Month: April 2012

Blackhawk Blues for North Buncombe Middle School Jazz Ensemble

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A couple of weeks ago Mary Jo Sparrow, director of bands at North Buncombe Middle School, invited me to visit her students and give them a workshop on improvisation.  She specifically asked me to run them through an introduction to blues in the key of E flat, since they were working on a piece that included an improv section in those changes.  That afternoon, after finishing the clinic, I wrote out a simple blues head in E flat that I though would be playable by middle school music students.  Today I finally got around to scoring out that head for a middle school jazz band.  I call it Blackhawk Blues, after the North Buncombe Middle School mascot.  Here’s a MIDI realization.

As always, you have to use your imagination when listening to a computer play back music written for live musicians.  Usually I like to stick a Band-in-a-Box generated solo as a placeholder for solo improv sections, but for this MIDI realization I intentionally left it out so that students could use it as a practice track.  If you want to download this MIDI realization right click here and select “download linked file” or whatever similar option you get.

Spit Valve Etiquette

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Brass players get so used to working the spit valve that we tend to empty it willy-nilly without much thought about where and how to do it.  While I do want to point out that it’s really just mostly water and not something to freak out about (get over it, string players!), I’m not insensitive to the fact that we should follow some etiquette regarding how and where to use our “water keys.”

Fortunately, in most rehearsal and performance situations I find myself in this isn’t really an issue.  Auditoriums and rehearsal halls that regularly have brass performers in them are pretty much used to the little pools of spit, I mean, water in the brass sections.  As long as you’re not emptying them right where people will step, it’s not worth worrying about.  Be aware, though, that even just a little moisture can make a patch of floor slippery, so don’t empty your spit valve in areas where people are likely to be walking.

Trombonists, you will want to be aware of where your slide will be while playing and suggest to those woodwind players sitting in front of you that they may not want to put anything underneath.  A little bit of water will drip off of your spit valve as you play and whatever music, purse, case, etc. the players in front of you put down will likely be “christened” by your spit valve during the course of the rehearsal.

There are some halls where emptying your spit valve will be more of an issue.  A lot of the churches I perform at have carpeting down in the area where I sit and they are keen on keeping it looking nice with minimal effort.  The Land of the Sky Symphonic Band keeps a set of small towels that we take to performances so the brass players can throw them down on the ground and empty their spit valve onto them.  I keep a small towel in my trombone case for situations like this.  When I’m rehearsing at someone’s home I will either use my towel or sometimes just empty my spit into my case.  I wouldn’t intentionally spill a glass of water on someone’s floor, so I will go out of my way to avoid emptying my spit valve unless they specifically give me permission.

When performing in a solo situation, either in front of an ensemble or in a recital situation, I think it’s classy to not call too much attention to emptying out your spit.  I will turn slightly to the side and without any fuss empty my spit out behind me.  It’s more subtle and less distracting than unceremoniously blowing all the water out in full view of the audience, many who may not have any idea why you’re doing that.  This also has the benefit that it keeps the spit away from where most people are likely to walk, especially important if you’re sharing the recital with other performers who may slip on your puddle if you’re not careful.  Let alone the conductor, if you’re performing a concerto with an ensemble.

Beyond that, it’s mostly just a matter of being aware of your surroundings and being polite.  While I admit it’s fun to sometimes make fun of the string players and woodwind players aversions to the puddles we leave on the floor, they typically understand it’s part of the price we pay for playing the instrument we chose and will leave us alone about it as long as we keep it confined to our area.  Now can we please just get the woodwind players to start being more careful about where they leave their broken reeds and string players to quit spreading their rosin dust around?  Those are much more serious issues than a little water on the floor!

Guess the Embouchure Type – Giuliano Sommerhalder

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I bookmarked this video of Swiss/Italian trumpet player Giuliano Sommerhalder playing Rafael Mendez’s virtuoso arrangement of Mexican Hat Dance a while back and have been meaning to do a “Guess the Embouchure Type” for a while now.  I don’t remember how I came across this video, so if you forwarded it to me my apologies for no credit.

At any rate, Sommerhalder is a very fine player and this video has a few places where you can get a good enough look at his chops to guess his embouchure type.  Take a look and see what you think.  My guess after the break.

Continue reading “Guess the Embouchure Type – Giuliano Sommerhalder” →

Appreciating Jazz Part 10 – Cool Jazz

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In the 1950s a number of jazz musicians began reacting to the hot approach of bebop and began toning down their music.  Taking their cue from Miles Davis’s album, The Birth of the Cool, many players began to perform and record in a similar approach, sometimes borrowing elements from classical music as well.  This podcast covers some of the most influential musicians of cool jazz.

You can download this podcast in the link below or by subscribing on iTunes.  You can also view all my available podcasts by going to my Podcasts page.

