band parents see which of their babies will go the longest without screaming bloody murder during the entire length of a Mahler symphony transcription.

Truth or Consequences. Band members give excuses about why they missed a practice, and a panel of distinguished band directors determines their veracity. If found untruthful, the band member must perform tasks selected by the panel just for them, such as stacking chairs after rehearsal for two semesters, removing graffiti from music stands and bathroom walls, or baking cookies for the band director once a week.

500 Questions. Band students compete to see who can be the first to ask their band director 500 questions before he gives a sarcastic answer. Band directors who answer all 500 without being sarcastic or going insane win a student-free trip to an exotic island resort of their choice.

Weakest Link. Competitors watch marching bands and the one that identifies the most marchers who are out of step wins.

Are You A Better Bus Driver than a Fifth-Grader? Band directors take on fifth graders to see who can maneuver a 45-foot school bus through a challenging obstacle course the fastest.

Crassword. Band directors try to guess what the latest words and phrases from pop culture and their low brass section mean. (Viewer discretion is advised.)

Gripe-Out. From the creators of Wipe-Out, a panel of band students judges band directors on which one has the best rant on a variety of categories, including gum chewing, punctuality, preparedness, posture, and key signatures. The victor wins a lifetime supply of antacids.

Scrabble. Marching bands must learn how to form every letter of the alphabet to win this competition. Whichever band can spell out selected words the fastest and with the greatest accuracy while playing Louie Louie wins. Even the letter i has to be dotted. Each member of the winning band receives a free ticket to the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee.

What’s My Whine? Blindfolded panelists try to guess what instrument a visiting guest plays by listening to them whine and complain. For instance, “My reed is broken, and I can’t make a sound.” (Oboe.) Or “My shoulder hurts. Can I sit down?” (Sousaphone.) Or “But I haven’t had the music for three weeks, why should I look at it now?” (Percussionist.)

The Rating Game. Band judges rate bands on a scale of one to five. Oops – I guess we already have this game – we just need to put it on television.

Family Feud. Sections of the band compete to discover which one can guess how school administrators who are surveyed answer questions about band: How much does a sousaphone cost? How many players are in a brass sextet? 

Reed or No Reed. Woodwind players compete to see who can perform major woodwind solos on the worst reed or maybe even no reed at all.

Minute to Win It. Band boosters compete to who can whip up concession fare the fastest.

America’s Got Volume. Pep bands from all over the country compete to see who can reach the highest decibel levels.

    I think  any of these would be a hit, but until they make the small screen I’ll have to be content watching The Big Bang Theory and the robotically nerdy Battlebots.     

The post Band Game Shows appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    As good music educators, we have high hopes for our students. We hope that the day they graduate is not the last day they play their instruments. We dream that they will be music-makers for life. We picture them in community bands, playing for their own children someday, and for some, that they will have careers in music. We have read the studies that share all of the amazing benefits of making music and are ready to spout off reasons why someone should join band, but despite all of that, few music teachers still play the instrument that led them to a career in music in the first place.
    When I was working on my doctorate at Ohio State, the director of the Wind Symphony, Russel Mikkelson, told us to keep playing our instruments while teaching so we can always remember how it is to be in the midst of making music and so we can maintain that common bond of musical understanding with our students. He was clear with us that we might fall from the heights we attained as college-level players, but it was nonetheless important that we keep playing. The further removed one becomes from the act of playing an instrument in an ensemble, the more difficult it will be to remember that feeling and to be able to use it to connect with the students.
    Conducting and teaching are musical arts as well, but no music teacher’s goal is to give up playing an instrument upon entering the profession. In my work with music education majors, fear of having to replace their instruments and music with permission forms and rubrics is a common concern.
    Teaching is pretty much a 24/7 job, but time can be found to stay active as a musician, be a good teacher, and have a social life. It will take the acceptance of certain realities and the commitment to a certain level of discipline and organization, but it is possible.

Realities
    Certain realities must be faced. The number of hours in a day is not going to increase, so honesty about what can be accomplished in that time is essential. For example, I tell my students that maybe I could be a better flutist, but that would most likely come at the expense of my job or my marriage, neither of which I want to lose. I practiced four hours a day in graduate school, but I have to prepare for the classes I teach and want to spend time with my husband. Before setting out on a mission to get back to playing, we must realize that in most cases, we had more time to practice in college than we will have as a teacher. The good thing is that teachers are smarter about how to practice, so the time that is available for practice can be used more productively.
    Most full-time teachers are unlikely to play in an ensemble that matches the level of their college groups. It is possible to perform with high-level ensembles at times, and some teachers are fortunate enough to live in an area where there is such an ensemble available, but few, if any, teachers have the time for a high-level wind ensemble that rehearses six hours a week and performs a concert every six weeks. This is all the more reason to relish the days of our college ensembles with a warm heart and appreciation for the teachers whose sacrifices and talent allowed us to have those experiences while we can look forward to providing opportunities for our students.
    That said, there are ways to find time to play our instruments, and the good news is that with maturity, our general level of musicality is probably much higher. We have had more life experiences, felt more emotions, and heard more music, all of which can inspire a more musical performance, even if we miss a note here or there.

Snippets of Time
    Take an honest look at your schedule. There may be just enough time for a couple tone studies in the morning when you get to school. Five minutes of a prep period can be devoted to playing a few scales, even if you are playing them on the student model flute you have lying on a table in your band room, before turning to other tasks. I prefer to have large chunks of time available for practice, but if it is the only time available, I’ll practice while the casserole for dinner is in the oven.

Double Duty
    Look for opportunities to play during what you are already doing. For example, demonstrate styles on your instrument during rehearsals. Play for your students instead of using a recording, especially in general music. If you need a Baroque piece for a music appreciation class, play it live. Playing at church or a nursing home is another frequently overlooked opportunity.

Get Involved
    Get involved in your instrument’s society or association and attend their conferences and conventions. These organizations are not just for professional performers and college teachers.

Find an Ensemble
    Look for an ensemble that allows you to perform on a regular basis without taking too much time. For example, many communities have summer community bands that have minimal rehearsal commitments and from which you can come and go as your schedule allows. In my area, we have a wonderful summer band, the Musicians Concert Band, that is comprised almost solely of music teachers. We rehearse from 7-9 p.m. on a Wednesday evening and give a concert the next evening four times each summer. The ensemble is a wonderful chance for networking, socializing within the profession, and making music.

Make an Ensemble
    Create a chamber ensemble with the teachers in your school or area. These are people you see often and whose schedules probably align with yours. Perform for your students to show them that you love playing.

