7 Steps to a Killer Music Program

By Caleb Chapman

Starting a Music Program from Scratch
Back in the fall of 1998 my wife, Alison, and I went for a lazy Sunday drive that changed my life. I was an undergrad student at Brigham Young University in Utah completing a music degree with plans to pursue an MBA. On that drive, Alison suggested that instead of me pursuing a business degree, we should open a music school. To me it seemed like a crazy idea with little chance of success, but I learned a long time ago to listen to my wiser partner. So, just one month later, without much experience, without money, and without any significant business training, we opened a tiny music school in Utah.

Onward and Upward
Today that tiny music school has grown into a program with 13 ensembles and close to 200 top-notch young musicians, ranging in age from 10-18.

Our flagship group, a jazz ensemble called the Crescent Super Band, has received international attention, thanks to the program’s 22 DownBeat Awards, and appearances at venues from New York to the Netherlands. In fact, the band has been named Utah’s “Best Professional Ensemble” in any genre by Utah Best of State for 8 consecutive years – pretty amazing for a bunch of high school kids.

In a very short period, our graduates have landed significant scholarships in many of the nation’s top music schools – Berklee, North Texas, Miami, USC, the New School, and many others. In fact, each year our 20-30 graduates from the program rack up well over $1,000,000 in scholarship offers.

I just got word that an upcoming show for the Crescent Super Band at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola has already sold out and our headlining debut at Carnegie Hall has almost sold out a month before the concert. I had to pinch myself when I got this news! How did we go from that Sunday drive in 1998 to having a full house at one of the world’s most famous concert venues?

A Recipe for Success
As I took a moment to reflect, I realized that there are several key philosophies that have served us well. They are not genre-specific and I am confident that the success our program has experienced can be duplicated anywhere when these principles are implemented. And, while none of them are “groundbreaking,” when combined, they provide a powerful recipe for a successful music program.

1. Keep music fun
As soon as studying music becomes something our musicians have to do—a chore—we have lost the battle. And this isn’t true just for our students; music needs to remain fun for the educator as well. Think back to what sparked your own passion for music. How can you instill that in your students?

2. Instill pride in the product
Music programs are cool! How can this be communicated properly, and the pride shared with the students and community? It comes from a mix of culture, programming, recruiting, professionalism, and other aspects. It starts with the way you, your students, and the public view the program. What can you do to position your group as a cultural resource to your community?

3. Remove students’ perceived limitations
Young musicians don’t know what the limitations on their ability are until you tell them. Don’t be afraid to set the bar high and keep notching it up. You will be amazed at the results!

4. Practice (and rehearse) for perfection
You already know that when a student practices while allowing mistakes, all he is doing is getting better at making mistakes! Create a culture that strives for as much accuracy as possible in rehearsals as well as performance and select the repertoire that will allow you to do that. What motivates your students to strive for perfection?

5. Empower your musicians with clear guidelines for learning the repertoire
It’s the old “teach a man to fish” analogy. A good educator can teach students how to play any piece of music. A great teacher will educate those students on how to accomplish this on their own. This approach allows them to learn new music during their individual practice time and not just when they are in rehearsal. For example, something that worked great for my jazz students was establishing a set of “rules” for articulation, which they apply to every piece they sight-read or play, whether in class or at home.

6. Surround yourself with a powerhouse team
Start with mentors for yourself; assemble an all-star cast of musicians and educators that have the skills that you want to develop who are willing to coach and guide you. Then, build a dream team for your students—clinicians, a network of private teachers, parent volunteers and boosters, and a staff of specialists. We’re all in it for the same reason: the students. Let’s help each other succeed.

7. Listen. Listen. Listen.
Encourage your musicians to learn the language of music through active listening. Provide information on area concerts in all styles, not just the one they are focused on in the classroom. Assemble listening recommendations and a forum for them to share their current interests and artists they have discovered.

As an educator, I love hearing about how other educators help their students succeed. What are your tips to helping your students achieve their best? Share in the comments below.

Caleb Chapman is an award-winning performer, author, music educator, and producer. His new book, The Articulate Jazz Musician co-written with Grammy-winning saxophonist Jeff Coffin, was released by Alfred Music in 2013. For more information on Caleb’s projects and educational innovations, visit CalebChapmanMusic.com.

