Washingtonville H.S. Music Department - Materials for Fellow Music Teachers

02.09.10

Washingtonville High School > Music > Materials for Fellow Music ...

Topics on this page:

Concert Dates - list yours!
1. Clarity - by Ari Contzius
2. How to make "harder" scales easy! - by Ari Contzius and Jim Briggs

3. Preparing the music: Taking your band from its first sightreading to the final conert. - by Ari Contzius

4. Avoiding missed entrances from your ensemble. - by Ari Contzius

5. Creating a Functional Score With Colors - by Ari Contzius

6. "Quickly... 1-5!" Getting Instant Individual Feedback From Everyone In the Ensemble - by Ari Contzius

7. An inexpensive tip for aligning your french horn valves - by Ari Contzius

8. Three tips for getting everyone in your ensemble to cut off together everytime - by Ari Contzius

9. How to keep those big music method books open on your stand - by Ari Contzius
10A. Making a tuner more student friendly is as easy as a simple turn - by Ari Contzius
10B. Tuner use made easier with the use of a sticker - by Ari Contzius
11. A simple but cool tip on keeping your brass and woodwind mouthpieces clean- by Ari Contzius
12. Maintaining High Standards - by Ari Contzius
13. Important things I've learned over my past 13 years of teaching. - by Ari Contzius
14. The WHS Wind Ensemble Tuning Procedure - by Ari Contzius
15. Fixing your broken brass section to improve your Wind Ensemble. - by Ari Contzius
16. A Predictable Warm-up Procedure Is Essential to Having a Productive
Rehearsal. - by Ari Contzius
17. How to improve your Band just by changing the seating. - by Ari Contzius

Welcome Fellow Music Educators!!!

This page is intended for fellow music educators to post their best teaching ideas for others to try. Email us your "tricks of the trade" (sample topics: a list of piece that student love and go together easily, your approach to large ensemble discipling, instrumental technique tricks, your approach to intonation....)

Most of us do not the opportunity to either share ideas between other directors or attend conferences more than once a year at best. Now we will have our own outlet for sharing and recieving great ideas that really work.

Additionally we are adding a section for you to email in your school concert dates. This will give everyone the opportunity to see our fellow music educators and students perform.

Concert Dates

Email us your up coming concert date(s), program selections, or any other information you want. Support your fellow music teachers by attending their concert.

[Click to enlarge]

***QUICK TIP***

Making those “harder” scales easy.

by – Ari Contzius and Jim Briggs

The following is a simple way to help students memorize the scales that have 5 or more sharps or flats (though it works with all scales).It is nothing innovative but if you haven’t thought about scales in this way you will find it interesting.The best part of this method the student only has to remember one, two, or three sharps or flats (instead of 5, 6, or7 sharps or flats). The prerequisite to make this approach useful is the student must have the scales with 0 – 3 sharps or flats memorized.

Rules:

Ø Every scale has a buddy.Scales with the same letter name are buddies: e.g. F and F# scales, G and Gb scales, Bb and B scales, Db and D scales…

Ø All sharps turn into naturals (and visa versa).

Ø All flats turn into naturals (and visa versa).

Examples of how these rules make memorizing notesof the “harder” scales:

The F scale has one flat (Bb); all other notes are natural.The F# scale has one natural (B); all other notes are sharp.

F G A Bb C D E F

F# G# A# B C# D# E# F#

The Bb scale has two flat (Bb and Eb); all other notes are natural.The B scale has two naturals (B and E); all other notes are sharp.

Bb C D Eb F G A Bb

B C# D# E F#G# A#B

The G scale has one sharp (F#); all other notes are natural.The Gb scale has one naturals (F); all other notes are flat.

G A B C D E F# G

Gb Ab Bb Cb Db Eb F Gb

The C scale has zero flats (0); all notes are natural.The Cb scale has every note flat (7).

C D E F G A B C

Cb Db Eb Fb Gb Ab Bb Cb

The C scale has zero sharps (0); all notes are natural.The C# scale has every note sharp (7).

C D E F G A B C

C# D# E# F# G# A# B# C#

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(The above chart)

Preparing the music:
taking your band from its first sightreading to the final conert.

by Ari Contzius (presentation created by Sam Shackleton)

Coming soon will be the article that gives more details to this chart.

Avoiding
missed entrances
from your ensemble.
by Ari Contzius

Try having your band count their extended rests backwards (eg. 4 - 2-3-4, 3 - 2-3-4, 2 - 2-3-4, 1 - 2,3,4). This counting method will bring to their attention how soon they are to enter. See if it works for your students?

[Click to enlarge]

Creating a Functional Score With Colors!

by Ari Contzius

By following the below steps you will find your rehearsals more effective and efficient.

