SBO March 2012 by SBO School Band & Orchestra

March 2012 • $5.00

Houston High School’s Jim

Making Band

Smith:

where

“A place people want to be”

Survey: Transcriptions Report: Best Tools for Schools Staff Selections: Chamber Music

MARCH 2012

20 Jim Smith

“

“I enjoy the process where [students] go from thinking, ‘I can’t do much’ to ‘I can do something!’”

” Contents Features

10 From the Trenches Bob Morrison takes a look at the history of how music and arts became core subjects.

16 Report: Best Tools for Schools

Commentary: Scheduling

“Pasteurizing” Music Classes: Making Learning Impossible

Most beginning string classes have three to four different instruments that read music in three different clefs. Combining band and string students into one class makes it virtually impossible to attend to each child’s needs and monitor each child’s progress.

classes are being scheduled for the same classroom, at the same

Key Signatures

time, with only one teacher as-

Band students learn to play first in the key of concert B♭, a key that suits all band instruments, including what are called the “transposing” instruments, such as the trumpet, clarinet, horn and saxophone (these are the instruments that are based in keys other than C, so that the music they play must be transposed appropriately by the publisher). The next keys usually learned by band students are concert E♭, F, and A♭ – what are often called the “flat keys” because their key signatures are

n alarming trend is emerging

music

classes in my state of

South Carolina: band and string

signed to teach both classes simultaneously.

administrators, faced with budto save programs by combining classes (“After all, they’re both music classes!”). But the result

quality, sequential music education. And the result of this plan is often the antithesis of the intent, i.e., the music program is decimated.

Would these same administrators ask a teacher to teach French I and German I in the same room, simultaneously? Or worse yet, French, German and Spanish I (After all, they are all foreign languages!)? Probably not, because they know instinctively that the vocabulary, grammar and literature

Yes

77%

Transcriptions: Tuba

get and staffing cuts, are trying

is that both the band and string

23%

Survey: Transcriptions

Well-meaning

students lose their access to a

learned in each class are very different. The same is true to a large degree with band and string classes. Because few administrators come from music classrooms (nationally, some 70 percent were formerly coaches), we have tried to explain this situation so that it makes sense to the non-musician. But if you are facing this threat, or know a colleague who may be, please pass along this list of reasons why administrators should consider any and all other alternatives to “pasteurizing” their instrumental music classes.

The

MODEL DSF186 “THE FLAPPER”

Multi-tasking to the Nth Degree In most South Carolina schools, a beginning band director usually teaches students who are learning anywhere from six to 11 different instruments in the same class at the same time. Each of those instruments requires different fingerings, a different embouchure, and a different characteristic tone. These instruments are pitched in three to four different keys, and read music in two different clefs. Then, there is also the percussion section, where students need to learn several instruments and varying techniques simultaneously. For this reason, some states allow students to start band in small, like-instrument (“homogenous”) groups before they are placed into a full-band (“heterogeneous”) setting.

formed with flat signs. The “sharp keys” – whose key signatures are formed with sharp signs – are more difficult for wind instruments, and not begun in method books until level two or later.

•

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.827 bore

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16.5" bell

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4 rotary valves

rice ol P ture that students Scho LOW BE 00 $4,0

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on their future appreciation of

ence and have a future connec-

This SBO report examines the logistical challenges of incorporating chamber ensembles and other small groups into an instrumental music program.

23% Yes

77%

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

tion with that particular piece of the great composers can transport musicians across time and cultures, while fostering a firsthand connection to great music and, often, instilling a greater appreciation for orchestral lit-

SBO chats with Jim Smith, director of bands at Houston High school in Germantown, Tennessee, who discusses his approach to making band “a place where people want to be.”

34 Report: Chamber Ensembles

Universal Melody Distribution • Dallas, Texas 75247 music. If a student plays a piece www.universalmelody.com Contact: raywindt@universalmelody.com by Dvovrak or products Holst, are heavailable or shefrom reliable school music dealers F. Schmidt

erature.

Readers share their thoughts on the usage of transcriptions of classical music.

Do you use transcriptions of classic orchestral music with your concert bands?

form has a significant impact

repertoire. Playing the music of

20 UpClose: Jim Smith

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

Which is more important, maintaining music’s authenticity or exposing students to great literature in an appropriate form?

Authenticity

Exposing students to great composers, even in simplified versions

30%

Both are equally important

66%

ithout a doubt, the specific litera-

in a school music program per-

is sure to remember that experi-

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

programs, yet relatively young as an ensemble and with a much thinner catalog of dedicated music than its orchestral counterpart. Many educators turn to simplified transcriptions of classic works as a way to expose students to some of the great literature. Transcriptions of key, instrumentation, and modifications to difficulty can all serve to make music more accessible. On the flip side, those changes can also dilute the music and act as a disservice to the composer’s original intent. With all of that in mind, this recent SBO reader survey aims to provide some insight into how today’s music educators are tackling the issues around programming transcriptions, including the degree to which altered scores are useful, appropriate, and impactful.

STarS

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A Gateway to Classical Music?

SBO presents the winners of the third annual Best Tools for Schools from the 2012 Winter NAMM Show.

28 Survey: Transcriptions

ternate fingerings that are not usually taught until much later on. Beginning strings students would normally learn the keys of G and A next, also “sharp keys.” Sharp keys are especially difficult for clarinetists, who

The Vocabulary While there are a number of musical terms that are used by virtually every musician, the terms students must learn first are those pertaining specifically to their chosen instrument. String players must learn terms and symbols that describe bowing techniques, which are foreign to band students; while band students learn breathing and tonguing techniques, and various exercises (like lip slurs), which are basically useless to string students.

By Tracy Leenman

String students, on the other hand, begin in the key of D major, a key that is very difficult for those “transposing” band instruments, who would have to negotiate from four to five sharps, and a whole host of al-

However, there are several factors that complicate the selection of orchestral standards for school music programs. Obviously, few elementary or even high school musicians are capable of playing the authentic music of the great classical composers, with all of its sophistication and nuance. And there is also the matter of the concert band, which is nearly ubiquitous in school

“I try to look for accessible transcriptions. Some of the best ones are out of reach for my groups, but Authenticity I do feel they are important to at least listen to.” 4% Chris Bernotas Mountain Lakes High School Mountain Lakes, N.J. Exposing students to great composers, “I use transcriptions when possible and approeven simplified versions priate. It’s the only chance that mostinband students

30% literature.” have to play historically significant Leon Auman Mills E. Godwin High School Henrico, Va. Both are equally important

66% “Yes, but some are too watered down to really impart the composer’s intentions. Others are excellent, and very worthwhile musically.” BJ Marks Northside Middle School Columbus, Ind.

“In middle school, exposure to the composers is more important. In high school and college, authenticity to the original is more important, but it also must beNo playable by the group. So if a tran19% scription does that, use it.” David Hartley Manchester Middle School Richmond, Va. Yes “Having a student leave a music class not know81% ing about our greatest composers would be similar to an English student not knowing the works of Shakespeare or other great authors.” Brian Anderson Fremont High School Fremont, Neb.

“Throughout the history of bands, transcriptions have been used as a vehicle for conductor, performers, and the audience. But we cannot expect a junior high student to perform the exact trumpet part to Belioz’s “March to the Scaffold”; yet, we should seek to excite students about that literature, as well as original wind band literature.” David Vroman Bradley University Peoria, Ill. What are the primary benefits of using modified transcriptions of orchestral music with concert bands?

“With younger students, it can spark an interest in listening to great orchestral literature. With more experienced students that do not have the School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

19%

Yes

81%

Columns 4

Perspective

53 Playing Tip

Headlines

54 Classifieds

51 New Products

56 Ad Index

38 Commentary: Scheduling Contributor Tracy Leenman sheds light on the alarming trend of scheduling band and orchestra classes at the same time.

42 Technology: iPads Dr. Kuzmich investigates the practical application of iPads in music education.

48 Staff Selections: Chamber Music

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

Cover photo by Holland Studio of Photography, Germantown, Tenn. SB&O School Band and Orchestra® (ISSN 1098-3694) is published monthly by Symphony Publishing, LLC, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781) 453-9310, publisher of Musical Merchandise Review, Choral Director, Music Parents America and JAZZed. All titles are federally registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Symphony Publishing, LLC. Subscription Rates: one year $24; two years $40. Rates outside U.S.A. available upon request. Single issues $5 each. February Resource Guide $15. Periodical-Rate Postage Paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER/SUBSCRIBERS: Send address change to School Band and Orchestra, P.O. Box 8548, Lowell, MA 01853. No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The publishers of this magazine do not accept responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competition. Copyright © 2012 by Symphony Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. Printed in USA.

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Perspective

Authenticity vs Exposure “Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral” from Elgar’s Enigma Variations, “Mars” from The Planets, Rossini’s The Barber of Seville, Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, Dvorak’s New World Symphony, The Poet & The Peasant by Von Suppe and several others… These are the pieces that I was lucky enough to have performed during my high school career. My directors had the foresight to allow our ensembles the opportunity to play transcriptions of some of these great orchestral works. Obviously, some of the transcriptions were better than others, yet they all seemed to have made a significant impact on me and my fellow music students and gave many of us a lifelong appreciation for classical music. At the time, back in the mid-1970s, this seemed to be a fairly prevalent performance trend. Whenever the director would approach a new piece, the students would go out and find a recording and listen intently to gain an understanding of the work. To find out what the current attitudes are, SBO recently surveyed directors on the important topic of performing classical transcriptions. In one survey response, Gregg Gilboe, of Huntington Beach (Calif.) High School, said, “I can’t tell you how many “[Transcriptions] times we have read through a transcription and the gave many of us a next day, half my students have it on their iPods!” The results of the survey indicate that nearly 78 lifelong appreciation percent of directors perform transcriptions and 80 for classical music.” percent believe that exposure to modified forms of classic literature will have a major impact on a music student’s appreciation of classical music. However, it’s interesting that one out of five directors don’t agree with this tactic. The question that remains unanswered is, “Why?” There is no doubt that there is great music that was written specifically for concert bands and wind ensembles, including those from such notable composers as Percy Grainger, Stravinsky, Vaughn Williams, Holst, Persichetti, Schwanter, Hindemith and many others, but those pieces are often too difficult for younger ensembles. This brilliant concert band and wind ensemble music, however, with the exception of a few, are not as widely heard or known as the broader orchestral literature. Maybe the 20 percent of directors believe that it’s better to focus on more authentic works that were specifically written for wind groups? Perhaps the answer was summed up by middle school director, David Hartley from Richmond, Va., who wrote, “In middle school, exposure to the composers is more important. In high school and college, authenticity to the original is more important…” Regardless of whether original band works or transcriptions are your preferred method of teaching, creating new audiences for classical music for all types of ensembles is crucial if our country is going to maintain some cultural depth. In a time when pop artists can sell out a stadium with tens of thousands of people, the audiences in our great concert halls are diminishing by the day. It would appear that our greatest hope is in the students who currently perform in school music ensembles will become the audiences and in some cases the performers of the future…

