While our personal experience is in band, these techniques can easily be transferred to orchestral or vocal ensembles, as well as general music classes. They also serve to meet NAfME National Music Standards.

A Melodic Theme

The foundation of this concept is to teach students a melodic theme from a selection you plan to program in the future. Prepare students for this new piece of music by teaching the theme (or one of the themes), a bass line, and a chord progression before passing out the notation. Students will experience tonal and rhythmic contexts through learning and performing them.  Have students sing and play both the melody and the bass line. 

Depending on the complexity of the theme and bass line, decide with which element to start. It may be easier to begin with the bass line (or a simplified bass line) before teaching the theme. 

We suggest using a rote procedure documented by Rufola and Rutkowski in chapter six of Tips: The Child Voice Revised Edition. Establish the harmonic context with a simple progression (i.e. I-V7-I or i-V7-i) on piano or another harmonic instrument. 

Ask students to listen to several repetitions while keeping them engaged through either moving to the song or by giving them something to listen for. They should audiate the whole song at least once before being asked to sing. Correct any phrases as necessary, then have them perform the entire song again with an added simple piano harmonic accompaniment.

Once students are able to perform both the melody and bass line, teach some simple harmony parts so they may experience playing the chord progression (and the harmonic context). Students will find learning songs by rote easier the more they do it, and it is great ear training. Detailed steps for teaching a piece by rote can be found here or by researching materials cited below.

A Foundation for Warmups

Once students have successfully performed the theme and/or bass line, it becomes the foundation for daily warmups. Analyze the musical characteristics of the repertoire to be performed in that day’s rehearsal. Use the theme, bass line, and/or harmonic progression as the warmup to establish context for the rehearsal. Ask students to create variations of the theme by having them change keys, tonalities (major to minor), meters (duple to triple), instrumentation, etc. Use the familiar theme to establish context for that day’s repertoire during the warm-up. 

For example, if you are planning to rehearse a work in triple meter, teach the students to play the familiar theme in triple meter as the warmup. If your first planned work is in minor tonality, teach the students to play the theme in minor. 

Other warmup suggestions include:

• Teach the melody in a new key before rehearsing a piece in that key.
• Teach the chord progression before working on intonation.
• Explore timbre changes before working on balance.
• Teach a rhythmic accompaniment using challenging rhythms from the current piece.
• Explore developing the theme before rehearsing a piece in sonata form.
• Ask students to improvise a different melody over the chord progression.
• Find other songs that use the same chord progression.

In this way, students will better understand and perform the future piece when it is eventually passed out. Furthermore, students will be learning compositional techniques without getting bogged down with too much terminology. Let’s face it, it’s much easier to explain a recapitulation to a student that has just created one.

Finding the Perfect Piece/Theme

One of the easiest ways to introduce this concept to students is by using a setting of a folk song or a work with a strong melodic idea. Several arrangements are available using the following themes.

• Amazing Grace
• America the Beautiful
• Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair
• Country Gardens
• Danny Boy
• Greensleeves
• Heart and Soul
• Ode to Joy
• Pachelbel’s Canon
• Scarborough Fair
• Shenandoah
• Simple Gifts

If students are new to learning songs by rote it may be best to start with some simple tunes that use only tonic and dominant chords like Hot Cross Buns, Mary Had a Little Lamb, or Long, Long Ago. Once students become more comfortable with the process of transforming a theme, you can ask them to transform future tunes without your guidance.

It is important to note that this process takes place over an unpredictable amount of time. Each step should be successfully accomplished as readiness for future steps. Student achievement will make it apparent when they are ready to move on. If you are unsure – move on! If students crash and burn, jump back a step. For that reason, this process can be adjusted for all levels and/or abilities.

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Final Thoughts

This process will help your students develop a deeper understanding of music, beyond accurately regurgitating the notes in front of them. Although preplanning is imperative, the benefits are huge. Students will learn new music quicker and play more accurately. As they start listening to what is occurring around them and exploring what something is not (other keyalities, tonalities, and meters), students learn what something is. 

By establishing a music context, students begin to attend to tone and intonation by default. Pulse improves as well. Teaching phrasing becomes a non-issue because they have been guided to play not just notes on a page, but a musical line within a familiar tonal and rhythmic context. These steps develop a student’s ability to audiate and self-correct. 

