A Euphoric Sound

Atlantic Brass Band's Recording Session

2013-01-18T19:29:00.000-08:00

My band, The Atlantic Brass Band, just took advantage of the holiday break to record a new Christmas CD. It seemed to be the perfect time to record. We have just finished playing all of our holiday concerts, so all of the music was fresh in our minds and since many of the members of the band are teachers, many of us were on break. We'll get the CD out well in time for the next holiday season, and I can't wait!

We recorded for about 15 hours in one weekend for the CD, which was great fun since I was (and still am) getting over the horrible flu that has just swept through. Regardless, we had some fun, especially during our breaks, and I wanted to share some of the photos from the recording experience. I'll let everyone know when the CD comes out!

Joe, our solo baritone player, warming up.

The euphonium/baritone row took advantage of some time off to take some photos together.

Right before we started.

Are all percussionists this into mallets!?

I absolutely love this photo. Anita, one of our cornet players, took this during a break. I'm on the far right of the photo.

Screw Loose?

2012-11-05T11:57:00.001-08:00

Has your instrument ever rattled when you played it? It's incredibly annoying checking every little screw and gadget on the instrument, and if you're like me, you miss the offending part on the first pass and have to go back through and recheck everything. I found a great article by Dave Werden on how to find what is making your euphonium rattle. He lays out possible culprits and a good procedure for going through and checking everything.

This is a very common question on my forum. Many players experience unpleasant and distracting noises from their horns, whether the instruments are new or old.instruments are new or old. The most common cause is metal-to-metal contact where it should not exist (or where it should be buffered).

The very simplest cause can be something you are wearing. Among the items that have caught me by surprise on my own person/horn are sweatshirt zippers, buttons, and the clip of my pen (shirt pocket).

Another simple cause can be something in the room. It can seem like it's from the horn, but mostly because of the cause/effect relationship of you playing a note and the sound accompanying you! Change rooms and see if it fixes the buzz. If so, check the room for any metal contact by metal or hard plastic. I've seen this from a paperclip on a music stand, the florescent fixture or other pieces in the walls or ceiling, a metal wire handle on a metal tool box, percussion sticks on a drum head... you get the idea.

There are so many other points where buzzes can develop, that you might as well start with the ones that are easiest to reach. In order, I would try these things:

Lyre screw. If you can't tell if it is tight, just take it out temporarily and see if the buzz goes away.

If you have a water catcher under the valves, remove it temporarily and see if the buzz goes away.

Water key screws. The water key, or "spit valve," is held in place by a screw, which also serves as the axis for it to pivot on. Make sure the screw is relatively tight, and especially make sure that one end has not come loose. You could also try some heavy oil on the spring, which could help quiet it and keep it operating smoothly.

Tighten the caps on top of each valve. (I suggest trying the top caps first because you remove those to oil the valves.)

Tighten the caps on the bottom of each valve.

Tighten the button on top of the valve step. While you are at it, make sure the stem itself is secure in the top of the piston (these usually screw in).

If you have a trigger, check for any loose screws/fittings. If there are washers, see if they can vibrate easily and cause noise. If so, apply some heavy oil on each side. Apply heavy oil to the pivot points and to springs.

If you have a trigger guard (or any other parts that fasten in place and can be removed), make sure the fittings and screws are tight and that nothing has bent into a position where it can lightly touch a tube or other metal part.

Some horns have a simple tuning trigger, usually on the 3rd valve slide, that is a ring used to push the slide. This fastens with a fitting like a lyre screw and should also be checked. There is often a short shaft that goes into the lyre box, and it could vibrate if not tight of if it is bent. If you are in doubt, just remove the screw and the ring/shaft piece and see if the buzzing stops.

If you have a 4th valve on the side, and if there is a locking mechanism, check it for integrity. The flap-type can swivel and come lightly in contact with the tubing, or its set screw could be loose. And the sliding-rod type can be bent so it vibrates, improperly fastened, or have a loose set screw.

There have been reports that some horns with triggers (especially Besson) can buzz because of the looser fit of the main tuning slide, which is required by having a tuning-slide trigger. So hold on to the tuning slide and see if that affects the noise. If so, you could try a heavier grease.

Those are the easy fixes. If none of those work, the next suspect is a valve spring that is slightly askew and touches the side of the valve casing. Most bottom valve caps have an circle inset inside. That circle is the size of the spring's diameter. The spring should be seated inside that circle. If not, it can bend and touch the side, causing a buzz. Also, the spring should be "encouraged" to seat correctly in the bottom of the piston. In addition, you must check to make sure the springs have not been bent so the top and bottom of the spring are no longer parallel with each other. Here is the basic technique I use:

Remove a valve.

Turn the horn so that valve casing is upside down, and let the spring drop out into your hand (shake the horn a little if necessary). Notice which end is top and which is bottom (sometimes they are different diameters).

Set the bottom of the spring on a flat surface. It should sit upright, perpendicular to the floor. Invert it so it rests on its top and make the same check. If either end is "off" slightly, the spring will lean to one side. You can either replace it with a new spring or straighten it. To bend it into shape, gently take hold of the last loop or two and bend it to make it more perpendicular with the sides of the spring. This may take repeated attempts, so go slowly and don't overdo it.

