Teaching Music

11 Things Small Business and Fire Departments Should Have In Common

Leave a Comment / Classroom Teacher, High Schools, Music Department, Public Schools, Sales and Marketing, Small Business, Storytelling, Teaching, Teaching Music /

My dad was a 32-yr career firefighter, retiring as an Assistant Chief for a moderately sized, full-time department that had about 10 stations throughout the city. I recall a childhood time when my siblings and I were vising him at the firehouse. When the alarm sounded, he abruptly pointed to the wall, and said

“Stand right there ’til someone comes for you.”

Immediately, 10 doors (5 front, 5 rear) open, the intercom is announcing location and status, and people are hustling from every direction Twenty seconds later, the building is open, empty and quiet. One of the dispatchers invited us into his area while our mother scrambled to come pick us up.

As a small business owner, I believe some of my Dad’s Fire Department practices could help Small Business when it comes to putting out fires. Here are 11 things Small Business and Fire Departments should have in common.

Fire Departments

  • The Facility is well cared for. There are assignments (often seniority based) for sweeping/moping, washing/waxing, cooking, dishes, janitorial, supply maintenance, inventory and more. Rookies get the grunt jobs, but everybody has assignments and responsibilities with accountability.
  • Saving time is paramount.Vehicles are always facing the door for quick departure. Driver doors are left opened. Boots and pants are kept close to the truck (or the bed) and set for the firefighter to step into the boots and pull up the pants. Coats and helmets are on the truck to be added en route. When the bell rings, things happen and seconds count.
  • Equipment is organized and ready. Hoses have been carefully cleaned, inspected and rolled, and tools have been cleaned and stored so everyone knows where they are. Tire pressures, water levels and fuel have all been checked and readied. Efficient access is essential.
  • Skill sets are in place for lots of contingencies (types of fires, whether people are at risk, etc). Sometimes things don’t go the way they’re supposed to.
  • Practice, practice, practice. They practice driving through the streets (need to know every street, location of every fire hydrant), practice moving through smoke and fire, climb ladders, spray water, use the tools, lots of speed tests, inspections and homework. Ready to perform.
  • Group and Individual Goals plus Assignments are clearly defined, understood and bought into. There is no discussion about who gets to shoot the water cannon or hook up the hoses. They already know who is primary and secondary in hose control or who is going up the ladder first. Avoid unnecessary drama.
  • Coordination, Collaboration and Communication are essential. Control the traffic lights, mobilize police, roll the ambulance if needed or in doubt, notify the hospital and street departments, hold the trains, and get the business owner on the line. My dad always said, “We’ll be there in under 90 seconds”.
  • The Chain of Command is absolute. On a fire fun, the police are in support mode. Everyone has expertise and input, but primary is to trust and obey, for there’s no other way.
  • The only pic I have of my dad at a fire and he is there in street clothes. As the Asst off-duty Chief, he’s there getting his hands dirty.

    Firefighters know who they work for and will sacrifice to serve. When someone calls 911, firefighters will do what firefighters did on 9/11.

  • No firefighter is ever left behind.Period.
  • When the gig is over, get ready for the next one. The trip back to the firehouse can be exhausting, but some things can’t wait until tomorrow.