Materials:

-Colored pencils (I recommend “Twistables” by Crayola; no sharpening needed!)
-Straight edge (a ruler works well)

Steps:

-Draw a green line the full length of the score’s bar line for every rehearsal mark.
-Draw an orange line the full length of the score’s bar line for every meter change.
-Draw a blue line the full length of the score’s bar line for every tempo change.

Important things I’ve learned

over my past 13 years of teaching.

by Ari Contzius

Topics

Ø Standards

Ø Professionalism

Ø Getting results quickly

Ø Improving your teaching skills

Ø Pacing for Preventative Discipline

Ø A suggested rehearsal plan

Ø Warm ups

Ø Tuning

Ø Controlling your instrumentation and student quality

Ø Dealing with administration

Ø Dealing with parents

Ø Dealing with students

Ø Good ideas in general

Ø First year of teaching tips

Standards

Compliment approximations, be frequently “the cup is half empty” when listening to your band, often think “That can be better.”… if you are always a bit irritated you will want to fix what you are hearing.Too many band directors say to themselves “that good enough”… never be satisfied until it is really something to be proud about.
Make the following pat with yourself “I will never place the band in a performance situation where they sound anything less than polished / professional.” This is a standard many average band directors don’t follow. Even if you are two weeks away from a concert and things sound bad make any extreme changes that will reach this goal (like start a new easy piece of music).If the students always have a polished experience everyone will hype your program for you.

Professionalism

Don’t be friends with the students, be friendly; students have enough friends of their own.
Dress one step above your students so when someone enters the room they know who the teacher is.
When you do anything in your job think of the word “professionalism.”You will make the best decisions and actions with this word in mind.

Improving your teaching skills

Good teachers “steal” from other good teachers.
Spend your time seeking out and observe the best teachers.Don’t waist your time watching bad teachers.
Go to conventions.

Getting results quickly (miscellaneous ideas)

The students must experience the results you are looking for at minimum once correctly if you expect them to go home and practice it correctly.Do not leave something incorrect before moving on.
Long note tied to a short note, cross out the short note and put a breath mark above it.
****Choosing the correct music that fits your band best is often 80% of the road to success!**** Talk to other directors and ask them what pieces made their band sound good and that the students enjoyed.
There are many pieces that will automatically make your band sound bad or good.
Use practice charts for younger students.
Don’t allow any students to make a blatty sound.
In the first week of school get your band to sound good as quickly as possible.Choose the easiest music if you need to.This will quickly build a positive group moral.Too many bands hand out music that takes the band 7 weeks before they begin to sound really good… so for the first 6 seeks they sound poor. This is not a good idea.
French horns are frequently out of tune (sharp) because of their right hand is not in the bell far enough.
Don’t discount “cheating” any way you need to make the band sound good; ie. change an articulation, platoon, double a part not written, have the trumpets pick up French horns; “go outside the box”.
Correct "repetition is the mother of all learning".

Pacing for Preventative Discipline

Wait until the room is silent before speaking.
Stick with your starting time like glue or by the end of the year your kids will be wasting 3+ extra minutes getting into their seats.
Have a solid procedure / routine that the students can count on to begin the class with every day; ie. Music order is written up on the board, at 9:10am music stands face you to make sure the music is in order, immediately play the circle of 4ths while you take attendance while checking that their music is together, then directly move into you tuning procedure.
Minimize down time where the students are not DOING something to maximize on task time.ie. Tune immediately before you move to your next piece to rehearse so they have no chance to start chatting.
You can only pull the “trump” card (yelling at the students) twice. After that it becomes meaningless and they stop listening to your or/and stop respecting you.
Have no more than 3 rules and 3-5 procedures.

A Suggested rehearsal plan in a time line.

Have your music in order on your stand with any other equipment you will need (tuner, metronome, baton…)
Make sure the room is set up to save rehearsal time for the student to set up.
If there is an instruction that you don’t want to have to keep repeating to the students as they are entering post it either on the board or on a stand as they walk in.
Write your announcements on the chalk board.
Write the order of today’s music on the chalkboard.
Never start your class late.The students need this routine or they will get ready later and later each day.
Down beat 3 minutes after the late bell.At the same time have the students turn their stands around to check both attendance and that their music is in order.
Don’t take up too much time warming up unless it will save you time in a later portion of the rehearsal; e.g. working on a rhythm or a musical concept can save you time in a later part of the rehearsal.
Have students turn stands around and tune the band (see below for suggestions)
Put the piece of music that you need to do a lot of nit-picking at the beginning of the rehearsal while the student’s minds and lips are fresh.
As you are about to end with one piece give pre-instructions for the students to get out the next piece and the percussion to be ready.This will make the transition from one piece to the next smooth and quick.Wait for the percussionist to be ready.If you know your first piece in the rehearsal takes a while for the percussionist to set up you may instruct the percussionist to skip the warm-ups in order to set up their section instead.
Try to always end with something that the students will sound good at last.Ideally something the student will enjoy and will be walking out of the rehearsal happy.
Make announcements at the end of the class so it is the last thing they remember before they leave.Announcements need to be read and written to reach both types of learners.
Always give the students enough time to unpack or they will begin to resent you for making them late to their next class.
Make sure the percussionist put everything way before dismissing their section.

