The ability of a band to play accurately at sight depends upon the discipline of the group. Many persons become unduly alarmed when the word discipline is mentioned. This is unfortunate, for discipline means nothing more than an orderly, efficient way of getting things done. To always associate the word discipline with punishment is erroneous.
I have yet to hear an outstanding musical organization that was not a well-disciplined group. Perhaps the greatest secret in training a school band to be disciplined is to keep everyone busy all the time. How easy to say during isolated practice on difficult music: “We want to hear the trombones play that passage—will everyone else check your own parts carefully as they play. We may call on some other sections next.”
Unless a device like this is used, the proposal to hear the trombone section alone becomes an invitation for everyone else to talk, fool around, and waste time. Rehearsals are enjoyable and attractive only when there is a sense of real accomplishment. High school boys and girls are surprisingly mature. When you hold them in respect they will conduct themselves as do mature adults. The worst insult that can be rendered young people of high school age is to treat them as children. Young people in school bands are almost without exception the highest calibre young people in the school, especially if the conductor has a reputation for maintaining high standards, musically and ethically. All the “know-how”, advanced degrees, ambition, musicianship, personality, and “what-have-you” avails but little in developing a first-class musical organization when discipline is absent.
If a conductor is to have the best kind of discipline in a band, it is necessary that he have the liking, respect, and admiration of his students. The best discipline results from a desire to do things well. The greatest teachers are those who inspire students to want to learn. Students respect a teacher who is sincere and honest, and keeps all promises when it is humanly possible to do so. When an exceptional situation occurs which prevents him from doing so, the teacher must “lay all the cards on the table”, and give a frank, open explanation. In fact, a good conductor makes a practice of always admitting his errors immediately. Students respect the conductor who is big enough to say, “Folks, that was my error—I’m sorry.” Students do not like, and will not respect, the man who tries to bluff it out and cover his mistakes. No one is perfect. Surely a conductor gains prestige if he admits that he is human and therefore not infallible.
One thing that helps a band play with confidence is the conductor who directs with simple, clear, precise, and definite beats. I shall never forget seeing the great conductor, Pierre Monteux, conduct the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a concert at Ravinia. He controlled the playing of this great orchestra, through an expressive range extending from the faintest pianissimos to the most thundering fortissimos, with simple, understandable motions. The attention of the audience was never distracted from the music through seeing Mr. Monteux indulge in a bit of hula dancing, or go through windmilll gyrations. He did not need to make a pyrotechnical display to get the wonderful effects produced by this superb orchestra. All that was necessary were slight indications given with precise authority, plus a “clean” beat. A good high school band would have responded to Mr. Monteux’s beat in the same way as did the Chicago orchestra.
Although poor posture at rehearsals may be allowed and casually overlooked, it is impossible to breathe correctly unless correct body posture is maintained. When a performer cannot breathe properly, how can he possibly play a wind instrument correctly. Physicians tell me that sitting “slumped” down with the legs crossed can induce curvature of the spine in young students.
Members of great musical organizations have pride both in themselves and in the organization of which they are a part. Surely any one who has pride in the school band will maintain good posture and hold the instrument correctly. It seems a poor method of teaching to allow careless posture to prevail during a rehearsal, then expect students to assume correct positions during a concert. This may prove to be uncomfortable to the players as well as making them quite self-conscious. Moreover, it is a great boost to the morale of a band if they are taught to play at the highest standard at all times and conduct themselves accordingly. This attitude should be evident in both sight playing and in concerts.
To forestall any misunderstanding about the word “articulation”, think of it as the “slurring” and “tonguing”.
Many persons entertain the fallacious idea that “fingerings” are the big stumbling block in learning to play an instrument. Fingerings are easy to learn. To wit:—the performer who “doubles” on many instruments, and can change back and forth with the “greatest of ease”. In my own experience, I find that clarinet fingerings vanish when 1 pick up the oboe or flute. The flute on which I learned to play was an old Meyer System instrument. When I learned to play the Boehm system flute, the old fingering patterns were not lost, but there was no confusion about using the newer system. My fingers drop into the old routine only if I pick up an old system flute.
Another amazing thing about the learning process is the way our muscles remember. I state the fact this way because to me it is the only logical way to explain this phenomena. How else can the fact be explained that we may learn to ride a bicycle in our youth, discontinue riding for years, and then mount the “bike” again and discover that our muscles still “remember” how to ride. Once the fingering on an instrument has been learned, it will never be entirely forgotten. One will get “rusty” from non-practice, but the fingering patterns and muscular reflexes are so firmly ingrained, that a little practice soon sets things aright. We make these observations only to underline the importance of correct teaching from the very beginning, drilling and playing so accurately that the instrument literally becomes a part of the performer.
