Here at the Reference Desk, you can access
multimedia articles and other entertaining and educational materials on
a variety of musical themes. A brief description appears below
each title along with any content advisories for that link.
Bookmark this page and be sure to visit often to see the new Word of the Week,
Joke of the Fortnight and
Tip of the Month.
Learning Center
Rep Deck Games Manuals, Answer Keys, Kahoot Quizzes
and Quizlet Sets.
Click here for links to
free Rep
Decks Kahoot quizzes and Quizlet sets for you to use with your class
or friends online.
Bringing in a Brass Chamber Ensemble Whether you play in a brass trio, quartet, quintet or sextet, an
important technique for a group leader to master is the cue that brings
the ensemble in at the beginning of a performance. This multimedia
article teaches a method that the Empire Brass has used for over three
decades and has taught to hundreds of other brass ensembles. Because of the online video demonstrations throughout this article, it
is best view using a high speed connection. The video clips are in
Flash format. If your Flash plug-in
is outdated or not installed yet, you may be
prompted to download the most recent version. Due to Microsoft’s
update of Internet Explorer in April 2006, you may have to click on the
video once to “activate” it and then click on it again to begin
playback.
Diversity in
Phrasing The elegant and imaginative shaping of a musical phrase requires the use
of many techniques. This article describes these techniques and
how they may be applied to create a more rounded performance. An
even broader understanding of when to apply the techniques described
here can be gained by first reading its companion essay,
Intelligent Design.
Gate Checking Your Large Musical Instrument (or Case)
If your instrument or the case you’re using (i.e., double, triple or
quad-case) is too large to be considered a carry-on item, you have two
choices when you fly in the United States: check your instrument as
baggage or buy a seat for it. If you fly often, purchasing an
extra seat on every flight may not be practical. So how do you
minimize the risk to your instrument when you have to check it?
Try gate-checking it.
Intelligent Design Playing what is written on the page is good. It is also the least
that is expected. Capitalizing on the more hidden expressions in
music requires that a performer first be able to find them. The
search for such moments often requires more than instinct but
open-mindedness and objectivity as well. This article examines the
things to look for when mining a of piece music for hidden expressive
opportunities.
Musical Chairs
The seating configuration of any wind ensemble does not have to be
fixed. In fact, moving instruments around for certain pieces may
make more sense both practically and musically than one may think.
Presented here is a perspective on seating configuration for bands and
wind ensembles as well as a discussion of its many benefits.
Fiction
Short Stories
How to be a Jazz Critic Bill
Anschell tells gives you all the catch phrases you need to know to
become a first rate jazz critic.
Jazz Jam
Sessions: A First-Timer’s Guide Experience the comedic musing of writer/pianist,
Bill
Anschell, as you learn the proper etiquette and hidden dynamics of a
jazz jam session. This short story contains adult themes and language that some readers
may find objectionable or offensive. Readers’ discretion is
advised.
There’s a Sucker
Born Every Minute This short story by Bill Anschell takes an inside look at the
death-defying life of a staff musician aboard the S.S. Norway. This short story contains adult themes and language that some readers
may find objectionable or offensive. Readers’ discretion is
advised.
Searching for Glory at the Cookin’ Cadenza
Here’s a humorous tale about struggle of trying to be a “real” musician in the midst of mediocrity. This short story contains adult themes and language that some readers
may find objectionable or offensive. Readers’ discretion is
advised.
Careers in Jazz A clear and concise
dissertation on the structure of the jazz world and the interactions of
its constituents.
Köchel Verzeichnis (Ger.) = Köchel catalog—This is a catalog
system developed by Sir Ludwig von Köchel for the compositions of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Köchel Verzeichnis is
typically designated by the letter K or
KV followed by a catalog number.
Since there have been many revisions and corrections made to the catalog
since its first publication in 1862, there are some compositions that
have two, or even three, Köchel numbers—as in Mozart’s Symphony in
B-Flat major, K182=K166c=K173dA .
Featuring the voices of Steve Campbell (Minnesota
Orchestra, tuba) and Michelle Montone Campbell (Florida West Coast Symphony Orchestra, bass clarinet)
This public service announcement espouses the wholesome goodness of music. Is this commerical still in good taste? Were the well-meaning folks at AmericansForTheArts.org making a statement on the diversity of classical music-lovers?
If you like this Joke of the Fortnight,tell a friend, bookmark
this page and be sure to come back in two weeks.
…knowing how to use one to monitor and test one’s rhythmic develop is
not. When you initially practice a piece, setting the metronome to click
on every downbeat is certainly a good idea. The danger of setting the
metronome this way is that a musician can become very good at
“following” the metronome instead of internalizing the time. Once you
are confident that your rhythm and tempo is steady while the metronome
marks downbeats, it is important that you use the metronome to further test
and, if necessary, solidify your sense of subdivision. This can be done
using a couple techniques.
First, set the metronome to click on the upbeats. If you listen to rock
music you’ll notice the “snap” in the time comes from the drummer
striking the snare drum on beats 2 and 4. The bass drum hits on beats 1
and 3 have a relatively “fat” or “wide” articulation and doesn’t possess
the same “pop” that energizes the rhythmic groove. Jazz musicians have
always felt the rhythmic groove of the music through the “weak” beats
(they, literally, snap their fingers to it). When practicing, this
concept can effectively be extended to the upbeat.
It’s easy for a player’s weak sense of tempo to go unnoticed if they are
playing with a metronome clicking downbeats. The articulation of a
downbeat seems to be psychologically longer than that of an upbeat and
tiny, unconscious adjustments can be made by the player in order to
“stay with” the metronome. With the metronome clicking the upbeat, it is
almost impossible to play more than one or two beats without first
mentally establishing a strong sense of rhythm (folks with a weak sense
of rhythm or those who don't subdivide the beat before they start playing
even have trouble doing a count off and coming in with a
metronome set this way). Ironically, when a strong sense of rhythm is
present, a metronome clicking on upbeats reinforces this sense in the
player and it becomes very easy to settle into a steady groove. This
technique is a way of ensuring that your subdivision within each beat is
even. If it’s not, the truth will become apparent much more quickly than
playing with downbeat clicks, and, if it is, this practice technique
will be very reassuring.
A second technique for testing and monitoring your sense of time is by
having the metronome clicks spaced father apart. When you get to the
point where you believe your time is steady, have the metronome click on
every other beat (or every bar in 3/4 or 5/4 time), then every bar, then
every other bar and finally have the clicks spaced as far apart as
possible. Depending on the tempo of the music, this can be done by
setting the metronome to half the tempo and/or (on some metronome
models) setting the click/chime to sound only after a certain number of
beats. Going through this process will make you very paranoid about
whether you’re playing in tempo but will eventually make you more
confident about your rhythm than playing with continuous downbeat clicks
ever will.
Imagine, after incrementally spacing the metronome clicks farther and
farther apart, practicing Stars and Stripes Forever with the metronome
set to chime every six beats with the tempo set to 60 beats per
minute. This would mean that the metronome would chime once every six
measures! When you can do this successfully and consistently, you will
have the mental concentration and confidence to do it comfortably and
at any tempo.
The effective use of a metronome follows the same concept as that of a
tuner and many other performance enhancing tools: At some point it must
stop being used as a crutch and be set as a unaccommodating reference of
one’s technical achievements.
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