My suspicions were confirmed as I began to put pencil to graph paper for my first show. My days and nights were consumed with writing drill. I am not exaggerating when I say that I saw graph charts and coordinates when I closed my eyes to sleep; they floated around like a black hole and stars in the sky. I was so consumed with this slow and frustrating process that I had little time for anything else. My wife even started mowing our large yard. Fortunately, her father felt sorry for her and bought her a riding lawnmower. His pity even extended to me as he kindly made me a tracing light box.

My creative ideas were quickly exhausted. At one point, I put my young son, who could barely hold a pencil, on my lap and told him to draw something. I used the picture. My band kids looked at the chart and nicknamed the set my son drew as “the fetus.” I had to admit it was an apt description.

I knew good drill when I saw it but had a hard time getting it on paper. It was like knowing what a good lasagna tastes like without being able to cook it. I found that much of what I was doing had little to do with art and more with just filling up the counts and solving crazy problems like getting one trumpet player back to the section after having stranded him in the middle of the trombone section for one set. Forget artistry, I must get the player back in as few sets as possible.

Once I had some decent forms, there were the troublesome transitions to consider, and finding a logical and aesthetically pleasing path from one set to another was next to impossible from my spatially-challenged perspective. My drill could best have been described as an alternation of forms and a ball of winding and unwinding yarn.

The directors I used to look at smugly suddenly looked like geniuses. Living by my Clint Eastwood mantra, “a man’s got to know his limitations,” I capitulated after just one more summer of writing drill. (I thought using computer software for the first time would help, but it just enabled me to write bad drill slightly faster.) I decided to contract someone who liked writing drill and was good at it. My band benefitted because good drill greatly improved our visual presentation, and none of my trumpet players would find themselves in a sea of trombone players. It also allowed me to concentrate on other aspects of marching band that I had been neglecting.

The only negative was that I did have to start mowing the yard again. At least I had a riding lawnmower.

The post The Thrill of Drill appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Why Record the Marching Band?
Our goal was to produce an up-to-date collection of the band’s most popular selections. The last official recording occurred in 2007. When the current marching band could not attend certain sporting events, these older recordings were often used. Since that last recording, the school’s fight song and Alma Mater were revised several times. Once-popular songs had become dated and replaced by more modern ones. There was also no recording of the national anthem. A new recording would include updated versions of the fight song, Alma Mater, the national anthem, and more modern pep tunes familiar to students.

The recording would strengthen the band’s musical performance, and listening to the quality and style of music performed by the marching band could encourage high school musicians to attend the university. The recording would be made available on the school of music’s website and other outlets, and the recordings could be provided to high school students using a QR code.

Pre-Production: Preparation
The recording project included roughly 25 minutes of material, with 17 of the band’s most popular songs and two percussion features. Once the repertoire was set, a schedule for music preparation was established. Music was introduced during August marching band camp. Sectional rehearsals ocurred throughout band camp, conducted by section leaders, along with full ensemble music rehearsals. The band’s recording repertoire was emphasized during the early weeks of the football season in advance of the recording sessions.

Tom Gordon, UNR’s Recording Arts instructor, agreed to be the recording engineer on the project. He is an alumnus of the USC Trojan Marching Band and the engineer of Nevada’s 2007 album.
In researching the tech requirements, we were surprised by how little data is available on marching band recording or mic techniques. The information is pertains to live sound reinforcement micing for soloists and modern pit percussion, which is not the same thing. Mr. Gordon had to refer to his experiences with the USC Band, consulting colleagues in the film scoring industry, and his visit to the 2014 DCI Finals in Indianapolis for direction.

A few considerations he incorporated from these experiences included:
• In a 1990 USC Marching Band recording, while playing in the band, Tom Gordon observed a pair of Neumann U67’s on tall stands approximately 11′ high and 15′ wide splitting the 50-yard line (mostly likely an omni).
• A colleague, Chris Fogel, who recorded the scores for Oppenheimer and The Mandalorian, had worked with marching bands on films like The Campaign and TV shows like Severance using an M3. Based on his experiences, we started our set-up with three omni mics approximately 11′ high with a center at the 50-yard line and the other two set at approximately 75% of the width of the ensemble, in other words, they were placed about 2/3 of the distance from the center to the furthest out player on each side. The only additional spot mics were overhead mics over the snares and tenor drums because their sound travels down to the field compared to everyone else facing forward.
• The DCI Finals used what appeared to be a large-scale M5 with 5 omni mics spanning the field. This is the same array used for 100+ player film scores such as The Matrix. Sadly, there are no interviews or articles from DCI’s audio people to confirm that.

Choosing a Location
The recording location was an important decision for this project. An open-air location was the most appropriate venue and after considering several possibilities, we selected the university’s football stadium because it was familiar to band members and offered the best chance to capture the band’s true sound.

