Category: Conducting/Rehearsing

Notating Your Charts

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Recently I got to play an extremely fun big band show where every chart we performed was composed by someone in the band. We performed a couple of my own compositions as well as many by some of the best big band writers in my area. All in all, it was a very rewarding musical experience, but there were some issues with a lot of the parts we played that took away valuable rehearsal time and at times during the performance the music suffered.

Coincidentally, a friend recently posted on social media about struggling to get his charts to sound the way he envisioned. The ensuing discussion seemed to focus largely on the notation software that was being used, but in my opinion that’s putting the cart before the horse. I feel that most composers and arrangers who are finding their music isn’t being performed well is due to the music not being notated well. Even experienced composers and arrangers often underestimate the time and effort they need to take to make sure that the musicians are getting all the information they need to play the music correctly without cluttering up their sheet music.

While it’s best to teach students by describing what to do, rather than what not to do, I pulled some real-world examples of music that have notation problems so that I could demonstrate how I would prefer to to notate the same thing. Some of this music is drawn from my own music, but some are from other composers. I’ve made all the same errors I’m going to complain about here and will make some of them again. This list is by no means definitive, but are common mistakes that deserve an arranger’s attention prior to the first rehearsal.

Not Notating the Style

All the musicians need to know from the beginning what the style (and tempo) of the composition is. There’s a big difference between swing and straight 8th note feel. If your musicians are going to get a look at the music in advance and rehearse in advance they need to know what style to play in and how fast to practice it.

At the show I mentioned above we took time out of our rehearsal so one composer could inform the rhythm section about sections that were straight 8th note and swing 8th note feels. That should have been marked in the parts already. And all the musicians should have that indicated, not just the rhythm section.

Here’s an example of how I like to notate drum parts. The groove is clearly notated so the drummer knows whether to play in 2 or 4. The second measure shows a hit the band makes while the fourth measure indicates that the drummer should play that exact rhythm. I gave the drummer a cue of who is playing at letter E to make the part easier to follow.

All the musicians should know when the style changes, not just the rhythm section.

Not Notating Articulations Correctly

I’ve found this to be a more serious issue with rhythm section players who are writing for horns, but even horn players often don’t notate the articulations correctly. Here are some examples.

The above image is from a chart where the current feel is swing 8th notes. The trouble the musicians will run into here is whether to play the quarter notes long or short. In a swing context, quarter notes are usually played short, butwe ended up settling on playing them long in this passage. I always notate an articulation on quarter notes in a jazz chart because there is that question of long or short quarter notes. For short notes you can mark them staccato (short, not particularly accented) or use the “roof-top” accent (short and accented). For long quarter notes I would use a tenuto (dash) marking, but I also will often also put a slur or phrase marking over the passage.

In this example there are two things I would correct. First, I would eliminate the tie across the bar line and put an 8th rest on the downbeat of the second measure. It is marked to be played short, but there is a visual discrepancy that players will get in this situation. Tied notes like this tend to be misinterpreted as long.

The tie across the middle of the second measure is perfect, since it’s indicated to be played full value. The only thing I would change about this passage is to pull the tenuto marking up above the staff. Depending on the software you’re using, that may be as simple as checking a box somewhere. When articulations are written inside the staff it can be easy to miss it as part of the tie.

Here’s another example of quarter notes that need articulations. The one accent we get is inconsistent and I get the impression that the lack of articulations here were the arranger’s oversight.

Successive quarter notes on the offbeat like this can be problematic for the musicians to play if the articulations aren’t indicated. It seems to be almost as common for this sort of rhythm (in a swing context) to be played with long quarter notes as with short quarter notes. Arrangers need to help their musicians understand what is wanted.

Depending on the answer to the question, long or short, I might also prefer to notate them as 8th note offbeats instead. Or make the middle off beat two 8ths tied together so that the middle of the measure is visually indicated.

From the same chart, the above excerpt has the quarter note articulated with accents. This implies they should be played long, but I would prefer a double articulation here instead, a tenuto marking with an accent above it. It makes the length of those quarter note unambiguous.

I would also change the accidentals at the end of the above excerpt, for what it’s worth. The musician is going to be thinking in flats the measure before, best to stick with an implied flat key there for the individual musician, even if the underlying chord or key center implies sharps.

The main problem with the above excerpt is that the first measure is missing an 8th note. It turns out there should be an 8th note rest at the beginning of this measure, but when I first read through this chart I assumed there was a dotted quarter note on the 3rd beat. It’s really easy for arrangers to miss stuff like this in their parts, you have to take the time to go through each part carefully and even then things slip by.