Finding Meaning in Your Teaching Career

By George Megaw
Belwin/Pop Concert Band Editor

I’m reminded of two former students that brought meaning to my teaching career. Beth was an outstanding clarinet player and contributed to the high school band program above and beyond. She pursued music as her passion and career; she eventually earned her doctorate and is now teaching at the university level. It’s always gratifying to see a former student of this caliber share our passion and succeed, or even surpass their teacher.

Conversely, Ron was a good trumpet player who had lost his father at a young age and was brought up as the only child of a single mother. One weekend, I chose to take him flying with me to give his mom a break from being both parents. The afternoon had nothing to do with music or band. Fast forward about 20 years to when I was reading the newspaper while waiting for an early commercial business flight, when I became aware of a uniformed flight crew member looking at me from across the waiting area. As he approached me, I was sure I was going to end up on a no-fly list or something… but it was Ron…the Captain on my flight. That Saturday flight in a little airplane so long ago inspired his career choice as a commercial airline pilot.

I can’t tell you which former student I’m most proud of, and there are many more. (The first-class upgrade was certainly a nice treat though!) Every teaching day we have a critical impact on our students’ lives. Sometimes it just takes years to learn about them.

In our role at Alfred, we’re here to help you make those gratifying teaching opportunities more frequent and easily available. Thanks for considering the Belwin concert band catalog for your teaching and programming needs.

We Do It All for the Students…

By Richard Meyer
Highland/Etling String Editor

When asked in an interview recently to give advice to new teachers, I remarked: “Remember that you are teaching people, not music.” As teachers, we are so lucky. Every day we are given the opportunity to influence our students’ lives for the better and we have at our disposal the greatest vehicle for change known to humankind: music. Of all the subjects in the entire school curriculum, I am convinced that it is music that best teaches our students the most important life skills.

As every school year begins, we meet new students who are anxious to learn to play an instrument. They sign up for our classes because they know that they want music to be a part of their lives. What these eager beginners don’t know, however, is that once they start playing music, their lives will never be the same. They don’t know of the real life lessons that lie ahead or how music will change who they are. They don’t know.

But we know. Oh, how we know! We see them change daily and, with music, we help them develop skills they will carry with them for the rest of their lives—self-discipline, cooperation, teamwork, determination, goal setting, and leadership. The list goes on and so does our passion for teaching, renewed each year by a fresh batch of students who look to us for guidance. As year unfolds, we celebrate the musical progress our students make. Primitive, unrefined sounds slowly become recognizable tunes. Recognizable tunes eventually become basic ensemble pieces and, if we are all very diligent, ensemble pieces gradually turn into music.

As you celebrate the musical growth of your students, please don’t forget to celebrate those other ways in which they are progressing: the person they are becoming and the progress that each of them is making as a human being, as a leader, and as a caring citizen in a world that desperately needs caring citizens. Celebrate what you, with music, are doing to enrich all aspects of your students’ lives.

Recently, one of my beginning cellists was packing up after only her second lesson. She paused for a moment and said, in all seriousness, “I think I’m going to play the cello my whole life.” I hope she does. But even if she doesn’t, I am proud to know that music will have made her a better person.

Students That Keep Us Teachers Going

By Robert Sheldon
Alfred Concert Band Editor

Jeremy was a very shy high school junior when I met him. Although he had no musical experience, he was aware of the band activities of some of his friends and really wanted to join the band. He chose tenor sax and signed up for marching band. The marching part came easily enough but he did not know how to read music. Once he learned a handful of notes, I wrote him his own part of half notes and whole notes which he played with great enthusiasm! By the following year he had improved enough that he was able to play the “real” music. It was always a joy to see how much he loved playing his sax and being part of the band family.

“Doctor” Jeremy is now a veterinarian and president of his twin daughter’s band booster organization. Music has no greater supporter. It’s students like Jeremy that keep us teachers going, and that’s why we know you do everything you can for your students – and that is why we are here to help!

Thanks for considering Alfred for the next concert band performance!

The Jazz Standard

By Pete BarenBregge
Instrumental Jazz Editor

What makes a song a jazz standard? Wikipedia defines the term as: “Jazz standards are musical compositions which are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners.”