When you have a correct spring, put it back into the valve casing. Turn the horn so that the valve casing is exactly upright and make sure it the spring is centered in its recess. If it is not, shake the horn sideways gently and see if it "jiggles" into place. Put the piston back in the casing until you feel it contact the spring. Rotate the valve back and forth a bit, which will help the spring find its way into the correct position for the piston bottom. Keep the piston depressed somewhat as you put the top cap back on and tighten it (this keeps the spring in position).

If none of that works, you may want to check that no small bits are inside the horn. Sometimes a small piece of hard material can find its way into the bell and slide further into the horn (where it won't fall out easily) and cause buzzes as you play. It can also happen when a burr or small dab of solder come loose inside. A good rinsing out of the horn can help if this type of misfortune struck.

You may also have a loose solder joint. It could be where two pieces of tubing are joined, or it could be where a brace is attached. This is not common among brand-name horns, but it can happen. It happens a bit more often with cheap instruments (although that breed is improving gradually, at least among the better "clone" manufacturers), and now and then with happen with an older horn. If you find a loose joint, you need a good repair shop to help you.

In my eyes, the worst possibility is that the bell rim is buzzing. Most bells have a rolled edge. The metal is formed around a metal wire to form the bead. The wire may be soldered or not, depending on the make/model. But sometimes the wrap is not tight against the bead in one or more spots, which allows a buzz. A repair shop might be able to help, but it's also possible the horn needs to be returned to the manufacturer.

Those are the fixes to try when you have a problem with little extra noises. You should also engage in preventative maintenance. Take care when oiling the valves to put them together straight and to tighter everything correctly. On a regular basis, oil the joints and springs mentioned above. And get into the habit of checking the valve caps, lyre screws, and other pieces regularly. A horn that is mechanically quiet is much more satisfying to play!

A Quote to Get You Thinking

2012-10-23T18:35:00.000-07:00

Just like most of my blogging ideas, I got this idea off of Facebook. My friend posted this quote as her status update and within a few minutes, it had been "shared" fifteen times. It must catch people's attention, so I thought I'd share it on my blog. Feel free to post comments or thoughts.

‎"Artists are some of the most driven, courageous people on the face of the earth. They deal with more day-to-day rejection in one year than most people do in a lifetime... Every day, artists face the financial challenge of living a freelance lifestyle, the disrespect of people who think they should get real jobs, and their own fear that they’ll never work again. Every day, they have to ignore the possibility that the vision they have dedicated their lives to is a pipe dream. With every role, they stretch themselves, emotionally and physically, risking criticism and judgment. With every passing year, many of them watch as the other people their age achieve the predictable milestones of normal life—the car, the family, the house, the nest egg. Why? Because artists are willing to give their entire lives to a moment—to that line, that laugh, that gesture, or that interpretation that will stir the audience’s soul. Artists are beings who have tasted life’s nectar in that crystal moment when they poured out their creative spirit and touched another's heart. In that instant, they were as close to magic, God, and perfection as anyone could ever be. And in their own hearts, they know that to dedicate oneself to that moment is worth a thousand lifetimes." - David Ackert

Øystein Baadsvik's Post Goes Viral (At Least Among Low Brass Players!)

2012-06-26T16:32:00.002-07:00

I'll never figure out how Facebook decides what to post on my wall. After all, I have quite a few Facebook friends, and I'm sure not all of their status updates are posted on my wall each time they update. Maybe I'm thinking too much into this, but I seem to have figured out that status updates that get a lot of attention from my Facebook friends seem to get bumped up to the top of the list. This is how I found Øystein Baadsvik's most recent status update on Facebook. With over 400 people "liking" it, over 80 commenting on it, and almost 90 sharing it, I thought I'd repost it on my blog. I figured this counts as going viral among low brass players! Please enjoy, let me know your thoughts and opinions, and make sure to check out Øystein's website to learn more about him!

Sound is nothing. Music is everything.
I am SICK and tired of all the emphasis on sound quality in music competitions.
What is a beautiful tuba sound anyway? Put a damn paper clip into your mouthpiece to distort your sound, but play musically and you have won my heart. Play with the "worlds best" tuba sound but unmusically and you leave me cold.
Unlike in an orchestral audition where you need a specific sound to blend with the orchestra the OPPOSITE is true in solo playing. As a soloist you need to stick out, to have a voice that is heard. You need to be able to change your sound constantly to serve the music. Sometimes beautiful and singing, sometimes ugly and harsh. Sometimes featherlight and delicate, sometimes solid as a rock. Rather than sound quality, we should be talking about sound control.
To claim that one sound is better than another is as ignorant as saying that green is a better color than red. Good music requires an infinite variety of sound colors.
About 0,0001% of the worlds population plays tuba and "knows" what a good tuba sound is.
If you intend to play for these guys you might be able to impress a few with your perfect sound.
If you intend to reach the other 99,9999 % they don't have a clue what a tuba should sound like, and they could not care less. What these people do care about, is not getting bored. And that happens really, really quickly with the "perfect tuba sound".
Now, go and kick the next guy that uses the phrase "good sound" in his butt!

