Effective Methods for Teaching Beginning Brass

Elizabeth Appleton

This document serves as a handbook with strategies and exercises that can be done with students who are just learning brass instruments. Many of the strategies come from observing a beginner band class being taught, but also by researching literature and asking band directors what effective strategies they use in their program. The following are the important areas that need to be taught and reinforced when starting an ensemble. The focus of this manual is brass but many of these strategies can be applied to woodwinds as well.

Table of Contents

Posture

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Breathing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Embouchure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Articulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fingerings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Posture
Posture is a vital part of any students playing as it sets up part of the foundation for good tone and sound. When a student plays with proper posture it aids in their breathing and they produce a better sound on their instrument. Beginning band students struggle to maintain proper posture when playing so it is important as a teacher to be constantly vigilant about reminding the to keep their posture. Slouching or sitting back in their chair are very common issues for first year band students.

What does good posture look like? Sitting on the edge of their seat with their feet flat on the floor Standing from the waist up Relaxed shoulders Relaxed level chin Instrument is not being rested on their body or on the stand (ex. clarinets, trombones trumpets.) Instrument is up when playing (ex. flutes, trumpets, trombones)

Strategies

4 Have students stand up and have them imagine that they have a string attached from their head to the ceiling in a straight line to help them feel a straight back. When they sit down the top half shouldnt change and their hips should act as a hinge. Check that students have enough space between them and the back of their chair by walking behind them with your hand. Constantly reminding the students to sit up straight and with good posture. Make sure they know who to properly hold their instruments with good posture. After they have played a piece have them freeze and do a posture check before putting their instruments down. Make sure that trombone and trumpet bells are always up before you start playing any piece.

Breathing
Breathing is a crucial part of producing a good tone. Without solid air support an instrument will never produce a good characteristic sound. Students need to learn how to take a full supported breath when they play and also how to use that breath. Often beginner band students take more breaths then they need and do not play with a consistent airstream. It is so important to push them to play longer with good sound without taking a breath as the year progresses. Also you must teach them what playing with a consistent airstream feels and sounds like. This will set them up for a good tone right away in their playing.

What does it look like?

Inhaling a large amount of air and filling their lungs before they play a pitch

5 Exhale into their instrument with proper support Sending a consistent amount of air into their instrument while they are playing

Strategies
Use imagery that the students can relate to picture their breathing. o Like inflating a balloon on the bell of your instrument as you play o Like a garden hose Airstream o Students blow fast, warm air through their instrument to engage their breathing o This can be used when sight-reading new pieces or scales. Last man standing

o Have a friendly competition between the students to see who can

produce a nice tone the longest. o Have a timer going so they know how long they can go and see how they have improved over the year.

Have the students holding one note for 4 counts, then 8 counts, 16
counts etc.

Do as many quarters as you can in one breath. Take a piece slow or fast and try to keep the same breath marks Use a tuner app that picks up the sound the students are playing and
shows them the consistency of their sound/breath

Embouchure
Embouchure one of the foundations for playing and it is important that students understand how their embouchure works for their particular instrument. The embouchure must be developed to have the endurance to hold the correct

6 position but the flexibility to produce a characteristic sound. For beginner brass players embouchure is even more important because depending on what note they need to play the same fingering or position can play many different notes. It is important to establish proper embouchure early in their playing and ensure that students maintain it so it does not affect the sound of the entire ensemble. It is also very important in early band education that you start each rehearsal with the students warming up using only their mouthpiece. Beginner band students need that extra time to warm up their embouchure in order to produce a nice, full tone during practice.

What does it look like? Corners of the mouth are tight No puffed out cheeks
Firm chin Relaxed lips Flexible so they can move to notes in different registers

Strategies Begin with only the mouthpiece and have them make a consistent buzz. Be constantly reminding them not to blow out their cheeks. Have them practice moving from note to note that are played in the
same slide or fingering position by changing their embouchure.

Have them play sirens so they can play with tightening and loosening
their embouchure

Do call and response with them by buzzing a familiar melody and having
them answer you back by buzzing o Ex. Happy Birthday, Mary had a Little Lamb, Jingle Bells etc. o You can also use exercises from the book that they have played.

Have them practice moving up and down triads on one note by

loosening and tightening their embouchure.