Solo
    Program a solo (or duet or trio) for you to play with your ensemble. Have a student or colleague conduct. This gives your students a chance to see you getting excited to perform, practicing, making mistakes, and being like them. Sometimes, teachers believe that this would be tooting their own horn or taking opportunities away from students, but in reality, there is a powerful lesson in showing students that you still love music and that they can be life-long musicians. You will be modeling skills for them and showing them that you can practice what you preach. Plus, using a guest conductor has all sorts of benefits. If you have a student conduct, he will learn conducting skills. If you have another director in your district conduct, you can strengthen the transitions between each level in school and help with recruiting. For example, if you teach middle school, and the high school director guest conducts while you perform, the students will learn that a different director is not so scary. If you teach high school and regularly have the middle school director guest conduct while you solo, the high school students will look forward to seeing their former teacher again.

Chamber Music
    Program duos, trios, or quartets with your students and play along, maybe even as a planned member of one of the groups.

Have Realistic Expectations
    If you can only carve out two 15-minute chunks of time to practice, distill your procedures down to the most effective exercises. Give yourself permission to escape routines. For example, instead of playing exercises on the weekend, I often only play music I enjoy and skip the exercises.

Mental Practice
    For those who do not believe in mental practice, the following exercise will change your mind. Read the part in italics and then try it before reading further:

    Close your eyes and picture a child up to bat at a little league game. Here comes the ball – he swings, and hits the ball.

    Did you feel your arms sort of engage and your core muscles prepare as the bat struck the ball? You can benefit from mental practice. Think through difficult passages or even just scales while you are in a boring meeting, waiting for an appointment, or sitting at that little league game, waiting for your child to be up to bat.

Listen
    Take time to listen to great performers on your instrument. While that may sound obvious, think about how you just sort of felt your body hit that baseball. When you watch someone perform (or at least hear them), your body will participate to some degree.

    Being a musician is a wonderful thing. I often talk to people who wish they had learned to play an instrument. Think about the ways you felt the power of music in your life while performing and all of the special moments that happened because of the gift of music. There is no reason we have to relegate being a musician to only the scholarly realm or to save it for some magical day in the future when we will have time. The time to practice is now. Do not worry how well you play now compared to how you played in college. Life is passing by, so make music now. There is no time like the present.   

The post Music for Life appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

The Drumset as One Instrument
    It is natural to look at the kit and see separate instruments, but the drumset should be viewed similarly to a piano. Although it is one instrument, a piano has 88 keys and requires a technique that will allow multiple keys to be played at once. Likewise, think of a drumset as one instrument requiring a technique to play several parts at one time.
    On the piano, students do not normally start out playing chords. Beginning methods normally help the student gain awareness of the keyboard by having them play one note at a time. Similarly, giving beginning drumset students music with drumset notation could be just as confusing; it is better to separate things.
    A common teaching technique for beginners is to have students work away from their instruments, often called air playing. This can help students prepare to handle the instrument physically. This is similar to teaching new clarinetists that the left hand goes above the right before putting an instrument in their hands. A similar method can be used with percussionists before they start playing a drumset.

The Body Drumset and Limb Awareness
    Because the drumset is played with the limbs, you can use what I call the body drumset to get started. This means that the students will use their limbs to learn the necessary movements without using a drumset. Students learning drumset will need to use their limbs, especially their feet, in unfamiliar ways. One of the first goals is to have the students increase awareness of their hands and feet.
    Avoiding the drumset at first helps students learn the basics without being overwhelmed with too many technical thoughts; it also makes it simpler for teachers to instruct several students at once, because body drumset is fairly quiet. The body drumset was my first drumset.

Limb Movement for the Body Drumset
    Good posture is essential. Have students sit with backs straight, feet slightly out in front and arms naturally to the side of the body. Hands are placed on their legs with fingers somewhere near the knees. I recommend the following basic guidelines for moving the hands and feet when playing body drumset.
    For hands and arms, the main up-and-down motion is from the wrist, with the arm moving naturally to a maximum height of about seven inches. Watch that the movement does not come just from the wrist or arm; both of these actions will cause tension. It is important that arm and hand movement is relaxed.
    The feet are moved by keeping the heel down on the floor and lifting the toes to a height of about four inches. If toes are lifted too high, tension will be felt. Although there are different techniques for the feet (just as there are for the hands), having the heel down will serve the students well at this stage.

Stress Musical Aspects from the Start
    When teaching drumset, I recommend making the experience musical as soon as possible. As soon as students have accomplished an exercise to the level you want, have them play along with a musical example. Students need to understand as early as possible that the drummer provides the beat as well as the feel of the music. Provide musical examples in different styles and in tempi that the students can comfortably play. Using music as part of learning is vitally important. Possible sources for musical examples include iTunes (which offers free previews of tracks), SmartMusic Improvisation and Jazz Concert Libraries (this allows for extreme control of changing tempo without changing pitch), play-along recordings, GarageBand (Mac computers), drumset methods that have accompaniment cds, electronic drum modules, and electronic keyboards with pre-programmed styles or examples.

Body Drumset Exercises
    The following are exercises that can be introduced at any time to develop individual and combined limb awareness, coordination, and independence. These techniques will help students more easily learn grooves (drumbeats) for different styles of music.

One-Limb Isolation Patterns
    Have students play continuous quarter notes on each limb at a medium tempo (M.M.=80) with a metronome, using the posture and movement mentioned above. Repeat until you are satisfied with the progress and then move on to the next limb. Adjust the tempo as needed. Remind students to relax and avoid overdoing any of the motions. No notation is needed, although you can emphasize any note-reading concepts deemed important. I recommend starting with the right hand, then the left hand, right foot, and left foot.
    After you are satisfied, use a pattern of eight quarters per limb at the selected tempo in the same order as before: right hand, left hand, right foot, left foot. During this time, remind students to be relaxed and think ahead to which limb will move next. The pattern then can be shortened to four beats per limb.
    Next, have students play the pattern with music of different styles to which the students can comfortably play along. More variety is better, so include styles with which students may be unfamiliar, such as swing and Latin. This will help them understand that what they are learning will be applied to different styles of music. You can also introduce ideas of how other parts of a rhythm section – piano, guitar, and bass – fit in. This will help later on when you present other styles of music and compare their differences.
    Now introduce the idea of working the limbs in different sequences. For example, instruct the students to play the four-beat pattern clockwise, starting with the right hand.

    Next, start with the right foot. After this, the pattern can continue starting with the left foot and then the left hand.

    Change the sequence by going in a counterclockwise motion.

    Now try an X pattern.

    Have your students develop as many variations as possible. These exercises go a long way toward helping students gain more control and awareness of their limbs. In addition to moving only the correct limbs, have your students visualize a connection occurring between the limbs as they change which limb they are using. For example, you might have students imagine a cord or string of light connecting the limbs.

Two-Limb Isolation Patterns
    The next step is to play with two limbs together. As before, use different combinations. Stress that the limbs must be on the beat at the same time, avoiding a flam or grace note effect.
    Start with the right and left hands together.

    Expand to different combinations.

Three-Limb Isolation Patterns
    When combining three limbs together, remind students that all the limbs play on the beat at the same time.

Four-Limb Isolation Pattern
    Then, all four limbs move together.

    As students become more comfortable with any of the patterns, play one limb per beat. Start the pattern on different limbs.