Would You Work For Free?

2012-04-17T14:38:00.000-07:00

I just came across a blog by Elisabeth Hobbs that I'd like to share. Her blog is in response to an article in a British newspaper urging musicians to "showcase their talents" at the Olympic games for free. Her blog introduces some of the reasons that we might, as a culture, see it as reasonable to ask musicians to share their talents for free while most other professions' payment isn't called into question. Check it out!

There Is No Gesture

2012-03-27T14:32:00.003-07:00

I have many discussions with my fellow band members at Atlantic Brass Band about the subject of musical gestures in brass band contest music, so I thought that there may be some people out there online who might also find my opinion interesting. Whether you agree with my thoughts or not, hopefully reading this will get you to think about your own philosophy on the subject.
In my mind, there are a lot fewer musical gestures out there in brass band music than we might think, or want to admit. To me, modern brass band contest literature seems composed so that the very best of the best (sometimes, I think theoretical) band can play it perfectly. The rest of us fall somewhere in varying degrees short of that often theoretical perfection.
In these most incredibly difficult test pieces that are coming out for championship-level brass bands today, there are plenty of passages that seem simply "unplayable" after a glance or even a month's worth of work. I think that many people label some of these passages as "gestures," or sections of the piece to get the gist of and move on. However, when musicians label a difficult passage as a gesture, I see an important mental change happen in the preparation of that section of the piece. That musician's work on that passage will stop when they get the general idea of the passage, instead of working to get as close as possible to the originally intended notes because it's been labeled a gesture.
I see parallels between test pieces and college admission standardized tests. Only the very few smartest students and best studiers will get a perfect score on their ACT's or SAT's. Many students, however, will study on their own or get tutors before they take the tests because even though there will be seemingly impossible questions on those tests, the most diligent students will still want to get the highest score possible. Simply saying that parts of the test are impossible really isn't the best option for a good score.
In contesting, I try to look at these nearly impossible passages that occasionally appear as more of a "weeding out" passage. The composer knows that these sections are nearly impossible and put them there to test the ability of the performer. If everyone could play every note in the whole piece perfectly, it would be impossible for the judges to score. In reality, the best bands will fall somewhere at the top of the continuum while the struggling bands will fall lower. The important thing, to me, is to never give up on getting closer to that gold standard of perfection. I understand that we'll never play every note how we wanted or even sometimes play all of them at all, but we should keep trying. I also do understand that there are some genuine gestures in contest music, even if I don't think they're as common as we think. In the end, the word doesn't really even matter. If a musician can call a difficult passage of music a gesture and continue to work on it to get it as close as the composer intended, great. But, if it's a mental game of looking at what many would call a musical gesture and refusing to see it as such in order to become a better player, then repeat after me: "There is no gesture."

Where's Your Audience?

2012-02-23T11:35:00.000-08:00

I just stumbled upon a great blog that my trombone-playing friend from undergrad just posted. I think most of us (at least musician folk) understand the usual deal when it comes to bands playing in clubs. The band gets either a flat rate or a percentage of the door from the night. There's almost always an added catch: the band has to bring a certain number of people in to the club for the night. The author of the article, Dave Goldberg, brings up some great points.
First, he points out that the great bands are gigging pretty much every night, so it would be impossible for a band to get their friends and family out to the club every night. In fact, he says that often it's the newer bands that don't play many gigs that can get their whole entourage to show up.
Second, he says that even if many people do show up, they're following the band, not the venue. The smart business owner should fill his/her venue up with great acts night after night and build a venue following. This way, people will keep coming back to the venue and trust that whenever they are there, a great band will be playing.
Lastly, he brings up a good point about the big double standard that musicians have to face. Does the bartender need to bring his or her friends to the bar? Does the chef need to have a certain number of people eat his or her meals? Yet bands have to play for meager pay ($25 a night!?) so that they can get "exposure."
Please read Dave Goldberg's blog post "Why LA Club Owners are Totally Lost and Some Advice for them from a Professional Musician."

Cell Phone Stops New York Philharmonic Mid-Performance

2012-01-11T19:21:00.000-08:00

I just read a blog that my friend reposted on Facebook. To further the spread of the blog, I figured I would repost it on my blog as well. The following blog post was taken from: Thousandfold Echo. Please stop by and check out his blog for more good entries!

!@#&^%$!!!!!! (Cellphone halts Mahler’s Ninth mid-movement)

Posted on January 10, 2012

For those who say that the concert hall needs to loosen up, who want tweet-seats and more technology, be careful what you wish for.

Until today I’ve never been to a concert where a cellphone stopped the orchestra in the middle of a piece, but now I can check that awful milestone off the list. I’ll try to record it as accurately as I can, with my still-jangling nerves.

It was in the fourth movement. (Funny how these disturbances never happen in fortissimo passages.) After the last climax, as the movement begins to wind down, toward that sublime last page of the score where music and silence are almost indistinguishable. In other words, just about the worst possible moment. (After a quick check of my Dover score, I think it was about 13 bars before the last Adagissimo.) [UPDATE: commenters have pointed out that the phone was ringing in louder passages earlier in the movement.]

