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The Power of Oxygen and Green Spaces Can Boost Student Performance

Written by Kathryn Drury Wagner on August 31, 2021. Posted in Self-Care.

What if you could grant your music students special powers like laser-focused attention, impressive productivity and the ability to make smarter decisions?

You can, and it’s a simple solution: Ensure students get fresh air.

A growing body of research has shown that having enough oxygen in a room can make people feel more energetic, focused and calm. For example, people working in indoor offices where carbon dioxide was being ventilated out did significantly better on cognitive functional tests, and this information can also apply to schools, according to “Better Air = Better Brains,” a research study from Upstate Medical University.

In the research from Upstate, cognitive scores were 61% higher on problem-solving tasks in subjects on the days they spent in indoor spaces that had improved ventilation. At least eight more studies have supported these findings, reports the Irish Times in an article called “A Breath of Stale Air.” The bottom line is that as carbon dioxide levels rise, people become sleepier and do more poorly on tasks.

Open the Window

Depending on your school setting and policies, the simplest solution is to open a window or door if you possibly can — even for short periods during cold-weather months. (Be sure the window is screened and or secured in a way that it will not create a fall risk for students.)

If there’s not much of a breeze, a box fan or fan on a windowsill can help with ventilation, so long as fans are out of reach of small fingers. Researchers with Harvard Medical School suggest positioning the fan so that it is blowing air out of the room, not into the room. Cross-ventilation is another option — if windows can be opened on either side of a room, or a window/door combo. While this may not be realistic during a rousing practice of “Wellington’s Victory,” there may be some quieter opportunities during class to get the door open for a bit.

In the era of COVID, open windows may also make the classroom safer from viral transmission, according to Harvard’s School of Public Health. The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) has recommendations for both indoor and outdoor instruction on optimal air-quality while music-making.

Chemicals May Be Lurking in Your Classroom

Beyond simple fresh air, consider what else students might be inhaling and strive for a cleaner indoor space.

Some dry-erase markers and dry-erase board sprays contain methyl isobutyl ketone, which can be associated with neurological and respiratory problems. There are non-toxic versions of dry-erase markers available (Modern Twist is one option) or at least open the window when using the white board. To clean the board safely, use a solution of 1 teaspoon white vinegar and 1 cup of water.
Swap chemically scented hand soaps with natural or unscented versions.
Avoid the use of room freshener sprays. If things have gotten funky in the band room — and not in good, Wild Cherry way — open the window or use a little bit of an essential oil instead of a chemical spritz.
Steer away from buying dry-clean-only garments, as dry-cleaned clothing can emit volatile organic compounds.

Take Students Outdoors

One of the silver linings of the COVID era has been the increased interest in outdoor classrooms. Marching band practice has traditionally been on a field, of course, but now many music educators are heading outside for other types of instruction.

Schools such as Foust Elementary School in Greensboro, North Carolina, are creating clever designs that benefit both students and instructors. An article on NPR features an outdoor classroom at Foust that has fun details like tree-stump desks and a waterproof chalkboard.

Beyond air quality, being out in the natural world has powerful brain benefits, including boosting working memory, cognitive flexibility and attentional control, according to research (“Understanding Nature and Its Cognitive Benefits”) published in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science. Outdoor spaces greatly benefit young people with ADHD, too, both from a behavioral and academic perspective.

Green Schoolyards America, a nonprofit dedicated to getting natural environments included in school settings, has an outdoor learning initiative with free resources.

What if you want the benefits of a green space but just can’t get your music students outdoors? Try a micro-break. Even a quick burst of the natural world can boost attention, according to research published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology. Scientists found that simply gazing at a flowering, plant-filled green roof for 40 seconds improved performance on school tasks, compared to looking at a plain, concrete roof surface.

Lastly, some indoor potted plants can help absorb carbon dioxide and boost oxygen. For the classroom, try a rubber plant, peace lily, snake plant or dracaena. But be careful not to overwater plants, which can trigger mold.

What to Do When There’s No Bass Player, Part 1

Written by Jerry Kovarsky on August 30, 2021. Posted in Keyboard How-to. 1 Comment on What to Do When There’s No Bass Player, Part 1

It’s very common for a band to include at least a singer, a drummer, a bass player, a guitar player and a keyboardist (you!). But there will be times when a gig is too low-paying to afford that many players, and often it is the bass player who is left out. The problem is that most music won’t sound right unless someone is playing those low notes and providing the rhythmic push of a good drum and bass partnership. So that role will need to be covered by you.

In this posting, I’ll provide you with some tips and suggestions for acting as surrogate bass player when a real one isn’t there, without sacrificing the all-important keyboard parts.

It’s Fundamental

My first piece of advice is to keep your left-hand bass playing very simple. For most styles of music (with the exception of swing jazz tunes and songs with specific signature bass riffs), you can’t go wrong just playing the root of the chord. With that as a starting point, you next want to come up with a rhythmic feel that matches the groove of the song, and especially one that matches what the drummer is playing on the bass drum. Listening to and locking in with that pattern will make the band sound good and support the groove with nice low notes to fill out the sound. Nothing flashy is really needed.

Here are some very common rhythm patterns that work in lots of songs (each pattern would be repeated many times, of course):

Note that in this audio clip (as well as the following six clips), I play each bar twice:

Example 1 (in bar 1) is the most basic: you could just play whole notes if it were a ballad, but this adds a note on beat 4 to keep some movement going.
Example 2 (bar 2) provides nice downbeats on beats 1 and 3, with an extra note on the and of 4 to push back into the downbeat.
Example 3 (bar 3) pushes into beat 2, meaning it anticipates the beat.
Example 4 (bar 4) is similar, but it adds another note on the and of 4.
Example 5 (bar 5) is a straighter version of the pattern, where you play a note solidly on beat 3.
Example 6 (bar 6) adds the note on the and of 4 to push back into the downbeat.
Examples 7 and 8 (bars 7 and 8) are both common patterns heard on countless songs.

These next examples utilize a constant eighth-note feel for more driving rock and dance tunes (note that I add an upper octave at times for variety):

Example 1 is just constant eighth notes, which always works.
Example 2 adds a single upper octave note just before the pattern repeats on beat 1.
Example 3 places the octave on beat 4, while example 4 places octaves on beats 2 and 4, where the drummer would often be playing snare drum hits.
Example 5 gets a little trickier in that it anticipates into beat 3, which is a way of adjusting the pattern to match the drummer’s bass drum feel.
Example 6 is a slight variation of where the octave occurs after beat 3.
Examples 7 and 8 go back to steady eighth notes.

These next examples are more deeply syncopated, meaning they have more off-beats in their rhythm, and they occur on sixteenth-note subdivisions. These work well in funkier tunes:

Example 1 gives a nice strong emphasis on the 1 and the 3 of the bar.
Example 2 adds a note on the and of 4 to push back into the downbeat.
Example 3 adds notes on both the 3 and the and of 3, while example 4 holds out the note on the and of 3 for the rest of the measure.
Example 5 adds a longer note on the and of 1, and then pushes back into the top of the next measure tightly with a note on the last sixteenth of beat 4.
Example 6 treats beat 2 with more syncopation, but then a more relaxed push back into the downbeat of the next measure.
Example 7 is a variation of that pattern, with two off-beat hits on beat 4.
Example 8 sounds a bit like a sequenced dance bass line or perhaps a driving Motown beat.

Adding Notes

Once you’ve established a library of rhythmic figures, you can expand your note choices. Bass players often alternate between the root and the fifth of a chord, so you can introduce some fifths into your patterns like this:

Like the root-only technique, these types of lines are going to work under almost all chords, except for diminished or augmented chords. For more funky or R&B tunes, you can try these approaches:

To get more color in your lines while still keeping them simple, you can introduce other notes, but these now become more conditional on the chord quality. For example, you can add the sixth note to major and dominant-seventh chords, and you can add the flatted seventh to dominant-seventh and minor seventh chords:

Finally, here are some examples of more syncopated funky feels:

Putting It All Together

Armed with these ideas, let’s move on to playing basic songs and chord progressions. Here are two common kinds of pop ballad bass lines, using some of the ideas from the first examples:

I’m only playing root tones in the bass, but the first is very straight and open, while the second half uses more pushes into beat 3 to match the different drum feel.

This next example adds in some fifths to the bass:

Finally, let’s use some of the more syncopated figures and take more freedom with the notes:

In general, remember that it’s better to keep your left hand bass lines simple, and just support the feel of the song. You don’t have to be a flashy bass player — just keep it low and in the pocket! In Part 2, we’ll cover walking bass lines.

All piano and bass sounds played on a Yamaha P-515.

