2) It’s an exciting time as I embark on the research end of my doctorate work at Kent State. I am focusing on student and director perceptions of honor band festivals. As someone with a vested interest who has been on both sides as a sponsoring director and a guest conductor, I am curious to learn what students and the directors are taking away from these festivals, and if what they are taking away are of benefit to their school band program. Updates will abound along the way, and if you have literature or thoughts you would like to share I would enjoy the opportunity to connect with you.

3) Looking ahead, and speaking of honor bands, I am eagerly preparing for the Bucks County JH Honor Band in March, and the Schuykill County JH Honor Band in April hosted by former assistant and friend Brad Volek. Two new debuts at those festivals with students – it will be an awesome experience, and if not – well we need to revisit the mirror I mentioned earlier.

4) 4 New pieces to date will be available this summer including Dream Chaser and Winds of a New Day (Barnhouse), The Last Stage Coach Heist (FJH), and Yankee Fanfare (Grand Mesa). Honored to have Steve Gage at YSU include Romance for Winds on the March Program with the YSU University Band. Also currently working on a commission for long-time friend and colleague and one of the best directors I know Eric Schrader at Greenville HS (Pa). Hope to begin work on a new contemporary work late in January.

Finally, we are all music educators – some classroom, some directors, some both. Do what’s right in the best interest of our students. Share music that makes connections, expands their appreciation, and authentically engages them. Lead them to understand and appreciate that music is not only a collective collaborative art form, but a unique experience that can transform people and shape our cultures and communities in positive, uplifting ways. How this happens can be very unique to context in which it takes place, and for that reason we have to know our students, school and community well. Our decisions for music instruction must reflect the needs of the community, the expectations of the community, and consistent with our personal philosophy of music education.

Best wishes to all of you in the coming year, and thank you for your friendship, support, and exchange of ideas.

Immediately after the concert and the days that followed, I received many notes, read emails, and had a number of conversations with students that were full of positive comments about the entire performance. An interesting conversation took place with a parent who has sent three kids through the band program during my tenure, and she remarked that even without that piece or that audio clip this concert was the best she’s ever heard. She further noted that it is so rewarding to hear the music of the holiday season recreated in new and interesting ways by so many students. The compliment was an honor to be sure, but I am always curious if the students in the ensembles make that connection as well.

The day after the concert during rehearsal, the students in the three ensembles listened to the concert recording and used a rating scale to self-evaluate their ensemble’s performance. Included in that evaluation, I posed an open response question to the ensemble related to how these kinds of performances might better connect music in the school with music in society. Listed, anonymously, here are just a few of the responses:

“I think the audience enjoyed the Christmas Song (arr. by Nowak) the most. The familiarity of the melody appealed to them, and the arrangement we played reflected the characteristics of the song” – 11^th Grader

“The Christmas Song has to be the audience favorite. The song completes the nostalgic experience that is a Christmas concert.” – 12^th Grader

“I think the audience enjoyed the Nutcracker the best because it was instantly recognizable, and our setting of it was true to the original.” – 9^th Grader

“The audience enjoyed the Nutcracker Suite the most. Even though we used different instruments than the original, we strived to be the same stylistically. You could still tell where the plot was during each portion of the song.” – 11^th Grader

“I think our musicianship developed the most in the Nutcracker as we switched between styles in each section, and we tried to stay true to the intent of the original. I think the audience responded so strongly to our arrangement because they recognized the songs and how close to the original we were performing” – 12 the Grader

I grow weary of the argument that traditional school ensembles are not responsive, and that they do not connect with students and their community. I remain of the view that they can connect very well with students and community provided their director recognizes how that bridge can be built and is effective helping students recognize those connections.

A holiday concert provides a traditional ensemble the opportunity to instill within its members a sense of community and shared humanity. This time of year brings out the best in people’s attitudes, dispositions, and sentimentality, and to allow a traditional ensemble like band the chance to tap into that vein of positive traits can be a powerful spring board for its future. The music is familiar enough – the settings of that music allow educators to discuss musical concepts and ideas developed by the writers to create a satisfying musical experience both from the aesthetic and the paraxial.

One could quickly criticize the program I selected for this concert that it contained no significant works befitting the style of the wind band. That being said, my own view of the program was that it provided moments that were in the students’ developmental range, pushed them to acquire and develop new skills, stretched them to be more expressive musicians, and challenged them to consider how music can be altered in various styles. I would add further that I am less convinced that there is one definitive style for the wind band – the wind ensemble and concert band are sometimes at their best when they can present a multitude of styles with efficacy and conviction.

Perhaps those moments that stretched the students raised the aesthetic awareness and expectations for students and parents alike. Perhaps those moments that were in the students’ “wheelhouse” reaffirmed to them the joy of performing creatively in a collective ensemble. Perhaps those moments that generated warm feelings for parents and pride in their sons and daughters in the community. Perhaps those nostalgic moments made the business of society seem years away and once again all was calm, all was bright. Perhaps there were all these things – but make no mistake about it they helped make Christmas time here for our community. It’s only a Christmas stocking bonus that the students became better people and musicians. Merry Christmas all, and I will talk to you next year!