When we reached that passage, as Alan Gilbert turned to the first violins and the sound grew ever more hushed and veiled, the unmistakable chimes of the iPhone Marimba ringtone resounded loud and clear throughout Avery Fisher Hall. (Checked on my iPhone afterward to confirm which one it was.) And it kept on ringing, and ringing. Gilbert kept on conducting for a few bars, but unbelievably, the sound kept on going. (Doesn’t this guy have voicemail?)

Of all places, the offender was sitting in the very front row, center section, on the aisle (stage right). In other words, right in front of the concertmaster.

Finally, Gilbert dropped his hands and stopped the orchestra, turned to the offender, and looked at him. To everyone’s disbelief, the sound just kept on going, and going. Someone shouted, “Thousand dollar fine.”

Gilbert said something like, “Are you finished?” The guy didn’t move a muscle. Gilbert: “Fine. We’ll wait.” And he turned to the podium and lay down his baton.

As the marimba kept on clanging, someone shouted, “Kick him out!” Another echoed. Some started to clap. But then others shushed the hall down, preventing pandemonium from erupting.

Finally, it stopped. Gilbert: “Did you turn it off?” The guy nodded. Gilbert: “It won’t go off again?” Another nod. Gilbert turned to the audience, and said, “Ordinarily in disturbances like these, it’s better not to stop, since stopping is worse than the disturbance. But this was so egregious, that . . .” (I lost his words here), and the audience burst into boisterous applause.

Gilbert turned to the orchestra, said “Number 118,” and started up again, at the point where the trombones enter fortissimo for the last big climax. I wish I could say you could have heard a pin drop from then on, but there were a few coughers; this is New York, after all. Still, there was a palpable sense of tension from orchestra and audience, as Mahler’s Ninth finally found its way home.

–Michael

[UPDATE: I want to clarify that aside from the three shouts I quoted above, the audience was relatively restrained in its reaction; you could sense that people were upset, but they kept themselves under control, and actually shushed the few shouters so that Gilbert could deal effectively with the situation. This wasn't the concert-hall equivalent of road rage. Another account at Superconductor corroborates what I saw and heard; see also WQXR's Naomi Lewin here, and two other eyewitness accounts here and here. Go to Norman Lebrecht's indispensable Slipped Disc (see our blogroll) for some interesting comments on this episode.]

New Online Euphonium Store Just Opened

2011-10-10T09:07:00.000-07:00

Last night, I was wondering through Facebook before I went to bed, when I remembered that I had received a notice about a new brass online store that was opening called Euphonic Melodies. I figured I'd "like" it and check it out before I turned in for the night. When I "liked" it, the owner, Nicholas Haffter Von Heide, sent me a personal thank you! We began talking about the brand-new store that he just opened three days ago and his plans for it.

Nick, the owner of Euphonic Melodies, is an Iraq War veteran who has has also spent some of his time in the military playing euphonium. He has an undergrad degree in music education and is currently studying music industry and euphonium performance at Texas A&M at Corpus Christi. Recently, he and his wife decided to make the jump from his previous business, instructing local low brassers, to his new bigger and better online retail business that will ship products anywhere.

Nick is turning out to be a very hands-on business owner. He told me about how he wants everyone's suggestions on what we want to see in his online store. That's because he wants to sell what people want. Well, there's a product that I've been looking for forever. My gig bag tarnishes my horn. I remember that when I got my Besson, it came in a bag that would protect it from things like that. However, I just moved a few months ago, and in the move, the bag seemed to disappear. Now, my silver euphonium looks like its 100 years old without its Besson bag! I put that to the test by suggesting what I thought was an absolutely impossible product to find.

"You know those bags that Besson euphoniums come in? I lost mine and apparently they're not for sale anywhere." I said.

"Hmmm, maybe I will fabricate a bag then,"he said. It seems like there is a market for that."

Nick and I are off on a project now. He's actually going to sew a bag for me to replace the one that I lost. We're currently talking about fabrics what would be good. I'm sure I'll test it out on my own horn for awhile. Maybe in a few months, you'll see a bag that will solve other people's gig bag tarnish issues up for sale on his website!

Nick is up against the odds with his new website. Starting a new business in any economy is rough, but starting one in a recession is going to be hard. Similar niche-market websites aren't doing well in this economy. Solid Brass just went up for sale a few weeks ago. I think, even though Nick is going against traffic, he does have an edge. He's so personal with everyone who comes to his website that you can just tell him what you want and he'll get it. In some ways, this is almost everyone else's opportunity to help him form his new store to what we want it to be.

Please stop by his website, Euphonic Melodies, and say "hi". Even if you don't buy anything, shoot him an email giving him suggestions about what you'd like to see in the store. I think it would be amazing to flood his inbox with suggestions from my blog readers! If he's willing to make a custom bag for me, he's probably pretty likely to carry your favorite brand of valve oil!