Legato or staccato? The fact that the offbeats are written as ties across the barline suggest long, but with limited rehearsal times (or sight reading on the gig) the arranger should let the musicians know.

The above image is an excerpt from a ballad. I wanted to show this as one example of how we can be clearer with how the passage should be articulated. There are tenuto marks above the quarter nots as well as a slur to indicate the passage should be played legato.

This is an example of what I’m guessing is the arranger notating the parts for the computer playback, not for a real musician. I know from playing this chart many times that the articulations for the first two measures are “short, long, short.” It would read much better to write the first beat as a quarter note with a roof-top or a staccato, the second beat with a tenuto, and the 3rd beat again with the roof-top or staccato marking. If you want a staccato quarter note use an articulation, don’t notate as an 8th note followed by an 8th rest.

Here’s how I would like to see that passage.

Here’s another example with the same issue. I’m sure that when the computer plays back this passage it sounds fine, but the last note in the excerpt below should have been written as a quarter note with a roof-top or staccato marking above.

Here’s how I would notate the above.

Above is another example of the accents on quarter note without any indication of full value or staccato length to the quarter notes. My reasoning at the time was that if I put in roof-top accents they would get played shorter than I wanted in this particular passage. I wanted these quarter notes played a bit longer, but not full value. In retrospect I probably should have written them as roof-top accents and then indicated with text above that these notes should be played “fat.”

Again, I believe that arrangers should ALWAYS mark quarter note articulations for jazz-style charts. There’s too much room for different interpretations otherwise and it will make your music sound sloppy if everyone doesn’t play it the same way.

Not Writing Horns Idiomatically

The above excerpt from a trombone part isn’t unplayable high, but it is unnecessarily so. In this particular passage there were trumpets also playing the exact same notes. In the context of this passage I believe that this particular line sounds much better on trumpet and this trombone part should have either been dropped down an octave, revoiced so that the part was covering different notes in the chord in a range more comfortable on trombone, or left out. This composer did suggest to brass to play some of the lines down an octave if we wanted, so I think he had been informed that his writing for brass is a bit too high for comfort.

A lot of the notation software today will give you warnings if you exceed the range of the instrument. Finale has a setting so that you can check ranges for beginning, intermediate, and advanced players. If you don’t happen to play that instrument or know its capabilities well enough this can help you avoid writing passages like above.

One of the best things a composer and arranger can do is to ask a friend or colleague to play a passage for you so that you can hear what it sounds like. Often times less experienced arrangers will write something for an instrument that is technically possible to play, but because of the range, dynamic, tempo, etc. it will sound rough or not appropriate for the desired musical effect.

Taking “methods” classes in college (Woodwind Methods, Strings Methods, etc.) for music education majors is a great way for composers and arrangers to learn how to write more idiomatically for the various instruments. Perhaps even more so than the orchestration classes I’ve taken.

When I was a grad student we had Bill Prince visit and play as a guest artist for a jazz festival. The charts he sent for us to play were all written by him. Because he plays all the instruments very well he understands each of those instruments and what they can play. None of his parts were difficult to play, but his charts all sounded great.

Study the capabilities of the instruments you’re writing for and write your parts accordingly.

Not Proofing Parts Carefully

It’s very easy to miss little stuff in your parts. I don’t always do so, but sometimes after I have the parts printed I’ll actually play through every part myself. I almost always find something I missed this way.

Here is another example of the arranger missing some stuff that needed better proofing before the parts were printed. In the first ending there is that last 16th note. I know from playing this chart and from other sections in this part that this was a copy and paste mistake. The lick just before the first ending is played in other parts of the chart and then the 16th note is followed by a note on the downbeat. The arranger copied and pasted the lick, but forgot to take out the 16th note in this particular context. When you copy and paste using notation software be aware of things like this.

The notation above isn’t too bad, but you need to make sure all elements on the page are not overlapping each other. The tempo and style change above got placed overlapping with the rehearsal letter. This will happen commonly with chord symbols, which can make it difficult or impossible for the musician to tell what chord to play.

Be sure to space your parts out so that you don’t end up with accidentals overlapping noteheads like above. Is the downbeat of count three a sharp or a natural? What if the light isn’t too good or the musician’s eyesight isn’t so clear?

Think carefully about how you notate accidentals. It’s typically best to notate all flats or all sharps (or naturals, when needed), rather than mixing them. A general rule of thumb is if the line ascends you will want to use charts and if the line descends use flats. But sometimes it’s better to notate an ascending line with flats, if it follows a particular scale using flats, for example.

