The Tuner Flip (and a deep metronome question)

Here's a photo from my studio. Basically, it's my Korg CA tuner attached to a filing cabinet using 3M Dual Lock.

The picture isn't wrong, it's on its side.

Why?

In return, I might ask, "Who decided that Right=Sharp and Left=Flat?" When you stop to think about it, doesn't, "Up=Sharp and Down=Flat" make more sense?

It does to me.

The *initial* reason I did this was twofold:

1. These tuners have a rounded edge and, when placed on a music stand, tend to slip.
2. On the opposite wall of my studio, I have a mirror which I often look at while practicing. I can see the tuner in the reflection. The whole left/right thing was messing with my head but, even in a mirror, up it still up.

So, those were the initial reasons but it got me to thinking...up and down really do make more sense.

OK, while I talking about these little electronic "truth boxes" I have another question.

This actually came up years ago while I was working on my dissertation.

I noticed that all these different metronomes, used the same tempo markings for the same Italian terms. Once upon a time, somebody out there decided that "Larghetto" would range from 60-66 bpm....but who?

At least at that time, I found that every metronome was the same.

But, I couldn't find the source...who decided this? How is that everyone seemed to be conforming to this standard.

Deep questions....I shall lay awake at night.

(I hope the answer isn't long and dull. Can we blame it on aliens? Dibs on the movie rights)

NYPO Mahler 2 ..one spot to see AND hear

As part of the 9/11 decade commemoration, the New York Philharmonic performed Mahler's 2nd symphony. I missed the live broadcast because of a performance of my own but, fortunately, the whole thing is available in high definition on YouTube (which, we should remember, started in 2005 - four years after that terrible day...so much has changed).

Besides being moved by this great performance of one of my favorite symphonies, I found that actually watching the performers was quite instructive. In fact, I've cued up the video and used it in 3 lessons thus far.

In the following video, I've been cueing it up to roughly the 7-minute mark...the powerful chorale that starts with the trombones and bassoons. I've been using it to point out two things:

1. Relaxation: Watch, as the music gets louder, how relaxed the performers are. Such efficiency!
2. Embouchures: You get a lot of close-up shots. What do you notice? Not everyone is the same but there clearly are some general trends....very little movement, firm corners, etc.

Enjoy..watch, listen, learn.

The Golden Bah

Simple post. There is that magic moment that is neither a splinter nor a wah.

We will call it the "Golden Bah" and the people shall see that it is good.

We seek it all our lives. For some, it may feel like the Higgs-Boson particle of brass playing.

I prefer the syllable "bah" to "tah" because it focuses our attention on the lips rather than the tongue.

Go seek.

What is musical? Start with what isn't.

What is a musical performance?

Now there's a deep question. Recently I thought of a novel answer.

Start with what isn't a musical performance.

Most of us have encountered those robot voices on the phone. Especially when they are reading us a phone number. Funny how hard it is to comprehend that string of numbers when there is no inflection.

Imagine one of those voices reading a novel. [Read the following in a monotone:]

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Actually, the computers are getting better at inflection and, frankly, this makes me uncomfortable. I don't want to see a machine win a vocal Turing test.

For example, paste that above text into this website. Inflection yes, but a dramatic reading...well no Oscars yet (and hopefully not ever).

Of course, now we can now make our own animated movies like this one about a misguided trombone audition. At least there's a little inflection here...the robot voices almost make it funnier.

OK, I'm getting off my point, which is this: it is clear that an UNMUSICAL performance is one lacking in variety/inflection.

Therefore, using the counter-example, couldn't we say that a musical performance is one with variety?

Not a spastic bombardment of variety unless that's what the composer wants..you never know these days. But rather variety of dynamics, speed, articulation, tone color in a way that makes sense.

So maybe I can cobble together a definition ...

Musical (adj.): Having sensible variety.

Yes, I know musicality can't really be defined. But, when I say to a student, "How can you play that with more variety?" as opposed to , "How can you play that more musically?" it sometimes gets them thinking in a more creative and positive way.

Dear conductors...(watch the bouncing ball)

When I was working on my master's degree I took a conducting class with Teri Murai (no 'Hajime' at that point).

He did a great demo with us: he asked us all to clap right with the ictus of his downbeat. The baton went up, fell, and we all clapped together. Here's the catch: NO ICTUS! He just let the baton fall.

Beautiful!

We all clapped together because the drop of the stick was so easy to predict...like watching a ping pong ball bouncing.

Over the years, I've worked with many conductors. This post is not meant to be directed towards any current or recent conductors but rather to the sum total of conductors I've worked with over the years.

It isn't the downbeat....it's the prep.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen conductors react to ensemble 'time' issues by snapping the downbeat.

The problem? Simple: bad preps.

At least for brass players, that natural fall of the stick is so vital. So often, the prep isn't in time and, right away, we're all scrambling to once again bail out another conductor.

Maybe this is less crucial in an ensemble that plays together all the time and can internally sense where the beat will be. Well, I'm not in one of those ensembles.

