Instrumental Music as Physical Education

Most public school music ensembles spend 95 percent of their classroom time preparing for public concerts. It takes many hours of repetition of the music in order to program the body to perform the music accurately. Band and orchestra directors basically run rehearsals for a living and become very good at  providing the repetitions necessary to program the physical movements required to perform the music accurately.

When I begin writing articles for my website, I focused on sharing music practice tips. The majority of these were strategies designed to help maximize practice routine efficiency, garnering more successful repetitions of the music. What I have only recently realized, however, is that the majority of time and effort spent practicing a musical instrument has more to do with  programming the mind to physically control the instrument accurately and reliably. There is more “physical education” involved in instrumental music making than actual “music education”.

In most traditional high school bands and orchestras, the vast majority of rehearsal time is spent drilling the music in order for ensemble members to develop some level of physical proficiency in performance. Teaching basic musicianship concepts like reading notation, audiating pitch, and so on is left to the elementary music teachers to handle. High school ensembles focus primarily on ensemble techniques such as pulse control, section and group intonation, balance and blend, and so on. Those concepts are touched upon and then drilled, drilled, drilled until the ensemble can perform them accurately.

The Marriage Between Physical And Aural

One of the amazing things about studying music performance is that it elides the physical skill of operating a musical instrument with the mental skill of perceiving and instantly processing and reacting to sound. Singers do this as well, but the need to physically train the body is quite different. Instrumentalists spend a great deal of time simply becoming proficient at manipulating the contraption that makes the musical sounds happen.

Students of music have to not only become proficient at the physical movements, they also have to use their aural skills to assess their own physical performance. The actual musical part of instrumental performace is all mental, and it requires training and skill building just like the physical training of operating the instrument.

Over-Programming The Physical Part Of Performance

Because it takes so much time and repetition to program the body, musicianship and listening skills often take a secondary role in many school performing ensemble classes. This is compounded by the fact that many high school band and orchestra directors choose repertoire that demands a high level of technical proficiency on the part of the performers. Technical wizardry (those fast sixteeth note runs, screaming high notes, rapid tonguing or bowing passages, and so on) are engaging and exciting to listen to, and many directors want their students to have the experience of performing exciting works with a lot of technical fireworks.

The trade-off, however, is that technically demanding repertoire often consumes the majority of available class time simply to get the ensemble performing proficiently. Even then, traditional band and orchestra programs lean on the students with the higher music aptitude and skill development to carry the weight while their peers hang on for dear life or fake their way through the difficult passages. Add to that fact the more important consequence – the students rarely have time to improve their musical skills in favor of improving their physical skills.

Audio Gym Teacher?

If ensemble directors, for whatever reason, continue to program technically demanding works that constantly stretch the boundaries of what the students are capable of, they are providing their students with more of an “audio physical education” than a “music education”. Technical ability is only part of what makes up an effective musical performance. It is far better, in my opinion, to choose repertoire with easier technical demand that can be mastered in a shorter amount of time, leaving room towards the end of the preparation period to work on ensemble playing techniques, expressive phrasing, and communicating the intent of the music to the audience.

Quite simply, if by concert time students are not able to look away from the sheet music for more than a brief glance at the baton in order to be able to perform the piece, the technical demand is probably too high.

There certainly is a need for repertoire that “pushes the envelope” and gets students to reach for a new level of technical ability, but I have seen too many band and orchestra programs that try to stretch the ensemble with every single piece they perform. Slaving away on demanding parts is enjoyable for only a minority of students – most are turned off by such hard work, especially if that level of demand is constantly upon them.

Physical training in the band and orchestra is a major component of instrumental performing music and is constantly being addressed. There needs to be a balance, however, between the physical aspects of instrumental performance and the mental aspects of listening, audiating, and understanding music as an art form.

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.
thomasjwestmusic.com

Teaching Appreciation and Encouraging Curiosity of Classical Music in Your Orchestra

By Jonathan Glawe

The experiences we bring to our students define their understanding of our class, and in turn their understanding of the breadth and potential of our art form. With the repertoire we choose as music educators, we expose our students to different styles, cultures, and techniques. A memorable performance may introduce our students to new ways of interacting with music, allowing them to find a more personal connection to the art form. The future of the Symphonic Orchestra is entirely dependent on engaged audiences. The end result of a diversified focus on music appreciation in orchestral music education is the development of future music enthusiasts who are capable of enjoying and sharing the positive messages and powerful emotions that are created through an orchestral performance.

As a high school orchestra director, I teach students who come from a wide variety of musical experiences and technical backgrounds. In my teaching situation at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I am fortunate to have a core representation of students who have been heavily exposed to classical music since early childhood. For these students, selling the idea of playing a classical musical selection is not a challenge, but the problem of course lies in the larger picture of the orchestra program. For every one student in the program that shows a strong appreciation for classical music there are two or three others who need a positive experience to get them excited about classical music for what it truly is: a beautiful and proven art-form that is to be celebrated for withstanding the test of time.