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How to Get Lost in Guitar Effects … Without Losing Your Way

Written by Mike Levine on August 27, 2021. Posted in Guitars How-to.

As guitarists, we have a universe of effects at our fingertips, whether from plug-ins, pedalboards or digital amps. Sure, it’s easy enough to turn on some distortion or chorus or delay, but what if you’re looking to go beyond the typical? I’m talking about things like massive ambience, droning and sustaining notes, heavy modulation, rhythmic echoes and more.

It’s actually pretty easy to dial in those types of sounds if you know how. In this article, I’ll offer suggestions for various abstract effects you can create with almost any kind of multi-effects processor, whether hardware- or software-based.

Into the Cave

Sustain is one of the most important tools in the guitarist’s toolbox, particularly the type where one or more notes drone as you play others on top. Ambient effects such as reverb and delay are a great way to create sustaining or repeating sounds.

The processor you use for reverb can probably yield a cavernous sound where your notes will reverberate for a long time. As some notes sustain, you can play others over them. You can use a hall, plate or spring reverb algorithm for this, provided it allows long decay times in the 9- to 10-second range, but if your reverb can emulate a cave or cathedral, those kinds of presets will work even better.

The critical parameter here is the dry/wet mix. Start by setting it to just a little over 50% and then edge it up further still, if required. If you’re plugged into a Yamaha THR-II Series desktop amp, just crank up its onboard Hall or Spring reverb effect to its highest point, which will yield a long decay as well.

Here’s an example recorded in Steinberg Cubase Pro, using the Line 6 Helix Native plug-in, set to a clean amp emulation. The guitar part features harmonics and open strings as drone notes. In conjunction with a long reverb or other sustaining or repeating effects, these kinds of techniques allow you to create long-holding notes to play along with; just be careful not to dampen them as they sustain.

In general, you should avoid playing chords in a heavily reverberated soundscape, particularly if those chords include notes from the low strings. With all that reverb, it’s easy to create sonic clutter that muddles the lower midrange. If you’re playing along with other instruments, be particularly careful. You might try lowering the dry/wet mix somewhat, if needed.

Most reverb and delay plug-ins (and many hardware devices) allow you to cut the low end while still maintaining a lot of the reverberant properties, which will help reduce muddiness. Alternatively, you can apply a low-cut filter or EQ to the reverb or delay output, then try rolling off or attenuating some of the lowest frequencies.

Keep ‘Em Saturated

Another way to create sustain is with gain, either amp gain or a distortion/overdrive effect. The higher the gain, the more sustain. Distortion also naturally compresses your tone, which adds to the sustain.

This next audio clip was recorded direct through a Yamaha THR10II desktop digital amp, which is one of three models in the THR-II Series.

Small portable guitar amp. — *Yamaha THR10II desktop digital amp.*

I used the amp’s Hi Gain amp model, but set the Gain to a little less than 50%, which still supplied plenty of distortion and sustain. In the EQ section, I cut the Bass and Treble by about 30%, but left the Mid set flat. The effects used were Chorus and Echo/Rev. The latter — a combination of reverb and delay — was turned to its highest setting.

Knock, Knock, Knock

You can also use delay for rhythmic effects, especially if you go for long settings such as quarter-notes or half-notes. Playing along with the rhythm of a long delay allows you to add harmonies and create parts with a lot of motion. Here, the feedback parameter is vital. The higher it is, the more repeats you’ll get … but if you have too many, it will be difficult to play anything distinctive above all the repetition.

The only way to successfully create a rhythmic delay part in a live ensemble situation is to use a tap tempo control (usually a footswitch or a button) to set the delay time — simply tap it in rhythm with the song as it starts playing. Even if your drummer has an extraordinary sense of timing (in fact, even if you’re playing to a drum machine!) you almost certainly won’t stay in sync over an entire song, but you can get it close enough to make it work for at least part of the tune.

The Mix or Dry/Wet control is also crucial when it comes to rhythmic effects since it determines the relative level of your picked notes as compared to the delayed ones. Getting it right will generally require some experimentation and should always be based on what you’re trying to play. It’s also helpful to stay with a scale or simple mode, so that the harmonies created don’t become discordant (unless that’s what you’re trying to do).

Here’s an example of me playing in time with a quarter-note delay and keeping it mostly in the minor pentatonic mode:

Another way to get some pretty “out-there” effects is with reverse delay. It replicates your notes like a delay, but with the audio reversed, causing a swell effect.

As with all delay effects, delay time is the crucial parameter. Where you set it has to do with the tempo of your song, what kind of feel you’re going for and so on. The feedback and dry/wet mix can make the difference between something completely wild-sounding and an effected guitar that can easily fit with other instruments.

This next audio clip demonstrates how a reverse delay effect works within an ensemble of guitar, synth bass and drums. The guitar is running through the Helix Native plug-in, which has a reverse delay on it set to quarter notes, with feedback of just about 50%. Also applied are a long reverb and chorus.

Terrifically Tremulous

Another effect that provides continuous repeats is tremolo — a pulsing, repetitive change in volume. On a clean or semi-clean guitar sound, it won’t sound particularly abstract. But try it on a heavily distorted tone, perhaps along with heavy reverb and chorus, and you can go to some strange places.

In this audio clip, the guitar has a distorted tone and tremolo set to eighth-note triplets, along with a long reverb. It starts with a non-tonal slide down the E string with the side of the pick and then starts playing heavy chords in a 12/8 feel. Notice how the tremolo continues after the last chord.

Acoustic Possibilities

If you play primarily acoustic guitar, you’re probably jealous of all these wild effects that electric guitarists use. You don’t have to be, though. If your acoustic guitar has a pickup, you could plug it into a Yamaha THR3011A WL — a desktop amp designed specifically for acoustic guitar. It features onboard effects such as reverb, chorus and echo, plus a stereo widener. If you turn their settings high you can easily propel your sound into the “extreme” realm.

But what if you’re completely unplugged? Believe it or not, that’s not a dealbreaker either. All you need is a Yamaha TransAcoustic guitar (there are six models to choose from), which offers built-in chorus and reverb effects that are actually created in the air. These effects also arrive at the guitar’s output jack (via the built-in piezo pickup) so you can combine them with other effects created by your amp, plug-in or hardware effects processor.

Closeup of three knobs on the side panel of an acoustic guitar. — *Yamaha CSF-TA TransAcoustic guitar effects controls.*

This final audio clip demonstrates how you can combine TransAcoustic guitar effects with those of an external amp. It was played on a Yamaha FS-TA guitar, with its built-in Chorus and Reverb on their highest settings, plugged into a THR10II desktop amp with its Flanger and Spring Reverb effects on full. As you can hear, the resultant sound has a ton of movement:

So next time you decide to apply an effect to your guitar, consider trying some extreme settings. Who knows? You may well come up with sounds that lead you into new areas of musical experimentation!

Check out these related blog articles:

Recording Basics: Reverb

Recording Basics: Delay

Recording Basics: Distortion and Saturation

Two men, one bald and one with long hair, sit in front of a digital audio studio setup.

Erez Eisen and Duvdev

Written by Yamaha Corporation of America on August 25, 2021. Posted in Pro Audio Artists.

Working under the name Infected Mushroom, Israeli Psytrance producers Erez Eisen and Amit “Duvdev” Duvdevani have relied on Steinberg Cubase for the last 20 years. In this video, they describe their song production workflow in great detail as they walk us through one of their latest productions called “Serious Times” — a remote collaboration with the artist Hope 6 — from initially receiving the vocals to vocal editing with VariAudio to writing melodies and harmonies.

The recent release of Cubase 11 had a particular impact on their approach to saving MIDI files, which they generally discarded after utilizing them to generate audio tracks. One reason, as Erez explains, is that older versions of Cubase did not have a Render Tracks function that included MIDI data. “With rendering, it’s so easy to save all the previous work and then disable those tracks, putting them in a separate folder. It’s nice to be able to quickly access those tracks if you need them.” They also enthuse about the way that rendering in Cubase allows them to easily create stems.

VariAudio is clearly one of their favorite parts of Cubase … and not just for fixing vocals. “We use it for making scenes too,” Duvdev reports. “It’s so easy to use, and such an interesting tool.” Erez is a particular fan of the Custom setting. “It lets you sculpt the grains and the randomness of the stretches. Cubase basically gives you all the options of time-stretching in the world.”

“Cubase is both simple and complex, if you want it to be,” he adds. “It offers infinite possibilities.”

“For me, the DAW is the creativity part,” Duvdev says. “I don’t see myself making music in any other program because I just feel at home with Cubase. It’s part of our process.”

Check out these related articles.

Click here to learn more about Steinberg Cubase.

An Instrumentalist in a Vocal World: Getting Comfortable with My Voice

Written by Aleah Fitzwater on August 24, 2021. Posted in Teaching Tips.

