NOVEMBER 2008 $5.00
Mt. Lebanon High School’s
Rick Minnotte Drumming Up a
Generation of Experts UpFront: Winter Guard Performance: Percussion Ensembles
Contents
November 2008
Features
14 18
34
14
FROM THE TRENCHES: WORLD REPORT Bob Morrison relays the latest on music education initiatives abroad, based on current headlines from around the world.
18
UPFRONT: WINTER GUARD WGI’s Aaron Jenkins provides tips on having a successful indoor season.
22
UPCLOSE: RICK MINNOTTE In this recent SBO interview, Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh) High School’s director of percussion, Rick Minnotte, talks about the development and progression of an advanced percussion ensemble, which, in addition to providing students with world-class performance opportunities, was designed to teach the students about far more than just music.
34
PERFORMANCE: PERCUSSION ENSEMBLES SBO contributor Scott Brown examines the key ingredients to developing a successful middle school percussion ensemble.
38
SURVEY: IDEAL SALES REP What do you look for in a road rep? Music educators from around the country answered this question and more in this month’s reader survey.
42
TECHNOLOGY: PERFORMANCE TOOLS
22 Columns 4 6 49 52
Perspective Headlines New Products
53 55 56
Classifieds Calendar Ad Index
Playing Tip
Cover photo by Brian Chmura, M&M Photography, Bethel Park, Pa.
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 © 2008 by Symphony Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. Printed in USA.
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Perspective
Do You YouTube?
Y
ouTube.com, which is a relatively recent phenomenon, has an astonishing variety of offerings, with subjects ranging from how to vote to motorcycle maintenance to a view of the Orion constellation and everything inbetween. YouTube surfers can also find the sublime and the ridiculous. However, this site is an extraordinary source of musical knowledge that can provide a wealth of benefits to the student musician, teacher, professional, or hobbyist. The speed at which one can access a world of musical performance, lessons, ideas, and technology would simply have been unheard of even as recently as five or 10 years ago. As a teaching tool, YouTube is easily adaptable for music lessons, as its format can benefit students and teachers and serve as a continual refresher in between music lessons. More advanced students or musicians who want to expand their horizons may view “ YouTube is an a tremendous selection of lessons online for all levels with extraordinary teachers from around the world. YouTube could even be source of musical used to allow a student to audition a teacher, and vice knowledge that can versa! There are some exceptional video “lessons” availprovide a wealth able on YouTube, including a standout one from the 1950s featuring the famed Brazilian composer Antonio Carlos of benefits to the Jobim and the legendary saxophonist Gerry Mulligan; student musician, Clark Terry, the extraordinary trumpeter, can be seen givteacher, profession- ing a beginner and an intermediate lesson; and there is a al, or hobbyist.” fine series of trumpet lessons by a U.S. Army Field Band musician on range and endurance, starting as a beginner, warm-ups, warm-downs, and much more. The September 2008 issue of The Strad magazine featured an in-depth case study highlighting a violin teacher who used YouTube regularly to provide supplemental lessons at home. She would upload short videos twice a week featuring simple rhythm and bowing exercises, playing the bottom part of a duet, and demonstrating the relaxed bow hand. The links to the lessons, which were directly related to their most recent class, were e-mailed to the students each week. Evidently, the results were astonishing. The students benefited from the repetitive nature of the on-line video, which served as a constant reminder of the proper methods for playing their instrument. Additionally, “They even seemed to feel a closer bond to me, because they ‘saw’ me more often. In less than a year, all of them could play Suzuki’s Twinkle variation no. 1… compared to only a handful from the previous year.”
®
November 2008 Volume 11, Number 11
GROUP PUBLISHER Sidney L. Davis sdavis@symphonypublishing.com PUBLISHER Richard E. Kessel rkessel@symphonypublishing.com Editorial Staff
EDITOR Christian Wissmuller
cwissmuller@symphonypublishing.com
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Eliahu Sussman esussman@symphonypublishing.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Denyce Neilson dneilson@symphonypublishing.com Art Staff
PRODUCTION MANAGER Laurie Guptill
lguptill@symphonypublishing.com
GRAPHIC DESIGNER Andrew P. Ross aross@symphonypublishing.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Laurie Chesna lchesna@symphonypublishing.com Advertising Staff
ADVERTISING SALES Iris Fox
ifox@symphonypublishing.com
CLASSIFIED SALES Maureen Johan mjohan@symphonypublishing.com Business Staff
CIRCULATION MANAGER Melanie A. Prescott mprescott@symphonypublishing.com
ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Popi Galileos pgalileos@symphonypublishing.com WEBMASTER Sanford Kearns skearns@symphonypublishing.com Symphony Publishing, LLC
CHAIRMAN Xen Zapis PRESIDENT Lee Zapis lzapis@symphonypublishing.com CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Rich Bongorno rbongorno@symphonypublishing.com Corporate Headquarters 26202 Detroit Road, Suite 300 Westlake, Ohio 44145 (440) 871-1300 www.symphonypublishing.com Publishing, Sales, & Editorial Office 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1 Needham, MA 02494 (781) 453-9310 FAX (781) 453-9389 1-800-964-5150
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Member 2008
Rick Kessel rkessel@symphonypublishing.com
4 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
RPMDA
HeadLines Yamaha’s Celebrate Your Music Contest
Y
amaha Corporation of America has launched an exclusive sweepstakes and Web site seeking the best performance of Disney’s “It’s a Small World” theme song utilizing Yamaha products. Between now and December 31, 2008, contestants can enter on-line to win the grand prize of a two-night stay at a California’s Disneyland Resort and a $750 credit towards any Yamaha instrument or product. A second prize winner will also receive a monetary credit towards any Yamaha music product. Both winning entries will be showcased on the Yamaha multimedia Web site, The Hub www.yamahahub.com. To enter, users can upload their video or audio performance to the contest website, www.yamaha.com/celebrate. On the Web site contest entrants will have access to an array of downloadable materials including sheet music, exclusive arrangements, DJ background tracks, and other supplies to enhance their performance. The grand prize winner will be chosen by a panel of Yamaha and Disney officials; the second prize winner will be chosen by popular votes on The Hub Web site. Both winners of the Celebrate Your Music contest will be announced at the 2009 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. For more information, visit www.yamahahub.com.
For f ifty yea rs our secrets ha ve been locked.
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Introducing S ys tem Blue.
Designed and cra f ted from the ground up by The Blue Devils and Pro-Mark. © Pro-Mark Corporation. Photo by Jolesch Photography, www.jolesch.com
6 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
promark.com
2009 Marine Band Concerto Competition
T
he 2009 “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band annual concerto competition for high school musicians, presented with support from the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation and The National Association for Music Education (MENC), is open to high school musicians (grades 9-12) enrolled during the 20082009 academic year. Performers of woodwind, brass, or percussion instruments may apply. The winner(s) will appear as a guest soloist with the U.S. Marine Band and receive a cash prize. Applicants must select one of the works listed in the application packet for their instrument and submit an audio recording of their performance of that selection accompanied by piano, band, or orchestra. Application packets should include the following: • a completed application form • a letter of recommendation from a teacher familiar with the student’s musicianship • an unedited cassette or CD recording of the applicant performing their selected work in its entirety with accompaniment. If the work is multi-movement, select the first or last movement. If the work is through-composed, play the piece in its entirety unless otherwise specified. Application packets must be postmarked by November 15, 2008, and should be mailed to: MENC Attn: The Marine Band Concerto Competition 1806 Robert Fulton Drive Reston, Va. 20191 Further details about the competition can be found online at www.marineband.usmc.mil, or by calling the Marine Band Public Affairs Office at (202) 433-5809.
HeadLines PASIC 2008
T
he Percussive Arts Society’s 2008 International Convention is taking place from November 5-8 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, Texas. The lineup includes more than 150 events on twelve stages, featuring many of the world’s best musicians on drumset, orchestral percussion, keyboard, world percussion, marching, and more. The convention’s International Drum and Percussion Expo takes place Nov. 6-8 with more than 130 exhibitors showcasing the latest in percussion instruments, gear, publications, and services. The nationally recognized PASIC Marching Percussion Festival also takes place during the convention. This indoor festival features a competition of high school and collegiate drumlines and solo performers vying for top honors. In addition, the Percussive Arts Society is currently accepting online artist applications for PASIC 2009. The process takes approximately twenty minutes and is a requirement for any group or individual who wishes to be considered. Applications will be accepted through December 15, 2008. For more information, please visit www.pasic.org.
Online Survey Results Will you be attending next months Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Austin, Texas?
No
Yes
89% 89% 11% 11% 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.