It may appear to be an overwhelming undertaking at first, but take comfort in the fact that your students (and you) will become more adept at this process the more you do it. Our experience is that students enjoy the musical challenge, have fun, and create beyond expectations.

Additional Resources

• Developing Musicianship through Improvisation by Christopher D. Azzara and Richard F. Grunow
• Tips: The Child Voice Revised Edition edited by Maria Runfola and Joanne Rutkowski

The post Prepare Your Ensemble by Creating Musical Context appeared first on SmartMusic.

A top priority in these final weeks is to do everything we can to best close up shop and set things up in advance for back-to-school. We have created a checklist of things to do in these final weeks to help make the start of the new school year easier. To avoid writing a novel, we have consciously excluded the many summer activities we all do including marching band, summer lessons, theater, etc.

Enter your email address below to download the checklist.

As a supplement to the checklist, below are some details on these May-une tasks. We hope these resources – or at least parts of them – are helpful to you no matter what level or ensemble you teach.

Instruments

We have a large number of district instruments available for student use. The start and end of the year are great times to educate students on instrument care. At the same time this training will help you better maintain your “fleet.”

Collection

Be sure to plan ahead and collect instruments early enough to evaluate and make plans, but allow for end of year educational activities, too.

We photograph all incoming brass instruments for dents and update an electronic portfolio. Our rental agreement states that families are responsible for damage. These photos may come in handy.

At the same time, drumheads and other percussion equipment are checked and necessary replacements are ordered.

Maintenance

We use the last week of lessons and band to clean, oil, and grease brass instruments. We have a large tub, snakes, mouthpiece brushes, and other supplies for student use. Students also clean mouthpieces and apply cork grease to woodwinds.

Repairs

All returned instruments must be inspected to determine where repairs are necessary. Any minor repairs that we can do in-house, we will. We have a small repair kit for this purpose (as well as for emergencies throughout the year).

More complex repairs are sent to a local shop. We have found it helpful to send our school rental woodwinds for minor adjustments and pad evaluation early each summer. We encourage families to do the same with their personal instruments. Repair shops get busy in September. We arrange for school instruments to be picked up while we are still in session and returned over the summer.

It is important to keep good records of what instruments are going and what repairs have been performed. We use repair records to determine when it may be appropriate to retire and replace an instrument.

Instrument Assignments

Also on our checklist are lines to assign summer rentals and assign instruments to returning and/or new students for fall. 

Music Library

We have music library storage at each grade level in our district and are fortunate to also have a regional music library from which to borrow. There is a district-wide database for each library, band, orchestra, jazz band, and choral. In the district-wide library database we indicate which pieces we perform each year to avoid duplication. This is especially helpful where our middle school colleagues may program a challenging piece for their group that we might consider programming for one of our ensembles.

Chief among our music library tasks are to return borrowed music and to file as much music as possible (ensemble music, solos, method books, etc.) to start new year with a clean slate. It is also crucial to order replacement parts for missing music. There’s nothing more annoying than pulling a piece of music out of the library to find it is missing a vital part. Take care of it before it is put away. Student librarians are a huge help with library management throughout the year.

We typically select one or two pieces for next year and pull them from the library, then set up folders to begin rehearsing as soon as possible in the fall.

Summer Music Assignment

We use SmartMusic to create a summer class and a summer assignment. In the class, we include ensemble music for next year, assign a few exercises, include some improvisation examples, and a method book. Students are not required to submit assignments but we ask them to accumulate at least 200 minutes of practice throughout the summer.

By giving students specific instructions and items to practice we have found they tend to practice more. What a difference it makes when students come to the first back-to-school rehearsal already prepared to play.

Rooms

Music rooms tend to be shared spaces over the summer. Cleaners will move around equipment. Things are less likely to be damaged or go missing if they are covered and/or packed. This is particularly important with percussion equipment.

Put things away as much as possible. This is never easy with end-of-the-year events, but it is much easier starting the following year with everything in its place. Set aside a special space for items you will absolutely need on the first day back.

We have the students stack and rack chairs and stands as part of the final rehearsal. Not only does it help our cleaners but we have found it keeps our music stands from wandering into other classrooms.