Want us to sound good? Let that stick fall naturally so we can set up properly.

Want us to sound bad? Make us guess.

Your choice....(boing)

Dear composers...

...you've gone to all that trouble to write a piece. I'm going to assume that you want it performed. I'm also going to assume that you want it performed well.

Look at that first example above. OK, it shows promise. Pretty sophisticated composer, right? Maybe this person is going to win a composition contest with this entry...

But, woah nelly, check out this second example:

Now here's a really sophisticated composer. So intelligent, so advanced...

SO MUCH HARDER TO READ!!

Of course, most of you already see it...the two examples will sound the same. Hmm, I wonder which version will lead to most errors by the performers. (Sadly, I also wonder which version is more likely to win the contest.)

Yes, I know you composer types want your scores to look sophisticated. You want everyone to respect your great genius.

But please take a moment to think about the poor saps who have to actually read your music. Believe it or not, we also want to make your music sound great.

Don't make our jobs harder than they have to be!

That Gandalf Attitude

Practicing can be hard, lonely work. Sometimes we all need a little inspiration.

In my teaching, I often find myself helping students to discover those bad habits that are holding them back. Of course, once discovered, it's not as if these habits are just going to go away!

To be honest, we all let little things slide in our playing. Perhaps we're on a deadline. Perhaps we're tired. Perhaps we're lazy.

Still, I think there is that point in your development where you have to draw a line in the sand, so to speak, and say,

"I'm not going to allow those uncentered attacks.
I'll slow it down until I can REALLY play every note so it sounds great."

Of course this isn't much fun. It take loads of patience and a dash of inspiration to keep on going.

Enter Gandalf.

If you've seen "The Fellowship of the Ring," you'll probably remember that scene near the end where, in the mines of Moria, Gandalf faces down this gigantic fire monster with the dramatic words:

YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!

Maybe we all could stand to have that "Gandalf" attititude when confronting those really stubborn bad habits that hold us back.

For purists, here's the full quote (and a little more artwork):

I am a servant of the Secret Fire,

Wielder of the flame of Anor.

Dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udûn.

Go back to the shadow!

You shall not pass!

You shall not pass!

Out There

"Trombones, you're late!"

These words have been spoken by many a conductor. Here's another:

"Trombones, sustain those notes, not so separated."

So, there you are sitting back in the section thinking, "Is this guy crazy? I'm starting right with him and sustaining everything!"

Time for our old friend, note shape, to make an appearance.

Look at this drawing:

"Inaudible" refers to any sound you make that can't be heard out there. Meaning, when you factor in the sounds of the other instruments and the distance from you to the conductor, or out into the auditorium, your sound isn't being heard.

If you start a note with a little "wah" there will be a split second when you are playing but they can't hear you out there.

So, to you, the note starts on time. To them, it's late.

You're both right, at least technically.

However, they are more right because, ultimately, the only thing that matters is what it sounds like out there.

This also explains why your lovely sostenuto doesn't sound so sustained out there.

So, look at that drawing. Notice the two horizontal lines. The top line is what you think you are playing (and may, in fact, be playing roughly one foot in front of the bell). The lower line is what they are hearing out there....a less sustained note that starts late.

In the end, out there is the one place that really counts.

Ironic, really, that you'll never actually hear your own sound out there.

Yo-Yo Tempos

We all know the usual adage when learning a tricky lick..

Start slowly and speed up gradually.

Here's a variation I've bumped into. I really like it...

Start at full speed and, with each repetition, slow down gradually. Eventually start speeding up again.

Like a yo-yo, the tempo goes down and back up again.

Try it out

(then throw down and walk the dog .. such a sleeper)!

Geez, how many books is this guy going to write?

Sorry I haven't posted in some time. I have a few things I want to hit but haven't posted for two reasons:

1. I'm allowing some passage of time to avoid offending (just in case I launch into a diatribe).

2. I've been in "all hands on deck" mode to finish two new books.

If you're curious, I have put up a description and some free sample pages.

Finishing this book has been very satisfying because some of these materials go back over ten years. Never have I had so many failed attempts to write a book. Basically, I would think I had it figured out, plunge in and then, after way too much time and effort, realize I was on the wrong path. Painful to see it all go down the tubes.

But it doesn't really "go down the tubes." I don't delete any of it away and, so far, I've been good/lucky with data back-ups. So I have one folder one my hard drive which holds all of that source material.

How much?

I just looked: almost 62 megabytes and 558 files in 27 sub-folders.

That's just Finale files leading up to this project and doesn't count *any* finished books. Ouch.

Anyway, this time I hope I've got it (especially since I've already forked over my money to the printing company). By the way, I'm flirting with offering a reduced-price e-version of the book but haven't had the time to look into file security, water-marking, etc.

Some people may wonder, "Geez, how many books is this guy going to write?"

Well, the Trombone Craft series is the last BIG thing but properly finishing it will take roughly two more years (yes, I want to write a "Bass Trombone Craft" set).