Warm ups

Here’s a list of ideas:rhythms, tone, facility, musicality, articulation, dynamics, intonation, listening, scales (as many as possible),singing, clapping rhythms, harmonic and broken chords, patterns…
In the warm-up use the concept of the day that directly relates to the issue you are working on in today’s music.
Use a warm-up piece that gets the band sounding good right away
Use the entire circle of 4ths with your band daily
Use chromatic scales daily
Use written signs so you don’t have to keep announcing the same thing over and over.
Use warm-ups that you already do on your own instrument.

Tuning (see a detailed procedure in the first article on this page)

Once tuned tell the students they are “in the ball park now.”The rest of the intonation has to be done by ear / embouchure throughout the music.
There are two types of intonation: have the instrument in tune and playing the instrument in tune.Most students are bad on the latter.
If the embouchure is the tuning issues tune on several notes and take the average.
French Horns are frequently sharp because their right hand is not in the bell enough.
All wind players often play sharp with a thin tone because their jaws and tongues are positioned too high.

Controlling your instrumentation and student quality

Stay in touch with your other band directors weekly (k-12).
Follow up on your student numbers (instrumentation) at the upcoming levels in the first ¼ of a year.Make changes before they reach you.
If your instrumentation balance is bad, change it.Start a new student.Switch a kid from trumpet to Fr. Horn.
Students will often drop out in groups of friends; keep one and you may keep a bunch.
Encourage your students every chance to take private lessons.
Consider doing recruiting concerts that include multiple levels of bands.Younger students need to know about what they are moving towards or they may not make it to you.

Communicatingwith administrators

Share as many good things about your program as you can.
Always keep your administration informed.It is always better from them to hear issues from you than from someone else.

Communicatingwith parents

Call home to tell the parents good things.

Working with students

Address the students as “ladies and gentleman”
When making compliments use a student’s name, when criticizing use the part they play ie. “2^nd trumpet”.
Admit to your mistakes. The students respect this and you won’t confuse them.Remember when you point the finger at someone there are 3 other fingers pointing right back at you.
A student’s name is the most important word in the world; remember that when complimenting them.
Never make promises (like next year you will have no problem being in the upper band) that you cannot or don’t plan on keeping.Phrase it like “you have a good chance of getting into the top band if you keep working the way you are now, but I never promise anything to anyone, you have to continue to earn a position.”

Good ideas in general

Make your percussion clean up after each rehearsal… do not let them leave until you have checked their section.
Have a parent be in charge of placing a public announcement regarding your concert performance in the local news paper before each concert.
Have your brass empty their water keys and slides daily (preferably in the trash can for sanitary reasons.)
Have an open door policy for students to sit in your upper or lower group.
Try doing a combo piece as the last number of your concert to make sure the entire audience will remain to the end of the concert.
Ask other directors for good music they know that makes the band sound “better” than they really are and that the students enjoy.
A clean desk means you are good at your job.
Try to have fun at your job weekly or you will burn out.
Plan years ahead when possible (ie. for instrumentation issues).
Don’t waste your time on fundraisers that bring in little money like lollie pops
Have your first players play along with the seconds and thirds on their parts to help jump start things.
Experiment with different seating set-ups once in a while so both you and the students get a chance to hear different instruments.Sit your trombones in the front row.
To help short-armed trombone players move the slide to the right a few inches when trying to reach 7^th position; it works!
The trombones and trumpets should place their bells to the right or left of the top corner of their music stand if you are having a tough time hearing them.
Get off the podium and walk around as the ensemble is playing so you hear more of what is actually going on around the room
Try to activate the entire ensemble to help teach and help pacing; ie when working a rhythm in the trombones, have the rest of the band count and clap their rhythm while the trombones play it.
Have the students use finger digits to quickly get feed back from the entire band; e.g. How loud did the trumpets sound 1-5 (p-ff).Have the students show the trumpet section to give them immediate feed back from what is actually being heard.Use thumbs up / or down…” students what that better or worse”, “…was I clear or not?”
Know the important people including the secretaries and custodians.