“How come you never have a losing season?” he asked with a smile.

That is an excellent question, I thought. One of these days I might actually get it all figured out. Eternal optimist and music lover meets bureaucracy of public education – this should be an excellent read in about 15 years. In the meantime, these are 9 tenets around which I have built much of my teaching. They are not fix-all statements that will cure everything in year’s time. Much of this has been 16 years of my own teaching leading me to this point, my interactions with friends and colleagues, and the time I have spent in furthering my professional development as a band director. As you reflect upon the end of your year of teaching, I hope that 2 or 3 of these can provide further thought for you and your own ensembles.

1) Be positive. There is plenty to be down about right now in education. One area that we cannot be down on are the students who walk in our door. If we do not create an atmosphere of positive expectation and collaboration, I believe it will be very rare for them to take the initiative to do so. These are just kids – not professionals. Teach them. Lead them. Be positive.

2) You can love your band, but you don’t have to like them. This advice comes from Shawn Reynolds – and it is pretty accurate. In the teacher’s lounge, the copy room, the office, they are referred to us as “one of your band kids” – even though we know they have a school life in other parts of the building. But band is their family, and we, as directors, are surrogate parents and role-models. We must love them, but when they are doing things that we don’t like, or are detrimental to their success as people and musicians we must let them know about it.

3) It is their band. It isn’t my name on the middle-high school sign. This school and program belongs to them – I happen to facilitate sound decisions. I hope to continue to build a program that the students and the community are proud of. I hope the band program is responsive to the needs of the school and the community, and demonstrates to everyone we encounter how important music education is in the life of a child. I can’t do that if my name is the most important one on the concert program.

4) Listen to each other. The world is a better place when we learn to listen to each other. The ensemble is better when they learn to listen to everything around them. No one in this economy is too poor to pay attention during a rehearsal – especially when the benefit is making the ensemble play with greater awareness of expression and accuracy.

5) Have a band for all seasons. Not every student that enters my program wants to be in marching band. Some really don’t like concert band. Some enjoy small ensemble work more than large ensemble. We have maintained our success in part by providing avenues for performance and expression in ensembles of different types without departing and sacrificing the heritage of the American Wind and Concert Bands for which we are a part. Yes it means never having a non-busy season – but it also means less non-interested students.

6) Great moments are magical, take lots of work, and can happen all the time. Half-time shows. Adjudication/Contest. Festival auditions. Concerts. Sometimes it is hard to keep in perspective that those big moments are small snapshots of our ensembles’ and students’ growth and progress over the course of a year. If the process is good, the product will be. But in the moment when they happen and there is a perfect alignment of choice of music and talent of the group, the moments are magical. They are electrifying, uplifting, and inspiring. Celebrate that moment for what it is, when it is, with who happens to make it possible. The feeling created for the students is unquantifiable and worth every ounce of our focus, energy, and dedication as directors.

7) Put kids in the best possible position for success. Know your kids, know what they can do, and know what they don’t know. Know ways to help them know what they don’t know. Know why they should know it. It is not an art of mezzo-nothing teaching of mezzo-nothing literature. It requires thoughtful planning, evaluation, teaching, and modeling. If we are a family, then we should want what is best for each other, and we have their best interest as musicians and people in the forefront of our preparation.

No pressure, no diamonds. Sometimes at the start of the year our ensembles resemble lumps of coal – a little rough, a little dirty, and at face value not worth much. Given enough time, heat, and pressure (time, inspiration, and teaching) they are transformed into something that most people will agree is better to look at (listen to) and is more valuable. Truly, band directors work with clean coal technology every day. Those performances on our schedule give us a timetable to work towards that may increase or decrease the amount of pressure we apply to our “coal”.

9) Define your own success. Every band I have every year is different. While I say and teach the same principles and concepts each year, the change in personality and talent demands that I talk, instruct, and interact with groups a little different each year. That also means the goals I set every year are slightly different as well. Everything we approach and engage in is a learning experience – we learn about ourselves, we learn what we do well, we learn what we need to improve upon. We don’t chase trophies or plaques. We have standards in place that we hold ourselves accountable to, and we define our own success.

I am very pleased to have received an Editor’s Choice for “Festival and Ballade for Winds”, a piece I wrote for the 2009 Pittsburgh Diocesan Honor Band.  A recording should be up in the coming weeks at Wingert-Jones. Other new works coming this summer include “Moravian Dance” and “A West Highland Fanfare” from FJH, and “Siege of the Dark Castle” from Barnhouse.

Be sure to bump on over to Travis J. Weller on myspace to hear the PMEA District 5 Band recording of “Moravian Dance”.  Jack Anderson did a great job with the band, and I am so proud of the students for what they did with the music.  The piece will be available from FJH this summer.

I was delighted to find another performance on Youtube given by the Hopkins West Junior High Band under the direction of Mrs. Kay Hawley. Bravo students and thank you Kay!