Also, I've been meaning to add a feature to the Simply Singing Books: free duet parts for (almost) everything. This is not as easy as it may sound. Because these tunes are for different instruments with different ranges I can't write a one-size-fits-all duet voice because it won't fit in the range for some instruments.

My basic strategy is going to be this: for each tune write an "under" voice and an "over" voice. Then I should be able to cover a variety of ranges. I want to make the voices fit, harmonically so that it may turn out that I'm turning these tunes into little trios.

Also, I want to line up the different instruments so that a trombone player can provide the "under" voice in the keys given to the trumpet player, etc.

I figure that, somewhere, a tuba player with a crush on a cute horn player will rejoice ("hey, let's play duets sometime"). If anything develops, I expect wedding pictures!

All of this is going to take some time because I have a job, a family, gigs and a house in which stuff likes to break (this summer it was, among other things, a sewer line jamming, causing a toilet to overflow....into the air conditioning vent....you get the idea).

There are other creative ideas circling in my head like flights over O'Hare airport waiting for permission to land. Some of them have been waiting for a lonnnnng time.

Some of the ideas are projects I plan to put up on the web for free. Others will be published. Most of them are good enough that I'm keeping my lips sealed.

Now, if some rich Bill Gates type wants to float into my life and say, "Son, I believe in what you're doing. I'll set you up with a lifetime endowment so you can just live in a beautiful house by a lake and fulfill your true vision. And here is your personal assistant.." (and then I wake up)

The thing is, even if that offer arrived (about as likely as a Power Ball win, especially since I almost never buy a ticket), it would hard to walk away from teaching. I really love teaching...

...at least when the student is willing to prepare....

Anybody remember DOS?

Does anybody remember DOS?

The computer I first interacted with looked like an electric typewriter. It was wired into a mainframe elsewhere. You typed in the commands (I was learning to program in BASIC), waited, and the results typed out magically in front of you. For me, it was pretty addictive stuff.

I remember writing a simple program to calculate how long it would take to cut the grass in my back yard. The program's result was correct within 30 seconds. Exciting stuff! It also made cutting my grass that time a lot more interesting.

Even though DOS was slower and more work, there was a joy of understanding in having the power to control that little machine in front of you.

Eventually, along came Macs, Windows, bulletin boards, html, Netscape, Firefox, Chrome, Facebook, Netflix, iPhones, android, iPads...

I wonder what names I'll need to add to that list in ten years.

Would anybody seriously suggest going back to DOS? (or punched cards before that?)

That brings me to my point (I usually have one): trombones have to deal with tenor and alto clef. I'm not ready to dump tenor, but alto? Have you ever played Prokofiev with some of the crazy changes between bass and alto clef...usually right in the middle of an exposed passage? Why doesn't somebody just re-write the parts to make them easier to read?

How about the offstage parts in Pine of Rome? Bass clef transposed?

Jumping over to French Horn and Trumpet: why do they continue to learn all those transpositions? They're not using tuning crooks anymore.

Or to really annoy everyone: Why are the musical instructions in a foreign language (just playing Devil's Advocate here)?

My point is this: in technology, even though we may feel proud about mastering the intricacies of an earlier system (such as DOS) we don't cling to it. Yet in music, we do. We don't move on, upgrade or innovate in the world of music notation. 50 years from now, trombonists will still be slogging through studies in alto clef. Hmm, why not learn mezzo soprano clef or baritone clef?

I can almost hear someone saying, "If I had to learn transposition, you're going to have to learn it as well. It builds character!!"

Is that person still entering commands

at the DOS prompt?

=============

Post blog comments:

1. Actually, I think tenor clef is the most natural clef for tenor trombone. What if we just started beginners in tenor clef?

2. If music were a more profitable business, innovations would have appeared long ago. I suspect music publishers can't afford to rework all those transposed parts.

BoneWeek 7

After a few false starts and dead ends, I managed to knock out another BoneWeek Fanfare. I started writing these in celebration of International Trombone Week. You can find the previous fanfares both on my website and the ITA website.

A few notes about this one.

• There are no "quotes" of well-known trombone pieces
• I tried to avoid falling back into any clichés (not easy sometimes)
• I wanted it to have some rhythmic energy and no obvious presentation of a melody (see above)

With any of these fanfares, I use an odd test: would I want to play it. When I'm at a convention (like the Eastern Trombone Workshop which I'm missing...sigh) and looking through music I might purchase, I often look at the score and say, "Yuck, I wouldn't to play that part." The most common cardinal sin of composers and arrangers:

• putting all the interest into the first part and thus generating boring parts for everyone else
• making the first part so tiring that it becomes difficult to program such a chop-buster

These goals aren't difficult, so why do so many arrangements fail these tests. Lazy arrangers?

Anyway, here's the fanfare from my website. If you put it on a program, please let me know. It's always nice to get a concert program for my files.

You may ask, "How many of these things are you going to write?"

I have no idea.

Here's the link: BoneWeek Fanfare #7

Free Duets!

My computer hard drive sometimes feels like a museum of old ideas. I don't get rid of much (and, yes, I use redundant back-ups), so there's a lot of old stuff sitting around in there.

