The ART of Instrumental Music for The Creative Director

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1 2008 Midest Clinic Rehearsal a ession Decemer 19, :00-2:00 PM Grand tate Ballrooms - Palmer ouse Edard. isk, Clinician Osego, Ne York Assisted y Niles North ymphonic Wind Ensemle Elton Eisele, Conductor The ART of Instrumental Music for The Creative Director A ne dimension in teaching... thinking... practicing... and playing an instrument! What is est in music is not found in the notes. Gustav Mahler Part 1: "The Mastery of Music Fundamentals" "The notes of a composition do not exist in isolation; the movement of harmonic progressions, melodic contours and expressive colorations provide each interval ith a specific sense of elonging and/or direction."...palo Casals Part 2: "The Mysterious World of In-Tune Playing" Composers utilize the overtone series as part of their harmonic language. If the music is performed out of tune or misunderstood, then the overtone series is destroyed, and the composer's intentions are not fulfilled."...roert Jager, Composer Part 3: "Beyond the Page" The ritten note is like a strait jacket, hereas music, like life itself, is constant movement, continuous spontaneity, free from any restrictions... There are so many excellent instrumentalists ho are completely osessed y the printed note, hereas it has a very limited poer to express hat the music actually means....palo Casals elisk@tcny.rr.com We ite:

2 I. Introducing the Circle of 4ths A. Expanding Musical Performance Vocaulary B. Transposition Grouping Assignments 1. Chord Qualities, Composer Voicing, Melillo Function Chorales 2. Chord Progressions (I-IV-I, I-V7-I, I-IIm7-V7-I, 7th tone chords) II. ecret for uccess: TE Grand Master cale! A. Why the Grand Master cale 1. Breaking 'old scale haits' B. cale Variations, Articulation C. earning process for cale Mastery Clinic Outline "The ritten note is like a strait jacket, hereas music, like life itself, is constant movement, continuous spontaneity, free from any restrictions... There are so many excellent instrumentalists ho are completely osessed y the printed note, hereas it has a very limited poer to express hat the music actually means."...palo Casals Composers utilize the overtone series as part of their harmonic language. If the music is performed out of tune or misunderstood, then the overtone series is destroyed, and the composer's intentions are not fulfilled."...roert Jager, Composer III. The Mysterious World of In-Tune Playing A. tudent Responsiilities for Balance, Blend, Intonation 1. 3 teps to Balance, Blend and Intonation B. Exercising traight ine Tuning 1. 6 tep Tuning Process C. The Art of Tuning Overtones 1. Pitch is relative to fundamental 2. Tuning Unisons, Octaves, 5ths, 4ths D. Exercise Full Ensemle istening 1. Full Band Tuning Process a. Unisons, Octaves, 5ths, 4ths -Group Assignments "We can never exhaust the multiplicity of nuances and sutleties hich make the charm of music...we tend to e inhiited y the printed score ith its scarcity of expressive markings."...palo Casals IV. Artistic Expression...taking the 'risk' and looking eyond the unadorned markings of musical notation. A. The earch for Meaning (or, the mystery eyond the notes) B. o do e exercise expressive playing 1. Filling the gap eteen mechanical and artistic performance C. Discovering nuance, inflection feeling through rhythmic speech! 1. Word Prosody entences, poetry, rhythms, questions, exclamation points, speech intonation D. utleties of 'musical thought' 1. Melodic line - horizontal flo direction 2. armonic content - tension and resolution E. Musical Expression Phrasing...Energy and forard movement of timed thinking!! 1. o earches for igh...igh earches for o...hort ooks for ong A musical imagination that speaks through the eauty of sound...moving in and out of silence...edard.isk

3 The graphic illustrates a connected vie of Alternative Rehearsal Techniques. The foundation is ased upon the Circle of 4ths. All musical elements in a arm-up or instructional (lesson) setting evolve from this central point or ro of pitches. The literature demands dictate the selection of musical elements as a preparatory exercise for a rehearsal. This may include articulation, rhythm patterns, chord qualities, listening, intonation to name a fe. The Circle of 4ths ties all the important elements together. Circle of 4ths To acquaint the students ith the ro of pitches, simply have them play the letter pitches (hole notes) starting ith their assigned (transposed) pitch and continue through the ro as outlined elo. tudents should e instructed to play mid-range notes. B flat Instruments: E flat Instruments: F Instruments: C Instruments: C-F-B-E-A-D(C#)-G(F#)-C(B)-E-A-D-G-C G-C-F-B-E-A-D(C#)-G(F#)-C(B)-E-A-D-G F-B-E-A-D(C#)-G(F#)-C(B)-E-A-D-G-C-F B-E-A-D(C#)-G(F#)-C(B)-E-A-D-G-C-F-B