I don’t really know any directors who in some part of their career have not uttered a phrase akin to “Percussion you are playing too loud”, or “Clarinets the eighth notes were not together”.  The director’s role on the podium can become as repetitive as the scale and rudiment exercises that we select for our students to study.  It is easy to lapse into being in “error-detection” mode to the point where our rehearsals become anti-music learning and we simply gather the output from the ensemble, offer our assessment and corrective measures, and then move on.  Given enough time, enough “No, that isn’t correct”, and desire to have a perfect product, important development and learning will get lost in the process.

I recently read several articles in nationally published journals that point out that a director should offer more detailed explanations as to why he or she has offered some corrective solution to an ensemble issue of musicality, precision, or balance.  Perhaps the percussion need it pointed out that their dynamic level drops over measures 36 to 38, or that the clarinets did not release as a section off the whole note tied over the bar and that is why they did not ascend the eighth notes together.  The point of this blog is not to disagree with those views at all, as there is certainly a time and place that we as a trained educator and musician must make a musical decision in the best interest of the ensemble and the music.  My concern is the neglect for making the students aware of these issues – are we conducting this music for ourselves, or do we want the ensembles to be more engaged and connected to the process of creating this experience?

Rehearsal time is precious. Sometimes when we break a rehearsal down to rehearse a small section of music with just one section of instruments it breaks the flow (or cools “white heat” as Robert Reynolds would say).  The attention span of other students is momentarily interrupted, and parts of the collective whole become disengaged from the common goal.  Perhaps we need to address multiple problems across the ensemble with three different groups.  The obvious solution here is to give each group a quick synopsis of what the problem was, where you want to start, and what you want them to do while you are working with other groups (i.e. review fingerings, write in rhythm syllables).  That still leaves other sections disengaged from the process of making music.

Here is where asking better questions of our ensemble and students may begin to pay dividends moving forward through our rehearsals:

Percussion Example

Question to the section: “Percussion, what is happening to your part from a standpoint of musical expression at measure 36 through the end of measure 38?”

Question to the ensemble: “Band, do you feel that the percussion is making that decrescendo happen beginning at measure 36?”

Comment to the ensemble: “Let’s try that section again. Percussion be aware of your decrescendo, band evaluate their expression at measure 36, and percussion when we stop again tell the band why that decrescendo is important.”

Clarinet Example

Question to the clarinets: “Clarinets, is the rhythm problem with where the eighth notes start, or before the eighth notes start?”

Question to the ensemble: “Band as the clarinets play this section, would you listen to and identify what beat the eighth note pattern gets out of sync?”

Question to the ensemble: “Look at your parts, and listen to this section as we play it without the clarinets. Which section of the band could the clarinets listen to assist them getting a clean release off the whole note into their ascending eighth note pattern?”

If we want our ensemble to be engaged and invested in the product of the music we have selected for study, then it is upon us to involve them in the process of listening, describing, and evaluating (someone should make that a national standard…).  One thing I frequently stress to my own ensembles and honor bands that I have guest conducted is that “We need to learn to listen to each other – the world is a better place when we learn to listen”.  It is one thing to tell our ensembles, but it is better to tell them and give them a reason as to why they should listen.  Have the ensemble compare articulation of unison rhythm passages between the brass and woodwinds – who is playing with a better staccato? Have students listen to the breathing and phrasing by a section playing a unison melody – who is breathing in the wrong place? Where is the right place to breathe? Ask your students what they think is the right answer – you may be very surprised.

For those who may be concerned about the debasement of authority in the rehearsal hall, I would urge you to place your fears aside.  My experience thus far with students and this concept has been very positive, and for the most part they are appreciative of the fact their opinions and ideas may be voiced, can be utilized to hear the musical result, and provides them with a sense of ownership in the ensemble and the music making process.  The idea here is to give them reasons to listen and evaluate their own ensemble, give them an opportunity to assist in the interpretation process, and to understand how subtle changes in the attention to details of a group of people can make a large difference in terms of the musicality of an ensemble.  Calling on students to answer or play by name is a powerful reward and indication of their worth to the group – involving them by name into interpretation strengthens your reputation as a leader, educator, and musician.

I have found asking better questions and involving more student input in the process of interpreting, shaping, and performing music has resulted in more engaged rehearsals and meaningful performances.  It becomes paramount that we equip those students with the necessary tools (conceptually, verbally) to speak about the music they hear being performed.  This process has forced me to be a better musician on the podium – in terms of knowledge of the score, knowledge of terms, and personal performance ability. Critical reflection and self-evaluation using objectives concepts to evaluate an aural art form – I bet the educational authorities and policy makers who are trying to fix education with standardized testing had no idea that our best answers are questions.  Happy new year – now get out there and ask some questions!

On Tuesday, I will be taking students to audition for our District Honor Band at Westminster College.  It is always an anxiety filled time for them, and easy to lose site of the fact auditions are the test of our growth, not our worth (see I believe for more examples).