First year of teaching tips

As you do something write it down in a list form month by month so next year you know what you need to do when so nothing sneaks up on you.
Try to find a mentor who teaches in a similar position as you… and who is good.
Use the last band director as much as possible to help you get things going.
Save time by not reinventing the wheel.Take ideas from other successful band directors.

Maintaining High Standards

so your students will continually perform successfully .

(Say "No" to the good so you can say “Yes” to the best!)

by Ari Contzius

Concepts:

Many students will only work as hard as you make themwork (do not ask them to work, you need to hold them accountable in order to force them to work).
If you allow a lower standard to be acceptable you are asking for a lower quality ensemble.
Standards must be high and obtainable; not one without the other.
In order to keep a high obtainable standard while not loosing the ensemble's willingness to work hard your must balance criticisms with legitimate praise. Never praise poor performing. You may praise approximations but you still must tell them that not everyone is playing perfectly yet. This way they know they are getting better but it is still not acceptable yet. As strong as your criticisms are, be equally strong and enthusiasticwith your praise. Honest praise improvesthestudents'selfesteem. This inturnhelps to develope their egarerness to work hard for you. Additionally it tells the students what they need to do correctly every time. Saying no to poor playing improves the quality of the performance.

On mistakes: correcting notes and rhythms

Many ensemble directors allow students to play wrong notes and rhythms. They do this when they do not stop the ensemble to isolate and fix incorrect notes and rhythms. Of course some musical passages may take many weeks to play correct but it is the conductor who doesn’t acknowledge these mistakes that invites a poor performance.

Saying “No” to mistakes is saying yes to an impressive concert.

A simple (no genius) method for fixing a section with missed notes:

Identify which instrument(s) and the specific measure that is incorrect.
Tell the students to play the passage 5 times starting very slow but completely accurate. (if the section is really bad have them play it 10 times)
If it is accurate increase the speed within these repetitions
If the accuracy is still poor tell them that they need to learn it outside of class time.We will have each person play it individually in our next class.(You must follow through with this next class or the students will not practice future sections you tell them to practice.)
Now put the passage back into context with the entire band playing.

A simple (no genius) method for fixing a section with missed rhythms:

Identify which instrument(s) and the specific measure that is incorrect.
Have the students clap and count the rhythm 5 times.(To keep the entire band involved you can:a. have the entire band clap and count with them (you may need to write the rhythm on the board, of course) b. have the rest of the band clapping down beats or the subdivision (which ever works best).c. Have the rest of the band rate the students who have the mistake using finger digets –e.g. thumbs up if it was better, thumbs down if it did not improve.
Have the section play the section accurately (do not count times that there are mistakes) 5 times (starting very slow and getting faster each time it is played correctly) ((10 times if the section is very poor)).You may have the rest of the band either clap the rhythm with them, clap the down beats, or clap the subdivision as long as they do not get in the way.
Now put the passage back into context with the entire band playing.

Getting the students to do the work instead of you (It’s a simple equation):

Students need to be given clear and specific, written down homework assignments and then must be held accountable for.Students have been doing this process since 1^st grade.They are used to the concrete process of receiving a clear homework assignment followed by a concrete honest assessment grade.A student should be able to tell you what their assignment was for today’s lesson.Here is a sample good answer from a student when asked what his homework assignment was:“1) I had to practice exercises 1 – 4, 2) A and E Major Scales, and 3) measures 24 – 32 in Chorale and Shaker Dance”.Here is a sample good answer from a student when asked what his homework assignment was:“1) Practice my techniques book, 2) To practice Chorale and Shaker Dance and 3) practice my scales.

The WHS Wind Ensemble

Tuning Proceedure

by Ari Contzius

Concert A (I choose the 1^st Clarinet because they have a good tone with a steady pitch and the tone is easier to hear than the oboe) for the Woodwinds.
Concert Bb (I choose the 1^st Trumpet for the same reason as above) for the Brasses.
Both the Clarinet and the Trumpet play together a Bb, followed by one person on every instrument adding to them, finally the entire band adds to them.This gives everyone a reference pitch played by someone on their same instruments.This is much easier to hear then trying to have them relate to a different timbre.Yes ideally you want the students to tune to any instrument in any octave but initially they need to be able to tune to their own instrument effectively before they can tune to a different instrument.By this time in the procedure everyone will have had a chance to two twice.

Note all students who play the tuning note should have tuners on their stands if at all possible.We have made a group purchase of electronic tuners.Students pay for their own.Because we are buying a large volume of tuners we can get the company to give us a price brake. Last time we did this the tuners cost the students only $15.00.

