Before even tackling how to approach and play the instrument, students need to know their notes on the staff (both treble and bass clefs!) and where they fall on the keyboard.
Power Up! Beginning Percussionists Success on Keyboard Instruments
Power Up! French Horn Tone
Horn is such a versatile instrument, thus the concept of characteristic tone is actually quite situationally dependent. But for our purposes as teachers, horn sound should be really round, warm, open and resonant.
Power Up! Creating a Resonant Sound: Starting Your Clarinet Students Off Right!
Who doesn’t love a dark, rich, and vibrant clarinet sound? It’s a beautiful instrument, and when our clarinet section sounds amazing, our band does too!
Power Up! Percussion Accessories Fundamentals
In the middle and high school setting so much time is devoted to the teaching of snare drum, timpani and the keyboard instruments that the proper techniques needed to play some of the smaller percussion instruments are often neglected or overlooked.
Power Up! Oboe Technique, Tone, and Performance
A good reed can make a “mediocre” to “not so strong” player sound beautiful.
Power Up! Timpani Fundamentals for Beginning Percussionists
Timpani is often overlooked by band directors, especially at the middle school level, and can be intimidating for young students.
Power Up! Euphonium and Tuba Tone
As a band director whose primary instrument is trumpet, there were a lot of things that I took for granted when I started teaching low brass as a young teacher.
Power Up! Teaching and Correcting Flute Tone
Approaching flute tone early on, even on just the headjoint, will not only create more vibrant, clear sounds from your section but helps with projection and tuning.
Power Up: Focusing on Tone with Your Beginner Saxophones
During my 34 years of teaching beginning saxophone, I always tried to teach our students the importance of playing with great tone from day one.
Crafting a Better Brass Section: 3 Ways to Encourage Better Sound Quality from your Brass Players
A unified brass section is a glorious thing! But a brass section that’s out of balance, tune, or tone can be more reminiscent of a college football game than the glorious concert band sound you’re striving for—develop your brass section’s sound by testing out these three tips!