OCTOBER, 2003 D. Nelson - Music educationelecqlx.sasktelwebhosting.com/smea/SMEACADENZA2003.pdf ·...

CADENZA 2003 The Official Journal of the Saskatchewan Music Educators Association

OCTOBER, 2003D. Nelson


contentsoctober 2003

CADENZA is compiled and edited by Kevin Dyck.Submissions or requests can be made at any of the contactnumbers listed. 10/31/2003

SMEA Board of Directors 2003

PresidentJohn Poettcker

Vice-PresidentDoug McCosh 373-9673

Past-PresidentKevin Dyck 453-2965, [email protected]

Executive DirectorAnn Mueller 256-3372, [email protected]

Region 1Colleen Weimer 842 4218

Region 2Jennifer Horvey 773-8503

Region 3Shannon McIntyre 896-2888

Region 4Peter Pizurny 743-2899

Region 5Kristie Barber 922-0469

Region 6Sandra Senga 236-4748

Region 7Mary Jane Schuler 569-2362

U of R Student Chaper PresidentKristen Ballfour, 546 4046

U of S Music Education Student Society PresidentBecki-Ann Leipert

Communications/publications consultantGraeme Steen, [email protected]

Heart of the City Piano Program:Richard Dube - Saskatoon, 343-6037Kristie Barber - Prince Albert, 922-0469Donna Johnston-Martel - Regina 569-5949Melinda Grass - Moose Jaw 692 3904

Saskatoon Children’s Choir: Phoebe Voigts 683 7340Honour Groups: Jennifer Horvey

Saxophone Intonation1

Arts in Our Lives2

Stepping Stones to MusicalLiteracy4

How to “Get Good” in HighSchool7

Selecting Repertoire11

The drummers are coming!The drummers are coming!13

Lesson Possibilities in ElementaryMusic Pt. 116


Regional Workshop Deadlines

If the date of your workshop falls between: Your deadline for submission is:

December 1 to February 28 (29) November 10March 1 to April 30 January 10May 1 to June 30 April 10July 1 to September 30 June 10October 1 to November 30 September 10

All submissions for workshop grants must be through your RegionalDirector - see the listing on page 1. Online self-print kits are available.

President’s Message

The “Cadenza” is a significantvoice for SMEA. The Journalhighlights current issues andresources for our music educa-tors in Saskatchewan. It givesopportunity for our educators towrite, sharing valuable thoughtsand research.

The last issue was well received-indeed! I trust you will find thisCadenza interesting and timelyas well. My compliments to theEditor.

Enjoy!

John PoettckerSMEA President

SMEA Misson Statement

To promote the development of high standards of musicand music education.

To exchange information and ideas with those interestedin music.

To sponsor conventions, workshops, clinics and other means of

musical development, information and education.

SMEA Vision

Commitment to volunteer and community involvement as a volunteerbased organization, comprised of a membership and elected Board ofDirectors who strive to work together towards the growth anddevelopment of its activities at a volunteer level.

Universal participation through leadership, membership, volunteers andaccess to organizational programs and services.

Partnership and cooperation in a coordinated approach with other musicand arts related organizations to maximize use of available resources andensure the continuum of high standards of music education.

Volunteer leadership, effective governance and organizationaleffectiveness by the expeditious use of scarce and valued resources,including human resources to increase self reliance, growth, resourceacquisition, adaptability, innovation, productivity, service, satisfaction andcommitment at the local level.

Lottery recognition and promotion.

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Upon mentioning to a colleague that I was writingan article about playing the saxophone in tune, theresponse was laughter followed by a query as to

whether I was including the word "oxymoron" in the title.In the past, the saxophone has had a reputation as aninstrument easily played "out of tune" - fortunately, thisperception has been disproved by the many fine saxophon-ists performing and teaching today. Yet, for the youngsaxophonist, intonation can be problematic and a source ofconsternation in ensemble playing.

The first key to playing in tune is the instrument itself.Good quality, well-maintained equipment is absolutelyessential to good intonation. An instrument that leaks orhas improperly regulated pad heights will not play in tune.This is often seen in the palm keys of the saxophone whereold or missing corks result in keys opening too far. Theresult - the high register is terribly sharp!

The choice of mouthpiece and reed is also critical to goodintonation. The use of a good quality mouthpiece with areed of the appropriate strength will solve many tuningproblems. While there is a wide variety of good mouth-pieces available, the Selmer C* remains one of the mostpopular choices. Be sure the reed choice complements boththe mouthpiece and the student’s playing level. A reed thatis too soft will result in overall flatness; a hard reed willencourage “biting” and consequent sharpness.

A second source of intonation problems often lies in thebasics of embouchure formation and air support. “Biting”or excessive pressure from the jaw is a common embou-chure error which results in frequent sharpness. Encouragethe student to focus on the mouth corners which should bebrought forward in a strong “oo” (as in too) feel - this willrelieve pressure from the lower teeth. A second embou-chure problem associated with poor intonation is thedimpled or bunched up chin. Students who allow the chinto collapse upwards while playing will find their tuningvery inconsistent through the range of the saxophone. Oncethe chin muscles have become accustomed to assuming thisposition, the change to a proper flat chin can be daunting.Consistent practise with a mirror, working to keep the chinin a “whistle position”, will pay off. Finally, be sure thestudent maintains a consistent embouchure throughout therange of the instrument. Dropping the jaw to aid low notes

or tightening the embouchure in the high range are frequentcauses of poor intonation.

Even with the best of equipment and a textbook embou-chure, the saxophonist will find there are notes on theinstrument that remain out of tune. Certain areas of thesaxophone are prone to sharpness. In the second octave, d2,d#2, e2 and a2 are almost always high in pitch . The upperregister from c3 to e3 is also generally very sharp on altosaxophone. (Note - pitch tendencies will be somewhatdifferent on tenor. Frequently, the young tenor saxophonistwill play flat in the upper register from a2 up.) Flat notes onalto saxophone include the low c#1, d1 and d#1 as well asthe second octave c#2. An electronic tuner is an invaluableaid to the student in determining the intonation tendenciesspecific to their instrument.

Once identified, problem pitches can usually be remedied inone of two ways - through changes in voicing or byaltering the basic fingering.

Voicing involves making changes in the shape of the oralcavity by altering the tongue height and throat position.Lowering the tongue, as in an “ah” feel, will bring the pitchdown; bringing up the back of the tongue (“ee” position) willraise the pitch. The palm key notes are a good place to havethe student experiment with voicing changes as the pitchchanges are easily produced. Have the student try to “bend”the palm key d3 down to a c#3 without changing fingering -open the throat, lower the tongue.

A quick fix to an “out of tune” note on saxophone can oftenbe achieved by adding extra keys. The low b key can beadded to bring down the pitch of fourth line d or d#. Thefirst finger of the right hand will usually lower the high c#3to the correct pitch level. One of the most common finger-ing alterations involves adding the side C (trill key) to thethird space c# - this note is notoriously flat and difficult tocorrect with voicing alone. These are some of the mostcommon altered fingerings - an excellent resource for otherpitch alteration fingerings can be found in The Art ofSaxophone Playing by Larry Teal, published by Summy-Birchard Co..

With awareness and knowledge of the pitch tendencies of thesaxophone, most students will find a marked improvement intheir ability to play in tune.

Saxophone IntonationKaren Finnsson

Karen Finnsson is currently Associate Professor of Music at the University of Regina,where she teaches saxophone, woodwind techniques and music history.

1


Patrick is a Music Educator with the Saskatoon Public School Board teaching K - 5 music at both Brunskill school and Buena Vistaschool. He directs choirs, recorder ensembles, and coordinates and leads singing assemblies at both schools. He convocated inOctober 1995 from the University of Saskatchewan with a Bachelor of Music Education and a Bachelor of Education with Distinctionin October 2000. Patrick completed his Orff Level 3 training in Edmonton in July 1998. He is the Past President of the SaskatchewanChapter of Carl Orff Canada.

I n writing this article I will be drawing from threedifferent sources that I have come across in myjourney with music education. My purpose will to

draw the parallels between the three articles and showthat the arts are very far reaching in both their purposeand meaning in our lives.

The first article that I will summarize was put out bythe Minister of Education, Patricia A. Smith in the1980’s. It is titled The Goals of Education ForSaskatchewan. I encountered this document in aSummer Session, 2000 class, Education Curriculum498.3.

The document’s opening paragraph reads, “The goalsof education in Saskatchewan should direct efforts todevelop the potential of all students in the province.Education should affirm the worth of each individualand lay the foundation for learning throughout life.”The document contains the following nine goaldivisions: Basic Skill, Life-long learning, Under-standing and Relating To Others, Self Concept Devel-opment, Positive Life Style, Spiritual Development,Career and Consumer Decisions, Membership InSociety, and Growing With Change. Within each goaldivision specific abilities are listed. I would like topoint out a few abilities that are arts related, specifi-cally music related.