————————————————–

Small Business

  • The Facility is well cared for. What does your work area look like at the end of a day? Are there water bottles, messy desks, stacks of mail and reports? Unless you have a fantastic janitorial staff, make assignments. Delegate. What is your expectation for facility cleanliness and functionality?
  • Saving time is paramount. When it is time to start, is everything ready? Is there an agenda, task list or to-do list for the day?
  • Equipment is organized and ready. Desks are clean, waste baskets empty, floors swept, restrooms supplied, light bulbs in, etc? When that important phone call comes in, you don’t want to have to spend time getting ready to handle it.
  • Skill sets are in place for contingencies. Have you cross trained employees so that you can still function if the secretary, receptionist or warehouse manager are out sick or otherwise unavailable? Can you still answer phones, respond to emails, texts, faxes or social media messages, know where to find records when needed to answer a customer call or complaint, load or unload the truck and know where to place or retrieve product?
  • Practice, practice, practice. Schools have monthly fire drills even though there hasn’t been a school fire-related death in over 60 years. They also practice tornado drills and, increasingly, active shooter drills. Hopefully they never encounter any of those, but if they do — they have a better chance survival because they practiced. Having a list of procedures or contingencies is good, but nothing is better than practice. Practice your cross-trained assignments.
  • Are Group and Individual Goals plus Assignments clearly defined, understood and bought into? When a fire fighter makes a mistake on scene, someone can die. Business is not usually life and death, but do your order fulfillment personnel understand what happens when they make mistakes?

One of the most effective practices I put into place was to bring in a salesperson to talk to our order fulfillment crew and explain to them what happens to his customer, his income and even their jobs when orders go out with too many errors.

  • Coordination, Collaboration and Communication are essential. You have administration, management, office and warehouse staff….do all the appropriate people know what you are doing? Do you?
  • The Chain of Command is absolute. Everybody needs to be on the same team, but there can only be one coach. Encourage and welcome input, but make sure the team understands that once a decision happens, debate ends and action begins.
  • Employees know who they work for and will sacrifice to serve. If they won’t go above and beyond for you, then you have a different problem. Strive to instill pride and earn loyalty.
  • No customer is ever left behind. Period.
  • When the gig is over, get ready for the next one.

Meticulously planning and preparing for, and then efficiently and effectively fighting “fires” is something both fire fighters and small business owners should be good at. Business should be ready, but not always “putting out fires”.

The purpose of THIS post is to encourage you to be READY and SET so that when the alarm rings, you are prepared to GO!

Thanks for reading,
JohnGardner@VirtualMusicOffice.com

I wrote a tribute to my Dad, the firefighter, and included description and picture from the worst fire he ever fought…. the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire of 1977 that took the lives of 165 people, including my high school clarinet teacher. I also talk about his Fire Chief experience with accusations and responses to sexism and racism. Read more…. 

 

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A lesson for American students from my Korean exchange student

Leave a Comment / Teaching Music /
Several years ago, I was asked to work with a Korean exchange student (He never referred to his country as “South” Korean). Three significant memories:
 
1) He got out of the car and came running to the HU lobby, instrument already assembled. I asked him why. “I’ve been practicing and don’t want to lose any of my lesson time assembling my clarinet.”
 
2. The first time I pointed out a mistake (and most of you know I am almost always going to find something, right?) be begins to profusely apologize and promise me he will never do that again.
 
3. At the end of the lesson, I asked him to put his instrument away. “I’m going to finger through my assignment in the car and then practice as soon as I get home, so no use taking apart.”
 
At the end of our time, he presented me with a “Dan So”, a personally drawn fingering chart — and a note. I have never been able to produce a sound.
“Dan So”, a Korean flute with hand-drawn fingering by an exchange student.

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Helping students get private instruction and/or better instruments

Leave a Comment / Communication, High Schools, Personal experience, Public Schools, Teaching Music /

Beginning instruments are designed for beginners. The bores on some of the brass instruments are smaller because of the lesser air capacity the 6th grader has. Keys on mass-produced woodwinds are designed to survive some falls and mistreatment.

Once a student gets to high school, they’ve been playing that beginning instrument for three or more years and, especially if they show potential, I start to encourage them to step up because at some point it will become the instrument itself holding them back.

My first two experiences involved siblings. I was out of college and teaching band when my youngest sister was in high school band. She needed a new trumpet and I was able to get one for her through the instrument dealer I worked with. My brother got to play my Selmer clarinet when I had moved to Buffet.

Not all my attempts were successful. When I approached one farmer-papa about a new clarinet, his question was,

“Isn’t that the clarinet you told us to buy?”

He had also challenged me when I said I wanted to spend 1-1 time with his daughter in individual instruction.