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HeadLines NAMM and Disney Announce Sequel Grant Program
T
he NAMM Foundation and Disney Channel have announced that they will again team up to allow middle and high schools across the United States the opportunity to apply for a grant to put on their own school stage production of Disney’s High School Musical or High School Musical 2. The public affairs initiative utilizes the popularity of the High School Musical movies and the licensed amateur theater adaptations to encourage more kids to get involved in music and the arts. The grant program will award worthy schools a $5,000 monetary grant and license for High School Musical 1 or 2. The funds are to support music and arts-related educational costs of the production, such as hiring music and dance coaches, and to help schools that do not have sufficient lighting and sound equipment for the production. Schools interested in applying for a grant should visit www.nammfoundation.org to view grant guidelines and submit an application online. All proposals must be received by December 15, 2008 (11:59 p.m., EST). Grant recipients will be notified in May 2009.
10 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
As part of the initiative, Disney Channel and Radio Disney will present Public Service Announcements to encourage viewers to learn, engage, explore and participate in music, dance and theater. Messages will also include information on how schools can apply for the grant. Select 2008 grant recipients will also be featured in a Disney 365 presentation that showcases the impact of “The Music in You” program. Last year’s grant award winners were: • Booker T. Washington High School, Houston, Texas • BYNG Schools, Ada, Okla. • Cheektowaga Central, Cheektowaga, N.Y. • Cranston High Schools East and West, Cranston, R.I. • Dwight Morrow High School, Englewood, N.J. • Eau Clair High School, Columbia, S.C. • L.A. Webber High School, Lyndonville, N.Y. • Marana Middle School, Marana, Ariz. • Patrick Henry Middle School, Granada Hills, Calif. • Ridgeview Charter School, Atlanta, Ga. For more information or to apply for the grant, visit www.nammfoundation.org.
HeadLines Majestic Performance in Lubbock
B
oth Texas Tech University and the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra (LSO) have enhanced their programs with the addition of Majestic timpani. Associate Professor of Percussion Studies Dr. Lisa Rogers and her Texas Tech colleague Mr. Alan Shinn were instrumental in influencing the School of Music administration and the LSO’s executive officer to finalize the purchases. The set of symphonic drums for the LSO is the first timpani upgrade for the orchestra since the ‘70s. Featuring around 30 performances a year, the orchestra’s ties to the Tech community present an abundance of resources for the percussion majors there. Texas Tech hosts approximately 40 percussion majors in its School of Music of over 500 music majors. Many of the School of Music faculty play in the orchestra and some students earn placement with the orchestra through very competitive auditions. Rogers and Shinn will direct a group of students from the Texas Tech Percussion Ensemble at their upcoming PASIC clinic, “New Literature for Percussion Ensemble.” Majestic will provide the timpani and bass drum for the performance. Rogers is also the vice president of the Texas chapter of the Percussive Arts Society.
Grover Pro Percussion Launches New Web Site
T
he focus of Grover Pro’s new Web site will continue to be on the company’s tambourines, triangles, and percussion accessories, but also offers visitors a greatly enhanced browsing experience. The site allows percussion players and music educators access to a comprehensive “Tambourine Selection Chart” as well as to pop-up product feature pages, which detail the benefits of Grover Pro’s product line. A vast improvement over the former site, a flash-based easyto-use dealer locator generates lists of local dealers with contact information and a detailed vicinity map. Visitors to Grover Pro’s new site also have one-click access to online “Live Help,” an interactive chat service staffed by a percussion product specialist. Visit the new site at www.groverpro.com.
New Holton Horns Web Site
C
onn-Selmer has announced that a new Web site for Holton horns, www.holtonhorns.com, is now live. This new site will be the clearing house for all information regarding the Holton Student, Holton Farkas and Holton Merker lines French horns. The site also includes links to other valuable information such as articles written by Phil Farkas, designer and developer of the Holton Farkas French horn, featured Holton artists, along with exclusive performance resources especially for French horn players and teachers. As the Web site continues to develop, more information and resources will be added. Visit www.holton-horns.com for more information.
12 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
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SBOFrom the Trenches
What Do They Know That We Don’t?
BY BOB MORRISON
E
very once in a while I will be scanning the headlines when it hits me that there is a strange juxtaposition about similar stories from different parts of the world. I recently had one of those
moments. It started with this story from‌
14 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
Canada It appears that the Canadian Government is now offering tax credits for arts instruction. This is similar to a credit the country has in place for athletic participation. Here is an excerpt of the report from CEP News: Canadian Prime Minister Pledges Tax Credits for Arts Training Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says if he is re-elected next month, he will bring in a new children’s arts tax credit and expand the reach of the Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP). Harper told an Ottawa news conference he will provide the same kind of tax treatment for arts training that the government already offers families with children involved in sports programs. In addition, he said the new arts tax credit and the fitness tax credit will be made fully refundable so
lower income families will receive cash payments if their incomes are too low to qualify for tax credits. “Giving working families a break is one of the most important Conservative priorities,” Harper said.
elections were held on October 14th, 2008 the Prime Minister’s party won. This means we should soon see this new tax credit implemented in Canada. A somewhat heartening takeaway
“China is expanding music and art education for all children!” The prime minister also promised to expand the RESP program to allow charities and not-for-profit organizations to establish savings plans for children from low-income families in partnership with parents. As with most campaign promises, this prompted dialog in the context of the campaign. Was it enough? Are they missing the point that what is needed is not tax credits but more in-school music and arts programs? When the
from this was the fact that the importance of arts education was being debated as part of a national election. Here in the United States, we had lots of discussion during the primaries about arts education. For our general election, however, the debate on this issue has gone silent. After reading this story, I was not sure if this tax credit would be good or bad for music and arts education. Instead of credits, how about just putting the programs in the schools, so parents would not have to spend their
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tax money on the programs as others suggested? Ultimately, I came down on the side of this being a net positive since, hey… a little incentive to encourage parents to have their children participate in music and arts and dance and theater can’t hurt. After reading that story I received the following news item from…
China The China News Service reported: “Artistic talent” to become factor for appraising Chinese students Performance in arts courses will become a factor in evaluating primary and middle school students, the Ministry of Education said on Thursday. Arts education was insufficient because of lack of time, teachers and resources, which has hindered the development of quality-oriented education, said a course plan for compulsory education issued by the ministry on its website. Chinese students are wellknown for intelligence and diligence as shown by high scores but often show
little or no artistic talent. Many youngsters, especially in rural areas, do not know how to sing or dance and have never had music or art lessons. Under the plan, class-hours for the arts should take up 9 to 11percent of the school time in the nineyear course of compulsory education, which includes six years of primary school and three years of junior high school. Primary and middle schools should use arts textbooks approved by the educational departments and improve their teaching quality in accordance with national standards, it said. Performance in arts courses should be included in a student’s record as an important promotion factor. Most urban schools have fulltime arts teachers, but many rural schools lack such professionals. Some schools only have part-time arts teachers or have none. China is expanding music and art education for all children! Very exciting! Very enlightened! Can you imagine the number of young children that will benefit from this new mandate?
We are talking tens of millions of children… making music! My head is spinning just thinking about it! So Canada has a new tax credit for music and arts participation and China has now mandated music and arts and will use it in student evaluations. Certainly the United States will have some new policy to match, right?
United States Thankfully, the San Antonio News was there just in the nick of time: Texas To Adopt Uniform GPA Calculation, Eliminate Arts School districts across Texas will soon adopt a single method for calculating student grade-point averages. But talk of leaving fine arts courses out of the equation and of giving no extra weight to some tough classes has drawn the ire of many educators. What may seem like a straightforward measure of student achievement, grade-point averages in fact vary from district to district. Some places add extra weight to harder courses or toss certain others from the calculation altogether. So lawmakers mandated that a statewide standard replace the hodgepodge of methods now in play. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is expected to vote Oct. 23 on the uniform method, which it says will not affect any students now in high school. Commissioner Raymund Paredes is proposing adding an extra, weighted point to Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate, and dual credit courses. He would give no extra weight to pre-AP or pre-IB courses, which he says lack uniform standards. What this means is that schools would be required to compute GPAs by including only courses in English language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, and foreign languages. Grade point averages would have to be calculated on a four-point scale, with an extra point given only for Advanced Placement, International
16 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
Baccalaureate, and dual-enrollment courses, which can permit college credit. The kicker: the grades Texas students earn in music and arts courses would not count in their grade point averages under this statewide formula for calculating GPAs. Now here is the good part: … Paredes also suggests including only “academic” courses in the GPA calculation, so many fine arts and career and technical education courses would not count toward a student’s final GPA. “By my very nature I support the arts,” Paredes said. “We just want to make sure we focus on the courses that get students ready for college.” Help me! Help me! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up! Wow! How do you respond to this? Has this guy been living under a rock? The arts are not viewed as “academic”? The arts do not help students get ready for college? What,
have I entered the “way back” machine and been taken back to 1989 where this kind of thinking was rampant? Where is the sanity? Robert Floyd, chairman of the Texas Coalition for Quality Arts Education, had this response:
students get ready for college, and the relentless mantra of testing, testing, testing permeates our schools… what do the education leaders in China and Canada know about arts education that our education leaders do not?