Articulation
Students need to learn how to properly begin and end notes as it affects the sound of the piece. Players can lose their good, solid tone if they are not articulating properly and cutting off their consistent airstream improperly. Each instrument is different in its articulation but it all involves the use of tonguing. For beginner brass players tah is a good word to articulate on because it teaches them how to do harder articulation from the beginning and then they can back off and easily do soft articulations later. Articulation allows for the correct performance of various musical styles and is something that needs to be learned early in a students music education.

What does it look like?

Notes are distinct and clear when played. Students are using their tongue to articulate. They are observing slurs in their music. Their consistent airstream is still being used and only cut off for short amounts of time by the tongue for proper articulation.

Strategies
Have them visualize a stream of water coming from the tap of the sink. Articulation is like taking your hand and slicing the stream of water. o Really stress that you are not turning the tap on and off every time you play a note (like breathing between every note) o The students are just using the tip of their tongue on the back of their teeth to stop the sound for a moment, like slicing the water with your hand.

For beginner brass make sure that they are using tah for articulation Have them hold one note and articulate whole, half and quarter notes on tah. Stress in scales and their pieces that they must tah on every note so there is a clear distinction between them. When slurs appear in their music make sure that you only tongue the first note in a slur. Eventually you will have them move to other sounds for articulation such as dah or doo.

Fingerings
Of course it is important for student to be able to read their music and perform the correct fingerings as if it was second nature. For beginner band however you can work on fingerings by associating note names with positions without formal music. This way the students can start performing simple melodies as soon as possible even if they do not have an understanding of how to read music.

What does it look like? Students are quick and confident in playing the correct slide or valve positions for the notes. There is no fumbling or confused fingers while they are playing. They can hear note name or see a note and immediately find the fingering.

Strategies

9 When learning new notes makes sure that everyone has the correct fingering before they even play it so bad habits are not formed. When wrong notes are played have the students check with their elbow partner to make sure they both have the correct fingering. They will be able to correct each other. Constantly quiz the students on what position they are playing or what the fingerings look like. Call out a note name and have them show you the fingering for it Play simple melodies that they have to echo. (Good ear training too!) Constantly be checking for confused fingers or students not knowing their fingerings. If they are struggling with moving from fingering to fingering have them practice going back and forth between two notes and gradually get faster. When they are just beginning to learn their instrument you can encourage them to have their fingering charts out during rehearsal as a quick reference. Then gradually take that away as they become more confident in their fingerings.

Theory
Theory is also an integral part of any successful program. Students need to be able understand the notation of music and its interpretation in order to play musically. If they have a solid foundation in theory it become much easier to take on harder music and learn it quickly. Theory is one of the toughest things to instill in a beginner band student. It involves much repetition and practice while constantly quizzing the kids on their notes and rhythms. It is easy to get caught up in rehearsing repertoire and not taking the time to teach the theory

10 but in the end a thorough education in theory will pay off as students will pick up music faster in the long run.

What does it look like? Students are able to read the notes in the staff and combine that with the fingerings on their instrument. They understand the musical signs and how they effect their playing. They are able to properly count their rhythms and understand the different aspects of rhythm They are able to interpret music signs and notation and apply them to their playing.

Strategies Start from the very basics like staffs, note values and the names of notes at the very beginning of the year. Use mini whiteboards with the students so you can quickly quiz them and see where they are at with certain theory concepts. Before you even start a piece have the students point out at least 5 things they find unusual or need to remember when they are playing. Ask them the name of their first note in a piece or somewhere throughout the music. Point to a note on the staff and have them name it. Ask what note a specific fingering or slide position is and vice versa. Have mini quizzes at the beginning of class that students can quickly take and use as a review.

Bibliography

11 Harfst Sehmann, Karen. The Effects of Breath Management Instruction on the Performance of Elementary Brass Players. Journal of Research in Music Education , Vol. 48, No. 2 (Summer, 2000), pp. 136-150 http://0www.jstor.org.darius.uleth.ca/stable/3345572 Miles, R. B., & Dvorak, T. L. (2001). Teaching music through performance in beginning band. Chicago: GIA Publications. Wasiak , E. B. (2014). Teaching Instrumental Music in Canadian Schools. Oxford University Press.

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