I'm hard at work on my latest series of books and, as I looked through this digital museum, I came across these duets. I'm not sure why I wrote them...probably just to have some nice lyrical stuff to play in lessons.

I don't think they've ever been printed out or played.

So, have at 'em. I don't make claims to great music but they probably won't cause damage ...

Six Lyrical Duets

Now, if you're racked with guilt about downloading free music, I *do* have a PayPal account....

(hey, you never know, there might be some eccentric millionaire out there!)

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?

I'm not a big fan of breathing exercises. Breathing, I like. Exercises, not so much.

I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because time is always limited. Maybe because I'm not patient enough. The buzzing exercises I start with usually require some pretty deep breathing so maybe my cause isn't totally hopeless.

Last Fall, I tried this little exercise in a few lessons and, from time to time, I've used it in my practicing.

Take three really deep breaths and, each time, blow out like crazy.

I blow out mostly (but not completely) through my horn. I let some air escape around the sides of the mouthpiece.

I think of this quick exercise as a "lethargy buster." When I (or my students) get a little sluggish, this is a quick way to wake up and get going.

I remember trying it in three lessons in a row last Fall. Not at the beginning but somewhere in the middle when my "sluggish radar" began beeping. Each time, I was surprised and please with the improvement in their sound.

(I did warn them not emulate that wild, almost psycho manner of blowing out when they actually played.)

This is not my invention. From the Alessi Seminar, I remember Weston Sprott doing similar crazy breaths from time to time. In fact, checking a handout on his website, I see that he refers to it as the "vigorous breath."

Somehow, "big bad wolf" just seems more memorable...

The Most Significant Development in Music Education

I was thinking about this the other day.

There is a new development in the field of music education. The more I think about it, the more I realize how profound it is.

That development: YouTube

OK, it's now time for my "you young whippersnappers" moment...

When I was in college and had to learn a new piece or be inspired by a new player, what did I do?

• How many professional trombone recordings were available?
• Who was performing within driving distance?
• Could I afford the time and money needed to see them perform?

Imitation is enormously powerful. Young players need to see and hear top players in order to set the bar.

YouTube does that.

Yes, there can be laughably bad videos. That guy trying to explain triplets was a screamer.

But (I hope) everyone saw through that.

I type "mozart tuba mirum" into the search box and I get 519 results instantly.

I'm a trombone professor and yet, in one morning, any of my students can gather more information about performances of this excerpt than I could in all of my studies throughout the pre-YouTube era.

For instance, if one of my students said, "You know, Solti once had the trombone player stand for the Mozart Requiem solo." I would probably reply with, "No way. Where did you hear that nonsense?"

How about this search: "joseph alessi trombone"

291 results

"arthur pryor trombone"

103 results

"ravel bolero orchestra"

652 results

Of course, youtube also gives us...

"justin bieber"

1,380,000

Stop and reflect for a moment on just how profoundly this is changing the world of teaching and learning music

Before or After?

A colleague of mine mentioned an experimental approach he was planning to try this semester.

Basically, he would devote the lesson to coaching a student on new pieces before the student had time to practice them. You might call this doing "intro work."

I think the most common teaching/learning sequence goes like this..

1. teacher assigns it
2. student works on it
3. student plays it in a lesson and teacher works on it

This new model (if I understood correctly) would be..

1. teacher coaches student on it in a lesson
2. student works on it
3. in the next lesson, teacher coaches student on new pieces

Now, I know what you're thinking: where's the accountability? Well, I believe that comes in the form of playing tests a few times each semester in which the student must be able to play the pieces for a grade.

Bear in mind that these are college students I'm talking about. I realize that presenting a piece to a middle school band with regular rehearsals is a completely different animal.

It is an interesting idea. After all, it is harder to re-learn something after having learned it incorrectly. Why not get students off to a good start?

Of course, in some ideal world, we would have unlimited time for lessons and could devote quality time to both ends of the equation.

But usually, the clock is the enemy and another student will be waiting outside your door in one hour.

No big conclusions here because there is no one right way to always do it.

Still, I think it's something worth thinking about...

How much time do we, as teachers,
devote to the "before" side of teaching and how much to the "after" side?

Tips from Tim

Tim Anderson recently visited USC and gave a master class. I had the presence of mind to take notes. Here they are...

