Horn is such a versatile instrument, thus the concept of characteristic tone is actually quite situationally dependent. But for our purposes as teachers, horn sound should be really round, warm, open and resonant. I talk to my students about what the sound would look like, and often think of it as a giant bubble that comes out of the bell and then sweeps out into the room, growing to fill up all of the space.

Characteristic Tone on Horn

Selecting horn players and switching from another instrument to horn 

I believe the most important factor in successfully switching to any instrument is that the student likes the sound of the instrument and really wants to play it. If real desire is there, anyone can figure an instrument out and teachers can guide their path. For horn in particular, there will be challenges—many unique. Different from other instruments is how the partials lay on the instrument and the need to maneuver across both the F and Bb harmonic series. Students have to be willing to play some wrong notes as they work to gain pitch confidence and discern intervals. It can help if a student is fairly laid back, ok with the belief that they will not be perfect all the time, and accept that mistakes are opportunities to learn.

Selecting Horn Players

Switch students to horn alongside a buddy 

For new horn players, it’s especially awesome to have a buddy. Pairs are great when learning horn, as it gives you someone to lean on and helps create a safety net. It’s great to learn alongside an experienced player, but that is not needed. It’s just helpful to have someone to go through the process with, and it helps take off some of the individual pressure.

Switching to Horn: Buddy System

Posture is very important in developing the best tone on horn. You HAVE to bring the instrument to you! I help students get set up in a relaxed position to avoid tension and muscle strain. If they are on the smaller side, it may be helpful to place a block or book under their right foot, or to put a rolled up towel on the chair beside their leg on which to rest the horn bell. You can also experiment with sitting on the corner of a chair, rather than straight on. There are lots of options on how to set up, but the starting point is that students have to get set up in a way that enables the horn to come to them and allows them to stay relaxed. 

While I do like starting students on double horns when possible, single horns are great options for students who cannot comfortably support the horn due to the weight or size of the instrument or the student’s size, particularly torso length. And while hand position in the bell is so important, it really does not need to be a non-negotiable from the start. Teachers just need to keep visually assessing students to make sure they are set up on equipment that allows them to stay tension-free and will help them experience success rather than make it harder – i.e. left hand grip width, weight of horn, tightness or openness of instrument wrap. Teachers need to figure out what individual students are ready for, make accommodations as needed, and then adjust and refine placements and grip as they grow.

Horn Player Posture

Habits 

One of the big habits to keep checking in on with horn students is their right hand position. Students can get laxed on this while teachers assume they are all set. It’s important to keep peeking into the bell or asking students to show their hand position outside of the bell to check for the proper shape. And for this, assess needs for adjustment and refinement as they grow. If they are smaller when they start playing and cannot demonstrate a correct right hand position while maintaining a relaxed posture, keep watching them and assess when the right time to add the proper hand position is. The back of their fingers must be against the bell, with a slight curve at the palm of the hand. Also, it’s important that students push slides all the way in when they put their instruments away, and pull the slides out when they play. They can forget these important steps when unpacking and packing up quickly.  

Right Hand Position

Horn Embouchure 

Where embouchures are concerned, my general belief is “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” However, this is something important to address when starting students or switching students. I focus on a mouthpiece placement that is ⅔ top lip and ⅓ bottom lip. I often find it easier to switch flute or clarinet students to horn, rather than brass students. Woodwind students are more of a blank slate embouchure-wise, while most brass players are likely used to a ½-½ mouthpiece placement that they will need to adjust (unless they fall into the “if it ain’t broke” category!) Using mirrors to help students see placement is so useful, as are mouthpiece visualizers. The roundness of the mouthpiece rim should connect across the bow of the top lips, not sit in the lip.

Horn Embouchure

Common Performance Errors 

Fingering charts for horn players are COMPLICATED! I think teachers really do need to offer more guidance here to help students “decode” fingerings. Most fingering charts show two fingerings, one for F horn and one for Bb horn. Without guidance, students often just pick a fingering – and not always the one that is best in tune, part of the easiest fingering patterns, or that provides the best tone and most resonance. Teachers can highlight the appropriate fingerings in a chart or provide them with a “no choices” fingering chart for their instrument. 

Simplifying Horn Fingering Charts

As I mentioned earlier, slides do need to be pulled out. Too often students think the instrument is play-ready when it comes out of the case, but they need to be told to pull the slides out. For horn, pulling slides out approximately a pinky width is a good start.

Bell placement is another big issue for horn players. While this was referenced earlier, it is important that bells are not held off of legs before students are physically able to hold the horn weight, as this may create tension in arms, back, shoulders, and sometimes an arch in the back. The most important bell issue in any set-up is that the bell is pointed out and away from the body (not turned in and pointed directly into the player’s body.) You want the sound to come out of the bell into the space around the player, and the right hand should guide the sound behind you. When you listen to students play individually, you can often tell if their hand is in the bell too far (uncentered sounds) or if the bell is pointed directly into the body (muffled sounds), so listen regularly! 

Supporting young horn players

I absolutely love the “horn only” pages in method books. It’s so helpful for students to have options, as some find it easier to play in mid-high ranges, while others prefer mid-low ranges. Drawing on the concept of the “horn only” exercises, rewriting parts to help students access their most secure, confident, and comfortable range is a great way to help them grow. In an effort to meet the students where they are range-wise, I often give horn players the trumpet parts in unison exercises, and then rewrite alto and/or tenor saxophone parts so the horns have buddies to play in unison with. Helping horns more regularly access their preferred range helps students focus on mastering all the fundamental parts of playing before they are asked to play in other growing ranges outside of their comfort zone. It allows the setting of a solid foundation that focuses on air and relaxation and eliminates pinching and tension.   

Along these lines, it is so helpful to guide students to audiate pitches and discern patterns. Is that next note higher or lower? Is it a lot higher or a lot lower? Maybe it’s only a step? I use “home base” (C-E-G-E-C) as the foundation for pitch target practice because they are generally comfortable pitches for all players and the intervals have an even-ness about them that is missing if you start too low or too high. In this way, students can use “home base” to find their first pitch before they play, and combine that skill with their pattern knowledge to set a great course for pitch accuracy. 

Audiation

I am a big proponent of modeling for students. I keep almost every instrument at my teaching station so I can quickly pick it up and play. It’s important that teachers understand what students are dealing with on each of their instruments, and building skills to model helps the teacher know what is behind a particular issue and how to correct it. It’s also vital that students listen to professionals play on their instrument. Teachers can provide a playlist or students can search to create their own. Students need a concept in their head of what that sound should sound like, and we want them to aim high toward a great pro sound! Students can more easily replicate characteristic tone when it is the sound they hear in their head. Play music for them and encourage them to attend live performances. 

