Am I On The Right Instrument?

One of the top reasons students do not continue in band programs is one that can be very easily prevented right from the beginning. (Or can it?) Many students are just simply on the incorrect instrument. I say this can be easily fixed but then added maybe not. What does this mean? Well first let's discuss the three instruments that I see the most students that may be incorrectly placed.

Flute - Many young students and parents have their heart set on playing the flute. For one thing there are a lot of the actual instruments out there. They are easy to carry in a book bag and they are not real loud in the house. Sounds great doesn't it? Well in reality, flute is perhaps the most difficult instrument in which to be placed. Why? A lot of people have what is called a "cupid's bow" on their upper lip. This means the upper lip actually looks like a bow. The problem is that this piece of lips will actually split the air stream almost guaranteeing that the player will have much difficulty producing a non airy characteristic flute sound. Also, some people produce an aperture which is more oval shaped than the desired diamond shaped. This too will allow air to leak or over flow around the lip plate on the instrument. All of these things may be dealt with at an elementary level of playing where range is not a concern. The problems start when as the student progresses in the band program and the level of the music progresses too especially with the aspect of range. These students which have manipulated their embouchure to play the upper notes of their beginning level music are now very aware of the their problems when confront with even grade 3 band literature. Why do flute players need to be able to play high? Because that's where they parts are written.

Trumpet - Here again is a popular one that may have quite a bit of problems built in. It again is a pretty easy instrument for one to find. There are a lot of them in attics and the such. The main problem with trumpet is again range. I have seen many, many high school players that just struggle with the upper range. Why do trumpet players need to be able to play high? Because that's where the parts are written. Many beginning band compositions do not write above a third space C and some not even about a second space A. The trouble happens when the player encounters grade 3 band literature and the ranges start expanding. If a beginning player struggles to play a third space C from the beginning, chances are that they will struggle with range.

Drums (I know percussionists, but let's be real they want to play the drums!) - What happens here may be the worst of all. There are many physical characteristics that will inhibit a student from gaining technical proficiency on the percussion instruments. One must remember that percussion playing is about 80% technique and if problems are built in such as not being able to hold the sticks correctly due to physical characteristics, the student is going to struggle. I have even heard a director say "well they couldn't make a sound on any other instrument so I put them on percussion." Wow! First the percussionist must understand they are going to play mallets...a lot of mallets. Still I have heard many parent say if their child doesn't play drums, they just won't be in band. The fact is with this mind set, they probably won't be in band very long anyway. The problems with having more than 5 or 6 percussionists in a symphonic setting is a whole other issue too.

Of course, there are exceptions to any of the above mentioned problems and many fine musicians are included in these exceptions. Also, remember that a clarinet and a saxophone embouchure is a taught embouchure in which all can have success. There is a place for all in band but why build in problems which will only get worse as the music gets more advanced?

A Grammy...How about that?

Micheal Daugherty won the Grammy for Best Classical Contemporary Composition for 2011 with his composition "Deus Ex Machina". Imagine that? All you have to do is look back at my posts from September, October, and November to know we knew it was a great piece all along. I have to say that I was shocked to have made finals at BOA in Towson, Maryland only to return to South Carolina to be shut out of finals at out state competition. Some of the comments from the judges at BOA were "Thank you for being different" and " Wow, this is really cool." Only to hear comments like this in SC "I am not sure what you are going for" and "This is very obscure." Well I guess some people do know the piece and I am sure many more will now too. I find it interesting that a bunch of kids in Irmo, South Carolina know a great deal about the 2011 Grammy winner where as many "judges" did not. If you haven't seen our show from last year, you really show check it out. It is way ahead of its time but I will take that any day over being behind the times.

"It is better to live your own destiny imperfectly than to live somebody else's life with perfection"

P.S. Yes, we did obtain the legal rights to arrange the composition for marching band. It was rather easy to do actually.

Do you practice or do you...

Do you practice or do you just play? Somebody I respect said something at a rehearsal one day that struck me. He stated that practice is an involved process in which you analyse what you are doing and evaluate how you did it. You then make a plan for how you are going to fix or perfect a passage of music. He stated that just taking out the instrument and playing through some music is just that, just playing. I observed this last night at my wind ensemble rehearsal. I could tell some were analysing and listening and perfecting while others were just "playing". This is a fine ensemble with many fine musicians too but it is contagious for this to happen in any ensemble. One must remember there are several levels of musical activity which stimulate the brain. First , you have listening. This is where most people stop too. I often hear something like this..."So and so just loves music. He always has is Ipod on his head." Remember this is the lowest form of musical activity and there is research to support that this really is not much of a stimulus at all. Secondly, there is playing music. This is in itself is actually a fairly low form of musical understanding. This is where many musicians end their quest for musicality. They play great notes and rhythms but often miss how their part fits with the others in not only volume but expression too. I would love to think that my part is the most important in the ensemble but alas, sometimes it is not. The next level of musical understanding is analysis. Many a great theory student thinks this happens away from the instrument with a score. Although this is true, it can also happen with the instrument in ones hands. This relates back to question. Do you practice or just play? To play in any group successfully, this attitude of analysis must be included. One must not only evaluate their notes and rhythms but also where these items fit with others. The final and highest form of musical thought is composition. Of course conductors usually frown upon this during rehearsals. Perhaps I will discuss this aspect of music later as it is something I enjoy from time to time.