As a teacher, to promote appreciation you must first demonstrate how to do so with consistency. One of the first strategies I employed when I arrived at Pioneer was to implement an environment of appreciation for all students in the ensemble. The appropriate use of the sentiment “thank you” became a daily routine for anyone in the ensemble who ever did you a positive service. Also, students who tended to blend in with the crowd were acknowledged for noticeable improvements in elements of musicianship and organizational skills, both by their peers and myself. These simple changes led to the beginning of a trusting relationship, something that helped the students to become more positive contributing citizens to the culture of the ensemble.

As trust began to build, my next order of business was to take the curriculum currently in place and begin promoting it to the students differently. Pioneer was no longer going to perform independent concerts, but we were going to build an “orchestra season,” similar to what the Detroit Symphony Orchestra does. This meant we would put on a variety of concerts for our audience to attend. Our season would begin with a strings only chamber music performance in the fall. In December, full orchestra works by traditional classical composers would be featured. In February, the city-wide showcase concert would occur with a guest conductor. In March, the concerto concert would feature soloists from the senior class. Finally, in May, the program would put on a POPS concert, which would showcase the eclectic string skills developed over the course of the year.

The first few years of this implementation were not met without hesitation from students or musicians within the community. I found some of my top skill level players who enjoyed classical music were not keen on the idea of the POPS concert, and many of the rest of the orchestra students were not invested in the classical concerts. It is when these discussions come up that the director must continue to send a consistent message that through any style of music, you can learn appreciation and deeper understanding. You won’t win the understanding of all of your students, but if you are consistent, eventually your message of educating all of your students about the diversity of music will begin to pay off.

After 3 years of implementing the “orchestra season” approach, a few important things really began to happen. The number of students continuing to play from middle school started to increase. In addition, the diversity of the students within the ensemble started to grow. Students in the high school who had stopped playing years ago started knocking on my door wondering if they could return. Students started to make enjoyable transitions from one style of music to another, and before I knew it, we were talking about the difference of rhythm and groove found in a Beethoven Symphony and pop music. I remember having a nearly 20-minute conversation with one of my classes about how the bow strokes in a Brandenburg Concerto were different than that of what great jazz violinists do. You may be thinking that I led the conversation, but rather, some of the most reserved students were the ones leading the discussion!

One last element to discuss in regards to this topic is that of quality of instruction. It is impossible to educate yourself to be a master of each musical style that you present. However, students do appreciate watching their teachers grow, modeling how to learn. If you hit a roadblock in teaching classical music, or any style for that matter, it is okay to tell your orchestra that you need to research the issue further. Students like to see you humble about what you do and do not know. By investing time in maintaining the quality of classical music yourself, you are constantly confirming the students that you are teaching to the authentic nature of the musical selection and not from your opinion. This takes the responsibility off of you and reminds students that together, you have an obligation to a composer to perform any piece of music in front of you to the best of your ability.

Students learn best through modeling, and the best way to sell them on classical music is to treat classical music with the respect it deserves. It is important to remind your students that it is all around them, and that in the music they listen to today, famous classical melodies are often quoted. Play those quotes. Bring in artists who specialize in classical music. Show YouTube videos of young people performing outstanding works by classical composers. Contact your local colleges or universities and promote their concerts. Take advantage of communicative technology, and set up a Skype lecture or coaching with a classical composer.  Have your students compose a 4-bar melody and help them harmonize it in a variety of ways. Perform those written melodies at a concert or a recital. Show old cartoons and talk about how classical music relates to the story or the character movement. Have classical music playing when they are unpacking or packing up in your classroom. Talk about the life of composers and their motivation for composing. Most importantly, listen to and perform classical music, and deepen YOUR appreciation for it. What you are curious about, show excitement for, and grow to appreciate, your students will tend to do as well. Be patient and consistent. It will eventually pay off!

© 2012 Jonathan Glawe

Jonathan Glawe (from Waterloo, Iowa) is currently the Director of Orchestras at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He holds a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Kansas and a Masters Degree in Music Education from the University of Oregon.

Currently in his 5th year at Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Mr. Glawe has played an important role in the their return to the GRAMMY Signature School list as presented by the GRAMMY Foundation, in which the Pioneer Music Department was honored as one of the top 3 music programs in the nation in 2010, and has earned the honor of being the National GRAMMY Signature School in 2011.

Tips from a Festival Conductor

By Sally K. Albrecht
Alfred Editor, Composer & Clinician

As I head out today to my third county choral festival in as many weeks, I thought about all of the different wonderful and magical experiences I have enjoyed as a conductor over the years. I usually guest direct from 6 to 10 such events each season. Here are some tips that have helped me along the way.

1. Select music early.

• I enjoy working with my host on music selection. It’s helpful if the host sends me programs from the previous 2-3 years, so I see what type of material has been selected in the past. I always enjoy chatting on the phone at this point, to see what was successful. I like to know the approximate number of singers (if a mixed group, how many on each voice part) and how many schools are represented. (If there’s a descant part, I’ll often say, “One singer per school may sing the descant.”)

• Will other groups be sharing our program? If so, then I always recommend a joint finale and/or opening selection.

• Are any instrumentalists available? That may alter my music choices.