Within basic skills, students:1. Read, write and compute.2. Acquire information and meaning through

observing, listening, reading, and experiencing.3. Process information through intellectual and

technological means.4. Solve problems by applying basic principles and

processes of the sciences, arts, and humanities.

5. Communicate ideas through written and spokenlanguage, mathematical symbols, and aestheticexpression.

Within understanding and relating to others, students:1. Act on the belief that each individual is worthwhile.2. Interact and feel comfortable with others who are

different in race, religion, status, or personalattributes.

3. Develop a sense of responsibility toward others.

Within self concept development, students:1. Perceive themselves in a positive way.2. Appreciate their own abilities and limitations.3. Set and work toward personal goals.4. Assess praise and criticism realistically.5. Present themselves with confidence.

Within positive life style, students:1. Cultivate interests that may be the basis for personal

development and leisure pursuits.2. Recognize the importance of productive activity.3. Display initiative and pursue tasks diligently4. Express themselves creatively

Within spiritual development, students:1. Respect family, religion, and culture in a pluralistic

society.

Within membership in society, students:1. Assume responsibility for their own actions.2. Work with others to achieve individual and group

goals.3. Act with honesty, integrity, compassion, and

fairness.

Arts in Our LivesPatrick Kelly

continued


I believe musical and artistic experiences can help stu-dents in our music, drama, dance and art classes morefully achieve the above abilities and potential. The artsenrich the human potential and abilities in all of us.

This leads me to the second article entitled JustifyingMusic Education On Its Own Merits. This article isfrom a music advocacy email group. If you would like tobe part of this group to receive weekly music advocacyemails on music education and the latest research findingssupporting music education send a blank e-mail [email protected] The article expresses sixways that music education can be justified as an academicsubject. These statements are excerpted from the essay“Why study music in school?” by Paul R. Lehman,Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor;Past President MENC: The National Association forMusic Education; and Honorary Life Member, Interna-tional Society for Music Education. They follow:

1. One of the most fundamental and generally acceptedpurposes of education has always been to transmit thecultural heritage of a group to succeeding generations.Music is one of the most powerful, the most compelling,and the most glorious manifestations of every culturalheritage.

2. Another purpose of education is to help students toachieve their potential. Musical potential is one of thebasic abilities that exist in every person. It is best devel-oped if study is begun at an early age and continuedthrough adolescence.

3. We are surrounded by music every day. Exquisitebeauty and enjoyment is accessible to all through music.The formal study of music unlocks the gate to this beauty.

4. Music is different from the other basic disciplines inthat it does not reflect a preoccupation with right answers.It teaches us to cope with the subjective. In this respectmusic is more like life itself.

5. Every student should have a chance to succeed insomething. Music provides that opportunity.

6. Most important of all, music exalts the human spirit.It enhances the quality of life.

Thus we see again the parallels between the twoarticles in the fact that music can enrich and en-hance our lives.

The last article is entitled Why I Teach Music andcomes from the Quebec Music Educators Journal.The articles main points follow:1. Music is a Science2. Music is Mathematical3. Music is a Second Language4. Music is History5. Music is Physical Education6. Music is ArtThe last part of the article reads,

I Teach Music-Not because I expect you to major in music.-Not because I expect you to play or sing all

your life.-Not so you can relax.-Not so you can have fun.

But....-So you will be human.-So you will recognize beauty.-So you will be sensitive-So you will be closer to an infinite beyond

this world.-So you will have something to cling to.-So you will have more love, more

compassion, more gentleness, moregood – in short, more life.

-Of what value will it be to make aprosperous living unless you knowhow to live.

It is interesting to see the parallels between the threearticles, in particular, from the Goals of Education.This article is dated from the 1980’s and I believewe as music educators help our students achievethese goals more readily through our craft. I knowthat I believe this. Life has more love, morecompassion, and more gentleness because of musicand the arts.

3


L eading children towards musical literacy isendorsed by educators as an important cornerstoneof the elementary music curricula. Many provin-

cial learning documents across Canada recommend thatteachers include a logical sequence of instruction duringgrades 1-6 that will guide children towards success withreading and writing musical notation by the end ofelementary school.

As we know, without literacy skills, students are whollydependent on others to deliver music to them aurally.Although children may learn to sing and play musicbeautifully by ear, they are put in a position of only beingable to learn music which is recorded or has been per-formed live for them. This means children without musicliteracy have little independent access to musical style,thereby limiting their chances at deriving personalmeaning from any music other than what is sung orplayed for them by someone else.

The ability to read notation also provides students withthe opportunity to perform music in ensemble with others.In addition, music literacy provides access to singing orplaying music that is too long or complex to learn by rote.Indeed, such literacy development in the elementarygrades can open the door to a wholeworld of music just waiting to bediscovered by students during theiradult lives.

The challenge for the elementarymusic teacher is how to find the timeto implement this worthy goal in amusic classroom that already seemsfilled to capacity. How can we takeprecious time away from our singing,playing, moving, and listening activi-ties in order to work in the necessaryinstructional time for learning how toread and write notation? What

Stepping Stones to Musical LiteracyAmanda Montgomery, University of Alberta

Amanda Montgomery is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Alberta where she teaches undergraduate and graduate coursesin elementary music education. She also teaches music to the kindergarten to grade two children enrolled in the Department of Elementary Educa-tion's Child Study Centre. Formerly a professor at the University of Western Ontario and the University of Prince Edward Island, Dr. Montgomery

received her graduate degrees with distinction from Indiana University School of Music. As Past-President of the Canadian Music EducatorsAssociation and the Kodály Society of Canada Dr. Montgomery continues to provide leadership to many music educators across Canada. Her recentbook, Teaching Towards Musical Understanding: A Handbook for the Elementary Grades is published by Prentice Hall/Pearson Education Canada

(2002).

pedagogy might we implement that will help us to easeour student’s burden of deciphering all those squiggleson the staff without sacrificing the joy of music making?One of the keys to answering such questions is to planto embed student’s practice with musical notation withinthe context of making real music. If the notation to beread comes directly from a song the children alreadywant to learn to sing or play, they will see the signifi-cance of reading music; moreover, the reading processitself will result in more artistic music-making. Musicliteracy activities can be interwoven into a variety ofperforming, listening, or creating activities that arealready planned by the teacher as part of the regularmusic lesson, thus making the use of musical notation anatural part of the musical experience.

Sometimes this means focusing on only a small sectionof the children’s classroom music during literacypractice. For example, in Grade 2, a teacher might planto have students play a singing game that they havepreviously learned only by rote (e.g. The Bridge atAvignon). To interweave musical notation into this newlesson, the teacher could begin by writing the rhythmicnotation of the first phrase of the song on the board (this


is a natural entry point for literacy development as mostchildren find rhythmic notation easier to decipher thanmelodic). The teacher would then ask the children to read therhythmic phrase in their heads, followed with a question suchas, “Which one of our favorite class songs starts with thisrhythm”? After successfully solving the “mystery rhythm”,the lesson would continue with the students singing andplaying the game that goes with the song.

Game: Grade 2-3 children stand in pairs in a circle, facingtheir partners, and perform the following actions: mm. 1-2:repeat twice, the clapping pattern of own thighs, own handstogether, and partners hands - all to the rhythm of the words;mm. 3-4: link arms with partner and skip around in a smallcircle; mm. 5-6: same as mm. 1-2; mm. 7-8: same as mm. 3-4,only in the opposite direction. During mm. 9-12, children usea motion such as “high five” to greet each other twice, onceon the beat during m. 10 and once again on the beat during m.12. Motions for mm. 1-9 are repeated for the D.C. al fine.

Another example, this time for Grade 4, might find thestudents learning a brand new song, for example Entendez-vous sur l’ormeau. Rather than teach the whole song by rote,the teacher could begin by dictating the rhythm of the song tothe students by clapping it out loud for them, one rhythmicphrase at a time. Students would then be invited to “write”

down what they hear using rhythmic flashcards on the floor.After notating, the children would be asked to read back therhythm they had written through clapping, chanting rhythmicsyllables, or playing it on a non-pitched percussion instru-ments. The teacher would next teach the melody (i.e., tune ofthe song) that goes with this rhythm, by rote. The lessoncould then continue with students adding rhythmic ostinati toaccompany the song or any other music making activity theteacher feels is appropriate.

When utilizing such natural classroom moments for insertingnotation, teachers should plan to make the reading and writingas learner-centered as possible. One aspect of this includes

expanding the traditional supplies used for manipu-lating notation beyond simply using pencil andpaper. Concrete manipulatables that many elemen-tary music teachers have found to be motivating forchildren include:

• felt hearts or felt lines to represent beats(need enough for a whole song)• large laminated hearts ’s for walking onthe beat• popsickle sticks to represent rhythmstems• wooden disks, buttons, or bingo chips torepresent noteheads• shoelaces to represent a single line staff• individual laminated staff boards for fullstaff writing• mini-flash cards with rhythmic phrasesprinted on them for rhythmic writing• poster board and markers

These can easily be kept in plastic, see-through“baggies” for convenient distribution duringclassroom activities.