“I certainly hope the members of the board do not want the state of Texas to go on record as the kind of state that fails to recognize that the study of music and other fine arts is an academic course of study.” Go get ‘em, Bobby! Now we have just taken a tour of newspaper headlines over a two-day period in three different countries. Two were forward moving initiatives for music and arts education. One was… how do I put this… not! Which leads me to ask this question: at a time when the US is reducing or eliminating music and arts instruction for many of our students, states are attempting to redefine what courses help
Bob Morrison is the executive vice president and chairman emeritus of Music for All Inc. He can be reached via e-mail at bob@musicforall.org.
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SBOUpfront: Winter Guard
Tips for a Successful Indoor Season Having Fun While Getting the Job Done BY AARON JENKINS
W
ith
the
2009
indoor
marching arts season on the horizon, it’s time to get the production wheels
in motion. It’s never too early to start planning for your winter color guard and indoor percussion ensemble. Many aspects of starting your own group, or planning a follow-up season take time. Some processes are even out of your hands, so getting a jump-start can alleviate a lot of stress once the season starts.
Planning the show Music licensing is a foreign topic for the majority of directors and instructors. If you’ve been throwing around show concepts and music choices, start the process to have your songs approved early. WGI Marketing manager, Bart Woodley comments, “The earlier you start listening to music the better. WGI offers several resources for you to begin the copyright clearance process, but this sometimes takes months. It is a good idea to work on the copyrights for a piece almost four months in advance 18 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
from when you want to start teaching the show. This means that for most areas you should have music selected by August at the latest.” It may be difficult to nail down what you want to do until your cast is set, but doing so will help solidify the fact that you won’t have to change your tune midseason. During the show designing process, make sure that you can convince your marching members to buy into your show theme. Since they will be in front of thousands of spectators throughout the season, your performers need to feel comfortable and excited about portraying what you create for them. Keeping it passionate, age-appropriate, and exciting can be a challenge, but the end result will ultimately be something that the students really felt a part of, and something that they will treasure forever. It’s all about bringing something new and different to keep the attention of both the performers and the audiences.
Auditions To start building hype in your community and school about upcoming auditions, take a proactive role getting the word out. Be in contact with former members to spread clinic and audition information by word of mouth. Give them an incentive to bring new faces to the group, such as a discount on dues for the season. The Internet is full of opportunities to find more members as well. Start discussion topics on color guard and percussion newsgroups. Try putting together a short video on YouTube with audition information in it. Set up groups on social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook. Don’t forget the power of blogging and podcasts. Local circuits and newsletters are also great resources to “advertise” your group’s next meeting.
Throughout the Season Make plans to create an inviting and exciting atmosphere at rehearsals from day one. Getting new and old members to bond is particularly important. Begin with a new warm up routine that energizes everyone. Encourage veterans to introduce themselves to “newbies” and make sure the
newer performers are included during breaks and understand details of new routines, technique, and how to make the most out of their season. Oftentimes, matching returning performers with new members as Big Siblings and Little Siblings is a great way to make people feel comfortable. This can help to quickly create relationships that will last throughout the season. Continuing the hype of the group will help on days when energy is low. Schedule themed rehearsals. Have your members dress up for Twin Day, ’80s Day, Old Costume Day, Tacky Christmas Sweater Day, and any other fun or crazy theme to keep the atmosphere light, but still remain focused on the goal. Incorporating a mascot, cheer, or ritual can keep spirits up as well. Incorporating outside friends and family may give students that boost of confidence they really need to soar in your performance group. Host a “Friends
Center Grove High School (Greenwood, Ind.) Winter Guard.
“Participating in the indoor marching arts teaches students life lessons and builds character.” & Family Clinic” to let them be a part of the experience. Keep them updated on trips and local shows. Encourage students’ families and friends to start a support or fan group to cheer at shows. They can wear matching shirts and make signs to get the excitement started in the performance arena. Although it’s important to have the support of family, make sure they know and respect boundaries. Performers will need time by themselves to prepare for performances without the distractions of others around. Memories that will last a lifetime are occurring every second during the season. Don’t forget to choose a staff or marching member to be in charge of taking pictures at rehearsal, events, and shows. Also find someone that is willing to take video of your group during these times as well. By the end
of the season, a DVD of these will be a great gift for both staff and students so that everyone will be able to look back at all they have accomplished. These photos will remind everyone how special the time they have spent together has been. It’ll also serve as a great way to advertise for the following season.
Off the Floor While learning to work together as a team at rehearsal, it is also important that your members create trust and compassion off the floor. Planning informal get-togethers can be an easy way to share common interests. Try activities like bowling, skating, a trip to a haunted house, potluck dinners, and sleepovers. The possibilities are truly endless, and members are always looking for ways to continue the fun outside of rehearsal. School Band and Orchestra, November 2008 19
Always stress the importance of professionalism and respect with fellow members and competitors. There is always someone watching and making judgments about the group as a whole. Show days are particularly good opportunities to impress future generations to join your organization. WGI charter member Shirlee Whitcomb expresses the importance of competition: “One of the best ways to keep your students ‘in tune’ with their peers, is to place them in a situation where they watch the others in their
class and where they are assigned to come away from each viewing picking out what pieces of the performance they were most impressed with. If they watch from that perspective, focusing on the ‘quality’ and not the ‘problems’ within each performance, they’ll begin to define what qualities they would like to emulate. In addition to this ‘viewing’ education, they can learn to appreciate and applaud the other players in their class and set themselves up to make new friends and to gather new fans who hopefully will learn to reciprocate by showing their support and appreciation of your students.”
Stay Focused While fun is a key factor of the season, there is a job to be done. Creating a calendar filled with long and short term goals for the group can motivate members to work on tricks, technique, and sections of their show during breaks and outside of rehearsal. Make sure that these goals are realistic and focused on improving
their own skills, not just to hit a certain score or beat a specific competitor. A reward system may also be set up for those who reach standards first. For example, the first person to execute a difficult portion of their show perfectly five times in a row might get to sit out at the end of a rehearsal block to watch a section of the show being performed. Participating in the indoor marching arts teaches students life lessons and builds character which helps them excel later in life. This is the time to create and to inspire. Make this season stand out from rest. Provide a challenge, an adventure, and a dream for your performers and staff. This is the time for everyone to take part in the journey to success.
Aaron Jenkins is the Marketing & Communications coordinator for WGI Sport of the Arts. He has been a performer with New Philadelphia HS, Onyx, and Pride of Cincinnati winter guards.
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Rick Minnotte
Drumming Generation BY ELIAHU SUS SMAN
R
ichard T. Minnotte is the director of Percussion Studies for the Mt.
Lebanon School District, located on the outskirts of Pittsburgh. Together with his staff, Rick teaches the finer points of all things percussive – from chimes to mallets to timpani to drum set – to approximately 200 students in grades four through 12.
Up a of Experts
Six days a week, and exclusively outside of regular school hours, the Mt. Lebanon High School music facilities are taken over by a hoard of young percussionists, as students from all over the district flock to the high school to take private lessons and participate in non-curricular percussion ensembles. This advanced program is the fruit of Mr. Minnotte’s hard work and vision, first set in motion when he became an assistant band director in the district some 35 years ago. It has since culminated in large high school percussion ensemble performances at MENC in 2006, the National Percussion Festival in 2007, the Pennsylvania MEA Conference in 2008, and a scheduled return to the National Percussion Festival in March of 2009. Rick Minnotte is a Pittsburgh native. He was born and raised in Mt. Lebanon, where he attended the public schools he now teaches in. His mother was a church musician, and he grew up turning the pages of her sheet music as she played the organ and listening in on her choir rehearsals. After starting out on piano, Rick quickly gravitated towards percussion, which would later be his primary instrument at Duquesne University, where he earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Music Education. From there, he went straight back to his former schools and set about spreading enthusiasm for his musical passion, building a percussion ensemble.
“I use percussion as the vehicle to
show these kids what it takes to become really good at something.”