• I generally send one or two possible programs for my host to select from, or say, “Here are two folk song arrangements. Pick one.” I make sure my music choices are current, in print, educational, inspirational, entertaining, challenging, yet accomplishable. I make sure we have an opener, a closer, then a variety in between, including: folk songs, spirituals, multicultural, classical, novelty, music song . . . . well, just something for everyone.

• My general rule is to select one song per hour of rehearsal. If I have a 6-hour rehearsal day, then 6 chorals should do it.

• Make sure each singer has a copy of music in his/her hands (no photocopies allowed), with a pencil handy for special markings. Even if the music is to be memorized, it’s often necessary to take another look!

2. Communicate.

• Keep communication lines open at all times. Be quick to respond to emails and/or phone calls. Let me know if there are definite times I need to anticipate breaks or lunch, or if that’s open to the flow of the day.

• Send hotel and rehearsal locations and information in plenty of time for me to mapquest the area.

• Make sure to put in writing all of the financial agreements—who pays for what, what receipts are needed, who is providing meals, etc.

• I make it a habit to send “Notes from the Director” with any special instructions for the music: things to look out for, are we singing cue-size notes, who sings the descant, will there be any solos to audition, etc.

• Let the conductor know what the mode of dress is for the concert. I’ll dress differently if singers are wearing robes than I will if singers are in jeans with a festival T-shirt!

3. Plan for the day.

• I always arrive with a plan for the day—what I want to get done in every 15-minute chunk of time. I often will let one voice section take a morning break while I rehearse with another section. Make sure there are adequate clean rest rooms nearby.

• Have enough risers set up, ready to go on stage, for the number of singers selected to participate. Anticipate 12 students per riser-secton (3-step risers plus floor). Younger students, perhaps, can fit up to 16 singers per riser section.

• Make sure that each student has a name tag. I like to see their first name, really big (so I can read it easily from afar). Teachers need name tags, too—full names. If it’s a 2-day festival, then collect the tags or have a second set available.

• I start with warm-ups, then perhaps a quick rehearsal of the opening or closing number. Then I enlist the teachers to help me get the students lined up by height and part, tallest 1st. No singer should be next to someone they already know. The goal is to form a new choir and make new friends!

• During rehearsals, make sure a few teachers are around, on hand, at all times.

• If instrumentalists are involved, decide on a specific time for them to rehearse so they don’t have to sit there all day with you. I generally request that they come mid-afternoon, then stay to play our final run-through with us.

4. The simple things that don’t go un-noticed.

• Have a great accompanist ready to go, who has prepared the music and understands how to accompany (that means, reads the mind of the guest conductor)! Make sure the piano has been tuned (and dusted off) recently.

• Have lots of water on hand, a podium (if needed), and a music stand that doesn’t wobble. Does the conductor need a microphone? And, if we’re all onstage, does that microphone have monitors on stage so the singers can hear my comments?

• Check the air temperature in the rehearsal area. Is it a place where we can work all day? Or is a second room needed for relief/change of venue?

• Have a tech person check that the lights in the auditorium are all in working order. Know how to turn the stage lights on and off, dim as needed. Same with the sound system.

• Let me know the plan for the actual concert. Who speaks when? Who introduces who? If there’s a list of “thank yous” that needs to be spoken, please do that before the concert begins or before the final number. I like to leave the audience with the sound of our music ringing in their ears!

Enjoy the special musical day you, your teachers, and your students will have. There’s just nothing like it!

Teach Me to Sing!

By Sally K. Albrecht and Andy Beck, Alfred Choral & Classroom Editors

At several recent conventions, Andy Beck and I have enjoyed presenting a session titled “Teach Me To Sing! A Guide to Training Young Singers.” We have had so many positive comments about the presentation and the approach that we’ve taken to developing children’s singing skills. Here are the six simple steps we recommend.

STEP 1 – Develop basic singing and listening skills with ECHO SONGS.
Echo songs are the very best way to start primary singers. When you demonstrate proper vocal tone and technique, then your singers will echo it back correctly. This is a wonderful way to develop ear training, pitch awareness, rhythmic accuracy, and good vocal habits in young singers.

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STEP 2 – Now that we’ve got the basics, let’s sing in UNISON.
Start young voices on simple age-appropriate melodies set in comfortable vocal ranges. Then gradually introduce challenges as musical objectives are met. Remember, students will learn so much through lyrics, so choose songs that inspire and educate as well as entertain!

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STEP 3 – Develop vocal independence by singing ROUNDS AND CANONS.
There’s no better way to introduce part-singing than by performing rounds and canons. Be sure to thoroughly learn the melody in unison first, then divide students into sections. Take turns leading or following. Or YOU be the leader, and let students follow!

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STEP 4 – Pair two complimentary melodies singing PARTNER SONGS.
These highly effective teaching songs ensure vocal independence as two tunes are overlapped. Repeat each song three times; sing the familiar melody first, the new melodic partner second, and then combine them for each-to-achieve counterpoint harmony!

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STEP 5 – Integrate RHYTHM AND MUSIC READING ACTIVITIES into your curriculum.
We know that learning styles vary, so it’s important to teach and reinforce musical concepts in a variety of ways each time you are with your students. For rhythmic reading, try clapping, tapping, chanting, walking, and playing classroom instruments. For music reading, incorporate regular practice and drill to develop musicianship.