Clockwise:

           LH   →   RH
           ↑            ↓
           LF    ←   RF
Counterclockwise:

           LH   ←   RH
           ↓            ↑
           LF    →   RF

    When played these with musical examples, some of the patterns will actually sound like a groove.

Mixing Patterns
    Challenge students by mixing and matching patterns that have been learned. For example, go from a single limb pattern to a three limb pattern, then to a two limb pattern. The possibilities are almost endless.

Adding Notation
    At this point, you may want to introduce standard drumset notation. I recommend that you associate the limbs to specific parts of the drumset:
    The ride cymbal was chosen for the right hand because of its normal placement on the right-hand side of the drumset, which matches the idea of the body drumset. The right hand also normally plays the hi-hat as well, and this can be easily explained and demonstrated.

    There are other notation conventions for drumset. For example, in the graphic above, the ride cymbal is notated on the fifth line of the staff, but it is also common to use the fifth line for the hi-hat and the space above the fifth line for the ride cymbal. Knowing this can alleviate confusion when seeing different notation practices in method books or drum charts.
    The one-beat-per-limb clockwise example above would look like this starting on each different limb:

    For a beginner, you might imagine why starting without notation can simplify things compared to starting with notation.

Move to the Drumset
    The next step is to go through the same sequence of limb awareness exercises using the drumset. The hands can use either matched or traditional grip. Although the feet move as described above for the body drumset, the feel is different because of the actual physical movement on the pedals of the bass drum or hi-hat. Having students first perform the limb awareness exercises (or at least some of them) with the actual instruments will help them feel more comfortable. At first, just let them get the feel of it. Then, have them play with the musical examples you have chosen.
    At this point, students will probably need to take turns playing the drumset. You can have the other students stay in their chairs and perform the same exercises on their body drumset or they can form a line so that as one student is finished another can sit down. I have the students waiting listen to and watch the student playing. I ask them questions about what they heard and saw, which makes this activity an excellent cooperative learning lesson.

Drumset Setup
    Below are general guidelines for setting up a standard drumset. However, consider having students start with just the ride cymbal, snare drum, bass drum, and hi-hat to match the body drumset. Removing toms and crash cymbals will make playing drumset less confusing for inexperienced students. It also reinforces the idea that the above four instruments are the most important parts of the drumset.
    Take care when setting up the drumset. The drums should be set up so that the drummer can play without tension or unnecessary motions to reach and play all parts of the set. Think about how you teach other instruments regarding their hand and finger position.
    The following setup suggestions for the drums and cymbals are based on a standard drumset:

Drums
    Set up the drumset to the player. The drummer’s throne should be at a height that allows for proper posture. When students are taking turns, the throne will need to be adjusted to account for physical differences.
    The bass drum (RF) and hi-hat (LF) pedals should be placed so the legs and feet feel relaxed when the feet are on the pedals.
    Center the snare drum in front of the player at a height that promotes proper playing position. Tilt the high tom slightly toward the snare drum but not touching it. The angle should not be severe. Adjust the medium tom so the rim is basically even with the high tom but not touching anything. The floor tom should be across from the snare drum on the right hand side. Start with it flat, but tilt it if desired.
    In his excellent DVD entitled Getting Started on Drums (Hudson Music), Tommy Igoe refers to the “power square”. Basically, the drums form a square in relation to the drummer.

Cymbals
    Place the ride cymbal to the right between the medium tom and the floor tom. Adjust and tilt the cymbal so that the right stick tip can easily be placed half way between the bell and edge of the cymbal. This placement will allow for variations needed when playing the ride cymbal. The cymbal should be able to move freely without touching any of the drums.
    Position the crash cymbal to the left of the high tom with the cymbal slightly tilted. Make sure it can be reached easily.
    Adjust the hi-hat cymbals so when fully opened they will be approximately 1.5" apart.

Watch the Right Hand
    It is usually easy to spot students who play drumset. When students who know the drumset play the concert snare drum, even though they have been taught the proper hand position, their right hands typically are more turned so that the thumb is more visible (a thumbs up or handshake position). Although not ideal for concert snare, on drumset, that position actually is recommended when playing the ride cymbal. This position creates a relaxed feel and is beneficial when playing faster and more intricate patterns. Playing a ride cymbal with a normal right-hand snare drum grip is awkward and best avoided. Explain this concept to your students and remind them of the proper position depending on which instrument they are playing.

Focus on the Sound
    Just as with any other instrument, the sound produced from the instrument is vital. By using the limb awareness exercises, students have the opportunity to concentrate on getting the best sound from each separate instrument. Then when it is time to play them at once, they will have a better concept of how to balance each.
    Use size 5A sticks for the drumset, as they are well suited for most school ensembles. Students should start by using only the tips of the sticks to strike the cymbals and drums at this time. Different parts of the stick can be used in drumset performance (tip, shaft, shoulder, butt end), but these are best addressed later. For the snare drum and ride cymbal, strive for a mezzo forte level, with the stroke no higher than four to five inches at first. The grip for the hands needs to be relaxed and tension free to produce a pleasing sound. Remind students to keep their body position centered without angling the body to the right or left.
    As mentioned before, the feet will need more attention, as students are now playing instruments with them. For the bass drum, I recommend starting with a stroke that allows the beater to rebound from the head. The hi-hat should get a chick sound. There are other strokes or motions for different sounds that can be produced from these instruments. For example, at first the student may produce more of a ringing, vibrating sound from the hi-hat. It is not a wrong sound, just not the best starting place.

Using Practice Pads and Sticks
    After students have played on the drumset, they will have a much better understanding of the physical feel and the sounds produced by the kit. When teaching the body drumset has served its purpose, you may want the students to use a practice pad so they can play with sticks. The feet are used as described in the body drumset setup. The pad cannot replace the sound of the cymbal or snare, so make sure students are playing at the appropriate levels and not using an exaggerated stroke.

Conclusion
    Introducing the drumset in this manner will allow you to teach systematically the coordination, independence, and good habits to produce competent and musical drummers. The students will enjoy these activities especially when performed with music, and you will, too. There are many excellent educational books and videos available by accomplished artists on all drumset technique subjects. There are websites that also have valuable information as well.  

The post Teaching Drumset appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    Fine chamber music is essential for students, giving them an opportunity to practice musical and technical concepts with the added benefit of musical collaboration, intonation development, and heightened musical decision-making skills. Even more than solo repertoire, the sheer number and unfamiliarity of much of the chamber woodwind repertoire can be a daunting task for the band director. Here are a few recommendations for saxophone chamber music.

Saxophone Duos
Fifteen Two-Part Inventions by J.S. Bach, arranged by Larry Teal (Presser), grades 3-4. These short works from one of the greatest composers of all time have been scored here for either two Bb saxophones, two Eb saxophones, or one Eb and one Bb instrument. They are all fairly short and make an excellent introduction to Baroque performance-practice.

