Month: October 2010

Tips For the New Jazz Ensemble Director

~ wilktone ~ 8 Comments

This afternoon I’m giving a guest lecture on jazz to the Western Carolina University’s Instrumental Methods class.  Much of the lecture will be a “hands-on” improvisation primer that will cover some basics of improvisation in a setting that can be done in a non-jazz instrumentation, such as with a concert band (or Instrumental Methods class).  In addition to getting the future music educators going with improvising and how to introduce improvisation to their future students, I will be going over a basic primer in teaching jazz at the middle school and high school levels.  In order to make it easier for the students to find this information and other good resources, I’m going to post a summary of this part of my lecture here.

First, if you can find it, I recommend an excellent book written by John Berry called The Jazz Ensemble Director’s Handbook.  It’s a great resource for new teachers, even those who are already experienced jazz performers.  It deals with common problems and practical solutions for getting good musical results from young jazz students.  Another good resource is The Creative Director, Alternative Rehearsal Techniques by Edward S. Lisk.  This text is written primarily for the concert band director, but it does contain some helpful advice for jazz ensemble rehearsals and the general advice in there is golden.

Instrumentation

Just as the concert band is the core group of your instrumental music program, the core group of any jazz program is usually the big band.  The big band instrumentation is different from a concert band, however, in that even though we tend to think of it as a “large ensemble,” it’s really a chamber ensemble in practice in that there is really only one player per part.  This makes it a rewarding challenge for the students, and sometimes a real headache for the director with too few, or too many, students to put together a balanced instrumentation.  

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How To Be A Good Sideman

~ wilktone ~ 2 Comments

Over the years I’ve had the opportunity to experience being a sideman/student musician as well as a bandleader/school ensemble director.  Having experience on both sides has given me some insights into what it’s like to be in the, often times, thankless job of being the bandleader and what sort of things that I can do as a sideman that will help make the leader’s job easier.  Many of these are no-brainers, but they are worth considering when you’re working for a bandleader you hope to continue working for in the future.  Here are 10 things you can do as a sideman to help get you on the good side of your boss.