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STEP 6 – After all of your hard work, now you are ready to sing BEGINNING 2-PART SONGS.
Now you’re ready to experience the beauty and fun of choral singing, introducing beginning 2-part songs with independent counterlines, echoing phrases, or musical lines that move in opposite directions. Select repertoire that is designed for success.

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After all your excellent preparation and fun work, now you should be ready to introduce your developing 2-part singers to choral octavos!

>Click here to view a PDF booklet of sample pages introducing these 6 simple steps.

Different Strokes for Different Folks: Teaching the Individual

By Susan Jordan
Voice Instructor, Stroudsburg, PA

“She takes each student along a personal journey.” – former student Anthony Nasto, graduate of the Hartt School of Music and member of the barbershop quartet Men in Black.

Since I established my voice studio in 1979, I’ve been privileged to spend time with many special people who have come to me to “learn to sing.” Most of these have been high school students since that seems to be a period when people become aware of the music inside that they want to share. I know that was true for me. I heard a Met broadcast at the age of 13 and was amazed, stunned, and awed by the wonderful sounds I heard. And I knew immediately I wanted to try and do that.

Every teacher who works with vocalists knows that what we do in the studio is just the beginning of each student’s journey. Our primary responsibility is to provide them with tools they can learn to use to unlock their voice; how well they succeed partly depends on how hard they are willing to work, and how much time and effort they will devote to one of my favorite words: practice. It is indeed a journey, and every student’s path is unique, because every voice is unique . . . which is what makes what we do so fascinating.

One of the first students who came to me exemplifies a path that very few students can follow. A 14-year-old high school sophomore when she began to study, she had a true and complete gift: a voice of exceptional natural beauty, and an innate sense of musicality. She almost immediately absorbed every concept I shared with her. Of course, with this ability, her voice blossomed and her singing was a joy not only to hear but to see as well. The love she experienced and could release through singing was very evident. Since she learned quickly to sing with ease, she was able to make music . . . the goal we have for all our students.

The path most students follow is generally not so smooth, as is evident in another high school sophomore’s story. Thanks to a very good cheerleading coach (yes, cheerleaders can also be singers!) she had a good understanding of using her breath correctly. There was a lot of promise in her voice but it was very far back, so obviously that was the challenge. It was slow going, but she was determined and we worked together on vowels, combinations of vowels and consonants, and forward focus. Then I gave her a song she fell in love with, and she was able to incorporate all the concepts we’d been working on . . . and music happened! From that point on it was smooth sailing, and she wound up as a vocal performance major at an excellent school.

One of the most important things I need to do as a teacher of young talent is to have a sense of each student as an individual. Knowing this girl is painfully shy or that boy is filled with insecurity means I need to help them develop the confidence to perform as well as teach them to use their voice correctly. With some students, I find I have to explain concepts in several different ways before I see the light go on! I always tell my students to ask questions if they don’t “get” what we’re trying to do. Picking up on visual and aural cues is important, but questions from the student are direct and cut to the chase.

As teachers we all have a set of exercises that seem to work well with the majority of our students. Sometimes the trick is to modify these, or to consider what else might work. Since singing involves some muscles that we can’t directly see, we often try different ways to find what imagery works best for a particular student. Moving jaw, shoulder, and neck tension to another part of the body where it’s a help rather than a hindrance can vary from simply walking around while singing to one of my favorites, facing the door and pressing with the hands against the frame while leaning forward. (I tell my students to try and push my house down.) This activity engages the intercostals and makes the student aware of how important muscles from the chest to the floor are for a singer. I’m sure all teachers have similar items in their bag of tricks.

Patience is a huge part of teaching teenagers. I have had more than one student who was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder. With these students, I find less talk and more action works best. Generally, focusing on one element at a time has been most successful. It’s not ideal but eventually we can put the pieces together and move forward. I constantly encourage these students to explain to me exactly what they are doing when they’ve been successful, and this helps them to retain the concept.

I’ve had students who were very, very serious about “learning to sing.” I appreciate their passion and determination, but these are the students I have to sometimes remind not to over think what they are doing. Singing is hard work, but it also needs to be a source of joy! Sometimes I will tell these kids to stop thinking, take a deep breath, love the music, and just SING.

I recently explained to one tremendously talented boy I have as a current student that I’m trying to provide him with the tools to share his soul through his music. That was a revelation for him. He has the same incredible gift of vocal beauty and musicality as the young woman I mentioned earlier. They come to us from time to time!

About Susan Jordan
After attending the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music, Susan Jordan moved with her family to the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania in 1971. She established her voice studio in 1979 and has had students accepted into such schools as the Eastman School of Music, Peabody Conservatory, Manhattan School of Music, Hartt School of Music, Westminster Choir College, Cincinnati College-Conservatory, and many other fine programs. Former students have performed on Broadway, in the Metropolitan Opera Chorus, on national tours of Broadway shows, and in regional theater. Some are also teaching either as school chorus directors or in private voice studios. Since 1984, she has directed some 80 high school and community theater musical productions. Currently, along with private teaching, she operates the music notesetting business established by her late husband, Jordan Music Engravers. She is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and was recently honored locally by being inducted into the East Stroudsburg Area School District Music Hall of Fame.
Please visit www.susanjordanstudio.com for more information.