In college, my focus was instrumental music education. For over four years, I prepared myself to become a band director.

All that changed when I received a call from one of my previous college advisors. She wanted me to interview for an elementary school music position.

My second and shortest co-op experience in college was at an elementary school. While I loved the setting and the creative liberty I had with lesson planning as a primary school student-teacher, there was one thing that I wasn’t comfortable with: my singing voice.

My situation was stressful but not uncommon. I had just agreed to take a position that wasn’t quite in my specialty. Oftentimes, we go into music school thinking that we are going to find a job that perfectly fits what we studied. I’m pretty sure that you already know that the real (music) world isn’t like that. So, there I was: A freshly graduated, licensed instrumental teacher with a job at an elementary school. It was time to get comfortable with my voice.

Find Your Real Voice Type

I quickly learned that there isn’t a lot you can do to get comfortable with singing. I had spent countless hours singing pop songs up an octave in the car. But when I was in my classroom and was required to sing all day, I began to lose my voice. Something just wasn’t working.

So, I spent more time at the piano and less time singing to the radio. This allowed me to explore my range on the staff and see my limits more clearly. Pretty soon, I discovered that I was an alto, not a soprano like I had been told. While my tone was light, singing way up high was simply not a sustainable option. As I learned more about my voice, I stopped being concerned with gender stereotypes and embraced my lower register.

Match High or Match Low

One week, I taught 10 classes the same singing game called “Lucy Locket.” One at a time, the students would look around the classroom for a hidden purse. The student searcher was the only one who didn’t know where the pocket purse was. The closer the searcher got to the purse, the louder we sang, and vice versa.

Singing “Lucy Locket” numerous time was tiring for my voice. I learned that it was OK to sing lower than your students. If they are very young, teach them that they can match high or match low with your singing.

At first, I was afraid to bring some songs down an octave, especially with my kindergarten students. But when I used a soprano recorder for their starting pitch, they began to catch on. After a couple of weeks, I found that my students could match high or low to me with no trouble.

Lean on Teaching Tools

Teaching tools were a powerful resource when singing in my sweet spot wasn’t enough. There are many great recordings out there that do the call and response for you. When I first started, I swore that I would only use my voice to teach music to my students. It’s great to have high aspirations for your classroom, but don’t make goals that are unreachable.

Later in the fall, I caught a cold and had no voice, but I still had to show up and teach. I learned that if you plan your recordings, games and transitions just right, you can teach a music class without using your voice at all.

By the time the middle of the year rolled around, I was no longer losing my voice regularly, even when I was ill. I found the perfect balance between using recordings and singing in my most comfortable range.

Get Used to Being Uncomfortable

To get used to being uncomfortable around my students, I had to do things that made me uncomfortable at home. As a musician and teacher, one of the best things you can do is to constantly push yourself artistically.

I challenged myself to learn numerous songs from the French version of “La Vie En Rose” to the pop song “Titanium.” I even tried to juggle to music and failed epically.

But somehow, it all translated into my classroom really well! The more I forced myself to do things that made me uncomfortable at home, the calmer and more confident I became in the classroom. Zen mind, beginner’s mind.

Make Some Noise

Part of my journey to becoming comfortable with my voice was to make noise — even bad noises. Just like with the clarinet, you have to squeak and squawk before you can play a ballad or sound like Benny Goodman.

On the way to and from work, I sang harmonies to punk songs and experimented with vowel shapes. It was gritty, out of tune and pretty terrible, but my car welcomed the noises just the same!

I always recommend singing music that can be loud and bad. To become proficient at something, you first must allow yourself to be confidently unskilled.

I also have a recording set up and have become good friends with it. Recordings never lie, so learn from them!

Understanding the Science Behind Voice Confrontation

Over the years, I have learned that singing is just as much about the body as it is about the mind. For me, it’s more like 60% mind, 40% body.

There are little tips and tricks to curb singing anxiety, such as eating foods high in potassium like bananas. This will help you out for the first couple of days but will ultimately only get you so far.

What helped me become more confident was understanding the science about voice and sound. I never enjoyed hearing my singing or speaking voice, and I learned that there was a reason for this. It’s called voice confrontation.

Your brain interprets recordings differently than your voice in real-time. This is because of conduction. When you sing, you feel your voice conducting through the bones in your ears. However, when you listen to a recording, the sound is not conducted the same way. This makes a huge difference in perceived sound.

The article, “The Real Reason the Sound of Your Own Voice Makes You Cringe,” and the video, “Why Do I Hate the Sound of My Own Voice?”, explains the science behind why we dislike our voices so much. Once I understood this, everything became a little easier. I realized that my perception of my voice did not represent reality. When I took what I learned to my classroom, I found that I could project with no hesitation.

Increasing My Vocal Awareness

When I first started singing in front of my students, my voice felt disconnected and odd. I needed to increase my awareness of my voice; I wanted to be as mindful of my voice as I was of my fingertips.

At first, I wasn’t sure where to start. I knew that I needed to engage with my voice more often, but it seemed like there was something else to integrate.

One thing that increased my vocal awareness was massaging my jaw. Exercises like this helped to strengthen the synapses in my brain to focus on the vocal areas of my body.

I also studied vocal awareness videos and courses like “The Secret of Vocal Awareness Vocal Exercises.” This information taught me to hold space for my voice. Vocal guru, Arthur Samuel Joseph, believes that our voice is not just a tool that we use in everyday life. It connects us on the most intimate levels, including socially and even spiritually.

Just Have Fun

What I didn’t realize when I started as an elementary school music educator is that you don’t have to be the best vocalist to teach your students. Pupils love to play singing games, learn and enjoy themselves. With my background as an instrumentalist, I taught hundreds of kindergartners how to match pitch and simply to enjoy exploring sound.

So Your Child Wants to Play Brass

Written by Dale Ramirez on August 20, 2021. Posted in Parents.

Your child has come home with information about joining the brass section in their school band, and they are excited about the prospect of being able to play trumpet, trombone, baritone horn or euphonium. That’s great, but many parents don’t have a musical background and don’t know where to start in order to give their son or daughter the best chance to succeed in this new creative adventure.

It that’s you, you’ve come to the right place! We’ll tell you what the most common brass instruments are, describe how to sort through the (sometimes) complicated language about them, and provide all the information you need to get started.

(Note: While this article covers the four brass instruments most commonly used in the classroom, it is possible that your child has set their eyes on other members of the brass family, such as French horn or tuba. If instruction in one of those instruments is offered by your child’s teacher or a private instructor, by all means encourage your child to go for it!)

Trumpet

The trumpet is the highest pitched and most popular instrument in the brass family, popularized by masters of the instrument such as Louis Armstrong, Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis. They are a staple of orchestras, jazz bands, marching bands, concert bands and wind bands, and are often featured in film scores.

There are just two physical things needed to produce a sound on a trumpet: the body of the instrument and a detachable mouthpiece. The mouthpiece is what the trumpeter puts up to their mouth to make a sound by “buzzing” their lips. (The correct technique for doing so is called embouchure.) The body contains three valves to change the pitch, water keys (or “spit valves”) to relieve the condensation that collects while playing, and a flared bell at the end that directs the sound outwards.

Don’t worry too much initially about whether the trumpet you’re purchasing for your child is silver-plated or has a yellow brass exterior — this is something that won’t matter much for a beginner. What is important is that the instrument be durably made (preferably with tough metals like the monel alloys used in the Yamaha YTR-2330 Standard Trumpet) and that it can easily produce a clear, characteristic sound.

Most modern student trumpets are designed internally (in terms of the diameter of their internal tubing — something known as bore) so that beginning players can produce an immediate, rich and in-tune sound. When selecting an instrument, keep in mind that not all bores are made alike, so that trumpet that’s been sitting in your cousin’s closet since the ’90s may not be as easy to play as a newer option. Also, before leaving your dealer, make sure your child has the right valve oil so that when the instrument’s valves eventually stick (something that’s totally normal), you’ll have a way of dealing with it and can prevent future issues.

Trombone

Easily recognized by its long, narrow slide and wide bell, the trombone is one of the most powerful instruments in the band. It has a big, bright sound and is found in almost every type of musical ensemble: symphony orchestra, jazz band, marching band, concert band and wind band.

The following three components are found inside most trombone cases:

The mouthpiece. This is a silver metal cup with an attached tube that connects to the receiver of the instrument. The trombonist uses this to create the sound by “buzzing” their lips with the correct embouchure.
The slide. This two-piece mechanism allows the trombonist to change their pitch. Note that this should be locked in place before picking it up out of the case to prevent any mishaps!
The bell, bell tube, and tuning slide. This “other half” of the trombone connects to the slide and translates the air coming from the mouthpiece into the trombone’s characteristically “brassy” sound.