Modeling and Listening

MakeMusic Cloud resources  

Scale patterns are great tools to help horn students develop their pitch skills. When patterns are present, it is easier to know if you are correct or incorrect. Also playing songs that you know is key, since, again, you can tell if you are correct or incorrect. Sing or buzz songs even without playing them on the horn so that you have the freedom to focus on the sound and the musicality of the tune. I encourage young horn players to seek out music to songs they know and love, use the MakeMusic Cloud first pitch tool so they can hear the starting note and match it before they begin, and have a great time developing their ear and playing skills while playing songs they love!  

MakeMusic Cloud Tuner Demo

MakeMusic Cloud Pitch Reference Tool

Explore More Power Up!

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Below are some scenarios for you to consider:

Teaching Concert Music: Pros, Cons, and Suggestions 

• Pros: I make my selection of concert music based on what I want my students to know. If D Major and 6/8 time are the main goals, my concert music is selected based on that. By concert time, my students will not only understand these concepts, but they’ll sound great because we spent a great deal of time studying that repertoire. I also don’t have a lot of contact time with my students, so this is the perfect option. The concert and how we sound is everything.
• Cons: Not all parts are equal in challenge level. Even if each section gets melodic features, interesting harmonies, have accidentals, etc., chances are one section gets exposure to something a lot more or less than another. After drilling the music for several months, students play it confidently and give a great performance, but it becomes boring rather quickly and the students (and me!) are itching for something else. 
• Suggestions: I’ve been there…we all have. The important facts to take away from these pros and cons are: what my students need to know, time constraints, having successful concert experiences, equality among the instruments, and engagement. Unless your concert music is in unison (or as close as possible) or each section gets the same thing at some point, teaching just concert music teaches your students one thing: how to play the concert music. 

Consider this exercise: if you selected one of your concert pieces that your students know fluently, chose eight measures, and then mixed up the notes and rhythms in each measure so it didn’t sound the same and didn’t tell them, how would your kids do? 

Mixing it up is important, because not all concert pieces are written equally. If you plan on using concert music to teach your curriculum, try and aim to make sure the parts are balanced and that you have a way to measure their understanding. Did you select that piece to teach hooked bows? Perfect. Then any piece or exercise within their playing level using hooked bows should be accessible to them. If it’s not, then perhaps their exposure to it in the concert music wasn’t enough for them to fully understand it. 

My advice is to have some unison exercises printed on the back of each part that highlight your focus goals. You can warm up on these before rehearsing and they can be rhythmically or tonally centered (or both). You might even consider writing out the main melody (or all the melodies) for each part and have everyone learn them all.

For those of you that are more daring and have some extra time, rewrite each part for every section in the orchestra. This means your cellos can get a chance to play the first violin part, violas can play second violin, basses can play viola, first violins play bass, second violins play cello….it’s actually a lot of fun and will keep your kids on edge. You can do this as a fun challenge after they’ve mastered their concert music. 

Teaching the Method Book: Pros, Cons, and Suggestions 

• Pros: I know exactly what my goals are for my students. If they can make it to page 27 exercise 83, I know exactly what concert music I can select to support that learning. Plus, I know they’re prepared for next year. Students are all learning the same skills, regardless of what instrument they play, and I can have mixed lesson groups and/or large group rehearsals where we can all focus on the exact same thing. 
• Cons: I am losing valuable time having students learn short eight-measure exercises that aren’t particularly interesting, melodic, or fun. Some students get it quickly and move onto a new exercise while others are still stuck on the first few. I also haven’t found a method book I’m completely in love with that covers everything I need my students to know or that fits with my philosophy of instrumental instruction, so I end up supplementing with other materials. My students also can’t afford method books and I don’t have a budget to supply them. 
• Suggestions: Once again…we’ve all been there. The important facts to take away from these pros and cons are: what my students need to know, leveling the playing field, letting go of concert music, quality method books, varying student levels, and money. These things aside, teaching straight from the method book teaches your kids one thing: how to play music out of context using specific skill sets. 

Consider this exercise: if you created a bunch of short playing pieces based on the page(s) and exercises you covered in your method book, how would your kids do? 

Once again, mixing it up is important, because not all method books are written equally. If you plan on using the method book as the sole method to deliver your curriculum, select a good one (or a mixture of your favorites). Did exercises 30 through 40 focus on reading the notes D, E, and F#? Perfect. Then any piece or exercise within their playing level using those notes should be accessible to them. If they’re still having trouble differentiating between Ds and F#s, then maybe they haven’t seen or played those notes enough. 

The method book approach or utilizing supplemental materials from a variety of books and resources helps build confident musicians and fluent readers that learn to produce a strong and nice tone on their instrument. This approach can be used in large ensemble settings as warm-ups that are tied into the students’ concert music and they can also be used in small lesson groups if your program has them. 

Selecting a Method Book

This is easier said than done, but selecting a quality method book is essential to unifying your instrumental program and to ensure your students are learning what they need to in order to be successful. Meet with your fellow colleagues and discuss what everyone likes to use. We all have our go-tos, so conversations like these can get pretty passionate amongst seasoned instrumental teachers. The important thing is to demonstrate what a chosen book brings to your students and to be open minded. 

Issues that educators often face when finding high-quality methodologies include: books introducing too many notes on one page; having letter names written in the noteheads; the print going from large to small too quickly; progression between different techniques moves too quickly; outdated pictures and exercises; boring or not colorful and exciting; too colorful with too much going on; not being tied to state standards; and not aligned with your current curriculum (if you have one). 

Another consideration is what supplemental resources each book might come with. Is the book available on online platforms like MakeMusic Cloud? Connecting your physical method book with online resources can help make practice more accessible to students and open opportunities for deeper learning.

Whichever way your department chooses to go, it’s important that all students are getting the same experience. If your district has ten elementary schools, it’s helpful knowing your colleagues across town are using the same book and that you can collaborate. As long as we meet all of our students at their individual levels, they will all move through the book sequentially which makes teaching easier. This is especially important for elementary school teachers since they are setting up the foundation of the instrumental program. Even if the book isn’t your dream book, use it when possible, stay aligned with your colleagues, and supplement when needed. 

Curriculum

Be sure when you choose a method book that it aligns with your district’s curriculum (if you utilize one). If it doesn’t align you may need to update the curriculum, which is fine since districts tend to do curriculum audits every five years or so. This is an opportunity to see how your program can be updated and how your chosen methodology complements and elevates it. We are the custodians of our instrumental programs and over time, the changes we implement make our programs stronger. 

In some districts, instrumental programs are extra/co-curricular and might not have a curriculum. This places teachers on a little island in their individual programs where their goal is to survive. But this doesn’t mean you don’t have to have some sort of guide. If the district uses a common method book, collaboration with your colleagues can break you from feeling isolated. You can then create common yearly goals, monthly pacing guides, assessments, and even concert pieces that all students should be exposed to. 