On Wednesday evening and all day Thursday I am guest conducting in Beaver Falls, Pa. I was absolutely floored that Len would ask me.  I have a lot of respect for Len as a director and person, and the fact he would consider me for the JH portion of the festival is an honor.  The program includes Julie Giroux’s Wagon Trail, Suspended Animation by Patrick J. Burns, Friends of Freedom by Timothy Loest, Basin Street Blues arranged by Paul Jennings, and the group will give the world debut of A West Highland Fanfare (coming in July of 2011).

On top of that I am still knee deep in research from my own students about their chamber music experience (Yes we stuck the landing, now we have to measure how far we lept…), thickening up a review of literature that may lead to my disseration topic at Kent, finishing a piece for another Honor Band in February (where I get to work with Mike Grady), and starting a commission for a pair of friends and colleagues who have an outstanding band program near Pittsburgh.

I will be back on soon hopefully with some profound thoughts and perspective that help save music…one note at a time.

It is very exciting to host, but it is even more exciting having nearly 100 submissions! There are so many of us now in this stream of communication and media that are making a difference by our professional development, reading, enacting new teaching strategies, and reflecting upon our craft as educators.  What a tremendous resource this movement has turned out to be, and how great to share it with you.  Many hard decisions were made, but we have a great line-up of articles and posts you need to check out!

Music Advocacy

Lindsay Morelli presents The Power and Purpose of an Ensemble posted at Lindsay Morelli.  What is an ensemble? Lindsay’s question unfolds into a great post with great perspective for all of us in music education to consider.

Music Education

The Grand-daddy Blogger of them All Dr. Joseph Pisano presents A Sample Curriculum For High School Instrumental Ensembles posted at MusTech.Net, saying “This curriculum example is a suggestion for Instrumental Concert Band Directors to study for use with their own programs. Many times “we”, as ensemble directors, really don’t think about the curricular needs of/for our ensembles nor give long-term thought to the integration of music literature that may fill a particular goal in our music programs.   This curriculum suggestion is just one way to think about these things and how what you are doing as a band director integrates into the bigger educational picture.”

Brenda D Muench presents BoomWhacker Mysteries in First Grade: Part One posted at Tech Tempo.  This lesson is a ton of fun for elementary teachers who use Boomwhackers – I will freely admit I tried it at home with the set in our basement!

Wendy Stevens presents To Give or Not Give Makeup Lessons posted atComposeCreate.com, saying, “Since many music educators also teach private lessons, this article gives them a list of options for making the most of their valuable time. Many independent music teachers will also find this information helpful.”

Great to see Andrew Ritenour (and fellow Tuba brother) getting involved as a future music educator!  Andrew presents The Educational Beauty of Twitter posted at Future Music Educators.

Janice Tuck presents Music Primary Singing Resources posted at The Music Teachers Blog.  I am continually impressed with the great teaching being shared by many elementary music educators, and Janice’s post identifies some great assets useful in the classroom music setting.

Matt Fonda presents Bass Drum Basics posted at DRUMMING WITH FONDA.  Keeping students aware of the physical demands of being on a drum line is essential, and Matt’s article (very appropriate for students to understand) outlines some things they can do to keep themselves physically ready.

Thomas J. West presents Creating Community in Secondary Performing Ensemblesposted at Thomas J. West Music, saying, “Here are some suggestions for getting choral and orchestra programs to experience the same kind of personal investment in a group musical activity that bands typically experience due to the marching band activity.”

Brian Wis presents I’m too busy to go to the doctor, and other teacher avoidance-techniques posted at Teaching Music in the 21st Century, saying, “A call to high school music teachers to join the PLN movement.”

Natalie Wickham presents Custom Design Your Own Flashcards with these Free Files!posted at Music Matters Blog, saying, “Use these beautiful free flash card designs by Natalie Wickham to create your own custom flashcards! Now you’ll never be stuck at the last minute wishing you had a particular set of flash cards – you can just make your own!”

Charla Pearen presents Old Macdonald – Letter Recognition posted at High Park Home Daycare.  A great exploration of music with infants and toddlers.

Kevin Keena presents 60 Picnicers, 13 years, 2 schools, and 1 Facebook Page posted at Heritage Bands Podcast.  A touching and refreshing look at how social media reconnected a group of students with an educator who made a big difference in their lives.

The experiment is on for me personally at school this year – you can check out the details in my post Big Leap into a Small Room posted at Travis J. Weller.

Carrie Oakley presents Novice to Slash: 100 Free Resources for Teaching Yourself Guitar posted at Online Colleges, saying, “Whether you’re picking up a guitar for the first time or revisiting a teenage hobby, these links provide free resources for teaching yourself how to play the guitar, as well as improving your technique and learning to read music.”

Samuel Wright presents Graphic Scoring with Yothu Yindi posted at Wright-Stuff Music, saying, “An Australian Aboriginal unit of work involving listening worksheets, music analyses and a final assessment where students get to create an animated graphic score of a contemporary Aboriginal work in Keynote 09.”