March 2012 • Volume 15, Number 3 GROUP PUBLISHER Sidney L. Davis sdavis@symphonypublishing.com PUBLISHER Richard E. Kessel rkessel@symphonypublishing.com Editorial EXECUTIVE EDITOR Christian Wissmuller cwissmuller@symphonypublishing.com EDITOR Eliahu Sussman esussman@symphonypublishing.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Matt Parish mparish@symphonypublishing.com Art PRODUCTION MANAGER Laurie Guptill lguptill@symphonypublishing.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Andrew P. Ross aross@symphonypublishing.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Laurie Chesna lchesna@symphonypublishing.com Advertising ADVERTISING SALES Iris Fox ifox@symphonypublishing.com CLASSIFIED SALES Maureen Johan mjohan@symphonypublishing.com Business CIRCULATION MANAGER Melanie A. Prescott mprescott@symphonypublishing.com ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Popi Galileos pgalileos@symphonypublishing.com

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School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

Headlines Marching Bands Take Center Stage at New Orleans Mardi Gras

One of the most colorful showcases of marching bands every year comes in February in the streets of New Orleans during the city’s 30-odd Mardi Gras parades, each set up by independent “Krewes” who are all required by city ordinance to include at least seven bands per parade. This year’s collection included high school, college, and community marching bands from all over the region in an extravaganza of parades that can stretched over ten last days of Carnival in the city’s streets. The LSU Marching Tigers were on board, as well as the Marching 100 from St. Augustine High School, and bands from as far away as Chicago were also spotted tromping down parade routes.

WGI Sport of the Arts Celebrates 35th Anniversary

The WGI Sport of the Arts season begins with a series of 45 regional competitions, which culminate at the WGI World Championships held in Dayton, Ohio. The indoor color guard championships, which will mark the organization’s 35th anniversary on the week of April 12-14 will bring out 300 talented color guards of all levels of expertise. In similar rounds of competition, the percussion championships will be held April 19th-21st, where over 180 marching and concert ensembles will perform in front of thousands of fans where they battle it out for finalist positions. Throughout both weekends of competition, over 11,000 young participants will perform.

To learn more, visit www.wgi.org.

Music Education Week Orchestra Academy to Explore Eclectic Styles

Martin Norgaard, assistant professor of music education at Georgia State University in Atlanta, will bring diverse string methodology to the 2012 Orchestra Academy at Music Education Week this summer. The Orchestra Academy focus is “Adding Eclectic Styles to Your Orchestra.” Professional development academies there will give attendees the opportunity to explore a particular discipline in depth as they interact oneon-one with clinicians and network with their peers. Norgaard, the Orchestra Academy presenter, is the author of ten jazz string method books including Jazz Fiddle Wizard and Jazz Fiddle/Viola/Cello Wizard Junior, and is the composer of several string orchestra pieces. In the two-day academy, participants will learn to teach fiddling using authentic aural models, create fiddle tune variations, improvise jazz solos, and learn to use amplification to create an authentic rock performance. The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) presents 2012 Music Education Week June 22–25, in Baltimore, Maryland.

For more info, visit www.nafme.org.

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

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Headlines School Bandleaders Aim to Debunk Band Instrument Sterilization Law Massachusetts bandleaders are calling a new bill that would give Massachusetts school committees the authority to mandate a procedure for sterilization of school band instruments “a major waste of time and money.” The bill cleared the State Joint Committee on Education in January and will now head to the Healthcare Financing Committee. As a law, school committees be able to mandate that band programs ensure that any musical wind instrument issued to a student be sterilized using a certified product approved by the federal Environmental Protection Agency and a process established by the state’s health department. The bill’s opponents claim that the requirements are too costly for school music programs that are already in the midst of a severe budget crunch, and that it currently lacks funding. The bill’s original sponsor has reportedly said that he’s realized that he realized the measure could cost some districts up to $10,000.

Disney Performing Arts Launches Search for Alumni

The search is on for other Disney Performing Arts alumni who have achieved success in the performing arts or related careers. The new alumni search celebrates former participants of Disney Performing Arts workshops, clinics, performances and competitions, whose known alumni include TV star Jennifer Morrison, School of Rock’s Caitlin Hale, and Jerry DePizzo of O.A.R. Disney wants to hear from some of the millions of students who since 1955 have marched, danced, performed or sung in Disney parks as part of music and dance ensembles. Inductees can profile their success and shine a spotlight on their school bands, dance teams, and choral and theater groups. The organization hopes that today’s students will find inspiration in the stories of past Disney Performing Arts participants and learn firsthand about the value of performing arts education. These stories should reflect the diverse opportunities available through performing arts, from performance-based careers such as theatre and dance, to leadership careers including talent management, marketing and promotions. The discipline and energy derived from a performing arts background can also serve as a foundation for other successful careers beyond entertainment. Since 1955, Disney Performing Arts has built a family of the world’s most elite singers, dancers and musicians. These performers have a common bond by performing for international audiences at Disneyland Resort in California or Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. Today, millions of student performers representing all 50 U.S. states and six continents have become a part of the Disney Performing Arts family, and many have continued to have a career in music, on stage or on screen.

For more information about the Disney Performing Arts Alumni and other Disney Youth Programs, visit www.disneyyouth.com.

ONLINE SURVEY Yes No 8

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

82% 18%

Are you a member of your state’s music educators association?

Visit www.sbomagazine.com and let your voice be heard in the current online poll – results to be published in the next issue of SBO.

maraderie. Confidence. Character. Ca the Disney of ets These are the three ten e confidence Th Performing Arts program. stages. The of to perform on the grandest t your chosen character required to perfec that’s essential craft. And the camaraderie And when your to come together as a team. Performing group takes part in a Disney these are the al– tiv fes p or a performance or a worksho in t’s tha er eth wh up of artists m– gro gra ive lus Arts pro ne, becoming part of an exc refi d an n rpe sha rn, lea l to earn your s wil an it me skills they e experience. This is what tim ife a-l inceon red sha s earn their Ears for the bonded by thi group has what it takes to r you nk thi you if So ts. Ears For The Ar 5. nner or call 1-866-715-409 Arts, contact your travel pla

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MYASBODPA12

From the Trenches: A History Lesson

The Untold Story:

How Music and Arts Education Became Core Subjects By Bob Morrison The Commission, with its work complete, was disbanded. Immediately, a new group was formed out of this meeting to lead the national campaign and thus began the National Coalition for Music Education. MENC, NAMM, and NARAS were joined by the American Music Conference (AMC) to lead the push to implement the recommendation from “Growing Up Complete.” I noted in that article that there was more to the true story of how the arts actually came to be recognized as a core subject. Today, borrowing a phrase from that historic commentator Paul Harvey, here is the rest of the story… and it is extraordinary…

The Back Story

ast March, I wrote about the 20-year anniversary of the release of the landmark report “Growing Up Complete: The Imperative for Music Education” by the National Commis-

sion on Music Education, which was a partnership between NAMM (Larry Linkin, Karl Bruhn), NARAS: The Recording Academy (Mike Greene), and MENC/NAfME (John Mahlmann). I noted how in March of 1991, several hundred people from music education, the record business (yes they did sell records at one time), the music products industry, and government leaders all gathered at the JW Marriott Hotel in Washington D.C. to release this groundbreaking report to Congress and the Bush I administration. This was the culmination of two years of organizing of the broader music community against the threat of marginalization in our schools.

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

In 1989, the “National Education Goals” were unveiled by the National Governors Association. The goals, released in the summer of 1989 at a meeting chaired by the Governor of Arkansas, Bill Clinton stated: Goal Three: “children will demonstrate competency in core subjects English, math, science, history and geography.” Something missing? Yep: no music and no arts! Well this omission of music and arts education from our nations educational agenda was the spark that brought together the partners of the National Commission for Music Education and ultimately the report “Growing Up Complete” followed by the formation of the National Coalition for Music Education in the March of 1991.

Later in 1991 President Bush announced America 2000… and again core subjects were listed as English, math, science, history, and geography. Again-no music, no arts. All requests to change Goal Three of America 2000 and include the arts were met with blunted replies of “No” from then President Bush (I), then Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander (who had served as Governor of Tennessee), and even head of the National Governors Association’s Education Goals Panel Roy Romer, among others.

The Comment Heard “Around the World” Then, in a November 1991 letter to MENC, secretary of education Alexander, the highest ranking education official in this country and himself a musician, called music and arts education... “Extracurricular.” He went on to write: “If it were my

“Calling arts education ‘extracurricular’ was like waving a red cape in front of an angry bull.” community, I would want to be sure that the school provided music and art.” These words would soon haunt him. This provided the coalition partners with the kind of proof that was needed to get people moving to fight for our music and arts programs. Calling arts education “extracurricular” was like waving a red cape in front of an angry bull.

For the previous two-and-a-half years, the coalition had battled for the arts inclusion and recognition as part of education reform. All suggestions and requests for change were constantly rebuffed, no matter how strong the case was made and no matter how influential the leaders were who brought the issue forward on the community’s behalf. But, in one ten-day time period – almost exactly 20 years ago – because of the efforts of just a few people, everything changed.

The Bully Pulpit of One Mike Greene, angered by the lack of progress with national leaders, took the stage at the Grammy Awards on Tuesday, February 25, 1992 and in front of 1.5 billion people, like a preacher at the pulpit, launched the following salvo: ...America’s creative environment affords all of its citizens the opportunity to create and appreciate music, and that begins with education. In the near future, you’re going to be hearing a great deal about the government’s plan for education. It’s called AMERICA 2000. It’s a supposed educational blueprint for the next millennium. And guess what? Among the goals, the words “art” and “music” are not even mentioned one time. The very idea that you can educate young people in a meaningful way without music and art is simply absurd… If current trends persist, music will no longer be a universal entitlement, but one of the markers future historians point to as the beginning of a cultural caste system tied to personal and class economics… If a child has never been inspired by a poem, if a kid has never been moved to tears by a great symphonic work… why on earth should we believe that our future generations could even be bothered by the banning of records or the burning of books? Immediately following the show, Secretary Alexander called a friend in Nashville’s music business and asked (sanitized for publication): “Who is Mike Green and what is his problem?”