Composition in the General Music Classroom

By Anna Wentlent,
Editor of School Choral and Classroom Music

In the midst of current education reforms, all teachers are working hard to incorporate the Common Core standards into their traditional programs of study. Music teachers have the advantage of a rich history of standards-based education using the National Standards for Music Education. And music itself is an integrated subject that naturally connects to other academic areas. In particular, music composition presents numerous possibilities for addressing the new standards within your established curriculum.

The fourth National Standard reads as follows: “Composing and arranging music within specified guidelines.” Composition is truly an integrated activity. Regular classroom lessons and projects can be designed to encompass the majority of the other music standards, as well as many English and mathematics standards. Mathematical concepts such as fractions, percentages, patterns, and sequences are addressed through the analysis of rhythm, melodic contour, and musical form. English literacy is addressed as students are called upon to self-assess their individual and ensemble performances and compositions in an articulate manner using appropriate vocabulary. Along the way, the students’ preparatory work, notated music, and class performances offer excellent opportunities for concrete assessment.

Composition should not be an activity reserved for the most experienced and well-trained musicians. Everyone is instinctively creative, and students of all ages should be given frequent opportunities to compose in the general music classroom. Don’t let your students’ limited knowledge of music notation hold them back. Composition is first and foremost a creative endeavor! And your students will have you to guide them through the creative process of making musical decisions, testing and revising ideas, making a written record of those ideas, etc. Young children without an understanding of formal notation can be asked to “notate” their composed work so that others might understand it, using self-designed symbols, musical drawings, and other visual representations.

Frequent compositional activities will hopefully leave your students with a greater respect for composers and the process of writing or arranging a piece of music, as well as an appreciation for music notation. I have found that students are much more motivated to learn about notes and rhythms when they are regularly exposed to practical applications of that knowledge, such as composition and performance.

Autumn Composition Project

Prep: If time allows, spend some class time listening to and discussing one or more of the following works of program music. Some tell a sequential story, some create a picture or scene.

• Bach’s Suite for Solo Cello No.1 in G Major
• Beethoven’s Symphony No.6 (“Storm” Movement)
• Bernstein’s “Dance at the Gym” from West Side Story
• Grieg’s “In the Hall of the Mountain King” from Peer Gynt
• Grieg’s “Sunrise” from Peer Gynt
• Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain
• Ridout’s Fall Fair
• Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee
• Saint-Saëns’ Danse Macabre
• Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons

K-2nd Grade: As you play the piece for the first time, have the students close their eyes and just listen to the music. When you play the piece a second time, prompt them to let their imaginations run wild . . . Imagine a scene that might be happening while this music is playing. What do you see? What type of people and animals are there? What are they doing? Are they happy, sad, excited, or worried? Afterwards, have your students sketch a picture of the scene they imagined. Prompt them to include meaningful details to fill in the story.

3rd-5th Grade: Instruct the students to write down words or phrases that come to mind as they are listening. After the piece is finished, work together as a class to compile a master list of words and phrases. Challenge them to use similes, metaphors, and other literary devices they may be learning about in their English lessons. Use the master list to write a class poem that reflects on the piece of music to which they just listened.

Once the connection has been made between musical sound and the written word, you can guide your students in working from the opposite direction to create their own musical compositions. Select poetry with relevant themes and vivid imagery. At this time of year, you might use “Autumn Woods” by James S. Tippett (for K-2nd grade) or “Leaves” by Elsie N. Brady” (for 3rd-5th grade).

Begin by reading and discussing the poem with your class. Then provide an example or two of connections that can be made between the text and musical sound. Work as a class to isolate one line of the poem and create a musical sound that reflects or adds to the scene. In fact, if you’re just introducing composition to your students, you might do all of this preparatory work together as a class, coming up with a master list that your students can select from when they actually create their work. Examples for the above poems might be the sound of a person slowly walking through an empty forest, wind whistling through the trees, leaves falling to the ground, or a grandfather clock ticking. Older students can delve into more complex musical representations, such as the sound of a sunrise or a fall afternoon.

Separate the students into groups of a workable size, perhaps three or four students. The groups will then need structured classroom time to plan. Depending on the scope of the project, this may take an entire class or more. Each group should develop the details of their theme, brainstorm musical sounds, and design the musical form of their piece. It may be easier for younger students to actually tell a story through instrument sounds, while older students can be challenged to create a more traditional musical piece that reflects the theme of poem. Prompt them to consider musical elements that you may be learning about in class, such as texture, tempo, dynamics, etc. Then allow them to select classroom instruments. We all know that instruments can be both a motivator and a distraction. Saving them for the end of the compositional process will help your students to focus on their preparatory work! The parameters of instrument selection can be as wide or narrow as you choose.

