Archive for November, 2009
I just received answers from top sources to questions about synthetic reeds which were posed at Third-Stream in this post.
Thanks to John Moses, via David Thomas at The Buzzing Reed, for thorough and trustworthy analysis of the state of synthetic reeds. I’ll have to try Legere Signature reeds with my students.
Unfortunately, as I noted in my previous entry, I get to make purchase orders once a year, and mine have already been approved and moved through the system for delivery in August 2010. I’ll have to put the Legeres in my order during October 2010 for delivery of August 2011…but by that time, I’ll be writing posts asking for firsthand advice on “new synthetic clarinets”!
November 17th, 2009
I am a fan of yoga, the system of exercise developed several millennia ago in the land now known as India. I have practiced it (quite poorly) for several years now. My biggest yoga-related epiphany is this: yoga = band. Or, if that is too broad a stroke, let me specify: yoga = quality of sound on brass and woodwind instruments.
You see, the three components of yoga are mental focus, physical pose, and breath control (dharana, asana and prana in Sanskrit). And what are the three most important factors in a wind band being able to play even a single note with perfect sonority, balance and blend? Why, it’s concentration, embouchure and airstream. In other words, every note your ensemble plays hinges on your students’ unspoken yoga discipline. It is posture that allows a musician to take a full breath, it is the breath support and embouchure that create timbre, it is the timbre and finer embouchure control that determine intonation, and it is the mental focus of each and every member of the ensemble that allow the unison attack. Indeed, it could be said that the mental focus (dharana) of the individuals makes everything else possible. (Is it any wonder, then, that many adolescent musicians find their peak musical intensity through the physically rigorous activity of marching band/drum corps? Perhaps it has more to do with football or with the bravado style of corps-style musical arrangements….but maybe it’s also the physicality and the militaristic discipline of the visual caption. The attention position, after all, does resemble a two-footed version of the tree-pose, or vriksha-asana.)
The connection between music and systematic relaxation of the body is well documented. Alexander Technique (and this link and this link and many more) is perhaps the most widely known, but other systems of improved posture and breathing include Feldenkrais (and this link and others) as well as medical literature regarding preventive and prescriptive treatment of musicians and music-related injury caused by improper posture (asana) and movement.
So remember dharana, asana, prana: focus, posture/embouchure, breath. Your ensemble sound depends on it.
(Check back soon for the upcoming Third-Stream episodes “Tai Chi Movement for the Conductor”, “The Tao of Tea-Ching”, “Zen and the Art of Contrabassoon Maintenance”, and “I Have a Black Belt in Kung(ducting)-Fu”!)
November 17th, 2009
The Third-Stream blogroll has been updated, and the overhaul is long overdue. The new lineup focuses more tightly on ensemble development, wind and percussion technique, conducting, perfect practice, advocacy, music assessment and music curriculum; in short, all the things and only the things which form the core interests of a practicing high-school band or orchestra director. I have not included an emphasis on music technology blogs, but I have left in some of the music tech blogs which I find to be more pertinent to band/orchestra/choir on a regular basis. There are many excellent technology blogs of a more general nature, not to mention piano, guitar and elementary music blogs, which I have not included simply to keep the focus here on secondary-level performing ensembles. You can find all the best blogs in these categories on the 100 Music Education Blogs list. I have left out instrument and conducting blogs which are focused more on industry gossip and less on classroom pedagogy. I have also not included some of my favorite band blogs which have been inactive; I will keep an eye on them and let you know when they resume publication.
The most notable new inclusions are of a half-dozen instrument-specific blogs covering clarinet, trumpet, and percussion. I hope to add another half-dozen instrument-specific blogs to the blogroll in the next two weeks to bring more high-quality technical information to you and me.
Visit the sites on the Third-Stream blogroll. Leave a comment here to let me know what you found useful. Better yet, start your own blog and share your wisdom with the music ed community!
November 14th, 2009
Following further on the theme of perfect practice, I would like today to highlight the latest addition to my blogroll. Gerald Klickstein is the author of the book The Musician’s Way and also of the blog of the same title. With Gerald’s strong emphasis on quality product through quality process, The Musician’s Way Blog definitely has a place in the toolbox of every third-stream music educator. Thanks to Jen Cluff for the tip.
November 13th, 2009
After my second day of parent conferences, the Practice Tips for Parents has earned a permanent place in my parent communication toolbox. Parents expressed high interest in its information, relief at gaining usable strategies for their students, amazement that musical strategies might apply to everything else in life, and overall satisfaction with the conference. For my own part, I felt that having the “script” streamlined my presentation, and in many cases finished individual conferences in shorter time (I am notorious both for talking too much and for blowing schedules by giving too much personal attention to my clients).
Please note that the Practice Tips are still a little generic. I did not hit every point with every family. I added other material to the sheet for some students, and handed the sheet out without directly commenting on it for others. Like all tools, it is only as good as its match to the job at hand.
In any case, conferences went well with the Practice Tips handout, and I will make it a permanent addition to parent conferences. Now to phase two: refining the language for spring conferences. What will you change when you adapt it to your own purposes?
November 8th, 2009
I created a quick sheet of tips for improved practicing for use at parent conferences this week. Quality of at-home practice is a big idea in middle-level musicians (even many of the college freshman music majors I knew). Teaching students how to solve problems and teach themselves are two of the most important extramusical benefits of music study, and is the rocket fuel of bringing your performing ensembles to top-level musicianship. So far, this handout seems to be making a difference. Maybe it’s because I talk to so many parents about practice strategies for their children. Maybe it’s because parents feel satisfied when they have a piece of paper to take home. Either way, I wanted to pass it along for your use.
PRACTICE DOESN’T MAKE PERFECT
….perfect practice makes perfect. Practicing badly just reinforces playing badly. Encourage your student to follow these helpful guidelines to get the most improvement out of the least practice time.
1. Practice more often. Psychology experiments have shown that practicing more often (i.e.) is better than big practice sessions (i.e. fifteen minutes each day for six days is better than an hour and a half once a week).
2. Focus on the goals. Practicing for fifteen minutes (or twenty, or thirty) is not the important thing. It is the sound of the music that you make that is important. Practice until the music sounds good, not until some amount of minutes is gone.
3. Focus on the goals. You wouldn’t drive your car without knowing where you want to go; you wouldn’t pay a tailor to make clothes without knowing what kind of clothes you wanted. When you know exactly what you want to accomplish, then practicing is more productive…and more fun!
4. Break it down. Break big tasks (like a song) into smaller, easier pieces (like one measure at a time, or just the fingerings).
5. Listen and adjust. As you drive your car, you constantly look where you are on the road and steer back into your lane. As your student plays their instrument, they should be listening and constantly steering back towards their best sound quality, correct notes, steady beat, etc. You cannot play music without listening and adjusting.
PERFECT PRACTICE STRATEGIES
Athletes get stronger, companies make millions, and armies win wars when they have a good strategy. Get more improvement in less time with these helpful strategies:
Sing and finger – to reinforce or accelerate pitches
Clap and count – to decipher or solidify rhythms
Chunking – do a small piece, then add another small piece
Go slow – slow and steady wins the race
Use a metronome – to check your steady beat
Repetition – over and over again to train your fingers
Check the fingering chart – if you don’t know the fingering
Make it a game – take a challenge and make it fun
Flash cards – you can even practice without your instrument
Take a break – and come back to it after two minutes
Play for an audience – when you think you’re ready for the concert
November 5th, 2009