Variations:

v I sometimes have the entire band tune to the A concert in step number 1 just for a different reference point.However this pitch is not particularly good for the trombones (who would be in 2^nd position)… so they may want to wait for the Bb.

v Have everyone hold a tuning note then have everyone cut off except a pre-chosen section.This will help the section see if they are really in tune with each other.

v I will go down the line in a different section once in a while.

Other tricks of the trade for good intonation

v Flutes - I frequently ask the flute section to check their tuning cork in the head joint.Not surprisingly I find event my best players sometimes have this out of adjustment (which will obviously make it impossible to play in tune or efficiently).I am surprised how many veteran band directors neglect this simple/instant pitch fix.

v French Horns – 1. Walk behind the French horn section once in a while to check their hand positions.The right hand position can affect the pitch easily by 50 cents in either direction.Many younger players will play sharp because their hand is not in the bell far enough.I tell them to put the hand in so both the left and right sides of the hand are touching the inside of the bell. 2. Make sure they tune both sides of the instrument to either third space C.They need to get both C’s to match (with thumb and without thumb fingering).

v Timpany - When the timpani head is tuned properly a solid definable pitch can be easily heard.A well in tune timpani will fill out the bass sound of the band greatly.A damaged shell rim can not be tuned properly.If the peddle is out of adjustment it can not hold a pitch properly (or may not even be able to reach a pitch).

v High A (just above the staff) is usually very sharp on the trumpet.It can be played with 3^rd valve if they are very sharp.However they may need to slightly lip up the pitch.The other option is to pull out the first valve tuning slide if they have a thumb saddle.

v Trombones – 1. most high school players have issues with 5^th position (eg. F#) .They need to work with a tuner religiously to fix this issue. 2. Make sure that both sides of the horns with F attachments are tuned.

v In general - I will often remove players from a particularly out of tune note or line in the music when we get closer to the concert (I also will do the same to help dynamics that are too loud – I will cut players – no reason to have the entire section playing if the part is written piano.)

v If the entire band is flat make sure that their instruments are warm enough; have them warm the instruments u; this affects the pitch upwards of 40 cents in a cold room.

Fix your broken brass section to improve your Wind Ensemble.

by Ari Contzius

(Keep in mind these suggestions are not for your jazz band.These suggestions are to help improve the brass section’s tone quality to create full/rich characteristic concert band sound. If you have any comments oradditions regarding this article please email them in.)

Mouthpiece- check what size mouthpiece they are playing.

Suggested sizes for your basic players:

a. Trumpets- if they are on a 7C move to a 5C or 3C.If they are on a 5C move to a 3C.You will get a bigger sound but initially will have a challenge with their upper range (which should improve over time).

b. French Horn- use a Holton Farkas MC.

c. Trombone and Euphonium- If they are on a 12C move them to a 61/2 AL , advanced players can then move to a 5G.

Understanding brass mouthpieces

a. Cup depth- In general the deeper the cup of the mouthpiece is the fuller sounding the tone will be.However it will be more challenging to reach the higher notes.

b. Cup depth- In general the more shallow the cup of the mouthpiece is the more strident/thin the sound will be.However it will make the higher notes easier to reach.

c. Cup shape- The more bowl shaped the cup of the mouthpiece is the more round/rich the tone will be.

d. Cup shape- the more “V” shaped the cup is the more strident the tone will be (until a certain point.A very deep “V” shaped cup will give a mellow sound similar to a flugelhorn and French Horn.

e. Rim shape- The quicker the rim (more sharp the angle) “falls down” into the cup the more the mouthpiece grips (“bites”) the lips.This tends to hurt the lips over a practice session.Thus the player’s endurance is reduced.Bach mouthpieces (and knock offs) have rims as described here.However, the advantage of Bach mouthpieces is that their tone tends to be full/rich.

f. Rim shape- The smoother the rim (less sharp of an angle) “falls down” into the cup the less grip (“bite”) the mouthpiece has on the lips.This type of rim is less taxing on the lips thus improving a player’s endurance.. Schilke mouthpieces have rims as described here.The trade off is the Schilke mouthpiece does not have as full/rich of tone as the Bach mouthpieces because the shape of the cup is not as round.

2 Check the following embouchure characteristics.(The below is assuming that the player does not have a overly unusual jaw/teeth structure.)

a. Jaw is low.

b. Tongue is not arched (pretend you have a golf ball in your mouth or say the syllable “Hoe”

c. Any time the player is having a tough time reaching high notes tell them either or both to firm up their bottom lip (or say “bring your bottom lip in”but not over the bottom teeth, just in) or say “make a tiny hole in the center of your lips”.You will be surprised how well bringing in the bottom lip works.The chin will become flat like when you are putting on chap stick or lipstick.

d. Make sure the cheeks aren’t puffing out by telling them to firm up the corners of their lips.Tell them that their cheeks will hug their molars.