One might ask, “What’s so important about percussion ensembles?” But the truth is that Rick would be the first to say that the subject matter is irrelevant; it’s how the process of learning that material and developing those ensembles helps the kids grow that’s at the crux of what he’s trying to impart. As he says in this recent SBO interview, “The point is teaching the kids how to be really good at something.” School Band & Orchestra: When you were growing up, did you have dreams of playing with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra? Rick Minnotte: I was fascinated with marching band and marching percussion. As a student in high school, I began writing drill and coming up with musical arrangements for marching band. In fact, as soon as I graduat-
ed from high school, the district hired me back to write drill because I loved doing it, and there were so few people out there who were into that sort of thing – which worked out pretty well for me. I really never looked into the performance area. Not that I didn’t like to perform, I just never really saw myself going in that direction. I love kids and I’ve always loved teaching. I’ve been teaching since I was a junior in high school, when I started giving lessons to elementary school kids. The band director needed assistance and I was more than glad to help out – it was good for two or three bucks an hour. [laughs] Once I started teaching, I already knew I liked kids, but getting the chance to work with them like that, well, I was hooked. So I went to school for education, did a graduate program and an assistantship at Duquesne in conducting – something I also love. At Duquesne, I was conducting the wind ensemble and concert bands, and teaching the marching band methods courses. Then I was fortunate enough to get hired back fulltime by the district I had graduated from, and I’ve been here ever since! SBO: But you didn’t start out just teaching percussion. Would you talk about the transition? RM: I was hired as an elementary school band director. That was my first job with the district, and I took it because that was what was available; there wasn’t a position strictly for per-
24 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
cussion at that point in time. When the percussion at our program started to grow, I knew I really wanted to focus on that element. Once we got around to building a percussion ensemble, the number of students interested in it skyrocketed. We now have 195 kids in the district who participate in our percussion ensembles. SBO: Did that initial impetus to have you focus on percussion come from you or from administration? RM: The administration fought it. They knew long-range that it was going to be expensive – percussion instruments don’t come cheap. To hire a fulltime instructor just to do percussion was a little hard to sell to the school board when we used to have one band director doing winds, brass, and percussion. SBO: So what was your pitch? RM: We had a lot of kids doing percussion at that time, and all we were teaching them was snare drum, and maybe a little bit of bells. Some people were starting to talk about total percussion, where you learn to do everything. We convinced the district that we weren’t even beginning to get close to where we wanted to be as far as offering choices to the kids. The Mt. Lebanon school district itself is very progressive in regards to education: we’re one of the top 100 districts in the nation based on SAT scores. So we argued that when you teach math, for example, you don’t just teach algebra, you teach calculus, honors calculus, trigonometry, and all of these other fields, because you want the kids to be prepared for whatever they going to do off in college. Well, here we have kids who may want to major in music, may want to major in percussion – who knows – and all we’re doing is teaching them how to play the snare drum. That isn’t going to cut it. We went to the Fine Arts supervisor and said that we wanted to buy our very first marimba, which in those days would probably cost $2,500 or so, and she asked, “Why would we want to spend that kind of money on an instrument that only one student
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can play?” So I tried to explain that it’s like buying a piano, a bunch of students will actually get to use it, and it’s a long-term investment. After a year or two, we got a new Fine Arts supervisor who really understood the concept of what we wanted to do. With his blessing, we bought a marimba. Then we bought another marimba. Then we bought a xylophone. And now we have a full complement of percussive keyboard instruments. Once it caught on and the people were able to hear us play, the program grew quickly. Some people think of a percussion ensemble as a bunch of people banging drums. But once they hear keyboard percussion, where they can play actual music – there’s melody, there’s harmony, there’s rhythm – then they get fascinated by it. It’s not just an auditory experience; it’s visually fascinating to see people play percussion. We started off doing a spring concert series with the standard repertoire for a high school ensemble and
“It’s not just an auditory experience;
it’s visually fascinating to see people play percussion.”
that developed into a second night of the concert, and then a third night, because our auditorium only holds 400 people and we were selling it out every night. From there, we started playing some holiday/Christmas music, which turned into us doing a Christmas concert series, and before you know it, the school is getting rec-
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ognition for our ensemble – and of course they love that. Once the administration saw that they were getting some bang for their buck, they were happy. The kids kept progressing and the program kept growing, and I now have a staff of five that gives the private lessons for me. My staff is comprised of all professional percussionists with college degrees in either performance or music education, or a dual degree with the two. They give about 110 lessons per week to the students, of which there are about 195 total in grades four through 12. SBO: According to your Web site, back in 1985 you started out with a small group of students. By 1991, you were playing grade IV material. A few years after that, you moved on to grade V material. And finally, just a few years ago, your ensembles began playing grade VI repertoire. What is it that you and your staff are doing that enables your students to achieve that level of performance? RM: We demand that the students raise the bar every year. It sounds like a corny thing, but we really implement that. Every year’s class is supposed to improve upon what the previous year’s ensembles were able to do. For so many groups, kids will come back and they’ll want to say, “When I was in the band, when I was in the orchestra, that’s the best it ever was!” We teach our kids that that’s really the wrong attitude. When they come back, if the current group isn’t better
than they were, somewhere along the road, we all didn’t do our jobs. We have the kids motivate the future students, the alumni come back and watch, and really, the critical thing for us is the private lesson program. We started off teaching only the high school kids lessons. Then we dropped it down to include eighth grade. Then seventh, then sixth, fifth, all the way down to the fourth graders, which is where we’re at now. SBO: Are those lessons curricular? How is that whole program set up? RM: The private lessons are funded by the parents solely, just like you’d go to your local music store and get lessons, but the instructors are all selected by me. They’re not only good percussionists, they’re good educators. They teach the lessons at the high school, which is a centralized building in our district, so it’s easy for everyone to get here. Plus, the instruments are already here. One of the problems with percussion is that almost none of these kids have a marimba or a xylophone at home because these instru-
28 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
Mt. Lebanon Percussion At A Glance Location: 155 Cochran Road, Pittsburgh, Pa. On the Web: www.mtlpercussion.com Director: Richard T. Minnotte School and Program Enrollment: High School (grades 9-12): 1,805 Percussion Program (grades 4-12): 195 HS Percussion Program (grades 9-12): 54 Ensembles and Enrollment: Elementary Honors Ensemble (grades 4-5): 14 Middle School Honors Ensemble (grades 6-7): 12 Eighth Grade Ensemble (grade 8): 12 Fall Freshmen Ensemble (grade 9): 7 Fall Concert Ensemble (grades 10 - 12): 47 Spring Freshmen Ensemble (grade 9): 7 Spring Concert Ensemble (grades 10 - 12): 47 Brazilian Ensemble: 20 African Ensemble: 16 Keyboard Ensemble: 6 Drum Set Ensemble: 5 Drumline: 21 Front Ensemble: 10 Recent Honors & Performances 2002 - Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Annual Conference, Philadelphia, Pa. 2005 - Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Annual Conference, Hershey, Pa. 2006 - Music Educators Annual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah 2006 - Named a Malletech Artist Ensemble 2007 - National Percussion Festival, Indianapolis, Ind. 2008 - Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Annual Conference, Hershey, Pa. March 2009 - National Percussion Festival, Indianapolis, Ind.
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ments are too big or too expensive for them to purchase. In fact, none of the elementary schools have any of the major percussive keyboards. Their kids come to our school, work with the high school instructors and use the high school equipment. SBO: All after school hours? RM: Right, this happens in the evening. We joke that we work the night shift. The regular workers leave at 3:15, and we start teaching at 3:30. We teach private lessons Monday through Friday from 3:30 to 10 o’clock at night, and then all day Saturday, from eight in the morning until four in the afternoon. I think it’s 108 lessons a week right now that we’re teaching, and this is for kids who are in grades four through 12. So what’s happened is that we have kept lowering the age of the students who were entering the private lesson system. Whereas maybe before we would only get kids who had a year or two worth of private lessons, we’re
We make each of the students take what we call “departmental” – “jury,” I guess is what you’d call it at the college level – where once a year, they spend ten quality minutes with the entire percussion staff, during which time they’ll have to play basically an audition of one keyboard piece and one multiple percussion piece or snare drum solo of their choice. After every year when we finish that, we instructors always say, “Gee, I never played this piece or that piece until I was sophomore or a junior in college, and these kids are sophomores and juniors in high school!” SBO: That sounds great, but how can your students afford these private lessons? RM: Our percussion parents organization, the Friends of Mt. Lebanon Percussion, has a scholarship fund set up. It’s all done in private, where parents can approach me individually, and I’ll arrange for the parents organization to pay directly to the instructors. In fact, there are even some kids who are on scholarship without even being aware of it. Everything is done to avoid any stigma that might be associated with receiving financial assistance.
“We joke that we work the night shift.”
SBO: So you keep it private. Are those scholarships supported by fundraising?
now getting kids coming into the high school who’ve had lessons since fourth grade, and they’re playing three- and four-mallet marimba repertoire. They’re playing four-timpani, and all kinds of advanced stuff. 30 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
RM: Fundraising might not be the right word. The band program fundraises with traditional methods, selling candy bars and that sort of thing, and we don’t want to compete with them. So our group sells ads in our concert programs, tickets to the concerts, apparel and merchandise, multimedia (CDs, DVDs), and we have an honor roll, where people simply donate money to the program. We do not send the kids out knocking on doors and collecting – in fact, we don’t really use the kids at all. The parents raise the money, and we have some corporate sponsors. As much as I say that the private lessons are the key to the program – and they are – the other leg we stand on is that parent group. The school only pays about onethird of our budget, and the parent group raises the other two-thirds. We’re
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talking roughly $50,000 a year that the parents raise, which covers the day-today operations of our activities – including the purchase and maintenance of instruments, the stipends for staff. SBO: If you have students taking lessons from 4th grade on, are you worried about burning them out?