Jazz greats/legends do account for composing many jazz standards. But there are countless tunes considered jazz standards composed by individuals not associated with jazz at all. For example composers of show tunes, Tin Pan Alley songs, blues tunes, pop tunes—both new and vintage pop, and many other genres as well.

Where can I see a list of jazz standards? While there are many informal lists in books, magazines, and online, the reality is there is no definitive or official list of jazz standards as it is a fluid subject, constantly changing and based on an interpretation or opinion.

Who are some jazz standard composers? The easiest and most accessible resource to find jazz standards and jazz composers is a real book or fake book.

Here is a very short list of composers of jazz standards—there are many, many more:
• Antonio Carlos Jobim
• Cannonball Adderley
• Charlie Parker
• Clifford Brown
• Cole Porter
• Duke Ellington
• Eddie Harris
• Freddie Hubbard
• George Gershwin
• Harold Arlen
• Herbie Hancock
• Horace Silver
• Joe Henderson
• John Coltrane
• John Lennon/Paul McCartney
• Johnny Mandel
• Juan Tizol
• Kenny Dorham
• Luiz Bonfa
• Miles Davis
• Nat Adderley
• Quincy Jones
• Sonny Rollins
• Thelonious Monk
• Wayne Shorter
• Wes Montgomery

Why do band directors want to have their jazz groups play jazz standards?
• Title recognition
• Melody recognition
• Teaching students some jazz history by performing jazz standards, many of which are composed by jazz greats/legends

The successful jazz program is often influenced on the music performed by the bands. Therefore, directors will carefully select and purchase new music that will be educationally sound, playable by their band, charts that are fun to play for the students, and accessible to the audience.

Where can you get jazz song titles and published arrangements of jazz standard charts at various difficulty levels? Check out the real books and jazz ensemble arrangements of jazz standards by Belwin Jazz/Alfred Music Publishing.

What’s your favorite jazz chart? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Make Your Jazz String Group Sound Authentic

By Randy Sabien

I hear a string group or individual playing a swinging jazz or blues tune, more often than not, the music doesn’t sound all that different from classical music.  Here are a few quick tips to get you headed in the right direction quickly.

1)  Bow placement – for smooth swinging eighth notes violins and violas should bow in the upper half; cellos and arco basses should be in the middle.  Avoid the lower half or the eighth notes will be choppy and not in the groove.

2)   Bow tension – make sure bow hair is not too tight.  Having just the right springiness in the bow allows you to feel the groove with your bow arm.

3)  Slurring – for a series of swing eighth notes sometimes slur the offbeat eighth to the downbeat eighth.  I tend to play a few single bows, slur a couple groups in the middle of a phrase or across the barline, then a few more single bows.  Avoid long series of single bows or slurs.  It’s the combination that creates a fluid swinging line.

4)  Articulation – many jazz phrases end with short syncopated notes.  Think of the word “be-bop.”  “Be” is long  – use legato detache bowing.  “Bop” is short – use a staccato martele bowing or better yet….. let the bow come off and dampen all the strings with the left hand.  You cannot play the note too short.

5)  Vibrato – limit the use of classical style vibrato.  Replace it with either a totally flat sound or slide into the notes for a blues expression.  Sometimes a “shake” sounds good – a wild vibrato that goes as much as a whole step above the pitch quickly once or twice.

6)  Rhythm Section – make sure your group at least has a drumset and bass.  Piano and/or guitar are great additions but can be optional if the arrangement has enough harmonic support throughout the string section.  A drumset can be as simple as a high hat and ride cymbal.  If more than one bass is playing, the line will have to be written out so everyone plays the same part.  The cello is not an acceptable substitution for a bass.  It’s not low enough and the duration of the pizzicato is too short to fulfill the proper function of the bass.  The cello should be treated as a low melodic voice like the tenor or baritone sax or trombone.

If you follow these easy steps your group will sound great right away.  I can’t wait to hear you!

Violinist Randy Sabien is head of the String Department at the McNally Smith College of Music in St. Paul, MN offering Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Violin, Viola, Cello, and Bass Performance.  He is the co-author of the Jazz Philharmonic series and composer for String Alternatives.  Randy and his Fiddlehead Band will be the featured performer at the closing concert of the 2013 ASTA convention in Providence, RI.