3Articulation Issues:

a. One frequently over looked articulation issue that directly affects the students overall sound is the tongue touching the lips when tonguing.If you hear an abrupt, harsh attack to each note or/and you hear an non musical sound (like a popping or thudding sound) to the beginning of each note tongued the player is putting the tongue THROUGH the teeth which touches the lips.This is the kiss of death.If you can get the player to get the tongue back in the mouth by using a “da” articulation they will instantly sound more professional.

b. Most players tend to tongue with the tip touching the area where the upper teeth meet the upper gums.If your player is having a tough time articulating this way you can try either:1. Have the tongue touch further back on the upper pallet (this is also a good suggestion if you are trying to get the player to articulate with a softer attack).2.Though it is not used often some players like to use “anchor” tonguing where the tip of the tongue is anchored where the bottom teeth meet the bottom gums.The forward 1/3 of the tongue’s center touches the front of the upper pallet.

c. If the player’s tonguing sounds very non defined and weak they may be trying a fakey “shu – shu – shu –“ articulation where the sides of the tongue are touching the upper molars instead of keeping the tongue low and articulating with the tip of the tongue.Have the player only execute one note with a “da” tonguing… then make it two notes and so forth.Always make sure the onset of the note is distinct.

Moving partials (lip slurs).

a. If a player is having a tough time moving from low to high lip settings tell them to bring in the bottom lip (as described in 2C).

b. If the player is having a tough time jumping down to low notes have them drop the jaw.

5.Additional stuff to make your French Horns sound better:

a. If the player is sharp FIRST check that their hand is in far enough in the bell.This is frequently the problem.The both the left and right sides of the hand should be toughing the sides of the inner bell.There are many different opinions as to which way the palm should face (up, down, to the side…) use what feels most comfortable for the player.The hand shaping should be lightly cupped.Walk behind the player to see what is going on with their hand position.

b. If the player sounds stuffy the hand may be too far in.

c. Moving the right hand in/out or bending the palm in/out will effect the intonation GREATLY!!!You can even use it as a fine tuning device while playing musical lines.Try to teach students to be sensitive to their hand position because of how it affects intonation.To help train the player have one student put their hand either far in or far out.Have that player hold any note.Have the second player player try to find where the first player’s hand position is by playing the same note while, then trying fixing the intonation with their hand positioning.Ask them whether they had to move their hand far in or out.Ask the first student if the second player was right.

d. Tune the F side of the double horn on the note third space C (with no thumb trigger) by adjusting the main tuning slide (follow the mouthpiece/lead pipe to the first slide – this is the main tuning slide).Then play the same note using the thumb trigger and adjust the Bb tuning slide (which is often found on the back – some double horns have two tuning slides that you can adjust on the Bb side.The small one is for emptying water while the larger one is for tuning the horn.

e. Water often collect in three places in the double horn: 1. the lead pipe, 2. the Bb tuning slides, and the third valve of the Bb side (the back set of slides).For #1 rotate the instrument counter clockwise 2 times.For # 2 remove the slide(s) and rotate the instrument.For #3 just pull out the slide.

6.Trips for Trombones:

a. What is the last time you held your student’s trombone to feel how well the slide moves?You may be surprised (in a scared type of way).

b. If you have a student with short arms who is having a problem reading 7^th position have them move the slide to the right 6 inches.They will actually be able to reach further.Try it yourself and you will be surprised!

c. If there is no way the student can play the high notes and it is a must to do try using a 12C mouthpiece instead of their normal 61/2 AL.

7.Tuning brass players in general:

a. I have a sign hanging in the front of the classroom that reads “You must fix the tone before you can fix the Intonation.”

b. I have younger players tune on concert F and concert Bb.I take a mental average of their out of tuneness and adjust their slides based on that average.E.g. if they play the F 10 centsflat and the Bb 5 cents sharp I will pull out a little.

A Predictable Warm-up Procedure Is Essential to Having a

Productive Rehearsal

by Ari Contzius

Pacing is one of the most important factors when trying to get the most out of our rehearsal time.Eliminating down time (where the student’s are not performing) is the most effective use of time for the overall ensemble.Additionally, down time is an invitation for discipline problems; especially small chatting between students.

Having a predictable procedure to start to each class helps get the class focused and sets a positive tone for the rest of the rehearsal.

Like clock work I begin our warm-ups at 9:10am. Keeping a predictable starting time is essential for maintaining a good beginning to the rehearsal. My ensemble does the below warm-up procedure daily. This procedure shown below takes about 5 minutes without any down time between exercises:

The first thing students do after putting their instrument together is put their music in order (as shown on the chalk board).Although this is a simple and obvious activity it makes a positive impact on the rehearsal’s pacing by eliminating down time between pieces.

