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Recommended Tools and Gadgets For Teachers of Beginning Band Students

Band directors tend to be Jacks of all trades. We know how to play every instrument in the band but yet we tend to specialize only on one, the instrument that we grew up playing. Once in a while in our teaching we will stumble across a difficult case, a student that for whatever reason is having difficulty understanding and executing the proper technique or embouchure for their instrument.

Mastering The Art of Teaching Instrument Fingerings

Becoming a true master teacher requires more than just mastering a single instrument or topic, it also has to involve mastering the act of teaching as a whole.Â Finding new and captivating ways to capture a student's attention and get information down into their long term memory is of paramount importance and with a little ingenuity and introspection any teacher can learn how to do it.Â

Busting Through The Break- Clarinet High Range Development

Many band directors that are not native clarinet players have difficulty teaching their clarinet students how to effectively and easily reach the high notes, known throughout the world as "above the break." Playing above the break seems quite natural to those of us that have mastered the art, yet telling a new student how to achieve the same effect is a lot more difficult. Consider these useful tips that are intended to help anyone do better at playing clarinet high notes.

How To Play High Notes On Clarinet

Teaching Clarinet Students To Bust Through The Break!

In the eyes of many beginning musicians clarinetists often seem to have the easiest time learning to play their instrument during the first few weeks or months of lessons. Then, when all seems well with the world, they finally reach the very bottom range of their instrument, using all ten fingers at the same time. At this point their teacher decides to take them to the next level and suddenly asks them to "Cross The Break!" Depending on many factors this may be the beginning of a long, happy musical adventure or the beginning of the end for the student as a clarinetist.

Improving A Brass Player's Sound and Tone

Trumpet valves closeup All teachers will inevitably run into a brass student that struggles to produce a solid, focused tone, but even those with the most stubborn embouchure problems can be helped with a little common sense and more than a little ingenuity.

Curing Sore, Chapped Lips With ChopSaver

How often do you as a brass or woodwind musician overwork your lips so much that they tingle or hurt after a rehearsal or a gig?Â All musicians are guilty of pushing their lips too far or too long, and while we all know we shouldn't do it sometimes we have no choice.Â The show must go on, right?Â While an athlete can throw on a bandage or an ice pack to help cool the swelling of overexertion musicians have been left with little in terms of useful remedies.Â Musicians now also have a remedy that claims to help reduce injury and speed healing of overworked lip tissues but the big question is, does it work? Â

Mouthpiece Pullers- The Correct Way To Remove A Stuck Mouthpiece

bobcat puller Mouthpiece pullers are not just tools for the band director's office. Students and professionals alike will often add a mouthpiece puller to their stash of equipment to provide a sense of safety when practicing at home or when away on a gig. Since a stuck mouthpiece can be a big problem and prevent you from closing your instrument's case, it is essential that you have a way to remove the mouthpiece safely while outside of the band room.

Choosing A College For Your Music Education

college graduate If you have an interest in music education or music performance, you`ll want to attend a college that will provide you with experiences and opportunities that will further your eventual career. There are plenty of factors to consider when making this decision. Here are a few to think about as you search for the right educational institute.

Breath Support Made Easy

Ken Taylor Photo Breathing from the diaphragm is a vital part to singing correctly. Said differently, the breath is the gasoline that fuels our voices. Without the proper breath, a singer isnâ€™t likely to progress very far. But explaining a process as abstract as breathing from your diaphragm isnâ€™t always the easiest thing. Thatâ€™s why I wanted to share a method thatâ€™s proven itself to be effective time and time again over the years Iâ€™ve been teaching this abstract subject.

Ten Tips for Including a Metronome in Your Music Practice

The modern metronome is an indispensable practice tool for musicians of any level of experience. Most student musicians and even some more experienced musicians do not realize how inconsistent humans are in terms of their perception of time. Our perception of time changes from moment to moment based on our emotional state. Music played at louder dynamics tends to rush, softer music tends to drag. Even a difference in age of the performers tends to produce differences in perceptions of "how fast time passes."

Band Instrument Cleaning and Hygiene- A Refresher Course

The recent swine flu (H1N1 virus) outbreak has scared a lot of people and made us all start taking the idea of hygiene and disease control a bit more seriously. In a school setting band directors are probably second only to the school nurse in terms of direct, first hand exposure to bodily fluids and exhaled air. It is in the nature of our craft that we have to physically adjust hand position or embouchure problems in an attempt to improve a student's playing abilities. Because of this fact, and with the H1N1 flu outbreak all over the news these days, it never hurts to refresh our memories on how to make sure that any illnesses that a student might have are not passed on to ourselves or to other students.

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