The stadium also had minimal noise pollution from traffic, construction, reflections off nearby structures, air conditioning units, and wind. It was also an easy site to move gear into and had a remote location to listen to the recordings on speakers rather than headphones.

Choosing a Recording Date
We scheduled recording sessions based on several variables:
• The time of year. Weather in Reno, Nevada, is unpredictable and can change quickly.
• The academic calendar. Recording at mid-semester seemed the most appropriate option because students would be experienced with the music by this point.
• The athletic calendar. The venue’s schedule is tight between games and team practices. Coaches and administrators in the athletic department were always kept in the loop. After analyzing the home football schedule, consulting long-range weather forecasts and historical trends, and considering mid-term exam schedules, we chose two dates in mid-October. The first day of recording took place on a Friday afternoon during the ensemble’s normal class period. The second session occurred on the following Saturday morning, six hours before a home football game.

Testing the Equipment
One week prior to the first recording session, the recording team attended a band rehearsal to make decisions about mic selections, band field locations, and instrument arrangement. They also evaluated problems such as wind and nearby noises.

They brought a Sound Devices MixPre-10 recorder and 13 sets of microphones in over 20 variations to audition. It is difficult to predict the best microphones; you have to listen to all of the options. The team only had one set of 3 matching mics to try a true M3 and Decca Tree. All others were stereo pairs. During the rehearsal, the team would set up a pair of mics, record a 30-second sample, and swap out to the next set. All sample recordings were reviewed in a controlled studio environment to make decisions on mic selections.

In most cases, critical listening choices should be made on speakers rather than headphones. Headphones do not account for the sound wave interaction, also called “phase,” coming from a pair of speakers in air, which alters perception of many things, especially intonation. We went out of our way to monitor on speakers in controlled environments rather than on headphones when possible.

The Omni-directional microphones were really the only useable mics auditioned. Even with wind screens, the cardioid mics had so much more wind noise due to their design. They were basically unusable whenever a gust of wind came up. The Omnis were far quieter with superior low frequency response.

The winning mics were a pair of Telefunken Elam 260 tube microphones in Omni. The imaging, dynamic range, and frequency response was impressive. Here is the list of mics we tested, ranked in order of preference:

Telefunken Elam 260 (omni and cardioid)
AKG 414 XLS (omni and cardioid)
AKG 414 BULS (omni and cardioid)
Sennheiser MKH20 (omni)
Royer 121 Ribbon (Figure 8 in a “Blumlein” array)
Schoeps CMC6/MK4 (cardioid) [if we had the omni version, these might have won.]
Neumann U87 (omni and cardioid, M3 and Decca Tree)
Neumann M147 (cardioid)
Neumann KM184 (cardioid)
AKG C 460b (cardioid)
Audio Technica 4033 (cardioid)
Rode NT5 (cardioid)
CAD GXL 1200 (cardioid)

Production: The Recording Sessions
Day One:
The recording team arrived at the stadium two hours early to place the mics and stands on the stadium sidelines. The stands were secured with sandbags in the event of wind gusts. The mics were set 6′ wide (splitting the 50-yard line), 11′ high (though in hindsight, we could have gone a foot higher), 5′ from the edge of the field, and at a 22-degree tilt. Narrower than 6′ wide sounded too mono, and wider than 6′ sounded like there was a hole in the middle. The mics were also put in classic film industry microphone holders called “wind jammers,” which work well to diffuse any remaining wind noise.

A room in the stadium press box, far from the live band sound, served as a control room for the first day Mics were wired from the field using 200′ of cabling straight to the recorder in the booth. We monitored on KRK V6 S4 speakers but created temporary muting of reflective surfaces in the room by placing packing blankets on tall boom mic stands. That ensured that the sound coming out of the speakers wasn’t colored too much by the room’s imperfect acoustics. This allowed the production team to take notes on the ensemble’s performance and provide immediate feedback to Dr. Eubanks and band members on the field. Mr. Gordon, the Director of the School of Music, Dr. Reed Chamberlin, and others from the marching band staff listened and gave production feedback during the recording session.

While recording, we had to make sure we had handles on either side of each edited piece. For example, if take 1 was the beginning up to bar 100, and take 2 started on bar 100, the best practice is to start recording take 2 about 2-4 bars before bar 100. That way, when the ensemble gets to bar 100, the energy matches the previous take. This makes post-production editing much easier.

The longest songs were recorded during the first recording session. Full runs were first taken on each piece followed by smaller sections that might be troublesome. In some cases, only a small number of complete recordings were necessary. For others, there were as many as ten different smaller sections stitched together. There was no click used, so consistent tempos were achieved by assigning specific drum majors to conduct every take of the same song. At the conclusion of the two-hour recording session, we had completed the seven longest songs.

Day Two: Game Day
We began day two in the morning before a home football game. Because this game was televised, we constantly mitigated additional noise in the stadium as people from Athletics and the national television crew quietly prepped the stadium for the game. Everyone involved was respectful and compliant with our recording project.

