Author: tyonce

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Indonesia, Etc.

In the World Music class I teach at South Dakota State University, my students are required to write a research paper. The topic they have to explore is the country of Indonesia, and they have to look beyond the musical traditions. It’s a good opportunity for them to learn about a country they usually have very little knowledge of and determine how the music fits into a broader cultural context. Because I’m always trying to increase my own knowledge of these World Music topics, I picked up this book:

Besides being a fantastically-interesting adventure story, it also highlighted the fact that Indonesia, while existing as one country, really comprises many different cultural practices and values. It is difficult, if not impossible, to talk about something as being “Indonesian” and applying to the entire country. After traveling for over a year and several thousand miles, hopping from island to island, Elizabeth Pisani takes the reader off the beaten track and gives what seems to be a good sense of both urban and rural Indonesia.

There are mentions of the music culture of Indonesia but not enough for me to assign the entire book to my World Music class, as we cover many other music cultures over the course of a short semester. However, it is available in our library and will be a good resource for them as they research Indonesia. There is also an excellent list of resources for further exploration at the end.

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Rhythmic Studies

As an undergrad, we used Rhythmic Training by Robert Starer in our theory classes. Honestly, I’m a little fuzzy on which theory classes used it (edited to add: after consulting the label on the back of my book, it was used in MUSI 1111, which corresponds to Aural Skills I at Kennesaw State University). I kept almost all my textbooks (with the exception of my least-favorite sight singing book!), and as I moved further along in my applied teaching, reached for this one when I had students who could benefit from some isolated rhythm practice.

The book begins with what students frequently think are insultingly-easy exercises: counting quarter, half, dotted-half, and whole notes. The layout is such that the steady pulse is printed at the bottom of the staff, and the rhythm under consideration is printed at the top of the staff. There are a few pages of “Preliminary Exercises” (the “easy” ones), and then it moves into twelve chapters. I caution students about taking these exercises for granted based on the beginning material because they increase in difficulty at a swift pace. After treating both common and lesser-seen time signatures, there is a section in Chapter 1 on changing meters. Chapter 2 introduces subdivision in a variety of time signatures. Chapters 3 and 4 introduce more complex subdivisions. By the time we reach Chapter 5, the exercises mix the types of subdivisions (eighth notes, triplets, sixteenths, etc.). Increasingly small subdivisions is the subject through Chapter 9. Chapter 10 changes the rate of pulse; Chapter 11 is a review, and Chapter 12 pits two rhythms against each other.

Often I will use this book with students with limited experience with applied lessons. Sometimes students are very comfortable playing in a large ensemble where there is a conductor and relatively steady pace. When this pulse has to come from the student himself, problems can present themselves.

Practically, I will usually include one or two pages per week. The student is free to work through these however he or she would like, but we always “perform” them the same way in lessons. If they feel comfortable with the material, I turn on a metronome click and off they go, playing the rhythm printed at the top of the staff. If they aren’t comfortable with the material, I have them talk through, analyze, and clap the rhythm in question. We continue to work on smaller and smaller sections to zoom in on the trouble spots. Once we practice it (much in the same way we would practice an excerpt from their etudes or repertoire), they play through it on the flute.

In my experience, working through these exercises results in significant improvement. Even working through approximately half of the book sets student flutists up for success in most rhythms they will encounter in the standard repertoire. Lesson time is at a premium (especially when underclassmen have a 30-minute lesson each week) but this book is worth fitting in. The fundamental skills gleaned from it pay off dividends when learning the vast majority of our repertoire.

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Applied Teaching in Woodwind Pedagogy

I teach woodwind pedagogy at South Dakota State University each fall, and it is always a juggling act. I like the text I use (Teaching Woodwinds, Mountain Peak Music) and I’m confident that my students will be able to employ it later as a helpful resource when they are in the trenches. However, it is difficult to juggle the presentation of brand new material about five different instruments and provide them with enough playing in-class playing time during the semester in a class that meets for only 50 minutes twice a week. Some of the material in the text is obviously best left for when the students actually need it (such as repertoire guides and the like) but some needs to be addressed in class. And while the performance bar is “fifth grade proficiency,” I think providing them with a beginning band in-class performance experience is valuable for many reasons. I also think it’s important for them to have the opportunity to do some teaching during the course of the class. I tweak the syllabus every year but I generally include the following components: going over the most basic, essential information on each of the five woodwinds; playing in a simulated band class frequently; and having them give mini lessons to classmates on one woodwind instrument they’ve had some experience with. This last component is what I’ll focus on for the rest of this post.