The Maryville Two On the Friday of the week following the Grammy Awards, a concert had been scheduled to protest the lack of 12

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

inclusion of the arts in the National Education Goals and the threatened cuts to the music program in Maryville, Blount County, Tennessee. The concert was organized by the choral director, Stacey Wilner, and the art teacher, Carla Thomas, with the support of the Tennessee Coalition for Music Education (an affiliate of the National Coalition). The second half of the concert would open with an empty stage to represent the loss of the music program. Country stars were sending in letters of support, Mike Greene had considered attending, and there were rumors and local newspaper stories about Garth Brooks (the hottest star at the time) attending the concert to support the protest. Why was this so important? Because this is the hometown of Lamar Alexander, the same person who said, “If it were my community I would want to be sure that the school provided music and art.” Well, this was his community and he was about to be held accountable for his words. The secretary of education became so obsessed with the potential for bad publicity in his hometown he went so far as to have his public affairs officer contact a local newspaper and pose as a parent to see if Garth Brooks would be at the concert for fear of the additional negative media that would create. That’s right you read this correctly. And yes… this was amazing! The combination of being called out on the Grammys telecast and the potential to be publicly embarrassed in his own hometown proved to be too much.

Blink In an effort to head of the negative press, Secretary Alexander announced from a pay phone in an airport to an education reporter for the Tennessean Newspaper in Nashville, the creation of the “America 2000 Arts Partnership,” just in time to be printed in the paper the day of the concert (March 6, 1992). Think about this. A major new education initiative for music and arts education for the country coming from the US Department of Education is announced to an education reporter in Nashville! Which brings us to the main question: Did this decision have anything

to do with… children? The answer, unfortunately, is no. It was all about politics and perceptions. This is a very important lesson that has driven the modern day arts education advocacy movement. It would be three weeks before the formal details of the plan were released. When they were music and arts education were at least invited to the table: The America 2000 Arts Partnership. The plan spoke of National Standards for Arts Education but stopped short of embracing the arts as a core subject. It would take a change of administration and a new secretary of education to make this happen.

The New Administration Seals the Victory With the change of administration after the 1992 election a new secretary of education, Richard Riley, entered the scene. After being in office for less than one month – on February 23, 1993 (we know for a fact this was strategically released on the eve of the Grammy Awards), the new US secretary of education released the following statement on the importance of Arts in education: As we work to improve the quality of education for all children, the arts must be recognized as a vital part of our effort. The arts – including music, theater, dance, and visual arts – are a unique medium for communicating what is common to all of us as human beings and what is special to each of us as creative individuals. The arts provide valuable opportunities for understanding our cultural heritage and that of all other civilizations. The arts also enhance our nation’s economic competitiveness by developing creative problemsolving skills, imagination, self-discipline and attention to detail. Emerging national education standards will, for the first time, provide a clear vision of the knowledge, skills, and concepts that all students need to learn through studying the arts. Building on existing arts education partnerships, the Department will implement and support new education reform efforts which insure that the arts are an integral part of every child’s education.”

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School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

I guess he saw the Grammy Awards from the previous year! The overwhelming response to this statement from music and arts educators, advocates, and supporters from across the country gave the secretary the courage to then change the National Education Goals and add the Arts as a core subject to the new education legislation “Goals 2000.” On March 31, 1994 President Clinton signed Goals 2000 and now music and the other Arts are codified into federal law as a core subject. That same month, the National Standards for Arts Education were released. Not long after new research studies would be published connecting music and arts education to all sorts of educational benefits.

Leading When It Matters The battle the music and arts education community had waged for the inclusion of the arts as a core subject ended in victory largely due to that ten-day time period in 1992, between the Grammy Awards and the Maryville protest concert. Mike Greene had nothing to gain by taking the Grammy stage on February 25, 1992 to deliver what is now the most important speech ever delivered on our behalf. Stacey Wilner and Carla Thomas had everything to lose – including their jobs – when they stood up against the system, against a sitting secretary of education, to fight for the rightful place of music and art in their school. When the future of music and arts education hung in the balance these individuals did something. They did not know at the time their actions would be responsible for sending music and arts education into a new and higher trajectory. They all did stand up for what they believed regardless of the personal risk. It is a lesson for us all. As we look 20 years hence, it is clear the future of music and arts education in our nation will be determined by how individuals and groups work together to right now to face the challenges of our time, not based on self interest or personal gain, but based on doing the right thing for our students regardless of the personal risk… just as Mike and Stacey and Carla did 20 years ago. So when you come face to face with a new challenges or opportunities in your school or district to fight for music and arts education for your students, I have one simple question: What will you do? Robert B. Morrison is the founder of Quadrant Arts Education Research, an arts education research and intelligence organization. In addition to other related pursuits in the field of arts education advocacy, Mr. Morrison has helped create, found, and run Music for All, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, and, along with Richard Dreyfuss and the late Michael Kaman, the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation. He may be reached directly at bobm@artsedresearch.org.

2012 BEST TOOLS FOR SCHOOLS This past January, the 2012 NAMM Show was held in Anaheim, California. This annual musical instrument products convention typically attracts upwards of 85,000 people, and this year more than 1,400 exhibitors came from across the country and around the world to present the most innovative and exciting new products in all areas of the musical universe, including instruments, accessories, software, and just about everything else anyone could possibly think of. While these products are aimed at a wide range of consumers, on display were countless items with educational value and of particular usefulness to classroom music educators. For the third consecutive year, SBO was on hand with a team of educators to brave the din and glitz of the music products showcase with the goal of pinpointing and calling attention to the most practical and helpful tools for schools. Armed with ballots that included a number of relevant cat- Rick Kessel, SBO publisher, moderates the Best Tools for Schools presentation egories – from Best Tool for Young/Elementary Students to at the NAMM U Idea Center. Left to right: Dr. Robert Berry, San Bernando Valley Best Teaching App – music educators at the convention nomi- College; Michael Ruiz, Murrieta Valley School District; Theresa Chen, Opus Music nated a wide array of companies and products, which were Foundation. vetted by a panel of experts and made public in a special presentation on Sunday, January 22. SBO is proud to present the 2012 Best Tools for Schools from the 2012 NAMM Show.

Best Teaching Tool for Young/ Elementary Students Recorder Express by JoyTunes and Alfred Music Publishing Recorder Express, an interactive videogame for elementary-level students by JoyTunes with accompanying method book by Alfred Music Publishing, is a fun and educational way to practice recorder using the actual instrument as the game’s controller.

Best Teaching Tool for Intermediate Students Jiggs pBone (Dist. by Conn-Selmer) Made of lightweight plastic and available in four different colors, this relatively inexpensive trombone isn’t a toy; Tools for Schools panelists thought that the pBone sounds similar enough to a brass trombone that it would make for an economical alternative, at least for practice purposes.

Best Teaching Tool for Advanced Students Best Teaching Tool for Beginning Students Pneumo Pro Wind Director by Blocki Flute The Pneumo Pro is a simple and effective tool designed to teach beginning flute students proper embouchure for strong and consistent tone. 16

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

MusicalEar by MusicalEar MusicalEar is a versatile computer program designed to train aural skills and develop a better understanding of music for composition, theory, and arranging. It can be used independently or with Sibelius.

Transform Your Room with Acoustic Conditioning Panels Yamaha’s proprietary panel construction achieves an even level of acoustic absorption over a wide frequency range of 80 to 4,000Hz. Because the panels also work to scatter sound waves, they let you create a space with clear, pleasant sound and minimal acoustic interference—something you can’t get with conventional sound-absorption materials. This structure is designed to create a single panel with an ideal balance of sound absorption and sound scattering properties. Acoustic resonance pipes arranged into panels deliver optimal results for both low and high frequencies.

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Most Innovative Teaching Tool Modality by MusiCreed A circular music slide designed to assist in teaching music theory, the Modality features interchangeable rotating discs that indicate the tones in a particular scale or mode.

Best Jazz Teaching Tool ChordWand by PianoWand The ChordWand is a ruler that can be placed on a standard keyboard marking the notes in various scales.

Best Concert/Orchestra Teaching Tool Acoustic Conditioning Panels by Yamaha Yamaha’s Acoustic Conditioning Panels are thin, economical panels designed to improve acoustics in any room. The ACP’s moderate soundproofing qualities are an added bonus!

Best Percussion Teaching Tool Rhythm Watch RW105 by Tama This trusty metronome from Tama contains a myriad of helpful features for any musician looking to improve time-keeping skills.

Best New Teaching App Best Woodwind Teaching Tool Versa-X Ligature Educator Sample Pack by Rovner This assortment of mouthpieces from Rovner will make it particularly useful for educators to help students select the appropriate ligature.

GuitarToolkit 2.0 by Agile Partners This handy and recently updated app for iPhone and iPad includes a metronome, tuner, interactive chord sheets, and other indispensible tools for guitar players at every level.

Honorable mentions: Best Marching Band Teaching Tool Silencer Mouthpiece Mute by JazzLab The Silencer is a simple mute that attaches to a mouthpiece, enabling saxophone and clarinet players in marching bands and other ensembles to warm up quietly. 18

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

Tiggzi Mobile App Builder by Tiggzi

Symphony Pro app for iPad by Xenon Labs

Good Students Deserve Great Instruments... - Jim Walker

The Resona 200 Flute and Resona Piccolo make progress fun, easy, and affordable. Find a dealer at www.ResonaFlutes.com

UpClose: Jim Smith

whe

Houston High School Band:

“A place people 20

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

want to be” By Eliahu Sussman

“The best part of doing what I do is practically everything,” confesses Jim Smith, the director of bands at Germantown, Tennessee’s Houston High School. Recently named his high school, county, and state regional “Teacher of the Year,” Smith runs an instrumental music program of about 260 students. Budding musicians at Houston High School have no shortage of musical opportunities, which include marching band, three wind bands, drum line and percussion ensembles, winter guard, and a jazz band. Remarkably, most of these groups meet during the school day. School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

The big numbers don’t stop at enrollment or quantity of ensembles. For example, Smith had 61 students participate in the West Tennessee AllDistrict Band this year, 12 students in the All-State Band or Orchestra, and the school has earned 21 straight years of superior ratings at the West Tennessee Concert Festival, spanning Smith’s entire tenure at Houston High School. And this is in addition to an array of festival championships, awards, and other notable performances. In a recent conversation with SBO, Jim Smith talks about what it takes to grow a music program, create a positive community, and meet the challenges facings the arts and music in schools today. School Band & Orchestra: Let’s start by talking about your program. What are some of the highlights of the Houston High School Band? Jim Smith: We have about 260 unique kids in the music program. Everyone in the band program participates in the marching band by default, partly because the marching band pays the bills. People donate money for a marching band, but rarely donate money for a wind ensemble. We have active indoor and drum line programs that participate in WGI events – the drum line has been a world champion-

ship finalist four times. We have three concert ensembles that the kids audition for, and we have a jazz program. There are many programs of this size that have multiple band directors, but we have about one and a third. Still, between us, we’ve scheduled band so that we have unique classes for percussion, color guard, wind ensemble, and the jazz band. SBO: All curricular classes that meet during the school day? JS: Yes, those are all in the school day, but all of that has its own unique afterschool rehearsal time, too. One of the great things about having your percussion group during the school day is that you don’t have to force them to sit through the wind ensemble rehearsals all the time. They have to learn their wind ensemble parts after school, but that’s so much better. I was a drummer, and I know it was torture to sit there quietly while the band director would spend 35 out of the 40 minutes working out the wind line and you’re just back there trying not to get in trouble. Criminality has gone way down since we put the percussionists in their own class. [laughs] SBO: What did it take to convince administration to make so many of these classes and ensembles curricular?