Six Caprices by Pierre Max Dubois (Leduc), grades 4-5. These duets will provide great motivation to talented young performers. Scored for two altos, these duets provide myriad musical and technical challenges.

Six Canonic Sonatas by Georg Phillip Telemann, arranged by Larry Teal (Lauren Keiser Music Publishing), grades 3-4. While some of the included pieces may be relatively advanced, several of these pieces are perfect for intermediate saxophonists and will provide a wonderful challenge. This is excellent literature and will teach much about phrasing, sound, and intonation while introducing Baroque-era performance practice, something outside many saxophonists’ usual comfort zone.

Selected Duets for Saxophone, Volume 1 edited by Himie Voxman (Rubank/Hal Leonard), grades 2-3. Many of the earlier etudes in this collection work well for middle-school saxophonists, and style and technical demands are quite varied, offering a piece for nearly any occasion. Voxman offers up arrangements by many famous, composers, including Haydn, Purcell, and Stamitz. These will keep intermediate saxophonists busy for quite some time.

Selected Duets for Saxophone, Volume 2 edited by Himie Voxman (Rubank/Hal Leonard), grades 3-4. This collection includes increasingly difficult duets. Great literature from the Baroque through the Romantic eras is included, with composers such as Bach, Beethoven, and Telemann being represented. If the band can only afford two saxophone duet collections, Voxman’s are the ones to possess.

Saxophone Trios
    The saxophone trio, unfortunately, has not been a popular chamber ensemble in the past several years.  However, if a saxophone quartet is impossible to form, there is plenty of excellent music for a trio.

Trio, Op. 87 by Ludwig van Beethoven, arranged by Larry Teal (Lauren Keiser Music Publishing), grade 4. This wonderful, completely characteristic work of Beethoven’s was originally scored for two oboes and English horn but is arranged for either soprano, alto, and tenor or alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones. The work offers some technically difficult passages, but students will have to put the most work toward musicality. With the correct guidance, this work will help any young saxophonist grow immensely.

12 Saxophone Trios edited by Harry Gee (Alfred Publishing Company), grades 2-3. Published for either three altos or two altos and one tenor, these trios include an arrangement of Greensleeves, as well as transcriptions from many Baroque, Classical, and Romantic composers.

Adagio and Allegretto by James Hook, arranged by Harry Gee (Southern Music Company), grade 3. This pleasing work is taken from Hook’s Trio No. 4. It offers plenty of musical challenges for two alto players and one tenor player. Students must pay extremely close attention to style and intonation.

Chamber Music for Three Saxophones edited by Himie Voxman (Rubank/Hal Leonard), grades 1-3. This collection offers a wide variety of literature that will be extremely helpful for tonal and technical development of an AAT saxophone trio. These delightful pieces draw on works by the masters, including Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, and Schubert.

Saxophone Quartets
    Through the years, the vast majority of high-quality saxophone quartet literature has been penned for soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone, an instrumentation popularized early on by the Marcel Mule Quartet and since accepted as the main standard of instrumentation. Although a handful of SATB quartets are listed below, it is also extremely important for students without access to a soprano to still be able to perform in saxophone quartets. To that end, the first two quartet collections listed are highly recommended, with many pieces from both appearing on state solo and ensemble lists around the country.

Ten Saxophone Quartets edited by Larry Teal (G. Shirmer/(Hal Leonard), grades 2-5. This classic collection, arranged and compiled by the father of the American tradition of classical saxophone, is a wealth of excellent literature for the quartet. Arrangements from such musical masters as Bach, Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky abound. Level of difficulty varies, but each arrangement takes into consideration the viability of each instrument in the quartet as a solo voice and equal member. Rarely are the bottom three voices relegated to back-up status; instead, each saxophonist is challenged to step up.

Quartet Repertoire for Saxophone edited by Himie Voxman (Rubank/Hal Leonard), grade 2-4. This collection also offers many high-quality transcriptions by legendary composers, including Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, and Telemann. Arrangements are varied in style and difficulty with some being quite short and simple, while others will be both quite musically and technically challenging for many high school saxophonists. In most of these arrangements, each saxophonist will have a turn at both melodic and accompanimental material.

Fugue in G Minor by J.S. Bach, arranged by J. Michael Leonard (Masters Music Publications), grade 3. The Little Fugue in G Minor as it is known to many, is wonderful for the development of a saxophone quartet. Scored for soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone, this piece calls upon the young musicians to perform as equals: the baritone player pulls just as much weight as the soprano player does. This contrapunctal work is perfect for discussing timbral and stylistic blend, as well as exposing saxophonists to a classic of Baroque literature. It is on the difficult end of the grade level.

Quartet (Allegro de Concert) by Caryl Florio (Edition Peters), grade 4. This work is the earliest known saxophone quartet piece written in North America, receiving its premiere at the hands of Edward Lefebre and other members of Patrick Gilmore’s ground-breaking band. Aside from the historical context, this work is a marvelous Romantic piece for SATB groups. The Andante movement is beautiful and serene (and will give young saxophonists experience in flat key signatures rarely experienced in band music), while the tempo of the Allegro movement can be successfully adjusted, yielding a pleasing performance at several possible speeds.

The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba by G.F. Handel, arranged by Jean-Yves Fourmeau (Billaudot), grade 4. This wonderful arrangement requires strong performers, especially on soprano. However, this will offer a great challenge to an advanced high school quartet and will shed light on an excellent example of Handel’s music, to which many young performers have scant access.

Quatuor pour saxophones by Faustin and Maurice Jeanjean (Editions Salabert), grade 5 (although internal movements are less difficult). This classic work, in its entirety, is perfect for more advanced high school groups. However, the second and third movements are possibilities for slightly less skilled groups if the soprano saxophonist is a strong player. This is pleasing and lush music, made up of four character-piece movements, each painting a story of rural French life in an earlier time. Movements include “The Happy Villagers,” Two Paths,” “Butterflys (Scherzo),” and “Concert in the Park (Humoresque).” This work provides a great many musical challenges while being incredibly pleasing to audiences.

Five Bach Chorales transcribed by John Nichol (Watchdog Music Publishers), grade 2. Available for both SATB and AATB quartets, these five chorales, technically, are performable by middle school saxophonists. However, the musical possibilities involved can keep saxophonists occupied to graduate school. These excellent transcriptions of five of Bach’s most-loved chorale settings are worthy ensemble literature for any level of student. The development of sound, intonation, phrasing, and musical communication gained through these chorales will be invaluable.

Sonata No. 44 by Domenico Scarlatti, arranged by Frederick L. Hemke (Southern Music). grade 4. This excellent SATB transcription from Scarlatti’s keyboard original requires much musical awareness across the ensemble. However, the work is quite brief, so it may be just the challenge fine young performers need.

Conclusion
    This list is only a beginning to the wonderful universe of chamber music for saxophones. Start students of all instruments on chamber music early, so they can grow in technique and musicality and see that chamber music is a perfect, fun avenue for life-long music making.  