Ken Pendergrass presents It’s about the work, not you personally posted at Music Is Not for Insects, saying, “helpful advice for those of us who want to be “liked” by our students…”.  Ken’s blog is great, and he offers some helpful advice to communicate with students while maintaining a sense of fairness.

Music Pedagogy

David Ahrens presents Ever-Improving Chops on Secondary Instruments posted at Sound Education.  While I am new to David’s writing and work, this is a great post for all instrumental teacher to consider so that we can be effective musical role models for our students.

Music Technology

Jim Frankel presents The Other 80%: An Industry Perspective posted at Music Technology in Edcation. Jim tackles a larger issue that many ensemble educators/directors face in maintaining their relevance with the other students not in performing groups.

Nemanja presents Dont Compromise Choose Used DJ Equipment posted at Cheap DJ Equipment, saying, “The problem is universal, DJ equipment is expensive. When buying DJ equipment squeezing the most out of your budget is essential.”

Music Tips

Sam Lyons presents Piano Practice Tips For Beginners posted at Learn The Keyboard Online, saying, “If you are new to the piano and you’ve probably experienced boredom. Sometimes that happens when you continue doing the same thing over and over again. Things become a little repetitious…”

Ashley Davids presents Guitar Warm Up Stretches posted at Metal Guitar Lesson, saying, “Highlighting the importance of warming up prior to practicing guitar.”

Sam Lyons presents Keyboard Practice Blues! posted at Learn The Keyboard Online, saying, “Keyboard Practice Blues! We all get them from time to time. Just keep practicing the piano a little everyday. You will succeed in learning the piano.”

Jenny Boster presents The Importance of Beginning Technique posted at The Teaching Studio, saying, The Teaching Studio is a relatively new blog all about teaching piano lessons. This article focuses on the topic of teaching beginning piano technique.

Other

Naomi Seldin presents 10 Rock Stars Who Went to an Ivy League School posted at Online Colleges and Universities Education Database. An interesting article to demonstrate to students about notable stars that have challenged themselves in the academic field.

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of music education blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

I think chamber music of varying styles and difficulty levels can provide one avenue for directors (educators) to break up the predictability of the everyday schedule, and to place more ownership for music making where it needs to be – on the minds and in the hands of the students.  Putting students into chamber groups so they make musical decision and interpret the music makes for some good, revealing discussions.  Kevin Tutt wrote a great article that appeared in the MEJ a couple of years ago that points towards asking better questions of our ensembles, and certainly they are applicable to the small group setting as well (Tutt, 2007).  In his article on Chamber Music, Patrick Casey indicated that many directors identify that students become better listeners in full band rehearsals, increased enthusiasm for playing, develop good musical decision making skills, and that the reduction in full ensemble rehearsal time increased efficiency of both students and their directors (Casey, 2008).

There is a wealth of small ensemble literature that is accessible and can fit into many different instrumentation settings.  Directors have the option of splitting their group based on instrumentation and student ability level. By varying the combination of those two elements, they can bring about improvement in playing ability in some students or motivate other students to develop their leadership skills. In a small school setting where having a balanced and complete instrumentation is not always the standard, chamber music using the instrumentation that is available to its fullest potential may do more to help student improvement over the course of the school year.  Additionally, a number of State Lists reflect diverse selections in styles of chamber music to which students can be exposed.  By developing a diverse repertoire, directors have an opportunity to send chamber groups out into the community for a public performance with little logistical concerns.  In a time where support for music education from the public is paramount, this could be an effective and authentic advocacy campaign for a school music program.

Obviously scheduling and facilities can impact a director’s (educator’s) ability to start working on chamber music.  In my situation, we have 2 practice rooms that can accommodate 5 students, and one that can accommodate 7.  We also make use of three nearby areas – a Large Group Instruction Room (usually vacant during rehearsal periods), a storage room leading to our gymnasium balcony, and the back of our stage. During a typical chamber music session during our regular scheduled rehearsal time, I will pre-assign times to meet with students in the rehearsal room and then assign time for the smaller groups to be in the practice rooms.  As the percussionists need time to use the equipment in the rehearsal hall, I often will float between the practice rooms, rehearsal hall, and stage listening to the winds to let the percussion maximize their time working with the equipment.  During a 43 minute class period I can usually see 4 groups for eight minutes at a time.  A director (educator) must have established a level of trust and respect with their students for this to work effectively, and as my students do not know when exactly I may be standing outside a door listening they generally stay on task and work diligently.  This year I will be in contact with local colleges to see if there are any instrumental music educators who would be interested in coming in to help “coach” a session. 