“I enjoy the process where [students] go from thinking, ‘I can’t do much’ to ‘I can do something!’”

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

JS: This won’t help anyone else in the whole country, but that happened because the principal here who is now the superintendent of schools in the county is a good friend of mine and, more importantly, he is also a musician. He was a basketball coach – often how you get the job of being principal is from being a successful coach – but he’s also a fine singer and a fine musician and he understood the importance of what I was trying to make happen. I played sports, too, so we had some common ground. We were able to convince him that band did so much to add to attendance rates, that the smarter students seemed to want to be in band, the ones who were more academically successful wanted to be in band, and if we could just make the band program bigger, its successes would benefit the whole school and more kids would be successful academically. I convinced him that to make it more successful academically, we needed to eliminate the need to do everything after school and start doing more within the school day. Scheduling is a problem for us, just like everyone else, but now that we can have band be a priority in the scheduling system, we can have some of the other classes work around our schedule. That has a lot to do with how successful the band program has been here. SBO: So you sold the administration on growing the band program with the idea that it would improve the entire school? JS: Yes, we were kind of the guinea pig on that in the county. We have seven fairly large high schools and we were the first to make any changes. The first thing we did was pull the percussion out separately. Prior to that, there were one or two band classes during the day when you taught everyone together, and the rest of the time you taught general music. When we pulled percussion separately, that aspect of the program grew and we started competing in WGI and traveling around the country.

And then, of course, everyone else in the county wanted to do what we were doing. And then we pulled the guard people separately and set up a dance curriculum. That got to be successful – we were semifinalists at WGI in Dayton a couple of times – and then everyone else in the county wanted to do that. When I first got here, 22 years ago, the program only had 48 kids in it. It started to grow and we had more kids gaining interest because there was more to do than just come in once a day and play in the same old concert ensemble. At 48, we weren’t the smallest band in the county; but now, at 260 or so on the marching field, we’re the largest band in the county. SBO: Do you think it has played out as everyone was hoping? JS: It has so far. Band is such an old fashioned activity, in some ways. I’m not trying to sell band short, but if you ask the average 16-year-old to list the 10 coolest things they could think of,

band wouldn’t be on the list. When I started teaching, 25 or 30 years ago, wearing a band uniform was cool. Today, it’s something you have to make kids do. Traveling to a football game or a contest a hundred miles away was a big deal. Now, taking a trip during the school year that isn’t to Europe or something isn’t as big a deal. SBO: Yet, you seem to be doing very well in terms of numbers, ensembles, and activities. JS: In our community, smart does carry an essence of cool. Academics are very important here at Houston. When kids are coming into the high school program, I do search out the kids who have done very well academically in the middle school and try T:7”

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to recruit them into the program. This year we have the valedictorian, the salutatorian, and the number three in the band program. So we’ve made this activity cool. We also make an effort to ensure that the kids in band also participate in other activities throughout the school. I don’t want to be running a program that has 260 kids who only do my thing. My kids play sports at school, they’re class officers, they’re club officers, and the homecoming queen has been a band student more times than not since I’ve been here. Those sorts of things help make it okay to be in band. We have a young man who plays clarinet for us who is 6’4”, 250; he also plays football. It’s easier for the little kid sitting next to him, who is 5’7” and has tape on his glasses, to know that the larger boy is his friend and talks to him in the hallway. Everyone gets along with each other well. I don’t think you’ll have a healthy band program if it doesn’t include kids who have other interests. SBO: It certainly boosts the overall image of a band program when you have kids from a wide range of other activities. JS: We give kids freedom. It’s become almost a clubhouse. People will come to the band room before or after class just to hang out. My job may sound like Disney World compared to other band programs, and I’m not complaining. SBO: What sets your program apart? What have you done to achieve this atmosphere where students have fun, but also focus and buckle down when there’s work to be done?

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JS: The first thing that might be different about our program is that we don’t have any auditions to join. Any student that wants to be in the band program can be in the band program. They just have to come see me about what it is they want to play, and they have to have good citizenship. SBO: What do you mean by “citizenship”? JS: Behave. Don’t be disruptive. Listen when I speak. Try hard. Take care of the people around you. All of my kids follow those guidelines. We don’t have a very strong feeder program, and I don’t really have any access to that program – that’s just how the county is set up. Of course that’s fluctuated over the past 20 odd years. When we do our recruiting each year, we have people come in and say, “I’m interested in band, but I’ve never played anything.” Well, we put them in lessons over the summer and then get them right out onto the marching field the next fall. If they want to do band and they’re good children, we’ll take them. And some of those kids turn into all-state players by the time they’re seniors. I have a lot of friends who run band programs the opposite way, especially if they have a large feeder program. They audition and take the most talented child they can get. The most talented child isn’t always the best behaved, and that makes a big difference over the course of the four years that you teach them. The other thing is that you can’t predict which kids who join your program will turn it around and become the best players in your program. Don’t we teach? Isn’t that our job? A lot can happen in a few short years. While we do set first chair positions, those are the only ones we set. If you’ve got, like I do, 40 clarinet players, if you designate somebody the 40th clarinet player, he or she is going to quit. Then someone else is the last chair player, and he’ll quit, too! You can’t hold on to people if you start designating someone as the worst of a large group.

JS: We set the jazz band program up and got it into the school day under the argument that it was as good as any place to learn how to sight read, learn theory, and that sort of thing. The smaller group allowed us to spend a little more time with the kids and do a little more intensive work. Because we had so many kids who wanted to take the class, sometimes the instrumentation isn’t standard. For example, we have eight saxophone players sitting in the front

now. I think there are seven trombone players, and two or three guitar players. Sometimes they all play, and sometimes they have to alternate tunes. Every child in the jazz band is also in a concert ensemble and in the marching band. The jazz band allows kids to learn a second instrument, and to learn skills that we just don’t have time to teach in a larger ensemble setting. We do the same thing with the drum line. I have a few kids who are wind

SBO: What do some of the smaller ensembles add to your program? School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

players and have joined the indoor drum line, sometimes as a mallet player, but more times than not as general percussionist in the battery. Sometimes they do it because they have friends in the program or something, but when he goes back to his woodwind instrument, he counts better. He plays better than when he went in. Anytime a kid is playing anything, as long as an instrument is in front of him and he’s going through the musical process, he’s going to be getting better. All of these offerings allow us to have an opportunity to advance the cause. SBO: Speaking of “the cause,” what’s the primary motivation for you as an educator these days? JS: I like children. I enjoy the process where they go from thinking, “I can’t do much” to “I can do something!” These days, I have learned to enjoy the interaction with children every bit as much as I enjoy the music. My biggest struggle in rehearsal is making sure that fun doesn’t break out. Fun doesn’t get the tune taught.

SBO: Really? You try to keep the fun out of the rehearsal? JS: It can break out at any minute here! We have a lot of fun, and I think that helps with the retention.

SBO: Looking back on everything you’ve been through in the past few decades, what really stands out to you? JS: It’s not anything we’ve won, even though you can hardly get in the place

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School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

here because of the trophies. I don’t need trophies anymore. In fact, when I retire, I could open up a discount trophy store and make a mint off what we have around here just left over! [laughs] I’m proudest of the fact that kids who graduate from this program come back and visit, and that happens a lot. Our office has turned into something of a shrine, with picture books and stuff hanging all over the walls. On any given day, I could walk in and see a 33-year-old who has two kids who might turn and say, “Mr. Smith, it’s me! I was in your band (whenever)!” People come back and visit all the time. We have created a community amongst our alumni. We’ll have alumni reunions where 100 or 150 people will sit around and talk about “Hey remember when…” The kids who are around in band now will see that. I like to think that we’re providing some sense of community that our students will always have a connection to, even later in life. I’m proud of that.

JS: Publicize their successes. If, at the end of the day, band directors aren’t also public relations people, then their programs will dry up. You have to be a really strong advocate for what makes band unique, and, here, at least, band is the one thing

in the middle of the day that everyone involved really wants to be a part of. So, I guess the other part is to make sure that you keep your program a place where people want to be!

SBO: And on flip side of that, what do you see as the biggest problem facing your program? JS: Scheduling, and its impact on retention. Even though the administration is great about it here, with the state increasing graduation requirements and the impact of standardized tests, it’s a real challenge. Generally speaking, schools are really concerned about the number that English generates and the number that Math generates, and how those numbers compare to other schools. It might get them onto a list, or off of a list. It might get them in trouble with the state… but band doesn’t do that. While we stand here and try to convince people of all the good things that a band program does for the school, you hope it doesn’t come down to a question of, “Do we schedule another class during the day that will get our value-added scores up by .5 percent or do we leave band in the curriculum?”

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Survey: Transcriptions

Transcriptions:

A Gateway to Classical Music?

ithout a doubt, the specific literature that students

in a school music program perform has a significant impact on their future appreciation of music. If a student plays a piece by Dvovrak or Holst, he or she is sure to remember that experience and have a future connection with that particular piece of repertoire. Playing the music of the great composers can transport musicians across time and cultures, while fostering a firsthand connection to great music and, often, instilling a greater appreciation for orchestral literature. However, there are several factors that complicate the selection of orchestral standards for school music programs. Obviously, few elementary or even high school musicians are capable of playing the authentic music of the great classical composers, with all of its sophistication and nuance. And there is also the matter of the concert band, which is nearly ubiquitous in school 28

School Band and Orchestra â&#x20AC;˘ March 2012

23% Yes

77%

30% literature.” have to play historically significant Leon Auman Mills E. Godwin High School Henrico, Va. Both are equally important 66% “Yes, but some are too watered down to really impart the composer’s intentions. Others are excellent, and very worthwhile musically.” BJ Marks Northside Middle School Columbus, Ind.