We were required to write in our copy books the old adage “Knowledge is Power”. A lot of knowledge is contained within the covers of a dictionary, yet it has no power unless it is used. Let us amend the old adage to read “Knowledge is powerful only when it is used.”
Every teacher should work on simplifying his presentation; and for heaven’s sake be brief. The best teachers are those who talk the least. Students want action. Long-winded explanations tire them. Please, I have no wish to criticize any person’s rehearsal techniques. Do try, however, to make rehearsals both meaningful and exciting. Take an inventory of the way you rehearse a band. Be honest with yourself. Learn the trick of making rehearsals move by eliminating all extraneous talk.
Do you have a systematic routine of “warm up” exercises? Such a routine is great for discipline, as well as being beneficial to the lips. Sight playing should be done early in the rehearsal before fatigue sets in. Always end a rehearsal with a well-known number which sends everyone away whistling a gay tune, and wishing the rehearsal could have gone for a longer time.
The so-called “lucky” conductor, he who gets the best jobs, has the greatest bands, is the fellow who gets to school an hour before the bell rings, and works many extra hours long after students have departed for the day. Also, he is constantly seeking new methods and ideas that will improve his work. His mind is not “ossified”.
Young people thrive on encouragement; in fact, we all like a pat on the back. The trite old adage: “More flies can be caught with sugar than with vinegar” is true of our contacts with youth.
One quality inherent to great teachers is an ability to criticize their own teaching analytically and dispassionately. When things go wrong they ask the question, “Where have I failed?” They blame themselves for failure, not the students.
It may be a good idea when testing players for places in the section to allow all the players to decide where each person shall be seated. Then it is impossible for a student to report to his parents that the conductor shows partiality.
Can the student’s ability to retain pitches be improved? Answer this question after performing a simple experiment. Sing or play a single tone, talk for a short while, then ask the band to sing the tone. If they can remember a pitch for three minutes, a little practice will stretch the elapsed time to an hour, then two hours, and perhaps, later on, a full day. It will be found most surprising to see what practice along this line does for a group. The reason a blind person is so sensitive to sounds is that he has a lot of practice in listening.
It is difficult to implant in a student’s mind a clear conception of how an instrumental tone actually sounds. Even the best radios and phonographs distort the tone of wind instruments, and may give the student a wrong idea of tone quality. A school band conductor should be able to produce two or three authentic tones on each wind instrument. Words are inadequate to describe tone quality. Inexperienced players tend to nullify their best efforts by playing too tensely. They “fight the instrument”, so to speak. They must be trained to play easily and in a relaxed manner. Tenseness is usually caused by poor posture, such as rigid hand and arm positions. Tell the players to “relax”, but caution to “slouch”.
Students often copy the mannerisms of performers who. in spite of poor position and posture, play with considerable technique and tone. Answer the student who says, ‘Well Joe Pudlesnack plays that way,” by calling attention to the fact that Joe would play much better if he would use good posture and correct hand positions.
I have noted when judging solo contests that the effective work done by many soloists is spoiled by unsympathetic pianists who keep the sustaining pedal down at all times.
The sympathetic vibrations which sound clash and jangle against the solo line.
The soft pedal can often be used to good advantage since it adds variety and color to the accompaniment. On the other hand, over-using the sustaining pedal ruins a soloists efforts.
The large brasses often “cheat” and fail to hold sustained tones for full value, thus leaving the upper voices in the chord hanging in the air. without foundation upon which to rest.
I like to think that there are two kinds of beauty in music. One is the sensuous beauty of sound, the timbre (or color) of the instruments, which provide color for the picture in tone. The other is a mechanical beauty, when note patterns are executed with precision. This beauty can be compared to the outline of the picture. I am reminded of a handful of shiny ball bearings so beautiful in their symmetry and uniformity of shape. So is a run of notes to my ear when executed evenly, with precision and balance. If. in addition, the tones have a beautiful quality and are in tune, we really have something worth hearing. Of course there is much more to artistic playing than these two features, but what a wonderful start can be made from the two points mentioned.
A four note chord containing; two notes having the same letter name is a triad, i.e. C-E-G-C. In 7th chords, the four notes have different letter names, i.e. C-E-G-Bb.
I sometimes wonder about the wisdom of “sugar coating” everything we teach. The question arises in my mind about the advisability of doing this as compared to presenting the challenge offered by a daily practice routine. Couldn’t it be true that the student loses interest when things are presented as being child’s play rather than a man-sized job? Correct, careful, daily practice them not is a man-sized job, which should not be attempted by “sissies”.
Occasionally I hear arguments against teaching a definite system for counting time. Yet, to the best of my knowledge, the finest orchestral artists do teach a definite system, and advocate the foot beat as the way to acquire a feeling for rhythm.
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