Turning Student Performers Into Student Creators

By Thomas J. West

Over the past two years, I have endeavored to add more opportunities for students to create their own music, both in improvisation and in written composition. It is definitely a slow process, taking a long time to build into my program, but that’s why I know it is going to be very impactful over the next several years. I am finishing my fourth year teaching in my current school setting, and as in any newer setting, it takes time for the youngest students you have who have received only your instruction matriculate up through to graduation. My current group of eighth and ninth graders are my lead group, having been with me since fifth grade, and the results of this training are most obvious there.

The overall structure of my program looks something like this:

Year 1: wind instrumentalists learn and become proficient at concert Bb, Eb, Ab, F, and C major scales and tonic triad arpeggios by rote with letter names. String instrumentalists do the same with the C, G, D, A, F, and Bb scales. In the third marking period, they improvise using their most proficient scale over a class ostinato using primary chords (I, IV, V, I). In the fourth marking period, they compose their own original melody written for their primary instrument with chordal accompaniment on piano.

Year 2: Students learn the remaining major scales and arpeggios in the circle of fifths (which involves side key and chromatic fingerings for the woodwinds and shifting to 2nd and 3rd position for the violins and violas). They do some more improvisation in marking period 1 and compose another solo melody piece in marking period 2. Marking period 3 is mostly concert preparation, and marking period 4 is their first exposure to writing two part inventions for their primary instrument without accompaniment.

Year 3: Students begin to learn and perform natural minor scales and dorian and mixolydian modes. They begin improvising over more complex chord progressions, including simple jazz standards and show tunes. They make their first attempts at writing three-part and four-part pieces for their primary instrument.

Year 4: Students continue studies from Year 3, venturing into writing projects with mixed instrumentation, including electronic music and online distribution systems.

Sound ambitious? That’s because there are only a handful of music programs in the US that are doing something similar, as far as I have been able to determine. There are, of course, students who need longer than 2 years to learn the beginning content as well, especially string players.

How can there possibly be time to do all that and still have public concerts? Simple: public performance is not the solitary focus of the program. Public concert repertoire is kept in the grade 2 and grade 3 range, focusing on quality music-making with mastery and expressiveness as the goal rather than complexity that the average musician struggles to understand and become technically proficient in performing.

So how are the students reacting at the end of year two? There are a few who do the composition begrudgingly, just as there are always those who do the improvisation and solo and small group performing begrudgingly. The majority of the students, however, relish the opportunity to be musically creative and in many cases expand their study beyond the scope of the outline above. I have second year composition students who are already writing for instruments beyond their primary one, students who are writing for full ensembles, a student who is a Frank Zappa acolyte writing in 11/8 time, and students who have already written over 30 scores.

As an instrumental music teacher in a unique public cyber school setting, all of my students have access to the internet at home, so after starting their compositions initially on manuscript paper, we are making full use of Noteflight Classroom. Students can work on scores from any computer. Several of them asked me if they would have access to their accounts over the summer and plan to do some recreational writing of their own. To quote Hannibal from The A Team, “I love it when a plan comes together.”

Eventually, the plan is for our public concerts to be primarily featuring student compositions performed by the students themselves, with students able to write, perform, edit, mix, master, and distribute their own creations via the internet. In this brave new world of technology and communication, music students have fantastic opportunities their predecessors never had. Teaching the internet generation to create and share their own music not only will enrich their lives, but will validate and legitimize public school music education for the 21st century.

Thanks goes to Thomas J. West Music for letting us use his blog!

Thomas J. West is an active music educator, composer, adjudicator, clinician, and award-winning blogger.
http://thomasjwestmusic.com

How much does this differ from the long term plan you have for your students? Do you use any unique techniques to get your students to start composing?

Billy Strayhorn’s Legacy

By Alyce Claerbaut

“….Billy Strayhorn was my right arm, my left arm, all the eyes in the back of my head, my brainwaves in his head, and his in mine.”
- Duke Ellington

Billy Strayhorn is acknowledged as one of the most influential composers of the twentieth century. Strayhorn, the primary collaborative partner of Duke Ellington for 28 years, created a compelling musical language that transcended Ellington. His innumerable contributions to the jazz canon create a formidable legacy for musicians from all genres.

