Beginning Woodwinds and Brass

Many school jazz programs in North America do an impressive job of developing their members’ technical and music-notation-reading skills, necessary to perform jazz big band literature with polish and precision. However, many school jazz students are as dependent on notation as they are in the concert band. Although the young jazzer may take improvised solos in jazz band performances, he may be unable to negotiate chord changes or incorporate characteristic jazz vocabulary. In light of this, this chapter covers concepts and skills relevant to beginning jazz instruction for wind instrumentalists. Specifically, it identifies three foundational topics for the reader to consider in fashioning an authentic and effective jazz curriculum: (1) establishing a listening foundation, (2) developing ear-playing ability, and (3) developing a personal repertoire of jazz tunes. Following these sections the text addresses (4) style and articulation and (5) rhythm.

Choosing and Altering Repertoire for the Small Band

Selecting excellent literature for a small or unbalanced band can be challenging, especially if the ensemble is ready to perform literature beyond Grade 2.5. This article describes a process for choosing high-quality repertoire for the small band, focusing on high school/college groups. Also examined is how to analyze and alter pieces to fit the needs and instrumentation of an ensemble without sacrificing technical or musical demands or the composer’s intent. By considering pieces through this lens and understanding basic reorchestration ideas, the instrumental music educator can work with a wealth of available wind band literature.

Effects of Listening Conditions, Error Types, and Ensemble Textures on Error Detection Skills

This study was designed with three main purposes: (a) to investigate the effects of two listening conditions on error detection accuracy, (b) to compare error detection responses for rhythm errors and pitch errors, and (c) to examine the influences of texture on error detection accuracy. Undergraduate music education students ( N = 18) listened to purposefully incorrect performances of band literature in two formats, on recordings and while conducting a live ensemble. Pitch and rhythm errors were inserted into the music excerpts to investigate responses to different types of errors. Half of the excerpts were played by the full ensemble and half by a single section. Participants served as their own controls by completing the error detection tasks under all conditions. Results indicated that participants were significantly more successful in identifying errors in the recording condition than in the conducting condition. A significant interaction existed between the error type (pitch or rhythm) and the ensemble texture (single section or full ensemble). Participants identified rhythm errors more accurately in the single section texture and diagnosed pitch errors more successfully in the full ensemble excerpts.

Programmed Instruction using Band Literature to Teach Pitch and Rhythm Error Detection to Music Education Students

One of the skills necessary for the conductor of an ensemble is the ability to detect errors of pitch and rhythm in a rehearsal while examining a correct score. This study developed (1) a program to train the ability to detect errors, and (2) a test to measure improvement of this ability. Both the program and the test used full-score band literature of medium-level difficulty. Three forms of the program, each differing in the number of practice frames, were developed in order to determine the optimum length of program needed to effectively train error detection skill. Results showed that programmed instruction was effective in training error detection skill and that the longer forms of the program resulted in greater gains.

Strategies for Using Popular Music to Teach Form to Intermediate Instrumentalists

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate three instructional strategies using popular music and selected band literature to teach concepts of music form to intermediate instrumentalists. The strategies included in-class instruction, programmed instruction, and a combination of these techniques. All strategies were constructed with identical objectives, sequence, time frame, and music examples. A criterion test was designed to measure knowledge of formal concepts. This test was employed as a pretest/posttest instrument with the seventh and eighth grade instrumentalists who represented four middle school bands, and who served as subjects in the final stage of the study. Statistical analysis confirmed that all strategies could be used successfully to teach formal concepts, that subjects could apply these concepts to unfamiliar band literature, and that grade level of the subjects had no significant effect on concept understanding.

The Effects of Music Literature in Developing Aesthetic Sensitivity to Music

The primary purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of stage band versus concert band music literature on the development of musicality and aesthetic sensitivity. Accordingly, pre-instruction and post-instruction tests were administered to approximately 600 band students in six Contra Costa County, California, high schools during the 1971–1972 academic year. There was no significant difference in musicality between the band organizations as evidenced by test scores on the Gaston Test of Musicality. There was, however, a pervasive superiority in favor of the concert bands on the California Test of Aesthetic Judgments in Music. An important observation drawn from the data is that individuals exposed exclusively or partially to concert band literature attained the primary goal of music education—the development of aesthetic sensitivity to music. In this area, they did better than the stage band students.