Marching Band Planet - Expert Columns
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Brass Advantage with Wayne Downey |
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Brass Advantage, with Wayne Downey
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Written by Wayne Downey
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Tuesday, 22 December 2009 |
 Welcome back to the land of “All Things Brass.” This installment of Brass Advantage is “Part Two” of an article written by Mr. Marty Erickson (a fabulous musician, tuba player and a world-class teacher) that was written for both music educators and tuba players seeking advice and counsel from a professional tuba player to improve their performance qualities. This installment includes:
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Brass Advantage with Wayne Downey |
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Brass Advantage, with Wayne Downey
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Written by Wayne Downey
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Monday, 18 May 2009 |
Welcome back to the land of “All Things Brass.” This installment of Brass Advantage was written for music teachers faced with the daunting task of choosing students to switch to tuba to facilitate the orchestration of their band as well as tuba players seeking advice and counsel from a professional tuba player to improve their performance qualities.
Written by Mr. Marty Erickson who is both a fabulous musician (tuba player) and a world-class teacher, this installment includes:
“Raising The Titanic”– Transferring students to the Titanic tuba
A) Which Students Do I Switch To Tuba
B) Practical Concepts for Teaching and Playing Tuba
C) Choosing a Tuba Mouthpiece |
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Dynamic Marching - "Posture Checklist - Marine style" |
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Dynamic Marching with Jeff Young
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Written by Jeff Young
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Monday, 09 February 2009 |
 Earlier this year I was asked by a friend of mine at The Band Hall to help set up a marching style guide for the brand new Music City Drum & Bugle Corps in Nashville, TN. We started discussing what the goal of their visual identity was going to be and he told me that the overall look and feel of the group (including the uniform) will be based on the look of the United States Marine Corps. Soon thereafter, I started doing some research on how the Marines stand at “attention”. |
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Brass Advantage with Wayne Downey |
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Brass Advantage, with Wayne Downey
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Written by Wayne Downey
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Monday, 26 January 2009 |
Welcome back to the land of “All Things Brass.” This installment of Brass Advantage delves into an all-important musical technique that is a must for both amateur and professional musicians to better understand and incorporate into their performances, “Vibrato.”
Vibrato is a musical effect, produced in singing and on musical instruments by a regular pulsating change of pitch, and is used to add expression and vocal-like qualities to instrumental music. Vibrato can be characterized by the amount of pitch variation ("depth of vibrato") and speed with which the pitch is varied ("speed of vibrato"). |
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Standing 'O' - What to Do On the First Day of Rehearsal |
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Standing \'O\'
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Written by Rob Stein
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Monday, 18 August 2008 |
 The first day of rehearsal can be the most stressful day of the year for a director and/or instructor. There are all of the new students that have to get acquainted, paperwork that needs to be handed in, drill to be handed out, music to be memorized, and so much more. The first day of rehearsal is also one of the most important days of the year, as it sets a standard for the rest of the season and lets the band members know what to expect.
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Standing 'O' - Lead by Example: How To Be A “Leader” Without the Title |
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Standing \'O\'
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Written by Rob Stein
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Wednesday, 30 January 2008 |
Strong student leadership is an absolute necessity in order to achieve success in the marching arts. The standard procedure for most high schools is to interview and hold auditions for these positions, with the end result being the best candidate for the job earns the title of “section captain” or some other title which insinuates authority. Once rehearsals start, these section leaders are given the “power” to lead their section through the season until the process begins again the following year. The reality of the situation, however, is that in order to run an efficient and successful organization, the majority of the leadership must come from those members who have no official title. If the “section leaders” were the only members of the band to actually lead and set the correct example, there would obviously be little to no rehearsal etiquette, order or progress throughout the season.
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Brass Advantage with Wayne Downey |
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Brass Advantage, with Wayne Downey
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Written by Wayne Downey
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Wednesday, 14 November 2007 |
Welcome back to the land of “All Things Brass.” This installment of Brass Advantage is titled “Making a Good Sound on the Trumpet” or for that matter, any brass instrument.
If your trumpet players are having trouble playing in tune the problem may be related to tone. A shrill or nasal tone is easily confused with playing sharp and a dull tone can be confused with playing flat. A resonant tone is important for developing the concept of intonation (playing in tune) and for the student’s aesthetic satisfaction. A poor tone must be remedied so the student can play in tune and progress satisfactorily with all aspects of playing the trumpet (or any brass instrument.) To develop a good tone, students need a good embouchure, sufficient breath support and familiarity with a high-quality model tone.
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Dynamic Marching - "Translating Marching Fundamentals Exercises to Your Show Performances" |
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Dynamic Marching with Jeff Young
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Written by Jeff Young
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Friday, 12 October 2007 |
It is October. The end of the season is near. The entire field show is on the field. You have had three or four competitions and some football game performances under your belt. You have a general idea how you stack up musically and visually against your competitors. But nothing is set in stone and each new performance brings with it the opportunity to show a new set of judges and fans just how close you can come to your potential.
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Standing 'O' - Judges: Why Don't We Ever Agree With Them |
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Standing \'O\'
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Written by Rob Stein
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Monday, 24 September 2007 |
This article is geared towards directors and staff members, as we shed some light on why we often find ourselves disagreeing with our judging panels. Throughout this article, we explore various common disagreements between staff and judges, and the root from which these problems are manifested. The purpose of the article is to aid directors and staff members in understanding the judging process, as well as the scores that are received. Please keep in mind the thoughts and opinions written in this article are solely my own, and do not represent any specific judging organization or group.
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Standing 'O' - Working Hard vs. Working Smart |
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Standing \'O\'
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Written by Rob Stein
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Saturday, 25 August 2007 |
This article, “Working Hard vs. Working Smart,” is geared towards directors and instructors, and deals with various methods of running an efficient rehearsal. Many instructors in this activity have a notion that the act of doing more in a short amount of time will make their band better. I explain my experience with a different approach of taking more time to execute rehearsal in a well-educated, more efficient manner. Please keep in mind that the ideas and methods mentioned in this article are my opinions based on what I have experienced and achieved success with, and are meant solely as recommendations to allow a bigger opportunity for success in this aspect.
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Brass Advantage with Wayne Downey |
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Brass Advantage, with Wayne Downey
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Written by Wayne Downey
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Wednesday, 25 July 2007 |
Welcome back to the land of "All Things Brass." Over the past few months I've been receiving e-mails from many of you asking a variety of questions pertaining to brass technique. Brass technique or pedagogy (the study of performance techniques specific to brass instruments) is as much a science as it is opinion and preference.
I use the words opinion and preference because as far as I know there is no exact science in creating a characteristic quality of sound. There are however many guidelines and possible techniques to aid you in your search for that allusive tone quality. |
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