As with any learning, reading music notation needsto be broken down into smaller chunks that are then

sequenced into adevelopmentally appropri-ate, easy-to-complexteaching order (e.g., rhythm :grade 1- quarter, eighth,quarter rest; grade 2 – halfnote, half rest; grade 3 –sixteenth notes, etc.).Provincial documents as wellas CMEA & CMEC (2001)and Montgomery (2002) canprovide teachers further

guidance in this direction. Teachers shouldcontinually remain conscious of the difficulty levelof any notational patterns they invite children toread or write during a lesson so that they areconstantly building from the known to the un-known.

Developmental appropriateness also involvesorganizing literacy instruction around the sound-before-symbol process. This means allowingchildren to experience music aurally,kinesthetically, and orally first, before labeling andreading its symbolic representation (i.e., notation).

continued

5


Through this four-step process, students are able to develop aworking knowledge of musical notation in the most natural waypossible.

A description of these four steps is included here, as well as aseries of sample classroom activities involving rhythm(Montgomery, 2002):

Step 1) Students participate in aural, kinesthetic, and oralactivities with music – rhythmic and/or melodic concepts areexperienced unconsciously without reference to label orsymbol.EXAMPLE: While singing, students clap the rhythm of a rotesong containing rhythmic patterns with quarter notes and eighthnotes without reference to any notation.

Step 2) Students learn the verbal and visual labeling (name andnotational symbol) of rhythmic and melodic concepts.

EXAMPLE: Students see and learn the names and notationalsymbols for quarter notes and eighth notes using notation ofmusic previously experienced through aural, kinesthetic, or oralactivities.

Step 3) Students gain practice with recognizing the label and/ornotational symbols of rhythmic or melodic concepts combinedwith the practice of translating those symbols into meaningfulmusical response.

EXAMPLE: Students sight-read, from notation, the rhythm of anew song which contains rhythmic patterns with quarter notesand eighth notes while singing or playing classroom instru-ments.

Step 4) Students create new music utilizing the notationalsymbols of rhythm and/or melody in a unique and personalway.

EXAMPLE: Students compose a short song which containsrhythmic patterning with eighth notes and quarter notes.

The length of instruction planned for each of these four teach-ing steps logically depends on the age and experience of thechildren. Younger, elementary school aged children (i.e.,grades 1-3), need considerably more aural, kinesthetic, and oralactivities since most are at the beginning of their encounterswith music literacy. Older students (i.e., grades 4-6), who arebuilding on a larger repertoire of literacy experiences, mightrequire fewer lessons utilizing “rote” activities, leaving moretime for in-depth interaction with musical notation.

Teachers should remember that growth in musicliteracy is a gradual process. When interwoveninto music lessons on a regular basis, elementaryschool students begin to perceive that musicreading and writing are a natural part of artisticmusic making. This realization, coupled withthoughtful, sequential planning by the teacher, willhelp children learn the tools of the trade necessaryfor access to deeper and richer experiences withmusic.

ReferencesMontgomery, A.P. (2002). Teaching Towards MusicalUnderstanding: A Handbook for the Elementary Grades.Toronto: Pearson Education Canada.

CMEA & CMEC (2001). Achieving Musical Understanding:Concepts and Skills for Pre-kindergarten to Grade 8. Toronto:Coalition for Music Education in Canada.


HOW TO “GET GOOD” IN HIGH SCHOOLJohn Griffiths, University of Regina

7

John Griffiths is one of Canada’s leading brass soloists. His artistry has been heard all over the world including Italy, Russia, Finlandand Japan and at most major North American universities. John has been a guest artist with the United States Army Band

(“Pershing’s Own”), Canada’s National Youth Band with orchestras and bands in Finland, Russia and North America from theMoscow Conservatory to Eastman. Lauded for his amazing pyrotechnic abilities, sound and musicality, John is also a great enter-tainer!

His performances receive rave reviews and spontaneous ovations wherever he performs. From Regina, Saskatchewan, John isa professor at the University of Regina. He’s also principal tuba (and first call bass trombonist...) of the Regina Symphony.

John has been a guest artist at 5 consecutive International Tuba-Euphonium Conferences, the only Canadian player so honoured. Herecorded his first solo CD entitled “Canadian Chops” in ‘97 to stunning reviews both from the musical community and others. He

recorded his second solo album, “The Legend of Heimdall”, with the Orchestra of the Capella of St. Petersburg (Russia) in summer of2000. One reviewer called his playing on the CD “Jimi Hendrixian”. Not restricted to performing, John is also a writer. The new

edition of his book, “The Low Brass Guide” is now available. John began his professional career (at the age of 19) as solo tuba of theRCMP Band in Ottawa. He holds degrees from the Universities of Regina and Michigan where he was a protégé of Abe Torchinsky. He

has an amazing array of experience from teaching at Toronto’s Humber College to adjudicating a major Russian brass competition.John plays three YAMAHA tubas: YFB 621S (F), YCB 621 (3/4 size CC) and YCB 661 (large CC) and a Yamaha 613H bass trombone.

He lives in Regina with his wife, Nadine, daughter Kelly and son, Ryan.

continued

A number of years I was asked by a student if I could showhim a way to “get good” without practicing. Don’t I wish…Obviously that’s a bit of an oxymoron. I really think there

are ways though of improving your playing that go beyond simplyslogging away at practice (which is also important).

Players have to understand the “mechanics” of playing and apply thatknowledge (ultimately unconsciously) to every note they play. Kidsunderstand sports more than they understand the tuba. I’ve had tocome to terms with that… There are, interestingly enough, a lot ofconcepts in common. I often ask a class, for example, if they playteam sports. As you’ll know, most kids do. “When was the last timethe coach told you to “get tense” so you can play better?” Obviouslynever. Any form of physical activity from naked hang-gliding toplaying the tuba requires the practitioner to relax if they want tosucceed or improve at all. That’s the basis of it all. Relax. I am notsure how easy that would be with naked hang-gliding as it is not mysport. Now if you imagine a great athlete (Tiger Woods is the firstone that comes to mind for me) you can see they are not tense. If theyare, they play badly. Tiger knows the mechanics of golf perhapsbetter than anyone else in the world and that’s what allows him to hitthe ball over 350 yards on a drive. If it was about muscle, surely abigger, stronger man could hit the ball further. We accept in golf thatit is the technique (or “mechanics”) that determine success. Why wasMichael Jordan arguably the greatest basketball player ever?:Mechanics! He didn’t make defenders look stupid and cement-boundwith strength. Same deal with Wayne Gretzky (and yes… I’m datingmyself). You get the idea.

If we transfer that thinking over to brass playing you will find theplayers with the best range, sound etc are the ones who use the bestmechanics. “Mechanics” is another article entirely (see in part mylast on Tonal Production for Brass). I wanted simply to point out thatwhat follows is predicated on the idea that players understand andincorporate the mechanics of playing rather than trying to “muscle”or force the instrument to play. It’s SO much easier than that! Formany players this is a huge epiphany.

That said here is my best advice to young players on howthey can make quantum leaps in their playing even (orperhaps particularly) at a young age.

1.) Seek out opportunities, solos, exercises…

When I was first learning to play I became easily bored (I’msure that’s still true). That’s so hard to believe isn’t it? Howcould you become bored with “Hot Cross Buns” and then(as a tuba player) progressing backwards to playing on beatsone and three (if at all) in band tunes? For the kid whodiscovers s/he really loves this idea of playing a horn, as Idid, there has to be more. You as the teacher, should providestudents with lots of FUN stuff to play. It IS available. Youshould also form small ensembles AND (yes I know you’rebusy) take the time to coach said ensemble. There are alsoneat feature tunes for all band instruments. Give everysection a chance. For the more advanced player, s/he has aresponsibility to seek out those opportunities, solo musicetc.

2.) Play tunes, Transpose tunes:

One of the best pieces of advice I can give to any play atany level is to play tunes: ANY tunes in ANY style BYEAR. At its lowest level play Mary Had a Little Lamb(which has only four different notes) and at the upper levelplay solos of other instruments. The Mozart clarinetconcerto may not have been written for euphonium and itshould perhaps never see the light of day in that form butWOW it will improve your concept of sound and music.How about Wolfgang’s horn concerti? Beautiful works onany instrument. What about some beautiful simple balladsfrom pop bands you like? What about the Flintstones (whatan actor, that Fred Flintstone!!!). There are literally millionsof tunes from which to choose. Start off seeing if you can


play the right notes. Once there, see if you can play them in astyle you like. THEN play them in a different key. Now we arereally getting somewhere. Honestly this is the best advice I cangive. Every good professional player I know has done this. Afriend of mine and a well-known tuba player, Pat Sheridan, is agood example. When Pat was starting, his mother decided shedidn’t like the tunes in his “Easy Steps to the Band” and so wentto the library and chose some easy opera arias. “Right, John..” Ihear you say “Right…my kids are going to learn opera arias.Right…” The point is they don’t have to be perfect AND theydon’t have to be opera arias. Why not let kids choose a tune aweek? Maybe the band could play one by ear (this is not asnaive as you might think; I’ve done it with bands) together onoccasion. “Happy Birthday” is a good start. Playing in a toughkey is a challenge for more advanced players.