RM: Our kids keep a log of every single thing they do in the course of the school year, ranging from their own individual practice time, to their private lesson time, to rehearsals for either percussion ensemble or marching band, including sectionals, including performances… everything. It’s currently in excess of 650 hours per year, per kid. SBO: So how do you keep them fresh and enthusiastic? RM: Diversity in the program is key. Instead of just having a percussion ensemble or just the marching percussion, we have, for example, a Brazilian ensemble. We have an African ensemble. We have a keyboard ensemble. We have a drum set ensemble. We have a fall ensemble that plays holiday music during a concert series around Christmas. We have a spring series that features the more standard repertoire. We have marching percussion. We let the kids pick and choose what they want to play, and they don’t have to do everything. We also keep the parents closely involved because when we first tell them that their kids might be spending 650 hours a year on percussion, they get a little taken a back, and they might say, “I’m not sending my kid to high school to major in percussion, I’m sending [him or her] there to get an education.” And we understand that, so to freshmen, we might suggest that they 32 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
only do the marching percussion, which happens in the fall, and then the spring percussion. Well then they do that and realize it’s fun. It’s musical. It’s social. So in their sophomore year, the same student might think, “I can probably do the marching percussion and the fall concert ensemble, and still do the spring one.” Then they do that, and the next year he or she might add another ensemble on top of that. And before you know it, we’ve grown from the 10 or so kids to 56 kids in the high school ensemble, which is insane – it’s way too many kids. But it’s a great problem to have. We don’t turn any students away. We have an audition when the kids make the jump from middle school to high school, but it’s simply a placement audition, it’s not exclusionary. We simply want to place them on the right instrument at the appropriate level. We find a way so that the kids can work at their own level without being embarrassed, because other students may have been taking lessons for years, where they may have only been doing it for eight week. What’s really amazing is that we can still go out to the National Percussion Festival or the Music Educators’ National Conference, take all those kids with us and let them play on the national stage. When we were at the National Percussion Festival two years ago, one group had 12 kids, and another had 15 kids – all seniors, an auditioned group. And they were all good – very good. Maybe they thought they were better than we were, but we took 36 kids out there, sophomores through seniors. And some of those kids, if you heard them by themselves, you might think they weren’t that
good, but on that national stage, given the right part, they were able to sound great. Not a lot of people get that opportunity. It’s a real kick for the kids, and it helps their confidence. We tell the kids that the least important thing I do is teach the music. SBO: But if teaching the music is the least important thing you do, then what is the point of all of this? RM: The point is teaching the kids how to be really good at something. One of my biggest peeves in the whole world is that we’ve become a world full of generalists. People are okay at a bunch of things, but not really good at any one thing. It was a popular educational concept for a while, to let the kids try everything. “Let them do sports, let them do some church activities, let them try music. We want them to be well rounded. We want them to have a smattering of everything.� Well, you know, that sounds great, but eventually the world demands that you
become good at something because you’re not going to get hired to be a generalist. You’re going to be hired to be a doctor, a lawyer, an Indian chief – whatever. The kids need, in my opinion, to learn to practice how to be good at something. It just so happens that I teach percussion, and I use percussion as the vehicle to show these kids what it takes to become really good at something. It could have been widget building, if I had been a widget builder, but I’m a percussionist. When you become really good at something, you develop a sense of pride, you learn what dedication is all about. How many hours it takes. So many people say they want to be really good at something, but when you tell them how many hours it takes, they decide that they’ll settle for average. What I have found is that the biggest reward for me is that when kids leave by their senior year, some of them have already gotten it. They’ll say, “Yeah, I’ve got it. I’m prepared
to attack whatever career I feel like.� Other kids don’t get it. In one of the final speeches I give my graduating students every year, I say, “Do me a favor guys and gals, when the light bulb does come on – it may be in five years, maybe 10 – will you promise me one thing? Will you send me an e-mail? Give me a phone call? Tell me, ‘Mr. Minnotte, I get it! I am now a salesperson and I was giving my first sales presentation. I walked into the room, and I was thinking about how in the world I was going to get through it when I realized that I played 15 concerts a year for you in front of sold out audiences. I prepared well for it, I was confident enough to go out on the stage and do it. Well, that’s what I’m doing here! I’ve prepared this presentation, these people are going to sit here and listen to me for 10 minutes. I’m going to talk to this board of directors because I know how to focus and get the job done. So that is what we did for four years in your percussion classes!’� That is what it’s all about.
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SBOPerformance: Percussion Ensembles
Developing a Successful Middle School Percussion Ensemble BY SCOTT BROWN
A
percussion ensemble is a great vehicle for developing not only technique and musicianship in young percussionists, but also interest and excitement about the world of percussion. When I first started teaching, I saw young
students standing in the back of the band room tired of counting rests and playing music that was not as challenging or interesting as that of their fellow band members. Apparently not much had changed since I was in middle school.
The decision to start a percussion ensemble at Dickerson Middle School was made mostly for motivational reasons. I wanted to get the kids excited about playing percussion and challenge them with more involved parts than they were exposed to in the concert setting. A successful percussion ensemble at the middle school and high school levels is one that generates interest and helps the students develop their craft. Although an exceptional performance is great, the goal must be to have an educational environment as the driving force. Addressed in this article are a few of the topics that will be discussed during a clinic/performance I will be presenting at the Midwest Clinic in Chicago later this year.
Choosing Literature Since my only percussion ensemble experience was in college, I had no idea what music would be appropriate for students at the middle school level. I browsed through several catalogues and picked out music with interesting titles. Once I received the scores, I found that most of it was either too easy, too difficult, or just not very good. The next step was to talk with other percussion ensemble directors, most notably Mike Lynch (Simpson Middle School/Lassiter High School) and Travis Downs (Valdosta Middle School), to find out what music they had used and liked. Probably the best advice I received during that time was from Alfred Watkins, band director at Lassiter 34 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
High School. He told me to first teach the students how to learn by playing music that they could relate to and enjoy, then I would be able to teach them what I wanted them to learn. I started out playing more drum-oriented pieces because few of the students were interested in keyboard percussion and gradually began including music with a variety of instruments. It has also been useful to collect demo CDs from various music publishers – such as Row-Loff, Drop 6, and C-Alan – and visiting their Web sites to listen to recordings. A final idea for finding quality literature is to attend as many percussion ensemble concerts as possible. Find out when local middle school, high school, or even college ensembles will be presenting concerts and attend the local “Day of Percussion,” state music conventions, Midwest, and PASIC. Save the programs and make notes next to the titles. Also, try to choose music that will expose the students to a variety of cultures and styles. On a
typical concert, we will perform an ethnic percussion piece featuring Japanese Taiko drums and/or African percussion, a xylophone rag, a marimba chorale, orchestral transcription, novelty percussion,
“A successful percussion ensemble at the middle school and high school levels is one that generates interest and helps the students develop their craft.”
Latin-American music, and traditional percussion ensemble literature. This provides an interesting variety for the students and audience and a great base of knowledge and skill.
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Modifications Due to the variety in instrumentation and the number of performers required to play a piece, it is often necessary to make some adjustments. In many cases, the instruments required to perform a piece simply aren’t available. We have played music for Taiko drums and djembe on concert toms, string bass on an electronic keyboard, and have two large floor toms that
also function as surdos. The audience never knew the difference and the students still enjoyed learning the music and some background information on the cultures. One of the more common issues is the number of players required to perform a piece of music. In most situations there are more students than there are parts. Keyboard parts are easily doubled if there are enough instruments. It may be necessary to have students playing in the
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36 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
wrong octave so that two can play on one keyboard. This might change the sound of the music in performance, but is educationally important for the development of the students. Latin and African music lends itself well to full ensemble playing with the large variety of accessory instruments and the community nature of the music and culture. I fit every student possible on a keyboard instrument, and then begin handing out cowbells, claves, maracas and shakers, tambourines, bongos, et cetera. We usually spend a two-to-three-week period during beginning percussion in sixth grade learning basic techniques and rhythms for Latin instruments, so later on it is merely a matter of reminding them. Even without this prior knowledge, it is not difficult or time consuming to introduce these instruments, techniques, and patterns to the students. Latin American Percussion by Birger Sulsbruck provides excellent information and is coordinated with a video by the same name.