How to Fall in Love with the Euphonium and Want to Play it Forever

2011-09-03T12:08:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since I have posted on my blog. It's been a bit of an eventful month and I haven't just forgotten about posting. Adam and I got married on August 13th and went on our honeymoon in Belize. Then, we got back right in time for an earthquake and a hurricane. Now that our basement is almost water-free, I have some time to work on a few more entries in my blog.
I was looking around the internet and happened to find a wonderful resource written by euphonium player Gail Robertson for the 2007 Midwest Band Clinic. The incredibly cute title drew me in: How to Fall in Love with the Euphonium and Want to Play it Forever. This cute and informative outline to a seminar that she led outlines reasons why some people may be attracted to playing the euphonium in school bands and why some people may become bored on the euphonium in school bands. I would think that this would be a pretty good breakdown for band directors who would like to suggest an instrument that would fit each student best. Then, she has a really pretty comprehensive repertoire list that begins at the sixth grade level and runs through early undergraduate level. Its comprehensive enough that it would be of use to any private lesson studio teacher to at least take note of. All in all, this is an outline worth a good look through.

How to Fall in Love with the Euphonium and Want to Play it Forever

Making the Most of Being an Independent Musician - Being Accessible, Personal and Creative

2011-08-07T15:29:00.000-07:00

First, let me clarify who the independent musician is. The definition doesn't involve eyeliner and black clothes and it doesn't include a specific genre. An independent musician is simply a musician who isn't signed to a record label. I think that mostly they're portrayed as the underdog. The minority. The ones who didn't succeed, and they are just scraping by. The fact is that independent musicians make more money than any single record company (source: www.berkleemusic.com). Independent musicians are actually the majority.

So now that you've (probably) identified yourself as an independent musician, how can you make the most of the cards you've been dealt? I've learned a few things from the music marketing course that I took earlier on in the spring/summer. While the course was more aimed at musicians in the popular music sphere, I think that they still apply to classical musicians. I've taken the main points presented by the class and modified the specifics for a classical independent musician.

Be Accessible

Some of the best musicians I've met have locked themselves in the practice room all day. I think we all know someone who thinks that the only part of being a successful professional musician is playing really well. While practicing is important, locking yourself up alone in a room all the time doesn't help anyone know who you are and how to hire you for a gig. If people don't know who you are, they can't hire you.

Also, when looking for musicians for my wedding (coming up in less than a week!) I found that I was much more confident hiring a musician who had a website or information about themselves online. I ended up hiring the pianist who had clips of himself on Youtube. I looked for a website, but none of the pianists had one. Saying that you're a proficient musician only goes so far. It seems to me that showing someone would be much more convincing.

Be Personal

Big-time musicians don't have time to connect with fans and people who hire them for gigs. They spend money on advertising and hope that a potential consumer feels a connection to the band through that ad. I don't know about you, but I don't have the money for a big ad campaign. The way to getting around this, as I learned in my class, is being personal with the audience. When my band, The Atlantic Brass Band, sold raffle tickets for the opportunity to conduct the band at the end of the concert, we made a good amount of money. The concert goers feel connected to the ensemble after a personal experience like conducting a song. People who have a personal connection are much more likely to come and see the band again.

Be Creative

In our course, we learned about one creative band that asked the club they were playing at if the bouncer could use the band's stamp that night instead of the usual "X." The stamp had the band's website on it. The next morning, hundreds of people woke up with free advertising on their hand. Independent musicians don't have the money to splurge on big ads, but they can creatively advertisements can come in many forms, and many are free. In my class we learned to think about your audience, what makes them happy, and how you can reach them without spending money to put a paper ad in their face.

These are just three of the benefits that independent musicians have over ensembles or musicians who use the traditional music business model. If you have any ways that you or your band have put these to use, I'd love to hear about them in a comment!

The Auto-Pilot Warm Up

2011-07-19T12:13:00.000-07:00

It's so familiar for me to stand in a band room of any sort and hear everyone warm up at the same time. It seems like wherever I go, that sound always sounds the same. The fact is that many people's individual warm up routine also sounds the same each time as well.

I've started to get requests for me to cover certain topics in my blog now that I have a few regular readers. One of those questions is about developing volume. My thought is that the best way to develop more volume (or less volume) is through the warm up. Many people warm up at mezzo something-or-other. We are what we eat, er, play. If you warm up every day in the mezzo range, you will become very comfortable and good at playing in the mezzo range. If you push the dynamic level to a higher level during your warm up, you'll become better at playing all around in that higher volume level. Disclaimer: monitor your intonation and support when you change dynamic levels in your warm up. Practicing loud, out of tune splats will not make you better at playing loudly; it will make you better at producing loud, out of tune splats!

To elaborate more on this, here are some ideas on how to incorporate dynamics into the warm up:

During Long Tones
Disclaimer: Beware of playing long tones at loud dynamics for a long time, especially while playing high long tones.

Crescendo and decrescendo during the long tones so that you reach either extreme on each note or every other note.
Play loud long tones in the low range where its easy to feel the bagpipe feeling of emptying the lungs evenly. Keep each tone steady as possible and use a tuner to make sure that it stays in tune.
Play long tones as quietly as possible. Work on eliminating the fuzzy sound that occurs at the lower limit of your own dynamic range.

During Clark Studies
Disclaimer: If you read the actual text in the Clark book, it tells the musician to play these studies as quietly as possible. They're not kidding, you can hurt your lips if you play these too loudly for too long.