During my time listening to a small section of their music, I often try to ask questions that encourage them to make decisions regarding musical expression or ask them to analyze why a section of the music was not rhythmically together.  In the large ensemble, there is always room to “hide” if a student is not completely secure on their part.  In the chamber ensemble, they must be able to hold their part and contribute for their group to succeed.  Through study of chamber music within the large ensemble, directors can address individual playing problems, challenge accomplished musicians to be leaders among their peers, and in some cases provide a enriching alternative if a group lacks full instrumentation.  In essence, to revisit some great thoughts by Reimer, we create an atmosphere of trust (“depending on others who are depending on us”), competence (“to attain it there is work to be done”), cooperation (“working towards a mutual goal, person to person and even person to the medium to bring about its full musical potential”), respect (“a sense of one’s worth/esteem within their creative musical role”), and courage (“our ability to make a decision without guarantee of success and ability to grow into what we have not yet become”) (Reimer, 2003).  It is more pressure to develop executive skills, to help their musicianship to mature, and develop their ethics as a person– but like I have told Tim Loest before “No pressure – no diamonds”.

Nothing is out of bounds necessarily with this chamber music in terms of style and composer – I am looking at each piece to gauge whether or not it will provide a good musical experience for each student, whether it will stretch their musical skills to the edge of their ability, and whether it will engage their group in good musical discussions and development.   Chamber music offers opportunities for music educators to model their personal musicianship for their students, guide them in making music in what can be a very meaningful context, and provide a way for students to improve musically on their executive and aural skills.  Students also have the opportunity to take on more musical responsibility by attending to more subtle nuances of ensemble playing, and experience the joy of playing in a very personal, musical way.

Casey, P.F. (2008). A fresh look at chamber music. The Instrumentalist 62(6), 24-30.

Reimer, B. (2003). A philosophy of music education: Advancing the vision (3^rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Tutt, K. (2007). Using questions to teach the national standards in rehearsal. Music Educators Journal 93 (5), 38-43.

VanZandt, K. (2001). Is it curtains for traditional ensembles?. Teaching Music 8 (5), 24-29.

The most pervasive musical element in term of correct interpretation by both composers and conductors was in regard to tempo.  Other commonalities existed across both conductors and composers (notably by Barnes, & Camphouse) including utilization of recordings, becoming familiar with a score through a secondary instrument (piano or voice were mentioned frequently), and that over time our interpretation of a piece may change because of new perspectives or personal experiences.  It would seem to me that the process by which one learns a score varies widely across known experts in the band world, and is a highly personalized decision based upon your pedagogical training.  Choices of meter, key, and tonal and rhythmic patterns are sufficed to say objective, but in matters of overall general expressive musical elements, tempo seems to be a common focus because of the great variability for which it can possess.  It is interesting to note that a number of conductors and composers both concede that a performance tempo can differ from the ideal (marked tempo in the score), and that the adjusted tempo of the performance can still result in a quality or reputable performance.  In some cases it is a matter of ensemble technique that will prevent an ensemble from being able to achieve the demands printed in the score, but it is obvious in the writings that conductors and composers acknowledge this and are able to recognize when other elements are brought to the best possible quality which contribute to effect interpretation.

Another commonality that seems to exist across many of the composers and conductors is they concede that there is a limit to what musical notation can convey, and at times there are ambiguities that may not make sense during score study.  Hopefully these moments of questions and uncertainties can be answered by the director as he looks at the work he is studying, compares it with other known pieces by the same composer, and compares the current piece against stylistic practices of the time or pieces of similar musical structure.  I believe it is worth noting that here that this process the conductor is going through for just one piece of music is not so far removed from the idea of comprehensive musicianship whereby the musician immerses him/herself in studying music from multiple perspective, each perspective contributing to a greater understanding of a larger picture. Andrew Boysen Jr.’s (Camphouse, 2007, p. 11) comments perhaps summarize the idea best as he asserts that the notation in the score should support the conductor’s musical decisions.  It follows that the performance is the very best attempt by an ensemble and conductor to represent what they believe to be the composer’s intent.

Flexibility as it relates to letting the music “live in a certain place” as Giroux states (Camphouse, 2004, p. 80), gathering insight from the ensemble not previously considered as Kirchoff suggests (Williamson, 2008, p.53), and, as Hunsberger observes, understanding each ensemble has an “optimum tempo” (Williamson, 2008, p.37), also seems to an important aspect of interpretation.  The modern conductor must have in his arsenal of abilities an understanding to be flexible as his perspective may change while working on a piece with his own students, but find a new perspective when asked to conduct the group of a colleague or an honor ensemble.  Getting back to the idea of tempo, both the music and the ensemble must find the tempo at where they can ideally perform.  I believe this is the reason why at times pieces are adored by one ensemble, and despised by a group 12 miles away – optimum performance tempo of the music and the ensemble do not converge.  Part of this problem may be related to that, but it might also have to do with directors being afraid to vary from the printed score even when it might be more educationally sound to do so (emphasis added, duplicity implied).  A discussion for another day – but this isn’t math or science with one right answer – and some directors are chasing a trophy  on the wall and it is easier to play it safe.  While McBeth and Giroux go as far to say that composers are sometimes indicating the wrong metronome markings they include on a score, Camphouse and McBeth agree with Jack Stamp that composers are not always the best interpreter of their own work.  James Barnes recounts a story about Verdi and Toscanini that is a reminder that one’s inner musician is critical for a conductor’s interpretation that is truly “in the spirit” of the composer’s intent.  Jack Stamp (Miles, 1998) discovered during his college experience that although Stravinksy was held in high regard compositionally, others did not feel he was the best interpreter of his own work!