There’s a related story of the 1st trombone of the CincinnatiSymphony. At the age of 10 or so he was given a trombone by adistant relative. He had seen trombonists live and seen themmove the slide and make music. He thought the way it was donemust be to sing into the trombone. How could it be otherwise asthe mouthpiece made no sound. Within a few months his mothernoted that he was getting pretty good at this and should takesome lessons. Imagine his first teacher’s surprise… But therewas one great benefit to this as he saw it. From that point forthhe always easily made the connection between what he heard inhis mind and what he produced on the horn. More playersshould make that connection.

3.) Play it better each time…

Improvements can be incremental. Start out with a goal to playmore right notes each time you play a tune (whether written orby ear). Keep track of the number of “cacks” and slowly reducethe number. Cacks are caused essentially by three things(assuming correct mechanics): Concentration (the biggestkiller), tuning mistakes and spit. Spit?!? It’s amazing (againassuming good mechanics) what a difference a bit of spit in onetuning slide can make (even if it’s not yet to the point of beingaudible). Got all the right notes? How many times can youreplicate that? NOW as a good musician we know that’s only thebaseline (or bass line in the case of tuba…). How about tuning,phrasing, dynamic interest, tempo, rhythmic accuracy, beauty ofsound, general musicality…

One of the things I do as a soloist at universities (thank youYamaha and the U of R) is that I take along copies of everythingI’ll be playing and pass it out to students in the audience (onloan). In order to be confident doing that you HAVE to know theworks cold. It’s still a little unnerving at first watching theaudience turn pages with you. I reached this point by challeng-ing myself to do it better each time. Simple but important.

4.) Don’t always play the same things!! You’ll um…end up only being able to play the same things (butREALLY well…). This is pretty simple stuff isn’t it?

In the early ‘80’s I taught at Humber College in Toronto. Iremember going by the practice studios every day and hearingthe same players playing the same Clarke Technical Studies orRochut trombone studies… every day. I remember students(particularly trumpet players) asking me for my “routine”. Ihad no idea what that was! “It’s the stuff you play every day,man!” I um… I don’t have a routine. In fact I make a point ofnot even warming up the same way every time I play. My facechanges. The problem with playing the same “routine” everyday is that it’s like studying wallpaper. It’s not going to change.If you NEED to play SOME of the same things (viz you needto make significant improvements in them) then do so.Obviously there’s merit in that. BUT if they always sound thesame and no improvement is occurring, move on. You cancome back refreshed to that exercise in six months and beamazed at how easy it now feels. You might FEEL goodplaying material you know all the time but you’ll stay far toolong exactly where you are as a player.

5.) Challenge yourself (mini-challenges):

I once said at an American university that as a player you needto “noodle around” with the horn to feel comfortable. Onestudent actually asked me to translate “noodle”… NOODLE:it’s… well it’s… fooling around with purpose I suppose. Ithink he thought it was a unique Canadian word. Still, youneed to noodle for sure. Here are some noodling ideas:

a. How many times can you play thatarpeggio on one breath?

It’s not terribly musical. It’s mechanical (to use that word in adifferent way), but it’s FUN! Take a huge breath and go for it.Articulation, breath control, accuracy, technique… it’s allrequired AND you can amaze and confound your friends thebetter you get at this. When you get great at it, stop doing it(see #4)

b. Can you play that section or solo note-perfect?

See #1. Keep track.c. Can you make up exercises that suit

you?

I hate to admit it but YOU are your own best teacher. Youdon’t need to have every exercise written out. If you get to apoint in a piece where the technique is difficult, stop and workon it. For example on a three-valve brass, the fingering from1&3 to 2 is awkward. Repeat it over and over until it becomes(for that part of the piece) second nature. One simple exercisethat I love for those who have coordination difficulties isalternating back and forth between two notes with randomrhythm. Some people find this easy. Many do not. While I amat it (and this relates to #4) don’t always play a study or soloor… from the beginning unless that is where you havedifficulty.

CADENZA 2003 The Official Journal of the Saskatchewan Music Educators Association 9

d. Can you play that section up an octave? Downan octave?

Give it a try. When I was a teen I used to enjoy taking things up anoctave in band (much to the chagrin of Morley Calvert, my banddirector). If anything, I prefer to take it down now for a richer soundin the band (at tastefully chosen moments). High is too easy if youhave the mechanics down. British tuba player, the late John Fletcher,began his playing as a euphonium player in a brass band. Brass bandmusic is all, of course, in treble clef so that one can make the transi-tion easily from one instrument to another. When his band needed atuba player, Fletcher was given a tuba. No-one thought to mention tohim that tuba plays down an octave from euphonium and so he playedin the same range for a couple of months until that was pointed out.This range thing: it’s all in your head.

e. How long can you play that phrase or evennote?

LOTS of players have sloppy phrasing. Phrasing can make a hugedifference to the “polish” of a piece. Do it consciously until itbecomes a habit. The best recent example I use in a class of badphrasing is an ad for a “Best of” CD by Aaron Neville. In the clip hesings “A-amay…ZING grace”. What’s a “zing”? You can’t expandyour natural capacity for air BUT you can certainly improve its use.

f. Single Tonguing: keep moving that metronomeup

Use a metronome. Record your tempo and keep working it up. Goodarticulation is yet another article. Be honest with yourself: are youREALLY playing that fast or does it sound sloppy? Slow down,“regroup” and go again.

6.) Record yourself! You’ll be um… amazed.

7.) Tough section?: take it up or down a half step.

Say what?!? Years ago I remember admiring a pianist friend of minewho would practice concerti by taking them up or down a semitone ortone from the original and then returning to the original. You’ beamazed at how easy that makes the original feel! I use that techniqueparticularly when I’m teaching a workshop. Senior tuba players allknow certain excerpts, for example. I make them play them indifferent keys. Geez they hate that. The EAR is absolutely at thecenter of being a good player!

There is a pitfall though. My friend the pianist was once playing theGrieg piano concerto with the RCMP Band (in which I played) in abig concert hall in Texas. In the unaccompanied part of the firstmovement he modulated up a tone by mistake. The first two measureswhen the band returned were chaotic (half going with Jim, the otherhalf “sticking:”) until Jim realized his error and returned to the righttonality.

8.) Use a decibel meter.

Not everyone has a decibel meter of course but they’reavailable at places like Radio Shack for not very much($50?). You would be amazed at how difficult it is to holdthe needle steady on any note or dynamic.

9.) “Lift” solos.

You can either “lift” solos and write them down or simplylearn them by ear. Nothing is out of bounds here.

10.) LISTEN to lots of music! Analyze… This isHUGE.

11.) Get a good horn and good mouthpiece thenforget about it. Keep it in good shape. PRAC-TICE!

Too many players in my experience get hung up withfinding just the right mouthpiece etc. No equipment is apanacea. Practice is.

12.) Get at least a few lessons with a really goodprivate teacher. PRACTICE!

There’s nothing like getting put on the right track by ateacher who can assess your playing problems and offeradvice to address them. More lessons are better but evenone or a few can’t hurt…

13.) Form a small group of enthusiasts (DixieBand, Brass quintet, German Band, duet…)

14.) Practice “ear games” with other players.

For a while at the U of Regina I held daily warm-ups withbrass students. My favourite part of that was the earexercises we would do. Of these my favourite was this:player #1 plays a four note “motif”. We all repeat thismotif until everyone has it. Player #2 plays a four notemotif and we all repeat this one. Then we play the 8 notesso far. Then player #3 plays four notes and so on until wehave a 32 note (if 8 players) very strange melody. I tinglejust thinkin’ of it… The first time we tried this we wouldget very timid, very easy four note motifs. The more weplayed, the more some would try to throw others off. Butit catches up… You can do this even with two players.

15.) Get some balance in your life. Refreshyourself!

When you write an article like this you sound as if it is theonly thing of any consequence in your life. Everyoneneeds a balance of some kind. Get out and ride a bike,play sports, find a babe… I ride a motorcycle, sail, workon my old Brit sports car etc. Balance: it’s important.


16.) Play duets with anyone who will have you…

I play duets almost every lesson with my students. It’s fun anda great learning experience (for both of us actually). Studentslearn reading, to emulate my sound (I’ll want them to havetheir own soon) etc. More often than not we push throughfrom one end to the other without stopping. More often thannot we make mistakes. If we have time we play it again,ideally with less mistakes. Play duets with friends, relatives,acquaintances or even people you don’t like.

17.) Each time you learn a new tune, practice it twoways: methodically and then without stop.