  1. Return calls/emails promptly – We all procrastinate getting back to people, myself included, but it takes a lot longer than you might think to book a band of musicians for a particular date.  When I book musicians I usually get in touch with the regular players first and wait to hear back from them before I start calling subs, but I know some bandleaders who will put out many calls for one spot and the first person to get back to them gets the gig.  From my experience, the ones who become the “regulars” in any gig I book are the same people who tend to get back to me sooner, rather than later, in the first place.  If you’re not sure that you’re going to be available for a date, let the bandleader or contractor know right away.  They will appreciate your candor and even if they decide to call someone else they will be more likely to call you the next time than if you keep them waiting for days or weeks to hear back from you.
  2. Arrive early – If you’re not 30 minutes early for the gig, you’re late.  It’s stressful to be 5 minutes away from the start of the show and you’re still waiting for a musician to arrive.  If you’re running late give the bandleader a quick call and warn him or her.  This goes for student ensembles as well!  Obviously, if you’re coming from a class that just got out 10 minutes before rehearsal starts you can’t be there 30 minutes early, but make sure your ensemble director understands your schedule and get there as quickly as possible.  If you’ve got to set up equipment (i.e., your drum set), see if you can get some help hauling your equipment to the rehearsal space to help speed up your set up time.  Along the same lines. .
  3. Help setup/tear down – I have great sympathy for rhythm section players and other instrumentalists who have to schlep equipment around to play, so I usually offer to help them carry their equipment from/to their car if I can.  They will greatly appreciate it, and the bandleader will notice too (particularly if you’re helping the bandleader with the books or his/her equipment).  At the very least, don’t be in the way of the setup.  There’s nothing worse than hauling heavy equipment around someone who is set up in the middle of the stage area warming up with his hot licks.  If you can’t help, move yourself out of the way.
  4. Keep quiet – If you don’t like something and absolutely must say something about it, wait until an appropriate time and speak to the bandleader about it alone.  Musicians who are negative about the rest of the band in front of the band don’t get asked back or recommended for other gigs.  If you’re rehearsing and the conductor/director is working with a different section, sit quietly and pay attention, you might just need to apply what he/she is saying to another section in your own part.  At the very least, it’s annoying to have people talking while you’re trying to rehearse.  It’s also distracting to be making announcements to the audience when the musicians are cracking jokes behind you.  If you’re doing this, it’s making the whole band look bad.
  5. Leave your ego at home – Don’t start blowing a solo when you’re not invited to or if it isn’t in your part.  Don’t be a solo hog and let other players have a turn.  Don’t be that guy who complains that the band plays too loud, but continue to play louder than everyone else.  The success of the show depends on how good you make the whole ensemble sound, not on how good you sound in comparison.
  6. Dress appropriately – Whatever attire the bandleader asks for, wear it and without complaint.  If it’s left open, I think it’s better to look a little nicer than you might be tempted to dress.  It’s definitely true that audiences will judge the sound of your performance based in part by how you look.  Tuck in your shirt and keep your shoes on, even if your feet are behind the drum set.  Your fellow musicians will be judging your performance too and they aren’t immune to the principle that what they see influences what it sounds like.
  7. Bring the equipment you need – Some of this is instrument specific.  If you’re a brass player, bring all the mutes you think you might need.  If you’re a woodwind player, bring extra reeds and any doubles you might need.  If you’re a string player, have extra strings on hand in case you break one.  Electronic instrumentalists should have extra cables and extension chords.  Keep a pencil in your case for rehearsals so you can mark your parts.  Speaking of which. . .
  8. Mark your parts in rehearsals, but do so appropriately – Never mark your part with pen or scribble all over your part so the next player can’t read it without erasing.  Learn the standard short hand for marking parts so that the next player who plays your part understands.  For example, circling something means to tacet, so don’t circle something unless you’re going to leave it out.  If you’re making a cut, mark it appropriately and don’t scribble over the measures you’re not playing.  If the conductor/director decides in rehearsal to play something a particular way that isn’t marked in the part, write it in, even if you’re already planning on playing it that way or think you’ll remember.  Sometimes emergencies happen and someone else may need to cover your part on the performance.  If you’ve neatly and clearly marked your part in rehearsal your sub will have an easier time sight reading the show.  Take some time to erase your markings before you hand your music back at the end of the show.
  9. Be positive – This is especially important when things aren’t going well on the show.  Believe it or not, non-musician audience members may not realize the band is lost and playing in two different parts.  They will, however, notice if you’re grimacing on stage.  The huge clam someone might have made is quickly forgotten at the end of the night if the overall attitude is positive, but not if you grumbled about it or made fun of someone during the show (which will be remembered).  If someone compliments you after the performance, accept the compliment graciously and don’t bring up any mistakes, particularly any that weren’t your own.
  10. Be prepared to play well – I bring this up last, because it is almost the least important thing to being a good sideman.  When I book musicians for a show I want the best players I can find, but I’d rather work with someone who doesn’t play so well who understands the above than work with the greatest player in the area who is a drag to be around.  That said, you should practice your part, know the tunes that you’re supposed to have memorized, know how to play stylistically, and generally become the best musician you can be.  The players who win auditions are the ones who are always ready to play an audition.

There are, of course, other things that you can do to endear yourself to the band leader and make it more likely you’ll be called back or recommended for another gig, but most are probably variations on the above.  If you’ve thought of something that I’ve forgotten, please add it in the comments.  Later I’ll try to get a similar list of suggestions for the bandleader.