L-R Co-producer: Dr. Reed Chamberlin, Head Engineer: Tom Gordon, 2nd Engineer: Luis Gonzalez-Claro

Because it was a game day, we couldn’t use our press box control room. The recording team had to set up on the sidelines approximately 15′ away from the front of the band. Dr. Chamberlin had to produce the recording using headphones at close range to the band. These constraints made the second day of recording more challenging because the bleed from the live band was almost as loud as the headphones. This made it much harder to hear clearly what was getting recorded and to give feedback. Plus, we just had to trust that the positions from day 1 were sounding just as good on day 2. We couldn’t tell for sure on the headphones. Fortunately, when we listened to playback in a studio later, they did.

After the second two-hour session, we had completed the additional nine shorter marching band selections as well as two percussion features.

Post-Production: Editing, Mastering, & Release
Editing:
The recording team created rough mixes of each take for Dr. Eubanks to review. He then selected the preferred takes at home on consumer speakers and headphones over the course of a month.
Then two, 9-hour sessions were scheduled at Mr. Gordon’s studio to edit the desired takes together. Because it was just a stereo recording, there was no need for remixing, saving considerable time. Thanks to our thorough mic choice and placement testing during pre-preproduction, there was no “fixing it in the mix.”

In the studio, each preferred take was carefully reviewed by Dr. Eubanks and Mr. Gordon. Occasionally, comparisons were made between the selected takes and alternate ones to confirm that were no better takes hiding somewhere. Some things just sound different in the studio. We also discovered that not all of the takes were at the same exact tempo. Many of the DAWS available today have time compression and expansion options. This allows the recording engineer to stretch the audio a touch either way to match tempos between takes. Volume differences were corrected with level automation within the DAW. Software can also address pitch issues in stereo mixes, but we opted not to go that route.

Mastering:
We assembled the album in the song order that Dr. Eubanks selected. This included carefully reviewing the transition times between the songs for flow. During that process Dr. Eubanks came up with a name for the project – Go Pack!

To get recordings to match the modern standards for streaming, radio, and album replication, the final step of any album is the mastering process. Mastering combines equalization, compression, and other bits of wizardry, such as analog tape emulation or stereo widening on the final mixes, to get all tracks at a consistent volume and tone levels from song to song. Mastering also involves adjusting the overall volume to comply with common delivery platforms.

Once completed, the final audio files were exported as WAV files and MP3s for general use as well as DDP files for CD manufacturing. Metadata was encoded in the audio files containing the artists’ name, album name, and song name in each audio file. International Standard Recording Codes (ISRC) can also be encoded in the metadata to serve as virtual barcodes in each song to track when digital versions of the music are played for broadcast, downloaded, or streamed. For every song, only one ISRC Code may be assigned.

Archiving:
Every hard drive, SSD, or thumb drive has a 100% failure rate. It’s just a matter of when. We created a set of backups at the studio and another set in the University’s data archives. Having backups in two different locations gave us reliable long-term storage.

Licensing:
Many of the songs were copywritten works and not public domain. Publishing licenses were secured to make sure that the songwriters received their appropriate percentages. The Harry Fox Agency in New York represents most publishers in the US. However, we recently discovered Easy Song Licensing, a company that lives up to their name. The typical fee for such a license is 0.091cents a copy. So, a thousand sales of a song would give $91 to the songwriter.

Copyright:
The new recording, legally called a “mechanical master,” needed copyright protection. On the Library of Congress’s Electronic Copyright Office (eCO) website, we filled out the Sound Recording (SR) form, uploaded audio files, and paid for the copyright. Having the contributing writers’ names and birth years are important during this process. It can take several months for the paperwork to process but it will be retroactive to the payment date for the transaction.

Distribution:
With the final masters ready for delivery, licenses secured, and copyrights in place, a distribution avenue is usually needed. Many independent distribution sources are available including Distro Kid, CD Baby, or Tunecore. All of them can provide ISRC codes. We used our School of The Arts website in addition to CD Baby to release the music for recruiting purposes as well as popular streaming sales sites such as Spotify and Apple Music.

Final Thoughts:
Recording a marching band can be a tedious yet rewarding experience. Participation in a recording project of this magnitude requires a commitment to excellence in every detail. If you are considering recording your marching band, take the time to plan ahead, rigorously rehearse the material with the band, work with a knowledgeable audio engineer, test the recording technology available in advance, and do not attempt to do it all in one session. Record outdoors during a time of year that has conducive weather. It should be a comfortable space for the ensemble and close enough to a room to set up speakers. The result will be a recording that captures the best of what your band has to offer.