“Tune”: for this context, anything on which you’re working.When I have a student working, for example, on a solo, wework methodically through it, stopping at rough sections,seeing if we can clean them up, devising exercises to fixproblems etc. We try to always have a run-though, in whichmistakes, stumbling etc are perfectly acceptable so long asthere is a sense of “time”. If you don’t do this; if you alwaysstop to fix problems, you’ll never get a true sense of the pieceor your preparedness to play it.

18.) Try to join ensembles that are above your ability.

Resolving that you will not be their albatross, and assumingthey will have you, this is a good idea. Inevitably you will

come up to their level of playing. The best continuing example ofthis approach is in British brass bands in which there is a kind ofmentoring or apprentice approach. Experienced players sit insections with young players who are encouraged to play up to thelevel of the ensemble. Inevitably (and I am sure with exceptions)they do.

19.) If you need to do so, work on your confidence. If youdon’t need to do so, make sure you are not a“pain”…

I have often been asked when I started really being a“player”. When I was a high school player I was extremelyshy (and I still am though I have found ways of coping). Iactually hid behind my tuba. But I practiced a lot. I was luckyenough to get a job in the RCMP Band (when it existed) but itwas only when I began to get positive comments on myplaying on which I could build that I began to grow as aplayer. I can date that to the first day I played a bit moreassertively (not aggressively) and louder. That’s all I did.Other players noticed the difference and commented on it. Iliked that. It made me practice even more. I hope I am stilllearning and growing as a player. Find music you love andplay it with passion and commitment. Do that and yourconfidence will grow.

SMEA SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS

Rj STAPLES & FRANK CONNELL MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS 1979-2002

1979 Murray Rausch (U of S) 1991 Holly Cooper (U of S)1980 Jillane Rackow (U of R)1981 Michael McCawley (U of S) 1992 Richard Dubé (U of S)

Stewart Smith (U of S) Shawn Grocott (U of R)1982 Moira Kitsch (U of S) 1993 Christine Shaw (U of S)

Calla-Dawn Lissel (U of R) Katherine Anderson (U of R)1983 David Ray Bindle (U of S) 1994 Maureen Hay (U of S)

Sherri Leah Torgrimson (U of R) Leanne Burns (U of R)1984 Mary Lynn Rooney (U of S) 1995 Andrea Pray (U of S)

Michael Herle (U of R) Trent Reschney (U of R)1985 Brent Pittman (U of S) 1996 Stacey Mortenson (U of S)

Valerie Boyetchko (U of R) Nathan Degenhart (U of R)1986 Cheryl Skibinski (U of S) 1997 Graham McDonough (U of S)

Roxanne Anderson (U of R) Colleen Sutton (U of R)1987 Kerry Kirtpatrick (U of S) 1998 Jennifer Horvey (U of S)1988 Colleen Hickie (U of S) Maury Michie (U of R)

Jean Marie Gusway (U of R) 1999 Jason Caslor (U of S)1989 Lecia Nickel (U of S) Kathryn Bechdolt (U of R)

Verna Ahner (U of S) 2000 Jennifer Korven (U of S)Jillane Rackow (U or R) Aaron Thinglestad (U of R)

1990 Stephen Cocks (U of S) 2001 Bradie Reeds (U of S)Jillane Rackow (U of R) Jeff McLeod (U of R)

2002 Alexandra Raney (U of S)Kristan Kuntz (U of R)

1966 Gloria Mitchell (U of S)Ken Danylczuk (U of R)

1968 Arthur Priebe (U of S) Sheila Dickson (U of S)

1970 Bev Unverricht (U of S)Doug Dunsmore (U of R)


I have always felt that selecting repertoire can be one ofthe more interesting aspects to directing any ensemble.

But just how do we go about it?

In my case, I have been directing various ensembles foralmost 20 years now so I will try and share with you how Iapproach this area:

A couple of key concerns for me are:

• I have to enjoy what music I am selecting! Maybe thisis an obvious statement. As a conductor you will bespending maybe 6-8 months with this music so this concernis a legitimate one.

• Try and select 6-8 challenging works but not impossi-ble ones. I feel boredom in young students is a killer. Iwould rather challenge them with more demanding music.Remember you will have time to work out those chal-lenges.

• Naturally you need to know the strengths and weaknessesin your ensemble. Will your brass be stronger or weakerthan the previous year? Will you have 1 percussionist or 4or 5? What 'musical holes' will be have or anticipate inyour group ( Instrumentation)..... etc. etc.

• Your selections need to have some good musical andeducational values! This is really important in developingyoung musicians and their EARS. In your selections thereneeds to be good rhythmic considerations along with thestructure or form of the piece (Theme and variations?)Will these selections teach ensemble skills so youngmusician's ears can learn to hear how their part fits in withthe rest of the work. Lastly, do these selections have goodmelodies? I feel young students appreciate good melodiesand with those melodies we as teachers can show phrasesand line.

Selecting RepertoireAlan Denike

Alan Denike has been the Principal Bassoonist of the Regina Symphony Orchestra and the Regina Symphony ChamberPlayers since 1974. He earned a Bachelor of Music in Bassoon Performance from the Eastman School of Music in

Rochester, New York. In 1988 he was awarded a Masters of Music from the University of Regina. Since 1985 he hasdirected various ensembles in Regina including the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Regina Community Orchestra, theUniversity of Regina Concert Band, musicals for Regina Summer Stage and since 1989 has been the Music Director/

Conductor of the South Saskatchewan Youth Orchestra.

• Pick a good mix of styles. Should you have a reallygood musician in your group, maybe encourage them todo a movement of a standard Concerto. All your stu-dents will be behind the soloist and if the ensembleknows you are looking and listening for a soloist for thenext year - maybe they might practise harder knowingthey might be up there the following year. Maybe aClassical selection along with that Concerto! Anothermusical form that I have had good luck with is the BalletSuite. You need not perform all of the Suite but try 3 ofthe 5 movements or so! Usually there are excellentmelodies and a nice contrast of styles for you to explore.

• Talk to any colleague who maybe has been 'around'for awhile. They could tell you what worked or moreimportantly what didn't work for them. Look around forsources for repertoire: your local University MusicLibrary could have some real gems. Or look into one ofthe bigger High Schools that have a good Band program.They probably have a good Library too. Personally I tryand get to know various Music Librarians across thePrairies. In one case my group needed a copy ofProkoffiev's 7th Symphony which I could only get byrenting it. I phoned around and found that a YouthOrchestra had the work and was willing to loan it out tome! This saved my organization close to $1000.00.

• Make it a point to program Canadian works. Thereare some great arrangements of folk songs by HowardCable for instance that are always fun to program. If wedon't program them - who will? Maybe look intoactually commissioning a new work if you have animportant event coming up in your community or area.

• All the above is just one approach of many. You asthe director/conductor naturally will want to put yourstamp on any program or repertoire selection. We learnfrom experience what worked (with that particular

continued11


group) and what didn't work as well. We are alwayslearning and listening!

In conclusion I am listing some websites that might be ofinterest to the reader. As someone who is quite new atthis cyberspace stuff - I was quite impressed with what isout there to be read. Good luck to all you with yourselections and I hope this will help you with that process.

Some website sources:

www.emsmusic.com(Educational Music Service) - Excellent source for justabout anything in print. You can follow links to Youth orEducational areas.

www.lucksmusic.netAlso good and has an excellent Educational MusicCatalogue.

www.musicentre.ca The Canadian Music Centre website.

www.symphony.orgThe American Symphony Orchestra League. Has goodlinks to Youth Orchestras and repertoire.

www.orchestralist.orgYou can subscribe to this site (and with yahoonewsgroups) Good archive area and discussion groupsand chat room.

SMEA KEY RESULTS AREAS

Participatory experiences in a menu of program and services which are relevant, of high quality andaccessible to all citizens of Saskatchewan, regardless of age, gender, race, special needs, economicstatus or geographical area.

Volunteer leaders and a volunteer community that demonstrates organizational ability to cooperativelywork together for the common good in the fulfillment of common goals at the local level. Commitmentto the recruitment, training, motivating and retaining of valued volunteers as well as increased empha-sis on volunteer recognition.

Organizational cooperation with other music organizations to coordinate programs and services thatserve a greater number of individuals than those represented by each of the organizations separately.

Service to the membership in terms of representation, advocacy, resources, professional developmentand training.

Commitment to actively promote healthy life styles and positive choices and publicly recognize theimportance of lottery funding to sport, recreation and culture as a means through which these goals canbe achieved.


A friend recently asked me how a non-percussion-playing teacher can teach young percussionists,not just young drummers! My first thought was

that it would surely be much the same way that a percus-sion-playing teacher would teach young percussionists.After all, if you want to achieve the same ends, would younot use a similar approach? (I lean back in my chair,basking the glow of my insightfulness).

But of course the question was really intended to find outwhat exactly that approach might be, and how someonewithout extensive training in the area could achieveconsistent and positive results. Here are five suggestionsfor action that may be helpful in achieving greater satisfac-tion from your percussion section.

