Suggested Readings
Struggling to improve the acoustics in your band room? Check out how the Medan Band did it.
2. Concerned about playing swing music properly?
Check out my guidelines
3. Ear training exercises for bands
Unlike piano players, ear training is essential for wind band performers. But how many band directors bother to give their bands suitable exercises?
While tuning is simple act of adjusting a length of tubing on a wind instrument (often by reference to a single note), intonation is an ongoing process in which a player strives to match the pitch of others in the ensemble during performance.
5. “Blowing” a wind instrument
A common misconception among wind players is to believe that the air moves through the instrument in order to produce the sound. This is simply not true.
6. Conducting – suggestions for home practice
The best way for a conductor to improve is in front of a live ensemble. The unfortunate reality, however, is that this is not always possible. Aspiring conductors therefore have little choice but to find other ways of honing their skills.
About Me| Welcome to My Web Page |
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| Written by Administrator |
I am an Australian living in Singapore. Currently, I am working as a senior writer with the Straits Times newspaper in Singapore. Before that, I was a business consultant, I have never been a professional musician. But I have been interested in music since my schooldays when I played cornet in an amateur brass band run by my father in Melbourne. (Incidentally, my Dad still plays in a brass band, even though he's 80. It's a good band too! I have posted two tracks from the band's latest CD in the Focus section on this website so you can download them and judge for yourself). Finally, my parents managed to scrape together enough money to send me for private lessons with Ken Smith (former professor of brass at Sydney University, now retired) who was living in Melbourne at the time. "Be known for your sound, not your technique", he said, and then went on to show me how. It was a revelation! Suddenly I saw that there really was a system to playing a brass instrument (or any other musical instrument for that matter). Some people were naturally better than others, of course, but even those who were struggling could improve quite dramatically if they knew how to go about it. Since then I have made a point of finding out all I could about music, and especially about wind and brass bands. In the process, I did all the theory and practical exams for cornet/trumpet and somehow managed to get a piano diploma as well. Even so, I have to admit that my PhD is in political science, not music. (Sorry, but it's best to be honest, right?). This website includes some of the results of my research on music, as well as my experience conducting bands and writing music for them. I hope you find it useful. Further information can be found in my book entitled The Band Director's Handbook. Details of how to contact the publisher are given on the home page. Bruce Gale Author: Bruce Gale You can purchase the handbook online http://www.mphonline.com.my
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I don't know whether it was because we lived "Down Under" or just a reflection of the general state of music education when I was growing up, but nobody I knew at that time had even heard of the "harmonic series". Nor could anyone give me a convincing answer to questions such as "What is the correct embouchure for brass players?" or even something as basic as "Is saliva a good substitute for valve oil?". Technique was another mystery. I lived in awe of even moderately talented national and international musicians.
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