As you close out marching season and kick off concert season, I am sure you are facing the dauntless task of getting the football sound out and the concert band sound in. Not every program’s story is the same. Some have year round concert band, but I speculate that most fit the model of marching band in the fall and concert band in the winter and spring. Here are some tips that might help with that process.
I vividly remember one year when I had a large percentage of all region level players in my program, yet I couldn’t figure out why the band sounded so bad. I had a good friend come in and listen to the band, and he left me with one piece of advice - “they are not balanced!” He suggested I purchase and read Effective Performance of Band Literature by Francis McBeth. I wisely took his advice, read the book and applied it in rehearsal everyday. To my knowledge the book is out of print. However, you can source a digital copy online. Long story short, the sound of my band improved rapidly. From that point on, I focused on what I considered to be THE BIG FOUR - balance, blend, precision, and intonation. Each element is an independent characteristic of the band sound, yet each directly affects the others. These are things we all know, but sometimes we need to be reminded. Or, maybe you don’t know. Let’s dig deeper, but not too deep, after all, this is a quick note, not an essay.
Balance - a condition in which different elements are equal or in the correct proportions.
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How do we achieve this with a concert band? Simply put, every student cannot play the same volume. The instrument voicings and parts in the score do not allow it. Using the double pyramid balance system the students learn how their voice fits into the grand scheme of the ensemble, and subsequently train their ear to listen accordingly and always seek to play with a balanced sound.
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I have found that a band that is out of balance is hard to tune. It’s hard to hear precision, and how can there be a blend if everyone is playing at the top of their dynamic range. At that point it just becomes noise.
Blend - mix (a substance) with another substance so that they combine together.
- Are your students playing with characteristic tones on their instruments? Do the members of each section match the tone quality of the most mature player? A lack of blend affects the balance of the ensemble as well as the ability to hear and play in tune within sections and across the ensemble.
Precision - the quality, condition, or fact of being exact and accurate.
- Are your students playing uniformly in every way? Rhythmically, stylistically, tonally, dynamically, and with consistent pitch? It’s hard to hear a blended and balanced sound when the basic elements of performance are not happening at the exact same time in history. A lack of precision makes it difficult to hear and address balance, blend, and intonation problems.
Intonation - accuracy of pitch in playing or singing
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Intonation is much more than tuning at the beginning of rehearsal. Most students can peg “0” on a tuner with relative ease, but can they match pitch and tone qualities with the other members of the ensemble in real time? Even more, can they play the musical line with the intervals being exact? We don’t want to be bending pitches like a steel guitar. Do they understand how to play chords in tune? Do they know the inherently bad notes on their instrument and know how to compensate for that?
- I like to break the word down and ask, “are you playing IN TONE?” I have found that it's hard to tune a bad tone.
In summary, it is my opinion that all four elements are equally important, yet all are equally dependent on each other. The focus on a characteristic concert band sound is not a one time thing, but must be addressed everyday in your rehearsals. Palen Music Center is uniquely equipped to assist with this. If you ever need a second set of ears in your rehearsal, or a guest clinician from time to time, reach out to your ed rep; it is our goal to serve as an “assistant” band director to your program.
And finally, you can apply the same characteristics to your work-life balance. Make sure you do that. You are important to your family, students, school, and community. They need you at your best, so take care of yourself!
Respectfully,
Omar T.
Omar Taweel
Educational Representative
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