• Make sure they can write down what you just played.
• Don't allow ' turd tapers' (Norman Bolter's term) - allowing a note to fade unintentionally
• Make sure you demonstrate Basic common sense musical skills
• On the accented notes in the Ride: don't think of it as accenting a note. Think of accenting the bar line.
• The most important criteria: how you sound.
• Concerning the Mozart Tuba Mirum: legato trombone is not a style of music. Make phrases. "I want to hear what your phrase is. I want to be able to write it down."
• "Don't sort of do it. Do it."
• Make music on the first note. Then you'll play well.
• They want a simple good musician.
• People have no patience for bad intonation.
• I think music ed is a better degree. You have to be able to teach yourself.
• If somebody asks you how fast you're going, you should have a number (metronome marking).
• What is air support? Support is simply counteracting the natural decrescendo that occurs as your air runs out. As you sustain a note, you have to blow more as the note goes on (and the air runs out). How do you manage the blowing of the air?
• It's better if you can be schizophrenic when you play music. (variety of styles/personalities)
• "I said play on your mouthpiece not buzz on your mouthpiece" (don't stop making music when you are buzzing).
• "Give me some phrase there"
• Watch out for those decays. Your lips get tired, your air doesn't.
• We always make fun of singers. We all became trombonists because we didn't want to sing in public.
• There is only one fundamental: how you blow the air. Everything else is just a skill.
• It doesn't matter how many times you've played it. You either can do it or you can't. If you can't play it, you haven't played it enough.
• Make sure your resume doesn't make it look like an accident that you're applying for a job.

Of Schubert and Futsal (Talent Code Post #1)

This is the first of what I suspect will be many posts related to a great book, The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle. I recommend it highly.

I've had a pretty good run lately. In the span of three weeks, I've played bass trombone with Charlotte Symphony, tenor with both Symphony Orchestra Augusta and South Carolina Philharmonic and now alto with Charleston Symphony.

The alto gig came on two day's notice, Schubert's 9th Symphony. Normally I would like to spend more time making sure all those slide positions are secure. This has forced me to really stay on my toes, never let my guard down and be able to make quick adjustments.

According to Coyle, I've been building a lot of myelin. Myelin is the insulation around nerves. As you build a skill, the layers of myelin around the nerve 'circuit' for that activity increase so that the circuit works better...like broadband.

Here's one of Coyle's points: optimal learning takes place when you are struggling a bit (falling and down and getting up, so to speak). Play something that is way over your head or too comfortable and you are no longer in your optimal learning zone.

Well, I've been struggling a bit, so I guess I've been experiencing optimal learning.

In his book, Coyle studies 'talent hotbeds:' places that seem to produce a disproportionate number of highly talented individuals whether it be in music, sports, or something else.

One such hotbed is the well-known Brazil/soccer hotbed.

One of their secrets: futsal.

This is an indoor variation of soccer using a smaller ball that doesn't fly as far when kicked.

What does this mean?

Instead of spending so much time running up and down the field, the players spend a lot more time in tight situations requiring fancy footwork.

Regular soccer on a larger field is relatively easy in comparison.

This makes me wonder: have baseball players ever taken batting practice using a smaller ball?

Let's return to alto trombone. Because of the smaller slide, an error of, say, a 1/4 inch, produces a bigger pitch error than on a tenor. Thus, besides learning those new positions, you must also be more accurate.

See the connection?

Perhaps (with our lavish budget) I should have the school buy altos for all the music majors and then force them to play with exacting intonation.

Wouldn't this be a little like Brazilian futsal?

Check out this video, these guys are magicians...

The Gliss Finder (Ear v. Arm)

OK, I may have blogged this one before but....

Sometimes, when working on intonation with my students, I find that they are unconsciously lipping notes up or down.
Recently, when a student struggled to lock in the high G-flat, I played the chord on the piano and asked him to gliss around before stopping on the note. Essentially, I wanted him to play with a very wide and slow slide vibrato before settling on the note.
Here's my thinking: when we gliss around, we are less likely to lip notes. Instead (hopefully) we focus on getting a full-centered sound. Then, when we try to lock in the correct pitch/position, we are truly tuning with the slide as opposed lipping the notes up and down.
The psychological power of muscle memory is quite amazing. Even in my own playing, I find my ear arguing with my arm.

EAR: Dude, you're sharp. Bring it down.
ARM: No way, man. Second position is never that low!

And thus perhaps the lip begins to take matters into his own hands (don't think about that concept too much, it's just an analogy) and bend the notes.

Maybe they bend into "tune" but they also bend out of resonance.

Hey, we're playing a big tuning slide here...might as well use it.

Maybe if the arm had an ear of its own...

Youtube: Riding with Ian

In case you haven't seen it:

Of the Muse and Gas Tank... (Note to conductors)

I got to play bass trombone in a very enjoyable concert this past weekend.

Suffice to say that it was a good orchestra, good hall, good conductor. However, this good (very musical) conductor made a mistake which I have seen many, many times.

At the end of one section, we landed on a nice, fortissimo octave in the low brass. This was our second performance of the piece.

As you arrive at such a big "forte fermata" moment, you have to make that judgement call...

My air isn't unlimited. How am I going to pace myself here?

Let's assume the following:

1. You want to start strong.
2. You want to finish strong (and avoid that anticlimactic fade out).
3. The note is long enough that you won't be able to to manage it in a single breath.

So you have choices:

1. Fade in the middle so you don't have to breathe.
2. Choose the least bad moment to grab a catch breath.

However, here's the giant unknown:

How long will the note last????

As a performer, my decisions hinge on that critical question.