“Aren’t you the teacher?”, he asked. “Then why don’t you find a way to teach her without me paying extra money for you to do your job.”

He eventually became a very supportive father and band parent.

One high school clarinetist was really good. She was studying with me and was at the point where she needed better equipment. And, knowing her father’s job, I was confident finances were not a problem. I tried the “puppy dog close”.

I learned the “puppy dog close” in sales training. The idea is that you go to the pet store and the store owner offers to let you take a puppy home for the evening with the ability to bring it back the next day. The puppy never comes back.

This is before I was on staff at the high school, but I had a good relationship with the music store in Fort Wayne. I went and asked if I could borrow a Buffet R-13 (top-of-the-line) clarinet with the idea that I could bring it back in two days if I did not sell it for them. They reluctantly agreed.

The next day I was in the band room as students came in for rehearsal. I called that girl over, handed her the new clarinet and asked her to try it out during rehearsal. As expected, she was amazed at the difference. I asked her to take it home for the evening (along with the price tag) and bring it back the next day if she decided not to keep it. She walked in the next day with a check for payment in full. No commission for me.

I was with a student and her family at solo festival. She had worked hard, but struggled in the performance. The mechanics of the instrument were messing her over. Afterward, in the hallway, dad asked me how I thought she did.

“She should get a Gold (she did), but she was fighting that instrument most of the way.”

The next day she had a new clarinet at school. Turns out, papa went to the music store table and bought her a step-up instrument on the spot.

A high school student was taking private lessons and her teacher told me on multiple occasions that her instrument was “crap”. My understanding in talking with the student was that there were some family financial difficulties.

Partly because of her finances, I found a doner and worked out a deal with her instructor to give her lessons for a year. When I called her in to tell her about it, I told her I wanted her to make sure the doner got his money’s worth. There were tears and a promise.

The teacher reinforced with me how incredibly prepared she was for her lessons, but still lamented about the quality of her horn.

I asked for a parent/student/teacher conference and met with them one day after school. I told the parental,

“She is an excellent musician. For financial reasons, we set up lessons for her for a year. She is doing an incredible job with those and her teacher stresses how she is the most prepared student he has had. But [she] needs a better instrument. I don’t know the details of your finances and I can’t tell you how to make it happen, but this girl needs [this]. The music store will work with you, but this needs to happen.”

There were more tears — and a new horn.

That student is now a Band Director.

There were other situations over the years where I was able to help coordinate or provide private lessons or to help a student get better equipment to work with.

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Pranking the band director

Assistant Directing, High Schools, Personal experience, Respect, Teaching, Teaching Music /

The director had been out for a few days, so I ran the rehearsals….and organized this prank. I wish I had zeroed on facial expressions. NOTE: No harm was done. Students exited one door, walked around and came back in another. We lost about 2-3 minutes of rehearsal. I wonder what it looked like on the CCTV monitors in the admin offices.

 

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Wait Longa, Move Fasa, Hit Harda

Assistant Directing, Marching Band, Music Performance, Personal experience, Respect, Teaching, Teaching Music /

Horns UpWe had a Marching Band Drill Writer/Visual Tech who would use this instruction when talking about “horns up”. He wasn’t from Boston, but used that type of accent. Here is what he was talking about:

“Wait LONGA” means don’t rush it. Don’t move early. Wait until the last possible moment.

“Move FASA”. Once you move, move fast….like two film windows….. one you’re down, the next you’re up…. with very fast movement.

“Hit HARDA”. Without losing any teeth, stop the movement as if it hit something.

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Casual Retard – or Gradual Ritard

Leave a Comment / Personal experience, Respect, Teaching Music /

A lesson in Italian music termsI was rehearsing one of the concert bands on Pep Band music. One ensemble tended to lose tempo. To reinforce my point, I started them with a metronome — and then stop directing. After some time, I would restart the metronome. I described what they were doing:

“Sounds like a gradual ritard. You’re slowing down.”