I recommend creating “stopping points” within the project. For example, after each group has worked out the basic framework of their piece, allow them to perform a few musical ideas or even the first draft of their piece, soliciting constructive feedback from their peers. Testing and revising ideas is an important idea of the compositional process. The stopping points will also give you an opportunity to assess each group’s progression. When it comes to the final performance, consider displaying their written work, having the poem read aloud beforehand, or appointing a student announcer to introduce each group. Even if the students are simply performing for each other during regular music class, you can structure the event to impart mutual respect and importance. Create a positive experience that your students will enjoy and look forward to repeating in the future!

What Should Graduating Seniors In a Performing Arts Program Be Able to Do?

By the time a student who is actively involved in a band, chorus, or orchestra program graduates high school, what skills should they have? How are music education programs designed for these self-motivated, team player individuals? What should their “exit interview” sound like?

For me as a music educator finishing his 13th year in the profession, the answers to these questions have changed several times. Honestly, my goal when I started teaching was to build the highest quality concert and marching band performance program I could, focusing on bringing the ensemble members a broad and deep exposure to great musical literature in search of that ever elusive “summit” moment when an ensemble plays something so excellent, so moving, that everyone witnessing it is affected by it.

While these are admirable sentiments, and certainly do leave long-lasting impressions on the students who have those kind of experiences, I realized that those “summit” moments really weren’t for the students – they were for me. “How great of a music teacher am I that I can open their eyes to such an aesthetic experience?” I got into music teaching because I wanted to keep having those “summit” experiences, and being a teacher allowed me to share those experiences with young people so that they too could have their lives shaped by music performance.

Do I still want them to have those summit moments? Of course, but it’s no longer the solitary focus of my performing ensemble programs. The pursuit of performance excellence has been redefined and altered in proportion to make room for the pursuit of musical creativity. The “buzz” of a great performance is only one way to experience what music has to offer the individual.

Giving Students The Tools to Be Life-Long Musicians

My goals as a music educator are much broader and long-term than just giving them a great high school experience. By the time seniors leave my program, they will:

Be able to play their primary instrument proficiently. This includes playing all twelve major scales and arpeggios, natural minor scales and arpeggios, and be able to sight-read music of a grade 3 level. They will understand the music theory behind all of those goals and will be able to handle transpositions for their instrument (if applicable). For vocalists, it means having full control of their instrument in all ranges, singing with pure vowel sounds, proper support and phrasing, and singing a wide variety of styles.

Be able to improvise melodies over simple chord changes on their primary instrument. This is not limited to jazz music. This includes the music theory behind common tonic, sub-dominant, dominant, tonic chord progressions, and the construction of melody lines.

Be able to write a quartet in four-part harmony for their primary instrument. This obviously includes skills obtained from all of the above skills, plus the music theory necessary to write effective voice leading. Along the way, the study of musical form is incorporated into performing repertoire, sight-reading, and improvisation, leading to the student making their own creative decisions about writing an original work with a logical form.

Be able to record, edit, mix, and master their own music. This is a new goal for me, and one that has not become a reality yet. My vision is to give every one of my students the ability to write their own music, record it, give it a basic editing and mixing job, and be able to upload it to SoundCloud or YouTube. By the time my current middle school students reach twelfth grade, this goal will be a reality.

A Culture of Creativity

One of the greatest things about America as a culture is that we allow innovation and individualized thinking to exist. It’s okay in our culture to speak your mind, chart your own course, create your own destiny. American culture and government makes it possible for creative ideas to grow and the originators of those ideas to be monetarily compensated. I could easily diverge at this point on how copyright law no longer benefits the artist directly, but that is another article. For the purposes of this writing, it is the pioneering spirit of America combined with today’s modern communication tools that make it more possible than ever for artists of all kinds to find an audience.

It is no longer enough, in my opinion, for high school graduates to simply play an instrument or sing in a large ensemble. With as much personal growth as they receive from being a member of a band, chorus, or orchestra, the average American high school ensemble member does one of three things after high school: perform in similar groups in college, then quit, find community groups to continue their hobby, or become a professional musician in some fashion. Of these three, the vast majority quit performing music after high school or after college. Why? Work and family, of course.

I believe that more graduating seniors would continue music making into adulthood if they were better equipped to make their own music. If all they can do upon graduation is play their part in a concert band piece, or sing an alto part with the help of a section leader feeding them their pitches, their chances of continuing to make music are slim. Imagine how much more art, music, dance, and theatre would be out there if high school graduates were better equipped with the skills to exercise their own creativity.

If music improvisation and composition is nurtured in primary and early secondary grades, students are less likely to develop inhibitions to creativity, becoming more expressive and communicative. More original intellectual property can do nothing but good for the individual, our economy, and our culture.

The future of our internet-powered society is in more individuals trading their talents and ideas, collaborating to produce amazing results such as Wikipedia, Whitacre’s Virtual Choir, and many more. Our music education programs in public schools, I believe, need to continue the strong traditions of our performing ensembles, but need to make room in their school year for the parts of the study of music that make student more capable of being individually creative.

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.
thomasjwestmusic.com

Breaking Bad Vocal Habits . . . The “Aha” Moment!