Any way in conclusion, please don't just play. Analysis what you and others around you are doing. Strive to be a musician. When asked what "I play"? I simply respond the same everytime. I play and conduct...MUSIC!

The Drums, the drums, the drums! Do you hear the Drums!

Percussion... What to do with them? This is a common question for all band directors. How should we teach them or at least give them a chance to become musicians? Well one thing is for sure, we can't just leave them in the back of the room to do as they please until we need them. These are things I have heard about "drummers":

"If they don't bother me while I am rehearsing the band, they are ok."

"If they don't test well on any other instruments, they can always play drums."

"I only use my drummers for marching band in the fall semester. They take study hall in the spring."

Wow!!! Here are some suggestions. First, they just about have to have their own class to become musicians and true percussionists rather than "drummers". If you don't have a percussion class, get one or at least offer them an outlet after school to perform in a true percussion ensemble. A percussion ensemble is not just taking out the marching drums and playing on them during the spring either. There is a vast and ever growing body of true percussion ensemble literature out there. You just have to take time to find it. If you have the means to do so, hire a specialist to help you not only find the literature but also help you teach. There is no fowl in this act! As a band director, you don't have to know how to do it all. I have to say that I have been in situations where this was not possible. What did I do? I took lessons from a qualified percussionist. I still learn a great deal from my percussion director today. Keep learning! But that is a whole other post or dozen, but any way...

As for the class set up, I have heard of making your percussion class the fall semester to facilitate marching band. Is this correct? Perhaps not. During marching band every percussionist has a task. They are constantly moving and working. How about concert season? Not so much so. Even the staple of concert band literature First Suite in Eb by Gustav Holst can be easily covered by 3 or 4 percussionists. A suggestion would be to have the true percussion class during concert season. Expose them to percussion ensembles and let them know they can be musicians, not just drummers.

If all these ideas are to have validity, one thing is for sure. Don't let them be drummers. Teach them mallets! I will leave it at that for now but please...Teach them mallets!

P.S. Please remember, an older and aging tuba player made this post, so please forgive the mistakes.

Where does Jazz Band fit in?

We had our first Spring semester jazz band rehearsal today after school. I would like to have a Jazz Band class but the students just don't have room in their schedule for it. I could probably get 8 or 10 of them but for most they just couldn't schedule it and their concert class. I got to thinking about what others think about how jazz band fits into a band program. Is it essential or is it something extra? Right now mine is something extra. We only meet one day a week and really take it pretty lightly. Today we read though four pieces. They were all swing. One student even came up to me afterwards and said it was a lot of fun and that he really enjoyed it. That made me feel good because this is a student in which I have tried to get more involved to participate more fully in the band program. So maybe this is a way to get him more in tune with what we are really about. Certainly anything that motivates a student to play their instrument is a good thing.

A Reward without a Trophy

This past weekend I went to the SCMEA convention in Charleston. It was fun and there was great food and company. I always enjoy being a able to spend time with old friends and make new ones too, but out of everything there one thing was the most important to me.

Our Solo and Ensemble division has a fairly new event called the Master Recital. This event is for advanced students who wish to show off their individual skills a bit more than others. They send in a recording and then, if accepted, they get to play for an audience at convention. This year one of my former students, although I still call him one of mine, was accepted to play. I had not really heard him play for several years. Here is another thing that was great. He was supported by not one but four different band directors. His current high school and middle school director were present as was myself and his form middle school director. He played great and didn't play it safe either. He played an unaccompanied piece for euphonium "Elegy" by John Stevens. What a tough piece and he played musically and technically too. He has certainly recovered from falling into a hole one day after marching band rehearsal. I remember him coming into my office after a nice, hot rehearsal with a crushed bell on his marching baritone. His statement was simple. He held up the horn with its mangled bell and stated "I fell in a hole." It makes feel like maybe I do a bit more than just go after a win. I gave this student my love for music and band. Not many can say this about anything they do. I can.

I was also fortunate enough to see another former student who is now a music education major in college. He was present and taking it all in. It too make me feel important to him. All this and not one trophy was awarded. Nobody even called a name over a loud speaker. I won more from seeing them than a trophy could offer.