The post Saxophone Chamber Music appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    Mercer Island sits in Lake Washington, which separates Seattle and Bellevue. It is the largest populated island on a lake in the United States and home to a city and high school of the same name. Parker Bixby, who has been with the 300-member Mercer Island band program since 1995, directs three of the high school’s four concert bands, its award-winning percussion ensemble, and the Islander Marching Band. He shares the responsibility of the district’s entire 5-12 band program with four other teachers, and all five teach at multiple levels.

What made you choose not to have a competitive marching band?
    I have been asked that question my whole career. I marched a finals corps in DCI and came through a powerhouse Southern California marching band program and was a drum major in my university marching band. Marching band is near and dear to my heart, and competitive marching band is near and dear to my heart. However, it is the wrong choice for this school and community. Mercer Island is an incredibly high-achieving school, and my students don’t need one more thing where they have to be perfect. Rather than motivate with rankings and trophies, we motivate through pursuit of excellence. That’s our goal.
    Marching band is still a huge part of the program, and we hold ourselves to a very high standard. We had 50 hours of camp in August, we have a two-day leadership retreat, we spend a lot of money on it, and it is a big part of who we are, but our focus is on creating the highest-quality, most entertaining, most rewarding, flexible, inclusive experience we can for the largest number of students and our community. For us, being competitive limits those options as opposed to expanding them.
We have gone to the Rose Parade three times performed at Seattle Seahawks games, traveled to London, and marched as an international guest in Australia. Marching is central to what we do, we just don’t do anything for trophies. We go to have a great time, and we want to be as entertaining as possible and put on the very best show we can. Our marching band follows a Big Ten-style, entertainment-first model. When we are in the stands, we have 15-20 memorized shorts that are play-dependent, and we call those using hand signals. Our halftime shows are topical and relevant, which keeps people excited and wondering what our next show will be about. Two of our shows this year were Taylor Swift and Seattle Rock Anthems. Our last show will be Star Wars because of the movie coming out in December. We usually do some sort of parody associated with these things. The aim is topical, in-the-moment shows, for which I try to get music that is less than six months old.
    After every football game we march up to our ampitheater, a big cement circle, and play a post-game concert. If you asked my students to choose between the game and the ampitheater, they would pick the ampitheater, because they feel like rock stars. Five to six hundred people show up while we dance and play popular tunes. It’s small-town fun.

How do you use iPads in marching band?
    It is important to remember tablets are just tools. There are some things they will never replace, but they are the quickest and best way to deliver information, such as drill, to the largest number of students possible. Students use an app called DBN Reader, made by a company called Drillbook Next. After writing drill, we upload the charts and student coordinates to the Drillbook Next website, which requires a subscription. Students can search the app for the school name, find their shows, and then enter a password to download the current show. If we make an edit, when students enter a place with Wi-Fi and open DBN Reader, it will notify them there is an update to the show available for download.
    Students have waterproof cases for their iPads and lanyards to hang them around their necks, making the devices easy to have even on the field. The days of being frustrated by students forgetting coordinate sheets or showing up with the wrong ones are greatly reduced. Now the only worry is students forgetting their tablets, but with this system, every student on the field has every step of every student’s show available.
    In rehearsal I might have students learn their first three sets. They take out their iPads and can see all the counts, steps, and mark times. Then I can say, “For the first set, zoom in and look at your step size.” Students can see the grid and zoom all the way in on their icon and advance the drill step by step to see what their step size is and on what count they cross a yard line. Students learn twice as many sets in the same amount of time as we were learning on paper.

How do you teach students to practice?
    We do a disservice to students by echoing lines we have heard as musicians our whole lives – that the band room is not a place for practice but for rehearsal. We learn our part at home the rehearsal space is for learning other people’s parts. I reject these notions. Not only do I think the band room is a place for practice, I think it’s the best place for young musicians to practice. They simply don’t yet know how. There are no professional musicians who will tell you that they knew how to practice effectively when they were 14.
    Even if directors acknowledge that there is a place for practice in the band room, we often insinuate that it is our students’ job to take home a piece of music, about which they know almost nothing – not the genre, not their part’s role in the large ensemble, not even really how their instrument should sound – learn it, come back to school and play it for the director. This is an irresponsible request as an educator. I don’t think we do it deliberately. It is a combination of a few things:

• We assume that students are not working as hard as they should on their music.
• We want to know which students are excelling. If we ask the entire band to go learn something, and nine kids come back with it learned, we have learned something about those nine kids, how we can teach them, and how we can teach everybody else.
• We assume it doesn’t do any harm to ask them to come in prepared.

    We have not opened our minds to the idea that a primary responsibility of ours is to teach students the right way to practice. For me, this is about actively practicing in the band room every day and labeling it as practice. Everyone thinks teaching students how to practice is a worthy endeavor, but the problem is keeping students engaged. The solution is to be engaged yourself. When it comes to teaching students how to make a beautiful sound, I do not do anything special, but I am unflinching about coming up with as many ways as possible to make it scintillating and of paramount importance in the band room. I am overjoyed when kids make great sounds, and I am unapologetic about demanding it at all times.
    Teaching students to make great sounds is about walking the talk. When I present on this topic to other band directors, I ask, “If your children were in your band, what would you want them to spend their time practicing? Do you want them to practice their band music every night?” The answer is always no. The best practice time consists of playing long tones and etudes and practicing band music just a bit. During rehearsal, you have to commit to making great sounds all the time. You have to be willing to play easier music to get to that point. You have to be willing to dedicate 25 minutes of a 50-minute class period every single day to playing Remingtons and long tones and give genuine, honest feedback about how it should sound. Then you have to call it practice. “What are we doing right now, kids?” “Practicing.” “You got it!” As Allen Vizzutti once said, “Keep playing long tones until someone tells you your sound is too beautiful.”
    Practicing means solving problems. Teach students to find problems by asking them what they hear. What instrument came in first? Was everyone in tune? Did you like that sound? If not, what would you change to make you like it? If you don’t like it because it’s out of tune, how do we get it in tune? Let’s talk about that. The great practicers are great problem solvers; they diagnose and then invent something that will help them solve the problem.
    It takes engagement to make this work in rehearsal. I’m passionate about this and try to demonstrate that passion to my students, which makes them excited about it. Students want to learn, succeed, and please their teachers. If we are more excited about great sounds, students will be too. In June, at the very end of the year, when we play our Daily Technique, I am more engaged than at the beginning of the year. After a year of working with this batch of students, I know how every single one of them plays, what they are capable of, when they sound good, and when they don’t. I am trying to find the 182nd lesson on the same thing for them to get a new angle on understanding a better sound on one more level.I am absolutely absorbed. There is always something else to think about when listening for beauty in our sound. By the way, if a student gets it on concert F – and in my life I’ve seen two high school students who had a better sound on that note than I could conceptualize – then go up a partial, and it all starts over.
    After practice time, the translation to the music is like practice on steroids, because now you have an aural vocabulary to bring into their music. Students know that they sound good, and they will understand how long it took them to get that way. They then become a lot more attentive to your comments about making great sounds on Amazing Grace when they realize they’ve been doing it for seven years on a concert F long tone and they are still working on it.