By Dina Else, Choral Clinician and Voice Instructor

“The more I delve into my singing, the more I realize that the problems I have as a singer are pretty much self-inflicted.” — Sebastian Gillespie

The above quote is from one of my private voice students, spoken this summer as he was preparing to compete in the final round of the Iowa State Fair Talent Competition. The young man has a fantastic voice coupled with a slew of bad habits that make his practice and preparation a pretty miserable experience. At the time, he habitually placed his chin a couple of inches in front of his sternum, causing his pharyngeal space to be cut off and the production of his tone to be strained at best. The higher the musical line went, the further out in front of his sternum his chin traveled! He also struggled with breath intake and management.

Growing up, his main focus was dance. Need I say more? His dance instructors, appropriately so, drilled into him that during dancing his abdominal wall should be pulled in and held in that position. As with many dancers, he found himself adopting this body carriage during the everyday care and feeding of his body. Needless to say, that torso positioning doesn’t help out a young singer who desperately needs to engage his breath support!

Sebastian is not alone in his quest to overcome poor singing habits. Private voice studios are alive and well and filled with singers like Sebastian who have lofty performance goals but find themselves at the mercy of their body’s long-standing debilitating habits. In today’s society of quick fixes and ready-made solutions, most singers find themselves waiting to be handed the magic bullet. I’m pretty sure that up until the “aha” moment I shared above, he thought that if he waited long enough, a quick fix was right around the corner, and all of his poor habits would be replaced by some magical piece of information I just hadn’t given him in the two years he’d been studying with me!

Does the above scenario sound familiar to anyone? Whether you are a solo singer, a singer in a choral ensemble, or an adult singer in a church choir, if you want to improve as a singer, you first and foremost must understand how the vocal instrument works (scientifically speaking), and then you must identify the poor habits that are detrimental to your progress and make a plan to replace those habits with new, more productive habits.

I’m happy to report that since this pivotal lesson in late July, Sebastian has begun to keep what I call a “habit busting journal.” As he stated so succinctly, his vocal frustrations were self-inflicted. Since that day in July, he has identified the poor habits that were stalling out his progress and has begun the process of replacing them with new, clearly defined habits. He is now actually using the tools I’ve been giving him for the past two years to correct his head and neck alignment issues, and he quickly catches if his chin and sternum aren’t lined up or his ears and shoulders aren’t lined up.

Let’s use Sebastian’s breath intake and management issues to drive home an important point. After two years of lessons, this young man clearly understood how to execute a correct breath intake, and he absolutely knew how to engage his diaphragmatic breath support. By the end of each 30-minute lesson he was always in good shape regarding both of these issues. He would walk out of his lesson confident that this was the turning point lesson, the lesson where he fully understood what he was supposed to be doing differently, and this time the information was going to stick. As his voice instructor, I would encourage him to begin the journey of taking that information and building daily habits that would solidify the information and move him forward . . . then I would keep my fingers crossed.

Unfortunately, after giving my students the necessary information, tools, and resources, the next step is totally up to them and out of my control. Sebastian would come back the next week and we would start the process all over again! Sound familiar? The issue with this young man wasn’t a lack of intellectual ability—he is truly one of the brightest students I’ve ever had. He just had an absolute blind spot in regard to the power of habit. I’m happy to report that at this point in Sebastian’s journey he is progressing quickly toward his goals. Not a moment too soon, since he’s a high school senior getting ready to audition for college scholarships.

As educators, I think we sometimes fall into the trap of dealing individually with each problem and issue that pops up, applying bandages as fast as we can manage. It pays to take a step back and really analyze the cause of the issue in the first place. If it’s a matter of habit, take the time to help your singers identify detrimental habits and hold them accountable to implementation of a more helpful routine!

BIOGRAPHY
Mrs. Dina Else is a highly sought after vocal technician/specialist, choral clinician, motivational speaker, festival conductor, and adjudicator through out the United States. The choral ensembles she works with are consistently awarded ‘Best Vocals’ and highest honors in competitions and festivals. Dina is a published author and columnist and currently serves as the Vocal Technique Columnist for Choral Strategies Inc.

Dina has had 17 years of high school choral classroom experience and 10 years at the collegiate level including: Ithaca College, Wartburg College, Drake University, the University of Northern Iowa (where she received her Bachelor and Masters Degrees), and the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music (where she completed all of her doctoral coursework in Vocal Performance and Pedagogy).

As a mezzo-soprano, Dina has performed many opera and oratorio roles as well as several recital and guest soloist appearances. She is also a highly regarded private voice teacher in the Des Moines area, heading into her 25th year of teaching privately. She is committed to researching, acquiring, and sharing new knowledge concerning voice science and pedagogy.

Please visit dinaelse.com for more information or to contact Dina.

Keeping Your Eyes (and Ears) On the “Prize”

Around this time of year most high school programs are in the thick of their competitive marching season. Rehearsals during the week are intensifying and weekends only exist for Saturday rehearsals and competitions.You’ve spent months preparing for your band’s 12-minute time slot to perform your show for an audience and the judges. The band performs its best show of the year but does not earn the score that you think they deserve. What now?