As with the trumpet, it is of little significance initially whether the trombone has a silver or yellow brass finish. The most important factor is that the young player should have the best chance to create a good sound by using an instrument made of quality materials. For example, the nickel-silver on the Yamaha YSL-354 Standard Trombone can prevent the inner slide from developing dents that the trombonist will feel every time they move the slide.

One important note regarding trombone: Because it uses a slide instead of keys or valves, even the beginner needs to have a good sense of pitch. If your child is able to sing, hum or whistle a tune by themselves, he or she is probably are a good candidate for this instrument. Knowing whether or not they have this ability in advance can save a lot of frustration for a budding young trombonist who is unable to “hear” a pitch before they play it.

Euphonium/Baritone Horn

The euphonium and baritone horn are related instruments and are often used interchangeably in the beginning band classroom. The main difference between these instruments are their bore sizes. The euphonium’s bore gets gradually bigger from the mouthpiece to the bell, while the baritone’s bore maintains a consistent size throughout most of the instrument, giving it a brighter sound than the euphonium.

Both instruments have three or four valves, and similar to the trumpet, the only thing that needs to be “put together” is attaching the mouthpiece to the receiver. Don’t worry about the number of valves or if the instrument has extra tubing to adjust for the tendency of the low register to be somewhat sharp (something called compensating) — that won’t become a factor for several years into your child’s musical development.

These instruments come with both upright and forward-facing bells (an example of the latter is the Yamaha YEP-211 Standard Euphonium), but for the purposes of the beginner the way the bell faces won’t make much of a difference. And similar to the trumpet and trombone, the finish — whether silver-plated or yellow gold lacquer — won’t be a recognizable determinant in sound from the get-go.

The most important factors to consider when starting on euphonium or baritone is that the student be able to produce a clear, characteristically rich sound and that when the instrument comes out of the case, it will work. This often means that the old euphonium in the back of the band room’s instrument closet is going to feel different than a newer instrument, and might require more time and effort to make it suitable for a beginner.

One last thing: Playing low-pitched brass instruments like euphonium and baritone horn requires a tremendous amount of breath support. Encourage your child to endure the initial feeling of having to literally “work” to get a big sound. In time, they will build this skill and set the tone for the rest of the ensemble.

Whether your child is interested in trumpet, trombone, or baritone horn/euphonium, we encourage beginning brass students and their parents to take advantage of their local music resources, such as their local authorized Yamaha dealer. These folks are experts in making sure that your child is prepared for their first day of band (or orchestra) and can even connect you with instructors if your child wants to get a running start on their musicality.

Check out these related blog articles:

A Guide to Parent Resources for Beginning Band and Orchestra

What’s the Difference Between a Trumpet and a Cornet?

Trumpet Trivia

Six Things You Never Knew About Trombone

Tuba Factoids

How to Keep Brass Instruments Clean … Inside and Out

Swabbing Brass Instruments

Click here for more information about renting a band instrument, and band in general.

Click here for more information about school music.

Click here for more information on the Yamaha YTR-2330 Standard Trumpet.

Click here for more information on the Yamaha YSL-354 Standard Trombone.

Click here for more information on the Yamaha YEP-211 Standard Euphonium.

Click here to locate your local authorized Yamaha dealer.

Closeup of someone playing an electronic keyboard while looking at a video game onscreen.

Case Study: Using YouTube as a Teaching Tool

Written by Tyler Swick on August 16, 2021. Posted in Case Studies.

I created Swick’s Classroom, my YouTube channel, as a solution for a non-musical substitute during my four-week paternity leave in 2018.

The original video had to cover all the musical details while keeping a fast pace to prevent unwanted bored behaviors. I ended up creating a point-of-view xylophone video so students could see a large xylophone on the smart board while they learned a song. That video was posted three years ago and has more than 10,000 views!

At that time, my district, Clark County School District, had not yet adapted Google, so sharing documents and digital video lessons with a substitute was difficult because all files were password protected. I was left with two options: trust a stranger with my work login credentials or upload my lesson to YouTube for all to see. Both felt risky at the time, but I know I made the right decision.

Although I never intended for my video lessons to be used by others — most of my doubt coming from imposter syndrome — I was over-the-moon excited when my first Swick’s Classroom video hit 50 views. I thought to myself, “Wow, I helped 50 teachers!” I didn’t quite understand how views worked then, but that excitement is what drove me to make the next video.

My Equipment

I made my first eight Swick’s Classroom videos using my cell phone and a cheap video-editing software meant for making family home videos. I started watching YouTube tutorials about every software available, and I purchased the most user-friendly.

I bought a tripod for my cell phone and a green blanket so I could record instruments and remove the background on the computer. That was all I needed to make a majority of my instrument lesson videos.

Your cell phone is the most powerful tool in your arsenal. I wouldn’t buy anything expensive until the content starts paying for it. Apple computers come with iMovie and GarageBand. Windows users can download DaVinci Resolve and Audacity for free. I didn’t make any money from my content for two years, and it forced me to get creative with how I make content but also made me pay attention to what students like about the videos.

I eventually learned the Adobe Creative Cloud programs — the industry standard — so I could animate my own videos, which is still a work in progress. As I gained confidence in my content, the goal became to one day make money from the lessons so that I could upgrade my setup and create videos more efficiently.

I believe the purpose of every educational video is to provide an experience that the teacher could not provide by teaching the class directly. The simplest quality to perfect is the pacing. Live instruction is constantly interrupted by questions, bathroom breaks, transitions, etc. Videos are a set pace that free up the classroom teacher to work independently from the lesson. The teacher is able to excuse students, get the Band Aid, assist with the assignment and tie shoes without the pacing suffering.

You don’t need 4K fancy effects, you only need a purposeful lesson with obtainable goals.

Positive Responses

Pre-COVID, students loved the digital lessons because they could continue the lessons at home, memorize lyrics or even try to play melodies on their instruments. Parents commented that their children would put the music lesson on the TV for everyone to watch. Dads would jokingly sing this week’s song to me at drop off. YouTube provided a vast accessibility that most parents allow in their house.

During COVID, YouTube and recorded lessons were the saving grace for asynchronous students that had limited internet access. Yes, schools adopted websites like Canvas and Google Classroom, but I found my content was limited by file size and quality. I was only able to have one 20-minute lesson posted at a time due to capacity limitations. The alternative was to post an unlimited amount of high-quality videos on YouTube and embed them into my classroom pages.

When our school returned to in-person instruction, parents and students were both saying “Look, it’s the music teacher from YouTube!”

Organized Like a Locker

If I could start over, I definitely would organize it better because my channel lacks both a content plan and a posting schedule! I have treated my YouTube channel like a locker for things that I need right now.

I only create content that I want to use in my class in the immediate future — for example, I need a video today for my kindergarten class to sing at an ocean-themed parent night, and I need a boomwhacker video tomorrow for my 5th graders. Because of this, there are no clear patterns in my content. And, similar to a library, if a video can’t be found, it will never be viewed.

My videos range from silly songs to xylophone tutorials to boomwhacker play-alongs to vlogging. I might have someone subscribe because they love a boomwhacker video but then the next five videos I post are not about boomwhackers.

If I could start over right now, I would create a unique channel for each of the different categories that teachers want. I see other channels that are 100% rhythm play-alongs, and they are successful because subscribers know what they’re going to get when the next video is posted. Unfortunately, my subscribers don’t know if they’re going to get a rant about COVID safety or a ukulele tutorial.

Future Plans

The original concept of the YouTube channel was purely to help my substitute find a video of me teaching faster and easier than the provided methods at the time. Going forward, I hope to create content that helps teachers get their students excited about music class. I spend summers looking at views, comments and data to understand what the rest of the world wants more of content-wise from Swick’s Classroom.

Seeing the views go up on a new or even an old lesson gives me a sense of gratification that I can’t get anywhere else. I really enjoy the recent vlogging because teachers need to know that they are not the only professionals experiencing this era of COVID music education. I received a comment that said, “I needed to hear this,” which was all I needed to know that it was time well spent.

I was excited to help 50 teachers with their sub plans when this thing started, and now the channel is approaching 1 million views! I hope to curate the channel all the way through my retirement and enjoy knowing my lessons are still being used somewhere.

How to Use Alexa Multi-Room Audio with a Sound Bar

Written by Mike Levine on August 13, 2021. Posted in Audio How-to.

How would you like to have a pop artist in your living room, a rapper in your den and a country singer out on the patio — all at the same time? How about a special playlist for your basement workouts, one for cooking and one for when you’re working in your home office? With Alexa Multi-room audio, you can have all that and more.