How do you work with the other teachers in the district to strengthen the program?
    We team-teach everything in the 5-12 program, and my colleagues Dave Bentley, Ryan Lane, Carol Krell, and Bryan Wanzer, and I all teach at multiple levels, very much by design. This is central to our program. We are lucky that Ryan plays saxophone, Bryan and Carol play clarinet, Dave plays low brass, and I am a trumpet player with a percussion background. We try to make sure that every student has a bottomless pit of things to learn.
    My teaching schedule is all high school except for fifth grade trumpets and percussionists and team teaching the fifth grade program with Dave and Carol. Fifth grade is 0.2 of my position. Carol is 0.2 at the high school and mostly middle school. Dave is 0.6 middle school and 0.4 high school. Ryan is 0.6 high school and 0.4 middle school. We are all deliberately mixed and we team up in the classroom.

What is the aim of Mercer Island’s level assessment program?
    The level assessment program grew out of a desire to find a better way to do a few things. I feel strongly that in the vast majority of middle and high school band programs, auditions do not best meet the needs of students, teachers, ensembles, or the community. The director’s perception is that offering auditions is most fair to all students, but the students’ perception is that decisions regarding group placement were made a long time prior based on some mysterious formula that they do not understand, and they prepare or not under that assumption. The result of this mentality is that the band director does not hear a valid representation
of students’ best abilities during their auditions, much less their weaknesses, which are even more important to know as their teacher.
    In an ideal world, the teacher has an opportunity to hear every student one on one in a controlled environment. Much like a private lesson, we listen to every student play and have an opportunity to discuss and ask with each student, “What are your goals? Where do you want to be? What ensemble do you see yourself in? What are you struggling with? How old is that reed?” None of this is novel, but the level assessment system gives some structure to that and puts kids on a path that they can clearly see. Auditions rarely, if ever, accomplish such things. The one thing that auditions do well compared to our level assessment system is save time. Level assessment takes a fair bit of time, but we know how every one of our students play and have empowered them to be in charge of their future on their instrument. In addition, we have all of the information needed to truly be the expert when it comes time to place students into groups.
    Our band program has four concert bands, ranging from inexperienced and inclusive (we take first-year players in our high school program) up to our top ensemble, from which a number of students will go on to major in music. We have designed four levels that parallel our district grade-level learning expectations. Each level includes excerpts, scales, and sightreading, and each corresponds to a minimum level of accomplishment for a student to be considered for placement at each one of the levels in our four ensembles. Passing level three is not a guarantee that a student will be in the Wind Symphony, our second band, but it is a requirement for consideration. I might have 200 students who pass level three, but I only take 60-70 students in the second ensemble.
    Every student in the band program must attempt to pass one level every year. We offer three listening assessments a year, in late October, February, and early April; each consists of a full week of listening. Every student has to play during at least one of these weeks, with the option to play at all three if they desire. A hot shot freshman who wants to earn a place in the top group quickly has to pass four levels in a year and a half, which is difficult to do in that short a time.
    Playing a level assessment is our largest grade of the year, worth more than a performance, but it is also pass/fail. We have a rubric, and if students pass the minimum on that rubric for what is essentially preparation, they get the passing grade, even if they don’t pass the level itself. Passing the level is different. It is another rubric but has to do with a conversation and discussing strengths and weaknesses. At the end of each listening, I make notes in a Google document shared between all the teachers in which we take notes on each student.
    Here how this looks: Say a student comes in wanting to pass level two on clarinet, and he plays the excerpts well but makes numerous mistakes on scales. Before and after playing, we have an opportunity to talk about things that matter and are unique to that student. How is his family? What else is he interested in? Is he enjoying band? Then I’ll say, “Your excerpts are great. You’ve obviously worked really hard, but if you’re going to try to get all the way through level three you have to be comfortable with all the scales from three flats to three sharps.” Then I’d have him play the scale again, point out where I hear him struggling, and ask how he would practice it. I might tell him to sign up for level assessment two again next time but prepare level three and put in substantial practice time on the scales. At the next listening, we’ll have him play scales, and if they’re great, we’ll listen to level three.
    What’s embedded in that conversation with that student is that it’s not an audition, it’s a lesson. He got to tell me where he wanted to go and what he wanted to do. I didn’t have to participate in some charade where every student is the same and I cannot make comments about how they did, not even to say “good job,” because it would tip my hand about who is going to be in what ensemble. Instead I can talk to the student about what he needs to do to get where he wants to go. I can explain clearly what he needs to do to pass the level, and now the ball is in his court. He will either do exactly what I said or he won’t.
    There are some caveats to the system. Any student who earns a superior rating at solo contest automatically receives a pass through level three. A student selected to perform at the state solo contest automatically passes level four, as does a student selected to participate in an All-State or All-Northwest honor ensemble. These caveats exist because I want to know how students play. If a student has done work that parallels or exceeds our grade level expectations, then I want to reward that. Clearly a student who wins the room at solo contests is doing well – and I’ve probably already heard them play numerous times anyway.

Have there been any other benefits to level assessment?
    Since abandoning auditions, I can count on one hand the number of conversations I have had about what group a student was in, down from dozens a year I had when I was auditioning students into groups. With the level assessment system, if somebody asks why you made a decision, you now have far more information with which to have that conversation than you had with a five-minute blind audition. It is better to be the most informed person in the room – better for the students and better in any conversation I have about the students’ goals. The band director has to be comfortable with the idea that he or she is the expert.

What advice would you give a director who wants to implement a system like this?
   Set requirements based on your students, what you’re teaching, and what you want students to learn. Avoid simply set the bar high and asking students to go home and learn it on their own. Figure out where a particular student in your band program should be. Your assessments should directly reflect what you are teaching in the classroom. It is our job to help our students be successful. Set the bar and help get them there.   

The post Pursuit of Excellence, An Interview with Parker Bixby appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

    Rehearsal time is a valuable commodity. We only have a limited amount of time with our students each day, and it is essential to make the most out of the time that we have. Below are a few ideas that will lead to successful, productive, and meaningful rehearsals.