No one in the ensemble said anything and I gave it no additional thought.

===================

But then, one of the building admins confronted me about a parent call. The parent was upset because the daughter came home telling him I said they were retarded.

I asked if the Admin had a quote of what I was accused of saying. She pulls out a piece of paper reads;

“Sounds like a casual retard slowing down.”

Admin instructed not to confront the student, but to talk to the band.

===================

Following is my followup with the band…

One of the agenda items on the board was “music term of the day” and next to it was:

Ritardando
Ritard.
Rit.

I asked the ensemble what those three terms mean.

Numerous correct answers.

Then I asked them to think back to the pep band music rehearsal last Tuesday — and I asked them what the overall group’s problem was (especially) that day…..

[We were slowing down]

Good answer.

Then, I shared the quote I was accused of saying…..

“I didn’t record myself, and I don’t think I said the word casual because that just doesn’t sound like something I would say. But let’s go with that for now. If I used any form of those three terms in the context of last week’s rehearsal, what do you think I was saying?”

[That we were slowing down.]

Good answer.

Now, let me tell you what I absolutely didn’t say — and would NEVER say….. I was NOT calling you retarded.

[Collective eye roll and OMG kinda responses.]

One four-year ensemble member, said….

“You would never say that.”

We went on to talk about what should have happened….. That if/when I said something that an individual thought was offensive, out of line, or even unclear — that this individual should come and talk to ME first.

[Collective yes nods.]

And that if your parent needs to call someone, who do you think they should call FIRST?

Good answer.

Then…we went on into rehearsal. I responded to the Admin the results of our conversation. Admin calls the father to explain Italian music terms.

The parent apologized, the daughter spent the next four years maturing as a productive ensemble member, and as far as I could tell, a respectable supporter.

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5 Considerations to Making a leap of Faith

Leave a Comment / Classroom Teacher, High Schools, Marching Band, Music Department, Music Performance, Repost, Respect, Teaching, Teaching Music /

Leap of faithby John Gardner

This graphic illustrates a scenario we all face, individually, in business, in school as well as in music ensembles. Most of us, at least once, have been to the edge, looked down, looked across and pondered the possibilities. It is easy to say you want to get better, but how do you make that leap to the other side?

Realize that not everyone WANTS to get to the other side.

Many are satisfied with the way things are, represented by this marching band member attitude:

I am okay where I am. I am not last chair, I can play my part reasonably well, I can pass the playing test. I see those people on the other side…..so much pressure, so much work, and for what? Band is a good social group. It is a good place to find a date, to make friends, to feel connected. I enjoy the bus rides, the longer the better. The band parent provided food at competitions is good and I like the freedom during the down time to hang with my friends and watch some other bands.

You are, after all, standing on solid ground. It is safe where you are. You KNOW where you are and are in your comfort zone. You look over the edge and see danger. You could fall, you could fail. You could get hurt.

WANT it….with everything that is within you.

You hear the musician who plays the more difficult solo or watch the marching band put on a crowd cheering performance. You see the elation at the award ceremony and YOU WANT THAT.

In “The Return of the Jedi”, as Luke Skywalker finally stands before his ultimate enemy, the Emperor says to the young Jedi who is viewing and considering his weapon,

You want this, don’t you?

Know that small, safe, baby steps won’t make it.

If you stand on the edge, look down and take a step, you will fall. The gap is wider than that and will require a running start LEAP.

Practice and Prepare to Perform!

Olympians don’t just show up at the games. Basketball players spend hours behind the scenes practicing boring free throws and doing exhausting repetitive fundamentals up and down the floor. The ice skater doesn’t decide at the start of the performance that a quad would be a good idea.

There is no short cut to success. You must be willing to pay the price.

The ice skater going for the quad is literally a “leap of faith”. There is never a guarantee of success, but repetitive practice, falling down, getting hurt, figuring out what went wrong and working harder to get better…..are necessary ingredients to establish confidence and competence to make the jump. A phrase I have used in rehearsals,

Like the ice skater who misses the quad, missing notes (steps, sets) in performance can hurt.