A link to this project can be found at:

Some helpful recording terms:
Polarity: the pick-up area of a microphone.
Cardioid: A mic that picks up mostly in front.
Omni: A mic that picks up 360 degrees.
Figure 8: A bidirectional mic that picks up front and back, no sides.
Decca Tree: triangular mic array of 3 omni mics for classical recording.
M3: 3 omni mics array in a straight line for classical recording.
M5: A M3 with two more wide omni mics in a straight line for very large classical recordings.
Phase: The interaction of two or more soundwaves.
DAW (Digital Audio Workstation): Recording and mixing software such as Pro Tools, Logic, Ableton, and many others.

The post Recording Your Marching Band appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Guide your students in their search for the best place to further their education. Click here for the full directory. (Photo above courtesy of Concordia University Wisconsin, post image by Suzi Callis at University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.)

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Several years ago, I read an article about a car wash fundraiser that raised up to $15,000. I was skeptical but kept the article. I found it a few years later and shared it with a colleague. We decided to try it and were astounded to earn over $8,000 the first year. Now, we’ve done it several times and made between $8,000 and $18,500 each time with only seven hours of work. Here’s how it happens.

Secure a good location (or two or three) for the event. You will want a big parking lot to pull cars through two at a time (side-by-side) from a washing station to a rinsing station and finally to a drying station in an orderly assembly line. The bigger the group, the more locations you will need.

Decide how to divide up students. I recommend having 16-24 person teams. With significantly more students, you can create shifts, but make sure their call times overlap. Our first shift comes in from 8:45 am to 12:45 pm, and the second shift covers 12:30 pm until 4:30 pm. We typically wash from 9:00 am until 4:00 pm and have 80-110 students divided between two locations. Some students enjoy working all day, and a few are unable to participate, but it all works out. For us, this means approximately 40+ students per location spread out over the day.

Pledges are essential to our success. Every student is expected to secure pledges prior to the big event. Our pledge sheets have five options: 2, 3, 5, 7 or 10 cents per car washed. Some people prefer to give a flat donation. We have found that we can wash more than 300 cars in seven hours between the two locations. We tell donors that there is a 300-car minimum, and the average pledge is 2 cents per car. If 100 students participate, with each getting twenty pledges, that adds up to $12,000. We also accept on-site donations, which adds around $1,000 at each location. Although not all students work to secure pledges, others have great success collecting pledges. Sometimes a grandparent or a close family friend will pledge five cents or more per car, so it all works out. Often, people round up on the pledges, so we tend to make a little extra. A typical automated car wash in our area costs between $10 and $25 per wash, so a $10-$20 pledge/donation for a hand wash is not out of the range that people are used to paying.

Those who make pledges receive a ticket to present the day of the wash. This method eliminates the awkwardness of asking for donations when customers arrive. Most people can just give the ticket to a student and on they go. (Those who don’t have a ticket can donate on the day of the event.) The ticket also provides the locations and times of the car wash. It is common to receive tips or a larger donation at the drying station because people appreciate the service after seeing our thorough work.

One key to our success is explaining the math with the students. I use the Mega Math spreadsheet (pdf) to illustrate how easy it is to make big money. We have a couple of short group meetings led by the drum majors – no more than about 10 minutes each.

Each drum major manages one site (remember the team-building aspect). They have a list of necessary items including washing sponges, drying towels, squeegees for windows, drying racks (for air drying towels to reuse), car soap, buckets, hoses, Y adapters, spray nozzles, 6-foot ladders, and signs that they ask students to bring. The booster club treasurer brings a cash box with fives and tens to make change.

We divide the car wash location into three areas. The plan describes where the queue will form to enter the wash area and designates the three key areas: washing, rinsing, and drying.

Washing: We need 6-8 people washing each car. Each person is responsible for a portion of the car. One student wets the car with a hose and a sprayer nozzle, then they start washing from top to bottom. It is easy to wash side to side, but we have found this approach is inefficient and leads to missing parts of the car. We make sure that not everyone is washing the hood or trunk, which are the easy parts. Someone is responsible for the hood driver’s side, front quarter panel, and wheel area. Another starts on the driver’s side doors from top to bottom. Someone else washes the back quarter and wheel area, and trunk on the driver’s side. There are three more students on the passenger side working on the same areas. The difference between a good car wash and a great car wash is paying attention to cleaning the tire rims, mirrors, and bottom of the doors. We try to achieve excellence in music and in car washes.

Rinsing: A student signals when to pull the car forward to the rinsing area, where another student rinses off the soap. At this point, someone examines the car for areas missed in the washing station and possibly provides a quick touch up.

Drying: After rinsing the car, another student motions for the car to pull into the drying station for yet another team of students to towel-dry the car from top to bottom. Hand drying removes water spots and provides one last time to clean leftover grime. Squeegees work best for avoiding streaks on the windows. This area uses lots of towels, hence the need for towel racks or a rope strung between two trees or light poles, allowing the towels to dry for use later in the day.

We have students out near the street holding signs and directing traffic to the car wash. They must be energetic and active at all times. Sitting down or looking bored does not inspire confidence. Sometimes students bring instruments and play a few pep band tunes to get people’s attention.