I have a staple set of warm-up exercises that go from one to the next with no down time.This includes:

1. Major Chord patter 1-3-5-3 first around the circle of fourths
2. Major Chord patter 1-3-5-3 first around the chromatically
3. All 12 Major scales by memory up and down - around the circle of fourths or up chromatically
4. Some times the 5 or 6 Chromatic scales up and down (chromatically = Bb chromatic then the B-natural chromatic and so forth).
5. Next I will add in one non-staple exercise either works on a physical or musical skill depending what is need in today’s music. I have many different sheets in the students’ folders that address the skills I want them to develop.
6. Then we tune (as explained in my article titled “The WHS Tuning Procedure” found on this web page) using the same predictable procedure each rehearsal.I will change the procedure from time to time to experience different methods.
To maximize the use of this time I have the students turn their stands around to face me so I can eyeball every student’s music to see that it is 1. on their stand, and 2. in order. Frequently I will actually flip through the music on each stand to make sure they have all of their music in order. This also gives me a chance to make sure every student has each piece of the music. Additionally this warm up time allows me to walk around the room to listen to students to keep them on their toes. The tuning time gives the percussion time to organize them for the first piece of the rehearsal.

How to improve your Band

just by changing the seating.

by Ari Contzius

The over riding concepts whenconsiding how to designing your ensemble's seating plan include:

Does the set up help improve the overall dynamic, balance, and tone qualityblend of the ensemble?
Can the players hear each other well enough to perform successfully?
What is the size and shape of the room you are rehearsing/performing in.

How to start:

Start by setting up the rows with the most comfortable number of chairs in each row.Try not to make the rows overly wide. Narrower rows help communication between you and the students and the ensemble’s ability to hear each other (because everyone is not so spread out).Obviously if you minimize the width of the rows you may be forced to add rows.

General Concepts:

Keep as many of the similar range instruments close together .I do this because most of their parts are similar so they can help each other out.e.g. the timpani will be behind the low brass, the low brass will be behind the low woodwinds.

I like to put those instruments that are harder to hear on the outside of the group e.g. bassoons and bass clarinets.

Every year the ensemble set up changes based on size of each section, how strong the sections are compared to each other, and sometimes the music I am playing.
Who to put on the outside of the rows? Some people like to have the strongest players on the outside to 1. help hear the lead parts, and 2. it helps hide weaker sounding players into the center of the band.Others feel since you can hear the lead players well already you make get a more even balance from the audience point of view with the weaker players out on the edges (who are often softer than the lead players; thus things balance out from the audience point of view.)I have tried both.It depends on the performance venue, the type of players in the group, which section in the band is stronger than others (or weaker), and what ever the music calls for in terms of dynamic balance.
I do not hesitate to have student move around from piece to piece depending on who needs to hear each other most.This is mostly for people who have solo parts with other instruments.Often they tend to collect towards the center of the band.This past year when performing Africa , Ceremony, and Ritual by Robert W. Smith I had my bass clarinet and piccolo flute players sit side by side in the right front row.It helped their duet timing, and intonation.Strange but it worked great.Another example:this year we are playing “Incantation and Dance”.There is quite a bit of low reed material that was constantly having a difficult time being heard.I moved the entire low reed section to the center of the 2^nd row which solved most of the problem instantly (while still maintaining a good balance with the rest of the ensemble).
Most people like to put their strongest players in the center (front to back) of the ensemble.This helps as many people as possible to hear the students who are going to lead the ensemble along.However, at the concert I may consider putting certain people on the outside, closest to the audience if I am having balance problems of hearing that instrument.This is dictated mostly by the performance hall’s acoustics.
There are two thoughts regarding placement of chairs side to side and front to back .Some feel the band is more likely to stay together (minimizing phasing in other words) if everyone is placed very close together (chairs tight together).Others feel that having the chairs spaced away from each other allows the band to better blend with each other.Additionally seats that are further apart help allow the sound to make it through the ensemble better.I find if the band is more likely to have timing issues I would put the chairs in tight.Also there is a better chance that they will be able to hear each other for tuning reasons.If I feel the audience needs to hear each instrument better I will space the chairs apart.This will allow all of the brass instruments to play to the side of their stands easier so the bells can be seen from the audience (thus heard better).
Try to not to make the first row too wide.If you do some kids may end up having a view of the conductor from the side only.This makes for poor conductor-to-player communication.
The shape of your rehearsal room will dictate the number of people you can fit into each row.Thus you will find out how many rows can fit into the rehearsal room.The most important thing to me is that the people on the ends of each of the rows do not extend to the conductor’s left or right sides.
To reduce less skilled players from sticking out or and entire sections move them towards the back or and center of the ensemble if possible
Early in the school year I may try several different set ups until I find one the works best for the size of the group and sections.
If you have an over load of one instrument (8 or more) two rows of 4 + 4 one in front of another works sometimes.Putting the better players further back allows the weaker players to be helped over their shoulder.Just keep paying attention to how well the blend, balance, and timing are before settling on this set up.