Amazon Alexa provides you with a robust selection of hands-free commands. Communicating over your Wi-Fi network or Bluetooth^®, Alexa gives you control over not only music devices but also lights, ceiling fans, televisions, locks and thermostats, to name just a few. For this article, we’ll focus on music playback, and show you how to use the Multi-room audio feature, which lets you use the Alexa app in your mobile device to create a custom music system that will play what you want, where you want, all under voice control.

Room(s) to Grow

One of the advantages of Alexa is that you can create a setup that consists of a variety of sound bars and/or speakers of different makes, as long as they are all Alexa-enabled. For example, you could have Yamaha YAS-109 sound bars in two rooms and Amazon Echos in the others and access them all from the Alexa app. You can also use Alexa to control any Yamaha MusicCast-enabled multi-room speaker system. It’s incredibly flexible and completely wireless.

Long thin speaker. — *The Yamaha YAS-109 sound bar.*

Make the Connections

Connecting Alexa to a YAS-109 is easy. Simply download the Yamaha Sound Bar Controller app from the App Store for iPhone^® or Google Play for Android™. With the sound bar powered on, open the app, then follow the onscreen prompts on the app to connect the unit to your Wi-Fi network:

As shown in the illustration above, you turn on Alexa support by pressing and holding the Alexa button on the sound bar and then following the prompts on the Sound Bar Controller app. When you’ve completed the setup, you’ll see your YAS-109 show up as a device in the Alexa app. (Click here for more information about using Alexa with Yamaha sound bars.)

Create Custom Groups

By default, you can ask Alexa to activate individual speakers or play the same music on all speakers at once. But one of the most powerful aspects of Multi-room music is the ability to designate custom speaker groups you can turn on with voice commands in the Alexa app.

Groups allow for total customization of what plays where. If, for example, you have five Alexa-enabled speakers in your system (say, two upstairs and three downstairs), you can make an upstairs group and a downstairs group — or groups with any combination of speakers.

Here’s how to create a speaker group with a YAS-109 sound bar and other Alexa-enabled speakers:

1. Touch the Devices icon at the bottom of the Alexa app.

2. From the Devices page, touch the “plus” button on the upper right-hand corner of the screen:

3. Choose Combine Speakers.

4. Touch Multi-room music:

5. From the list of available speakers, select the speakers you want to include in the group.

6. Select a name for the speaker group, either from the preset list, which includes choices like Chill Out, Party Time and Chores, or by typing in a name of your own.

7. Go back to the Devices page and you’ll see your group listed under speaker groups.

Put Alexa to Work

Once you’ve completed your setup, it’s time to put Alexa to work.

If you use specific group names in your commands, Alexa will only play the music on the speaker group you mention. For example, if you say, “Alexa, play classic rock on Party Time,” your system will start playing your favorite hits of the ’60s and ’70s over the Party Time speaker group. Other Alexa commands (also known as “skills”) include pausing the music, making it louder or softer, or skipping to the next or previous selection in the playlist.

The Alexa app also offers lists of preset commands that you can enable on your app, allowing you to do everything from playing nature sounds, podcasts or audio books to turning on your favorite internet radio station. You can even ask Alexa to tell “knock-knock” jokes!

Targeted Audio

Another fun Alexa feature is the ability to create custom playlists on Amazon Music (Amazon Prime members automatically have Prime Music accounts) or other apps or music services you’ve connected to Alexa.

You can get creative and make playlists for various rooms or situations, i.e., “Alexa, play Laundry Music on Basement” or “Alexa, play Wake Up Music on Kids Room.”

Cast of Many

If you’re using Alexa with a Yamaha MusicCast system, the setup and command instructions are slightly different. For instance, after you say “Alexa,” you must add “ask MusicCast to” before the specific command. For a deeper dive into using Alexa and MusicCast, check out this blog.

Whether you’re using Yamaha sound bars or a MusicCast system, Alexa integration gives you an unprecedented level of hands-free control. You might even say that the home audio system of tomorrow is here today.

Check out these related blog articles:

How to Use Alexa with a Yamaha Sound Bar

How to Use Alexa with MusicCast

How to Use Google Voice Control with Yamaha MusicCast

How to Use Actions on Google with Yamaha MusicCast

Click here for more information about the Yamaha YAS-109 sound bar.

Brian Teed with percussion students at Wakeland High School

Case Study: Implementing Student-Led Backward Planning

Written by Brian Teed on August 12, 2021. Posted in Case Studies.

For several years, I have taken the curriculum planning and classroom management approach of backward planning and modified it to a pedagogical approach for percussion students in grades 6 through 12 within the Wakeland High School cluster in Frisco, Texas.

Backward planning can be utilized to organize instructional experiences and highlight expected goals to produce planned outcomes toward major events such as ensemble concerts, solo performances and many other shows. Using this approach, I have had the opportunity to teach students how to practice efficiently and set realistic timelines for themselves and within their ensembles. With modifications along the way and through numerous successes and failures, I believe that we have found our groove.

What is Backward Planning?

As educators, we are constantly setting goals, adjusting expectations and formulating inventive solutions to the unique challenges we set for our students. With backward planning, we start at the end of a process — for example, a performance — and retroactively apply benchmarks to certain dates leading up to that final performance. The most common benchmark would be to have the notes to a specific piece of music learned by a specific date, allowing for flex time before the performance to fine-tune dynamic approach and musical interpretation, which can become their own benchmarks.

When these benchmarks are accurately communicated, students will agree on what the outcome of the final performance will be — such as memorizing a piece or submitting the piece for festivals and competitions — and the teacher maintains this expectation. This process works well for many students but, unfortunately, not for the entire ensemble.

I found that even after setting benchmark expectations and having clearly communicated the performance date to the students, there was still a disconnect among some students, who were still scrambling in the final week to pull it all together. This caused the ensemble as a whole to miss reaching its full potential.

I tried to figure out what was causing this disconnect. After observing the behaviors of student groups from numerous grades and ability levels, I discovered that the majority of students did not know how to adequately practice. To address this, I decided to have students apply the process of backward planning to their practicing and take ownership in their learning. Essentially, the students mapped out their music goals first and then created individual practice plans, which helped encourage those students who had difficulty in starting a project by motivating them and allowing them to have a clear picture of what the end result would look like. Once students learned how to practice correctly through backward planning, many commented that they wish they had learned this skill earlier to be more successful.

Currently, I am the percussion director for the Wakeland High School cluster, and in this position, I have a direct impact on the way percussion curriculum is presented to a variety of ability levels, from middle school beginners through graduating seniors. I was afforded the unique opportunity to experiment on how to teach students backward planning as well as determine what students required from me and my staff to make this a successful approach to learning.

Beginning Backward Planning with Beginners

My staff and I decided to introduce the concept of backward planning to our beginner middle school percussion class where only one instrument is taught at a time. Because new techniques and rhythms are presented to the class several times throughout the year, we thought this group would be the easiest to work with to modify and fine-tune the process of backward planning. To establish a baseline, we decided to see what changes were having a positive or negative effect and to ultimately determine what was working and what wasn’t.

Our initial step was to have students learn a short etude that was well within their ability level for a pass-off due on a certain date. We told the students that they collectively had to decide benchmark dates prior to the due date and how much of the etude needed to be learned and performed by those benchmarks. This is where we left it as we wanted the ownership of their backward planning to be solely on them.

The first benchmark arrived, and the class played up to the predetermined measure. We found that some students had prepared to the noted measure, some had learned the entire etude, and some had not even started. Had this been an ensemble setting, this variation in preparation would have caused the pace of rehearsal to suffer and increased the likelihood that those who had done the work becoming frustrated with those who had not. It seemed that letting students set their own benchmarks and take ownership of their individual learning did not fix our issue of inadequate preparation.

We modified the process and added reminders for students to practice every day and provided information on what they should be practicing. Even with this change, many students still only practiced the night before, much like cramming for a science or math test, complete with a stressful performance the next day. There was still a disconnect in how students were preparing to perform.

After a few more attempts, we were still struggling to have adequate preparation for the entire class. That’s when we decided to have students define more than just a benchmark on what they were preparing. At this point, everything had been covered previously — in other words, there were no new concepts or techniques. Because of this, before they picked up their instruments, we had students go through the music and make note of what they already knew. By going through the music first, students were better prepared to not only set benchmarks, but to plan their practices. Essentially, the students went through the music much like a director would a score for an ensemble, which enabled them to think through the entire etude in order to properly backward plan.

After implementing this change, we saw a noticeable increase in productive practice and stronger benchmark performances overall! Students spent less time in a practice room and more time playing in the classroom, and they actually pushed the pace of the class forward. Eventually, my staff and I put together an example of the etude — through recordings or demonstrations — while students studied the etude. Afterward, we saw an even greater increase in overall participation and preparation and an improvement in performance.