1. Recruit students who are likely to be successfulpercussionists.

While I firmly believe that anyone can play percussion,there are certainly students who are more likely to besuccessful. For instance, if you recruit students who wantonly to be a rock drummers, it may be quite difficult toconvince them to broaden their perspective on what“percussion”‚ is all about. But most young people arelargely unaware of what exactly a percussionist is, so howdo you find a student who wants to be one?

A background in piano is always helpful. It gives stu-dents and understanding of melody and harmony andacquaints them with the layout of the keyboard. If youwant percussionists who play the keyboard percussioninstruments, it would be much easier for the student whoalready plays piano.

On the other hand, a highly motivated student can often

The drummers are coming! The drummers are coming!Thoughts on developing the total percussionist

by Darrell Bueckert

exceed the progress of those who have more musicalbackground but lack the desire to excel. Given the rightexperiences and training such a student could be mostsuccessful. Once you have found such a student youmust feed that enthusiasm with the richness and diversitythat is the percussion section (more about this later).

Above all, to find students who will likely be finepercussionists, not just drummers, you must look forthose who have shown a willingness to try new things.While not all percussion instruments will require thesame time and effort to learn (as will for instance thesnare drum, the timpani, or the keyboard percussioninstruments) you must find students who are willing toinvest a little time each week to trying something new.

2. Determine what instruments you want yourpercussionists to play.

This seems obvious, but if you have a plan for whatinstruments you want to cover each year, you will be lesslikely to overlook some of them. Don’t wait until theinstruments are required in the band music. Instead, lookaround the room and have your percussionists learn theinstruments you own. For this you may need somespecial exercises on each instrument for the percussion-ists to practice. This way the students will be ready toplay the instruments when they are required, and theywon’t be embarrassed to admit in class that they don’tyet know how to play them.

Depending on your situation, you may only have a snaredrum and a bass drum. If that is the case you may wantto start building a collection of small instruments(tambourine, finger cymbals, wood block, castanets,claves, maracas, etc.) so the students can see that there is

13

Darrell is a graduate of the University of Manitoba (B.A.) and the University of Saskatchewan (B.Mus. Mus.Ed. and M.Ed. in instrumen-talmusic). He has performed with many professional organizations including both the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the SaskatoonSymphony Orchestra where he is now Principal Timpanist. Darrell has also been a founding member of several percussion ensembleswhich have performed throughout Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan for schools and communities. One of these ensembles, TheRosewood Marimba Duo, received a nomination for Outstanding Instrumental Album of the Year at the 2000 Prairie Music Awards.

Darrell is now set to release his first solo CD, Out of the Blue, in November 2002. Darrell has been an itinerant band teacher and is nowon faculty with the Department of Music at the University of Saskatchewan as Applied Percussion Instructor, Sessional Lecturer in Music

Education, and Director of the U of S Concert Band.


more to percussion than just drums. Such instrumentsare relatively inexpensive, easy to store, easy to carrywith you, and can really help young percussioniststhink about their section as being interesting and fullof variety. I recently had the experience of workingwith a group of grade 10 percussionists at a retreatwith minimal instruments at hand. They did howeverhave a tambourine and after showing the students themany musical and technical possibilities for thetambourine, they all wanted to know how much onewould cost and where they could get one. Hopefullythat kind of interest will also lead to practice and thepursuit of excellence on the instrument.

If you are fortunate enough to have a fully equippedpercussion section, don’t be afraid to introduceeven your beginners to all the instruments youhave. You would not need to teach a beginner a greatdeal about all the instruments, but a general introduc-tion to each would be appropriate. Be sure to con-sider including a general introduction to timpanituning, basic patterns for the latin percussion instru-ments, and one basic drum set pattern (rock orswing).

3. Develop an interest in all areas of percussion.

Often the desire to learn something new comes froma single experience that sparks the interest of a youngstudent. Try to provide as many experiences for yourpercussionists as you can that expose them to themusical possibilities of the percussion instruments.

Recordings are a good way to hear many styles andperformers without having to travel a lot. If you arebuilding a CD collection for your band program besure to include some inspiring percussion perform-ances (band, percussion ensemble and solo).

Invite percussion playing guests to work with, orperform for, your percussionists. Recordings aregreat but having someone in the same room with thestudents that they can see and hear and interact withcan be an amazing, life changing experience.

When you look for music, try to find at least a fewpieces each term with some really interesting partsfor the percussion section. Perhaps you can findsome that call for percussion instruments that youwere hoping to teach that year. There is nothing likeperforming great music to inspire one to try new

things.

4. Develop the skills you need to teach all the percussioninstruments.

Percussion students will need guidance from their teacheras to what instruments to be working on and, of course,how to play them. You may need to refresh your memoryon the subject from time to time, so dig out your oldpercussion techniques class notes and keep them nearby. Ifyou were not fortunate enough to take a techniques class,the book entitled Teaching Percussion by Gary Cook(Schirmer Books) is an excellent resource.

Practice the percussion instruments (maybe late at nightwith only your desk lamp on and a really good pot of coffeenear by). No doubt you will have to demonstrate the properplaying technique for your students. These demonstrationscan really motivate the students to try the instruments forthemselves, and to work on becoming proficient on them.You must, however, be able to “sell” the idea of wanting toplay all the percussion instruments. This is difficult if youdon’t practice them yourself.

Call a percussion-playing friend (or me,[email protected]) and ask for advice. Most of uspercussion-playing teachers are quite flattered to find outthat someone might be interested in what we have to offer,and anyway, isn’t it nice to find an excuse to keep in touch.

5. Create opportunities to teach all the percussioninstruments.

Method books and band literature alone may not containenough opportunities to support the teaching you want todo on the percussion instruments. It will probably benecessary for you to modify or supplement these materialsin order to achieve your goals for the percussion section.This will require some time and preparation, but it is wellworth the effort.

One easy way to get beginners to “buy into” the idea ofbeing a percussionist is to change the instrumentationrequested in the method books. In the first year or two ofband, many books provide only the snare drum and bassdrum parts. Thus, some young percussionists may play onlybass drum for a whole year and quickly become uninter-ested. However, these beginner books have relativelygeneric parts that could easily be played on other instru-ments. For instance, one day the bass drum part could beplayed on claves and the snare drum part on maracas. If you


have a large percussion section you could have manydifferent instruments playing these parts rather than 6 snaredrums all playing at once (of course the local pharmacymight really benefit from the 6-snare-drum approach to self-inflicted migraines).

When band pieces are handed out, help the percussionstudents divide parts evenly throughout the term so that eachone gets a chance to play a variety of instruments. Sinceevery student will have strengths in different areas, be surethat each student gets a part appropriate to their skill level onthe different instruments. It can be very frustrating to beassigned a part that you have little chance of playing well,but a simple part on an instrument you are less comfortablewith can be quite a positve experience if you can play it wellat the concert. If your’s is a high school band, you may wanta meeting with your percussion section leader at the begin-ning of each term to discuss how the parts might be distrib-uted.

Create a percussion ensemble for your students. Percussion

ensemble music often has parts that are more challeng-ing, more interesting, or more extensive than typicalband percussion parts, particularly when it comes toaccessory percussion or keyboard percussion instru-ments. Programming a percussion ensemble piece onyou next concert is a good way to get your percussion-ists feeling more important, giving them a more de-manding workload, and encouraging more time spent inpractice.

Test technique on a wide variety of instruments includ-ing mallets and snare drum, as well as all the otherinstruments you have in your band room. There isnothing like a clear goal to help students develop theskills they will need to be a total percussionist.

So if you hear the thundering sound of the drummerscoming down the hall, arm yourself with some re-sources and a little know-how and see what you caninspire them to be today. (Oh, and keep a bottle oftylenol in your briefcase ... I do)

Realtime.

www.musiceducationonline.org/links/linxparent.html

Advocacy

15


Lesson Possibilities in Elementary Music Part 1Betty Hanley, University of Victoria

Betty Hanley teaches undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Victoria. She is co-editor of Looking Forward: Challenges toCanadian Music Education (with Brian Roberts) and Musical Understanding: Perspectives in Theory and Practice (with Thomas Goolsby) and has

written for many other journals. Her current interests are in the areas of policy and curriculum.

I f you are a teacher, lesson planning is part of your life.Beginning teachers spend hours finding and organizingmaterials to provide their students with the best possible

learning opportunities, while more experienced practitionersare on the lookout for new ideas. When it comes to planning,however, experienced teachers can be in a groove that worksfor them and requires little effort. Unfortunately, a groove is atwo-edged sword. It can be most comforting and save a greatdeal of time but it can also make it seem unnecessary toexamine practice or consider alternatives. Sometimes a freshperspective can open new possibilities for student learning andfor revitalizing teaching. The ideas in this article are designedto help both beginning and experienced teachers think ofalternative ways of planning and thinking about teaching.