It’s absolutely not necessary for the notated pitch in a horn part to match what is considered correct for the chord. Avoid this:

The trombone part above is an Eb and then a measure later a D#. Best to keep the notated pitch consistent. Here’s another example of what to avoid.

The A# above should be notated as a Bb. Doing so keeps the whole phrase with flats, making it much easier to read.

This trombone part needs a courtesy accidental on the F# on count 4. The trombonists who have played this chart before remember, but almost every time a new player sight reads this chart that accidental gets missed.

I should have marked a rehearsal marking at the double bar above. I meant to, I just forgot and it got left out. This particular excerpt is a solo section that can be opened for more soloists and indications for backgrounds at different times. A rehearsal letter there allows the music director to be clearer on when players should cover background figures in the rehearsal or just by calling an audible on the show.

Confusing Rhythmic Notation

Consider the above excerpt again and notice the off beat quarter notes are written so that the middle of the measure is obscured. In 4/4 meter it is best to notate the rhythms to break up the middle of the measure clearly.

This example shows how I prefer to both rhythmically notate off beat figures as well as the articulations I like to use. It is unambiguous that the quarter notes should be played short and accented, with the roof-top accents. The second measure of the example clearly divides the measure into half and clearly shows the upbeats. Compare the following three measure, ALL would be played the same, but the last measure is easier to sight read.

The first measure is harder to read because all the short quarter notes fall on the offbeats and it is harder to tell where the middle of the measure is. You could notate it like this:

But that also is harder to sight read than the 3rd measure above. The tie across the middle of the measure does break up the middle of the measure rhythmically, which is better than notating as a quarter note. But ties like that will tend to get played too long on a quick read, even if the articulation marking is correct. If you want full value quarter notes it would be find, but I would still mark tentuto articulations above all the quarter notes because it will otherwise not be clear.

The second measure and third measure are both the same, excepting the beaming. I rarely see beams across rests as it shows in the second measure above (especially in jazz notation) and feel that beaming across rests like this is harder to read than if you notate it like the third measure.

The above excerpt is confusing because what we see above isn’t 3 and 1/2 beats of rest followed by the two 16th notes. Those 16th notes before A are pickups. Most of the band in this chart have a measure of rest before A. When the pickups aren’t written correctly it can lead to much confusion from the band and make for a sloppy start to your chart. Arrangers need to correctly notate pickup beats so that the rests are eliminated from the parts. Parts that don’t cover the pickup beats should have the specific pickup notated as a rest, but not the additional rests. See the following example.

Poorly Notated Rhythm Section Parts

Horn players should take some time to study rhythm section parts and be sure to give those musicians all the information they need to be able to sight read the chart well. Very often these parts are just a sea of slash notation without much information. Rhythm section players need to have dynamics, cues, rhythmic hits, articulations, style changes, etc. written clearly into their parts.

The above image is a longer excerpt from a drum part that shows some examples of decent notation, but there are also some things that need to be fixed. One thing I tried to do is make it obvious how the phrases line up, each system of music is 8 measure long and is easy to follow. Letter J and K above I could have put the numbers of measures played above to make it even more obvious that it is an 8 measure phrase.

The spacing of the above excerpt needs cleaning up. The rehearsal letters and measure numbers overlap for K and L, making it harder to tell what they say. Also notice that the dynamic marking for the measure before L should be pushed up a bit off the hits on the system below. The spacing with some of the measures is odd so that the slash notation ended up being spaced strangely.

Something I’ve seen other arrangers do for drum parts is to have something that looks a bit like a multi-measure rest with indication to play time for that number of measure. It’s a bit awkward to put that together in Finale, the software I use, but I have done that in the past and really should do so more often. It goes a long way to making a drum part easier to read and fewer pages.

Again, the hits the drummer needs to know about are notated up on the top of the staff, but I also notated some hits on the bottom of the staff. The hits on the bottom happen in the low end of the horns, so I notated them that way to make it clearer to the drummer that the hits in those spots happens between different ranges. Here’s another example from a different chart.

When I write specific notes and rhythms on a piano (or guitar) part I will usually also provide chord symbols for them. The musician might not play the exact voicing I want, but with the chord symbols provided they can more easily play the top note of the voicing and then play the rhythm you want. Another way of writing this, if you want your musician to come up with their own voicings, is to simply write the top note of the voicing and chord symbols with the text “T.N.O.V.” above.

But in the above example I wanted the pianist to play exactly what was written because it matches what the trombone section is playing later (and also at the same time in different parts of the chart).