Play them as quietly as possible and work on eliminating the ghost notes that happen when playing at the very lower limit of your own dynamic range.

During Lip Slurs

Play the whole lip slur at either the upper or lower limit of your own dynamic range.

Crescendo or decrescendo the whole lip slur, starting in one dynamic and moving to the other.

During Lyrical Warm Ups

Play the whole melody at either the upper or lower limit to your own dynamic range.
If the melody doesn't have dynamics, write them in. Exaggerate them first and then settle into a normal dynamic range.

I hope these ideas help with developing a comfort with playing in a louder or softer dynamic range. If anyone else has any blog ideas or questions they would like answered in a blog, email me or comment on a post!

Finding My Rhythm

2011-07-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

My blog is starting to develop its own rhythm. That sentence actually fits pretty well with a music blog! I tend to switch between articles that share the bit of knowledge I have about music and how to become a better musician with views from my little niche of music. I also seem to be developing blog readers who like reading about these things. It's a good match, and I'm so excited that the feedback I've been getting is positive! I've even been getting requests for blogs on certain pedagogical topics. I haven't forgotten to write them, it's just that with a wedding a month away, I might not get to it right now.

Now that I've settled into blogging and have started following other people's blogs, I have found some blogs that follow the same topics that I do. One of those blogs is the one that my good friend from the Royal Northern College of Music writes. She's currently a doctoral tuba student at the University of Iowa. She has scholarly entries interspersed between quotes and photos that relate to music. It's a good mix of entries that she wrote herself and entries that she's found elsewhere. Her blog features entries on the friendship between Vaughn Williams and Ravel, the process of recording all of the national anthems for the olymics, and the best rehearsal techniques for a brass ensemble. She even has a practice pie chart! I think everyone should flood her blog this week and leave a comment on your favorite entry. Tell her Amy sent you!

Kate Wohlman: Musician and Overthinker

General Characteristics of Good Sight-Readers (2 of 2)

2011-06-30T20:04:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I published a blog on how we sight-read music. I mentioned that soon I would publish another portion of my paper. I’m sorry that it’s taken me so long! I’m getting married in a month and a half and, needless to say, I’m pretty busy. Here, then, is the blog-edited section of my sight-reading paper about the general characteristics of good sight-readers. To make it fit a more reader-friendly blog format, I’ve just taken out some direct quotes, simplified some of the language and elaborated on a few topics that may be of interest to all of you sight-reading enthusiasts out there. (I know you’re out there somewhere!)

Many studies have tried to understand what makes a musician particularly good at sight-reading. There have now been enough studies that have revealed the same results that we can take these studies into consideration when we look at the characteristics of good sight-readers. These skills include the ability to scan over the music accurately prior to playing, to know tonal patterns that construct music, to read rhythms quickly and accurately, and to achieve higher-than-average grade point averages in both academics and juries.

A very important step in sight-reading takes place before the first note is played. Musicians must be able to quickly and accurately interpret the music prior to playing. In a study conducted by Gary E. McPherson, students were asked to sight-read a passage. Before they started, the researcher covered the music and asked the students questions about it. Almost none of the lowest 25 participants knew the key and time signature while almost the entire top 25% knew both facts.[1] This shows that good sight-readers can look at the music before they start actually playing and understand all of the important features like key, time signature, new tempi, difficult accelerandi and ritardi, and difficult passages.

Another characteristic of highly efficient sight-readers is the ability to recognize commonly used musical ideas. A study conducted by Carol B. MacKnight proved that “tonal pattern instruction is superior to note identification teaching techniques in development of both sight-reading skill and auditory-visual discrimination skills.”[2] This means that being able to recognize typical note patterns helps the sight-reader more than being able to read each individual note. The ability to recognize these patterns depends greatly on learning the fundamentals of music like scales and arpeggios. Musicians use a variety of techniques to learn tonal patterns, and this recognition greatly aids in their ability to read music quickly and efficiently.

The next characteristic of good sight-readers is by far the most widely proven and most researched. Good sight-readers have good rhythm-reading skills. More than half of the errors made by sight-readers are rhythmical mistakes.[3] That means there are more rhythmical errors than all other errors combined! Along with working to recognize typical note patterns, sight-readers can improve their abilities by working on recognizing common rhythmical patterns in all time signatures.

One less commonly brought up point is that performance jury scores and music theory grade point averages are significantly higher in students who are proven to be better sight-readers.[4] The fact that good sight-readers have higher jury grades may prove that students who are good sight-readers also work harder on their craft than the average student in general. They may simply practice more than the average student and thus be better prepared for both sight-reading and their juries. The fact that better sight-readers have higher music theory grade point averages seems to either suggest that students work harder on their skills in general or, maybe studying music theory including chordal structure helps students recognize the musical patterns they may come across while performing. While these are characteristics that many sight-readers in the college and university level students hold, it must be said that this characteristic cannot apply outside of the college/university setting. Not all good sight-readers are aware of advanced theory in the music that they are playing, nor do they need this knowledge be good sight-reader. This characteristic shows up consistently in studies, but researchers seem to not know quite what it means when it comes time to translate data into action.

