MUS 432: Instrumental Methods
Fall 2001

Instructor:

Dr. Katherine Norman

Office:

Office Hours:

Required Texts:

A Sound Approach to Teaching Instrumentalists (2nd edition 1997) by Stanley L. Schleuter

Teaching Music: Managing the Successful Program (2nd edition 1998) by Darwin Walker

Recommended Text:

What you will laern

• how to organize and manage the non-instructional functions (e.g., budgeting, scheduling classes, designing facilities, abiding by copyright laws) of a successful instrumental music education program
• how to document student learning and inform your instruction through consistent, thoughtful assessment
• how to effectively sequence instruction through the application of "content and learning sequences"
• how to diagnose problems of beginning instrumentalists
• how to implement and adhere to the MENC National Standards for Music Education.

Grading:

Assignments, participation in class discussion and activities 80%
Midterm Exam (10/08 in class) 10%
Final Exam (12/15 at 6 p.m.) 10%

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Attendance and Grading Policies:

Regular, punctual attendance and adherence to assignment deadlines are expected.
Without advance permission, exams will be rescheduled only in the case of documented medical emergencies.
The course schedule makes it almost impossible to reschedule presentations.
A missed exam, assignment, or presentation will result in a grade of zero.

Required Reading:

A SOUND ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE

Young bands don't have to sound like young bands. It is actually possible to present performances that sound beautiful to people other than those with a vested, maternal interest in the matter. But what is the viable, educational reason to teach a young band to have a mature sound?

RATIONALE

It is not to impress parents and administrators. It is not to get high ratings at festivals or contests. It is not even to improve your own working conditions by making your group bearable to listen to on a daily basis ... though all of these will naturally come to pass as a result of a mature sound. The reason is that achieving a mature sound is the only way our students can get past the mechanics of instrumental music and into the aesthetic richness that excellent band literature has to offer. Always remember, well played music is its own reward. Our students will respond ever more strongly to that reward as they are made more and more capable of performing it with musical understanding and depth.

SO, HOW DO YOU GET THERE FROM HERE

The difference in the sound of a fine professional ensemble and a young band can be broken into five general categories:

• TECHNICAL ACCURACY
• RHYTHMIC ACCURACY
• TONE
• INTONATION
• MUSICALITY

Most bands do an admirable job in the first two areas; these are concrete, easily measured skills. However, it is the remaining three that are the basis of a Mature Young Band Sound.

TONE DEVELOPMENT MUST COME FIRST

The development of a strong, characteristic tone on each instrument is a prerequisite to significant progress on the Intonation and Musicality fronts. It is virtually impossible for a band to have a good center of pitch without each player producing a focused, controlled tone. So, as much as it may initially hurt, forget about tuning and concentrate on tone.

Correct, upright posture is the foundation upon which breath support is built. As a rule, insist that the students' head, spine and bottom (it's so hard to find a good term for that) are in straight, vertical alignment. If students resist, try one of the following:

• Give weekly grades on posture.
• Dismiss the class one section at a time from best posture to poorest.
• Inform the students that no advancement to the next group will be considered if posture is poor.

You can probably come up with even more motivating reinforcers (try to make at least one of them positive). Next on the agenda is breathing. Insist, in the beginning, that all students play with a full, forte sound. They must get in the habit of taking full breaths and then filling their instrument up with that air delivered under firm pressure. Now is not the time to worry about dynamics ... playing softly is really an advanced technique, anyway. So first things first, have them really blow! Such an approach will facilitate the next two steps. Once the air is moving, the students must learn to keep the pressure (read: breath support) steady. This will be a simple matter if they are already taking full breaths and filling up the instrument. The next issue involves the embouchure. The corners must be kept set and not allowed to move either because of change in pitch or because of the air pressure. Using a lot of air is the best way to quickly strengthen the embouchure so that it can be held firm while playing. It is important to note that moving prematurely into the extended registers on any instrument will only serve to undermine the good habits being built with the breath support and embouchure. Always preface an extension of range with a discussion of the correct techniques to be used.

NOW WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT ELUSIVE INTONATION

Once embouchures are set and strong breath support has been established, tuning will be possible. Select a good, middle range note on each instrument to use for tuning. Don't worry if they are different for each instrument -- if all the instruments had the same good notes, after all, tuning wouldn't be much of a problem in the first place. Use this note to visually tune each player. Any strobe or meter tuner will work. As you watch the tuner, listen to make sure each student is producing a well supported, centered tone. Make them play again if there is a problem.

Having done this, you can safely assume that the basic instruments are in tune. The band should be sounding reasonably well in tune at this point. It is now time to get your players to hear and understand the intonation beats that occur when a unison pitch is not perfectly in tune. Have the players on each instrument, with your guidance, develop a list of techniques they can use to adjust their pitch. They should then practice using these while playing to eliminate the intonation beats.

As the students begin to tune unison notes while playing their band music, you should notice a dramatic improvement in general intonation. Sectional rehearsals, where possible, can greatly accelerate this development.

The following tuning skills are listed in the order in which they are most logically and easily mastered:

• Tune unison notes within each section whenever they occur.
• Tune unison notes between sections whenever they occur.
• Teach students the "bad" notes on their respective instruments and how they must compensate for them.
• Tune perfect intervals whenever they occur.
• Identify major and minor intervals in sustained chords and teach students to adjust them, bring them in tune according to just intonation relative to the root.

THREE STEPS TO MATURE MUSICIANSHIP

There are three sub-categories that combine to form mature musicianship:

BALANCE

ARTICULATION/STYLE

MUSICAL DIRECTION

BALANCE

Balance is the easiest for students to learn. There are really only two basic kinds of balance. Equal balance is where each tone color is present in equal volume, producing an organ like blend. This is desirable in chorale like passages or contrapuntal writing where the interplay of parts is more important than an actual melody. Unequal balance involves assigning priorities to each part being played and letting them predominate accordingly.

ARTICULATION

Articulation is the means by which a brass or woodwind player controls style. Articulation should be defined as the way in which notes are started and stopped. Tonguing is only a part of this equation. In reality, the use of one's breath plays a much more important role in controlling the shape of each note.

MUSICAL DIRECTION

Musical Direction is the most difficult concept to teach. The direction of a musical line is controlled by techniques that are probably already familiar to the young band student - constant dynamics (p, mf, fff, etc.), gradual dynamic change (cresc., dim., etc.), special dynamic effects (sfp, sffz, etc.), tempo fluctuations (accel., rit., rubato, etc.) and phrasing ( , ). It is important for the students to understand from the beginning that each of these is a musician's tool for creating musical line and direction. Only when each tool is used for this end, instead of for its own effect, will your students musicianship truly begin to mature. ---------------------------------------------------

A logical and systematic approach to all five general categories is the shortest and most certain path to getting a Mature Young Band Sound.