Advancing Backward Planning to the High School Level

We took what we learned with the beginning class and applied it to the high school level, seamlessly incorporating the process of teaching how to effectively practice by utilizing backward planning. The only difference between ensembles was the length and difficulty of what students were preparing.

Students at the higher level had not necessarily been taught how to practice, but they were achieving at an adequate level solely because of the overall time they spent on their instrument. Students were mindlessly practicing by repping a piece over and over again until they, by pure repetition, memorized the music — oftentimes with errors and limited musicality.

With backward planning, students first focused on the end result by studying and listening to the music, and then visualizing what the final performance would be. We saw a similar result to the beginner class — the high school students were spending less time in a practice room but were achieving at a higher level. Many students also said that they had more satisfaction after their practice sessions because of how productive they were.

I will be excited when the beginners who started on the backward planning process in middle school advance to high school. What parts of the process stayed with students through the years? What, if anything, has changed?

Every year, we are faced with new challenges and opportunities to modify our backward planning approach. As teachers, we must constantly adapt and meet our students where they are to help build them up as performers and valuable members of our ensembles.

Live Drumming Is Back: Tips for Gigging with Electronic and Hybrid Drum Kits

Written by Steve La Cerra on August 12, 2021. Posted in Drums How-to.

It’s time to get back on that stage again!

Gigging with an electronic or an electronic/acoustic “hybrid” drum kit is a little different from performing on a fully acoustic kit, but it’s a great way to treat your audience to a large variety of drum and percussion sounds, bringing an extra dimension to your performance. Here are some tips for ensuring a successful live gig with a Yamaha DTX6 Series electronic kit, or by using a Yamaha EAD10 with your acoustic drums to create a hybrid set.

Hear, Here

By using an electronic drum kit, you’ll have access to a large number of drum sounds wherever you play, without the need for expensive microphones and stands … plus you’ll have total control over the volume of the kit. All Yamaha DTX6 Series electronic drum kits come with a DTX-PRO module, which is loaded with hundreds of high-quality, professionally recorded drum and percussion sounds that can be recalled instantly.

Closeup of control panel. — *Yamaha DTX-PRO module.*

The biggest difference in gigging with an electronic kit versus an acoustic kit is that you’ll need a way for you and your bandmates to hear the drums onstage. Yamaha DBR Series powered speakers are great for this purpose because they can be positioned vertically for use as PA speakers or placed horizontally on the floor for use as wedge monitors.

View of front of speaker. — *Yamaha DBR15 powered speaker.*

The low-frequency response of a speaker has a big impact on the sound of kick drum and toms. Generally, larger woofers have better low-frequency response, so the DBR12, with its 12-inch woofer, or the DBR15, with its 15-inch woofer, are good choices for reproducing drums. If you really like your low end pumping on stage, consider adding a powered subwoofer such as the compact Yamaha DXS12mkII, which can generate bass down to 42 Hz, or the heftier DXS18mkII, which goes all the way down to a chest-thumping 32 Hz.

What’s the Connection?

You’ll get maximum flexibility by connecting the audio output from your electronic drum module to a line input on the PA mixer, and then using an aux output to send audio from the mixer to a wedge monitor, headphones or in-ear monitors. This ensures that you’ll be able to hear the drums in your monitor along with a mix of other instruments or vocal microphones. To learn how to use aux sends to create separate monitor mixes, see this blog post.

Graphic showing the flow of audio signal through various components. — *Using a mixer to route audio from a DTX-PRO to a stage monitor and the main PA speakers.*

EAD10: Expand Your Palette

The Yamaha EAD10 Electronic Acoustic Drum Module instantly transforms your acoustic drum set into a hybrid kit. All you have to do is mount its Sensor Unit (which contains a pair of high-quality condenser microphones and a kick drum trigger) on your bass drum hoop. The microphones capture the entire kit, and the kick trigger can play any of the hundreds of drum or percussion sounds built into the EAD10 instrument library.

Closeup of small electronic unit. — *The EAD10 Sensor Unit.*

Multi-zone snare and tom trigger inputs on the EAD10 accept the output from a clip-on drum trigger such as the Yamaha DT50S, or from Yamaha XP Series and TP Series drum pads. Attaching a DT50S makes it possible to layer electronic sounds with the acoustic sound of the drum, while XP or TP Series pads permit you to expand your acoustic kit with electronic percussion, cymbals or effect sounds.

Closeup of a snare drum with sensor attached. — *The DT50S can be mounted on any snare or tom.*

A big difference between performing with the EAD10 and an electronic kit is that you don’t need a monitor system in order to hear your acoustic drums onstage — though you will need a monitor to hear triggered sounds and effects. You’ll also need to connect the EAD10 to the PA system (the same way you’d connect a DTX-PRO module, as described earlier), so the audience hears the EAD10 microphones as well as the triggered sounds.

Secret Weapon

One of the great things about playing Yamaha DTX6 Series electronic drums or a hybrid kit with an EAD10 is that you’ll have control over the mix and be able to add effects to your drums. However, understand that the mix you’ve been hearing in your headphones while practicing may not sound the same when the module is played through a big PA system. For example, you may find that the kick or toms are very loud compared to the rest of the kit when heard through a PA. That can happen when the headphones you’ve been using for practice don’t have great low-frequency response, causing you to compensate by making the kick and toms louder; or, if the headphones lack clarity in the high frequencies, the snare EQ may be too bright or may have more reverb than necessary.

This is where the recorder function on the EAD10 and DTX-PRO is your secret weapon: simply record yourself playing for a few minutes onto a flash drive during practice or rehearsal, then during sound check, play the recording back over the PA speakers. Walk out into the room to listen: you’ll be able to make better judgements about the mix, EQ and effects, and you can even have the band play along with the recorded drums to check the balance between instruments.

By the way, the DTX-PRO lets you build 200 User Kits, and the EAD10 offers 200 User Scenes, so you’ll be able to keep your practice settings while creating new Scenes or Kits for playing live.

Using Pre-Recorded Tracks

The EAD10 and DTX-PRO provide several different ways to play live shows with pre-recorded tracks. A laptop running DAW software can be connected to the TO HOST port, or you can transfer a stereo mix of the tracks to a USB flash drive and use the internal recorder to play files directly from the drive. A third option is playing audio from your phone or MP3 player into the EAD10 or DTX-PRO AUX IN jack. Using your phone or a flash drive is a convenient way of working because it reduces setup time and eliminates the need to bring a computer to the gig. The volume of the tracks can be balanced with the volume of the drums using the Audio/Click control knob on the EAD10 or the Audio control knob on the DTX-PRO.

In situations where you need to play along with a click, the EAD10 and DTX-PRO have the ability to route the click only to the headphone output, so you can listen to the click in your headphones while preventing it from being heard by the audience.

Effects

One of the great things about playing DTX6 electronic drums or an EAD10 hybrid kit is that they have a wide variety of built-in effects, including Reverb, Delay, Flanger, Phaser, Modulation and Compression. These effects can be used to enhance or change the sound of your drums.

Accessing effects on the DTX-PRO is easy using its Kit Modifier section, which has separate knobs for control of Ambience, Comp (compression) and Effect: Simply turn the knobs to dial in the sound you want.

Closeup of dials. — *The DTX-PRO Kit Modifier.*

The EAD10 also allows instant access to effects from the front panel, with dedicated controls for Reverb, Effects and Trigger (volume of the triggered kick sound).

Note that in both the EAD10 and DTX-PRO, the function of the Effect knob depends upon the preset scene loaded into the unit. To demonstrate, here’s an audio clip of drums played with the EAD10 preset scene P001 “Arena”:

In this scene, the Effect knob controls a compressor. Compare the previous clip with the next one, where the Effect knob has been turned up to add compression. You can hear the drums get louder, and the volume of the kick drum becomes more consistent.

Turning down the Reverb produces the considerably less interesting sound heard in this next clip:

And here’s how the drums sound with the Effect (compressor) and Reverb knobs all the way down:

As you can hear, changing the Effect or Reverb controls in a preset scene drastically changes the sound of the drums and offers a wide range of creative options.

Playing electronic or hybrid drums onstage requires a bit of planning, but it gives you the ability to deliver a wide range of acoustic and electronic drum and percussion sounds — all at the touch of a few buttons. It’s an approach worth exploring as you get back into live gigging!

Check out these related blog articles:

There’s a New Kit in Town

Click here for more information about Yamaha DTX6 Series electronic drum kits.

Click here for more information about the Yamaha DTX-PRO module.

Click here for more information about the Yamaha EAD10 acoustic electronic drum module.