Strayhorn’s deep knowledge of both classical and popular music enabled him to create a unique approach to song writing. Elements of his harmonic sophistication and voicing techniques have become emblematic of excellence in the jazz repertoire. Alfred is proud to publish many of Strayhorn’s greatest hits, including a number of never-before-released transcriptions. For a list of current titles, click here.

In addition to his musical achievements, Billy Strayhorn has become identified with the struggle for civil rights. Throughout his career, Strayhorn overcame several stigmas, not the least of which being an African American artist in a society dominated by whites and a gay man in a culture where homosexuality was considered a crime.

In recognition of Billy Strayhorn’s musical, artistic and cultural significance, the Music Institute of Chicago, in partnership with Billy Strayhorn Songs, Inc., a family corporation of the Strayhorn heirs, is presenting a Billy Strayhorn Festival on the weekend of October 26-28, 2012. The festival, occurring at Nichols Concert Hall in Evanston, features performances by the Terrell Stafford Sextet, Music Institute of Chicago Jazz Faculty, and the Northwestern University Jazz Ensemble; a screening of an updated version of the acclaimed PBS documentary, Billy Strayhorn: Lush Life by filmmaker Robert Levi and a panel discussion, which will be moderated by Richard Steele of WBEZ and will also include Strayhorn biographer, David Hajdu. Click here for more information about the festival.

The year 2015 will mark the centennial celebration for Billy Strayhorn. Find out how you can help celebrate by visiting the official Facebook page.

What is your favorite Strayhorn song? Tell us in the comments field below.

musIc or mUSic?

By Richard Meyer

“What is the number one reason that you make music?”

How would your students respond to this question? When I asked my students three years ago, I wasn’t surprised when over 90 percent of them centered their answers around themselves:

“It makes me relaxed.”
“It gives me a chance to express myself.”
“It’s fun (for me).”

Only a handful mentioned the audience in their answer, “I make music to entertain people and to make people happy.”

From that point on, the music program at my school changed. I implemented a program, called Giving Bach, designed to make my students more aware of how their music has an impact on their audience. I chose as our “target audience” special-needs students, and sought out opportunities for my orchestra to perform for groups of young people that many of them had never encountered.

But just performing for special needs students was not enough, and I knew that to truly understand their audience, my students had to do more than just play a traditional concert. As a result, we developed interactive concerts, which start like every other concert, but end up quite differently – with the musicians and the audience sitting side by side. After performing in a traditional setting, each of my students is paired up with an audience member. They introduce themselves, and explain to their “buddy” about their instrument. They teach them how to care for it and hold it, and how to produce a tone. Finally, we end every Giving Bach concert with the D String Blues, performed by audience members, assisted by one of our students.

I use two of my compositions from this year’s release as part of our Giving Bach repertoire – Q&A and Can Can Basses. Our concerts also include sections features from some of my other compositions – The Billy Tell Overture, Serendipity Suite, Cello Squadron, and Viva Violas! And we like to program Guest Soloist, too. It’s a fun way to feature a single audience member, and kind of “break the ice” with the audience.

As I watch my own students take part in this program, I have seen them become much more confident, empathetic and compassionate citizens, with a better understanding of the power that they have to affect the world with their music.

In the past three years, we have performed for (and with) children from the Down Syndrome Association of Los Angeles, the Starlight Children’s Foundation, the Junior Blind of America, several therapeutic schools, and for foster children and students in inner-city schools.

I encourage all directors to explore the power of interactive concerts with their own students. For further explanation of the Giving Bach program and ideas for implementing it at your own school, visit givingbach.org.

We’d love to hear from you and share more ideas. How do you make your students more aware of how their music has an impact on their audience?

Thoughts From the Chicken Coop

Talk is Cheep, Kris Berg’s newest chicken-themed title from the 2012-2013 new jazz ensemble releases!

My name is Kris Berg and I am director of jazz studies at Collin College in Texas and a longtime composer/arranger for Alfred. I get many, many questions from young jazz students, but these are two of the most common:

How do I get started writing a big band chart? What’s up with all those “chicken” charts?