The final aspect of interpretation that seems to be a shared concern of importance between composer and conductor is that of feeling, emotion, and passion.  To a degree, many of the composers explicitly mention important aspects of feeling, expression, and emotion in the interpretation of their work.  No matter what reason a composer decides to put “pen to paper”, their works are a product of their experiences, beliefs, surroundings, and creative ideas – and those experiences are at times attached to significant feelings, emotions, or expressions.  As stated by my friend and colleague Dr. Joseph M. Pisano, a composition conveys a concrete thought such as the liberation one’s country, an emotional thought such as the liberation of one’s heart, or a spiritual thought such as the liberation of one’s soul.  The composer is literally molding a conceived idea or a feeling into a sonic musical existence.  The passion of music becomes interpreted correctly when the conductor understands and enjoys the music, and is able to get the students in the ensemble to “reproduce those feelings” as Hilliard states (Camphouse, 2007).  Sam Hazo’s experience with Paul Thornton’s band demonstrates the importance of connecting the music to the lives of the students.  Paula instructed her students to write a meaningful life experience to the sound of the music in the margins of their music – it created in every student a way to connect their life stories to the music in which they were engaged in performing.  I would be interested in knowing just how many of those little anecdotes written by her students were emotionally charged or connected.  Robert Sheldon states that in order to convey passion (emphasis mine), a conductor must possess technical means and the wherewithal and self-confidence to do and say whatever is necessary to get the ensemble to respond (Camphouse, 2002). Frank Ticheli shares that the conductor must find meaning in the work, and believe in it passionately (emphasis mine) (Camphouse, 2002).  When asked about it, Mark Camphouse’s opinion is that “Passion (emphasis mine) comes from believing in the music long before a conductor ever steps on the podium…If a conductor has passion for the art of music and for playing great literature, his performance will have passion…” (Brown, 2001, p. 13).

Many conductors have written about helping the ensemble recreate or realize the interpretation of the composer’s intent, and rarely do they discuss a performance that was devoid of feeling, emotion, or passion if it was achieved.  Can we forgive a less then perfect performance that lacks emotional expression? My feeling is that many would agree yes.  I am not saying technical accuracy and precision may be tossed out – they are part of our responsibilities as educators to ensure that students have mastered.  But we might also be aware that there is another side that is beneficial for the student to experience, and that through our own authentic interpretation we may be able to unlock the emotion, passion, and feeling in music for the benefit of our students (Help them find the love!).  As Craig Kirchoff (Williamson, 2008, p. 54) states so eloquently, “Without such passion, there is no communication…and not even any real music.”

Brown, J. S. (2001). Mark Camphouse creates music with the passion of a performer. The Instrumentalist, 56 (6), 12-15.

Camphouse, M. (Ed.). (2002). Composers on composing for band (Vol. 1).  Chicago: GIA Publications.

Camphouse, M. (Ed.). (2004). Composers on composing for band (Vol. 2).  Chicago: GIA Publications.

Camphouse, M. (Ed.). (2007). Composers on composing for band (Vol. 3).  Chicago: GIA Publications.

McBeth, F. W. (1992). Interpretation: Unlocking the drama in music. The Instrumentalist, 47 (5), 14-18.

Miles, R. (1998). Teaching music through performance in band (Vol. 2). Chicago: GIA Publications.

Williamson, J. E. (2008). Rehearsing the band. Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications

I definitely think the educational climate has changed, and the impact upon our scheduling and ability to retain students in our programs is a challenge – it is constant work with our administration and guidance councilors, a lot of advocacy to parents, and good, sensible PR with the students.  That being said, I think educators are starting to look at their large ensembles differently, with an eye and ear (appropriately) towards how they can continue to make their elective ensemble a viable and interesting offering among the school curriculum.

Over the past few years, SBO Magazine and MENC have featured a number of stories about educators who have developed successful and attractive non-traditional ensembles within the school day that are engaging to students (If you visit Owen Bradley and read through his blog archive, you get a great snapshot on how to do this!). My good friend and colleague, Joe Pisano at Mustech.net has reviewed and written about so many great, user-friendly ways to incorporate technology into existing classes, or how to structure a new offering.  I think these kinds of offerings have their place and if the schedule, facilities, and teacher load can handle it, should be offered to students alongside the traditional big three of (band, chorus, orchestra).  Having said all that, I do think we should be examining the structure of the big three so that we can make it more relevant in the lives of our students who enroll (VanZandt, 2001).