Three problems with this excerpt. There is a dynamic marking missing at J and while it may seem obvious when you consider what happens before it and what the rest of the band is doing, but it is supposed to be soft. In retrospect I would notate the 3rd measure so that the quarter not is instead an 8th note followed by a rest. In this particular section the rhythm section drops out and the horns play without them, which in retrospect I might have notated with “rhythm out” written above the first measure.

Learn Accepted Notation Practice

Entire books have been written on notation and music engraving, but you don’t need to purchase an expensive book to improve your abilities at notating your music. Studying published scores and parts is helpful here. There are also many excellent internet resources to help less experienced composers and arrangers learn how to properly notate your music.

Laying out your scores and individual parts is probably one of the more tedious parts of being a composer and arranger, but it’s a skill that is more than worth the effort it takes. Be aware that it will take longer than you anticipate, so you really can’t just print out your parts when the composing and arranging work is done and expect that the musicians are going to do your music justice. Poorly written sheet music will sound worse with musicians sight reading. It takes valuable rehearsal time to make corrections to parts or for musicians to ask questions because their parts aren’t clear.

No matter how wonderful and creative your original music is, it won’t sound good if the musicians don’t fully understand how it is supposed to be played on their first read through. This is even more important if the musicians need to sight read the music on the gig or if they have limited rehearsal time to learn it.

Virtually Hang Out On Carnegie Hall Stage with Philadelphia Orchestra

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This web site is pretty neat. The Google Cultural Institute set up a couple 360 degree cameras up on the stage of Carnegie Hall during a performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra. You can choose which camera you want to use and also drag around the angle to watch what you want to. Click here to visit.

I ‘ve watched this several times now. I tend to focus mostly on watching the conductor, Maestro Yannick Nézet-Séguin. I think that conducting is much like performing in that it’s necessary to watch and absorb how great conductors express themselves through their gestures and facial expressions. When you’re performing with an ensemble you have to watch the conductor closely, but my mind is always focused on performing rather than studying the conductor. With a video like this you can simply watch.

There are some other performances you can view too, including the Berlin Philharmonic in a rehearsal.

Playing On or Behind the Conductor’s Beat

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When I conduct I ask the ensemble to play on my beat. Band conductors, for some reason, seem to be more likely to want their groups to play on the beat, rather than behind the beat. Orchestral conductors, on the other hand, seem to more universally prefer their ensembles play behind their beat. It’s interesting to look at the different reasons (or excuses) for these practices. Here is one, by a cellist, Yvonne Caruthers.

In practice, nearly every conductor gives a beat before the orchestra plays. The conductor gives the beat, but there’s a tiny lag while it’s processed and executed. Most likely, the audience doesn’t even notice. There’s also the fact that one of the conductor’s roles is not to tell the orchestra where they are “now” but to indicate “what happens next”….so being slightly ahead works better.

This is true, the conductor’s responsibility is to “prep” the ensemble so that they are ready to play what’s about to come up. The most obvious version of this is the “prep beat” the conductor gives to indicate the starting tempo. The conductor can’t hold his or her baton up and then just drop it and have the musicians ready, there needs to be at least one beat patter so the musicians understand the tempo and style they are to enter with.

Then there’s the concerns with distance.

Unless you are sitting in the front few rows, there is a delay in the sound.  Speed of light being faster than that of sound, you see the motion, the orchestra plays to the beat, but you hear the sound slightly later than you see the motion.  This is especially noticeable in long halls or concerts played outdoors where crowd is sitting on a long area of grass and they are a long way from the source of the sound.

If you’ve ever performed antiphonal music you’ve experienced this phenomenon. The skill of following the ictus of the conductor’s pattern, rather than listening and reacting to the sound is essential when the distance between performers/conductors is great. Marching band is another situation where this is particularly true. That said, it’s not really clear why the delay that entire orchestras fall into in playing behind the beat is necessary or desirable due to distance. The brass and percussion, typically furthest away from the conductor, usually don’t dictate the delay, it’s the strings, who are closest to the conductor.

The low and loud sections of the orchestra – cellos, basses, and brass – seem especially susceptible to dragging. A commonly hear explanation is that these instruments ‘speak a little late’. However, this absurdly implies that players are unable to take this effect into account.

I agree with the above author’s assessment. If a band can play on the conductor’s beat (or, for that matter, if a trumpet and trombone section in a jazz band can play squarely on the beat without a conductor), there’s really no excuse why an orchestral brass section can’t also adjust their instrumental technique so they don’t “speak a little late.” Not to mention that I don’t buy that these instruments do this. Maybe a pipe organ, but not a brass instrument.

