Playing in tune is a skill. It must be taught, developed, and polished as our students mature as musicians. Too often, particularly in young bands, good pitch is either left to chance or is so director and tuner centric that students are…
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Burnout is not an all-or-nothing proposition. Like fire, motivation gets stronger and burns hotter, or diminishes and burns out. There is no constant state. On any particular day, enthusiasm for work is increasing or decreasing, but it does…
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In between curriculum development, running after-school groups, department management, and individual student considerations, music teachers and department leads are increasingly needed to fill in the blanks where funds are missing from…
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What ever became of the clarinet choir? Sadly the popularity it experienced during the 1950s under the guidance of such greats as Don McCathren and Lucien Calliet faded as following decades saw school music programs contract, composers lose…
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There is no substitute for being prepared. For the band or orchestra director, one of the first steps in getting ready for the new school year is choosing the repertoire, which provides a firm foundation for the next nine months. But…
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Ever get confused about purchasing jazz band music for your music program that best meets the needs of your ensembles? Although there are six levels of difficulty level to consider first, knowing the range requirements for each brass…
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Books Specifically for Student Musicians - Sher Music
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The composition begins with bold, full-sounding brass, as the trumpets produce an interesting musical effect over sustained notes in the basses. Unison horns play a moving line that fits perfectly with the timbre surrounding it.
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This march, written in 1904, begins at a frantic tempo utilizing lots of woodwind "swirls." This march has a "continuous forward motion" feel to it, with a driving, unrelenting tempo. One may imagine that he/she at a circus watching the…
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A typical big band riff occurs at letter H using ties that are written across the bar line. The first statement at letter H, the band is instructed to play the riff at a pp level. On the repeat at a ff level.
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