This happens all too often in this sport called marching band. That’s right, I said it, marching band is a sport. Hours and hours of rehearsal time are spent practicing and perfecting a drill set or a musical run, all for everyone to end up disappointed at the competition. We have to remember why we do marching band or music at all for that matter. It’s not for the thrill of winning a trophy, or taking the top score. Music is fun. It’s fun to listen, dance, sing, and play. And not to mention march to!

Art is subjective
Unlike other sports, where you have more control over whether or not you earn enough points to win, marching band is a judged competition. You can tune every chord, align every form, nail every transition and still not get the score you were hoping for. Music is an art form. Art is not created to be judged and/or critiqued.That being said, I do believe unbiased feedback is essential in getting the best out of your students and staff to help them improve throughout the season. It’s ok not to win. Competition is a great way to motivate students to do their best and to encourage them to learn how to deal with the end results, no matter what the results may be. But the most important thing is: If you perform your best, you win!

Take pride in your work
In a high school setting, playing music for fun isn’t quite enough. We have to help the students take pride in the work they are putting in. Yes, music is fun, but you know what’s even better? Sounding and looking your very best. The hours and hours of rehearsal time should not be geared at winning the competition or beating the cross-town rival. The goal should be to perform the best show of the season every time the band steps on the field. One thing or another will most likely go wrong at a show, but if the band takes everything the staff has given them and plays and marches their very best, that is a successful show and season.

Most students will not remember what score they received, place they took, or what trophy they won (which will most likely be covered in dust on a shelf in the band room), but what they will remember are the times they spent learning, practicing, and performing music with their friends to the best of their ability. That is something to be proud of. So as you are starting to go to competitions this season, and with championships on the not so distant horizon, try to remember why we learn (and teach) music: It’s fun!

Do you have any “fun” ways to motivate your students? In what ways do you motivate younger musicians to do their best? Please share your thoughts and insights below!
Good luck and have a great season!

Danny Ursetti
Music Caption Head, Royal High School
composer/conductor/educator

The Rhythm Is Gonna Get You!

By Sally K. Albrecht

It is so important that we work with our students on their rhythmic reading skills. That’s why we’re excited to present the new publication Rhythm Workshop, featuring 575 rhythmic reading exercises. You may chose to clap, tap a pencil, pat your thigh, stomp, walk, patty-cake with a friend, speak, play, and/or sing these rhythmic exercises.

How did you learn to read rhythms? Perhaps you used “Too” or “Doo” on long-held whole or half notes, “Ta” or “Da” on quarter notes, “Ti-ka” or “Da-ba” on eighth notes, “Ti-ka-ta-ka” or “Do-be-do-be” on sixteenth notes. Or perhaps you use a combination of different approaches to keep your reading fresh and fun!

I enjoyed presenting Rhythm Workshop at several teacher sessions over the summer. We started by reciting an exercise on a common syllable. Then I added the challenge of using participants’ names on different rhythms (Sue = half note, Joyce = quarter note, Michael = two eighth notes). On page six of the publication, I suggested many other words to use, including fruits/veggies, flowers/trees, and cities. Use your imagination! Try using musical terms such as tie, staff, beam, rest, bar line, coda, etc. Or, in the fall, how about using football terms? (Click HERE to see example.) Or ask your students to suggest other appropriate words to match a season or upcoming event.

Add a handclap on each rest, or say “shh” or “rest” in order to make sure your students are keeping a steady beat.

Ask your students to write down the rhythm of their own name, street, city, favorite food, TV show, or movie, etc. Use some of those words the next time you read a new rhythmic exercise.

Choose a chord (Bass on do, Alto on mi, Tenor on sol, Soprano on high do) and perform the next exercise on a simple “ta.” Afterwords, invite your students to make up a rhyming lyric and/or create a simple singable melody, testing and expanding their compositional skills!

Most of the examples are eight measures long, so try singing “do” on the rhythm in the 1st measure, “re” on measure 2, “mi” on measure 3, and so on moving up the scale. Or start on high “do” and move down the scale. Then split your group in half with one group moving up the scale and the other moving down on another exercise, creating a 2-part texture.

Rhythm Workshop also features several 2-part examples. Split your students in half to read these rhythms. Double the fun by having Group A read Part I followed by Part II and Group B read Part II followed by Part I. For a challenge, “play” both rhythms using two hands (right hand taps top line, left hand taps bottom line), or tap one part while speaking the other.

Also featured are 11 “Missing Bar Lines” examples, where the students are asked to fill in the missing bar lines in different time signatures (answer keys provided). The final section of the book features six pages with mixed meter examples.

An enclosed Enhanced CD includes reproducible PDF files of each page, plus 36 musical tracks in a variety of tempos and musical styles. This encourages your students to get “in the groove” and not to rush as they read the rhythms. One of my teacher groups last month in Kansas City read an entire page of 3/4 examples to a lilting waltz track, with the added challenge of walking around the room (without running into anyone else) and landing back at their seat by the time the page was completed.

Enjoy using this new reproducible publication with your students!

Rhythm Workshop:  Reproducible Book & Enhanced CD (00-38270)……$34.99

Click for more information and to view free sample exercise pages #10 and #95