However, highly musical conductors are sometimes moved by their muse to hold out that glorious chord a bit longer than in rehearsal. (or, in the case of this recent concert, longer than the previous night's concert). As a conductor, you may be basking in the glow of that magnificent chord but, if you hold it too long, you are putting your brass players in a difficult situation.

So, conductors, keep being inspired BUT please let us know how long you intend to hold out those big final fermatas.

Our lungs thank you.

I prefer gStrings

Hey, get your mind out of the gutter. I'm talking about the Android chromatic tuner app.

OK, so here's the story. This is a busy week I'm having:

Saturday - Verdi Requiem

Monday - Stravinsky Octet and Soldier's Tale

Tuesday - Kroeger Tres Psalmi Davidis for Trombone and Soprano (Tina Stallard rocked!)

Friday/Saturday - I'm playing bass trombone (yes, Russ, bass trombone) with Charlotte Symphony (the two Romeo and Juliette's ... Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky).

I'm also the happy new owner of a Droid X, which I love. So today I downloaded two tuner apps for my droid: Cleartune and gStrings.

Cleartune cost me $3.99 and gStrings was free (ad-supported). I tested both during the rehearsal break with my phone on the music stand and other people playing (but not right next to me).

Cleartune, which looked prettier had two significant drawbacks: the needle was too twitchy and it couldn't read low notes. Around low F (an octave and a 5th below middle C) the tuner couldn't read me.

gStrings, while not as slick-looking, had a steadier needle and, amazingly, was able to read my instrument down to a pedal F. And that was before I discovered that it has custom tessitura settings for instruments ranges (I've never seen that in a tuner before).

Both apps had customizable temperament settings (I suspect this isn't much of a programming challenge). With respect to just intonation, I was confused. I always think of just intonation as tempering notes with respect to a given tonic pitch. So..what pitch is it scaling to?

[OK, you can set it to tune to one specific pitch as opposed to auto chromatic tuning so maybe that's where the just tuning comes into play. Not clear, however.]

Oh yeah, gStrings doesn't appear to be available for iPhone. I'm sure you guys have a lot of great choices as well.

Just be careful about using the search term "gStrings."

The Bank Account of Good Will

This is not strictly a 'trombone' posting but more of a life posting. In my interactions with my students, I sometimes envision a sort of 'good will' bank balance. Each new student starts out with a modest positive balance.

When they do things like show up prepared for lessons or actively participate in master class, their balance goes up.

When they do things like miss lessons or show up late/unprepared for ensemble rehearsals, their balance goes down.

Suppose someone calls me looking for a recommendation. Something like, "I need a trombonist to play this gig..."

To whom do I give that work? Well, I certainly want one of my better players to do it. But suppose that better player also has a low balance in their 'good will' bank account? Can I trust them to show up on time, be well-prepared, be professional in their behavior?

What about when students come to me asking for letters of recommendation?

Unlike a real bank account, I don't keep a specific written record. However, I (and I suspect most applied teachers) have a pretty sense of whose balance is up and whose balance is down.

Switch to Glide

I think most of us agree on these two things..

1. At slow tempos, the slide clearly needs to stop on every note. Alessi once said, "I want to see the rhythm in your slide."
2. At very fast tempos, your slide can't really stop on every note. The classic example of this, I suppose, is the excerpt from William Tell.

I have heard of teachers advising students to practice the William Tell excerpt in an unusual way: even when you play it slowly, don't stop and start with the slide. Instead 'catch' the note as the slide goes by without stopping.

Even though I glide at fast tempos, I find this 'slow glide' practice technique to be awkward. (maybe I'm doing it wrong).

Lately, in my warm-up, I've been playing a lot more chromatic scales. I always start playing slowly over a limited range. Something like this:

Then I extend range and increase speed. I like to end up going full-speed with double tonguing.

Of course, at some point, I switch to the glide approach.

Anybody with a high speed camera? It would be interesting to film top players as they play fast then slow the film down to see what they are really doing with their slides.

Hmm, doctoral dissertation idea?

It will need a lofty title...

"The High-Speed Video Analysis of a Select Group of Professional Trombonists to Ascertain the Transition from the 'Stopped Slide' model of technique to the 'Steady Slide' model at Increasing Tempi"

zzzzzzz

When to Stop?

Teaching is more art than science.

One of the things I love about my job is that I am constantly challenged to revise my craft. When I see former students, I sometimes feel the urge to apologize because I've learned so much about teaching since they were my students.

One of the fundamental questions I deal with is...

When to stop a student and when

to let them play through?

This semester, I feel as if I've made a bit of a breakthrough in the pacing of lessons. After beginning with the usual variety of 'fundamentals' things, I hand it over to the student (who has already laid out a basic plan for the semester) and ask, "OK, what do you want to play?"

Whatever they choose, I pop their SD card into my recorder and they essentially perform the piece without me stopping them.

When they're done, we both sit down at my desk with the music and listen back to the recording. Now I can stop as often as I need/want to and point out details. I often back up the recording to point out something. I also like to pause our listening and have them jump back up to play through a passage differently.