Tips for Playing and Singing Solo

Written by Robbie Calvo on August 11, 2021. Posted in Guitars How-to.

In a recent blog, I explored the physical skillsets required to sing and play guitar at the same time. But it also takes desire, focus and hard work — and, sometimes, the heart of a lion — to make the transition from bedroom rehearsal to live performance, especially if your goal is to be a solo performer. In this posting, I’ll provide some tips for making that transition go smoothly so you can take the stage with confidence.

The Songs

Choosing your repertoire will be one of the most important decisions you’ll make as a solo artist. I have a personal rule: If I don’t like a song, I won’t play it. The audience can tell when you are loving the material, and when you’re being your authentic self as a performer, so you’ll want to be inspired by the music you’re performing.

Figure on nailing down at least 30 songs — enough for a three-hour engagement — though more is better. You should also learn some crowd favorites in case you get requests from the audience. Always better to give ’em what they want than to have to say no.

Volume and EQ

This may sound obvious but it’s important that your vocals always be louder than your guitar. It’s common sense: the melodic instrument — in this case, your voice — should “sit” on top of the harmony accompaniment. All too often at live shows the vocals get buried by the instrumentation. Take time to dial in a good vocal/guitar balance.

I prefer to start my first set at a nominal level. I’ll then ask management to let me know if they’d like more or less volume. Unless they specifically ask your opinion, let the hiring party decide what works best for their room or engagement.

Next, consider the frequency equalization between your voice and your guitar. The balance of lows and highs will vary depending on the body size of the guitar you play. As described in this blog posting, the larger the body size, the more the bass response.

Unfortunately, vocals and guitar tend to occupy similar frequencies, so you’ll likely have to use equalization to reduce or enhance (cut or boost) the lows, mid and treble frequencies in either instrument, as required. I often find it necessary to EQ my vocals to give them more presence in the mid- and upper-mid frequencies. Use your ears before you make any adjustments, though. If everything sounds good, resist the urge to tweak, and step away from the control panel!

One last tip: If your PA system sounds muffled or boomy, try raising the speakers off the floor by putting them on stands or tables. “Coupling” (how the speaker interacts with the floor or nearby surfaces) can occur, and this often affects the clarity and bass response of the speakers. Moving the speakers away from walls and corners will also reduce this effect … or, conversely, you can move them closer if the sound is thin and lacks low-end information.

Feedback

Often the venue management will have no concept of how the acoustic environment and space restrictions affect our sound and ability to control the volume and tone. I always make a point of politely explaining that my stage volume is dependent on my proximity to the speakers. That’s because resonant feedback (high-pitched howling) can occur if an acoustic guitar and a microphone are in front of the PA speakers, especially at high volume levels.

To combat this, try moving in line with the speakers or behind them, or reduce the volume. Unfortunately, if your sound system is also serving as your onstage monitor (which is often the case in smaller venues), you’ll find it harder to hear your vocals and guitar from behind the speakers. Try to find a good compromise between volume and your position relative to the speakers.

If you have a good knowledge of live sound, you may be able to notch out any problematic feedback using the PA system’s EQ controls, particularly if they offer a graphic or parametric equalizer. Some acoustic guitars, like Yamaha A Series models, feature an AFR (Auto Feedback Reduction) control, activated by pressing in the guitar’s onboard bass knob (shown below). AFR can analyze, find and reduce any feedback problems that may occur during a live performance.

Closeup of bass control on side of guitar body. — *AC5R AFR/bass control.*

Effects

Effects such as reverb, delay and chorus are commonly applied to both guitar and vocals. Judicious use of these can enhance your sound and add professional studio-quality polish to your performances.

If you have a particular pedal or effect that inspires you and gives you that extra spark when you perform, bring it along. At solo gigs, my guitar and vocals are processed through a Line 6 Helix in stereo. Settings for all the songs I play are programmed and saved within Helix as a series of setlists for various performance situations. Without Helix, my sound just doesn’t light me up!

It’s best to think of reverb as being the simulation of an acoustic space, so reduce your reverb level and/or decay time if you are already performing in a very reverberant (“live”) room, which will be the case if there are concrete floors or large windows, for example. (That’s why I always bring a rug to stand on at gigs.) On the other hand, if the room is very dry-sounding due to there being curtains or a lot of carpeting on the floor, or if you’re playing outdoors with no reflective surfaces nearby, you may want to increase the reverb amount or delay time to compensate.

More often than not, performers sound-check when the room is empty. However, the acoustic space will always sound drier when the audience fills the venue for the simple reason that human bodies (and the clothing they are wearing) absorb sound. Make adjustments to your EQ and effects (if needed) once you’ve played your first couple of songs.

The PA System

My PA system of choice is the compact and portable Yamaha STAGEPAS 1K Mk II, which includes a powered mixer, a line array speaker and a subwoofer. I find that this faithfully reproduces the sound of my voice, guitar and percussion across all frequencies. The J-Curve dispersion of the line array allows me to monitor my own sound as I’m performing and at the same time delivers pristine, well-balanced tones to small and large audiences alike. At larger gigs, I run two STAGEPAS systems for beautiful stereo sound that even the most discerning listener can appreciate.

Close-up of mixer controls. — *Yamaha STAGEPAS 1K Mk II mixer.*

The built-in five-channel mixer with EQ and effects (shown above) handles any input requirements from multiple sources (via XLR and 1/4″ connectors) and these inputs can all be controlled from a mobile device via a free Bluetooth^® app.

The Microphone

I suggest taking a little time to find a microphone that is optimal for your voice. Every part of your signal chain is significant, but this is one of the most important, so far better to bring along your own mic to gigs than to rely on the one(s) at the venue. Product reviews are helpful, but nothing beats trying the microphone with your voice and PA system.

I made a considerable investment of time and money finding the right mic for my voice. After considerable experimentation, I found that I needed a brighter sounding microphone to lend clarity to the depth of my vocals.

The investment was well worth it. I’ve had the microphone for many years now and have received countless compliments on my vocal sound.

The Video

In this live performance video, I’m playing a Yamaha A Series A4K LIMITED acoustic guitar through two Yamaha STAGEPAS 1K systems, with both the guitar and vocals running through a Line 6 Helix processor, where all the EQ and effects adjustments are made in stereo.

You’ll notice that my vocals sound clean and clear above the guitar signal, and the slide guitar stands out over the guitar loop during the solo and coda sections. All these details are meticulously thought out and programmed beforehand.

The Guitar

The Yamaha A Series A4K LIMITED is the same guitar as the A5R western body cutaway, but with an all-solid Hawaiian koa top, back and sides instead of solid Sitka spruce and rosewood. The Hawaiian koa adds a nice warmth to the mid-range tone of this instrument.

Acoustic guitar. — *Yamaha A Series A4K LIMITED.*

The Wrap-Up

Every performance environment presents its own series of challenges, but through experience, you’ll learn to navigate them. Of course, it helps if you have excellent equipment to support your instruments, and if you know how to get the absolute best out of all the elements of your system.

When it’s showtime, the key to confidence is knowing that you’ve rehearsed thoroughly, dialed in your tone and made every attempt to perfect your stage performance and sound ahead of time.

That way, the next time you’re facing an unpredictable audience in an unfamiliar venue, you’ll have all the tools at hand to turn a tough gig into a great one. Keep smiling, keep the faith in your abilities, and represent your artistry through refined talent, impeccable sound and consummate professionalism.

Photographs courtesy of the author.

Related blog articles:

How to Play Guitar and Sing at the Same Time

Dialing in Your Live Sound

Hitting the Sweet Notes

Going Solo

Click here for more information about Yamaha A Series acoustic guitars.

Click here for more information about Yamaha A4K Limited acoustic guitars.

Click here for more information about the Line 6 Helix guitar processor.

Click here for more information about the Yamaha STAGEPAS 1K Mk II PA system.

Woman sitting at her home computer desk with her chin resting on her hand and just staring at the computer screen.

Don’t Resist Resistance

Written by Shelly Peiken on August 9, 2021. Posted in Creativity.

One of my favorite books about getting out of our own way is The War of Art by Steven Pressfield. The author explores inner creative battles and discusses how writers resist writing even though, ideally, we should be tackling projects that make us stretch and taking on assignments that will lead us into uncharted waters and/or compel us to explore unconscious parts of ourselves. It’s written in short chapters so I keep it near my favorite reading chair and absorb it in small bites — food for thought throughout my day. I’ve recognized myself in its pages.

Most of the dictionary definitions for the word “resistance” contain the idea of opposition. When we resist ourselves, we are opposing ourselves, which seems counterintuitive to our mission. We are the ones we should be most in touch with and paying attention to. Our unique perspective on how we see the world, embrace or reject love, rejoice and carry on in a crisis — that’s what will make our music unique as well.