Rehearsing It is important that all of the students in the ensemble are able to read their music and count their parts out loud. If they cannot, it becomes a learning session for the entire group as we break down the rhythms or figure out the notes. Once the students are comfortable playing the notes and rhythms of their music, I begin to focus on the technique and quality of sound of the instruments, and the cohesiveness of the ensemble. Demonstrations of the correct technique or the desired sound are directed toward the entire ensemble so that it becomes a learning experience for all instead of the one student. Because the students are normally rotated to different instruments for each piece, the possibility that they will need to demonstrate that same skill later is likely. We also do a lot of singing of the music in “drum speak” once the students understand how to count their rhythms. The natural inflections of the voice are more apparent with this method, helping the students to discover musical line and direction. At times it is necessary for me to dictate via call
and response how I want the music to feel and sound. The students are exposed to these various “western” and “non-western” methods of learning through percussion videos that I play during their set-up time, and are fairly receptive to trying them. Recording rehearsals (audio and video) and bringing in guest clinicians and performers will also provide a different perspective and learning experience for both the students and the director.
Grand National Champion Lassiter High School Band. In addition, Mr. Brown is co-founder of Percussion Workshop, a percussion consulting company, and co-founder and director of the North Georgia Middle School Percussion Camp. Mr. Brown is co-author of Field Level – The Ultimate Band Director’s Guide to fielding the Ultimate Marching Percussion Section, published by Row-Loff Productions and has pre-
sented clinics for the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, the Georgia Music Educator’s Association Conference, the Texas Bandmasters Association, and marching percussion clinics in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany, and will be presenting a clinic at the 2008 Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Scott is a member of the Vic Firth Education Team and an artist/endorser for Mapex/Majestic/Ross Percussion and Evans Drumheads.
Midwest I hope to see and meet many of you at our session at The Midwest Clinic. The Dickerson Middle School Percussion Ensemble will serve as the demonstration group performing a variety of percussion ensemble literature and demonstrating some of the rehearsal techniques used with the program. In addition to the topics addressed in this article, we will discuss equipment issues, ensemble set-up, and beginning percussion. Attendees will receive a booklet covering the topics discussed, information on the ensemble at Dickerson, and a suggested literature list for middle and high school percussion ensembles. Although I feel an obligation to pass along the information I have received through my experiences and the advice of other percussionists, the most important reason why I felt I had to apply to present a clinic at Midwest was to have the opportunity to bring my students to the convention. The students will have a chance to meet and interact with musicians and educators that will change their appreciation of our art. I certainly believe that those experiences alone will go a long way toward making this year’s percussion ensemble a success. For more information on the percussion program at Dickerson Middle School, please visit them on the Web at www.dickersonpercussion.com. Scott Brown is currently the assistant band director at Dickerson Middle School in Marietta, Ga. and assistant percussion director and coarranger for the percussion section of the 1998 & 2002 Bands of America School Band and Orchestra, November 2008 37
SBOSurvey: Road Reps
More than just a Salesman A
midst the hectic schedule that today’s music educators contend with, a friendly face can be a wel-
come sight. One key member of the support team should be the road sales representative. This valuable resource can provide assistance with most of a music educator’s classroom needs, from method books and sheet music to musical instrument purchase and repair. However, not all road reps are created equally. This latest SBO survey asks readers for the specifics of what they look for in a road rep.
38 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
SBO readers were asked to rank the following Road Rep behavioral traits on a scale of least important (1) to most important (5): Comes consistently and reliably at a scheduled time NA . . . . . . . . 0 1 . . . . . . . . . .0 2 . . . . . . . . . . 1% 3 . . . . . . . . . . 1% 4 . . . . . . . . . . 21% 5 . . . . . . . . . . 77% Realizes my time is valuable & respects it with quickness & efficiency NA . . . . . . . . 0 1 . . . . . . . . . .0 2 . . . . . . . . . .0 3 . . . . . . . . . . 1% 4 . . . . . . . . . . 25% 5 . . . . . . . . . . 74% Available (even if just by e-mail) outside of “normal” call times NA . . . . . . . . 1% 1 . . . . . . . . . . 2% 2 . . . . . . . . . . 3% 3 . . . . . . . . . . 9% 4 . . . . . . . . . . 33% 5 . . . . . . . . . . 52% Well-equipped van – anticipates what specific directors will need or want NA . . . . . . . . 1% 1 . . . . . . . . . . 2% 2 . . . . . . . . . . 4% 3 . . . . . . . . . . 14% 4 . . . . . . . . . . 31% 5 . . . . . . . . . . 48% Follows up - keeps up with status of orders in progress; makes a courtesy call if an expected item is delayed NA . . . . . . . . 0 1 . . . . . . . . . .0 2 . . . . . . . . . .0 3 . . . . . . . . . . 8% 4 . . . . . . . . . . 28% 5 . . . . . . . . . . 64%
Is capable of performing quality repairs NA . . . . . . . . 7% 1 . . . . . . . . . . 3% 2 . . . . . . . . . . 1% 3 . . . . . . . . . . 15% 4 . . . . . . . . . . 16% 5 . . . . . . . . . . 58% Timely return of repairs NA . . . . . . . . 3% 1 . . . . . . . . . .0 2 . . . . . . . . . .0 3 . . . . . . . . . . 2% 4 . . . . . . . . . . 17% 5 . . . . . . . . . . 78% Can diagnose and/or fix minor problems on the spot NA . . . . . . . . 6% 1 . . . . . . . . . . 5% 2 . . . . . . . . . . 4% 3 . . . . . . . . . . 18% 4 . . . . . . . . . . 33% 5 . . . . . . . . . . 34% Consistent repair prices NA . . . . . . . . 3% 1 . . . . . . . . . .0 2 . . . . . . . . . . 1% 3 . . . . . . . . . . 8% 4 . . . . . . . . . . 25% 5 . . . . . . . . . . 63% Is educated about various brands, models, and specs of instruments and equipment NA . . . . . . . . 0 1 . . . . . . . . . .0 2 . . . . . . . . . .0 3 . . . . . . . . . .5 4 . . . . . . . . . . 26% 5 . . . . . . . . . . 69% Can make musical suggestions to help my ensembles NA . . . . . . . . 3% 1 . . . . . . . . . . 17% 2 . . . . . . . . . . 13% 3 . . . . . . . . . . 27% 4 . . . . . . . . . . 24% 5 . . . . . . . . . . 16%
Top 10 qualities educators want in a road rep: 1. 2.
Reliability Knowledge of Instruments and Program 3. Honesty 4. Friendliness 5. Punctuality 6. Helpfulness 7. Flexibility 8. Organization 9. Consistency 10. Professionalism
Top 10 qualities educators don’t want in a road rep: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Pushiness Unreliability Lack of Knowledge Lack of Punctuality Inconsideration of Teacher’s Time 6. Forgetfulness 7. Arrogance 8. Disorganized 9. Rumor Mongering 10. Dishonesty
Offers things beyond sales (clinics, expertise, et cetera) NA . . . . . . . . 1% 1 . . . . . . . . . . 7% 2 . . . . . . . . . . 7% 3 . . . . . . . . . . 21% 4 . . . . . . . . . . 35% 5 . . . . . . . . . . 29%
Comments: “I have had many road reps over the past few years, and my best experiences have come with the reps that serve me, but don’t try to be pushy with me or other directors. I’ve had some who have offered services and, instead of accepting a politely stated ‘not at this time,’ have proceeded to question why I was dare to say no, and spend all their energy attempting to change my decision. Those types of reps tend to get no business at all once they demonstrate this behavior. Road reps would do well to know that we are all stressed and a well taken ‘no’
School Band and Orchestra, November 2008 39
now will probably result in a lot of positive responses in the future.” Jeffery D. Heid Muscatine High School Muscatine, Iowa
recommendations for future purchases.” Michael Holl Chartiers Valley Intermediate School Pittsburgh, Pa.
“Someone that does whatever it takes to help my music program is someone that I would welcome into our band room. We are currently blessed with a road rep who is knowledgeable about repairs, as well as instrument quality and
“My local area rep is a wonderful example of what a service rep should be. Robert always has time to discuss what is going on with my program and how things are going with other programs in the area and does his best to see that we
are getting the products and services we need to be successful. In several other places I have worked, the rep simply walked in and asked if you needed anything then just walked out if you weren’t buying. Robert genuinely cares about my program, as well as the other programs in the area and will do whatever he can to make things work better!” Jimmy Thornton Forrest County High School Brooklyn, Miss. “When my job changed during the second week of school this year, I really relied on the local rep to help me put instruments ‘back together’ and get organized for a new class in a new building. He supplied folders for my students and brought the method books to me, saving me valuable time so I could get the program up and running. He makes me feel like my program is special and he wants to help keep it that way. I will continue to keep his local business going if I can.” Denise Kuehner Clay High and Edison Intermediate Orchestras South Bend, Ind. “Your music rep can be a vital connection to the outside world (other programs at other schools and other directors). A good rapport with your sales rep can help you stay – and feel – connected.” Salvatore Terrasi Shorewood High School Shorewood, Wis. “A good rep can be a huge asset to a music program operating on a shoestring, as we have for years. I have had the same rep for 33 years and Steve Guptill, of Eastern, then American, now Music And Arts, has been a colleague, a friend and a savior more times then I can count!” Michele Boulanger Dover High School Dover, N.H. “We have been very fortunate to have an outstanding road rep. Her willingness to try new approaches has been key to our successful program. She is a resource that all the music educators in our district value.” John Woger North Jr. High Scholol Menomonee Falls, Wis.