I think chamber music of varying styles and difficulty levels can provide one avenue for directors (educators) to break up the predictability of the everyday schedule, and to place more ownership for music making where it needs to be – on the minds and in the hands of the students.  We often talk about music as stimulating creativity – is it really?  How often do we as directors (educators) challenge our students to give us interpretation on shaping a melody, or discussing where the climax of a music phrase is?  I am as guilty as anyone in not engaging them enough to make musical decisions independent of me, and then asking them to analyze what they have done and why it did or did not work.  Putting students into chamber groups so they make musical decision and interpret the music makes for some good, revealing discussions.  Kevin Tutt wrote a great article that appeared in the MEJ a couple of years ago that points towards asking better questions of our ensembles, and certainly they are applicable to the small group setting as well (Tutt, 2007).

Obviously scheduling and facilities can impact a director’s (educator’s) ability to start working on chamber music.  In my wind ensemble, I have 30 winds and 5 percussionists.  We have 2 practice rooms that can accommodate 5 students, and one that can accommodate 7.  During a typical chamber music session during our regular scheduled rehearsal time, I will pre-assign times to meet with students in the rehearsal room and then assign time for the smaller groups to be in the practice rooms.  We are fortunate to have a large-group instruction room across the hall that is often not in use during our wind ensemble period, and at times have even used the stage (also across the hall from the band room).  As the percussionists need time to use the equipment in the rehearsal hall, I often will float between the practice rooms, rehearsal hall, and stage listening to the winds to let the percussion maximize their time working with the equipment.  During a 43 minute class period I can usually see 4 groups for eight minutes at a time.  A director (educator) must have established a level of trust and respect with their students for this to work effectively, and as my students do not know when exactly I may be standing outside a door listening they generally stay on task and work diligently.

During my time listening to a small section of their music, I often try to ask questions that encourage them to make decisions regarding musical expression or ask them to analyze why a section of the music was not rhythmically together.  In the large ensemble, there is always room to “hide” if a student is not completely secure on their part.  In the chamber ensemble, they must be able to hold their part and contribute for their group to succeed.  In essence, to revisit some great thoughts by Reimer, we create an atmosphere of trust (“depending on others who are depending on us”), competence (“to attain it there is work to be done”), cooperation (“working towards a mutual goal, person to person and even person to the medium to bring about its full musical potential”), respect (“a sense of one’s worth/esteem within their creative musical role”), and courage (“our ability to make a decision without guarantee of success and ability to grow into what we have not yet become”) (Reimer, 2003).  It is more pressure to develop executive skills, to help their musicianship to mature, and develop their ethics as a person and a person – but like I have told Tim Loest before “No pressure – no diamonds”.

The literature varies from year to year with the chamber ensemble work.  We have used arrangements and settings of folk music, jazz music, orchestral transcriptions, and percussion ensemble music.  We have played Sousa, Mancini, Bach, Mozart, and Tchaikovsky.  Nothing is out of bounds necessarily with this chamber music in terms of style and composer – I am looking at each piece to gauge whether or not it will provide a good musical experience for each student, whether it will stretch their musical skills to the edge of their ability, and whether it will engage their group in good musical discussions and development.   I would enjoy hearing from any of you who work on chamber ensemble pieces or put your ensemble into chamber groups throughout the year and how it has been of benefit to your program and changed your teaching.

Reimer, B. (2003). A philosophy of music education: Advancing the vision (3^rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Tutt, K. (2007). Using questions to teach the national standards in rehearsal. Music Educators Journal 93(5), 38-43.

VanZandt, K. (2001). Is it curtains for traditional ensembles? Teaching Music 8 (5), 24-29.

Another guy that has really given me a shot in the arm of late is Drew Fennell.  Many thanks again to Drew who this afternoon debuted “Shine!” with the Carnegie Mellon Pre-College Summer Wind Ensemble!!! My respect and appreciation for Drew as a musician, conductor, and composer continues to grow.  The performance was great, and I really appreciate those students bringing this music to life!!!  Bump on over to myspace and check out the live recording from the July 18th concert – it even still has that new recording smell to it…I think!

More to come in the months ahead, so stay tuned! And if not, Korg makes a very affordable model (that’s free advertising you can’t buy anywhere!)….

Speaking of Drew – the RCYBB will present “A Frontire…er… I wish Finale had a spell checker.  The RCYBB got a huge chuckle as did I on the spelling error on the parts.  At any rate, “A Frontier Fought and A City Found” will debut later this month.  I cannot wait! I got to know several of the students in the group this year and I know they will do an awesome job especially under Drew’s direction.

I am still in a little bit of shock – I found out that “Journey to the Prairie” received third prize in the young band division of the 2nd Annual Frank Ticheli Composition Contest.  I took time to listen to some of the other winners – great stuff to be sure! I was especially taken with Joni Green’s “Moonscape Awakening”.  My thanks to Dr. Edwin P. Arnold and the Grove City College Wind Ensemble for making the recording that I sent in with the submission.  I always believe in what I write, but was just hoping for some more feedback from a different set of ears.  It is a thrill beyond words, and quite an honor to be included alongside so many other composers.