Money

I am grateful that I have a yearly budget that will not only sustain my program but ensure that it grows. My students can afford good-quality rental instruments and buy books. 

If you don’t have a large budget (or any at all) or the district you teach in is in a lower socioeconomic class, purchasing books and instruments will be a challenge. Try doing the following: 

• Reach out to area districts and see if they have old books they’d be willing to donate. Some vendors might donate older books to you if you ask, and you can even promote them by recommending them as a vendor. 
• Join online social media groups for music educators and engage in a discussion on funds to support your program, free or cheap access to resources, grants, etc.
• Build up enough funds so you can create a class set, even if that means you’re only buying one method book every few months. Some teachers with no budget even choose to purchase their own, but don’t break your personal piggy bank.
• Many towns have online marketplaces where people can request gifts or offer items to others for free. Create a post and ask if anyone has old books (or even instruments and parts). You’d be surprised what you’ll get. 
• Tag-sales are a great and cheap way to find some good deals. 
• Some public libraries have bi or tri-annual book giveaways. Check to see if you can find any method books. 
• Project your method book onto a screen in your classroom and have your students practice from there. 
• Reach out to your method book’s publisher and ask permission to make educational photo-copy sets for your students. It never hurts to ask, but do this to avoid copyright infringement. 
• Ask your principal if there are any funds left from the previous years’ order and if they’d be willing to order some books. 
• Some PTAs offer teachers funds for school supplies. Check with them. 
• Apply for grants. There are thousands of them – just do a search and see what comes up. If you get funds, make sure to write them a thank you letter. 
• CREATE YOUR OWN BOOK: This is actually not as challenging as it sounds. If you have access to music writing softwares like Finale or Noteflight, make a series of exercises and songs that embody what you love most of the method books and the supplemental materials you use. If you have a personal teaching approach, your book can utilize it. And best of all: since it’s yours, you can copy and print as many as you’d like. 

Using Both 

By far, the approach that I prefer utilizes a mixture of what I have outlined above. I have my students purchase a book of solos and a method book. We practice concert music during our large orchestra rehearsals and use lessons to work on technique and solo repertoire. This doesn’t mean I’ll never work on concert music in lessons, but I’ll limit myself to eight measures and won’t start doing this until I get closer to concert time. The concert music I choose also correlates with the book. In other words, it’s not like I’m not working on the concert music: I’m giving the students the skills they need to play their concert music by using a text. Always remember: the concert music should complement your book!

But this is also dependent on the structure of your program (note: the term ‘lessons’ means small heterogeneous/homogeneous group lessons). Below are some examples of how public/private school instrumental programs are structured. Consider the following:

• I only see my students for ensemble rehearsals: If you’re working with large groups of students at a time and with mixed instrumentation, a method book can save you since you can work on concepts together. Don’t just drill the book, but don’t just drill concert music: use both. 
• I only see my students for lessons and then we have one or two ensemble rehearsals before the concert: Using a mixture of teaching both concert music and the method book can be useful here. Some method books have their own concert pieces built in, so if you work your students up to them, they can perform right out of the book. This can be especially useful for Concert Informances, where I have my beginning students perform some of their exercises to show parents the progression of learning.
• I see my students for ensemble rehearsals and for one or two lessons a week: This is a great scenario, but time is always important. Ensemble rehearsals should be used for something that the group can do together. Align your concert repertoire with specific pages in the book(s) you’re using and try incorporating both. 
• We use a block rotation and my time with students varies each week: It can be challenging if each week is a little different. Give yourself a goal (i.e. I’m going to get my students to this exercise by such time) and then prioritize concert music the next week. Don’t overshoot: concert repertoire shouldn’t be challenging. It should complement what the students already know how to do or are currently learning. This gives you the flexibility to not feel pressured to teach the method book or the concert music. 
• Rehearsals and lessons are before-school: Regardless of where or when your program meets, you should still have specific goals in mind. Remember, there are some great lesson books that even have concert pieces, but you might only have time to do a few pages if you don’t meet very often. 
• Lessons are homogeneous: Another great reason to use a method book, since everyone can be in unison and move together! Concert music is exciting because the students are putting together different parts for a performance, but each part is not written at the same challenge level. Consider what your flutes get to play versus the trombone section, or even the difference between first and second violin. If you’re using a method book, they can all do this. But why can’t you rewrite that challenging violin melody for your basses? Instead of just having them play their usual quarter note accompaniment, tell the entire orchestra that everyone will learn how to play the main melody, even if only the violins will perform it in the concert. 

In Conclusion 

It can be a bit challenging to let go of something that we’ve done for so long, especially since we all feel so strongly about our particular teaching approaches. The best advice I can give you is that you should use an approach that you personally enjoy but to try and incorporate some of what was suggested above. Make a solid attempt to use a method book, even if only as a warm-up or supplemental resource, and do so regularly to get your students into a routine. 

If possible, keep concert music on the back-burner and make sure that the exercises you’re teaching in the book are correlated to your concert music. A simple example of this is if you’re practicing some exercises on a page that focuses on reading the first four scale degrees. If you’re spending time on that and students are achieving mastery, then the concert music should support that. But if the majority of your concert music uses scale degrees five through seven, the two don’t really work well together. 

The more students read music out of context and in short achievable exercises, the more they will develop musical fluency. It’s similar to a child walking down the street and seeing a stop sign, reading the word stop out loud, and physically stopping. They are seeing the word “STOP” out of context, but it still has the same meaning and sound, so they are making that connection. When they read a full sentence that uses the word stop, they will understand it in context. 

Teach your students to develop their musical language skills by pairing method book exercises and/or solos with concert music. By doing so, you are ensuring that your students are well-rounded musicians who have the necessary foundational skills to perform anything you put in front of them.

The post Teaching Concert Music or the Method Book appeared first on MakeMusic.

Throughout my career, I’ve strongly believed that it’s important to involve as many students as possible in festival and contest. Not only are they great performance opportunities for both individuals and ensembles, but the preparation for these events are amazing opportunities for musical growth.

However, despite their name, the preparation does not always feel so “festive.” Balancing concert programs between multiple ensembles, preparing for sight reading sessions at contest, all while dealing with interruptions from snow days and testing, it’s easy to get overwhelmed.

MakeMusic Cloud can help take the stress out of festival prep. It has a variety of helpful tools to keep rehearsals on track, while ensuring that students continue to build essential musical skills during practice.

Here are some ways that I utilize MakeMusic Cloud while preparing my orchestras for festival.

Music Selection

MakeMusic Cloud allows me and my students to try pieces before committing to purchasing. We can search through the Music Catalog to listen, or even practice, a variety of titles.