40 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
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SBOTechnology: Performance Tools
Tech Tools to Aid Student Performance BY JOHN KUZMICH, JR.
T
echnology may appear to be the one ingredient that can help us maximize instructional time, especially outside of class, but implementing new tools may be challenging for those who feel under pressure and
maxed out with learning curves. Ironically, many of our students are already stepping up to the plate in the technology sphere with blogging, podcasting, iTunes, YouTube, and MP3 players, while many of us are safely teaching dated methodologies and techniques governed by the limitations of our 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 textbooks published, including a music technology column that appears regularly in School Band and Orchestra. 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.
42 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
college curriculum – which often included little, if any, music technology. Students are pretty techno-savvy and educators need to plug into that enthusiasm.
Music Publisher Technology Innovations Ever wish your drum set players could play different styles of contemporary music besides rock? While play-along recordings can be helpful, a video presentation can be incredible. Tom Davis at Tom Davis Publications (www. tomdavismusic.com) is both an unusual music publisher and an innovative high school band director in Canandaigua, New York. He offers many pedagogical aids for those using his charts, making it easy to perform his music at a high level. You can download all purchased parts and scores from the Internet. Imagine this: no need to purchase additional scores for festivals or ordering lost parts, you can just print them out. Along with his charts, Tom provides educational materials, such as worksheets, practice tracks for all players, rehearsal suggestions, notes about the music, interviews with soloists, solo transcriptions with alternative solo takes, and videos of soloists im-
provising on the chart. Perhaps most innovative of all is the OverheadDrumCam, which allows users to view the drum set video performance of each chart. Videos also include interviews with the drummer about performance techniques, along with downloadable and streaming audio rehearsal tips for every chart. This invaluable motivation tool allows students to see and hear the performance in real time. And all of this is provided by the publisher at no extra-charge. On a philosophical footnote about Tom Davis’ charts and educational focus, students may be more comfortable than directors when it comes to accessing this information. The publisher’s goal is to promote and foster an independent learning community outside the classroom through technology by providing a “robust arsenal of multimedia support” for music that challenges the imagination and standard practices of “big box” publishers. Amen to this publisher’s credo!
Creative Solutions for Common Problems Keeping time is a continual teaching challenge. Fortunately, there are many resources to consider when addressing this and other common performance problems. Automatic accompaniment generating software such as Band-In-A-Box by PG Music and SmartMusic by MakeMusic can provide authentic accompaniments that interactively engage students with concentrated practice that is more effective than the traditional metronome. Practicing with a rhythm section accompaniment gives students a keener awareness of the beat as they experience the unique functions and roles of individual rhythm section instruments. Transcribing jazz solos has long been touted as the most authentic way to learn to improvise. Why? Because students become aurally involved with the recorded solo, notating it, analyzing it, and then transposing it. Without technology, this can be laborious process. But with either software or hardware tools, students can slow the recording without changing pitch, and be able 44 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
to hear the nuances and articulations. There are several excellent transcribing software applications available, but Transcribe! 7.50 offers video playback that plays the video frame by frame, in sync with the audio at any speed. Many students get a kick out of transcribing YouTube clips. I have a clarinet student who is going to be a featured soloist with the school’s symphonic band on the December concert. To make her practice more productive, she found a YouTube video of a professional playing her clarinet concerto. By downloading it into Transcribe!, she can practice with the video and control the playback tempo simultaneously. Using SmartMusic by MakeMusic, she has also downloaded a 99-cent recording of her concerto from iTunes and loaded it so she can
Auditions and Testing Ever wish you had time to assess students and improve accountability? With SmartMusic, software can record each student and can even grade the performances automatically if you pick music from its extensive library that includes more than 30,000 solo and ensemble titles and 50,000 exercises for woodwind, brass, string, and vocal musicians. In addition, there are 1,010
concert band, 161 string orchestra, 92 jazz ensemble and 14 full orchestra titles. SmartMusic Impact is a Webbased grade book for SmartMusic subscribers that automates administrative tasks to save time because it tracks all returned and late assignments, calculates grades for assignments based on the teacher’s grading criteria, collects audio recordings of student assignments, and shows how each student is progressing.
practice with an entire symphony orchestra at any tempo, plus loop any section at any tempo for more in-depth practice. And she can also record herself with the symphony orchestra accompaniment. I have a tuba/alto saxophone student preparing for his college auditions. He imports audio recordings of his concerti into SmartMusic and practices more creatively with SmartMusic than he would with the original recordings because SmartMusic allows him to control the tempo and looping boosts his practice miles ahead. Practice can really be fun and productive with technology. School Band and Orchestra, November 2008 45
One of the SmartMusic sample files, “Straight Ahead Blues,” is a perfect tryout piece for a high school jazz band audition. Students are able to perform with a rhythm section and practice with it at home in preparation for the tryout. And if that’s not enough, educatros can listen to the recorded tryout at their convenience and print out the scores of students’ performances with errors indicated. For drummer tryouts in which students need to demonstrate different style grooves and fills, try selecting different from the jazz improvisation folders, especially the Aebersold repertory. Besides helping the evaluation, your drummers can practice keeping a steady beat, playing the correct style, and doing fills in time. The SmartMusic files can help teach drummers comping styles as well. This will also work well for the bass and piano players. Bob Grifa, a retired middle/high school educator in Virginia, feels that grading for Jazz Ensemble is slightly different from Concert Band, especially for younger groups. In his opinion, in order to play in the Jazz Ensemble students must already have some degree of fundamental playing skill. Style also needs to be taken into consideration, and improvisation can raise the difficulty of a chart. With that in mind, here are some titles in the Jazz Ensemble repertoire list at the SmartMusic Web site. Consider the headings below as to what level those pieces might be used for in terms of both of musical development and auditions.
Young/Developing Jazz Ensemble:
Very Easy “Cherry Point” (Swing) – Hefti, arr. Phillippe Belwin Easy “Mystic Traveler” (Psuedo bossa) – Sweeney, Hal Leonard
More experienced:
Medium Easy “Jumpin’ at the Woodside” (Swing) – Basie, arr. DeRosa Belwin
Intermediate Jazz Ensemble: Medium “The Duke” (Swing) – Brubeck
More advanced
“Caravan” (mixture) – Ellington & Tizol, arr. Baylock Belwin “R U Chicken” (funk) – Berg Belwin
Improvising The strength and freedom that the process of improvisation provides can and should be part of any music student’s experience. I will be teaching in Maui in the near future, and improvisation will be taught to all band students at the middle and high school level, including marching band. SmartMusic offers a wealth of innovative instruction for contemporary music. Their latest jazz repertoire files for
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46 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
jazz band are particularly applicable to the entire ensemble. All the jazz improvisation materials can be played by any concert band or string instrument. Improvisation can now be introduced into the “regular” concert band or orchestra rehearsal, which neatly fits MENC National Music Standards. A list of key features at www.smartmusic.com/teachers/features/ includes jazz-oriented items for the entire ensemble: Play by Ear, Improvisation Patterns, and Jazz Exercises. For example, “Straight Ahead Blues” and “Rockin’ Blues” are great for teaching improvisation with the blues scale. Students start out playing the blues scale along with the file. Try using the file at the beginning of rehearsal with SmartMusic amplified through speakers. After instruction, each student could improvise one bar, one student after the other, all the way around the section. After students become more comfortable, the number of measures can be extended, until students are trading fours. More ex-
third beats and passing tones on beats two and four. You can also use this to teach Latin bass lines with most roots and 5ths. The Wynton Marsalis repertoire in SmartMusic is valuable for all performers, but is particularly good for the rhythm section because it has transcriptions showing what Wynton’s rhythm section actually plays. This allows great opportunities for analysis. Students can practice published charts at any tempo, and even loop difficult measures. Piano players can see and hear exactly what comping is. All students will be able to experience different musical styles and play along with each of them by muting their instrument in the recording. For example, mute the drums so your drummers can play along with the piano and bass player, or the piano, so your piano player can play with
“Students are pretty techno-savvy and educators need to plug into that enthusiasm.” perienced improvisers could do an entire chorus. During this process, the amplified SmartMusic rhythm section keeps things moving and the tempo and key can be adjusted as needed. This is a great warm-up activity to focus the students’ creative juices and increase their musical confidence. (By the way, the two files mentioned here are available in SmartMusic demo mode.)