It’s true; I have written a bucket full of chicken charts. I believe number 13 is in the works! It all started last century with an arrangement I did of a tune called “The Chicken,” composed by Alfred James “Pee Wee” Ellis, a sax player with James Brown and Van Morrison, and popularized by one of my favorite bass players, Jaco Pastorius. I actually wrote the arrangement as a grad student in college and then years later had the blessing of getting it published. I’m proud to say that “The Chicken” has gone on to become one of the best-selling big band charts of all time. Again, another blessing and I thank everyone for playing the chart (keep posting those videos on Youtube, they’re great!). More importantly, that chart has egged on an entire franchise of fun funk tunes, all with chicken titles. If you are familiar with some of these, you know that they are all funky, blues-based tunes with challenging lines for everyone, especially the bass player. For example; “Tastes Like Chicken,” “Chicken Scratch,” “Poultry in Motion,” “R U Chicken?,” “Fowl Play,” “Pecking Order,” “Rule the Roost,” “Flew The Coop,” “Feather Report,” “No Spring Chicken,” and the most recent chart, new for 2012, “Talk is Cheep.” I am not sure which will happen first, running out of ideas for tunes or running out of titles!

So where do I get all those ideas for new chicken tunes. I think the key here is listening — lots and lots of listening. When learning to improvise, we (jazz musicians) listen all the time to great players. We learn their licks in all 12 keys and we learn how to manipulate those licks to fit into our playing. The same idea is true for arrangers and composers. We listen. We listen to jazz, we listen to classical, we listen to just about every type of music. As a writer of music, everything you listen to becomes part of you — it’s mentally digested and becomes part of your internal jazz vocabulary. It can help suggest an idea for a new tune or possibly solve a problem with particular part of a chart. When I look back at the flock of chicken tunes I have written, I see influences from listening to a lot of funky music. Sometimes it’s Tower of Power, sometimes it’s Jaco Pastorius, sometimes it’s James Brown’s great recordings. The Internet has led me to newer groups like Groove Collection and Dirty Loops. It’s so easy to listen now — take advantage of the technology!

Let’s look at the tune “Feather Report.” The inspiration for that tune came about from the obvious word play in the title. To stay true to that inspiration, I pulled out many years of Weather Report recordings. They are one of my favorite groups and I have numerous albums, CDs and downloads I can listen to and I did — a lot! I listened for groove ideas, as that band has always had wonderful bassists and drummers. I listened for chords and chord progressions typical for that group. They have a very distinctive harmonic sound and it was important for me to try and capture that. I also listened to sounds the group uses, especially the synthesizer sounds from the great Joe Zawinul. This last part inspired several orchestration ideas as I tried to imitate those sounds and colors. For example, altos saxes blending with Harmon-mute trumpets and sub-tone tenors with a flugelhorn up an octave.

This leads me to the other question that students often ask me: How do I get started writing a big band chart? That first big band chart can appear like quite a daunting task. Aside from learning theory and melody building, a technique that I use that helps my arranging students is the concept of modeling. Let’s say you want to write a blues tune for big band. Start listening and put together a playlist of big band blues tunes that you like. From there start noticing how the charts are put together. Is there a BIG intro or maybe just a piano solo at the top? Which idea do you like better? Whatever it is, make that part of your chart. Who plays the melody? Is it saxes, trombones, trumpets, or some combination of horns? Which idea do you like better? Whatever it is, make that part of your chart. What do the rest of the horns do behind the melody? Are there counter lines maybe or punch-figures? Which do you like better? Use those ideas. Modeling can help you with the big picture. Where do solos typically come in? How long are they? How many are there? How does the writer build up backgrounds behind the solos? If there is a sax soli, where does that come in? Maybe you hear a great trombone or bass solo? Where does the shout chorus come in? How long does it last? What kind of range in the lead trumpet gets you excited? Are there any restrictions to lead trumpet range for the band you are writing for? Does the chart end with a repeat of the melody or something else? Does it end loud and exciting or does it bring it back down dynamically? The list of what you can learn from listening to big band charts goes on and on and on. So I highly recommend you begin now!

Thanks for taking some time with me. I hope you will check out my new big band CD, This Time/Last Year featuring Wayne Bergeron, Delfeayo Marsalis, Clay Jenkins, and Chris Vadala. It features some of my favorite Belwin Jazz charts, “Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise” and “R U Chicken?” Check it out — available now at www.krisbergjazz.com.

Kris Berg, Alfred Author