There are certainly more characteristics of good sight-readers. This compilation is simply composed of the most commonly mentioned ones from the available literature. In summary, the best ways to improve sight-reading are to work on recognizing common note and rhythm patterns, always check all of the details of the piece before starting, and oh yeah, PRACTICE MORE!

[1] McPherson (Autumn, 1994): p. 227.

[2] MacKnight (Spring, 1975): p. 23.

[3] McPherson (Autumn, 1994): p. 217.

[4] Elliott (Spring, 1982): p. 11.

Elliott, Charles A., “The Relationship Among Instrumental Sight-Reading Ability and

Seven Selected Predicter Variables.” Journal of Research in Music Education, Vol. 30, No. 1 (Spring, 1982), pp. 5-14.

MacKnight, Carol B. “Music Reading Ability of Beginning Wind Instrumentalists after

Melodic Instruction. Journal of Research in Music Education, Vol. 23, No. 1 (Spring, 1975), pp. 23-34.

McPherson, Gary E. “Factors and Abilities Influencing Sight-reading Skill in Music.”

Journal of Research in Music Education, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 217-231.

Living With a Life in Music

2011-06-25T19:34:00.000-07:00

I found a wonderful blog entry tonight about why musicians pursue music as a career. From a different perspective, it could be about why some people don't understand why we've chosen it as a career. Either way you look at it, it's a good blog post. I thought I'd share!

From The Leading Tone, May 13, 2011:

If you’re a working classical musician or are studying to become one, you probably find yourself having to justify that peculiarity to many people.
Or to yourself, even.
I’ve studied music at several places—one of them quite famous—but am finishing my undergraduate degree at a college mostly focused on aerospace engineering. I made the decision to study there because it was local and affordable, and because the faculty and other students are remarkable people, a well-appointed artsy island amid a vast sea of tech.
Some students from other parts of campus are genuinely surprised to learn that our school has a music department at all. “Why would you major in music—what can you even do with that?” they will ask me...

Read the whole thing at The Leading Tone

An American's Guide to Whit Friday

2011-06-21T12:13:00.000-07:00

After living and going to school in Manchester, England, I’ve tried to keep up with British culture. Beyond occasionally checking out a Manchester United football match, this includes keeping up to date with British brass banding events. I’m amazed with how many American euphonium players haven’t learned about or become involved with brass bands. I can’t complain too much because I had never played in a brass band until I was in England. My first experience in a brass band and my first time ever playing a baritone was actually when I was filling in for a rehearsal with Black Dyke. Talk about baptism by fire! We played “The Force of Destiny.” I was hooked.

A big part of banding for many brass bands is competition. The US only has two major brass banding events per year, the US Open Brass Banding Championships, and the North American Brass Banding Association’s (NABBA) annual contest. Great Britain, the place where banding originated, has many, many more events per year than the US. I won’t get into all of them because frankly, they confuse me! There are so many that even when I was in England, I couldn’t keep track of them all. However, one of the most unique brass banding events just took place this weekend, and I wanted to take advantage of the news peg to let everyone know about it. Maybe I’ll get someone new hooked on brass banding.

Whit Friday (no, I didn’t miss the “e” at the end of Whit) is the Friday before the beginning of Pentecost, the Christian feast seven weeks after Easter. This year, that Friday was June 17^th,this past Friday. For the event, brass bands around the area meet up around mid-afternoon to cram into a coach bus with all of their instruments and supplies (and often beer). They travel to various towns and cities in the area. At each location, the band plays two marches. During the first march, the band actually marches into the contesting area. During the second march, the band plays in a set location and is judged by a hidden adjudicator. After playing at a certain location, the band gets back in the coach and heads to the next location. At some point in the evening, around 10:30 for smaller towns or as late as 2:00 am, the winners (winners Tameside, winners Saddleworth) are announced. The contest is known for having so many prizes. A band could win for marching well, having the best soloists, playing well, or even being the first to play at a certain location. Prizes range from £1,000 for best performance in a larger city to £35 for best soloist award.

This year’s big winner was Brighouse and Rastrick, winning most of the larger prizes and many of the best soloist awards. Here’s a youtube video of their performance at Dobcross, one of the cities involved in the Whit Friday competition.

If you want to follow up with a more comprehensive listing of the winners and categories, check out 4barsrest.com. Next year’s Whit Friday is scheduled for June 1^st.

New Low Brass Forum

2011-06-18T13:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was reading through some of the blogs I follow and I noticed that David Clancy's blog mentioned a new forum for low brass players. I checked it out, and while it seems pretty small still, it looks promising.

The forum was started by an amateur euphonium player named Larry Herzog. Herzog, a sales engineer from Wisconsin, has recently become interested in playing euphonium again after a long break from the instrument. When he looked for some low brass online support, he didn't find much so he decided to start his own forum.

The forum had 24 members last Friday and today, a week later, it's up to 37. The forum is pretty small still, but gathering members quickly. It's made up mostly of amateur euphonium, trombone, and tuba players with the more experienced ones giving advice to more novice players. Big names like Roger Bobo and Steven Mead have signed up, but haven't been active other than the occasional encouraging remark. Despite the only occasional input from the Steve, any post about him or from him seems to be gathering a flood of responses.