Over my years of teaching music and of reading andviewing what students have observed when they visitedelementary music classrooms, I have noticed that elementarygeneral music teachers seem to adopt one of three broad kindsof lesson patterns. The purposes and learning experiences forstudents are quite different in each case. Each kind of planningpattern offers possibilities, depending on what learningoutcomes are anticipated. In the discussion that follows, I willassume that, in all three cases, the music teachers wants tofoster a love for music and enjoyment.

Skills-Based/Repertoire Planning

The first pattern is what I will call a skills-based/repertoireplan that varies the following general format: activities orexercises to develop melodic and rhythmic sight singing andnotation skills are followed by a song or game (with or withoutinstrumental accompaniment), sometimes moving into afocused listening exercise. The lesson often concludes with aknown song or game.1

The flow of teaching and learning tends to be horizontal,with connections intended across lessons. That is, studentsdevelop sight-singing and ear-training skills across lessons,learn songs, and listen to music over the course of the year, butthe relationships between the various activities within eachlesson may be tenuous or nonexistent. This approach seeks todevelop musical skills and knowledge usually in a teacher-directed classroom where modeling is central.

Concept-Based Planning

The second approach is concept-based. Each lesson (orseries of lessons) focuses on the elements of music (timbre,dynamics, rhythm, melody, harmony, and texture) or musicaldesign (form, expression, and style)2 which are then ex-pressed as musical concept statements—what is to be learned.Unlike elements of music and design or topics (subcategoriesof elements such as tempo or metre), concept statements arealways written as sentences to provide a more clear focus fora lesson or series of lessons. In this approach, the flow oflessons is vertical, and the lesson could be described asinternally integrated. The flow can be horizontal as well, inthat single concepts can be addressed across a series oflessons or, as students acquire deeper understanding, therelationships between concepts can be studied. For example,students could explore the interactions between melody andform.

In this approach, each learning experience is related tothe chosen concept and intended to deepen understanding ofthe meaning behind concept statements. Bergethon,Boardman, and Montgomery (1997) remind us that conceptformation:

• moves from the whole to the part,• depends on the ability to perceive,• proceeds from the concrete to the abstract,• depends on the complexity of the example, and• is a gradual process, dependent upon priorexperience. (pp. 8–10)

Lessons in this approach can be teacher-directed (traditional),problem solving (Boardman’s generative approach, 1988a,1988b, 1989), or constructivist (Wiggins, 2001). Nevertheless,this approach is subject-centered in that the teacher typicallyintends to help students understand how music is conceptual-ized and practised by musicians in the Western tradition.

Thematic Planning

The third approach is thematic. Music teachers using thisapproach focus the learning on music-related themes (forexample, the role of music in our lives or why pattern is usedin music) or non-music-related themes (for example, rainfor-

continued


Piano Accompaniment on page PA 60 Animal Fair Traditional American Folk Song

Voice I went

to the an

i- mal- fair,

The birds

and the beasts

were there,

The

Voice big

ba boon,

- by the light

of the moon,

was comb

ing- his au

burn- hair.

You

Voice ought to have seen

the monk;

He climbed

up the el

e- phant's- trunk.

The

Voice el e- phant- sneezed

and fell

on her knees,

and what

be came

- of the monk?

ests or frogs). These themes can be expressed as single words (asin the latter examples) or as sentences or phrases (as in the former).As with concept statements, greater clarity of purpose is indicatedwhen more than a word is used to focus the planning.

When the themes are music-related, there is opportunity forintegration across the arts as well as less direct integration acrosssubjects. There is also an opportunity for in-depth exploration ofthe theme and, more likely, for students to follow their interestsand their own ways of demonstrating learning.3 When themes arenon-music related, the cross-disciplinary intersections are ofteninitiated in music classrooms in response to language arts, socialstudies, or science curriculums. Learning outcomes may some-times be more socially oriented (as in an ecology project where themain idea is to preserve the earth). The music learning can bediminished or enhanced, depending on what outcomes are ex-pected and how the theme can be related to music.

Lessons in this approach tend to be more learner-centered,with small group work an important feature. The approaches canlook like an apprenticeship model as described in domain projectsin music (see Arts PROPEL, Gardner, 1991; Winner 1992) or bemore constructivist (Brooks & Brooks, 1993).

As is evident from these descriptions, all three approachesprovide a range of pedagogical options. Over the year, combina-tions of the approaches may be required depending on the desiredoutcomes.

Two Possibilities

In this article, I have chosen to provide a series of lessonsusing the second approach, the one I have generally been usingwhen I teach music in the schools. There will be two lessons inPart 1, to be followed by two or three in the next issue. Theselessons are somewhere between teacher-directed and learner-

centered and use a problem-solving, inductive approach tolearning where open-ended questions are vital4 and studentsare asked to use their imaginations in responding to music.

A word of caution about lesson plans. I see lesson plansas a series of possibilities. A lesson plan is necessarilylifeless, omitting as it does the most critical ingredient— thestudents. Nevertheless, in spite of their limitations, lessonplans help us organize ideas and focus on what we hopestudents will be able to do and understand. There are at leasttwo ways in which these plans could be used: (1) to explorethe concept approach (if the latter is new to you) and/or (2)to try the teaching ideas. The point is to adapt the materialsand experiences for your own classroom.

Additionally, these are not introductory lessons. Theybuild on prior music skills and knowledge. I have, therefore,assumed that the students will have had appropriate experi-ences with moving to music, singing, listening, and compos-ing. Listening to music in these lessons involves familiaritywith the Integrated Listening Model (Hanley, 1997). I havealso assumed that students have had experiences withidentifying phrases, tempo, and dynamics.

Following Reimer’s (1989) ideas, I attempt to helpchildren make connections between perceiving a conceptand the feeling response to it. Each lesson builds on theprevious one. Review is incorporated when appropriate. Theexact nature of this building would, of course, ultimatelydepend on students’ responses.

Each “possibility” may take longer than one class topromote optimal learning. Each lesson is also longer than atypical plan because of the need to explain processes thatwould be assumed in owns’ own lesson plans. The songshave been included at the end of the article for easy refer-ence. Remarks in square brackets [ ] are further ideas andsuggestions.

17


POSSIBILITY ONETopic — Tempo Length — 40 minutes Grade — 3/4Concept — Music can move fast or slow. Tempo is one thing that makes music feel as it does. The tempo of music influences our

responses to it.Objectives 1. The children will demonstrate an understanding of tempo by moving

appropriately to the slow beat of “Walking in the Air,” clapping the beat to “Lil Liza jane,” and “All Through the Night.”

2. The children will recognize the special qualities created by changing tempiin music.

Materials/EquipmentSongs: “Walking in the Air” — Kid’s Stuff, King’s Singers [or another selection with a very slow tempo to

encourage slow motionmovement]“Lil Liza Jane”“All Through the Night”

Sound System

_______________________________________________________________________The LessonMotivation

Imagine you are walking in air. How would you feel? Continue to imagine as you listen to this song about walking in the air.What in the music sounds like walking in the air? [Play “Walking in the Air”]

Discuss what in the music created the special feeling. List the features identifies by the class on the board, emphasizing the slowtempo. [Also ask what “instruments” were performing the piece.]

Divide the class in half. One half moves to the music. The other half observes to see if/how the impression of lightness is createdwhile the other group moves. Discuss effective movements. How was space used? Reverse roles and discuss again.

DevelopmentListen to “Lil Liza Jane.” Tap the beat. How does the tempo compare with the first piece? What effect is created by the fastertempo? Try the song at different tempi to see effect. Which tempo seems to suit the song best? Why?

Listen for the highest sound in the song. Raise your hand when you hear it.Show the phrases. [Draw rainbows in the air.] How many phrases are there? Are there any the same? alike? different? [You mayneed to sing the song a number of times for children to hear the answers. One helpful technique to get the class involved is to askfor a show of hands or to use finger—one for the same, two for alike, three for different—to see everyone’s response rather thanjust hear from one or two students.]Learn the song by rote, clapping hands over head on the high note.Sing the song.

With a partner, make up a silent movement pattern that shows the beat of the song. Half the pairs perform the pattern while theother half observes and sings the song. Discuss the variety of responses and any challenges that occurred in the process. [Whatkinds of movements did you see? Which parts of the body were used? How was spaced used? Did the patterns show the beat?Let’s all try Mary and Jane’s pattern. Did you have any trouble choosing your pattern?] Reverse roles. [Repeat the activity, butuse a different movement pattern—one you observed and like or an entirely new one.]

On what kinds of occasions might this song be sung? [It is an American dance/game song. The class might want to create a

dance.]

ClosureAsk students to close their eyes and listen to “All Through the Night.” When might this song be sung? Lightly tap the beat.Describe the tempo. Is tempo of this song slower/faster than song one, song two? How does the tempo help create the mood?

EvaluationObserve movement responses to tempo and beat. Do students respond to tempo and tempo changes? [A check list could be usedto record the level of student responses on a number of criteria.]