Which is more important, maintaining music’s authenticity or exposing students to great literature in an appropriate form?

Authenticity

Exposing students to great composers, even in simplified versions

30%

Both are equally important

66%

“With younger students, it can spark an interest in listening to great orchestral literature. With more experienced students that do not have the School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

opportunity to play in an orchestra, it provides an opportunity to study and perform great and historically significant literature.” Phil Homiller Asheboro High School Asheboro, N.C. “[With transcriptions] the students are receiving a more thorough music education. The history of concert band literature is very short and limited compared to orchestral and other ‘classical’ music forms.” Henry ‘Skip’ Quinn White Station Middle School Memphis, Tenn. “There are centuries worth of music available to orchestras while the modern concert band literature is still new in comparison. By exposing band musicians to orchestral music, you are broadening their musical knowledge base regarding time appropriate performance practices.” Kevin Lines Marshall Municipal Band Marshall, Mo.

“For rural school with no string program, the transcriptions again allow the teacher to expose the student to great literature that they will possibly recognize someday being play by a string orchestra. Recordings are wonderful, but to be to play the works even in simplified selection is of greater benefit for the students’ education.” Don Krug Lewis Cass Jr./ Sr. High School Walton, Ind. What are the downsides to doing this?

“We must not neglect all of the quality original literature for wind band. We need to continue to build our core repertoire, and that is done through performing music originally written for band. Performing transcriptions in lieu of original works will hurt this cause.” Brian Shelton Texas A&M University-Kingsville Kingsville, Texas

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“Primarily with younger bands, we find that modified transcriptions will place technical and musical demand at an accessible level. Further, performance resources like harp, Celeste,

and other instruments rarely seen in a secondary school environment may be covered by resources commonly available.” Joseph Hermann Tennessee Tech University Cookeville, Tenn.

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

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“The music has to work for the group being written for. Composer’s intent needs to be considered. How would Beethoven write today for modern instruments?” Jim LeBon Southport Middle School Port St. Lucie, Fla. “Sometimes the modified version will not follow the intent of the composer, and the quality of the various parts are less than challenging.” Alfred Estep Johns Creek High School Johns Creek, Ga.

Exposing students to great composers, even in simplified versions with the class for a few minutes about original pieces versus 30% transcriptions at different levels, we all realized she had no idea that the simplified transcription she played in middle school was not true to the original piece.” Both are equally important Raymond W. Thomas 66% North Forsyth High School Cumming, Ga. Do you think that exposure to modified forms of classic literature will have a major impact on a music student’s appreciation of classical music?

“Some transcriptions are done with adjustments that have the concert band in mind, while others are done true to the original so much that the concert band does not sound good performing it. Also, students can often get the impression they have performed a great work, when really they have done something easier. It is important that we are honest with the students about the differences between the original and the transcription. Listening to the original work can do a lot towards their understanding of the differences. For example: I handed out the Longfield transcription/arrangement of ‘Russian Sailor’s Dance’ a few years ago. Right away, a student says, ‘We played this in middle school.’ After speaking

19%

Yes

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“The band class may be the only place that a student hears or plays anything other than popular music. When we play transcriptions I always play recordings of the original work for my students. Hearing the original allows the students to have a musical goal in trying to recreate the sound and spirit of the work.” John Mueller Incline Middle School Incline Village, Nev. “Absolutely! I can’t tell you how many times we have read through a transcription and the next day half my students have it on their iPods!” Gregg Gilboe Huntington Beach High School Huntington Beach, Calif. “I played in many orchestras as well as bands throughout the years. However, my love of some great orchestral music – ‘Pictures at an exhibition,’ ‘The Planets,’ ‘Capriccio Espagnol,’ to name a few – began when I played these pieces in band. It made me want to see and hear these

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

pieces performed by great orchestras, and enhanced my love of them.” Marty Magnini Cary-Grove High School Cary, Ill. “It’s one thing to listen to classical music, but when students learn the details of a piece - historical aspects, the role it played in history, the nuances of performing it - the students’ level of appreciation soars.” Tony Wise Oldham County Middle School Buckner, Ky. “I think there is absolutely nothing wrong with using simplified versions of classical music. I do it often. I also follow that up with having them listen to the original version (usually as part of a class assignment) and writing some sort of analysis of the difference between the two. They will pick up on the simplifications right away.” Jim Phillips Coeur d’Alene High School Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Additional thoughts? “It’s a great teaching tool. How many of us were motivated on our studies by this music? Why should we think that our students would be any different? I also teach orchestra at my school. One day I asked my new seventh graders if they had ever heard their instrument performed live by a professional. I was horrified when not a single hand went up. String players who had never heard an orchestra perform – not even on a recording!” Perkins Oquirrh Hills Middle School Riverton, Utah “I am not a big fan of modified and watered down versions of quality orchestral literature, but a key change to help bands perform a piece would be more acceptable than a super simplification of the music.” Jim Kusserow Porterville High School Porterville, Calif.

John W. Parks IV, D.M.A. Associate Professor of Percussion, The Florida State University

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into the Music Curriculum

hile performing in large ensembles provides countless opportunity for achieve-

ment, learning, and fun, engaging students in smaller ensembles – quartets, trios, brass choirs, percussion ensembles, and more – is a fantastic way to enhance subtle musicianship skills, leadership skills, expose students to more repertoire, and augment the traditional offerings of a school music program. However, building chamber groups into a curriculum does take some time, effort, and some small degree of financial commitment. Preston Hazzard, director of bands at Carrolton, Texas’s Creakview High School, estimates that as many as 70 percent of the more than 200 students in his instrumental program participate in chamber-style ensembles at some point throughout the year. “We have four performing groups and we try to space it out so that every student in the top two groups, and at least the woodwind soloists personnel in the third group, has some kind of chamber experience throughout the year. And all of the percussion students are also required to participate in chamber groups,” says Hazzard. Creakview High School offers numerous small ensemble opportunties for students. “We have the UIL solo and ensemble contest that happens each February,” he continues. “Many of our students participate in that. They get together on their own in small ensembles and start working. Then we as a staff come in and coach those students leading up to the performances. Also, in each of the performances that we have throughout the year, we will set specific chamber ensembles up as part of the performance within A student from Baltimore’s ORCHKids. Photo by Bill Denison.

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

the concert. For example, we had a concert with three chamber ensembles that were filled with wind symphony students. We do another concert in May that features chamber groups, and we also do a percussion only ensemble chamber concert in May so that all of those students are getting that experience.” When it comes to concert ensembles in the Creakview band program, the students take the lead. “The competition portion in February is all student-based and student-led,” confirms Hazzard. “We’ll do coaching sessions with them, working through classes and so on, but they put the groups together, they select the music. Sometimes they come to us and ask for help, but their private teachers also assist with that. Once it comes time for the concert portion, we put those groups together within our bands and select music so that programmatically it works. In addition, we also bring in private teachers as master class clinicians. They do a lot of work with the students and those sessions are all studio specific. So, for example, our flute teacher comes in and works with the flute players, talking about how to be a better section and how

to communicate better with one another, and all the kids in the program get that experience.” Chamber groups in the Creakview model are largely self-sustaining, having been well integrated into the curriculum. In the band program at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, Virginia, chamber ensembles play a smaller, but still significant, role. “Chamber groups normally take place after school at our program,” says Mike Luley, Lake Braddock’s director of bands. Approximately one third of the students in his program participate in small ensembles. “The students normally put themselves into groups, and get some help from their private teachers. We have a solo & ensemble competition that happens in April, so students will form groups for that, rehearsing around the band room. The students are self-motivated to put their own groups together. We do have a trombone choir that meets regularly, and that group is run by our trombone instructor, who oversees it in the evenings. The brass and woodwind quintets, duets, and so on come together on their own. We encourage the students to participate, but we know how busy they are so we let them put together their own groups and decide when they can meet with their friends to make it happen.”

Wednesdays are sectionals with our main ensembles; and then Thursday we work with the middle school students, since we have a middle school (we’re a secondary school). This means that the only day the staff is free is Friday. There just isn’t enough time for the staff to really commit much time to the chamber program. This is why our private teachers are so instrumental in helping those groups happen.” “The times and schedule, figuring out when to rehearse all of those students is a challenge,” agrees Hazzard. “We have full orchestra, jazz band, concert band, winter guard, and so on. When you add that all together, it makes finding time very difficult. And then there are other extra-curricular activities that students are involved with, like sports and clubs. On top of that, we played at Midwest Band & Orchestra Clinic this fall. We have found that as we have been getting chamber music more ingrained in the culture of the program, the kids look forward to it. So they’re more proactive about want-

“The biggest challenge to organizing chamber groups is just scheduling time,” says Luley. “The kids are already pressed during the school day with so many AP classes and requirements, and they can take fewer and fewer electives. After school, we run a pretty heavy schedule with sectionals: we do percussion on Mondays; Tuesdays and Preston Hazzard, Creakview High School

“The timing of it is tough to find when you’re getting started, but once it becomes an integrated part of the program, it kind of takes care of itself.”

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ing to put groups together. The timing of it is tough to find when you’re getting started, but once it becomes an integrated part of the program, it kind of takes care of itself.” Although the autonomy of chamber groups is a positive in many ways, it’s still critical that band directors are involved in the small ensemble process. “When you start giving students input into what music is going to be performed, you have to be careful that you don’t give them too much leeway,” cautions Hazzard. “Students sometimes don’t have a great understanding of their own abilities and how tough it is to put a chamber group together. They might think they could just go down to the local music store and pull something out of a bin or buy something online, but it might not suit their technical abilities, or it might not be very well orchestrated. We have to be careful that we have quality chamber music available to our students, just like we would with concert band or any other group. And that, of course,

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carries with it an upfront cost. It does take a degree of financial commitment to getting a library of chamber music repertoire built.” In many schools, even finding a place for students to rehearse can be a logistical nightmare. “We are a sec-

ondary school, so we have two of all of our ensembles, because middle school and high school are happening at the same time,” says Luley. “With all of the different ensembles happening here, it can be a challenge finding open rooms for students to use. We have some

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School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

music resources for students to look through, but a lot of them will have suggestions from their private teachers, and they’ll go pick up that stuff on their own.” When integrating chamber groups into school performances along with other ensembles, programming must be taken into consideration. “One of the things we’ll be starting next year is a concert in May that will strictly feature chamber groups,” notes Hazzard. “The reason for that is that we’ve has so many people coming forward wanting to put groups together that our concerts turn into marathons if we just try to add everyone in. It’s becoming such a big deal that we’re going to pull that out and make it its own separate event.”