Repertoire
    Choosing high-quality repertoire is one of the most important choices that we make during the year. It will become the basis for the curriculum and will dictate what and how we rehearse. To that end, the music we rehearse should be music of consequence. Working on good music is what makes the time valid. If you choose music of no consequence, rehearsal time will not have lasting value.
    When selecting literature for rehearsal and performance, students should have the opportunity to learn and perform the masterworks of the medium; a steady diet of what’s new is not always the best path. Begin with transcriptions, and explore compositions from all historical periods up to and including contemporary and experimental works that stretch the ensemble’s knowledge of modern styles. Select literature with varied forms, structures, textures, and timbres, while avoiding cookie-cutter formula pieces.
    Most importantly, select repertoire that is musically and technically appropriate for your ensemble. Consider the technical and rhythmic demands, instrumentation, ranges, scoring and solo expectations that are required for a successful performance. In other words, American Overture for Band by Joseph Wilcox Jenkins is a poor choice unless you have an accomplished horn section.
    While it is important to challenge your ensemble technically, it is not wise to only choose music at your ensemble’s technical frontier. Remember that technique is a means to a musical end and not an end in itself. As a general rule, if most of the rehearsal stops and corrections are for fixing pitches and rhythms, students will never have the opportunity to think about the musical and expressive aspects of the music – tone, intonation, blend, balance, and phrasing. I am a great believer in legato cantabile pieces. Every program needs a slow change-of-pace piece, so if you play one, almost immediately students can handle the notes and the rhythms, so all of the time is spent on beautiful tone, phrase shape, and intonation.
    Sightreading is a good gauge for a work’s difficulty. If students cannot sightread a piece without falling apart frequently – if not bar to bar then phrase to phrase – it is too difficult. Although it can be tempting to program something at the edge of students’ ability, by the time you get to the point where they can play through it, all you have dealt with are buttons and rhythms, and students will be bored. Every piece has a shelf life. You can only get so much out of a piece of music, and then you need to move on. At some point in time, students will get bored with it, no matter how great it is.

Unit Study Compositions
    A unit study composition is an exemplary work from which substantial information can be pulled. More than learning the notes and rhythms, a unit study approach allows the opportunity to teach and learn about the selected work’s form and style period along with biographical information about the composer. For example, the selection of Variations on a Korean Folk Song by John Barnes Chance as a unit study composition teaches theme and variations form, melodic inversion, metric modulation, and the pentatonic scale, plus details concerning an important American composer. A unit of study might have handout materials that go with it. For example, I always had a biography of the composer and how he came to write the piece. I also gave students the vocabulary – all the terms used in the piece. This is often going to be Italian, but define it for the students.
    I would recommend one unit study composition per concert or per grading period. Either way, this is a piece that you delve into more deeply than others, so it should be chosen wisely; a unit study piece is unlikely to fall on the lighter end of a concert program. With my top band those would be masterworks like the Hindemith’s Symphony or Symphonic Metamorphosis or Persichetti’s Symphony. With younger bands, that was a little more problematic. You can get people to agree on masterworks at the difficult end, but less so on the easy end; it’s more a matter of what you like. I tried to choose pieces that had stood the test of time and that I had seen on other people’s concert programs.
    You can also build a unit of study around selected topics, such as compound rhythms, intonation, or texture. In my freshman curriculum I always had a unit on meter, during which I made sure that everybody knew what the top and bottom numbers of the time signature meant. We came up with all the different simple and compound meters so students understood the mathematics. I had a number of units like that each year.

Score Study
    Conductors should have a thorough understanding of the score before the first rehearsal. It is inefficient to learn the score during class because students, in the absence of information from the teacher, will problem-solve on their own, and style, dynamics, and even fingerings will be random. By the time you figure out what you want, students will have made hundreds of musical, technical, and interpretive decisions, and you will spend much valuable rehearsal time unlearning and relearning the material, which will take twice as long and would be a terrible waste of time and energy. Instead, use a two-tiered approach to score study.
    First, using a spiral-based approach, begin with general aspects of the score moving progressively towards ever-increasing musical and structural specifics to discover what makes the piece work. I learned the spiral-based approach when I was at Northwestern. It is an idea that the curriculum in music primarily consists of repeating the fundamental ideas of melody, harmony, rhythm, texture, and form with ever-increasing complexity and depth. Some subjects work best with an add-on curriculum. Mathematics is usually that way; you learn an idea, use that idea, and then move on to something more advanced based on the previous idea. Spiral-based curriculum differs in that you continue returning to fundamental ideas. For example, after learning about intervals, rather than moving on to something else, you stay with intervals, stacking more and more of them to produce triads, then seventh chords, then extended harmonies. It is possible to build a substantial program of study from a spiral-based approach.
    The second aspect of score study is anticipating problems that may occur in rehearsal. Identify the technical and rhythmic trouble spots where the students may need your help. A quick word of advice, such as, “Clarinets, watch for the awkward break,” or, “Oboes, use the forked fingering for the F in measure seven” goes a long way toward students getting it correct the first time. If you ignore it, students will come up with any easy solution they can find. Then they have to unlearn that and relearn the correct technique, and it takes at least twice as long than it would to just remind them to do it correctly the first time.
    Although it is essential that conductors understand instrumental pedagogy well enough to anticipate production difficulties students will face and have a plan to help them, this goes beyond the technical limitations of an instrument and into discovering what makes a particular passage difficult and how it can be fixed. For example, in Incantation and Dance, bass and contrabass clarinet players rarely struggle with the eighth-note passages in their soli section but often miscount the long notes. That’s something experienced conductors can anticipate and why it is so important to learn a piece and discover as many troublesome spots as possible before the first rehearsal.
    An easy way to address a potentially troublesome rhythm is to build a warmup out of it. Then, when students encounter it in the music, they are more likely to play it correctly. I did a unit of study on this with my students, too. I called it “Exemplar Rhythms” and would have a different one each day. After we played it in warmups, I would hint, “We’re going to sightread a piece at the end of rehearsal, and you may find that rhythm there.”
    The better you know the score, the less dependent you are upon it. Remember that the ultimate score study goal should to carry in your mind and ear an ideal performance model for the work. Although ear training is essential for targeting and correcting errors, it is worth noting an ear training exercise that John Paynter taught me many years ago also works well for score study: when you look at music, try to imagine how it would sound. When you listen to music, try to imagine how it would look if it were written out. Some refer to this approach as developing the seeing ear and the listening eye, and it will help both score study and rehearsal efficiency.