 

Jazz Arranging Tutorial by Doug Bristol

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Doug Bristol teaches music at Alabama State University.  He has also put together a nice tutorial on jazz arranging that can be accessed for free here.  It includes topics on the instrument ranges, voicings, various compositional techniques, harmony, and more.

It is designed to go along with the University of Northern Colorado Jazz Lab Band I’s compact disc, Alive XV: This One’s for Sandy.  While I don’t have this album (you can probably get it by contacting UNC’s School of Music, if it’s still available), you don’t need the audio examples to get a lot out of Bristol’s tutorial.  He has examples in notation for you to look at and excellent discussions of a variety of topics.  For example, here is what he has to say about using muted brass.

Many textural colors and shades can be created using muted brass. Many different types of mutes were created and used during the swing era. Still in common use today are the following: cup, straight, plunger, harmon, bucket, and sometimes the hat. For the latter two (bucket and hat), you are more likely to see written into the part “play into stand”, as a more convenient replacement. Have a musician friend demonstrate each of the various types of mutes and ask what to avoid when writing for them.

There are certain circumstances where mutes are essential. To help adjust balance problems, to blend better with flutes and clarinets, and to create special harmonic textures.

When writing muted parts, give the player ample time to take a mute out or put it in – especially trombonists. Mute changes should be clearly indicated in the parts – see example below. Use the term “Mute Out” not “Open”, because open could have a different meaning, such as a solo section in which the repeats are open ended.

His whole tutorial is worth poking around in more detail, so go check it out.

“Bull Dog” Embouchure Exercise

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There are a handful of away-from-the-instrument exercises that brass musicians can do to help build embouchure strength, such as free buzzing, the pencil trick, jaw retention drill, and the P.E.T.E.  These exercises, when done correctly, will help players target specific muscles used for playing without the risk of excessive mouthpiece pressure.  I’ve recently come across a similar exercise, explained by George Rawlin.  He calls it the “bull dog” exercise.

I have a couple of minor issues with some of the things he describes in his video.  At one point he talks about the “ideal set” for a player’s jaw to be protruded forward so the teeth are aligned.  This is correct for a large number of players, but some brass musicians actually play better with a receded jaw position.  Embouchure characteristics like this depend on the player’s anatomy and you shouldn’t try to force your jaw to a position that doesn’t work for you. His discussion about where the mouthpiece gets placed also doesn’t apply to all players.  His bit at the end about “air play” and relying on the instrument to get the buzz may be a good playing sensation to go after for some players, there are other players who need to go after the opposite sensation and work on firming up their lip center more.

I don’t feel that the position of the mouth corners when performing this bull dog exercise is necessarily exactly how you want to play, but it does at least seem to work on the muscles at the mouth corners where you want to focus your effort.  If done carefully and in moderation it could be helpful for some players who need to strengthen up the muscles that intersect at and just under the mouth corners.

Threadspotting On Creativity

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A little over a week ago I posted on a new book by Jonah Lehrer called Imagine, How Creativity Works.  After hearing an interview Lehrer gave I was curious to learn more about this book (I still haven’t read it, by the way).  Since then I’ve come across a couple of other references to Lehrer’s new work, one positive and one a little critical.

First the positive.  Horn player and blogger Jeffrey Agrell wrote a post he calls Of Cartoons, Bathrooms, and Creativity.  Agrell’s Horn Insights blog is a great read for anyone interested in creativity and he has a number of posts dealing with that topic.  Like Lehrer, Agrell finds inspiration can come from moving outside of your normal range of influences and mingling with people in other fields.

There are still ways to stay in the same building and get inspiration. One is simply to poke your head out of your own narrow field. I have written quite a few articles over the years; I found it easy to get ideas and inspiration for a new article simply by looking past what horn players do and bringing back ideas from outside the gates of horn tradition. What are the other brasses doing (e.g. look in their instrumental journals)? How about woodwinds? In what ways could I bring back ideas from the world of percussion? How about other styles than classical? Jazz. Latin. World music. Electronic. What about going beyond music all together? Psychology. Brain physiology. Business. Sports. Language/linguistics. Child development. Video games. Magic/illusion.

On the flip side, Tim Requarth and Meehan Crist offer a critical review of Lehrer’s book.  

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Appreciating Jazz Part 9 – Bebop

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By the 1940s jazz styles had begun to change again.  Moving away from the big bands and the pre-arranged music of the Swing Era, jazz musicians began playing in small groups and emphasizing solo improvisation even more.  This new jazz style, eventually called bebop, moved the focus away from dancing and onto listening.  This podcast covers bebop style and some of the important musicians who pioneered this music, including Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clark, and J.J. Johnson.

You can download this podcast in the download link below or through my Podcasts page. You can also subscribe to these podcasts and have them download automatically through iTunes.