The Many Benefits Even with all of these challenges, the many benefits of integrating chamber groups into a music program tip the scales heavily in favor. Obviously, when students practice more, all ensembles in the program will improve, so increasing the time during which instruments will be in the students’ hands is undoubtedly at the top of any list of positives. However, having students participate in small ensembles is also beneficial in some less obvious ways. “I got really big into chamber ensembles early in my career because it was a way for me to learn more instrument-specific performance elements as a young teacher,” admits Preston Hazzard. “In my second year, I started a flute choir because I didn’t know flute very well. As I’ve gotten older and more experienced, I’ve found that it translates to the music that we do in the concert hall much

more than I suspected. The chamber experience really helps students get beyond just the melody to start hearing different timbres and tones. It’s important to have my first chair players be able to communicate and be expressive with music in a way that really comes naturally in a small ensemble setting because our philosophy is that concert band is really chamber music, only with more people. The same kind of communication has to happen.” Hazzards’ Creakview High School music staff uses chamber ensembles as a means of targeting specific skills with specific students, even writing and transcribing music for precise educational goals. “That becomes very beneficial when we are looking at providing instrument-specific opportunities for our younger students,” he says. The personal responsibility that students in small ensembles have is difficult to replicate in other settings. “We recently hosted the National Band Association’s Wind Band Workshop,” says Mike Luley. “The Marine Band sent out a woodwind quintet for that event, and they played for a about a half-hour, and then talked to the kids and answered questions for a half-hour. One of the topics discussed was the personal accountability in the smaller group. Because it’s only one person per part, students have more musical responsibility with regards to phrasing, articulation, listening, blending, and making adjustments. And when they bring that leadership back to the ensemble, it’s really helpful. Bringing in outside groups – professional musicians – to share some of the possibilities that exist within smaller ensembles can provide a huge boost. Seeing that can help the kids become self motivated.” It might take a little bit of help to get the ball rolling, but educators shouldn’t be scared away. “Having private teachers around to help makes a big difference,” agrees Luley, “but a lot of it is also just talking to the right students and motivating the section leaders and principal players to share the benefits and rally other students.”

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Commentary: Scheduling

“Pasteurizing” Music Classes: Making Learning Impossible

By Tracy Leenman

n alarming trend is emerging

music

classes in my state of

South Carolina: band and string classes are being scheduled for the same classroom, at the same time, with only one teacher assigned to teach both classes simultaneously.

Well-meaning

administrators, faced with budget and staffing cuts, are trying to save programs by combining classes (“After all, they’re both music classes!”). But the result is that both the band and string students lose their access to a quality, sequential music education. And the result of this plan is often the antithesis of the intent, i.e., the music program is decimated. Would these same administrators ask a teacher to teach French I and German I in the same room, simultaneously? Or worse yet, French, German and Spanish I (“after all, they are all foreign languages!”)? Probably not, because they know instinctively that the vocabulary, grammar and literature 38

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

Key Signatures Band students learn to play first in the key of concert B♭, a key that suits all band instruments, including what are called the “transposing” instruments, such as the trumpet, clarinet, horn and saxophone (these are the instruments that are based in keys other than C, so that the music they play must be transposed appropriately by the publisher). The next keys usually learned by band students are concert E♭, F, and A♭ – what are often called the “flat keys” because their key signatures are

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formed with flat signs. The “sharp keys” – whose key signatures are formed with sharp signs – are more difficult for wind instruments, and not begun in method books until level two or later.

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must learn alternate fingerings for a number of notes just to be able to play a basic scale in that key. While this may be too technical for the non-musician, have them consider asking half of a typing class to learn typing the traditional way (ffff jjj fgf jhj, and so on) and the other half by typing, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” over and over!

Textbooks and Repertoire There are no method books that address beginning band and orchestra to-

gether, just as there are no books that teach both French I and German I together. This adds to the music teacher’s already difficult load the task of creating learning materials from scratch that his class can use, if that is even possible. French students read Voltaire. German students read Goethe. Spanish students read Cervantes. Each language has its own standard, classic literature that students should have the opportunity to experience. The same goes for band and orchestra – they each have their own body of classic repertoire

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that students should have a chance to learn. Not until very advanced levels of literature are wind instruments included in orchestral repertoire (and then, only a very few) – and virtually never are stringed instruments included in standard band literature. Are there some acceptable alternatives to this situation? Yes! While meeting every other day is far from ideal, having band and orchestra meeting separately on alternate days is vastly preferable to combining the two classes daily. The best alternative, of course, is to view both band and strings classes as they are defined by our national educational policies – as core academic subjects. Provide adequate staffing (and facilities, and equipment) for both programs. Make it a priority. Give every student access to a quality, sequential music education, and therefore to the many proven benefits of studying music. Tracy E. Leenman has over 40 years of teaching experience at the elementary through college levels, including instrumental music, choral music, classroom music, private teaching, church choir directing, and teaching conducting and rehearsal techniques. Currently the owner and CEO of Musical Innovations, a school music retailer in Greenville, S.C., Mrs. Leenman has served on the boards of NASMD and SCMEA, and served for 14 years as the president of the South Carolina Coalition for Music Education. A noted author and guest clinician, she performs regularly with the Palmetto Concert Band.

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Technology

Using the iPad in Music Education by John Kuzmich, Jr.

pple’s iPad is changing the music education landscape. I became a

believer after attending the January JEN and TI:ME conventions in Louisville, Kentucky. There were iPad users everywhere I looked. The iPad has expanded

instruction

opportunities

through their platform structure, significantly engaging and motivating students to extraordinary levels of instruction. And with Apple TV and AirPlay, one can teach anywhere in the classroom with complete portability and wireless connectivity that rivals the popular Smartboards, with less than half of the cost. Apple has sold more than 55 million iPads since its launch in 2010. Because the iPad accounts for over 80 percent of all tablet computer sales, software developers are creating apps at warp speed for these new devices. Right now, the iPad is the preferred platform for most new music applications. Some of the more popular apps include SmartMusic, Band-In-A-Box, Garage Band, Scorch, and Practica Musica. In addition, there are many other 42

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

music apps that are just fun to play with, like Virtual Piano, Air Guitar, Congas, iBone, and Soundrop.

What’s New? The biggest physical difference between the iPad and a laptop computer

is that with the tablet, Apple lopped off the keyboard in favor of an all-multitouch interface. Internally, it doesn’t use a desktop operating system, instead opting for an easy-to-use iOS (operating system) that has really changed the playing field, because it means that the

device can be picked up and used immediately. In addition, Apple paired its iOS with its power-efficient A4 chip, which means that the iPad’s batteries can last up to 10 hours on a single charge – a full day at school! The iPad 2 allows full multitasking with up to 11 apps opened up simultaneously, folders to better organize apps, and the capacity to stream music and video wirelessly to compatible accessories, including the Apple TV Plus.

Great Teaching Tools The iPad itself inspires creativity and hands-on learning with features you won’t find in any other educational tool and on a device that students really want to use. Students can flip through a book by sliding their finger along the page or flick through a photo gallery and dive into an image with interactive captions. Budget constraints force schools to use the same books year after year, long after the content is out of date. But with textbooks on iPad, students can get a brand-new version each year for a fraction of the price of a paper book. Powerful built-in apps from the App Store let students engage with content in interactive ways. There are over 500,000 free lectures, videos, books; and other resources on thousands of subjects. iPads have the ability to find information in an instant, and access an entire library wherever they go. iPads take learning to a whole new level with a collaborative system including iCloud, App Store, iTunes, and Apple TV for a start.

Storing Data in the Cloud Cloud technology is great for storing student work from the many iPads used by students during the school day. It means that files aren’t stored locally, and can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection. With Apple’s cloud system, iCloud, information is not only backed online, but also automatically shared and synced among a user’s various devices. Simply log into your account and access iCloud features, such as e-mail, calendars, and student data. iCloud is Apple’s second attempt at online storage, and this time Apple did a better job. It’s free, fairly easy to set up, easy to use, and many of the features are automatic. With iCloud, you can put a wide range of content in the cloud and keep it synced everywhere – your IOS devices, your desktop computers and even your Apple TV. Any changes you make using this web interface will automatically be synced to your desktop computer and iOS devices. This sort of service has long been available in a protocol called IMAP and Microsoft Exchange Server, as well as Google products like Gmail and Google Docs. It’s amazing to have everything synchronized and be able to access data from any computer connected to the Internet. There are two iCloud features that can be very useful for those that have multiple iOS devices. If you purchase a book in the iBookstore, the iBooks feature pushes that book to all your iOS devices and will sync any changes made in a book to all your devices. For example, if you’re reading a book on your iPhone, when you open the book in the iPad, it’ll automatically open to the page where you left off. Similarly, any app you purchase in the App Store is pushed to your other iOS devices. You can access all your previously purchased apps through a new 44

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

Educator

Q&A

I recently spoke with Steven Chetcuti, a New York middle school music educator extraordinaire, and asked him about how he uses iPads in his classroom instruction. John Kuzmich: What’s your first impression of the impact of iPads in the classroom? Steven Chetcuti: iPads definitely have the “wow” factor in their favor. With applications like Garage Band, iMovie, and Tabs at their fingertips, music teachers will have a hard time keeping the kids away! The ability to create practice modules in Sibelius and transfer them to an iPad for individual practice has been a big help for my Fife & Drum group. JK: Are iPads cheaper than notebooks or desktop computers? SC: Not necessarily. You can get decent laptop for about $500, about the same price as an iPad. Laptops are not quite as portable, but more versatile. However, the software is more expensive and maintaining a slew of laptops can be very time consuming compared to iPads. JK: iPad software apps are much cheaper than computer versions. SC: This is a big factor! Although you can only sync your personal (or classroom) iTunes account to 5 devices (computers) you can sync an indefinite number of iPads to any one computer. This means that if a teacher buys garage band on iTunes ($4.99), it can then be loaded onto a full classroom set of 30 iPads. This makes it affordable for the teacher to maintain and install apps as needed. This way, apps can be acquired by the teacher as their curriculum develops. The integration of new apps on the iPad for the teacher is similar to that of carpenter keeping his tools sharp. JK: What do you say about the quantity of music ed software apps for iPad vs. Android? SC: I only have two words – Garage Band! This is not as powerful as the desktop version, but having these iPads in my classroom has freed me from computer lab time. My students are now creating podcast projects in my classroom. However, there is something to be said about having access to flash based lessons on the Android-based tablets. Many of the interactive elements on my website (www.theradiohour.net) are flash-based. Students are currently unable to access some interactive elements on my website so I’ve had to modify my model. Some apps like Scorch by AVID allow students to play my guitar and harmonica lessons on the iPad. JK: How is the screen size and resolution for multiple users? SC: The iPad is an individual or, at best, two-student learning station. However, getting a Belkin Rockstar Multi Headphone Splitter ($11 on amazon.com) can allow up to 5 students to listen and collaborate around a single iPad while recording using Garage Band. JK: How about their portability? Does that have any downside? SC: They are extremely portable, no doubt, but that also means that they are droppable. Although I’ve had no casualties, I remember that kids take technology for granted. They need to be taught guarded respect for these valuable tools. I have an iPad table in my room that is right next to the storage cabinet. The student doesn’t have to travel too far with the iPad to use it. JK: What about adds-on for iPads? SC: The Jam Guitar input by Apogee ($99) has been very reliable. It will allow a musician to connect any ¼” cable instrument to Garage Band and record multiple tracks. There is also a microphone called the iRig Mic by IK Multimedia ($50) that serves as a good unidirectional mic for individuals reporting projects. Another fabulous add-on is the Zagg bluetooth keyboard and smart cover. This turns an iPad into a sleek netbook-like tool that even the English teacher would want to use. As a matter of fact they have used mine.

