On the Instruments

Students at all levels are excited to finally take out their instruments and start to play, and teachers need to harness this energy and guide learners through the skills needed for continued motivation. The initial thrill can quickly turn to frustration at the inability to actually make musical sounds. At this point, instruments become expensive noisemakers and retention rates are likely to decrease. With younger school students, there is usually a period of time at the beginning of the year before they receive their instruments, depending on the timeline for music store rental nights, school inventories, or any other number of reasons. Teachers can put this time to good use in singing, building audiation and listening skills, breathing, and doing preliminary exercises in preparation for instruments. Once students have their actual instruments in hand it is very difficult to delay students assembling and playing them, and it’s much preferable if the teacher guides this process.

 

At the university level, students in brass courses ostensibly arrive with abilities to sing on pitch and move in time, so the class can move more quickly to the physical aspects of playing. Regardless, before assembling and playing on brass instruments, teachers should assess that the majority of students in a class can do the following:

 

1. Sing on pitch and move in time.
2. Demonstrate appropriate breathing technique.
3. Form proper embouchures for their instruments.
4. Demonstrate basic ability to free buzz.
5. Properly place their mouthpieces and buzz (in the case of university students to also place others’ mouthpieces).
6. Match pitch in buzzing and modulate pitch up and down.

 

Students will demonstrate various levels of proficiency in each of these areas. In larger classes, instructors must sometimes move forward to maintain pacing and interest for the majority of students, but they must remain aware of students who struggle with one or more of these aspects and continue to provide help and remediation. The addition of instruments will only magnify any pre-existing problems. Yet taking too long to introduce the instruments will likewise lead to frustration for many.

 

Some teachers of younger students will start all of their players on trumpet or trombone (and perhaps euphonium) and switch students later. The size of the tuba and the particular demands of the horn underlie a decision like this; once students learn the fundamentals of brass playing, they can then transfer that knowledge to tuba with its greater air demands and physical bulk, or horn with its challenges in note accuracy. Limiting instrument choices also limits the variables in teaching beginners; two instruments offer fewer technical issues on which to focus, allowing teachers to better emphasize good fundamentals.

 

University brass classes obviously need to cover the five instruments typically found in school programs, including trumpet, horn, trombone, euphonium, and tuba; and teachers can conversely find great success in offering all brass instruments as options. Interest stands as perhaps the most important consideration. Barring any significant physical impediments, students will generally evidence greater motivation if they are allowed to play the instruments they wish to play. Starting them on the instrument of their choice provides greater opportunities for developing specific skills earlier rather than having to learn a new instrument in the second or third year.

 

The structure of classes can vary widely. Some university programs offer separate courses for each instrument while others run as heterogeneous brass classes. Likewise, some beginning school programs have the scheduling flexibility of offering homogeneous classes or heterogeneous brass classes. Still others offer only a band class in which brass, woodwinds, and percussion all learn at the same time. Many directors have built very successful programs in the latter context, yet, when possible, division at least by instrument family is preferable to allow time for better individualization and instructional focus. As preservice teachers move through their curricula, they need to think about the wide variety of situations they may find.

“Do” First!

Assembling instruments and producing sound stands as an exciting time for students. They want to “do,” so this is not the time to enter into long discussions and lectures of the parts of the instruments and how to clean them. As teachers we need to resist “imparting” all the knowledge we have at this point of instruction and tap into students’ energy to make sound. Students certainly need all of the related information, but introducing it organically as opportunities arise and students actually need the knowledge will ultimately be more motivating than beginning this phase of learning instruments with informational lectures. Some general principles as students assemble instruments and learn hand position include:

1. Students should always open cases on the floor rather than in their laps. This provides a more stable surface and decreases the potential for accidental drops. Teachers should also devise a plan for case placement to maintain an ordered environment, leave paths for the teacher, and ensure safe movement for students in the room.
2. When inserting the mouthpiece, students should use just a little pressure and a slight twist to seat it. With the exception of trombone, brass instrument assembly comprises the insertion of the mouthpiece. Too much force or carelessness can cause the mouthpiece to become stuck. While seemingly obvious, this merits reinforcement.
3. Players should bring instruments to their mouths rather than moving to the instruments. Some students will have a tendency to crane their necks forward rather than bring the mouthpiece to their embouchure, resulting in tension through the neck and jaw areas. In more drastic cases, especially with larger instruments, students will contort their bodies to fit the instruments rather than repositioning instruments to achieve a more relaxed position.
4. Brass players’ wrists should generally look straight and natural. The weight of instruments can cause wrists to bend and the size or awkwardness of holding can lead students to try to compensate with odd wrist positions. Straight and natural wrists offer the best position to avoid long-term wrist pain.
5. Any tension or pain indicates a need for remediation or revision. While proper instrument positions are not necessarily natural, they should not result in pain or discomfort. A little tension can become a larger problem over time.

6. Always have activities planned for students who are not directly engaged on a specific instrument. It takes time to demonstrate and show students how to assemble and hold instruments, which potentially leaves everyone else in the room sitting. While a potential classroom management problem, it also represents a waste of possible instructional time. Students can shadow students learning a particular instrument by holding air instruments, or the teacher could perhaps provide a worksheet, listening assignment, or some other activity to complete. Follow-up is one of the most important components of such an activity. Students should be accountable for their work; without this, they will soon learn that they can choose to participate (or not) in activities.
7. Teachers must address issues when they see them. The longer students do something in a certain way, correctly or incorrectly, the more difficult it becomes to change. Teachers cannot assume someone else will fix issues, and it is relatively easy to visually diagnose and address problems with holding and positioning.