James Bennette II, writing for wqrx.org, notes another excuse,

“I don’t think it would work as well, because the phenomenon has its roots in the string section,” Falletta explained. Because string players tend to be in sync when they bow their instruments, playing behind the beat comes naturally to them. “They have time to say ‘OK, here we go’, and then get into the beat.” And that sound should have no point or edge; the music should just flow. Rigidly sticking to the downbeat makes the music a bit sharper, even when that isn’t the intention of the conductor (or composer, who knows?).

So some folks feel it’s because low and loud sections speak late, but others state that it’s related to the string section.

Another explanation for lag is that the sound produced by instruments at the back of an orchestra takes longer to reach the front. This theory also collapses with a little observation. For example, I once heard the opening bass pizzicatos of the Passacaglia from Lutoslawski’s Concerto for Orchestra sound exactly with the conductor’s beat. Sitting in the back of the violin section, at the opposite side of the stage, I expected the different speeds of sound and light to make even precisely played notes seem late to the visual cue. But my impression was of exact synchronsiation. In contrast, the slow sections of the Berlioz Corsaire Overture, on the same programme, oozed far behind the beat. The laws of physics are irrelevant. Musicians can play with a conductor when it is really necessary, as in a particularly exposed and brittle passage. But when there is more margin for error, they easily abandon the beat.

Exactly. Ensembles are perfectly able to play with the conductor, but choose not to.

Here’s the simple response: When an orchestra plays behind the conductor, it has the room to produce a more expressive sound. “It works so well because the musicians can take in a great deal more information before they play,” said Falletta. Waiting a tick allows the ensemble to take in the trajectory, speed and style of a conductor’s beat, which helps them determine what kind of sound the conductor is hoping to achieve. “It gives them a chance to prepare that sound. So the downbeat comes, and the sound opens after that.” The result? More beautiful music. However, orchestras don’t do this for the duration of a piece; the sound behind the beat is most pronounced in slower movements, and as the music gets faster and rhythms more complex, orchestras may tend to attack the downbeat along with the conductor.

Again, I don’t buy that this is the case. As I noted above, it’s not the ictus of the beat that dictates the tempo and style the conductor communicates, it’s the preparation of that beat.

In my college orchestra, it seems like the conductor conducts ahead of the beat. I know that it’s a common thing, but I’ve never played with a conductor like that so I’m a little confused. It seems like everyone knows exactly when to come in on beat 1, say at the beginning of a piece, but to me it looks like the conductor gives a big downbeat, nothing happens, and then we come in seemingly randomly… And then it’s hard for me to keep the pulse in my head because I don’t really have anything to refer to except for listening to others because the conductor is doing something else.

This question, asked on violinist.com, is curious. It’s possible that the conductor simply isn’t being clear with the beat, but I don’t know how a conductor can conduct ahead or behind the beat. The conductor’s beat patter IS the beat. It’s the ensemble that collectively chooses to play ahead, behind, or right on the conductor’s ictus. It’s the conductor’s responsibility to tell the ensemble where to play.

Adam Neely’s points in the above video are quite good. I think that the most likely explanation is stylistic convention combined with the collective decision of the ensemble and conductor. Be sure to watch Neely’s followup video.

What do you think? When you perform (as a musician or conductor) do you prefer playing directly on the beat or slightly behind? Leave your comment below.

Rehearsal Etiquette

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Here’s another list of rehearsal etiquette, mainly geared towards the orchestral string player, but as always, much of what is in there applies to all musicians and in any rehearsal situation. Some of my favorites:

Arrive early—at least 15 minutes early, or with enough time to both get your instrument out and warm up. There is nothing more awkward than shuffling through a crowd of seated musicians in the middle of Prelude to the Afternoon of a Fawn. If you are late (it happens), try to avoid taking your seat while the musicians are playing; if you can, wait for an appropriate break in the action to slip in.

And I would like to add that you absolutely must be there early for the gig. As a band leader, I am frequently frustrated when I ask musicians to be ready for a sound check at a particular time and folks are still arriving and getting their stuff in order when it’s time to start. Often the sound check is the only chance one of my groups will get to “rehearse” a chart before the gig (we sight read on the show a lot). I don’t want the audience to hear the “sausage being made” because we’re still trying to get the mic levels set and practice that tricky passage before the show.

Bring a pencil. This one gets its own paragraph. Attending rehearsal without a pencil is like sitting through a university lecture without a taking notes. Even if you think you’ll be able to remember every direction the conductor gives, every dynamic change, every cut, and every ritardando, really, you probably won’t. Keep a couple pencils in your instrument case so they’re always on hand.