Each student is required to give one mini-lesson during the course of the semester. There are a lot of factors that go into the timing of these lessons; some students have had previous woodwind experience and others have not. To even the playing field (and to get the pace of the course well-established), I don’t schedule these until after the students have been tested on their first woodwind. This is approximately one-third of the way through the semester, and I can assume that every student in the class has some basic skills on at least one woodwind instrument at that point. I usually stagger these throughout the remainder of the semester so entire class periods aren’t full of nothing but lessons.

During the lesson, the teaching student is required to cover material that would be appropriate for a “first lesson.” In South Dakota, it is common for band directors to also give a one-on-one lesson to each student during the week. Therefore, these are skills that really will be likely components in their jobs. In my class, the teaching student will explain how to sit properly, open the case, and assemble the instrument. Depending on how quickly they are able to proceed, the student might try getting a sound out of the instrument (or perhaps just the head joint, mouthpiece, or reed). The teaching student demonstrates disassembly and proper placement of the parts in the case. Cleaning the instrument is also addressed. As these lessons take place, there are often snags – the student might have difficulty lining up the parts appropriately during assembly or might have trouble getting a sound. The teaching student is then tested and must use troubleshooting skills to work through the challenge. Most of the time, it goes well; even if it doesn’t, it’s a great simulation of the kind of situation they will be in once they are in a teaching job.

These lessons are conducted in a masterclass format. The rest of the class watches and is generally very supportive. They are tasked with taking notes, indicating portions of the lesson they thought worked well and opportunities for the teaching student to improve. Some of this feedback is discussed directly after the lesson, and I compile all comments and send them to the teaching student afterwards.

In addition to helping the teaching student get a little bit of real-world experience, these lessons serve another purpose. They really help to reinforce (for everyone) basic fundamentals. Ideas of healthy posture, proper hand placement, accurate instrument assembly, cleaning procedures, and many other “givens” are reinforced over and over throughout the semester. While it isn’t explicitly stated during each lesson, the repetition serves to make these ideas second nature, so when the student teacher becomes Teacher, they will hopefully impart the ideas to their students automatically. (It will also help their own playing, if they have developed any inefficient habits in these areas!) I also use in-class playing time to reinforce musical fundamentals, but that is a subject for another post…

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Etude Project, Continued

I decided to revive the etude project, which I first began in the summer of 2014. At that time, it was my goal to play through as many etudes as possible in the hopes that it would provide me a wider variety of options when assigning exercises to my students. I obviously had a good handle on the etudes I was assigned during my formal studies, and I had a handful of standards I always gravitated to with my younger students but I knew that there were a lot that I was missing. That initial project resulted in me playing through over 1000 etudes and developing a list of collections that would work well for my students of various skill levels. Over the past year and a half, I have incorporated some of these new-to-me studies into my lessons, and they have worked well.

The goal for this second round is to continue identifying studies that would work well for my students. They currently range from absolute beginners to talented seniors in college. Therefore, I’m not focusing just on advanced works; I’m really looking at everything, since I have to keep in mind my younger students.

As always, I’m happy to receive suggestions of titles I may have missed!

19 November 2015 – First Book of Practical Studies for Flute – Guenther – these feature preliminary exercises: scales, scale exercises, thirds, chords, chromatic scales, in the keys of F, B-flat, E-flat, C, G, and D. The etudes that follow each preliminary exercise are primarily melodic, slow or andante, and feature a lot of slurs.

Vester – 125 Easy Classical Studies for Flute – Vester – Played through 1 – 72.

23 November 2015 – Finished up Vester. This is a compilation of etudes by various composers. It includes Kohler, Nicholson, Popp, Soussman, Tromlitz, Devienne, Drouet, Furstenay, Gariboldi, Hugot, and Wunderlich. They are progressive and represent a good variety of keys. Very traditional style, of course, but works well.