Studying For Listening Exams

~ wilktone ~ 5 Comments

It’s midterm season for me, so I’ve been giving exam reviews and meeting with students who want some additional help preparing for upcoming tests.  Music students, including non-musicians taking general studies courses, almost all become familiar with what is sometimes called a “drop the needle” type of listening test.  The instructor will play a random excerpt from a piece that was covered and the student will need to recall things like the title of the piece, composer, musical elements, and historical significance based on hearing the excerpt alone.  From the teacher’s standpoint, it’s a very effective way to test if the students are grasping the materials.

From the student’s viewpoint, however, this can be very challenging to study for, particularly for students without a music background (e.g., non-musicians taking a Music Appreciation course for a general studies elective).  Since I’ve recently given a review session to two of my appreciation classes on how to better prepare for this portion of the upcoming midterm exams (and since a couple of my students have admitted to actually reading my blog occasionally, after brownie points, no doubt!), I thought I’d offer some of my advice for preparing for the “drop the needle” test here.

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Wet and Dry Embouchures

~ wilktone ~ 6 Comments

Lyle Sanford, who writes the nice Music Therapy blog, recently has posted about “lip calluses” on brass players.  I used to get little rough spots on my lips that sound like what he’s describing back when I played with a dry embouchure.  I commented on his blog that while I never was really bothered by them, they went away after I changed to a wet embouchure.  These “calluses” seem to be caused by either abrasions from the lip vibrations or by twisting the lips up with the mouthpiece, which both are eliminated by wetting the lips before placing the mouthpiece.

This got me thinking a little more about wet and dry embouchures, and the advantages and disadvantages of both.  Recalling that Donald Reinhardt has written extensively about this in his book, The Encyclopedia of the Pivot System, I dug out my copy and reread what he says.

I agree with Reinhardt’s basic advice, that anyone who can adopt a wet embouchure probably would do better in the long term.  There are several advantages to playing on a wet embouchure, including:

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Embouchure Questions – Lower Register For Low Placement Type

~ wilktone ~ 1 Comment

I’ve recently gotten a couple of very similar questions about the Low Placement embouchure type from my YouTube video Five Myths About Brass Embouchures.  “albrt2890” asks:

I have a student (f horn) who plays with a large amount of lower lip however when he descends into the lower register of the horn he changes his mouthpiece position so that he has more upper lip in the mouthpiece. Would it benefit him to try to play horn with the “Standard” embouchure through all ranges?

“dreadss64” similarly asks:

i use that same embouchure when i play my trumpet! But when i play mello i have to change it.its really hard diging out those low notes. My brass teacher said my trumpet embouchure is bad and that i need to change it. Do you agree?

First of all, without being able to watch a student play in person I can’t say for whether or not that player’s embouchure type is correct.  That said, in virtually every case I’ve seen where a player was playing naturally with an upstream embouchure type (meaning, more lower lip inside the mouthpiece), this was the correct type for the player.  There is something about the combination of physical characteristics that makes it possible for upstream players to play (sort of) by moving their mouthpiece placement higher on the lips and making their embouchure downstream.  However, players who are properly one of the two downstream embouchure types can’t seem to make an upstream embouchure work at all.  Along with the normal rarity of upstream embouchure types (maybe 15% of brass players, maybe even less) this makes many downstream teachers assume that an upstream embouchure is incorrect and one of the first things they do is try to “fix” their upstream students by moving their mouthpiece placement up to a downstream placement.  This is usually the last thing they want to do.

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Guess the Embouchure Type – Maurice Andre

~ wilktone ~ 6 Comments

It’s time for yet another of my Guess the Embouchure Type installments, where I look at videos of brass players available online and try to guess which of the three basic embouchure types the player belongs to.  This time I’m going to take a close look at the embouchure of one of the best trumpet players around, Maurice Andre.

If you aren’t already familiar with the three basic embouchure types, skim through this article and then take a look at the above video of Andre playing the first movement from Haynd’s Trumpet Concerto in Eb major.  Which embouchure type do you think he belongs to?

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