A good cartoon by Tone Deaf Comics illustrates part of this idea.

One more time

Commit to go….and then GO!

No more standing at the edge. No more looking down. No more considering the consequences of failure. Back up, focus on the other side, set your mind and then RUN hard at the edge. When the Israelites were crossing the river Jordan, the waters did not part until the priests feet touched the water, the point at which they demonstrated both faith and commitment (Joshua 3:14).

Once you commit to go, you have to “go all out”. Know where you’re going, practice and prepare, commit and go.

 

 

leap-of-faith-2

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Band Director Responsibilities

Leave a Comment / Assistant Directing, Personal experience, Teaching, Teaching Music /

By John Gardner

A few years ago, I was tasked with putting together a list of responsibilities of the head director at my school. This is a generic approximation of the band director position in a moderately large high school.

Band Director Hours
(c) VirtualMusicOffice.com

Note: 150+ extra trips to the school for over 700 hours, equivalent to 18 – 40hr weeks.

Although there is some overlap, the above chart does NOT include the 180 school days of time/teaching.

Major decisions

Show Theme / Colors / Logo

Show Shirts; including color, design, vendor.

Basketball Shirts; including color, design, vendor.

Summer Parade Shirts; including color, engraving, design, vendor.

Color Guard Outfit(s), Flag design + performance props

Marching band uniforms; color, style, material, accessories, company, when + financing.

Competitions

How many

Which ones

What class / Contest Classifications, i.e. Scholastic, Festival, Open, BOA, MidStates

Hosting

Overseeing all contest logistics

Marching Band, Winter Guard, Indoor Percussion

Photographer for Band Pictures

Major Trip. 3 Hotel nights. Last trip cost @$83,000. Includes decisions about who could go/not go based on payment levels. Refunds? After trip collections? Also 22hr bus travel and night-time hotel supervision during stay.

Show Props. Organizing, overseeing design, construction, implementation.

Assembly of carts for front ensemble.

Music and design adjustments and rehearse and clean a Class A competitive marching show.

Recruiting, hiring, funding drill designer, music arranger, Color Guard choreographer, specialty coaches and field instructor.

Communicate/coordinate with the middle school directors.

Overseeing Instrument Purchase Plan and Repair Contract for the Corporation

Seating Charts / Part Assignments

Parade Block

Marching Band inside

Pre-Game Marching Assignments / Select Music / Write Drill

Marching Drill Assignments

Multiple Fall and Spring Concert Bands

Basketball Bands (2 bands x @6 games ea)

Music Selection

Multiple Fall and Spring Concert Bands

Fall Marching Band for Holiday Concert

Jazz Band for 4-6 performances

Spring Concert Band Tour

ADDITIONAL TASKS

Band office work

Retrieve/file music.

Take care of reeds, oils, sticks, and other supplies students purchase.

Make minor instrument repairs. Coordinate more significant repairs with the music store rep, including pickup, return — and keeping students/parents informed of status.

Reserve buses for all band trips; parades, contests (see above).

Complete Facility Use paperwork for each time during the year that you need the gym or auditorium for rehearsals and performances.

Collaborate instrumental purchase plan with other directors and the corporation’s financial person

Register and arrange payment for all competitions, plus acquire field trip approval and buses.

Maintain grade book.

Write weekly schedules / TWIBs. (This Week In Band), plus daily Band Camp or rehearsal schedule.

Write and publish band handbook.Register for all contests, parades and festivals.

Keep attendance records for school plus rehearsals, performances.

Make Accompaniment and practice mp3’s for individuals and for playing test practice

Write, transcribe, transpose music to fill in special parts for marching, concert, jazz music

Grant writing School Policies Compliance

Oversee school budget, complete paperwork for both deposits and withdrawals and pay vendors

Design and print programs for concerts and banquets.