Apple TV Apple TV and AirPlay bring wireless freedom to classrooms. With AirPlay, you can wirelessly stream what’s on your iPhone 4S or iPad 2 to an HDTV and speakers via Apple TV and mirror your iPad 2 or iPhone 4S screen. With mirroring, what you see on your device is what is seen on the TV screen. AirPlay Mirroring lets you share exactly what’s on your iPad 2 or iPhone 4S with everyone in the room. Stream web pages, spreadsheets, lessons, photos, videos, games, and more to an HDTV by using Apple TV. Just doubleclick the Home button, swipe all the way to the right, and select AirPlay Mirroring. Zoom in and out, and pause for applause. Rotate from portrait to landscape, and students will sees that, too. Another impressive feature lets you combine the iPad 2 with the new Digital AV Adapter accessory: video mirroring. The iPad 2 is able to output a mirror image of whatever is displayed on its screen to a TV, monitor or HD projector connected via the Digital AV Adapter and an HDMI cable. Unlike with the current AV and VGA-out 30-pin connectors, you can output to an external screen and not be limited to apps that have the feature enabled. The new mirroring feature works with all apps, and even with iOS itself, including the iPad’s home screen. Take a step back and think about an interactive white board. You can use it to write down notes and save them for students to use later. What if every student had the whiteboard in their hands and with a click of a button they begin sharing what they are working on with everyone in the classroom? The average cost of an interactive whiteboard and can range up to or above $3,000. Apple TV costs $99 and, with iOS 5, will be able to use AirPlay to mirror what is on your iPad to the Apple TV. Now you are free to roam around the classroom not tied to a computer. And that’s not all, Apple’s iTunes app lets you put all the assignments and materials students need for a complete K-12 or college course on their iPad, with the world’s largest online catalog of free education content, including iTunes University, which offers free courses in collaboration with many leading universities.

“If educators invest in this technology, it can open up a whole new level of interaction, communication, and discovery learning.”

The Future is Now! “Teaching with an iPad is a different approach, a new paradigm,” says Wiley Cruse, a band director and iPad enthusiast. “If educators invest in this technology, it can open up a whole new level of interaction, communication, and discovery learning. Educators can now mediate and facilitate instead of just monitoring their students. For example, Apple is developing ‘living-textbooks’ that ignite students’

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School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

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imagination unlike static, cumbersome text books which go out-of-date and are increasingly expensive.” For online demonstrations that illustrate just how far the paradigm is shifting, visit tinyurl. com/84f9lut and tinyurl.com/7dfkykx. Is the iPad for everybody? It is certainly possible to do much of what has been discussed above with laptops, Android tablets, or even netbook computers. However, the innovative enhancements for instruction go far beyond the

hardware or apps themselves. The iPad environment can offer distinct, dynamic, and interactive instruction that students will enthusiastically embrace. As music educators, we need to embrace technology and understand how to utilize these new tools to inspire our 21st century students. On the bright side, teachers in the field are currently looking for the “right stuff” that will reach students and bridge the gap between curricular tradition and virtual collabo-

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ration. To help illustrate this in the next issue, powerful music apps for iPads will be featured along with examples of how several music teachers are currently using iPads for classroom and performance instruction. The technological innovations taking place in the classroom today are redefining the future of our profession. Dr. John Kuzmich Jr. is a veteran music educator, jazz educator and music technologist with more than 41 years of public school teaching experience. He is a TI:ME-certified training instructor and has a Ph.D. in comprehensive musicianship. As a freelance author, Dr. Kuzmich has more than 400 articles and five text books published. As a clinician, Dr. Kuzmich frequently participates in workshops throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia, and South America. For more information, visit www.kuzmich.com.

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Staff Selections: Orchestra Repertoire

Chamber Music for Everyone

By Peter J. Haberman

n instrumental music curriculum should help create comprehensive musicians. This large task cannot be accomplished

through orchestra or band rehearsals alone. In fact, the schools that have high quality large ensembles usually include a chamber music component as a core requirement for most of their musicians.

School Band and Orchestra â&#x20AC;˘ March 2012

Musical independence and accountability is much more easily learned away from the large ensemble setting. By performing one-on-a-part chamber music, students are creating and being responsible for individual musical choices such as tone quality, intonation, style, phrasing, balance, and technical issues at a much higher level, taking them farther along their musical journey. The list below includes a few repertoire selections at the high school level for the most standard chamber groupings of instruments. This can serve as a starting point for creating or expanding a chamber music library, or can point out a direction to find other music for these ensembles that you find appropriate for your students.

Woodwind Quintet “Ensemble Repertoire for Woodwind Quintet” arr. Himie Voxman and Richard Hervig Rubank Inc. Grade: 3 and up Here is the place to start with a high school woodwind quintet. Much of the original repertoire for the woodwind quintet is quite difficult, but these 12 arrangements are accessible pieces from great composers like Bach, Haydn, Mozart, CPE Bach, and more. The music is of a high quality, and there will be something at the right level and enjoyable to play by any group. These arrangements are a great introduction to the woodwind quintet medium as the orchestration demands are very typical. If you do not have a bassoon, there is even a bass clarinet book as a substitute. Publisher: www.halleonard.com

Brass Quintet “Canadian Brass Series” Various Composers/arrangers Various Publishers Grade: 1 and up The “Canadian Brass” sheet music series is very large and spans all difficulty levels. There are over 100 individual pieces and collections for brass quintet that are playable by any level ensemble. From seasonal and lighter selections to sacred and contest pieces, you will find what you want in this series. It is always difficult to find accessible music for younger musicians, but recently they have expanded the series to include quintets for students that have only been playing for two or three years. And the most difficult works are the original pieces that you hear on the “Canadian Brass” recordings, many of which require piccolo trumpet. Most of the music is published by G. Schirmer or Hal Leonard, but there are works from other publishers, as well. The best place to go to find it all is www.canadianbrassstore.com. Publisher: www.openingday.com

String Quartet “Wedding Album” Volume 1-4 Lynn Latham Latham Music LTD Grade: 4 The string quartet medium has no shortage of great music to choose from, but it is often a challenge to find playable works that are fun for the students. Often teachers look to accessible Mozart string quartets as a place to start. Another idea is to select music from the full string library and have it played with only one performer on a part, a great way to get the basses involved in chamber music as well. There are publishers, however, that are creating music for the younger quartet that take standard musical works and make them accessible to more novice musicians in a chamber setting; one of those is Latham Music. These wedding albums may seem cliché to some, but they turn difficult music that everyone has heard by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Mendelssohn, and more into playable works that students enjoy performing.

Publisher: www.lorenz.com/Divisions/LM

Clarinet Quartet/Choir “Pieces from The Threepenny Opera” Kurt Weill arr. James Rae Universal Edition Grade: 4 This arrangement for clarinet quartet, 3 clarinets and a bass, contains all the dance rhythms, quirky harmonies, and lyrical melodies of the original chamber suite including the most famous tune, Mack the Knife. The piece has seven movements and is over ten minutes long, although movements could easily be omitted and the order changed. This gives the work a lot of flexibility in performance depending on strengths of your clarinets, available rehearsal time, and audience. The clarinet 1 part carries

most of melodic material, though everyone does play melody at some time, and also demands a good upper range. The rhythmic drive of the music is carried mostly by the internal parts, so players with strong counting skills will find the piece fun and easy to put together.

Publisher: www.universaledition.com

“Pizzicato Polka” Johann Strauss, Jr. & Josef Strauss arr. Jacques Lancelot Theodore Front Musical Literature, Inc. Grade: 4 As with the woodwind quintet repertoire, the clarinet quartet music is often beyond many high school students. A great solution is to expand the group into a clarinet choir. There is still the possibility of one on a part playing, but students have the comfort of more people performing and there is an expanded color and range possibility. The Strauss is one such piece that could be played by a quartet or choir. Originally for string orchestra, this arrangement for 3 clarinets and a bass can has all the dynamic contrast and tempo changes you would expect from a Strauss polka. The tempo of this work can be adjusted to make it manageable for a younger group or to challenge your best students. The short work, just over two minutes, is fun to play and is very audience friendly, while providing an approachable technical challenge for the high school clarinetists. Publisher: www.tfont.com

Sax Quartet “Sailor’s Hornpipe” Henry Cowell Peer Music Classical Grade 4 This delightful and original work for saxophone quartet (two altos, tenor, and bari) is lyrical and sounds like an American folk tune, Stephen Foster meets Percy Grainger. The single movement piece is under four minutes and has very similar musical expectation for each part; each player shares the melody and scalar technical demands. The work is repetitive, yet polyphonic, which will allow for teaching great consistency in pulse, sound, style, and dynamics. Publisher: www.peermusicclassical.com

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

THAT’S MY SOUND!