It is interesting to see their reaction when, after we've really worked on a phrase, we double back to the recording and listen again to how they played it that first time. Often, they have moved from being unaware of something to being keenly (and uncomfortably) aware of it.

Generally, this also means that I've slowed down the pace of the lesson, choosing to patiently address something that needs attention rather than feeling quite so compelled to move on to the next item.

This isn't the only thing I do or the only way I teach but, in general, I've been doing it a lot more and am liking the results.

The Air Obstacle Course

Living in Columbia, SC means living near Ft. Jackson. Every fall, they host an event (sponsored by the marine corps) called the mud run.

This last fall roughly 14,000 people ran, swam, crawled and basically oozed their way through an obstacle course. (I even considered doing it but then I realized that I am sane).

Somehow I thought about this when listening to a student's overly noisy breath.

Noise = friction.

It's almost as if the air has to run an obstacle course to go in and come out. What we really need (low tongue, relaxed throat) is a new superhighway...

Gasp

Consider this example...

How long do you have to take a breath?? Over two measures, right? Why do so many people try to breathe in the space of the eighth note?

Yes, it's good to be able to breathe quickly when you have to but lets not make things more gaspy than needed.

On a related note, I think everyone agrees about the value of a quiet breath. However, what about a cue breath in chamber music? I sometimes use a technique I call 'finishing with a kick.'

I start with that slower, relaxed breath. At the end of the breath, my 'kick' is a louder inhalation in time with the music in order to cue the others.

(yes this is a pseudo Ewazen quote)

Surfing on the breeze

It seems I never have time for elaborate blog posts so here's a short one.

So many people pinch off the air as they buzz. There is a standard trick I like to use.

1. Blow silent air through the mouthpiece (against a pinwheel or something similar). If you're using a pinwheel, don't make it spin at full tilt. A nice steady breeze should do the trick.
2. Start blowing that same silent air and then gently bring the lips together. Hopefully they'll buzz.
3. Make sure the pinwheel doesn't stop spinning when the note starts. Many, many students start the buzz and instinctively pinch off the air when starting the note. I'm surprised how often, when they finally get it right and buzz with a nice full sound, they say to me, "Wow, that feels completely different."

Band directors, go get yourself a pinwheel and use it with those starting students!

The first habit is the one that sticks. If their first experience is a buzz with freely moving air, they are likely to avoid major trouble down the road.

Wagner at the Ballpark

OK, bass trombones. Here's a little something I cooked up on the fly the other day. It's nothing fancy but may be useful.

It is the famous Rheingold excerpt played using an organ setting in general midi. The tempo is quarter note - 60.

Yeah, I know it uses equal temperament but you may find that french horn section isn't planning on just intonation. If you can lock in with this, it's a good start at any rate..

Here's the mp3 file.

If you want to tweak it, here's the midi file.

Hippos and Cheetahs

I originally posted this in 2010 but it seems to be coming up again a lot in lessons.  See at the bottom for additional thoughts..

When I'm working up challenging licks (such as those found in the Gottschalk Sonata which I'm premiering tomorrow) I can use a variety of strategies.

There's the old "notch by notch approach." You know, slow it down and then work it up bit by bit.

There's the variation "up three, down two." Start slow, move up three (old-fashioned) notches on the metronome and then down two."

The one I keep going back to might be called "hippos and cheetahs." Basically, I like to oscillate between hippo speed and cheetah speed.

In other words, play it nice and slow. Then, play it at the fast goal tempo.

Usually the best ratio is two cheetahs to one hippo.

Try it. Let me know if it works for you.

=====
Additional thoughts..
As you try this practice technique, keep an eye on your tension levels.  I'm going to go with the theory that our friend the hippo is a pretty mellow dude.  So, as you play that very slow, mellow approach, maintain a "hippo" frame of mind.  Then, when you kick into "cheetah mode" be very mindful that the tension levels don't spike.
One other thought: it is best to apply this practice technique to small batches of notes instead of whole pieces or phrases.  Just a couple of measures in most cases.

Best Bio Ever?

Thanks for Harold van Schaik for forwarding this to me. It is the online bio for William Barnewitz, Principal Horn of the Milwaukee Symphony.

http://www.mso.org/main.taf?p=9,8,2,2

Another brick in the wall

OK, I'm not referring to the Pink Floyd song. I believe that phrase was around before they came along.

As we practice our instruments and hone our craft, it is sometimes useful to think of all that work as building something good. So each scale, each lip slur, each etude, each excerpt run is another brick in the wall of good playing.

But another image occurred to me. Perhaps there is another wall we are building...

"I didn't feel like doing fundamentals this morning."

"I forgot to bring in an extra copy of the score for you to look at"

"I don't have my recorder today."

"I went away with friends for the weekend and didn't practice."

"I didn't check my lesson notes and forgot that was assigned."

"I haven't fixed that dent in my slide."

Taken individually, each one of these things isn't a game-changer. But, oh, how they add up!

Each little "I didn't" or "I forgot" is like another brick in the wall of bad playing.

This is the wall that stands between you and what you thought you wanted to achieve.