For Solo and Ensemble events, I often search through the Suzuki and Highland-Etling books as they usually have multiple NYSSMA Eligible pieces in them. These books are available both digitally on MakeMusic Cloud and in print from Alfred Music. I typically suggest which pieces my students should try and then let them choose their favorites. Allowing students to choose their own music creates a level of ownership that encourages practice and enjoyment.

The playlist feature allows me to keep an organized grouping of festival pieces that I like, or that I am considering, to reference when placing orders later on. It’s helpful to track titles by level, instrument type, and it makes sharing the lists with my students easy.

You can also use the State Lists tool to find titles from the required lists in your state. The tool includes required lists from 26 different states across various ensemble types and levels.

Student Practice

Whether they’re preparing a solo, small ensemble, or a large ensemble piece, MakeMusic Cloud will help keep student practice on track. I can assign specific sections that I want them to work on, and listen to each individual’s recordings to track progress. You can also adjust the tempo of any title while practicing, and the accompaniment will slow down to match!

I find that duets and trios are an excellent way to get students involved in festival, but matching schedules for the small groups to meet can be a challenge. Every title in MakeMusic Cloud comes with the accompaniment track so students are always able to practice as if they’re with the full group.

As an orchestra teacher, this time of the year is also when I tend to introduce shifting. It often shows up in the required scales or the pieces they are working on. I lean on the Sound Innovations series, which is in MakeMusic Cloud, to help me introduce the concept. I can demonstrate an example, then send them off to different corners of the room to practice with headphones while I rotate around to help individuals.

The Compose tool also allows me to write, share, and assign new exercises directly in the platform. If there’s a skill or exercise I can’t find, I can simply create it myself and instantly send it to my students. Click here to learn how to get started with Compose.

Intonation and Tuners

One of my favorite MakeMusic Cloud tools is the built-in Tuner. With this, every student has access to a tuner every time they practice. The visual and instant feedback is a tremendous help for students new to playing solo or small ensemble repertoire.

I also always have the tuner projected on screen during class, whether we’re learning scales or rehearsing as a group. We can check pitches as we go and play along with drones to help keep us in tune.

Sight Reading

Sight reading is often the toughest aspect of contests and festivals. Even after spending months on their pieces and acing their scales, sight reading can still trip many students up.

Sight Reading Studio is a feature that creates endless sight reading exercises based on the parameters you set. You can create templates and assignments for students to practice on their own, or create an ensemble template and work on it in class. It allows you to customize the exercises however you want, like specific rhythmic figures, key or time signatures, intervals, and more.

Scale Exercises

If your state has scale requirements for solo and ensemble, you’ll find them in MakeMusic Cloud. It can be difficult to find time to practice scale exercises on top of rehearsing pieces, sight reading, and other rehearsal activities. With the required exercises built-in to the platform, you can simply assign the scales to each student and track progress individually from their recordings. They’ll also get feedback from the built in assessment tools and can listen back to their recordings.

Even if your state doesn’t have required rhythms for scales, it can be helpful for practice. I often use the Texas scale exercises as they can be pretty challenging and require more thought than simple quarter notes. Once my students have mastered the scale in a simpler rhythm, I encourage them to try Texas or other states’ exercises to build their confidence and skill.

MakeMusic Cloud is a game-changer when it comes to festival and contest preparation. It allows us to balance the multiple skills and requirements easily, all while providing valuable feedback and pushing students to perform at their highest level.

The post Preparing for Festival with MakeMusic Cloud appeared first on MakeMusic.

Practicing sight reading not only improves music literacy, but also helps musicians build a strong foundation for further musical development and enables them to tackle more challenging music in the future. 

MakeMusic is currently offering free subscriptions to Sight Reading Studio – a new application that quickly generates unlimited music for individuals or ensembles. Sight Reading Studio is fully customizable, offers instant feedback, and is free to use through June of 2024. 

Try it free

Tips for Band Directors

Band directors can harness the power of sight reading in various ways to aid in the development of their students, both as individual musicians and as an ensemble. Assigning sight reading as homework offers students the opportunity to hone their skills independently, ensuring continued progress beyond the confines of the classroom. Additionally, sight reading activities can be incorporated into sub plans for days when directors are not present.

Try This:

 One innovative approach is to gamify sight reading. Create a class leaderboard based on difficulty, accuracy, or time spent and have students complete sight reading activities to receive placement on the leaderboard. 

Since Sight Reading Studio can generate endless combinations of instruments and parts, all fitting within standard harmony rules, it’s the perfect tool for group learning for any combination of students! This friendly competition fosters a supportive environment, motivating students to improve their sight reading abilities while creating a sense of camaraderie within the ensemble and making learning enjoyable.

Tips for Private Lesson Teachers

Private music teachers can use sight reading as a tool to help develop students’ musicianship during lessons. Sight reading for five to ten minutes at the start of a lesson can serve as a musical ice breaker, and an expected challenge for the student to help get them into “performance mode”. 

Observing the sight reading process in real time also allows teachers to gain insights into their students’ musical comprehension and technical proficiency. Direct observation allows private teachers to provide immediate feedback and discuss necessary alterations or improvements to the students’ approach.

Try This:

Sight reading during lessons can serve as a diagnostic tool to help teachers identify weak areas in their students’ playing, and begin addressing them within their lessons and the repertoire they work on. Sight Reading Studio offers a plethora of presets and refinements that can be used to target any number of elements in a student’s playing, as well as the ability to save and share custom templates unique to each student’s needs.

Tips for Students

As a music student, sight reading can be a valuable tool in your arsenal for musical growth. Students can leverage sight reading to prepare for honor band auditions and Music Performance Assessments (MPA) contests, where sight reading is often required. It can also be used as a tool to work on other elements of your playing such as rhythm, aural skills, and musicality. 

Sight Reading Studio enhances all of these elements by offering a range of difficulties and styles, all customizable within the preset creator! By regularly engaging in sight reading practice, you can: 

• Improve your ability to confront and conquer unfamiliar pieces
• Enhance your overall musicianship
• Lay the foundation for becoming a well-rounded and confident performer

Try This:

Sight reading can introduce you to unfamiliar musical styles and challenges, broadening your musical scope, as well as an activity to focus on when you aren’t sure what to practice! Use material for other instruments as your sight reading exercises to practice in styles that are atypical for your instrument – for example a clarinet etude book is going to be a much different playing style than French horn! 

The abundant applications of sight reading emphasize its significance in music education not only as a skill, but also as a tool to further musical growth. As teachers and students alike embrace this skill, they open doors to a richer and more fulfilling musical experience, characterized by continuous growth, adaptability, and a deep appreciation for the art of making music.

 In effort to underscore its importance, the full version of Sight Reading Studio is free to use through June 2024, making it the perfect tool to try new sight reading activities with! 