And use it. Often times I hear musicians, particularly student musicians, tell me they already know what I asked them to mark. Or sometimes they tell me they are confident they will remember. That may be true, but we all have mental lapses and it’s best to be safe than sorry. And if that doesn’t convince you to properly mark you music, consider that sometimes players have issues that require a sub to play a rehearsal or performance for them. If your music isn’t clearly and cleanly marked your sub will not have a chance. Be prepared.

Leave your arrogance at home. Members of the orchestra are all equal; everyone is contributing. Don’t gloat if you have a solo, and don’t bust out personal solo concertos and performances pieces just to show off. Everyone will be more annoyed than impressed. Also, don’t practice another orchestra member’s solo to demonstrate that you can play it better.

This goes to jazz rehearsals too. I don’t feel it’s cool to jam on someone else’s changes between charts and show off how hip you are. It’s also rude to hog solos. By all means, if you’re not blowing many solos on the gig and want a chance speak up at the rehearsal and ask for one if something gets opened up. Sometimes the band leader will be receptive if you jump up and blow a chorus when it’s not specifically asked for in the chart or fill in behind the vocalist, etc., but remember that other folks like to solo too and if you’re already blowing a lot on a gig or rehearsal that those times are better for giving other folks a taste.

Check out more common sense, but often overlooked, advice for how to behave in orchestra rehearsals here.

Weekend Picks

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If you enjoyed Lloyd Leno’s film, Lip Vibration of Trombone Embouchures, you might like watching a cymbal filmed at 1,000 frames per second.

Here’s a neat project.

We put a Carnegie Hall orchestra in the middle of New York City and placed an empty podium in front of the musicians with a sign that read, “Conduct Us.” Random New Yorkers who accepted the challenge were given the opportunity to conduct this world-class orchestra. The orchestra responded to the conductors, altering their tempo and performance accordingly.

While the title is 7 Surprising Qualities of the World’s Best Improvisers, I don’t think any of them are really all that surprising. Still, it’s a great read and worth a look.

And finally, I was just talking with fellow trombonist Alan about this video of Tommy Pederson performing Flight of the Bumblebee.

Music Direction Question: Communicating With the Band

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Wendy sent me the following question about how to communicate your musical directions to a jazz band.

If I’m going to sit in with a trio for the first time at a club, and I want to do Autumn Leaves the “first time around” very slow (do you say rubato in jazz lingo?), but then the second time upbeat, how do I communicate this to the trio?  Thanks!

I’ve written a bit before on suggestions for counting off the band on tunes. There’s nothing really difficult to learn in there, but it’s a somewhat neglected topic that most people learn intuitively over time. Read the above link for more details, but in a nutshell you want to be confident with your tempo and also make sure that your count off also reflects the style and groove you want.

I think most jazz musicians would understand “rubato” just fine. From your description, my assumption is that you want to sing (or play, if you’re an instrumentalist) the first chorus rubato with maybe just a piano accompaniment and then go into tune with an upbeat swing groove. Just explain that to the trio and they will be familiar with this common road map.

One of the nice things about Autumn Leaves is that the melody has a pickup into the first measure. This pickup is long enough that the band can easily get your tempo from how you start the 2nd chorus, rather than needing you to count in your tempo. To make it easier on the band explain before you start that you’re going to play the first chorus rubato with piano and your pickup into the 2nd chorus will set the tempo. If they know the tune (and they probably will know Autumn Leaves) you probably don’t need to also warn them about the style (swing, latin, etc.), but you can’t always leave this to chance, so it’s best to explain the groove you want too. It might also be helpful for you to even give them an example of the tempo you plan on going to on the 2nd chorus before you start in case they are feeling it differently than you ahead of time.

You will want to be certain that your pickup is solidly in the tempo you want and don’t embellish the rhythms to the point of where it’s not obvious where the beat lies. It’s worth practicing this on your own (and in rehearsals with other musicians too). Sometimes a rhythmic embellishment we think is cool makes it harder for the rest of the band to follow your tempo. Simpler is usually better in this case, but you can take this too far and sound corny or confuse your band if they’re expecting something hipper.

Have fun sitting in with the trio!

Weekend Picks

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It’s Friday, so here are my picks for your music related surfing this weekend.

Are you a tubist or teaching tuba students? If you need some ideas for solo repertoire, check out David Zerkel’s “Do You C What I C?”: An Examination of Solo Literature for the Contrabass Tuba.”

How old are you? Did you know that your abilities to hear higher pitches are dependent on your age? Check it out and see how closely your high frequency hearing matches your expected age here.