Whenever possible, establish a communication plan if your room will be a shared space over the summer. Better to answer a quick question than be surprised.

Uniforms/Concert Attire

These are pretty clear-cut tasks on the checklist. Clothing needs to be collected, cleaned and organized for fall.  You may also have to contact families for any missing or damaged items.

Calendar for the Following Year

Our district begins to plan dates for the following school year in December. We use this to make our calendar, which includes annual events for our building, district, and community. It even includes helpful data points like various religious holidays.

As you work on your schedule you will also want to coordinate with others including the building principal, fine arts director, and particularly the athletic director to  minimize conflicts and create a supportive environment for your musician-athletes.

Be sure to share concert and event dates with families ASAP to motivate students and notify parents early enough to eliminate conflicts.

Placing Orders

If your district allows it, order your supplies for next year before you leave. That way they will be there on the first day and you will not have to think about it.

Ordering Music

If you have a sense of your next year’s ensemble, order a piece or two to get started with. We have a local music business that offers leftover music inventory to music teachers, by appointment, at half-price at the end of each year. They are willing to bill for these purchases after the start of the new budget year. This is a great way to build a library.

Ordering Instruments

Most schools will ask you to request new equipment mid-year. In our situation, we must order the instruments once the community approves our school budget. The instruments are delivered over the summer and are then ready to assign.

Elect/Appoint Student Leaders

We have an active band council with an elected executive council and several appointed positions such as stage manager, librarians, section leaders, and uniform managers. A council of student leaders can be both helpful and successful at any level by limiting position requirements for younger students.

In addition to electing officers and appointing positions, you’ll want to have current student leaders train new student leaders on job requirements. We have an annual old/new council meeting at a local coffee shop.

Put new student leaders to work prior to summer break. You may find new leaders have the energy and drive to outdo their predecessors.

Information, Documents, Social Media

If possible, collect information about incoming students. While we have access to information through our district student management system, we maintain our own database of music-related information. The best source of this information comes from their current teacher. District teachers share student name, instrument, parent emails, and current performance level. One of our colleagues goes beyond that to provide a paragraph of information about each student.

Complete start-of-year documents. Examples include rental forms, welcome-back letter, handbooks, and concert dates/event calendars.

Select music to arrange for small or non-traditional ensembles. If you have a unique ensemble or missing parts, use the summer make an appropriate arrangement.

We also create and send an end-of-year email to all band family households. Include some or all of the following items:

• Thanks for a great year
• Possible summer music activities i.e. music camp opportunities
• Calendar of possible in-school activities for next year (see above)
• Summer assignment (see above)
• Welcome incoming students with information about band/orchestra and expectations
• Student needs for next year (method books, concert attire, instrument supplies, etc.)
• List of approved private teachers in the area. The end of the year might be a good opportunity to bring teachers in to meet students and encourage participation

You may also wish to establish district-approved social media to keep in touch over the summer.

Self-care

We saved the best (or most important) for last. You need to take care of you so you can take care of your students next year and beyond.  

Find time to be a musician. It is important to remember that we are both musicians and educators. Take some time to get in touch with your own musicianship.

Schedule time to relax and recharge! This has to be a priority. If you are like most music educators, you spent the year setting aside your own needs for those of your students. Use the summer to recharge those batteries for a great start in the fall.

We hope these ideas are helpful. We wish to thank the colleagues that offered their own additions to our brainstorming list. There are a number of other excellent resources including this recent Music Ed Mentor Podcast. The best checklist is one you tailor to your own needs and situation.

Kevin Mead has taught instrumental music in the Churchville-Chili School District for thirty-five years. He’s currently the director of the senior high’s select Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band. His ensembles have won several awards and honors including “Superior” ratings, first place performances, and “Rochester Rocs” awards for Best School Band. Mr. Mead has been honored with several individual awards including being twice named National Honor Society’s Teacher of the Year, the 2017 Willie Lightfoot Youth Advocate of the Year Award given by the Monroe County, NY Legislature, and more recently the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra 2018 Band Music Educator of the Year. Kevin is also a MakeMusic clinician and has trained teachers throughout the country.