To get started, simply create a free MakeMusic Cloud account (or login if you already have one):

Get started for free

The post Sight Reading For All: Applications of Sight Reading for Teachers and Students appeared first on MakeMusic.

I believe this series solves several problems that ensemble conductors and private teachers struggle with on a daily basis:

• Motivating their students to practice more
• Helping students make more of an immediate connection between the music they are playing in band or orchestra and the world around them
• Achieving more meaningful student engagement during the technique portion of ensemble rehearsals (and for that matter, making technique more fun for students in general!)

Essentially, the Foundations Series is a collection of technical exercises that are set to actual movie soundtracks. These are not “play-along” tracks where kids are just playing the melody (or a watered-down version of the melody). Rather, they are specifically designed to engage students and get them to practice without even knowing they are. Every movie cue includes a “technique builder” objective and practice directive. Wind players focus on everything from long tones to articulation, lip slurs, dynamics, and more. String players may be working on octave string tuning, bow distribution, the D tetrachord, or harmonics. Percussionists tackle various rudiments, roll technique, and more. There are so many kids that go home and try to “figure out” themes from their favorite movies. While we want to encourage that exploration, this still results in a lot of kids developing poor technique in order to do something they haven’t learned yet. With the Foundations Series, kids are able to interact with a ton of movie soundtracks at varying levels while refining their own technique at the same time. This includes students who have literally been playing for only a week!

What sparked the idea to start?

It all began as a whim of an idea in the Fall of 2023. At that time, Meg 2: The Trench was in theaters. The music was incredibly exciting, but not melodically driven. So we asked a question: “Could we write technical exercises that would help kids improve while allowing them to play along with the soundtrack?” Several weeks later, we released Mega Foundations. I was stunned at the thousands of band and string students that engaged with the content, and we knew immediately that this was a fantastic way to motivate students to practice.

How do you envision these exercises being used?

I have heard from a ton of teachers who are using these in ensemble rehearsals. Some use these as part of the warm-up (focusing on articulation, intonation, bowing, etc.) and others use these to reinforce concepts that they are teaching to the students. The soundtracks provide variety from a constant metronome or harmony director, yet function the same way. Some teachers have reported that kids are locking in even more because they are more engaged with the soundtracks. Of course, a lot of teachers are having kids play these at home as well. Since they are technical exercises, students benefit from continuous practice both individually but also in an ensemble. For the ensemble aspect, we made the parts printable within MakeMusic Cloud (without a print add-on subscription!) so groups would be able to take full advantage of these exercises in rehearsal.

Villainous Foundations is brand new: what is unique about it?

While a lot of the Foundations Series have been designed to promote individual technique, I really wanted Villainous Foundations to incorporate ensemble playing as well given that so many groups are getting ready for adjudication. So while these are incredibly fun and useful for individual practice, they also address important elements found on adjudicator sheets such as intonation, tone, articulation, blend, dynamic control, bow mechanics, and more. These can become part of a daily routine in which kids are made hyper aware of matching note length, pitch, tempo, and in the case of strings, thinking about contact point on the bow, how much bow they are using, etc. Of course, there is an entire section for beginning students as well. And for the first time, we are also including printable scores so directors can easily work the entire group at once.

Can you tell us a little about the process of selecting accompaniment tracks to match your exercises? 

It’s actually the other way around! I work with Fred Flowerday, who handles all of the audio production for the series. He typically looks for tracks that would be well suited for the kind of material I want to write, and then we begin the process of vetting and fitting everything together. In some cases, a track is very drone-based, which may lend itself well toward tone production. Others may be more melodically based, which may be better suited as a chromatic/finger-twister type of exercise. The primary element we start with is the theme of the series. So far, we’ve had Mega Foundations, Spooky Foundations, and Festive Foundations. The engagement has grown with each new release—more kids are practicing! 

What’s next?

We have several series in the works, some of which will be driven by movie releases down the road. One series I am particularly excited about is going to be released next fall: Hogwarts Foundations: Year 1. Beginners will get to experience band and orchestra through the music that accompanied Harry in his first year at Hogwarts (yes, starting with a single note!). More advanced players will get an entirely different skill set to work on. I also think this will be a wonderful recruiting tool for teachers—it’s all very exciting, and just the beginning of what’s to come…

Not a subscriber? You can try Foundations for free! 

All of the Foundations Series is available to MakeMusic Cloud subscribers. If you don’t currently have a subscription, now is the perfect time to begin your free 30-day trial and make the most of it. Experience how MakeMusic Cloud can power up your festival prep over the next month and start your trial today! 

Request a Platform Trial to receive trial teacher and student subscriptions, or start an Individual Trial instantly. 

One more special bonus…

While the Foundations Series is already positively impacting thousands of students and teachers, we want to share its benefits with even more musicians. We’ve made one exercise from the new Villainous Foundations free as a YouTube play-along (band available now, strings coming very soon!) AND we are offering free printable parts and a score for you to try out right away with your students.

Lights, camera, practice!

The post Lights, Camera, Practice! An interview with Brian Balmages, creator of the new Foundations Series appeared first on MakeMusic.

To help give directors and students access to the needed exercises that are not all found in one place traditionally, I have worked with MakeMusic to curate a playlist of exercises. This playlist is broken into 5 topics: Low Notes Prep, High Notes Long Tones, Simple High Note Songs, Register Leaps and Over the Break Technique.  The students can be assigned these lines for at home practice or full band printable music is available for incorporation in a full ensemble situation for some of the selections.

If your band has mixed instrumentation and you would like to practice these lines with the entire band during rehearsal, you can still do so. This is how I would do it in my band hall:  Simply have your students all pull out their devices and log in to MakeMusic Cloud. They should clear off their music stand and adjust the stand to be like a “table”.  Place the device on the stand. Students can open the exercise by accessing the playlist in MakeMusic Cloud. Tip: once a Playlist link is accessed by a user, they can go back to it easily (without the link) by visiting My Library.

You can give them a 321 countdown, and everyone presses play together. In the top menu bar, they can choose Display, and then in the drop-down menu for Beat Cursor, they can select No Cursor. They can also deselect Highlight Measure. This allows the students to be a count or so “off” when they press play, and they can still follow along and play the selection. I have my personal computer playing through the classroom speakers with the My Part and Metronome features on to help them to stay together. You can also have them read the line from their personal computers and conduct the time. Use your creativity with your unique space and rehearsal instrumentation to bring these important drills to your clarinet section as often as possible.

Full Ensemble Use Tips

As you approach these topics, be very aware of the set up that your clarinet students are playing on.  Usually, a firmer reed is needed for students. I prefer to have my students on a 3 or 3.5 reed at this point.

