Search

The article offers information on summer camps and clinics in the U.S. Topics discussed include Curry Summer Music Camp provides a combination of college life and summer camp activities for student interested in dance, choir and band, Arrowbear Music Camp offering residential sessions focusing on full orchestra, concert band and jazz improvisation, and Lamount School of Music Summer Academy is for instrumentalists, singers, pianists, and composers.

The article presents information regarding the presentations related to music industry, specifically the orchestra band, from various presenters including Benjamin Das, Mike Morgan, and Jonathan Villela. These include the "Practical Application of Japanese Band Methods in Urban Schools", "Tearing Down the Wall Between Music and Athletics", and "Dispelling Brass Playing Myths".

An interview with North Allegheny High School Band director Todd Stefan is presented. He talks about how he and the instrumental staff stay on the same page despite North Allegheny, Pennsylvania school district being so large, events that get younger students excited about their being part of the high school band program, and roles played by parents in North Allegheny music program. Stefan offers advice for directors who have to build a booster group from the ground up, or assist in organizing.

An interview with veteran music teacher John Cisetti from Louisburg, Kansas is presented. He discusses what he has learned about running rehearsals after 37 years of teaching music. He talks about a summer camp devoted to concert band featured in his music education program. He also discusses his practice of writing his own drill for marching band and how it helps his teaching.

The article presents the reflections of some music teachers about their experiences in teaching music. Second-year teacher Erika St. Denis from Ithaca/Groton, New York says she felt most prepared to teach band pedagogy, secondary instruments and conducting, but less prepared to teach about string instruments. Other topics covered include the professional development clinics that the teachers needed the most, and how they balance personal and professional life.

The article offers tips and ideas for music educators who conducts bands or orchestras on how to have an effective rehearsal while creating rewarding musical experiences for students. Topics covered include the exercises for developing the listening, thinking, and observational skills of the players, the guiding principles in rehearsal planning, the basic concepts and the process of refined music making, dynamics manipulation, and tips on how to create consistent melodic contour.

The article discusses the activities and lessons involved in the first six weeks of a beginning band (BB) curriculum. Topics covered include the four concepts used with breathing exercises, the musical alphabet, the breakdown of a typical rehearsal in BB class, the use of clapping rhythms, and the importance of playing with a natural face that is relaxed.

The article focuses on the importance of bands in the world. Topics discussed include mankind has instinctively demanded groups of instrumental players, bands holds an entirely distinctive place in music, many instruments in the band are ancestors of remote Asiatic origin such as oboe and bagpipe, first brass wind instruments of Egyptians were similar to straight trumpets, and improvements in band instruments during the Middle Ages to make them effective both in indoors and outdoors.

The article offers the author's view regarding the recruitment of band members. She outlines some tools to be used in recruitment process such as Google Forms from technology company Google Inc. and Mail Merge from Microsoft Corp. She mentions that prospective students and their parents are the biggest audience for recruitment.

An interview with band director David Dunham of Frisco Independent School District is presented. Dunham outlines the fundamental rules and regulations when setting up a band. He mentions some techniques in building a strong musical foundation among first year students. He elaborates how he retain students and introduce them into jazz music.

The article offers suggestions for playing bass clarinet to improve the sound of a band. Topics discussed include importance of psychological attachment with the instrument, preventing damage to the instrument by supporting the instrument correctly, and role of posture for handling and breath control for playing the instrument. INSET: The Bass Clarinet's Distinctive Sound.

The article discusses things that a band director should know about the bassoonists in the band, reprinted from the April 1976 issue of the journal. Topics discussed include use of bassoons in concert bands, how the band bassoonist muster the energy for enduring the playing of solo parts, and the role played by bassoons in maintaining the pitch.

The article discusses the benefits of teaching instrumental music to a small student population. Topics include benefits of small student groups such as the ability of music directors to provide more feedback to students and student's commitment towards a musical band, the need of fundraising efforts and increased participation of parents, and role of well-trained student leaders in compensating the lack of marching band staff.

The article presents a comparison between classical and jazz trumpet playing. Topics include the ringing and vocal qualities of a classical sound, the importance of technique and articulation when playing jazz, and the link between sound and one's imagination. It also discusses improvisation in jazz music, the need to go to concerts to hear new sounds and musical ideas, and the value of singing for jazz and classical playing.

A first person narrative is presented which explores the author's experience of learning from middle and high school directors who built band programs centered on the basic fundamentals.

The article discusses the importance of optimization to develop a comprehensive percussion program for a marching band music. Topics include the need for music band directors to reevaluate the entire percussion program annually, the inclusion of planning the entire high school percussion program in optimization, and the importance of commitment to one style during marching season to make rehearsals more efficient.

The article talks about the Dot System as a visual reading aid for teaching rhythm in marching band music. Topics include rhythmic patterns, sixteenth note, counting syllable system, ties and dotted rhythms, rhythmic analysis, analysis and visualization of rhythmic proportions, and proficiency at performing a rhythm.