Parents help in each of the washing, rinsing and drying areas. Because most students don’t have cars, they may not grasp the perfection an adult expects regarding getting in the cracks to make sure every inch of the car is clean. Sometimes in the rinsing area, we need to touch up the tires or a missed quarter panel. Designating a student as a Quality Control advocate is great leadership training and keeps everyone on their toes. Parents also bring water, a pop-up tent for shade, pizza, and other snacks.

Over the years we have washed RVs, motorcycles, fire trucks, and police cars, in addition to cars and trucks. We count fire trucks and RVs as three vehicles. We once had a gentleman tell us he was limited on time. He inquired how long it would take, and we told him five minutes. He responded that he would give us $50 if we could wash his truck in five minutes, but for every minute over he would subtract $10. From the time the water hit his windshield to the time it was dry was six minutes. Our system worked. We made $40 on his truck, and the kids were excited. That was great team building!

To increase our totals for the day, we encourage parents and students to get their car washed – even if they can’t afford to pay. Every band family tends to wash every car they own. Even students who might lack the money to wash their cars regularly bring them along. There is no pressure to donate. Every car washed is a bonus. The money that is donated at the event is not our primary focus; it is the pledge per car.

It is particularly satisfying that this fundraiser helps pay for band travel. To encourage students to hustle for pledges, they get to keep 70% of the profit from their pledge sheet, in their individual trip account. It is common for students to earn $300 to $600 for their individual account. The other 30% goes to the band fund for general expenses. By dividing the money 70/30 from a typical ($12,000) Mega Car Wash, the band still earns $4,000, which is still a good fundraising result, and students have added $8,000 to their accounts. which is a win for everybody. If we get rained out, we still collect on the 300-car minimum as stated on the car wash tickets – after all, this is a fundraiser. We have also begun taking donations using Venmo and other popular payment methods, which is a great help.

As an added incentive for students, if we raise $15,000 in pledges and donations, my color guard coach and I agree to dye our hair pink for a day of school. Other options teachers could use might be for a staff member to sleep on the school roof for a night or allow the top earning section to pie them in the face. These incentives provide a nice extra carrot for students.

All the forms that we use are included as pdfs. Change the name of the group, locations of the car washes and dates to make them yours. The kids have a blast, and you can make a lot of money for not a lot of work. Enjoy your clean car.

Car Wash Tickets pdf

Pledge Donation Sheet pdf

Car Wash Step by Step pdf

The post Working at the Car Wash, A Blueprint for Successful Fundraising appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Courtesy of Lebanon Valley College

Why do you want to pursue a graduate degree?
• Do you want to continue your education or increase the depth and focus of your teaching or performance?
• Do you need to fulfill a requirement for recertification in your school district or state, or do you want to become certified in a specialized area?
• Is professional advancement your goal, either in the grade level you teach or your employer’s pay scale?
• Do you seek a different career path in music?

When would you like to pursue a degree?
Depending on your goals, the best time to continue your education might be right after earning an undergraduate degree. For example, if you are pursuing a graduate degree in music performance, music theory, musicology, or composition, the time to continue your education may be after completing your undergraduate study when your performance ability is at its height, and you desire to keep pushing yourself.

For other degrees, such as a graduate degree in music education, obtaining a few years of professional experience first may prove beneficial. This will help you develop classroom skills and collect evidence of your teaching abilities. Documentation to gather may include recordings from the classroom and conducting rehearsals, teaching materials and handbooks you have created, concert programs, formal evaluations, newspaper articles, or photographs of your students in action. This will not only help you in the application process, but when you begin the degree program, you will have a more extensive understanding and set of experiences to draw from than someone with only their undergraduate field experiences and student teaching.

Where would you like to study?
Start by making a list of schools. you are interested in. These universities might be on the list due to the program location and professional opportunities available to graduate students, including working with a highly regarded teacher. Depending on your familiarity with the school, a visit can help decide which programs make the cut. You may discover that the location is wonderful and opportunities to perform with local ensembles or teach private lessons are plentiful. You may also learn that the school or music department is an unsafe area, or the cost of living makes pursuing a graduate degree there less attractive.

If a particular faculty member is a key reason why you are considering a school, consider how well you might work that person. The relationship with your major professor in graduate school will be one of the most important professional relationships you will develop. You want to make to sure that you will thrive by spending years under their guidance. It can help to meet and learn about them before you audition or interview. One way is to attend professional development sessions, masterclasses, or workshops where they are teaching or presenting. You can also contact faculty members to schedule a lesson to see if their teaching style works for you and if they will continue to cultivate and nourish your musical and pedagogical abilities.

Establishing a relationship with a faculty member may also influence the timing of graduate study. Some programs can only admit or offer financial aid to a limited number of students in a given year, and the demand for a certain faculty member may prevent you from being admitted right away. However, by waiting a year or for the completion of a graduate cohort, you could be admitted or given a scholarship offer in the next year or cycle.

