RAISING THE BAR, PART 2 Teaching Concepts and Fundamentals in Middle School Band Florida Music Educators Association Conference January 15, 2016

Part 1 – Standards and Expectations It is our responsibility to make sure that all of our students are learning. Not just the “best.” We need to be aware of what all of our students can and can not do. Benchmarks with regular assessment (formal and informal) The teacher must have clear goals and benchmarks for their students. Progress monitoring – teach, assess, reteach as needed Don’t let the method book dictate what you teach! Use books, sheet music, and other exercises to meet your benchmarks. aspx?ID= aspx?ID=2062

Part 2 – Concepts and Fundamentals Beginning Band is the foundation the band program. It is our job to make sure they are set up for success. “We’ll worry about that later.” “It’s okay, he’s just a beginner…” Monitoring is key! It’s not enough to give them information, we have to make sure they are learning. Assessment doesn’t have to be scary or time-consuming. Feedback has been shown to be highly effective when used correctly. Respect is the foundation of learning. Respect is about relationships Trust and Sarcasm… Discipline vs. Behavior Learning can’t take place without respect and discipline. These concepts are necessary for a strong band program.

7 Essential Concepts/Fundamentals Characteristic Tone Characteristic Articulation Note Duration/Endings Pulse Phrasing Note Recognition Rhythm Reading

Conceptual Teaching Students must have a full understanding of the concept before they can apply it consistently. Provide lots of examples… And non-examples (YouTube) Can the students identify examples and non-examples? Allows students to self-assess, and analyze performances of others…

Characteristic Tone Posture – “Active Posture” Feet Flat, Edge of chair, Back Straight, Head Up No Tension! Posture, Hands, Breathing, Embouchure Embouchure Woodwind Pitches Brass Buzzing Air Must be consistent, fast and “spinning” Move air in between notes Air Temperature

Characteristic Tone Percussion Keep them involved!! Stick Height Start on mallet, but get to snare and auxiliary quickly. Hand/Instrument Position Be specific Give “checkpoints” Pitch/Intonation Starts at the beginning with tone! Teach as a concept Match: yes or no? Higher/lower? Should you use a tuner?

Characteristic Articulation Articulation is specific to the instrument. Provide lots of examples and non-examples. Isolate the physical movement of articulation. Students have difficulty pinpointing articulation with all of the other moving parts. Legato v. Staccato Start with legato – keep air moving between the notes This will reinforce air movement when you get to staccato.

Note Duration/Endings Students need to move air all the way to the end of the note. How do you want them to release notes? Teach it now so you don’t need to later. Beginners have a tendency to change their embouchure by the end of a long note. Tough habit to break later on it. This will affect pitch and sonority!

Pulse Metronome or no metronome??? METRONOME Students need lots of experience with a steady pulse before they internalize it. Middle school students love to rush the ends of measures, as well as dotted rhythms! Subdivision of the beat “Pull on beat 4.”

Phrasing As with the other concepts, show examples and non- examples. Self-assessment and assessment of peers is a powerful tool. Stretch past beat 4. Don’t trust phrase markings in the method books.

Note Recognition Sing note names as part of learning a piece of music. Students should sing their specific notes while moving their fingers. This can help prevent rote-learning. Assess this skill as well. All students should be able to identify notes by name; they will become better sight-readers.

Rhythm Reading Daily counting starting on day 1. Body percussion and counting at the beginning. Move to counting that includes some sort of duration. The key is holding every student accountable. The won’t be scared to count out loud or alone if they are doing it from day 1.

Putting it all together Demonstration of “learning a new line.” What am I teaching today? Sample Assessment Short and sweet Feedback Harmony in Bb

Last thoughts… Don’t say “it’s close enough,” or “that’s okay, you’ll get it next time.” What you allow in your classroom is what will happen on stage. Unless you are okay with “close enough” in your Wind Ensemble. Give specific feedback- What could be better? What are the next steps? What did they do well? Stop Making Excuses! Summer Opportunity Jim’s Book

Contact Michael Antmann Orange County Public Schools Jim Matthews Brevard County Public Schools