Developing Expression in Brass Performance and Teaching

Developing Expression in Brass Performance and Teaching helps university music teachers, high school band directors, private teachers, and students develop a vibrant and flexible approach to brass teaching and performance that keeps musical expression central to the learning process. Strategies for teaching both group and applied lessons will help instructors develop more expressive use of articulation, flexibility in sound production, and how to play with better intonation. The author shares strategies from today’s best brass instrument performers and teachers for developing creativity and making musical expression central to practicing and performing. These concepts presented are taken from over thirty years of experience with musicians like Wynton Marsalis, Barbara Butler, Charles Geyer, Donald Hunsberger, Leonard Candelaria, John Haynie, Bryan Goff, members of the Chicago Symphony and New York Philharmonic and from leading music schools such as the Eastman School of Music, The University of North Texas and The Florida State University. The combination of philosophy, pedagogy, and common sense methods for learning will ignite both musicians and budding musicians to inspired teaching and playing.

-Table of Contents- Forward 1 The Creative Teacher and Student 2 The Athlete and the Artist 3 The Brass Embouchure 4 The Brass Mouthpiece 5 Tone as Our Voice 6 Understanding Brass Intonation 7 A Philosophy for Technique 8 Lip Flexibility for Expressive Tone 9 The Tools of Articulation 10 Effective Practicing 11 Using Filters to Clarify Your Playing 12 Planning for Performance 13 Musical Breathing 14 Planning Your Interpretation 15 Tools for Expressing Musical Peaks 16 Improvisation to Exercise Creativity and Emotion 17 Understanding Performance Anxiety 18 Models for Creative Playing 19 Advice for Applied Teachers 20 Conducting Brass Players 21 Creativity and Student Ownership Appendixes Bibliography Topical Index