What is your goal at the end of the degree program?
A significant objective of completing a graduate program is career advancement. Some students want a more advanced teaching position, either in a different role or a better setting. Some graduate students want to jump from teaching at the K-12 level to the university level. Others want to perform with a professional ensemble or work in the office for a professional ensemble or non-profit organization. Regardless of your plans, examine whether the program or degree will help you achieve your goals. Where do graduates of the program work after completing their degrees? Where are they living and working, and how much did the school or faculty help them get there? It may be prudent to contact an alum to get their thoughts on the program or faculty member.

What are the requirements to apply and audition?
Once you have decided on which programs you want to apply to, make a list of the application and audition requirements and deadlines for each one. Items to include might be:
• What is the grade point average requirement from your undergraduate study?
• Do you need to take any additional exams, such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE)?
• Is there a preference or requirement for years and types of prior experience?
• Do you need to submit pre-screening materials, such as recordings or video from solo and ensemble performances, teaching, rehearsals, etc?
• What are the fees for the application or pre-screening?
• When are the audition/interview dates for the program, or do you need to schedule an individual appointment?

How are you going to fund a graduate degree?
Some schools offer graduate students a full-time assistant position, including a scholarship or tuition waiver as well as a stipend for working a particular number of hours a week. Scholarships or tuition waivers can cover anything up to the full cost of tuition and possibly general fees from the university. Some universities may also offer a discounted rate or cover the cost of health insurance as part of the financial package for graduate assistants. If you are offered a stipend, the amount may vary depending on your duties and the expected hours per week you are working as a graduate assistant.

Graduate assistants often help with or teach undergraduate courses. They may also assist with rehearsals and performances, or complete administrative tasks including grading, record keeping, and faculty research projects. There may be an assistantship that includes tracking and maintaining the university instrument inventory. Other assistants might work in the music library, technology lab, or recording studio. With the rise of social media and performance live-streaming, more programs offer assistantships handling public relations and media outreach. What-ever tasks a position might entail, know the facts before you sign a contract. Always look for the fine print: “Other duties as assigned.”

Some schools and programs allow students to attend graduate school while maintaining a full-time job, completing coursework part time over a few years or through summers-only or online degree programs. These students are typically not graduate assistants but may receive financial assistance or reimbursement from their employer or a scholarship program while completing their degrees.

However you choose to complete your graduate degree, carefully assess whether you can afford the full expense of graduate school. Consider moving costs as well as essentials like rent, food, utilities, and transportation. How will you pay for unexpected expenses such as home repairs, vehicle breakdowns, and medical procedures? Will you be able to afford health and dental insurance, car insurance, and renter’s insurance? You may need to evaluate whether you will have time for an additional part-time job or will require financial assistance through student or personal loans. This may involve conversations with family members or financial experts so you have a firm grasp of your financial obligations during and after completing the degree.

Another important factor to consider is whether the return for your time and the expense of graduate school is worth it for you and your career plans. Make sure to do thorough research and know what you are committing to before making such a large investment in your educational and professional life.

The post Thinking About Graduate School appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

For an accurate performance, subdivision is the key. Ask students to subdivide by fours in the first rhythm (simple meter) and by threes (compound meter) in the second.

Time
Introduce students to the idea that there are three parts to time in music: tempo, meter and rhythm. The tempo is shown by a word or a few words at the beginning of the piece (or at beginning of sections later in the composition). Sometimes there is a metronome marking to pinpoint what the composer intended.

A word of caution: The metronome was invented by Maelzel in 1815. Wind-up metronomes varied widely in accuracy and were used until the mid-1980s when they were replaced with the quartz metronome. Metronome markings annotated before the quartz metronome should be noted with caution. Beethoven was the first to use the Maelzel metronome, but many later composers were not interested in putting metronome markings in their works. Often they were inserted by publishers. Composers Poulenc and Liebermann have both said that the metronome markings written in their works were incorrect. Richard Wagner’s friend, conductor Hans Von Bulow, remarked that there is one measure in every piece that indicates the tempo of the passage. This should agree with the metronome setting.

Meter is divided into two categories: simple and compound. Simple meter divides the beat in twos and compound meter by threes. In early music education, simple meter is taught first because the human body is in twos. We walk left, right. We open and close our eyes. We breathe in and out. Simple meter is easy to feel. Insufficient time is often spent on compound meter, and for most students playing in compound meter is a challenge.

Rhythm is what happens on an individual beat. Just like in reading where 20 sight words are often memorized before moving onto phonics, there are eight rhythms in music that educators focus on in early instruction. These are:

There are several ways to teach these rhythms including using a pencil to tap on a music stand, clapping in the air or on the lap, and playing in unison on instruments. Practice playing in various tempos and varied dynamics. I like to do a passing game where one of these rhythms is passed from one section to the next, back and forth ping pong style, employing echo dynamics (woodwinds to brass and percussion or flutes to clarinets, etc.). Point out that a clean attack is a goal as is a clean release. Once students can execute these basic eight rhythms in simple meter, have them practice the rhythms piano style with the right hand tapping one rhythm and the left hand another rhythm. This aids in learning to play as an ensemble.

