I couldn't think of a good title for this one, but it's something I thought of earlier that I wanted to document somewhere.
On my first day in my second camp I spent time observing the students playing to see if I could spot anyone who was behind the curve. It was obvious that the woodwind section was very strong. I wasn't surprised to learn that the previous director was a woodwind player himself. But the brass seemed to be having a tough time in some ways. After noticing a tubist constantly second guessing himself on fingerings, I politely asked him a couple of questions.
"What's this note called?"
"Uh... I... can't remember."
"That's okay. Can you tell me what this is? (pointing to the key signature)"
"B Flat!"
"Good, but what does it mean?"
"Uh... I... They never really taught us that."
"That's okay. I can help you with that."
And I did. Yesterday I pulled the tubist from the full band rehearsal. I showed him the chromatic finger sequence, then we wrote down the open notes on staff paper, and gradually built a fingering chart using the finger sequence he had just learned. In fact, when I first introduced it to him I had him play from the F below the staff down to the Bb below the staff by following the sequence I'd written down, and when I told him he just played a chromatic scale from F down to Bb, he said he couldn't believe it.
Next I showed him now to figure out note names by going up the staff in alphabetical order, or down the staff in reverse alphabetical order. He's a Junior in High School, and it blew his mind how easy it was once I showed him this trick. It always blows their minds how easy that part is.
Anyway, we got through the fingering chart. His brain was really crunching, but he made it. Good!
Next we went to key signatures. I told him I was less concerned about knowing the names of key signatures, and more concerned that he could understand what they meant. When I pointed out that a flat sign on the B line of the staff meant that all B's were to be played flat, and then applied the same logic to other key signatures, he was once again astonished at how easy it was to figure out, and at how much less frustrated he would've been all these years if someone had just shown him these simple tricks. I told him I understood, because I was in the same boat until I took my first private lesson my sophomore year in High School.
We talked about a couple of other things as well. He asked me to explain accidentals, for example. And even though we'd built a fingering chart, I had another one printed off for him for good measure. I sent him back to band armed with a ton of new knowledge and some quick references we'd worked out together, with the promise that it would take some work at first, but that eventually all of these things would become second nature to him. He felt good, and I felt good for him.
Today in sectionals I got to do a couple of things I'd wanted to do yesterday. I had the kids make name tags to hang from their stands so I could start getting to know their names, for example. But more importantly, I gave them a couple of minutes to write music biographies.
"What's a Music Biography?"
It's an idea I picked up in an education class, Reading and Writing Across the Curriculum. The teacher had us each write a bio with our name and our reading experiences. She used these to get to know us better, in addition to helping her learn our names. In the first camp of the summer, I gave them about 2-3 minutes to write their name, grade level, bands they like (not genres), and hobbies. It worked beautifully. Where as I'm normally bad with names, I quickly got to know each of the brass players, and I could actually talk to them about common interests. I'll probably use this forever now. Even when I pushed them hard and got intense, they were sold enough on me to not get upset. I don't think they were angry with me once. With the music, perhaps, because they couldn't get it yet, but not with me. Well, there were other factors, too, like the fact that they were learning so much. But anyway...
With the group at this camp I added something. I asked them today to write down any questions they had about reading music, or playing the instrument. I gave them examples (note names, key signatures, etc.etc.) and gave them a little extra time to think and write. It didn't take much time. But when I collected those sheets I not only had the music bio, but individual player weaknesses, all with the promise that I would help each person who wrote something down before the camp was over. During full band I looked at what they'd written and prioritized students. After all, a few of them put down non-critical items. One player just wants a lesson, which is fine, but I'll get to her last.
So now part of my mission, in addition to building up the brass to the point that they're capable of blowing away the woodwinds (even though they will be discouraged from doing so), and understanding what it takes to play as a section at a high level, is to strengthen the weakest players in the group by giving them that one on one time they need to get caught up to their peers. Or at the very least, I can arm them with the tools to get there. Yesterday it was a tubist
Fortunately there weren't as many students critically behind as I initially anticipated in the brass. Actually, they're picking up quickly on sectional playing, and generate a good sound, which I hope I can turn into a wall of sound by camp's end. But by working individually with the players that either need or requested individual time, I'll be getting everyone up to par. I've heard that a band gets better one player at a time, and I'm predicting that this time investment will greatly boost the performance of the total brass section, and thus the band, throughout the season and the year.
Not to mention that it just feels good to show students who got lost at some point what the need to know to be on par with the people they sit next to. They're always excited, grateful, and you know that you've probably just drastically improved their music experience for however much time they have left in high school.
So on my way home I thought about the potential of something like this if it were implemented camp wide. After all, I'm toying with the idea of a camp that not only sets the foundation for the marching band, but truly for the year through methods which I've never seen employed before (at least not like I'm debating). That may be for another blog, but here is a new idea which I'm considering now. I'd love your thoughts on this.
Every good camp has technicians. Some have more or less techs than others. The last camp I worked basically managed a brass, woodwind and percussion tech. Larger schools have one tech per individual section, and in some cases, assistants to the techs. I'm already planning on using Music Bios in my programs to get to know my students better, and thus gain their trust faster. If I add the "Problem Inventory" to the Bio, then I can have techs, regardless of how many of them there are, prioritize the students with problems in the group they're responsible for, and then work with them during a larger ensemble rehearsal time. Funding could be a factor, of course. If my techs are professional symphony players, as was my high school experience, then they'd probably want an increase in pay for the week for their additional 1/2 hour to 1 hour of work each day. Of course, if it's a small school and I hire university students as techs to come out for the week (as is the case in these parts), then I can probably ask them to do anything for the same cost. Either way, imagine the possibilities for a band program in which all of its members understand everything they need to know about reading music and the basics of playing the horn, even if they have always previously been behind or got lost as some point. Not only for the marching band, but for the year as well. I'm a big fan of the notion that you should invest time to save time, and this has that written all over it. I'll sacrifice a player in each section during full band for them to get caught up like this - gladly. I can always put the responsibility on the section members to catch their peer up afterwards.
So any thoughts? Personally, I think this could be a great addition to summer camps. I'll be interested to see if I can tell whether or not it's having an impact as the camp progresses, especially into next week.
Until next time, thanks for reading, and take care!
Musically yours,
Mr. Cooper
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