If you’re a fan of the London Symphony Orchestra or Ravel’s Bolero go take a look at the LSO’s interactive video performance. You can change camera views to many different sections and view multiple camera angles at once. All I want to know is why Valery Gergiev using a toothpick to conduct?

And lastly, although this isn’t really very musical, check out coin magician David Roth performing his routine called “Tuning Fork.”

Rubber Band Conducting

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In The Modern Conductor Elizabeth Green offers some exercises to help conductors keep gestures along the correct horizontal and vertical plane.

Short-Summary Quick Review (Horizontal)

1. Cross hands on diaphragm,
2. Hands point IN.
3. Move outward in straight line.
4. Stop: Order palms to face front.
—
5. Palms face outward all the way.
6. Return on straight line to diaphragm.
7. Reset hands and repeat.

Short-Summary quick Review (Vertical)

1. Arms hang full length at side.
2. Palms toward the rear.
3. Raise arms vertically, hands hanging down.
4. Stop at top.
—
5. Palms to front, fingers point straight up.
6. Down in straight line to lowest point.
7. Hands point up all the way.
8. Reset hands and repeat.

I had the honor of sharing the podium at a recent concert with Dr. Bill Bryant. During our warmup I noticed him with his wrists connected with a rubber band. He explained that this was an exercise he picked up to do something similar to the Green exercises, keep your hands in the correct plane for conducting. Here’s a short video of him demonstrating.

[jwplayer mediaid=”4538″] 

Interview on Free Music Ed Podcast

~ wilktone ~ 1 Comment

About a month ago I posted a new resource I discovered that I recommend for music educators called FreeMusicEd.org.  The podcast covers some great topics, such as iPad and iPhone apps for band directors, dealing with limited instrumentation, brass mouthpieces, marching band arrangements, and much more.

Stephan Cox, the brain behind FreeMusicEd.org invited me to come onto the podcast and interviewed me about a number of my favorite blogging topics, including teaching jazz improvisation, brass embouchures, teaching composition, and other odds and ends. It was a great time talking with Stephan and he was an excellent host who asked great questions. The podcast is now live and you can download it here or by searching for FreeMusicEd on iTunes (best to type it in as one word to find it easily). Be sure to go through and listen to his other podcasts and poke around the website some too!

Thoughts On Programming

~ wilktone ~ Leave a comment

Putting together a concert or set list is as much an art as performing the music in the first place. If you’ve never programmed a concert or chosen a set list for a band to perform, the first time you do this can be a challenging experience. However, if you approach it with the right attitude it can be a fun and creative venture. While there are many approaches to how to select music for a performance (or album project), here are some of the basic rules of thumb that I personally use to select a program or set list.

Consider the Concert or Set as a Whole Entity

It’s tempting to sometimes look for neat pieces to perform and simply throw them together, but sometimes this makes for a performance that is too redundant. As you start thinking about which compositions to include you want to think about whether there is enough variety to be interesting without getting disjointed.

One thing that helps me to organize a concert or set list is to think about certain key points in the performance that I’ll want to program something specific. For example, here is a generic outline for a set or concert including 8 compositions (well, 9 actually, but that’s with an encore) that might go about an hour.

  1. Opener – Something exciting and accessible for the audience to get everyone settled in and in the mood for the performance. I almost always like to segue directly into at least the next piece (and sometimes the next two pieces) without pausing for announcements.
  2. Lower the intensity – Frequently I’ll put in something slow and lyrical here, but sometimes I’ll instead program something just less intense than the opener and save the lyrical piece for third. For example, in a big band set I might program a bossa nova here and then follow with a ballad third. Other times I’ll program a ballad here and save the bossa nova for third.
  3. Keep the intensity simmering – See #2 above. It’s worth changing styles here and having some ebb and flow to the second and third pieces, but don’t get too exciting here. Save it for later and it will have more of an impact.
  4. Something weighty – If you’re going to program something that is not as accessible as the rest of the set or concert, this is a good place to do it. Don’t do it too late or else your audience will be less attentive.
  5. Something accessible and fun – After challenging your audience you want to reward them with something easy to listen to. In a big band set, for example, I might program a funk or rock chart here. For a concert band or brass band performance I like to put something pops oriented in here.
  6. Lower the intensity a bit again – After #5 calm things down a bit with something that will help you build to the peak that is your final piece.
  7. Build intensity – Not too much, save it for the closer. Something that is lighter in style or familiar to your audience is good.
  8. Closer – A final piece that ends with a bang. Something familiar to your audience can be good here, but sometimes I prefer to program something that the ensemble really enjoys playing more than worrying about the audience.
  9. Encore – I like having encores in my concerts and final set. If there’s a particular piece that your audience is waiting for, this is a great time to program it.