Determine and create awards, plaques and other recognitions for end of year awards banquet.

Maintain “needs” list for when someone asks, for grant-writing, or when opportunities arise

Publicity: Newspapers, school announcements, website, email blasts, etc.

Maintain online calendar for rehearsals, performances

Scan, post all pep band music for download to student iPads

Maintain social media sites: web/blog, Facebook, twitter, YouTube, instagram, google+, etc.

Maintain band data base with home and cell phones and email addresses for multiple parent/guardian families plus students with separate contact info.

Design reports/seating charts (marching band, 5 concert bands, combined bands, graduation band) / parade block assignments/drill chart assignments/pre-game assignments/squads/basketball band assignments…or labels for music folders, shirts, mailings.

Organize a pre-solo/ensemble contest practice recital

Organize free piano accompanists for students unable to pay

Classroom Activities

Schedule, conduct and analyze playing tests or challenges. Assign seating for ensemble balance.

Update daily classroom announcements: Include standards, birthdays, calendar updates and enough jokes to keep students watching. Music accompaniment a plus.

Keep classroom presentable and clutter free for use by a variety of classes, ensembles and outside groups

Find ways to meet state and/or national standards without sacrificing the performance expectation overload

Create, distribute, collect health forms and ensure 100% compliance and that forms travel with the band.

Specialty Ensembles

Supervise some of the auxiliary ensembles; drumline, sideline ensemble, winter percussion, color guard, winter guard

Approve creative recommendations for specialty uniforms, flags, props, etc and oversee construction.

Collaboration with other Staff

Coordinate with choir director for rehearsals involving students in both groups

Sharing instrumentalists with show choir backup ensemble, school musicals

Share room and equipment (i.e. keyboards, megaphones, uniforms, instruments) with other teachers, classes and groups

Guidance Counselors for student scheduling and to encourage promotion of the band program

Attend meetings

School required faculty meetings, including mandatory training, department collaboration

IEP and other school meetings on behalf of individual students

Band Parent Organization, including Executive Board, Officers Only and General meetings.

Fundraising projects

“Director Reports”

Collaborating with individual fee collection

Dealing with personality clashes and chaperone issues

Overseeing special committees; i.e contest, uniform, major fundraising

Design teams (drill/choreographer, music, uniform/equipment design) for marching band, winter guard and indoor percussion shows

School mandated parent/teacher conferences

Meetings requested by students or parents

School Board meetings involving related budgets and programs

Make emergency judgment call decisions / calls when a student is injured or having medical issues in rehearsal or away at competitions.

Select Drum Major(s): Includes training, practicing, recruiting judges and providing selection criteria

Organize conducting, college prep or leadership classes/seminars

Organize overnight trips (i.e. Disney). Select travel consultant, solicit board approval, promote/oversee payments.

Solo and Ensemble

Promote/Recruit Participants

Attend Solo/Ensemble festivals at District or State.

Encourage and organize solo and ensemble participants, recruit pianists, ensure adequate practice and provide most participants free individual coaching sessions

Assist in individual (participation fees, pay-to-play, fair share) collections.

Write letters of recommendation for scholarships, college/job applications

Assist with auditions for area honor bands and specialty groups

I’m confident this list is NOT exhaustive, and would love to add to this list with other activities/responsibilities you experience or know about in your school.

Thanks for reading.

John

Need help with your social media….?

Social Media Word Cloud

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10 Anti-Excellence HS Peer Pressure Standards

Leave a Comment / College Prep, High Schools, Teaching, Teaching Music /

By John Gardner

When I asked my high school Valedictorian son why he had chosen a particular top-tier university and why he was tired of being the geek.

I’m tired of being the geek. I’m tired of ruining the curve. I’m tired of people getting mad at me because I do the extra credit anyway. I want to go somewhere I can be normal; where it is okay to be an achiever.

Pressure surrounds teens.