POSSIBILITY TWOTopic — Phrases Length — 40 minutes Grade — 3/4Concept — Long and short phrases create different feelings.Objectives 1. The children will recognize that phrases in a song can be both long and

short. Phrases of different lengths have different effects.2. The children will demonstrate that they can discriminate between the long and short phrases in “Animal Fair”

and move to the long phrases in “The Elephant.”Materials/Equipment

Song: “Animal Fair”Listening: “The Elephant” — Carnival of the Animals, Saint-Saëns

“Animal Fair — Music and You, Grade 3, Record 7, Side ASound System, sheet of paper and pencil

_______________________________________________________________________

The LessonMotivation

Can music serious? Can music be funny? Discuss. [If students want to bring examples, pursue this interest in subsequent lessons.]Listen to a recording of “Animal Fair” or sing it. Is this a serious or a humorous song? Why? What is an animal fair? Have youever been to one? Who do you think would go to one?

DevelopmentListen again to the first verse and show the phrases. [Draw a rainbow in the air.] How many phrases are there? Are they all thesame length? [Students may make the phrases all the same length as is more usual. Some will get the longer and shorter phrases.Engage the class in a discussion about the alternatives and which answer is better.] Imagine a large animal. Pat the animal’s headon the short phrases and the whole animal on the long ones. Why do you think the song has both long and short phrases?

Teach the song by rote. Tap the beat. Show the metre. [Patsch/clap to show the beats in sets of two.] Tap the rhythm pattern. Drawa phrase chart on a sheet of paper. Sing the song once more.

There are many animals that might be in an animal fair. Listen to the piece [“The Elephant”] (without giving away the title) andsee if you can identify this animal. Explain your choice. [Develop a “What I hear” and “What I think/feel” chart.] Tell the classthe name of the composer and the title of the piece. [In my experience, students have identified animals such as tortoise, hippo-potamus, and elephant. Their answers are not “wrong” when they name other heavy, slow moving animals besides an elephant.Most important is the musical evidence they can provide to support their choice.]

Divide the class in half. Half observe while the other half moves; the children discuss how well students responded to thequalities identified in the earlier discussion. Then the roles are reversed.

ClosureDiscuss the quality of the movement, the response to the long phrases, and the heavy feeling created in the piece. How do thelong phrases contribute to making the music sound more elephant-like?

As time allows, sing “Lil Liza Jane” and “All Through the Night.” Are the phrases the same length? long? short? How does thelength contribute to the feeling?

EvaluationObserve students as they show the phrases and move to them.Collect and examine their phrase charts before students place them in their process folios.

(Songs Two and Three follow)

19


ReferencesBarrett, J. R., McCoy, C. W., & Veblen, K. K. (1997). Sound ways of knowing: Music in the interdisciplinary curriculum. New York: Schirmer Books.Bergethon, B., Boardman, E., & Montgomery, J. (1997). Musical growth in the elementary school, 6th ed. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace & Co.Boardman, E. (1988a). The generative theory of musical learning Part 1: Introduction. General Music, 2 (1), 4–5, 26–31.Boardman, E. (1988b). The generative theory of musical learning Part 2. General Music, 2 (2), 36–5, 28–32.Boardman, E. (1989). The generative theory of musical learning Part 3: Planning for learning. General Music, 2 (3), 11–16.Brooks, J. G., & Brooks, M. S. (1993). The case for constructivist classrooms. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.Gardner, H. (1991). The unschooled mind: How children think and how schools should teach. New York: Basic Books.Hanley, B. (1997c). An integrated listening model. Canadian Music Educator, 38 (3), 37–41.Reimer, B. (1989). A philosophy of music education (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.Wiggins, J. (2001). Teaching for musical understanding. New York: McGraw-Hill.Winner, E. (Ed.). (1992). Arts PROPEL: A handbook for music. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.

1 In the upper elementary years, vocal classes are sometimes replaced by ukulele or recorder classes.2 This conceptualization is from Music Growth in the Elementary School, 6th ed. (Bergethon, Boardman, & Montgomery, 1997).3 See Sound Ways of Knowing (1997) by Barrett, McCoy, and Veblen, for excellent examples of interdisciplinary ideas for more advanced students.4 Can there be wrong answers? Yes. If we want students to learn, we can’t let them continue with misunderstandings or misperceptions. But we can check to see howthe student is understanding the situation before saying the response is wrong. For example, if a student bounced around lightly while moving to “The Elephant” Iwould ask why. If the explanation referred to something the child heard in the music and the answer made sense, then I would comment on the imaginative nature ofthe answer then perhaps challenge the child to notice other musical features as well.


Ontario Teachers have been part of manyeducational experiments over the past eightyears. I am proud to say that our Music

Educators have risen to the many challenges placedbefore us and have found innovative ways to sustainour Music programs. We are, if nothing else, adaptableto change and committed to the idea of providingquality programs for our students.

Our initial challenge involved an emergingprovincial curriculum, which, we know, is a similarchallenge that many have faced across Canada, theUnited States, and in Europe. Our initial joy was thatstandards were being set to ensure the importance ofMusic Education for all Ontario children. Our concernwas that mandated standards may not articulate thequality required to sustain these programs. Fortunately,we did find avenues to have the necessary input. TheOntario Curriculum is about to go through a reviewprocess and we are sure that the Ontario Music Educa-tors Association will have an opportunity for input. Inthe larger picture, standards have become a way of lifein many industrialized countries across the world. Ouronly desire was to ensure that this curriculum shouldarticulate in its expectations the quality and diversityrequired to enable excellent Music programs to evolveand sustain themselves.

Accreditation of teachers has been an issue thatwe have also experienced. As you know, Music Educa-tors tend to spend a great deal of time seeking out in-service opportunities. We do this to ensure that ourskills are appropriate to facilitate the delivery ofcurriculum expectations. So the concept of accredita-tion through the collection of credits or courses, whichis the model that the Ontario government has imple-mented, seems like a reasonable proposal. This hascaused discomfort for some in that there is the feelingthat mandating workshop participation will onlyundermine the ownership that many currently feel fortheir own professional development. However, lookingoutside our province and our country, we realize thatcollection of credits, courses, or staff developmentpoints is becoming a standard expectation of theteaching profession as it is for other professions. At thistime, our only reservation has been focused on the waythat these credits are to be collected. Will there be theflexibility for teachers to seek out the in-service

News From Ontario - Gregg Bereznick, CMEA President

opportunities that would allow them to improve the learningin their unique classroom setting rather than simply participatein an offering for the sake of accreditation purposes? Wecontinue to examine this situation.

A potential challenge, which we are watching carefully,is the use of standardized testing. Now, at first glance thisdoes not appear to be any kind of threat to Music Education.The testing conducted by an independent agency is currentlyfocused on reading, writing, and mathematical skills. Ourpotential concern here is that the focus brought upon thespecific areas of reading and writing (literacy) and mathemat-ics, may undermine the importance of the arts (Music, Drama,Dance, Visual Art) as schools wrestle to raise scores in theseareas at the expense of other areas that are not being tested.Music Educators are rising to this challenge by articulatingthe power of the arts to raise standards in the areas ofreading, writing, and mathematics. As we all know, there issignificant research demonstrating the impact of Musicinstruction on cognitive development. This may manifest itselfin a listening lesson that promotes thinking skills, or the act ofperforming and perceiving Music that promotes spatialawareness. We know that there are many strategies at thefinger tips of the Music Educator that promote improvedstudent learning, demonstrating the value and importance ofMusic Education as a component of a well-rounded curricu-lum.

Fortunately, the light at the tunnel for us in Ontario isthe election of a different government. Our democracy doesallow change to occur and new governments to carefullyexamine the impact of previously mandated changes on thequality of education. It is hoped that we will enter into aperiod of renewal and there is every indication that there willbe plenty of opportunity for input and careful reflection.

Music Educators have learned that they have the abilityto adapt and sustain themselves in times of change. Thisexperience has helped us to realize the importance of MusicEducation in the larger curriculum picture and has alsohelped us to realize the wide support that exists for what wedo. For some, our support may be simply because MusicEducators are people who demonstrate a high level of commit-ment for each student. For others it is the highly innovativenature of our subject. Whatever the reason, there is a muchstronger sense by Music Educators in Ontario that what we dois extremely important because it has the power to have alasting impact on the emotional and cognitive development ofpeople, young and not so young.

Canadian Music Educators Association


Edward Lewis has earned a Ph.D. from New York University, a M.Sc. from the Juilliard School of Music and aB.M. from the Eastman School of Music. He is Professor of Music at the University of Regina. Dr. Lewis has

played with orchestras including the Phoenix Symphony, The Radio City Music Hall Orchestra of New York, theRegina Symphony, and The Gil Evans Monday Night Jazz Orches-tra in New York. He has been a touring

recitalist, soloist and clinician in every major city in the U.S. and Canada and is the Cana-dianRepresentative to the Board of Advisors of the New York Brass Conference and a member of the adjudication

panel for the NYBC international brass quintet competition. He is also a regular contributor to the CBC RadioOne and can be heard every other Thursday on the Afternoon Edition with Colin Grewar as “The Jazz Doctor.”


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