With an outline like the above in mind, I’ll start going through the music library and find pieces that can fit these different roles and start placing them in order to see how I imagine it will sound. That’s not to say that you need to stick to this guide absolutely. As you find pieces that you want to perform you’ll discover different ways that you can play around with this programming concept. For example, the Stan Kenton Live at Redlands University concert starts with a ballad, rather than a barn burner (check out the introductory clip of Kenton explaining this decision on that link). Your main concern really shouldn’t be plugging in music, but that you’re pacing the performance in an interesting and enjoyable way.

Consider Your Audience

I’ve already alluded to this above, but you will want to think about your target audience and what they want to hear. That’s not to say that you need to “sell out” and only program music that is familiar or popular. Some audiences are particularly hip and some performances cater specifically to an educated audience while others are going to have a mix of people, maybe leaning towards patrons who are attending on a whim. For example, consider the difference between a concert at a contemporary music festival and an outdoor concert just before a fireworks display on Independence Day. You can’t program one like the other without disappointing and alienating your audience.

Consider Your Ensemble

As your thinking about what pieces you want to perform you need to think about the capabilities of your ensemble. Do you have a section in the group that is particularly strong or have some outstanding soloists you can feature? Do you have a weaker section or a budding soloist that you can challenge a bit for improvement without getting too difficult (particularly important if you’re working with a student ensemble)? How difficult will brass parts be? Will your brass players have chops at the end of the performance? If the closer is particularly rangy for the brass consider programming a piece or two just before that are easy on the brass players so they can rest a bit and get ready to blow hard on the final piece. Be sure to program something purely for ensemble enjoyment, regardless of how you think it will go over with the audience. I feel that when the band really is having a good time it rubs off on the audience, even if the piece might go over their heads, as long as you don’t overdo this.

Program Something For Everyone

I like a wide variety of music and prefer to program a lot of different types of pieces in my concerts and sets. Along with considering your audience, stick in some pieces that will appeal to the high-brows and find something that the Philistines will enjoy too. Again, make sure that your ensemble is having fun and being challenged as well so that their energy feeds the audience’s.

Consider Length of the Concert or Set

When I’m putting together a set list for a big band, for example, I keep each set to about 8-10 charts because I know that that will take about 45-60 minutes to perform (obviously you have to adjust if you know something is particularly long or short). Programming for a concert band performance, in contrast, is a little more tricky because pieces can have different lengths. I will usually write down the approximate length of time each piece takes to perform and add them up, allowing for time between numbers. If you’re going to make announcements during the performance consider how long it will take to get through them.

Personally, I think the maximum length of a performance without an intermission should be 75 minutes. Any longer than this and you should split up your program into roughly half and stick in an intermission. If I’m programming a concert with an intermission I try to go 2 hours maximum (including intermission), and closer to 90-105 minutes if possible.

Club gigs are a bit different as you usually have a set amount of time to fill. A typical approach is to play for about 45-50 minutes and then take about 15-20 minutes for a set break. If you’re filling a two hour night, for example, you can play for 50 minutes, take a 20 minute break, and then come back for a final 50 minutes, give or take.

Practice

Learning how to pace a concert or set list is a skill much like learning to compose or arrange a piece of music. It’s actually pretty easy to practice this by putting together a playlist for your MP3 player. In fact, if I’ve got recordings of all the pieces I’m thinking of programming I’ll sometimes do this to see how the performance will feel after listening to it all the way through. You’ll get a great idea of how the flow of the music fits together and sometimes catch some odd things about your program that you might not have noticed otherwise. For example, is the last chord of one piece the same as the first chord of the next? Are the tempos of two consecutive pieces too close for variety? Do two consecutive pieces feature the exact same soloist? When you discover things like this it doesn’t mean you need to change your order, but it might inform how your introduce the pieces during the performance or whether you’ll segue directly into the next number without any introductions.

Closing Thoughts

A lot of this is pretty intuitive for many people and I know many directors who have their own philosophy of how they program concerts. There are many different ways to think about music selection and sometimes special events require a different approach. If you have a guest soloist, for example, you’ll need to program around the soloist. A themed concert celebrating a particular composer or event can be a fun way to build a program too. Study programs and albums you really enjoy and see how the flow of pieces fit together and borrow what you can from those.

Do you have any additional thoughts or disagreements? Please share your ideas in the comments here.