When I was in conservatory, we regularly practiced rhythmic reading. With the right hand, we conducted the number of beats in the time signature. With the left hand, we tapped the background (in simple meter this would be four sixteenths and in compound meter three eighths or six sixteenths.) And finally, we counted out loud which was eventually replaced with singing the pitches and dynamics.

This was showing the meter and rhythm in three different ways. One teacher said that the more body parts you can include in learning and understanding rhythm, the better. At the time I thought this was a challenge and had to practice rhythmic reading on a regular basis. However, in my performance career, this is how I have learned most of the new works in the repertoire that have challenging mixed meters or unusual rhythms and articulations. It was certainly worth the effort to learn this skill. How much of this you can teach to students depends on the level of advancement of the group and length of class time.

Subdivision
We skirt on teaching subdivision when teaching the difference between simple and compound meter, but as students advance, subdivision becomes more important. Students who study privately often are exposed to playing subdivisions in slow movements of Baroque, Classic and Romantic style sonatas and concertos, and orchestral students see subdivisions in slow movements of music from the Baroque on timewise. Sometimes this is called playing in eight because the eighth note is usually the consistent pulse throughout the repertoire.

Alla Breve and Subdivision
Most band students are exposed to alla breve or cut time in the first method book. Teachers can describe this to students by saying that it means to play what is written at double speed as if a flag or another flag is added to the stem of note. To subdivide the opposite occurs as a flag is removed. When going from a section in 4/4 into a cut-time section adding a “telephone pole” in the music prevents errors. Likewise, when going into a subdivided section, a “telephone pole” is also helpful.

Select some level 2 or 3 band music to use to begin teaching subdivision. Keep it simple with music written in whole notes, half notes, and quarters. The question asked is, “How many eighths are in a whole note – 8, in a half note – 4, and in a quarter note – 2.” This will seem tedious to some students so work in 4 or 8 bar units. Before playing, mark the telephone poles over the music. Eventually this will no longer be needed except in special instances. Discourage students from counting with their air stream as there is a natural tendency to do so when counting longer subdivisions. As you continue raising the difficulty level, you will encounter dotted notes. Playing dotted notes accurately is a good by-product of teaching subdivision.

Private teachers often use music books such as Rhythmical Articulation (A Complete Method) for singers and instrumentalists by Pasquale Bona, published by Schirmer and 48 Studies for Oboe or Saxophone, Op. 31 by W. F. Ferling, edited by Martin Schuring, published by Kalmus. I am particularly fond of the Ferling as the melodies are beautifully written and incorporate trills, gruppettos, and cadenza like passages. I also teach the slow movements of the Handel 12 Flute Sonatas before advancing into the orchestral repertoire.

Regular practice of alla breve and subdivided music leads to musical, accurate performances. As master teacher Nadia Boulanger said, “To live you have to count. One who counts best lives best. One should be a saint to be a true teacher. The eyes give food to the hands.”

The post Thoughts on Subdivision appeared first on The Instrumentalist.

Photo courtesy Lebanon Valley College

During my career, I have worked with student teachers as a Cooperating Educator (the teacher in the school who works with the student teacher everyday) and as a Cooperating Mentor (the university faculty member who observes and works with the student teacher). In both roles, I have noticed similarities among future teachers. This is an open letter of encouragement and insight for those about to begin their student teaching experience.

You are not going to be good at this – at first!
Do you remember your early days of playing an instrument? It was likely an exciting but frustrating time. What did you do? You practiced, listened to your teacher, and practiced some more. Your teacher was patient and provided good advice. In a short time, you were making progress. The same determination is needed when learning how to teach. You will need to practice, listen to directors with hard-earned experience, and learn from mistakes. Just as you are patient with beginning players, you need to save some grace and understanding for yourself on this journey.

You have to know the territory.
You have spent years performing in college ensembles that operate at a high level on stage and in rehearsals. You have worked with adults who pay close attention to the conductor and make adjustments on the first try. You have grown accustomed to this rehearsal scenario:

Director: “Band, at measure 46, I need more feeling. We really need to explore man’s inhumanity to man here.” The band members quickly mark the part and play as instructed.

With younger students you may encounter this instead:
Director: “Trumpets, in measure 15 please remember to carry the accidental from count 1 to count 4.” Students might circle the correct measure if they have a pencil, and some may play the accidental correctly on the next attempt. More than likely, you will have to repeat the instructions. There is a direct correlation between the age of students and the number of repetitions required to make a correction.

Younger students will need more times to learn a skill. Do not give up just because players don’t get it right away. Be sure to give instructions in a clear, understandable fashion while the room is quiet and be patient.