The forum seems to be building up pretty good product reviews and answers to common questions. The focus is on products, practice techniques, and related news. It also has a great blog stream that includes this blog (hello lowbrass.org people!). Anyway, check out the new forum. It's worth your time and you could learn something or help out a fellow low brasser.

How We Sight-read Music (1 of 2)

2011-06-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Howard Snell wrote in his book, The Trumpet: Its Practice and Performance a Guide for Students that “reading music is the prelude to playing.”[1] While we always want to play our best, we may not give much thought to actually reading music. While I was in graduate school, I studied sight-reading in depth for a large research project. So many research papers with valuable information go to waste, so I have decided to transfer a portion of my paper into a less formal, more reader-friendly blog format and share it on my new blog.

The process of sight-reading is pretty complex. When a musician sight-reads, his/her eyes move back and forth in spurts, not smoothly like many people assume. A sight-reader’s eyes can make up to four stops per second in the process of reading the music for the first time. [2] This way, the eye actually takes millions of little pictures that the brain then interprets. This allows the eye to glance ahead at more difficult parts while following where the musician is actually playing. Good sight-readers are always in a state of looking ahead to anticipate future difficult passages. In fact, most good sight-readers can remember bits of music up to seven notes ahead of the note that was last played if the music were to be taken away in mid performance.[3] After the eyes see the music they then send the message to the brain to interpret.

For sight-reading to progress smoothly, the brain has be able to interpret all of the signals coming in. Information that is organized in an unfamiliar way, or not recognized, confuses the brain and the sight-reading standard drops.[4] Any conflict in the brain means that the brain has to “think” about what is going on as opposed to simply responding in the way it knows how. The more comfortable a musician is with the markings, the better chance s/he has of getting through the music without delay. This is one good reason why we have guidelines for standard musical notation. When a musician tries to read music in any other format, it takes the brain an extra few seconds to think, and this delays the music.

The ear and brain work together for yet another task. The ear takes in information and sends it to the brain to analyze. This comes in most when the musician makes a mistake in sight-reading. The performer then uses his/her auditory skills to recognize that the pattern played doesn't fit within the tonality of the piece.[5] The musician checks the music where s/he made the mistake and notes how it should be played next time. Without this mechanism, a musician could make mistakes over and over and not notice any missed notes or rhythms.

The mechanics of sight-reading are pretty complex and require a huge amount of concentration and practice to link all of the parts together cohesively to form an outstanding sight-reading performance. Luckily, most of these functions are automatic, and with the exception of purposefully scanning ahead with our eyes, we usually don't have to even think about all of the tasks that are taking place when we sight-read. Soon, I'll convert another section of my paper on how to improve sight-reading to give readers some tips on how to become better and more efficient at reading through music the first time.

[1] Snell 1997: p31.

[2] Snell 1997: p. 33.

[3] McPherson (Autumn, 1994): p. 217.

[4] Snell 1997: p. 31.

[5] McPherson (Autumn, 1994): p. 229.

McPherson, Gary E. “Factors and Abilities Influencing Sight-reading Skill in Music.”

Journal of Research in Music Education, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Autumn, 1994), pp. 217-231.

Snell, Howard. The Trumpet: Its Practice and Performance A Guide for Students. Thie

Grianagh: Rakeway, 1997.

Everyone Has to Start Somewhere

2011-06-10T12:53:00.000-07:00

Hi, my name is Amy Schumaker. I'm an independent musician and music teacher from the Philadelphia area. As part of a music marketing course that I'm taking at the moment, I've had to do some research on blogs and how they benefit the independent musician. After reading some great blogs, but none that really wrote about my main interests, I got to itch to start my own. Because everyone has to start somewhere, I figured that I would let you know a bit about me and my background as an independent musician and music teacher.

I've heard that the average independent musician has two to three "jobs" at any time. I fit right into that category. To be more specific, my first job is teaching a studio of about 20 students at SoundStage School of Music and Performing Arts in Oreland, Pennsylvania. My second job is teaching a music101-style introduction to music history course at Burlington County College. My third job is as an independent euphonium artist. My more regular playing opportunities come in The Atlantic Brass Band (solo euphonium) and a newly-formed brass quintet that is yet to be named.

To let everyone in on my background, I should let you know about my education. I went to Capital University Conservatory of Music in Columbus Ohio. I started out majoring in instrumental music education, but when the opportunity was opened to me, I added euphonium performance to the list. I graduated in 2007 with a double-major bachelor's degree and decided to pursue performance more. I earned my master's degree from The Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England a year later (2008). I majored in euphonium performance and minored in music education, music journalism and research methods (major research project: sight-reading techniques). After my master's degree, I moved to Philadelphia to be with my fiance, Adam. Now that I've been out of school for a few years, I feel ready to head back in to earn my doctorate.

I've started this blog to help spread the word on what's going on in my niche of euphonium players, brass musicians, and brass banding. In addition, I'd like to let people in on what projects my friends and I are up to. Lastly, I'd like this to be a place to spread my bit of knowledge that I've accumulated about brass instruments and the euphonium.

I hope you enjoy my blog.