Each of your actions is a brick.

Which wall are you building?

Bob McChesney - Unreal

OK, so here's something that almost seems un-humanly fast and clean.

I think it's interesting that the video tacks on some audio of him improvising at the end almost as if to say, "Yeah, he can play that fast."

I noticed this in the comment section below the video:

This recording seemed a bit too fast and too perfect even for the doodle master, so I emailed him, and he graciously responded: "Obviously it's been tweaked, but not for speed. I tracked all the parts in real time (no slowing down or speeding up), punching in and out like crazy, of course, to get it really accurate with no errors. ..The result sounded really good without any tweaking, but I couldn't resist so I proceeded to line up notes timewise (when needed) to see how far I could take it."

What's the Big Idea? - Fall 2010

Here's something new I've been trying in lessons this semester. All the students have a "big idea" journal (actually, they have two: one on paper and one online). While most of the entries come out of lessons, sometimes they do add in some of their revelations from practicing.

Now that we are at the halfway point of our semester, I thought it might be interesting to put together a random listing of "Big Ideas"

• Think about dynamic interest; Play long notes with musical interest.
• For technical licks: 1. Find the trouble spot (don’t always start from the beginning 2. For practice tempo, think hippos and cheetahs
• Stop saying “I can’t” Yes, some things are hard - do you want to live without challenges?;
• When you do long tones - start every note centered with confidence;
• Stand tall, bring instrument to you. Don’t tuck under the stand.
• To improve, you must remember;
• Fundamentals are the key to everything
• If it doesn’t sound good, break it down to something more simple. Get to the point where it sounds good (get creative with it) and then take baby steps back again;
• Using drones helps with intonation, who would have thought?
• Insert the wrong note on purpose to improve slide accuracy ;
• Don’t give on your long notes - that’s your chance to sing;
• In loud, dotted rhythms look out for the little guy; mentally connect it to the following note so they are one thing.
  
  
  Enough for now. I hope some of this has been good food for thought.
  
  
  Feel free to contribute any recent "big ideas" in your comments.
  
  
  
  

UHS for trombone history

OK, it's confession time.

I'm a trombone professor so I'm supposed to be interested in the history of the trombone. Fascinated by it. Obsessed with it.

Except I'm not.

Don't get me wrong, I know of a lot of basics and keep learning as I go.

I'm really impressed by the online history posted by Will Kimball.

But, as I read it, or read Trevor Herbert's book, I can only process so much detail before numbness sets in.

A few years ago (and way past its shelf date) my kids and I get a copy of the original Myst game and played it together one summer.

We had a blast and, yes, sometimes we got stuck.

That's when we discovered the UHS website (Universal Hint System). What we liked about this site was the manner in which it gave progressively more obvious hints to help us through the game. So, if you're stuck, you start with the first one or two hints.

Something like this:

If you're you're still stuck, you can click on more hints until you are basically reading a walk-through.

Something like this:

All this makes me think about the sense of detail overload I get from reading trombone histories.

Maybe the information could be presented in a "UHS manner". It would start with something fairly basic and then give you the option to increase the level of detail.

It could look something like this:

The Trombone first appears around 1400

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAIL

Later on, if you sought more detail, it might proceed like this:

The Trombone first appears around 1400

Some scholars think they appear in

northern Italy and southern France (Eliason)

According to other scholars, it is more likely,

based on performer nationalities and manufacturing locations,

that the trombone originates in Germany

(Herbert, Susato 117; Polk, Archival Documents)

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAIL

(Much of what you see in the example above

I pasted from Will Kimball's excellent history.)

I guess this basically boils down to an outline history. Still, I think there might be something appealing in the concept of presenting a tidbit of info and tempting the reader to move into deeper detail if they want.

Hmmmm, maybe an online application for this? I would say "an app for that" but I hear Apple is claiming that they own that phrase.

Still, I could see some enterprising DMA student running with this idea.....

any takers?

Yin and Yang for Slide Technique

Slide technique should be so simple.....right?

Just move the slide to the right place at the right moment...right?

Well knowing it and actually doing it can be two different things. Here are two exercises that may be helpful. Neither one is original.

In legato, we want to stay on each note as long as possible. So, that means move the slide at the last instant (while staying relaxed...I like the verb "flick" as in "flick the slide at the last second")

Another trick I've seen pertains more to speeding up the slide in tongued passages. It involves moving the slide right after the note sounds:

It never occurred to me that these two exercises are so yin and yang. In the first, you move the slide at the last possible second. In the second, you want the slide in the next position at the earliest possible second.

Don't lose the sound as you add the sizzle

A quick thought...

We all want to deliver a compelling performance.

We all want a good sound.

Sometimes that pursuit of musical excitement can get in the way of the good sound.

Sometimes that pursuit of good sound can get in the way of musical excitement.

Don't lose the sound as you add the sizzle.

(and don't lose the sizzle as you improve the sound)

This seems to be something I constantly struggle with. I have had too many performances where, in going for musical excitement I lose control of my sound. It's all about maintaining that beautiful balance.