Low Notes Prep

Before any student begins the process of going “over the break,” I feel like the students should spend some time “exploring” the lower notes of the clarinet and what happens if they press the register key.  In a very exploratory way, encourage students to play those notes at home and other non-formal rehearsal situations that work for your situation.  Don’t tell the note names yet, or show them where they are on the staff, just show them the cool things that they can do if they “add fingers.”  So much tension and stress is placed on “going over the break” that it can be a more positive experience for many students to have already played around with these notes before they are formally introduced. I do this a few weeks prior to formally teaching the next steps.

After students have explored these new notes with success, it is time to secure their understanding of the chalumeau register (notes from middle C to low E).  This requires reading ledger lines and students must understand all 3 components of note identification to progress properly.  Students must note name and finger out loud.  Fingering worksheets, flash cards, chanting together in class are all ways that students can gain confidence in this register.  A video submission/assessment might look like having a student video their fingers while saying note names out loud to an assigned line.  Be aware of the right-hand ring finger, it often does not like to cover the hold and students may need help guiding into the correct position to seal the hole.  Having a good hand position is crucial to students reaching and sealing keys.  Some young players have such thin and small fingers that they can’t seal the keys on the right hand.  It is important to reassure students that everyone develops on the instrument at a different pace and that they will be able to do these notes eventually, if not right now.  You may need to rewrite a part for these students to keep them from being discouraged.

Register Leaps

Register Leaps Exercises are a great way to bridge students from the lower register (chalumeau) to the higher register (clarion).  Be cautious to not speed through this step.  Clarinet players are often asked at this stage of learning to read, finger and voice 10 or more new notes.  Their confidence in the lower register is crucial when beginning register leaps.  Again, lots of drilling with saying note names out loud and fingering is going to help the students to learn to be musically literate in these registers.  

High Notes Long Tones

High Notes Long Tones give students the opportunity to play these new high notes in sustained exercises.  Again, note naming and fingering out loud, and other drills for music literacy on these notes can’t be overlooked.  Add simple rhythms to these sustained note exercises to work on the articulation component of this new register.  The sides of the tongue should be high in the mouth for proper voicing.  Continue to monitor their embouchures, there should be very little to no change and certainly not jaw movement when articulating.

Simple High Notes Songs

Once students are successful in holding out the higher notes with good tone, and showing good control in articulating in the register, they can play simple songs.  Simple High Note Songs are a way for students to play melodies without needing to cross the break.  These exercises are exclusively above third space C in the treble clef.  They can work on their musical literacy as well as tone and pitch on these exercises.  Don’t forget to continue the drilling of note names and fingerings through this section of exercises to monitor comprehension.

Over the Break Technique

Lastly, students will build technique going back and forth over the break.  Many of these exercises can be more successful if students are also taught when to keep the right hand down.  These exercises should be played as slow as needed for success.  The tempo should never be more important than the accuracy of the exercises. An additional, printable resource from Habits Universal: Clarinet Register Break Exercises.

All of these exercises are crucial for the confidence of clarinets going forward. Many students quit playing because they thought that they weren’t a good player, when in reality, not enough time was given to their development of these skills.  I use many of these skills in my beginning of the year reviews for my more advanced players.  Having the ability to print the music for the entire ensemble allows other sections to work on long tone and range development along with the clarinets.  

I hope that these exercises are helpful to you in this format and appreciate the opportunity to share them with you!  Best of luck for a successful year with your clarinets! 

The post Power Up! Taking Your Clarinets Over the Break appeared first on MakeMusic.

Browse below to discover new favorites among the continuous new repertoire included with your regular subscription. New works for concert band, string orchestra, jazz ensemble, choir, and solos for any instrument or voice are included in this month’s new interactive music ready to assign, practice, and record in MakeMusic Cloud.

Highlights include concert band works by Carol Brittin Chambers, Tyler S. Grant, and Michael Sweeney; string orchestra works by Seth Bedford, Cooper Ford, and Robert Longfield; jazz charts by Michele Fernandez and Roger Holmes; and choir publications by Pinkzebra.

Also included are classical solos from Mouquet and Satie.

Movie and pop highlights include music from Adele, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, Van Halen, and Wonka.

Click to view this month’s new interactive repertoire in the shareable playlists below.

New Ensemble Repertoire Includes

21 new solos
16 new concert band titles
12 new choir titles
6 new titles for string orchestra
2 new jazz ensemble charts