You are saying the right things, but the kids came to play.
During years of watching student teachers in rehearsals, I have given one piece of advice more than any other: “Your diagnosis and corrections are good, but you’re talking more than they’re playing.” Rehearsal pacing takes time to develop, but remember that students will only remember one or two instructions at a time. You may hear a dozen things to fix, but talking at length will lose the attention of the ensemble.

Franklin Roosevelt is credited this humorous line about public speaking: be sincere, be brief, and be seated. To lead an engaging rehearsal, edit that to “be specific, be brief, and be playing.” Stick to a basic routine when stopping the ensemble – wait for the room to be quiet, make sure you have their attention, be precise and specific with corrections, and get them back to playing so they can apply your advice. A good rehearsal pace keeps students engaged. Often, problems you don’t discuss will improve just by letting students play through them. Finally, don’t forget to point out to what they are doing well. Everything you say should not be a correction!

Respect and rapport are earned.
You have worked really hard during your college years to get to this point. You have spent countless hours in practice rooms, rehearsal rooms, and recital halls. The fifth graders in your ensemble do not know any of that. Even if they did know, it wouldn’t mean much to them. At the end of my first year of teaching, I congratulated a colleague who was retiring. I asked her if she had any advice for a first-year teacher. She looked at me and replied, “Don’t expect too much too soon.”

At the time, I was put off by the comment, but she was right. You cannot expect people who don’t know you to give you the respect and deference of someone who has been in the profession for 15, 20, or 25 years. The beginning of your teaching career is a reputation reset. Other teachers will want to see what kind of a colleague you are. Students want to know how much you care about them as people. It takes time to build connections and establish rapport and respect.

When starting out, focus on teaching well, but don’t forget the personal elements of the job. Build good relationships with colleagues, administrators, secretaries, custodians, and lunchroom staff. Develop a good working relationship with students. Be patient yet insistent, be consistent with classroom policy, and show genuine concern for them as human beings. When you have built this connection and trust, they will run through a brick wall for you!

Beyond establishing solid relationships with students, maintain a strong rapport with your cooperating educator. If you didn’t know them previously, make time to meet before your residency. Get to know their philosophy and personality. As you work with them, they may approach certain tasks a manner that is unfamiliar to you. You might not agree with them, but you can still learn from it. At a minimum, it could spark some meaningful discussions with your peers and cooperating mentor.

Speaking of your cooperating mentor – hopefully they are someone you worked with during your years in college. If not, much like your cooperating teacher – find time to talk. See them as an experienced educator and resource, not just someone who observes you in class.

Experience everything.
Expectations for a student teacher’s presence at student-teacher conferences and IEP/504 meetings vary from school to school, but I strongly encourage student teachers to be at everything their cooperating teacher attends. Being a teacher incorporates much more than teaching. The behind-the-scenes tasks are the most unfamiliar for future teachers. It’s critical to understand the full picture of a teacher’s role. So, come early for the staff meeting, stay late for the pep band and run the concession stand. Be a fly on the wall as much as possible.

Ask your cooperating educator to identify a classroom teacher at the school that they consider to be of the highest quality. Ask permission to spend time observing them. Good teaching is good teaching. Even though they don’t teach music, you can learn so much about content delivery, classroom management, and communication.

Prepare to be great.
Before you start your student teaching journey, go back and review course material you have not looked at in a while. Perhaps you took a woodwind pedagogy class your sophomore year. When is the last time you picked up a clarinet and reviewed note fingerings, proper embouchure, or pitch tendencies? Think about the last time you conducted. Teaching requires consistent review and refinement.

Find ways to work with young people before your student teaching begins. It does not need to be music – church groups, after school programs, and youth sports coaching are great ways to gain experience. High school marching bands everywhere are always seeking help during the season. One of the best things I did prior to teaching was to work with the Little League baseball program in my hometown for several summers. It gave me insight into what made kids tick, how they learned, and how to interact with them. As a bonus, it strengthened my resume. The principal who hired me for my first job mentioned that my experience coordinating the baseball program gave me the edge over other applicants who were also first-year teachers.

Ask, write, collect, and reflect.
Student teaching experience can be a blur; the long days, new experiences, and preparation for life beyond college can cause weeks and events to run together. Make time to journal about your day. It can be just a few sentences or several paragraphs. Think and write about what you did well, how to replicate it consistently, and what skills need more work. Write about new techniques that you observed, a unique situation that you faced, and anything that you want to remember and revisit. Make copies of any forms or teaching materials your cooperating educator used that you found valuable. Have an organized file – in hard copy or on computer – of valuable resources

Trust yourself.
You began studying music because it was fun. You pursued a career in music because you became passionate about it. You are about to work with young people looking for that same inspiration and spark. Pair knowledge with enthusiasm, patience with insistence, and trust the same message that you will share with your students: the more you practice, the better you get.

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