Who Should Be Where?

I am really glad to have some nice responses to the last post. First let me say I in no means meant that teaching chorus or strings is easier than teaching band. I am just, of course, more familiar with the wind instruments. With that being said, I am glad Mr. Dover shed some light to me as to some of the problems with teaching chorus. In fact, one of the finest chorus teacher I know, Mr. Ridgely, had his classes arranged by voice part. As for the comment from our orchestra friend, it seems they may have a much better set up that we do at the present time. Now for some solutions or at some suggestions.

Why do we not have our lower level classes put together by like instruments? I am just suggesting to put the brass and percussion together and then the woodwinds. Why not have the horns alone, the clarinets and saxophones together, the trombones alone, and flutes and double reeds together, and the tubas and euphoniums in their own class? Percussion it seems to me must be taught separately. Sure some classes will be larger than others but who cares? I teach a 120 piece marching band by myself sometimes. Just an hour ago I taught 42 high level winds. What would it hurt to teach 30 clarinets? It would certainly be more beneficial to the student rather than teaching 15 clarinets alternate fingerings on the left hand because of the Eb which can only be played on the right hand. The flutes, if they were nice, would just sit there and who really knows what the percussion might be doing. Get it? We should look at what the goal end of our teaching is to be rather than what is easy or convenient to schedule. I can almost hear the complaints about how to schedule these students but I teach a singleton now that is 9-12th grade and has various levels of other courses like college prep, honors, and AP courses too so it must be possible. I really think this is way to go to facilitate the teaching of wind instruments especially at the lower levels but wait it would work at the high school level too. I think it would be great to at least have the mid level woodwinds, the brass, and percussion in separate classes. They can work on balance, blend, and intonation all without sacrifice in their own sections.

What about concerts or festivals? Well first I don't think students in the beginning stages of learning their instrument need to be concerned with festivals or competitions. Let them enjoy the instrument for the sack of playing it. Let us high school band directors destroy that later with competitions and festivals! (Not really, but more on that later. There is a way to do it educationally!) These students should be taught the fundamentals first and foremost. As for the "fun" of it all, I really think if the fundamentals are taught correctly, they are fun. What about concerts? Well if the students can read well and understand their instrument it is really not a problem at all. Most schools would allow the director to put them all together at least once during school time. Balance would be the main concern. I have very rarely seen a middle school band parent go up to the their child and say "Your technique was great but the trumpets just were a bit out of balance with the clarinets."

Should there even be large integrated ensembles at all? Of course, I just finished rehearsing "Incantation and Dance" with my top group. This is where it all comes together and it is fun too. I did not have to stop and teach fingering or much technique at all either. It seems to be an appropriate level of composition for them. Do we stop and work on playing as a group and articulating together? Sure we did. But next week we will be separated into brass and woodwinds again. It is amazing how much better we this year for this too.

Please keep the comments and suggestions coming. I really enjoy it. I don't have all the answers but rather just some thoughts about what may help us become music educators instead of just music correctors.

Music Education - Band: Do we have it right?

I have been thinking for a while now about this topic so I thought I would open it up a bit. This might be an ongoing topic for a while but it won't work if others don't chime in with their thoughts so feel free to post comments if you like. Just try to stay with the topics and keep to the facts. Maybe we can get somewhere. Here we go! The first big question. Do we have our set up for classes correct?

I teach 3 full band classes, a percussion class, and music theory too. In addition, I administrate the marching band, colorguard, and anything else band related at a large 5A high school. My question is this. Is the set up of the regular band classes the most conducive way in which to teach instrumental music students? I teach all instruments in my three band class simultaneously. Or do I? My classes are set up by level, theoretically any way. Meaning I have a top band of the most advanced students, another level down of lesser experienced students, and a band class of even less skilled students. In theory this sounds good. I have doubts as to my ability, or anybodies, to teach all the instruments at a high level in a class such as these. It is not a secret that what band directors do is difficult. If you think to chorus or orchestra, most of the time they are teaching 4 different parts but they are all really on the same type of instrument. I have brass, woodwinds, and percussion all in one. Even with this they are all very different. The brass has trombones, horns, euphoniums, and tubas. These all have their own issues and need special attention. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the horns alone, the trombones alone, the trumpets alone, and perhaps have the euphoniums and tubas together? Then some real education could happen. The problem is that when I start explaining alternate slide positions to the trombones much of the information may be interesting to the other brass players but not really relevant. Are you starting to get it? What about the poor clarinet players which are now thinking about slide positions? I have a plan for this and a possible solution too but I would like to hear your comments first. So go for it? What do you think?

I plan to elaborate on many topics about band education so stay with this topic for now and I hope to get to more soon.