	Choir
	TITLE	COMPOSER / ARRANGER	LEVEL	PUBLISHER
	Silent Night (SAB)	Franz Gruber; Pinkzebra		Pinkzebra Music
	Hero (2-part)	Pinkzebra	Medium Easy	Pinkzebra Music
	Hero (SSA)	Pinkzebra	Medium Easy	Pinkzebra Music
	Joy to the World (2-Part)	George Frederic Händel; Issac Watts; Pinkzebra	Medium Easy	Pinkzebra Music
	Joy to the World (SAB)	George Frederic Händel; Issac Watts; Pinkzebra	Medium Easy	Pinkzebra Music
	Joy to the World (SATB)	George Frederic Händel; Issac Watts; Pinkzebra	Medium Easy	Pinkzebra Music
	Joy to the World (SSA)	George Frederic Händel; Issac Watts; Pinkzebra	Medium Easy	Pinkzebra Music
	Silent Night (2-part)	Franz Gruber; Pinkzebra	Medium Easy	Pinkzebra Music
	Silent Night (SATB)	Franz Gruber; Pinkzebra	Medium Easy	Pinkzebra Music
	Silent Night (SSA)	Franz Gruber; Pinkzebra	Medium Easy	Pinkzebra Music
	This Christmas (SAB)	Pinkzebra	Medium Easy	Pinkzebra Music
	This Christmas (SSA)	Pinkzebra	Medium Easy	Pinkzebra Music
	Concert Band
	TITLE	COMPOSER / ARRANGER	LEVEL	PUBLISHER
	Rhythmania! (Flexible)	Carol Brittin Chambers	Very Easy	Excelcia Music Publishing
	Summit Fanfare	William Owens	Very Easy	FJH Music Company
	At Max Power	Amy Webb	Easy	Alfred Music
	Bell Carol Rock (Band)	Mykola Leontovych; Ryan Fraley	Easy	FJH Music Company
	Faith Eternal	Carol Brittin Chambers	Easy	Hal Leonard
	Gothic (Flexible Ensemble)	Tyler Arcari	Easy	Excelcia Music Publishing
	Autumn Light	Randall D. Standridge	Medium Easy	Randall Standridge Music
	Banshee of the Badlands	Tyler S. Grant	Medium Easy	Tyler S. Grant Music Works
	Jovian Farewell	Michael Sweeney	Medium Easy	Hal Leonard
	Sunlight Dancing	Robert Buckley	Medium Easy	Hal Leonard
	Across the Northern Sky	Michael Sweeney	Medium	Hal Leonard
	Paceline	Tyler S. Grant	Medium	Tyler S. Grant Music Works
	Shipyard Trudge	Matthew Manning	Medium	Randall Standridge Music
	Solstice Dance	Jack Wilds	Medium	FJH Music Company
	Spirit of Ostenaco	Jay Bocook	Medium	Hal Leonard
	The Fencing Master	Joseph Benjamin Earp	Medium	Carl Fischer
	String Orchestra
	TITLE	COMPOSER / ARRANGER	LEVEL	PUBLISHER
	Playground Games	Cooper Ford	Very Easy	Belwin
	Ancient Scottish Air	Seth Bedford	Medium Easy	Carl Fischer
	Prairie Sky	Robert Buckley	Medium Easy	Hal Leonard
	Tico Tico	James Kazik; Zequinha de Abreu	Medium Easy	Hal Leonard
	Baba Yetu	Christoper Tin; Robert Longfield	Medium	Hal Leonard
	Easy On Me	Adele Laurie Blue Adkins; Greg Kurstin; Larry Moore	Medium	Hal Leonard
	Jazz Ensemble
	TITLE	COMPOSER / ARRANGER	LEVEL	PUBLISHER
	Autumn Leaves	Johnny Mercer; Joseph Kosma; Michele Fernandez	Medium Easy	Hal Leonard
	Puttin’ on the Ritz	Irving Berlin; Roger Holmes	Medium Easy	Hal Leonard
	Solos
	TITLE	COMPOSER / ARRANGER	LEVEL	PUBLISHER
	La flûte de Pan	Jules Mouquet		Popscord Makednija Doo Skopje
	Three Gymnopedies	Erik Satie		Popscord Makednija Doo Skopje
	A Hatful of Dreams (from Wonka)	Neil Hannon; Paul King; Simon Farnaby	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	A Hatful of Dreams (from Wonka) (Vocal Solo)	Neil Hannon; Paul King; Simon Farnaby	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom)	Rupert Gregson-Williams	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	Flying Chocolatiers (from Wonka)	Joby Talbot; Neil Hannon	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	Grasshoppers (from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom)	Rupert Gregson Williams	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	Jump (Van Halen)	Alex Van Halen; David Lee Roth; Edward Van Halen	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	Jump (Van Halen) (Vocal)	Alex Van Halen; David Lee Roth; Edward Van Halen; Van Halen	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	Only Child (from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom)	Rupert Gregson Williams; Rupert Gregson-Williams	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	Oompa Loompa Doompadee-Doo (from Wonka)	Anthony Newley; Leslie Bricusse	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	Oompa Loompa Doompadee-Doo (from Wonka) (Vocal Solo)	Anthony Newley; Leslie Bricusse	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	Pure Imagination (from Wonka)	Anthony Newley; Leslie Bricusse	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	Pure Imagination (from Wonka) (Vocal Solo)	Anthony Newley; Leslie Bricusse	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	Scrub Scrub (from Wonka)	Neil Hannon; Paul King; Simon Farnaby	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	Scrub Scrub (from Wonka) (Vocal Solo)	Joby Talbot; Neil Hannon	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	That’s Not How This Works (Charlie Puth feat. Dan and Shay) (Vocal)	Charlie Puth; Dan Smyers; Jordan Reynolds	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	The Letter “A” (from Wonka)	Joby Talbot; Neil Hannon	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	The Next Chapter (from Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom)	Rupert Gregson-Williams	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	You’ve Never Had Chocolate Like This (Hoverchocs) (from Wonka)	Neil Hannon; Paul King; Simon Farnaby	Medium Easy	Alfred Music
	You’ve Never Had Chocolate Like This (Hoverchocs) (from Wonka) (Vocal Solo)	Neil Hannon; Paul King; Simon Farnaby	Medium Easy	Alfred Music

MakeMusic Cloud is home to the largest interactive and digital sheet music libraries available, with tens of thousands of titles spanning every instrument, ensemble type, skill level, and genre. Each subscription provides access to every title in our unrivaled repertoire library of music from more than 130 different publishers. Get started by generating a quote.

The post January 2024 Repertoire Update appeared first on MakeMusic.

To get started, simply create a MakeMusic Cloud account (completely free, no credit card required), or login to your account if you already have one. Once you login, you will be able to access Sight Reading Studio by selecting the corresponding icon from the sidebar.

Get Started Today

If you are unfamiliar with Sight Reading Studio, this application makes it easy to generate unlimited music for sight reading practice. There is also built-in assessment that provides feedback as you play along to your piece.

Please note that this only applies to individual Sight Reading Studio subscriptions. This means that while you will have access to the core features of the application, you will not be able to assign music or create a Sight Reading Studio class.

If you are interested in learning more about these features, we encourage you to request a platform trial:

Request a Platform Trial

Frequently Asked Questions

How long will Sight Reading Studio be free?

All individual Sight Reading Studio access will be free until June 30th. To access Sight Reading Studio, you simply need to create a free MakeMusic Cloud account (or login to your existing account) and navigate to Sight Reading Studio from the sidebar.

Will I be charged afterwards?

No. We do not collect credit card information and you will never be charged unless you choose to purchase a subscription at the conclusion of the promotion.

Am I getting the full Sight Reading Studio application, or a demo version with limited features?

You will have access to the full version of Sight Reading Studio for individuals. The only features you will not have access to are those typically included with the MakeMusic Cloud subscription, such as the ability to create classes in the application and assign Sight Reading Studio exercises to students. If you are interested in these features, please request a platform trial or begin a MakeMusic Cloud subscription.

The post Sight Reading Studio Is Free for a Limited Time appeared first on MakeMusic.

Over the course of three days, delegates received a series of briefings from national arts leaders and peer-to-peer mentoring that helped formulate the delegates’ enthusiastic and authentic pleas to state policymakers. Training sessions were presented on emerging policy issues and hot topics relevant to music education.

Music is a sustaining and empowering activity for people of all ages and abilities. As volumes of ongoing research demonstrate:

• music contributes to the academic achievement and social and emotional well-being of children
• music and the creative industries are viable career choices for a workforce seeking employees able to combine flexible thinking, resilience, creativity, and technological skills
• music learning leads to creative expression, problem solving skills and the ability to work independently or with others

“This year we could really see the momentum building in our efforts to get the Every Student Succeeds Act fully funded! It was great showing up in Congressional offices and being greeted with “My favorite meeting of the year” by our friends in Congress. Music is so important for our schools. It unites the school and brings everyone together in a profound way. We are fighting to ensure that every child who has the desire to learn and participate has access to a quality music education.” – Ron Manus

The MakeMusic and Alfred Music team hit Capital Hill and met with the offices of:

• Congressman Kevin Mullin (CA)
• Congressman Joe Neguse (CO)
• Congressman Ken Calvert (CA)
• Congressman Adam Schiff (CA)
• Congresswoman Bonnie Coleman (NJ)
• Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (MN)
• Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger (MD)
• House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY)
• Senator Tina Smith (MN)
• Senator Michael Bennet (CO)
• Senator John Hickenlooper (CO)
• Senator Alex Padilla (CA)

Collectively the NAMM contingency met with over 140 offices that day. 