Parents push them to do better. Teachers need performance data in the ever-increasing “prove-you’re-teaching-and-they-are-learning” world of government schools.  The strongest pressure, however, can come from peers.

In handing out a “pre-test”, a beginning of a semester assessment to find out where students are on a subject, a teacher was explaining to the class.

“This is NOT for a grade. This is to help me find out where to start. If you already know most of what is on this pre-test, I’ll be able to give you higher-level work.”

A student in the class spoke up,

“Fail it!”

The message was clear.

“If we look like we know stuff, they will give us more. If we all fail the pre-test, we’ll get easy stuff to do. LET’S GO!”

Anybody can be mediocre

Here is some of the unwritten peer-pressure-code of many high schools:

  • Go easy on the pre-test. Save your effort for the one that counts.
  • Don’t ruin the curve.
  • If you turn it in early, you make the rest of us look bad.
  • If the instruction says 500 words, don’t do 501.
  • Just do what you have to do to get the grade your parents won’t yell about.
  • Don’t study at home, practice at home or do extra research at home because they’ll start expecting MORE.
  • The teacher will adjust the level of work to the level of the class. We vote for easy. Don’t mess it up for us.
  • Share your work with us…. we’ll change a few words and get away with it.
  • Teachers are the enemy. Don’t be a “teacher’s favorite”. The only time you should be “friendly” to a teacher is when you need something – or when you’re asking for more time, etc.
  • Snitches get stitches. C’mon! Who’s side are you ON?
  • If they give us the entire class period to take a test – take the entire time. If we get done too early, they will start on something else.
  • Tell your teachers what they want to hear, even if you have to make it up.
  • Use up the entire limit: number of times you can be tardy, number of times you can be called out before discipline, number of assignments you can miss, number of low grades that will be dropped…..and then use your puppy dog eyes and maybe even a few tears to plead for mercy, forgiveness and another chance — after the limit is hit.

Below are a few of the pics/graphics I try to use to encourage a different path…..

If you want to do
This pic is from the goal line of Lucas Oil in Indianapolis. Indiana bands have state finals here. Drum Corps International and Bands of America have national finals here. And…. many of my students call me ‘G’…

Excellence

Get Things Done

If the notes are on the paper

You should seldom have to tellSlide29Slide30

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How’d you do that, Mr. G?

Leave a Comment / Assistant Directing, High Schools, Personal experience, Teaching, Teaching Music /

The first time this came up, I was working with a group of 9th grade clarinet students on finger dexterity and breath control. To do that, we were using a simple, one-octave scale they could all play. I didn’t often model my clarinet but had it with me for this rehearsal. We were working together, but I was also having them play individually. The progression of instruction:

Play the scale up and down, one octave – in one breath.
Good.

Go one octave, two times in one breath.
Got it.

One octave, three times, one breath.
After a couple times – good.

Now, let’s go two octaves, one time, in one breath.
Not too hard.

Two octaves, two times, one breath.

Two octaves, three times, one breath.
“But Mr. Gardner, we’re going to have to go faster to do that.”

Ok. Your choice. Go faster and/or breathe deeper.

Here we go….

Two octaves, four times, in one breath.
“Mr. G, a clarinet can’t go that fast.” (I loved hearing that).

I took my clarinet, played a THREE-octave scale up and down about 6-7 times in one breathe.

“How did you do that?”

Without any pause, I answered,

“My clarinet has a speed button.”
I expected them to laugh, or to ask more questions, but every one of them took that answer at face value as in, ‘Oh….well, that explains it.’

I could not let them get away with that acceptance. I ripped off a 3 octave (or so) chromatic scale up and down multiple times, and then we talked about how I did that.

Did it look like I had to stop and think about what the next note was? Why not?

Did you see how close my fingers stay to the keys?

We discussed how we took that simple scale and worked on speed. Using that technique, and breaking runs into smaller groups, I was trying to help them grasp the concept of “Play Every Note.”

How’d you do that, Mr. G? Read More »