Coping With Comping Band-In-A-Box can help teach those elusive comping skills. Your bass players can watch, listen, and read custom-made bass lines. Then, simply print out the Band-In-A-Box bass lines and help the students analyze the roots, 3rds, 5ths, flat 7ths, and passing tones. The bassist can quickly start to see and understand how walking bass lines function, that chord tones occur on the first and
just the bass and drums. These same features are available with Band-InA-Box.
Practicing with Jazz Ensemble Repertoire It’s amazing how we can now create automatic rhythm section accompaniments. In just minutes, users can build an entire rhythm section accompaniment in Band-In-A-Box for any chart and burn CDs for students to practice with. Just input the chord symbols and select from thousands of musical styles for as many tracks as necessary. For example, you could create separate tracks of “Giant Steps” by John Coltrane or “Magic Flea” by Sammy Nestico first as a bossa nova at 120 mm, medium tempo at 160 mm, uptempo at 220 mm, 260 mm. That’s a lot of assisted/sequential home practicing for teachers to creatively utilize with their
students, and all from a single software application. Our friend Bob Grifa regularly assigned a challenging part. He had the students send him a recording of the assignment using SmartMusic Impact. At the next rehearsal, before a note was ever played, he was able to tell students what they were doing incorrectly and how to fix it. In rehearsals, he used the recordings from the SmartMusic library to let students hear tone quality, interpretation of articulations, including unwritten dynamics. He even projected a part up on a screen so students could see and hear their parts in real time. With SmartMusic amplified, one section or the entire group can play along with the pros. Time can work for you when the creative energy of music technology opens up new possibilities for your students.
Have any tech ideas or experiences to share? Visit www. sbomagazine.com/techfeedback to take part in our readers’ survey. This simple online form is your opportunity to voice music tech needs and make thoughts and success stories known. Your responses will help shape upcoming music tech columns. School Band and Orchestra, November 2008 47
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Mapex has released new models and accessories to complement its Quantum marching series. A tenor case and practice covers highlight the accessories options, with the Agility snare and a new 32� bass drum expanding the drum offerings. The new Quantum drum covers and cases feature wheels on the tenor case making transport easier. The neutral grey color of the drum covers help to reflect heat. Covers feature smartly positioned D rings on each side to hold stick bags and easy to reach pockets are big enough to hold a dot book. A lighter and shallower drum, the Agility is brighter and more articulate than the Quantum XT. Winter Guard International groups Constitution and Jenison Winter Drumline (Mich) tested prototypes of the Agility snare last season. Under the direction of Will Gordillo, Jension used the Agility prototype in their performance at the WGI finals.
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School Band and Orchestra, November 2008 49
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MEWZKL PUBLICATIONS
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SOFTWARE
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Call Maureen 1-800-964-5150 ext. 34 mjohan@symphonypublishing.com 54 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
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Classifieds
TEACHING RESOURCES Find Your Next Private Teacher
www.LessonPortal.com
Events Calendar December
Teachers Sign Up FREE, Forever
Hanukkah December 22
USED BAND INSTRUMENTS
Winter Begins December 22
Clarinet and Flute $295 Wood Clarinet $495 Clarinet and Flute repad $69 Alto Sax repad $149 Name brands, completely Reconditioned. Guaranteed For one year. New case & mouth piece for every instrument From piccolo to sousaphone.
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Christmas Day December 25
Illinois:
Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic December 16 – 20 Every attempt has been made to provide accurate data, though readers should note that all dates and information listed are subject to change. If you have information on any relevant future events that you’d like to see included in next month’s calendar, please e-mail SBO editor, Christian Wissmuller: cwissmuller@symphonypublishing.com
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PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT 1. Publication Title: School Band and Orchestra. 2. Publication No.: 0019-072. 3. Filing Date 10/8/08. 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly. 5. No. of Issues Published Annually: 12. 6. Annual Subscription Price: $24. 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: School Band and Orchestra, 21 Highland Circle, Ste. 1, Needham, Norfolk, MA 02494. 8. Complete Mailing Address of the Headquarters or General Business Office of the Publisher: (Same as #7). 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher: Richard E. Kessel, 21 Highland Circle, Ste. 1, Needham, MA 02494; Editor: Christian Wissmuller, 21 Highland Circle, Ste. 1, Needham, MA 02494; Managing Editor: None. 10. Owner (If owned by a corporation, its name and address must be stated and also immediately thereafter the names and addresses of stockholders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of stock): Zapis Capital Group, LLC; Leon Zapis, 26202 Detroit Rd. Ste. 300, Westlake, OH 44145; Xenophon Zapis, 26202 Detroit Rd. Ste. 300, Westlake, OH 44145; Richard Bongorno, 26202 Detroit Rd. Ste. 300, Westlake, OH 44145; Maria Wymer, 26202 Detroit Rd. Ste. 300, Westlake, OH 44145; Donna Thomas, 26202 Detroit Rd. Ste. 300, Westlake, OH 44145; Renee Seybert, 26202 Detroit Rd. Ste. 300, Westlake, OH 44145. . 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgages, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None. 12. (For Nonprofit Organizations - Does Not Apply) 13. Publication Name: School Band and Orchestra. 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: October 2008. 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months/Actual No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: a. Total No. Copies : 17,757/17,160 b. Legitimate paid and/or requested distribution: (1) Paid/ Requested Outside-County Mail Subscriptions:. 12,148/12,314 (2) Paid/Requested In-County Subscriptions:.0/0 (3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, and counter sales:.0/0 (4) Requested copies distributed by other USPS mail classes:.0/0 c. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation:. 12,148/12,314 d. Nonrequested distribution: (1). Outside county nonrequested copies:.5,145/4,676 (2) In County nonrequested copies:. 0/0 (3) Nonrequested copies distributed through other USPS mail classes:0/0 (4). Nonrequested copies distributed outside the mail: 300/30 e. Total nonrequested distribution:. 5,445/4,706 f. Total Distribution:17,593/17,020 g. Copies not distributed:164/140 h. Total: 17,757/17,160 i: Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 69%/72% 16. This Statement of Ownership will be printed in the November 2008 issue of this publication. 17. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions and/or civil sanctions. Richard E. Kessel, Publisher
21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781) 453-9310 School Band and Orchestra, November 2008 55
Visit the Classifieds on the Web: www.SBOmagazine.com AdIndex COMPANY NAME
E-MAIL/WEB ADDRESS
Mike Balter Mallets, LLC
www.mikebalter.com
Band Shoppe
www.bandshoppe.com
5
Bari Woodwinds
www.bariwoodwinds.com
8
Barrington Music
www.wwbw.com
45
Burkart-Phelan
www.burkart.com
25
Cannonball Music Instruments
www.cannonballmusic.com
44
Charms Music Software
www.charmsmusic.com
16
EPN Travel Services
www.epntravel.com
11
Festivals of Music
www.educationalprograms.com
cov 4
Festivals of Music
www.educationalprograms.com
cov 2-1
Fiesta-Val Music Festivals
info@fiestaval.com
9
Fiesta-Val Music Festivals
info@fiestaval.com
21
Good for the Goose Products
www.chopsaver.com
46
Hawaii Music Festival
www.hawaiimusicfestivals.com
51
Jupiter Band Instruments
www.jupitermusic.com
17
Jupiter Band Instruments
www.jupitermusic.com
15
LP Music Group
www.lpmusic.com
50
Musicfest Orlando
www.musicfestorlando.com
40
New Horizons Tour & Travel
www.nhtt.com
7
New Horizons Tour & Travel
www.nhtt.com
cov 3
New Horizons Tour & Travel
www.nhtt.com
41
Noteworthy Musical
www.noteworthymusicalinstruments.com
46
Pearl Corp.
www.pearldrum.com
Percussive Arts Society Inc.
www.pas.org
26
Peterson Strobe Tuners
www.petersontuners.com
10
Premier Perc.
info@groverpro.com
49
Pro-Mark Corp.
www.promark.com
6
Pro Winds
www.prowinds.com
27
Protune Corp.
www.protune.com
12
SKB Corp.
www.skbcases.com
37
Sabine
www.sabine.com
33
Super Holiday Tours
www.superholiday.com
43
Superscope Technologies
www.superscopetechnologies.com
51
Super-Sensitive Musical String Co.
www.cavanaughcompany.com
29
The Tuba Exchange
www.tubaexchange.com
31
Vandoren
www.dansr.com
36
Vic Firth, Inc.
www.VicFirth.com
30
Vic Firth, Inc.
www.VicFirth.com
28
Vic Firth, Inc.
www.VicFirth.com
32
Wholesale Fundraisers, Inc.
www.VicFirth.com
28
Winter Guard International
www.wgi.org
20
Avedis Zildjian Co.
www.zildjian.com
13
56
School Band and Orchestra, November 2008
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