Our ask was straightforward and specific:

1. Fully fund Title IV Part A to the authorized amount of $1.65 Billion (ESEA Grants)
2. Fully Fund Title I (Funding for our nation’s most vulnerable children)
3. Fully Fund Title II (Teacher Professional Development Funding)
4. Fully Fund the National Endowment for the Arts

“This was the first year I’ve had the opportunity to attend the NAMM Fly-In in Washington D.C. It was incredibly inspiring to have leaders from across the music industry come together collectively to advocate for a common cause. While we are all individually passionate about music education, it was so fulfilling to be proactive with our nation’s policymakers. Whether at the local, state, or national level, each of us has the ability to advocate on the behalf of our students and communities to help make music education accessible for all.”  – Tom Gierke

Alfred Music and MakeMusic are strong supporters of advocating for access to music education for all children and truly believes that music education should not be a luxury—music education should be a core requirement. Alfred Music shares NAMM’s vision for the world: “We envision a world in which the joy of making music is a precious element of daily living for everyone; a world in which every child has a deep desire to learn music and a recognized right to be taught; and in which every adult is a passionate champion and defender of the right.”

To learn more about the work that NAMM and NAfME, along with fellow organizations and associations are doing to advocate for music education on the local, state and national levels and how you can get involved visit NAfME’s Advocacy site and the NAMM Foundation. 

The post A Week in Washington, Advocating for Music Education appeared first on MakeMusic.

1. Before you hold the sticks

If possible, you can have the students play basic rhythms (half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes) with their hands on their lap or on hand drums, practicing those essential note values as well as learning how to alternate between the hands. This will give them one less thing to think about when they are holding sticks and in front of a pad or drum for the first time.

Pre-Playing Skills for Snare Drum

2. Fulcrum position and hand/wrist placement

You want the fulcrum (rotational point of the stick in relation to the fingers) to be about one third of the way up the stick, leaving about 2 inches sticking out of the bottom of the hand, give or take. If you have a Vic Firth stick, I like for the student’s thumb to be placed on the flag insignia. The main part of the fulcrum involves three fingers – the thumb, the pointer finger, and the middle finger. The ring and pinky fingers should still be on the stick, but are mainly used for support and not for the fulcrum. The stick should be coming out the side of the hand near the bottom of the pinky finger – NOT in the center of the hand. The student’s wrists should be facing flat towards the ground, but not raised up or lowered to create tension on the wrist. There should be a natural curvature from the forearm to the wrist that goes straight to the stick. 

Fulcrum and Hand Position

3. Tension level of the fingers

The fingers should NOT be tense when holding the stick. This actually affects the tone coming out of the drum as well. If the fingers are too tight, then the drum will sound ‘choked’ and won’t have a full sound. This also can cause pain in the student’s fingers. Many times, this is caused by the student only using the thumb and pointer finger for the fulcrum and feeling like they have to hold on as hard as they can lest the stick fall out of their hand. Quite the opposite is true—you should be holding loosely enough to where the stick is gripped, but could be pulled out of the hand with a little bit of force. This will open up the sound of the stick as well as the sound of the drum.

4. Playing position on the drum

You want the sticks to be about one inch above the rim of the drum as it’s crossing over. For normal playing, you want to strike the drum just north of the center. It is important to emphasize that both sticks should be hitting the same spot on the drum; if the student has their sticks on different parts of the drum, then they will be creating two different, uneven sounds. Only introduce playing towards the edge when you introduce softer dynamics (halfway to the front edge for mezzo-piano, about 1/2 inch from the edge for piano and below). My suggestion: get them playing in the normal playing position for some time before introducing the dynamic zoning changes.

Playing Position on Snare Drum

5. Drum placement and height on the stand

The drum should be set on the stand with the snare wire pointed directly away from the student – think vertically, towards the student and band director. This way there will be proper snare response at all dynamic levels. Do NOT have the snare wire horizontal to the student. This will cause a difference in snare response at different dynamics when zoning. The height of the drum should be between the waist and belly button, depending on the arm length of the student. The arms should be bent at the elbow and the forearm pointed slightly down towards the drum. It is very important to teach students to adjust the height of the drum for their specific size. Beginning students are many different heights, and it is not a one size fits all approach.

Drum Placement

6. Basic strokes

There are four basic strokes the student needs to become acquainted with at the beginning – Full, Down, Tap, Up. They are as follows:

1. 1. Full: The student starts with the stick up about 9 inches, drops to the head with a quick velocity, and brings the stick back up with the same quick velocity to the original position. This is a loud stroke.
   2. Down: The stick starts up about 9 inches again, and again with a quick velocity, but this time they use the wrist to stop the stick about one inch above the drum head after striking it. This is also a loud stroke, but sets the student up for playing softer strokes.
   3. Tap: The stick starts about one to two inches above the drum head, has a quick velocity, and returns to the same spot just barely above the head. This is a soft stroke.
   4. Up: The stick starts about one to two inches above the drum head, has a quick velocity, but returns back to the higher position of 9 inches above the head. This is also a soft stroke.
   5. Once the student is familiar with these four stroke types, they can play them together in the order of Full-Down-Tap-Up, repeating.

Four Different Snare Drum Stroke Types

7. Pad playing versus actual drum playing

Most band directors are understandably hesitant to let ALL their percussionists play on snare drums at the same time, especially in larger programs. It is completely acceptable to have some or most of them play on a pad at any given moment when beginning. However, the band director needs to be cognizant of how hard the student is playing on the pad. It’s VERY easy to overplay on a pad since it creates a very small amount of sound compared to a snare drum. Young students will want to try to match the volume of a pad to a snare drum, and once they get on the snare drum, they are playing far too loud. Make sure that they use the same velocity that they would use on a drum while playing on a pad to keep consistent sounds throughout the section.

Pad Playing vs. Drum Playing

With these steps, you should be in great shape to get your beginning percussionists started on snare drum! The biggest thing to teach them is patience. Since they can create a characteristic tone quicker than their wind counterparts, they will want to go off to the races and play as many notes as possible. But with proper technique and repetition, their sound quality will improve vastly and they will be set up to conquer more advanced patterns and techniques in the future.

Explore More Power Up!

The post Power Up! Tips for Teaching Beginning Snare Drum appeared first on MakeMusic.