Specific instrument sections:

Flutes - it depends on how many you have.If you have 6 or less I would put them in the front right row.The piccolo flute often is on the outside but I like to put them in the center so they can better match pitch to other soloists (it depends on the music of course).
Oboes - in the center, either in the first or second row because it is hard to hear them over the rest of the band.If the oboes are weak, out of tune, and could hurt the rest of the group’s sound players I would not hesitate to place them further back in the ensemble to reduce the stress on the overall performance.
Place the Saxophone section and French hors near each other because they frequently have similar parts.I used a set up last year where I had the French horns in front of the saxes.The French horns’ bells faced the saxes and the sax bells faced the French horn section.This allowed both sections to hear each other the easiest.However, this year I chose to put the French horns and saxes side by side.This happened based on the rest of the set up of the band and the idea that I would hear both timbres equally balanced because of proximity to the audience.
If you are having a hard time hearing the French horns but do not want to put them on the edge for blending reasons try putting them in the center of the second row.This really works great.You will be very surprised how well this works.Obviously you will need to shift some things around to accommodate is new set up.
Some conductors like the French horn section to be on the conductor’s left side.This way the bells are facing the audience.Others rather have them on the conductor’s right to allow their sound to better blend with the band.I have them on my left because I have a tough time hearing them and honestly I love to have lots of that sound in my ensemble.If your section is weak and you don’t want the audience to pick up all of their imperfections. In this case I would consider putting them either in the center or right of the band.Additionally if you have the Saxes next to them with the horns on the right the horns end up pointing their bells into the saxes (so they can hear the horns better) thus helping balance, blend, and intonation.
Trombones - I like to elevate my trombones on a small riser to help get the sound over the ensemble.
Tubas -I do not like to put my tuba in the center back because it is hard to hear them on my stage.If you have a good sound shell then it may be a great idea to put the tubas in the center for 1. helps to blend the sound, and 2. makes it easier for the band members to hear them considering their roll is often to maintain the band’s pulse and is the foundation for tuning the band from bottom up.
Some conductors have their entire brass section side by side and on a riser behind the woodwinds.This may be hard to do unless you have a huge stage and a lot of risers.If you are going to do this make sure (like all set-ups) you go out into the audience in your dress rehearsal to see how the balance and blend sounds.This set up also needs to have excellent players in all sections because they will be more exposed and it is harder for the brass to hear each other when side by side in a very long row.

Place the snare, crash cymbals, and bass drum in the center/back of the ensemble.This will allow everyone to ear the rhythm section best.
Put the mallet instruments hugging the back left row; keep the softest instruments next to the audience (like the marimba).I sometimes rather have the bells on the left edge behind the band.This will allow the upper woodwinds to hear it better considering they share parts often.
Make sure the percussion section has enough room to walk from left to right to change parts.
Put the tubular bells on the edge near the audience (behind the bells or marimba).It’s a very special sound that is often used to accent specific notes.I like a lot of that sound.
For acoustical reasons tell the bass drum player to have the bass drum always facing to the side and never pointing towards the audience (unless the music calls for it).
Careful of any over head reflectors above your percussion section (on your concert stage).This may overload the percussion sound to the audience.
Have the percussionist always hold up the small toys (e.g. triangle, maracas, clave…) so the audience can see them back there (unless the music does not call for it).Two reasons: 1. it can be heard better and 2. visually the audience gets to see these special instruments.By bringing visual attention to them allows the sound to be perceived as louder; the audience also wants to see the cool toys.
The string bass should be right next to the tuba.However depending where you tubas are you may want to put the string bass next to the low woodwinds to help the string bass stay close to the right edge and more near front of the ensemble.Some times I amp my string bass and sometimes I don’t.If I do amplify it I point the speaker into the band so it does not stick out.
The trumpets can be moved to the edge of the ensemble if you are having problems hearing them compared locating they are near the back center of the group.

((((The 2005/2006 WHS Wind Ensemble Seating Chart Below))))

[Click to enlarge]

[Click to enlarge]

The above picture is the WHS Concert Band seating chart created on a spread sheet program by Jim Briggs. Using a spread sheet program isa greatway to make a quick seating chart!

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