“Quartette (Allegro de Concert)” Caryl Florio Edition Peters Grade: 4 This fabulous saxophone quartet (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) is in two movements and is under seven minutes. The first movement is slow and chorale-like, a perfect chance to get your group to move together, breath together, and make very consistent sounds. The second movement is faster, largely scalar, and has some wonderful dynamically contrasting sections. The movement can be played with slightly different tempos to make the technical demand approachable. There is so much musicality involved in this work, a professional quartet would enjoy working on the piece, and yet the demands technically make the work accessible by a good high school ensemble. Publisher: www.edition-peters.com

Trombone Quartet/Choir

GREG OSBY

“MOUTHPIECES THAT PLAY TO THE BACK OF THE ROOM” www.BariWoodwind.com

Bari Woodwind Supplies, LLC A Division of The Cavanaugh Company

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School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

“Achieved is the Glorious Work, from the Creation” Franz Josef Haydn arr. Miller Ensemble Publications Grade: 3 This happy work from Haydn is as joyful to play as the title suggests. It is a standard work for trombone quartet, which only lasts around two minutes, but can also expanded through doubling and works well as a trombone choir selection. The piece is homophonic and polyphonic so each part gets a chance to shine, yet counting is not too difficult. The work is also not too high in range and all parts are in bass clef, though you can get arrangements with the top part in tenor clef if you choose. Publisher: www.enspub.com/tn4t.htm

Tuba/Euphonium Ensemble “El Capitan” John Philip Sousa arr. R. Winston Morris Editions Bim Grade: 4 The tuba/euphonium students in your school need a chance to shine. These small ensemble pieces are a great way to increase expectation and have fun making music in the process. There is a wealth of literature out there, but not enough

groups. If numbers of players is an issue, you can always add a trombone or two as the teaching and learning opportunities for the low brass are worth the compromise, but please only if necessary. This Sousa march is a good, standard work that’s easily familiar to high school student ears. There is a lot of good material for teaching style and articulation, and some attainable technical challenge for players on each part, though the top euphonium part definitely has more melodic and range demand than others.

Publisher: www.editions-bim.com

Percussion Ensemble Overture for Percussion Toys Grant Cambridge Honey Rock Publishing Grade: 3 This piece will keep 10 percussionists working on all the auxiliary percussion instruments. The work provides the time to really teach the technique of these instruments and make great sounds a priority on what are often forgotten about parts. The instruments create a groove-like piece with changing layers of sound. At less than five minutes, this could even be added to a concert without much percussion demand as a break from tradition. Publisher: htm#overture

www.honeyrock.net/ensm-911.

“Chick Corea Children’s Songs Set 1” Chick Corea arr. David Steinquest Rowloff Percussion Grade: 3 Here is a chance to bring a percussion quartet together on the bells, xylophone, marimba, and vibes. The xylophone has the most demanding part with the bells providing melodic accent, while the marimba and vibes create the harmonic and rhythmic structure. The work is in three short movements (songs no. 9, 2, and 14) and each could be performed separately, as well. Each miniature has simple technical demands, chances for a lot of independent musical choices, and fun melodic and harmonic twists you would expect from Chick Corea. Due to the unique sounds created, this one can take a bit longer to put together than the technique displays. Publisher: www.rowloff.com

New Products Evans Marching Drum Control Screens

Designed for marching snare drums, the Evans Control Screen offers a simple and effective way to reduce overall volume without sacrificing tone, articulation, or feel. Fitting neatly underneath the drumhead, the Evans Control Screen is simple to install and remove as needed. Used by top marching groups, the Evans Control Screen will be available in 13” [EMA13CS1] and 14” [EMA14CS1] sizes.

www.evansdrumheads.com

RS Berkeley Legend Series Louis Armstrong Trumpet Mouthpiece

The Louis Armstrong Legends Series Trumpet Mouthpiece is the first mouthpiece model added to the Legends Series Brass line. Expert brass mouthpiece maker Greg Black has improved the dynamics of the mouthpiece mold while maintaining the authentic look, feel, and sound of Armstrong’s original silver-plated mouthpiece. The Louis Armstrong Legends Series Trumpet Mouthpiece features silver plating throughout, 17.40MM, .685” inner rim, a flat rim contour, medium wide rim thickness, double cup, cup depth, and a .140”, 3.55MM bore.

www.rsberkeley.com.

virginia international music festival at the norfolk nato festival april 25 – april 28, 2013

Let Performing Arts Consultants help you orchestrate an unforgettable trip! Join us in Norfolk for a weekend filled with outstanding entertainment and performance opportunities for your students. Exciting events include the Virginia International Tattoo and the Parade of Nations along with Choral, Jazz and Instrumental groups performing at Chrysler Hall and much more. Call 1-800-USA-FEST or email mike@usafest.org and start planning today.

visitnorfolktoday.com 1-800-368-3097 School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

Students On Broadway is a New York City based tour operator that specializes in bringing Parade Bands, Ensembles, Orchestras, Choirs, and Festival Participants to the Big Apple. Why choose Students On Broadway? Our NYC based TEAM of Tour Managers who work with you to develop and customize your program to ensure that a superior NYC Performing Arts Experience is had by all and the NYC Licensed Tour Guide / Managers who will be with your group on the ground in NYC...are one and the same! Our TEAM secures performance venues, effectively coordinates ambitious itineraries that include practice sessions, performance(s), and sightseeing attractions... as well as provides your students the opportunity to record in a professional studio – All at extremely competitive rates!

We are NYC! Forever changing the “pricing landscape” of Performing Arts Student Travel to NYC! Call or email us today! (347) 974-7267 SPArtsNYC@aol.com www.StudentsOnBroadway.com 52

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

The Orchestral Series Keyboard Mallets were designed for the discriminating orchestral and symphonic band performer. The inclusion of this new and improved mallet for bells and crotales affords the player an even greater range of sound possibilities. The M146’s medium-sized round aluminum head creates a full and shimmering sound on crotales and bells. Also great on bell trees and other metallic effect instruments. Head = 7/8”, L = 14 3/8”. www.vicfirth.com

Jazzlab Silencer

The new Silencer from Jazzlab offers a noise-reducing way for reed players to work through mouthpiece exercises in any environment without bugging the neighbors. The tool makes it easier for woodwind players to continually improve their sound, embouchure, breathing and articulation. The silencer reduces volume of the mouthpiece by 14-20 decibels, meaning that the noise heard by human ears is 5-10 times quieter. Silencer models are available for bari sax, tenor sex, alto sax, soprano clarinet, and clarinet. www.jazzlab.com

Majestic Percussion Concert Black Snare Drum Collection

The Concert Black snare provides a dynamic and articulate sound that is well suited for all concert and symphonic applications. The Concert Black snare drums from Majestic offer a choice of shell depth and material to suite your particular timbral demands. The smooth piston-action throw-off provides quiet operation and reliable performance, and the combination coated cable and nickel-wound snares yield a premium sound at any dynamic level. The drum is offered in three models: MCS1440AL (14”x4” Aluminum shell), MCS1450MA (14”x5” Maple Shell), and MCS1465MA (14”x6.5” Maple Shell). www.MajesticPercussion.com

PERFORMING ARTS

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Submit your PLAYING TIP online at www.sbomagazine.com or e-mail it to editor Eliahu Sussman at esussman@symphonypublishing.com. Winning entries will be published in School Band and Orchestra Magazine and contributor will receive a prize gift compliments of EPN Travel Services, Inc.

Searching for a college music program will never be the same… .com The Publishers of School Band & Orchestra, JAZZed, Choral Director, and The College Search & Career Guide are proud to present a comprehensive website for music students and colleges to connect. Launching in April 2012, yopus.com will be a dynamic, up-to-date online music college research resource where prospective students and parents can find information about their own geographic, instrument and program preferences to learn more about the music programs that are most relevant to their individual needs and desires. 

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Classifieds Arrangements

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For All Instrumental / Vocal Ensembles Tailored to Your Specific Groups Contact Al Newman (505) 681-1213 amnewman@earthlink.net 1424 Sara Way SE Rio Rancho NM, 87124

Free Marching Band Arrangements Contact or email International Education Service P.O. Box 15036 Alexandria, Virginia 22309 703-619-6268 IES9@msn.com

www.sbomagazine.com

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DVDs

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Guitar • Horns • Piano • Strings T-shirts, Hats, Stickers, Jewelry, Keychains, Miniatures, Ties, and more.

www.SBOmagazine.com 54

School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

Merchandise

Classifieds Merchandise

www.sbomagazine.com

Software

Repair Tools

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Software

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Advertise in the Classifieds! CLEAN OUT YOUR BAND ROOM! Recycle your old uniforms and fixtures into cash! SBO classifieds reach 20,000 band/ orchestra directors. $30 per inch to reach a one hundred percent targeted audience!

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Or Write mjohan@symphonypublishing.com School Band and Orchestra • March 2012

Ad Index

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COMPANY NAME

E-MAIL/WEB ADDRESS

PAGE #

American Way Marketing LLC Antigua Winds J.J. Babbitt Co. Inc. Band Today LLC Band Today LLC Band WorldMusic Inc Bari Woodwinds Blocki Pedagogical Flute Products Bob Rogers Travel Burkart-Phelan Cannonball Music Instruments Carnegie-Mellon Charms Office Assistant Colonial Williamsburg Disney Performing Arts OnStage EPN Travel Services Festivals of Music/ Festivals of Music/ Five Towns College Good for the Goose Products GraceNotes, LLC Hunter Music Instrument Inc. InterCulture Association Jancic AG Jody Jazz Music for All/Bands of America Inc. MusiCreed Norfolk Convention & Visitors Bureau Pearl Corp. Peterson Strobe Tuners Rada Mfg. Co. RS Berkeley SKB Corp. Skidmore College Students on Broadway Super-Sensitive Musical String Co. The Tuba Exchange, Inc. Universal Melody Services LLC Universal Melody Services LLC Universal Melody Services LLC Vic Firth Company Vic Firth Company Wenger Corp. Woodwind & Brasswind Yamaha Corporation of America Avedis Zildjian Co.

www.americanwaymktg.com www.antiguawinds.com www.jjbabbitt.com MarchingBandPlumes.com MarchingBandPlumes.com www.ChateauUSAMusic.com www.bariwoodwinds.com www.blockiflute.com www.bobrogerstravel.com www.burkart.com www.cannonballmusic.com www.cmu.edu/cfa/music/ www.charmsoffice.com www.colonialwillamsburg.com/grouptours www.DisneyPerformingArts.com www.epntravel.com www.educationalprograms.com www.educationalprograms.com www.ftc.edu www.chopsaver.com SightReadingFactory.com www.huntermusical.com www.ica-us.org www.jazzlab.com www.JodyJazz.com www.bands.org www.MusiCreed.com www.usafest.org www.pearldrum.com www.petersontuners.com www.RadaCutlery.com www.RSBerkeley.com www.skbcases.com www.skidmore.edu www.studentsonbroadway.com www.cavanaughcompany.com www.tubaexchange.com www.universalmelody.com www.universalmelody.com www.universalmelody.com www.VicFirth.com www.VicFirth.com www.wengercorp.com www.wwbw.com www.yamaha.com www.zildjian.com

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School Band and Orchestra â&#x20AC;˘ March 2012

Save The Date!

Jazz Education Network 4th Annual Conference Networking the jazz arts community... local to global!

Atlanta, Georgia January 2-5, 2013 The Jazz Education Network

is dedicated to building the jazz arts community by advancing education, promoting performance, and developing new audiences. For complete membership information/beneďŹ ts please visit us at: