Audition and Final Exam Requirements for HS and 7th and 8th Grade

Audition/Semester exam is ready. You may look it over and begin to prepare. If you find mistakes please let me know. I will fully explain the whole process next week. Those of you preparing for Solo and Ensemble may use your solo for your audition.
Woodwind and Brass Instrument Audition Requirements
Percussion Audition Requirements

HS solo and ensemble application

The application for High School Solo and Ensemble is due Friday December 2. Click the link to download the application. Please turn in the money with the app, making checks payable to the Breckenridge Music Boosters.
This year S and E will be at Owosso HS and is on February 18.

Nice job at the Rock-a-thon

The rock-a-thon was another success. I had a great time spending the day with all of you. Visit the website to download our story and our haiku poems.

While we didn't meet our financial goal we made a great effort. This year was a record for students raising over $100 (16 total).

Now we need to buckle down and prepare for our winter concert on December, 16.

6th Grade Debut Concert

Great Job 6th Grade.
Click on the listening button to find a recording of your concert.

Smartmusic Due Friday

All Classes have a Smartmusic Assignment due this Friday, 10/21/11.

Late Smartmusic Assingments

I will accept late Smartmusic assignments, but I will take a point off every school day that it is late. Keep on top of them. The next one is due the Friday after homecoming.

Great Rehearsal today

To the HS bands and the 6th grade. Fantastic rehearsals today. Things are coming together nicely. JH band, I can't wait to hear you again. MEAP is almost over.

Jazz Band Blues Melody Final Draft

Click here to get the Blues Melody Final Draft Paper. This has instructions on how to finish your project and a staff to put it on. The link can also be found in the documents section of the web site.

Jazz Band Playlist

Hey Jazzers,
Here is a playlist of music we have in our book.

Subscribe to the Announcements

You can subscribe to announcements by going to my blog and clicking the subscribe to feed button on the upper right side of the window.

Homecoming

All the homecoming information is posted in the Events column on the website.

Reminder

Band camp starts on Monday, August 8; 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday through Thursday. Friday the band will travel to Michigan's Adventure for a short performance and a lot of fun. We still need parents to drive on Friday. More information has been posted under the Band Documents area (look left) and the Facebook Group Page. Music can be picked up Thursday, August 4 in the band room between 3:30 and 5:00. Please contact Mr. Radtke if you have any questions or cannot attend band camp. Email: jradtke@edzone.net. Summer phone: click the "Call Mr. Radtke" button.

5th Graders, Band Membership info.

How to become a band member…

1. Marshall Music Instrument Fittings. You should receive a call from Charlie Davidson, a Marshall Music representive, between May 31 and June 7. You do not have to purchase or rent an instrument from them, but should go for a fitting so that you can choose an instrument. If you can’t schedule an appointment with them, please schedule one with me and I will fit you with an instrument.

2. Get an instrument and a book. The school has a limited amount of instruments that can be borrowed, but all members are highly encouraged to purchase their own. Below this letter I will list contact info for the two companies that service our school. Both have great rental programs and sell both new and used instruments. Please make sure that used instruments are sent to one of those listed companies in for servicing and are of high quality. We use Essential Elements 2000 book 1 in 6^th grade as our method book (make sure you order the one that goes with your instrument).

3. Call me, Mr. Radtke, if you have questions. I will go out of my way to help you be in band. Let me know if I can help you in any way. Click the "call me" button on the right side of the screen to call me.

Marshall Music Company, Phone: (517) 337-9700

Herter’s Music Company, Phone: 1-800-833-4920

Recordings

Great concert last week. We grow a lot every year.

Click on the links to your right to download the tracks recorded at our concert. I will leave the links up for 2 weeks from the date of this post.

Alma College Jazz Festival Details

The following is the official information regarding the Alma Jazz Festival

1. We will were Band Polos and Blue Jeans

2. The bus will leave school at about 8am and return at about 2:30

3. The Jazz Band performs at 10am in the Heritage Center on the campus of Alma College

4. Students will need money for lunch. $10 should be sufficient.

Flute Duet

I accidentally forgot to post the Flute Duet. So here it is. Thanks Jacob C. for pointing this out.

While Sheep May Safely Graze

Collage Concert Recording

I pulled the links due to storage space. If you would like me to email you any of recordings just send me a message and I will send it to you.

These links will allow you to download wave files of our collage concert. The links will work for one week from this post and then they will be broken. If you miss the deadline let me know and I will email you the files you want.

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Festival

Great job. Richard Wagner believed that only a small percent of the music was on the page, the rest was passion and human spirit. Maybe someday the judges will realize that too. See you Monday. You guys are the best.

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Quote and more

"Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself." ...Henry Miller

The time is here. Good luck at festival. The most important part is that we have fun sharing our musical talents.

The Last Battle

Click here to hear "The Last Battle"

Middle School Jazz Band

Click the link to download a copy of this letter.

Motivational Quote

"People don't believe what you tell them./ They rarely believe what you show them./ They often believe what their friends tell them./ They always believe what they tell themselves./" Seth Godin

Congrats for solo and ensemble

Great job all of you who participated in High School Solo and Ensemble Festival. I am very proud of all of you. Your progress is simply amazing. This is the most medals we have taken home in more than 10 years. Even more impressive is that everyone received medals.

Have a great weekend.

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High school District Solo and Ensemble

Click here for general information on the festival.



Click here for a schedule.

Information Regarding Band Festival

Click this link to download a copy of the letter sent home regarding band festival on March 12.

Or just read the below information.

Information about Reeds

Click the following links to find more information.

Clarinet --What to buy?

Oboe Reed care, adjustment, and finding.

Saxophone and Clarinet Reed selection--

Jazz Band Night of Jazz Set List

Click this link to download and view our set list for Saturday. Leave comments if I made mistakes or I missed a tune.

Music Advocacy’s Top Ten Quotes

Spread the word about the importance of our music classes. Click the link to read what makes our program so important. Music Advocacy’s Top Ten Quotes

Bob Mintzer - Somewhere

Conference Info | School of Music | Central Michigan University

Low brass students may be interested in this. This will be the biggest Tuba/Euphonium in the Midwest and it is at CMU this year. There will be performances from some very famous and well known artists. Registration is cheaper if you join MWRTEC. Membership has the advantages of getting free online masterclass's and publications and the cost is relatively cheap. Conference Info | School of Music | Central Michigan University

Battle For The Bands | VH1 Save The Music

Anybody want to do this? This would be a fun and rewarding project.

Battle For The Bands | VH1 Save The Music

Jazz Weekend and Night of Jazz info

Click this link to download the letter or you can just read it below.

Click this link to view information about Bob Mintzer

The Brassaphone

by Roger Rocco (rogrocco@aol.com)

Found at http://www.rogerrocco.com/2010/03/brassaphone.html

The Brassaphone: "ROCCOISMS

“I gave up tuba playing a long time ago. Now, I’m a mouthpiece player!”

“Play the mouthpiece, not the instrument.”

“It’s just a long mouthpiece with valves or a slide.”

“Play the mouthpiece in the same manner no matter where it is, in your hand or the leadpipe.”

I recall Jake commenting to me, “You have two different mouthpiece playing techniques. One technique when it’s inside the horn and a different one when the mouthpiece is in your hand. You must transfer the same successful mouthpiece playing technique you use when it’s outside the instrument to the instrument.”

At the time, I didn’t fully understand his comment. However, I knew that when I played the mouthpiece outside the instrument, my playing was always easy and I sounded good. However, I didn’t always have the same experience when I placed it in the horn.

Later, I realized that I was forced to mentally sing the notes when I played the mouthpiece alone. There was no other way to realize different pitches. However, when I placed it in the horn, my forced singing was replaced with forced feeling because the singing stopped. Failure was the predictable result.

ROCCOISMS

“Feel and Fail are four letter words to a brass player.”

“Playing by feel is like trying to drain a swimming pool with a straw.”

“The instrument is just a length of brass tubing. It already has plenty of air but it has no intelligence or sound of its own. That can only come from the mind of the player.”

ADOLPH HERSETH

“When encountering problems technically or musically, first sing then buzz. Transfer the singing and buzzing to the instrument.”

“Practice entire sessions on the mouthpiece alone to avoid having problems creep into your playing.”

As a young tuba player, I developed a virtuoso mouthpiece technique. On several occasions, people hearing me play in a hallway or a closed room mistook me for Jake. Wow! What a compliment! I routinely played the mouthpiece for 45-60 minutes a day.

I enjoyed playing along with my favorite Reiner-CSO recordings. Actually, there were no favorites. They are all wonderful examples of the finest art of orchestral performance!

While I was a music student at Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago, I frequently took long walks along the lakefront with my mouthpiece in hand.

THE KEY IN THE LOCK

THE MOUTHPIECE-INSTRUMENT DILEMMA

I’m always amazed that very few brass players or wind players understand the acoustics of their instrument. In my lectures, I frequently ask, “What is the resonating element of a brass instrument?”

The surprising responses usually range from blank stares to lips or lungs. I usually reply, “Do your vibrating lips sound like a brass instrument?” “Does an oboe reed sound like an oboe?”

The obvious answer is no because vibrating lips or a reed are only the catalyst that initiates the vibration of the air column within a length of tubing. Since the air is already present within the tubing, it is not necessary to “fill the instrument with air.”

ROCCOISM

“The instrument already has plenty of air but it has no sound. Fill it with sound.”

THE RESONATING AIR COLUMN OF ALL WIND INSTRUMENTS

Once I establish that the resonating element of a brass instrument is the vibrating air column, I ask students, “What method is used to vibrate the air column?”

Again, the responses range from blank stares, to “pushing air through the instrument”. Someone usually mentions first vibrating the lips but they are unable to explain how that initiates the resonance of the air column.

I explain that the process is not like using friction to create resonance with a string instrument or concussion on a percussion instrument.

ARNOLD JACOBS

“There are acoustical laws that must be obeyed.”

SYMPATHETIC RESONANCE

We must send a resonance through the mouthpiece to the air column that it can respond too, the partials of the overtone series. If the source frequency we are creating in the mouthpiece is identical (sympathetic) to a frequency of the overtone series, the air column will begin to vibrate at that frequency. If the two pitches are not sympathetic, the air column will reject the catalytic frequency, causing embouchure malfunction and resistance of breath. Unfortunately, traditional brass pedagogy is more focused on treating these symptoms of failure rather than the cause.

THE CUTAWAY MOUTHPIECE

I remember a cutaway mouthpiece Jake used with his students to encourage them to play the mouthpiece rather than the instrument. Most of the bowl material was removed leaving only the stem, which was inserted into the leadpipe, and the rim. We would buzz the rim while fingering the instrument. This worked well if the brass player could transcend the unusual feel of playing on the rim alone.

ARNOLD JACOBS

“We must transcend physical strangeness while playing by giving dominance to music.”

Later, Mario Guarneri and others developed a device (Berp) that allowed the brass player to use their normal mouthpiece in the same manner as the cutaway mouthpiece. The advantage of these devices was that playing 'feel' became less of a distraction.

THE TUBAPHONE

A few years ago, I decided to create a simple instrument, without valves, by placing my mouthpiece in a small acoustic megaphone. I called it a “Tubaphone”. The effect was wonderful because the cone amplified my mouthpiece playing, making it easier to buzz with a resonant tone. I now refer to the tuba as a, “Megaphone.”

The Tubaphone sounds like an amplified mouthpiece rather than a tuba. However, it is the same shape as the bell of the tuba and more importantly, it dramatically illustrates the connection between playing the mouthpiece in the same manner inside or outside the instrument.

THE BRASSAPHONE (HORNAPHONE, BONEAPHONE, TRUMPAPHONE, EUPHAPHONE)

With the smaller mouthpieces, I suggest that my students go to a hardware store and find a funnel with an appropriate size opening. Some of my horn students, who use instruments with detachable bells, place the bell over the funnel for even greater amplification.

THE TRANSFER

TRANSCEND FEEL

Some brass teachers discourage external mouthpiece playing because of the strange difference in feel between playing inside or outside the instrument. Also, some trumpet teachers encourage their students to buzz their mouthpiece with a leadpipe in order to duplicate the “feel” of playing in the instrument.

ROCCOISMS

'When I use a megaphone to amplify the sound my lips, it's exactly the same process I use to amplify my vocal chords. I don't have any conscious knowledge of my vocal chords when I talk or sing and it's not necessary to have such knowledge when I create musical sounds with my lips. However, the powerful knowledge for singing and buzzing originates in the same area of the brain, but at the subconscious level of thought.'

“We must not concern ourselves with how playing feels. We must transcend feel by having a powerful awareness of sound.”

“Feeling good is a by-product of playing correctly. We cannot motivate correct playing by trying to feel good first.”

ARNOLD JACOBS

'The key to creating success can be found in speech.'

“It doesn’t matter what playing feels like. What’s important is what it sounds like.”

SHINICHI SUZUKI

'We can learn to play an instrument the same way we learned to speak language.'

I like to illustrate the used of the Tubaphone by playing the same music, without the use of valves, on both instruments. Sometimes, I’ll even finger the Tubaphone as if it has valves. I refer to valveless tuba playing as a “Megaphone Concerto”

Another interesting technique is to personally finger the instrument for the player as they buzz their mouthpiece inside the instrument. Once they get past the strangeness of having me finger their instrument, they can focus only on their musical mouthpiece playing.

THE IMPORTANT ELEMENT I COMMUNICATE TO MY STUDENTS IS PLAYING EITHER THE CONE OR INSTRUMENT MUST BE THE SAME EXPERIENCE. I DO THIS BY HAVING THEM PLAY THE SAME MUSIC BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE TWO. THEIR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE IS MUCH MORE POWERFUL THAN MY WORDS.


ARNOLD JACOBS

“I sing the notes in my head as I play them. It doesn’t matter how my lip feels or how I feel.”

ROCCOISMS

“A brass instrument is nothing more than an extended cone with valves or a slide. The valves or slide have no function in producing sound and little function regulating pitch. They only allow the regulated sounds created in the mouthpiece to be realized outside the bell in a more technically efficient manner.”

“In some ways, the invention of valves was not such a good occurrence. Too often, brass players think that valves are an important element of tone production. Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven wrote technically challenging music that was performed beautifully on brass instruments long before the valve came along.”

“It’s just the singing.”

"

jazz Band to play for School Board

Jazz band students, don't forget about the performance for the School Board on Monday, Jan. 17.

We will set up at 6:30 pm and perform at aprox. 7pm. Wear your band polos.

See you there.

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