The post End-of-Year Music Ensemble Checklist appeared first on SmartMusic.

[Editor’s Note: Last week Glenn Pohland shared some great tips on how to increase your concert attendance and expand community awareness of your program. Today we’re sharing the story of two directors who accomplished both goals with their holiday concert. Hopefully you can apply some of their ideas to benefit your program and community awareness, too.]

We wanted to do something special for last year’s December concert. Among our goals was to increase attendance by attracting some new audience members. Things began to come together when we found an arrangement of Leroy Anderson’s “A Christmas Festival” that included choral parts. Instead of asking our exceptional vocal department to join us for this big closer, we decided to invite members of several area church choirs.

Recruitment

To get the ball rolling, we emailed area church choir leaders and explained our plans for the holiday concert. We shared our ideas for community building and indicated that we would name each participating church in the concert program, offering some exposure. We also emphasized the fun we’d share in performing together in our brand new auditorium.

The positive response we received from church leaders exceeded all expectations. Comments included:

• “We are a small church and to be able to sing in a large chorus is exciting.”
• “I am looking forward to meeting members of other area churches.”
• “It’s a rare opportunity to be accompanied by an entire band in a large auditorium. Sign us up.”

Preparation

About a month before the concert, we sent the choral music to each choir director. We asked them to prepare their groups during their regular rehearsals. On the day of the concert, we had our bands and the choir performers come in an hour early to rehearse the piece all together.

The rehearsal went really well.

After the rehearsal we provided refreshments for choir members in the cafeteria so they could mingle and get to know each other. It was a chance for them to chat with people of like interests and “talk shop” while we reset the stage. We received a number of compliments on that opportunity alone. Folks kept saying they don’t often get occasions like this and that they really enjoyed it.

The Audience

The members of the choirs came to the auditorium for the performances of the two bands. Seats that usually remained empty were full. Augmenting our regular audience with the additional choir members (and their families) really made a difference. It was especially nice to have new people in our audience.

As an added bonus, these were music-loving listeners who could really appreciate the work the students had invested. While they might not have attended one of our concerts in the past, we opened that door for them.

The Performance

After the two groups finished their portion of the concert, we combined our two bands for the grand finale. The members of the choirs surrounded the front of the stage. We projected a gentle snow on a screen behind the bands to set the mood. The excitement in the faces of the choir members was contagious. I sensed that many of them were brought back to their own public school years and the thrill of performing with friends in a large auditorium.

The resulting performance brought tears to our eyes. Not simply because of the sheer size of the group, or even the beauty of the sound. We were moved by the incredible number of connections that were made that day. Connections were made between members of different churches, and between community members and school. We saw different religious denominations singing as one. We heard developing instrumentalists performing next to advanced players.

Seeing everyone together, from our youngest band student to a 92 year-old lifetime choir member, was overwhelming. The performance concluded with a standing ovation that lasted longer than any we have ever experienced.

We continued to receive accolades for the event for many weeks afterwards. Hopefully, many of our new friends will come back to enjoy our holiday concert this year. Part of the trick is to invite them!

Kevin Mead has taught instrumental music in the Churchville-Chili School District for thirty-five years. He’s currently the director of the senior high’s select Wind Ensemble and Jazz Band. His ensembles have won several awards and honors including “Superior” ratings, first place performances, and “Rochester Rocs” awards for Best School Band.

Mr. Mead has been honored with several individual awards including being twice named National Honor Society’s Teacher of the Year, the 2017 Willie Lightfoot Youth Advocate of the Year Award given by the Monroe County, NY Legislature, and more recently the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra 2018 Band Music Educator of the Year. Kevin is also a MakeMusic clinician and has trained teachers throughout the country.

Terrence Bacon is an instrumental music teacher at Churchville-Chili Senior High and both adjunct faculty and a doctoral student in the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo. Mr. Bacon holds a Master of Music Education from Michigan State University and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education and Saxophone Performance from the Eastman School of Music. Terry has conducted several honors bands and pit orchestras for school, community, and semi-professional productions.  He serves as both band camp director and conductor for Chautauqua Institution’s Chautauqua Music Camps. Terry also is a frequent presenter on technology in music education, music learning theory, and developing creativity in the music classroom.

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