4 The Mysterious World of In-Tune Playing (Volume 5, Chapter 2) "Composers utilize the overtone series as part of their harmonic language. If the music is performed out of tune or misunderstood, then the overtone series is destroyed, and the composer's intentions are not fulfilled."...roert Jager, Composer Overtone eries for Tuning = Beatless Octaves = Beatless 5ths The Art of Tuning Overtones C F B # 1, To determine alance: If you hear yourself aove all others in your section or and, you are overpoering or over-loing. Make an adjustment to volume y playing softer; lose your identity y making your tone ecome a part of the section and/or the ensemle. 2. To determine lend: If you still hear yourself and you made the volume adjustment, you are playing ith poor tone quality. Adjust emouchure, reath support, posture, or equipment (instrument, mouthpiece, reed). Poor tone quality ill not lend ith your section or and; lose your identity y lending your tone as it ecomes a part of the section and/or the ensemle. 3. To determine tuning: If you still hear yourself, and you made the adjustments to alance and lend, you are playing out of tune! Adjust the length of your instrument, as outlined in ix-tep Tuning Process ix-tep Tuning Process 1. As you play F concert ith your section leader, listen for the eats. Are the eats fast or slo Adjust the arrel, mouthpiece, or slide. (Move the slide/arrel in or out). 2. If the eats ecome faster, you moved the arrel, mouthpiece, or slide the rong ay. Adjust the length of your instrument in the opposite direction. 3. If the eats ecame sloer, you moved the arrel, mouthpiece, or slide in the correct direction. Continue in this direction until all eats are eliminated, or until you are hearing the pitch as a straight-line. 4. If you are pinching your emouchure to eliminate eats, your instrument is too long and must e shortened. 5. If you are relaxing your emouchure to eliminate eats, your instrument is too short and must e lengthened. 6. When you and your section play the same pitch ithout any unnecessary emouchure adjustments and no individual sound or eats are heard (lose your identity)......you and your section are perfectly in- tune! Exercise traight-ine Tuning Target Tuning (a of ound = ighs never pass os = ighs must e in-tune ith the octave elo) Principal Player Overtone Tuning "Played softly, a lo frequency tone must have ten times the energy of a midrange tone to sound as loud and almost a hundred times the energy at higher levels. Our ears are most sensitive to high tones, hich require only a fraction of the energy to sound as loud as a midrange tone."...roert Jourdain Piccolo 13. Ooe 12. Flute 11. Clarinet in 10. B Trumpet in 9. B Alto axophone 8. orn 7. in F Baritone ax 6. Bass Clarinet 5. Bassoon 4. Tromone 3. Euphonium 2. Tua Tua 1. U U U B Clarinet U B Trumpet U U U U Bass Clarinet U Bassoon U Tromone U Euph. U U Piccolo/E Clar. Ooe Flute Alto axophone French orn Baritone ax Principal Players = Begin Tuning from Principal Tua and tune up to Piccolo. Beatless unisons and octaves are the priority. Full Ensemle Tuning (unisons, octaves, 5ths, 4ths) Octave...Group 1...B - E - A - D - G - C - E - A - D - G - C - F 5th...Group 2... F - B - E - A - D - G - B - E - A - D - G - C 5th... F - B - E - A - D - G - B - E - A - D - G - C Root...B - E - A - D - G - C - E - A - D - G - C - F

5 Beyond The Page: The Natural as of Musical Expression The sutle emphasis can e communicated in music, y comparing it to ho e speak....menahem Pressler, Beaux Arts Trio peaking Rhythm Patterns All music is nothing more than a succession of impulses that converge toards a definite point of repose. Igor travinsky o earches for igh Three Natural as of Musical Expression igh earches for o hort ooks for ong

6 Flats (B#) C - F - B - E - A (E#) (A#) (D#) (G#) 5 Piccolo Ooe E Clarinet 1st Flute 1st Clarinet 1st Alto ax 1st Cornet 1st Trumpet 1st French orn 1st Tromone 4 Circle of 4ths D - G - C or or or # # C - F - B 5 (F) (7) The top numer indicates the numer of flats or sharps in that particular scale. The ottom numer indicates the correct order of flats or sharps. 2nd Flute 2nd Clarinet 2nd Alto ax 2nd Cornet 2nd French orn 2nd Tromone Woodind Choir Brass Choir Percussion 3rd Clarinet Alto Clarinet Tenor ax 4 3rd Cornet 2nd Trumpet 3rd Tromone 3rd 4th French orn # # # # 3 E - A - D - G 2 Bass Clarinet Bassoons Bari ax Contra Clarinets Baritone Euphonium Tua tring Bass harps Viraphone (soft mallets) Xylophone (soft mallets) Marima (soft mallets) Tympani Copyright 1991 MEREDIT MUIC PUBICATION 1 a - d - g - c - f C - F - B - E - A (B#) (E#) Circle of 4ths - Minor cales (A#) (D#) (G#) - e - a D - G - C or or or a# - d# - g# # # C - F - B c # - f # - - e E - A - D - G The small letter (a - d, etc.) aove the shadoed capital letter indicates the relative minor scale. Piccolo Ooe E Clarinet 1st Flute 1st Clarinet 1st Alto ax 1st Cornet 1st Trumpet 1st French orn 1st Tromone 2nd Flute 2nd Clarinet 2nd Alto ax Woodind Choir 2nd Cornet 2nd French orn 2nd Tromone Brass Choir Percussion 3rd Clarinet Alto Clarinet Tenor ax 3rd Cornet 2nd Trumpet 3rd Tromone 3rd 4th French orn Bass Clarinet Bassoons Bari ax Contra Clarinets Baritone Euphonium Tua tring Bass Viraphone (soft mallets) Xylophone (soft mallets) Marima (soft mallets) Tympani # # # # Copyright 1991 MEREDIT MUIC PUBICATION