30 November 2015 – Selected Studies (in three volumes) – Bantai-Kovacs – I played through number 41 of volume 1.

1 December 2015 – Bantai-Kovacs 42 – 58 of volume 1.

2 December 2015 – Bantai-Kovacs – finished volume 1.

4 December 2015 – Bantai-Kovacs – 1 – 15 of volume 2.

7 December 2015 – Bantai-Kovacs – through 43 of volume 2.

8 December 2015 – Bantai-Kovacs – finished volume 2.

60 Rambles for Flute – Lester – Played through page 19 of these. So far, I have found them to be rather strange.

9 December 2015 – Finished the Rambles.

15 December 2015 – Supplementary Studies for Flute – Endressen – These work well for younger players. They remind me of the Rubank layout. They are clearly presented. Content-wise, they feature simple and compound meters, “easy” key signatures, and appealing melodies. They are sectional with key signature changes. There are a variety of scale patterns, including chromatic movement.

20 December 2015 – Original Melodious and Progressive Studies for the Beginning Flutist – Cavally – These work for students who are true beginners. The first few exercises are made up of whole notes. There are a lot of instructions included on each exercise at the beginning of the book. They are definitely progressive but move rather quickly, considering they begin with whole note exercises. Grace notes and trills are introduced early and the range has extended to high G by exercise #15. The key signatures stay within three sharps or flats. Eventually the range is extended to high B-flat and low C-sharp. This book is the prelude to the more advanced Melodious and Progressive Studies.

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New Flute!

The flute trials are over. Recently, I bit the bullet and bought a silver handmade Powell flute, and I paired it with a Ruby Aurumite soloist cut headjoint.

Once I decided that I wanted a silver inline handmade Powell, I spent a lot of time trying out different headjoints. I found this to be a time-consuming process because there were aspects of each headjoint that I liked, so I had to be patient until I could get my hands on one that had each of those desirable qualities in the same headjoint. The soloist cut works best for me. Eventually, I narrowed my choices down to a silver, a 9k Aurumite, and the Ruby Aurumite. I played them in different rooms and on various repertoire over a period of time. I recorded myself playing each of them; besides listening to the recordings myself, I sent them to a friend for his opinion. The richness of the Ruby Aurumite sound was what finally won me over, and I decided on that one.

Shortly after making my decision, I performed at the Canadian Flute Convention, and I found that very little transition was necessary from my old flute to the new one. The scale seems to be slightly different, which will take some adjustment, but the mechanism is solid and the tone color potential with the headjoint is exciting.

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Flute Trials, continued

I continue to look for a new flute. A colleague in the area has a very nice Burkart that she is not playing as much as she would like, so I tried it out for a while. It’s a beautiful instrument and has a gold headjoint. I don’t have the specifications available for this one, but it seems heavier than the flute I’m currently playing. In fact, I started to feel some strain on my wrists the further into the trial I got. It feels like a heavier wall, and it features an offset G, C-sharp trill, and a D-sharp roller. I enjoyed the C-sharp trill but am not sure if I will eventually buy a flute with it. I use the lever key next to it so often that I’m afraid I will catch the C-sharp trill too many times when I’m aiming for the lever. Overall, it’s a fantastic instrument but a little too heavy for me. The search continues…

 

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Flute Trial #1

I find myself in the market for a new flute. I’m not in a hurry to purchase, and I plan to try out many different instruments before deciding what I want to go with. This week, I’ve been playing a wooden (grenadilla) flute made by Powell. The mechanism is sterling silver and it has a B foot joint, French cups, and offset G. It’s pitched at A=442. I’ve tried two different headjoints with it this week. My own personal grenadilla headjoint has a sterling silver tenon; I also tried a grenadilla headjoint with a 14k gold tenon. The instrument has a beautiful, warm sound. I did notice a difference in the sound between the two headjoints. However, they seem to be cut slightly differently, so the differences can’t be attributed to material (silver versus 14k gold) alone. It’s a comfortable instrument to play. It does take slightly longer to warm up than a metal instrument — and I only played it for short intervals, as it was only finished a couple of weeks ago — but once it’s warm, it has a lovely sound. This flute is definitely on the short list.

 

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Grenadilla/silver headjoint.
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Comparison of both headjoints.
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Close up of grenadilla/silver headjoint.
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Close up of grenadilla/14k gold headjoint.
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Close up of sterling silver mechanism.
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Grenadilla/14k gold headjoint.
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Close up of offset G.

 

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