Freelance composer and arranger Ben Lee joined me on this episode of Music on Purpose to discuss marching arts compositions, how to put a quality show together and advice for band directors who are looking to improve their competitive ensemble. You can check out Ben’s over 100 arrangements on soleemusic.com.
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On this episode of Music on Purpose, Tim Allen joins me to talk about the how to improve your band. He also discusses his philosophy and keys to success as he won 18 state championships at Adair County High School over 28 years. Currently, Tim is Director of Bands at Lindsey Wilson College and is growing a band program from the ground up. He is a wealth of knowledge. Tim also serves on the marching band committee in KMEA and discusses issues within the state.
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On this episode of Music on Purpose, David Jaggie joins me from Richmond, Ky to talk about the upcoming trip to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and discusses how the Madison Central Band was able to get to a level of success to be accepted. He talks about training students to be successful in life through music.
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On this 20th episode I interview Brad Rogers who is the Band Director at Oldham County High School. He has been a music educator for 40 years and talks about secrets to longevity in this profession, his philosophy of teaching and discusses some recent changes to the KMEA format for marching arts. You will certainly pick up some excellent advice for your journey to success in music education.
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Dr. Andy Putnam joins me on this podcast to discuss ways to improve the overall band program and gives excellent information for consistent growth and success. Dr. Putnam is the Director of Bands at Eastern Kentucky University and is a huge advocate for the marching arts and the Drum Corp activity. He is a wealth of experience and knowledge and the insight on this podcast is invaluable.
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When you talk to music educators there are many different thoughts on how to teach a resonant release to students. For example, “Just stop the air,” or “breathe in.” When you talk to professional players however, they all say the same things.
The release of a note must be sent to the audience.
I thought I would take the questions to a few professional musicians who are performing or have performed at the highest professional level. First is Philip Collins, who performed as Principal Trumpet with the Cincinnati Symphony for 35 years. This was his response:
“The note has to ring out into the hall whether the note tapers or stops abruptly. Picture a violin bow longer than needed. It continues to move after the note stops. Let the notes flow and sail out beautifully into the audience.”
The second response is from Stephen Campbell, who performs with the West Virginia Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony and the Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra. This was his response:
“You have to send the note into the hall! Take the note to your audience.”
The third response is from Sean Vore, who is a member of the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra. His response was:
“A great ending to a note resonates in the space you are playing in, even if you are in a practice room. No tongue or throat cut-off, just experiment with the end of the fuel supply and let it resonate.”
There is a common thread of “sailing” or “sending” the note to the audience and letting it resonate. The more professionals I perform with and the more high level groups I perform with it seems a common practice and thought to “push” or “sail” the note to the audience so the audience can feel the resonance of the note. By simply stopping a note we lose the “sail” or “send.” The emotional connection of the music is what it is all about.
There must be a high level thought process when releasing a note just the same as when you begin a note. The mind must visualize what the air is doing and how it is meeting the listener to create the emotional experience. Like flying a paper airplane with a relaxed “flying” motion, the air must be set into motion with the same intentional purpose.
It is extremely important to not fill the mind with analytical thoughts but instead to visualize what the air’s purpose is in fulfilling the musical connection. There should never be a thought to do something to the end of the note “just because that is what I have always been taught.” Simply, the note should continue in motion, and the resonance of the note should continue into the hall until we begin the next note. Let the listener connect with the resonance.
Air is constantly in motion.
On this episode of Music on Purpose I was thankful and humbled to have Retired Director of Bands from Carmel High School and Composer & Arranger for Hal Leonard Richard Saucedo. Richard talks about what it takes to put together an award winning marching band show. Carmel High School has won Bands of America Grand National Finals multiple times including this past 2017 season. Richard also discusses things you can do in your arrangements to help your ensembles be successful this fall.
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Think about this for a moment. If there are 10 groups at a competition and 3 of them place in the top three, that means that 70% of the groups are not in the top tier. This seems logical, right? What about the 70% who have not made it to the top? Generally these groups stay in the 70% for a long time and sometimes never break through. Is there a deficiency in the educational thought process?
There are many ways of teaching the fundamentals of playing, but only a small percentage have made it to the top of the top of the professional world. So, in order for us as educators to help our students and organizations make it to the top 30%, we have to teach and implement what the next level professionals are doing. So many times the educators that are part of the 70% love to give advice but generally never want it from those that are in the 30%. Ask the top tier people what they did to break through! All of them will tell you they got advice from the ones who are doing it at the highest level.
We as teachers can many times feel like we have the newest, greatest way of teaching something and we have the most perfect way of getting our students to do something, however, if we stop and think for a moment, are we really delivering information that is going to take this student or group of students to the top.
I think we would all agree the the majority of everything is mediocre or average at best, so shouldn’t we be thinking more minority?
There is good information and teachers mean well, but good is completely different than exceptional. These are a few thoughts to begin to teach next level.
Seek to be part of the 30%.
Is your information relevant and meaningful or recycled and meaningless. Lets get into the minority of success and teach next level material. Lets dig deeper!
It is that time of year when summer clinics, sectionals and band camps begin. There is so much information to be given and so much hope for the success of the upcoming fall. It takes time to put together a winning product and it takes time to mold the students into the best version of themselves. When giving them warm-ups, music and basic fundamental thoughts, remember that our goal is to get 100% of the students to learn 100% of the information 100% of the time. In order to do that we must slow down and not be in such a hurry. The elaborate warm-ups and chorales are nice but if the thoughts running through their minds are not right, what will it sound like?
Start with one thought, and make sure that thought is learned by everyone.
At some point some of the information we give students will need to go on “autopilot” because there is simply too many things to think about. In order for things to become a habit the student must be taught exactly what to do, and each thought must be practiced over and over apart from the music. If it is how to expand when breathing, that single thought must be focused on apart from other thoughts. We cannot continue giving the students 10 things to think about while expecting them to play a difficult 8th note exercise perfectly. Have you ever tried to rub your tummy and pat your head at the same time? That is only 2 pieces of information and it is difficult to master. It takes time and organization. Help the students train their brain and be very organized with your thoughts so the students can master 1 step at a time.
It is not simply enough to give the students the correct information. The best educators give the information and then continue through the process with ensuring the student understands it and can master it. Many educators are not organized with their own thoughts and come into the situation without a clear vision of “what do I want my students to master and how do I make it happen?” Assuming students can do it without slow, organized methods usually leads to an ensemble doing many things but not mastering any. A “jack of all trades and a master of none.” Some educators think they hear the New York Philharmonic from their ensembles but in reality it is closer to the local middle school ensemble. Learn to hear what is really there! As we get ready to put together a fall marching show, take the time to break it down for the students. Don’t overload them with information. Each step should be mastered by 100% of them. Take it slow and organized.
A book recommendation that talks about this very thing is called Effortless Mastery. It is a short read and talks about when students begin to master things at a professional level, no matter how small, it breeds confidence and encouragement. Check out this short audio clip of me discussing this very topic with regards to breathing concepts.
Have you recently felt you are overloading your students?
Gary Schallert joins me on this podcast from Western Kentucky University. He is the Director of Bands at WKU and talks about the amount of passion needed to be a successful music educator. Gary discusses his career and the things he has learned that helped him be successful.
For information about Western Kentucky University, please visit www.wku.edu.
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