Planning
    Thorough planning will help you get the most out of each rehearsal, and this planning starts with long-term preparation. The most important aspect of long-term planning is picking repertoire. During summer, select and begin to study the major repertoire for the following year. It is a good time to develop material for a unit study composition, or if you are using a rotation of unit study compositions, it is a good time to update your material. The summer is also a good time to write new units of study on a variety of topics that will be presented during the school year. Researching resources, developing student handouts and finding good listening examples can all be done when the schedule is less intense. The school year gets extremely busy, and these types of preparations may not get done as the year unfolds.
    Once you have a sense of the whole year, you can more intelligently break it into smaller bites and greater detail, starting with block-of-time planning. This more detailed planning can be done either by grading period or from concert to concert. At this stage, more major details are covered, including knowing not just the important pieces for the year but most or all of the concert programs. A couple pieces for the spring concert might be undetermined, but the first couple concerts should be pretty well in hand. This is important because score study is important. A piece should not be put into rehearsal until the conductor has it prepared. To do otherwise is like malpractice. Nobody would trust a surgeon who is surprised to learn his patient has a heart and lungs.
    Next comes weekly planning. This is a detailed sketch of what you intend to accomplish in rehearsal that week. Decide what selections need work and how much time needs to be set aside. Also, decide what units of study will be included in the week’s menu. Some like to plan in terms of daily or weekly themes. The focus for a given week could be anything from building better balance to the differences between monophonic, homophonic, and polyphonic textures.
I once heard someone say “Don’t be the only person in the room who knows what to do,” but many teachers make that mistake all the time by starting rehearsal without posting a plan. A plan gives students, especially percussionists, the chance to collect everything they need to be ready when you are.
    Additionally, in a university, when a rehearsal schedule is posted for the week, students know what to practice. It is strange how few high- or middle-school students receive that same warning. The schedule for the following week could be passed out on Friday or posted on an information board or the ensemble’s website. If students know that substantial percentage of next week’s rehearsal time will be spent on one piece, they might practice it. Knowing the plan even a day ahead gives students an opportunity to prepare. Telling students what you are going to rehearse and when you are going to rehearse it will help to promote better practice habits, accomplish more in rehearsal each day, and develop exactly the behavior you want older players to have.

Lesson Plans
    Lastly, conductors, particularly young conductors, should develop comprehensive lesson plans for each rehearsal. This is important because although an experienced teacher carries many ideas into a rehearsal, a young teacher doesn’t have that bag of tricks yet. A good lesson plan will include what the students should know or be able to do as the result of the rehearsal. It should also have guidelines on how the teacher will evaluate the effectiveness of the rehearsal. These ought to be measurable and observable. Most importantly, a comprehensive lesson plan should include a step-by-step sequence of events as the rehearsal unfolds. This section should include enough explicit detail that anyone reading the rehearsal plan (such as a substitute teacher or school administrator) would be able to follow the plan and understand the steps that are being taken to achieve the listed objectives. Many find it helpful to budget the amount of time that will be spent on each part of the rehearsal. Lesson plans can be designed in advance around unit study compositions. An excellent resource for this approach is Blueprint for Band by Robert Garofalo.
    Following each rehearsal or at the end of the school day, take time to evaluate the rehearsal for subsequent planning. Consider what worked, what did not work and what needs more attention going forward.

Communication
    We all tend to talk too much in rehearsal, repeating and embellishing when it is unnecessary. Remember that students want to play their instruments. Do not lecture; when you stop to make a correction, say what needs to be said and move on.
Young teachers should plan how they are going to say things. It is helpful to develop a rich rehearsal language that clearly and concisely describes the desired musical behavior, and the key to excellent rehearsal language is encouraging students to listen – call their attention back to the music and the desired sounds. Phrases like “listen for” and “be aware that” work well. In addition, comments should always be specific. For example, do not say “you’re out of tune” or “that rhythm is wrong.” Such statements by themselves rarely produce a desired change. Instead, be specific. Identify both the error and the needed correction.
    Finally, always define and use correct musical terms. The members of my freshman band came from six different schools, so one of my first quarter goals was to develop a common base of information, so every time I used a vocabulary word, I would ask what it meant. One of my favorite phrases was “What’s the musical behavior here?” “What’s the musical behavior for legato cantabile?” Students can quickly learn to say exactly what you want them to say, then the next step is to get them to play it that way.
After you stop to make a correction, don’t use a count-off system to restart, it will waste rehearsal time. Instead, encourage your ensemble to watch you and read your preparation gesture. If this is new to the ensemble, just say “watch me” or “read the gesture” for a few times until the habit is established. Insisting that the ensemble watch you instead of listening to your count-off will encourage visual communication. The time saved here will be significant over the course of a rehearsal.
    Students can easily be conditioned to observe and react to your conducting gestures, but this kind of communication will not happen automatically. You will need to develop this responsiveness in your ensemble during rehearsal. There is no magic moment where this can happen; it will work at all ages, even with beginners. In fact, the sooner, the better.
    Encourage eye contact from your students and remember that it goes both ways. Keep your eyes out of the score and connected to the ensemble as much as possible. If a student has a solo and is looking down at the music when you cue, stop. Tell the student to watch you for that entrance. That’s how you teach for that. Cymbal players especially benefit from learning this. They may have to count 70 bars of rest before a crash. It may be that they have gathered in the moment because they listened to what was going on before it, but a change of venue (such as from the rehearsal room to the auditorium) may prevent them from hearing as clearly as they could in the rehearsal room, and a cue will let them know where they play. The same is true for bass drummers. Frank Ticheli’s Vesuvius has a moment like that at the end. There is a 7/8 section with an important bass drum hit, and as a conductor I would make eye contact with him a whole measure early to make sure he got it right. Cuing is more important the younger a player gets.
    This applies to sections, too. It can be easy to only look at the first chair player for a section entrance, and it is good to catch the first chair player, but it is better to look up and down the section, especially if there is a student notorious for putting his horn up late. When you teach this kind of communication, early entrances go away, missed entrances go away, and students perform with greater confidence. Making frequent eye contact with your students during rehearsal and performance, perhaps with a smile of encouragement on your face, can be a powerful learning tool.
    Another example of how you teach for it is if the band is playing too loudly and you want it softer, ask students (loud voice) “Am I conducting like this—” (softer voice) “—or like this?” If they say you are conducting softly, ask “Well, what do I want, then?” You are building in them a reaction to gesture by looking the way the music sounds. This is an H. Robert Reynolds notion. He would say “Be the music,” and the idea is that you want to look like the music sounds. If the music is gentle, you don’t want to be angular. If the music is rhythmic and dramatic, you don’t want a soft rebound.
    An often overlooked aspect of conducting is sharing the responsibility for pulse with the ensemble. Many conductors fall into the trap of thinking that their job is to be a metronome, but as an ensemble’s listening skills develop, the group can usually stay together even if you stop conducting. Try it sometime; by the end of the first year of band, you can have an elementary band that you can stop conducting while students keep going successfully. I would stop conducting in rehearsal routinely. Students knew that, and they listened more when it happened. A conductor gives a lot of information. When I stopped, I would look like I was really listening – a little gamesmanship on my part – and students knew that meant to keep playing. Students started listening closely for the core of that pulse, and they almost always got tighter. When you share pulse responsibility with students, their listening will be more directed and it will free you to cue and shape phrases, and there will be fewer stops for pulse and tempo issues.
    Clear and intentional conducting skills will save valuable time in rehearsal. If you can show the students what you want through your gestures, you don’t have to stop and explain things. When there are fewer stops, much more can be accomplished. One of the most valuable tools available to use is a video recording device. Regularly record and observe your conducting to see whether your gestures communicate what you intend.

    Although there is no such thing as the perfect rehearsal, these ideas will lead to efficient and successful rehearsals that will give you a sense of satisfaction and your students a sense of accomplishment. When students regularly leave rehearsal with good feelings, they are more likely to look forward to the next rehearsal and are more likely to sign up for class next year.  

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