Why would we resist ourselves? My main reason for procrastination has to do with a fear of not being able to effectively execute a particularly precious idea — perhaps a concept that came to me like a bolt of lightning and begged to be written immediately in order to preserve the integrity of its essence. But then I think to myself, if I “mis-execute” it I won’t be able to go back and try another approach. So, instead, I prune my gardenias or clean out a closet lest I taint my precious idea forever. That’s my inner dialogue. I think we all have our own inner dialogue that keeps us from advancing.

All this despite the fact that I know from experience that if I put my “mis-execution” on the back burner I can safely give myself permission to start over. (It’s not going anywhere). There may even be bits of version #1 worth incorporating into version #2.

I actually believe that resistance can function as a necessary step in the creative process. For example, I’ve witnessed my husband (who’s a film composer) pace our bedroom for hours, unable to turn out the light, because he couldn’t come up with a cue for an important scene that would live up to the emotion on the screen. I always remind him that this is his M.O. Part of his drill. “Keep pacing,” I tell him. “Knock yourself out.” Eventually (most likely first thing in the morning) he’s going to go back into the studio, put his hands on the keys and write it. And it’s gonna be good. It always is. But not before the torture. Luckily, he has a live-in muse to remind him of that. ????

Funny that even though my inner dialogues and excuses have evolved over the years, even though I’ve had Number 1 hits and there are dozens of gold records on my wall, I still face resistance. I’ve had to wonder if maybe I need it — if it’s serving me in some vague but positive way. Making art is never clear and concise. Overcoming creative obstacles can be a mysterious, confusing — but delicious — journey.

If we surrender to our own resistance — if we let it scare us and push us too far back from the front line — we lose. But if we can be more aware of it, recognize our own inner dialogue and give it a little breathing room, we can outsmart it. It’s all about knowing that resistance is part of the process. It’s just a matter of time before we get the upper hand.

So maybe the challenge is to outlast the resistance in order to win that war of art and emerge victorious. There’s no uncharted territory we can’t chart. The gardenias and the closet will just have to wait.

A Guide to Parent Resources for Beginning Band and Orchestra

Group of students playing woodwind instruments.

So Your Child Wants to Play a Woodwind

Written by Dale Ramirez on August 6, 2021. Posted in Parents.

Your child has come home with a flyer with options for them to join the school band, and they are beaming with joy at the prospect of being able to make their own music with a saxophone, clarinet or flute. The only problem is, you don’t know what you need to do to get your kid started.

If you’re looking for the most important information to know when selecting a woodwind instrument for your son or daughter, you’ve come to the right place.

Note: It’s true that there is a whole world of woodwinds out there like the oboe, bassoon and the small but mighty piccolo. However, the saxophone (both alto and tenor versions), clarinet and flute are the three woodwinds most commonly used by schools at the beginning band level, so for the purposes of this article, we’ll focus on those three.

Saxophone

In school bands, the most common types of saxophone are tenor sax (the bigger version with an “S” curve in the neck) and alto sax (the slightly smaller version, with a neck that has just one bend). There are five basic parts to every saxophone:

1. The reed. This is what gets the sound going as it vibrates by virtue of air being blown over it.

2. The ligature. This holds the reed.

3. The mouthpiece. This is where the reed is secured so that its vibrations can be translated to the rest of the instrument.

4. The neck. This connects the mouthpiece to the body.

5. The body. This is the largest, shiny part where the hands are placed.

Your child’s first rental or purchased saxophone will more than likely come with all these parts. The only additional piece of equipment needed is a neck strap, which hooks onto a special ring on the body of the sax and helps to keep the instrument upright while it’s being played.

The most important priorities for a young student starting on the saxophone are the same as for most wind instruments:

1. Response. How easily they can make a sound;

2. Intonation. How closely that sound aligns with a pitch set by their instructor; and

3. Tone. How well they can create the instrument’s characteristic sound.

At the beginning, the musical journey for many can be frustrating, so an instrument that can consistently be played without a ton of upkeep can help smoothen the road ahead. A good choice for kids starting out is the YAS-26 Standard Alto Saxophone or the Yamaha YTS-26 Standard Tenor Saxophone, though the ambitious player may already be setting their eyes on intermediate models such as Yamaha 300, 400 or 500 Series saxes.

Clarinet

There are several parts to the clarinet:

1. The reed. The source of the vibration when blown across.

2. The ligature. This stabilizes the reed in one place.

3. The mouthpiece. This houses both the ligature and the reed and connects them to the instrument.

4. The barrel. This connects the mouthpiece to the body.

5. The upper body, where the top stack of keys are attached.

6. The lower body, where the bottom stack of keys are attached.

7. The bell. This is the flare at the bottom of the instrument.

The bodies of most entry-level clarinets (such as the Yamaha YCL-255) are made from an ABS resin, known for its extreme strength and resistance to variations in humidity, although some are made of hardwood like grenadilla. ABS resin is usually the best option for beginners due to its durability and relative ease in maintenance. Although there are various fingering variations for the clarinet, most beginning instruments (such as the YCL-255) feature the Boehm fingering system standard in American classrooms.

In most school bands, there will be just one type of clarinet: the B♭ (B flat) clarinet. This instrument is a great starting place for young reed players as it’s common in elementary musical literature all the way through Mozart’s finest concertos. Like other woodwinds, the most important thing for beginning clarinetists is that they be able to make a sound and keep it in tune, with a tonality similar to the other clarinets in the school band.

Flute

The flute has a clear and bright character with a sweetly distinctive sound that has floated atop bands, orchestras and all types of musical ensembles for centuries. It has just three main parts: the headjoint, the body (sometimes called the “main tube”) and the footjoint. A flute produces its characteristic sound via air blown across a lip plate, which creates a standing vibration that then gets passed into the rest of the instrument. The player can then open and close keys to raise and lower the pitch; these also can be used for changing tonality.

It usually takes some time for beginning flute players to be able to consistently make their first sound on the instrument. To the outside observer, it can look awe-inspiring to see breath be transformed so directly into sound. (Here’s a detailed explanation of how this works.)

An important consideration for the beginning flutist is key type: Open-holed or closed-holed? In-line keys or offset keys? Open-holed flutes have holes in the keys. These provide the player with nuance and control over the sound, but may present the beginner with challenges in closing the holes, especially if they have small hands and fingers. If a young student has an open-holed flute and is frustrated with not being able to close the holes, key caps, which are included in most open-holed models, are a great option to fill in the keys until the student has achieved a level of proficiency. Most “standard” (beginner) flutes, like the Yamaha YFL-222, come with an “Offset G” or offset keys, meaning that the keys are designed with a slight non-linear layout so they better fit the natural curve of the fingers. Offset keys are recommended for nearly all beginning flutists.

Priorities for the beginning flute student are similar to those of other wind instruments: how easily one can produce a sound, how closely that sound can match the pitch of the class, and how closely that sound can match the tone or character of their fellow bandmates. The most important consideration for young flutists is that they be equipped with an instrument that feels comfortable. Don’t be afraid to ask your child what they think of the instrument in their hands.

Whichever instrument your child decides to pursue, remember that your local authorized Yamaha dealer is an excellent source of information. Setting your child up for success can lead to years of musical satisfaction down the road.

Check out these related blog articles:

Beginner’s Guide to the Saxophone

Five Saxophone Facts You May Not Know

Five Things You Never Knew About the Clarinet

Genealogy of the Flute Family

Click here for more information about renting a band instrument, and band in general.

Click here for more information about school music.

Click here for more information about Yamaha saxophones.

Click here for more information about the Yamaha YCL-255 Standard Clarinet.

Click here for more information about the Yamaha YFL-222 Standard Flute.

Click here to locate your local authorized Yamaha dealer.

female teacher with group pf elementary students holding hand bells

7 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started Teaching

Written by Aleah Fitzwater on August 5, 2021. Posted in Teaching Tips.

How many times have you said to yourself, “I wish I knew THAT before I started teaching”?

If I had been given a head’s up on the seven situations and scenarios below, it would have saved me a ton of time and significantly reduced my stress level during my first year of teaching at an elementary school. I hope these tips will help you as you embark on your career as a music educator.

1. Setting Up Your Classroom

My first classroom experience was a whirlwind. Two days prior, I was interviewed, and then I was told to set up my room as soon as possible. My first thoughts were to organize the room, decide on a theme and make everything look pretty.

What I discovered is that it’s more important to set up the room for transitions than it is to make it look nice.

If you have a music classroom with two doors, you are lucky because transitions are easier, especially if you add markers on the floor. Take some stickers that represent your school’s mascot (pawprints, lightning bolts, etc.) and put them on the floor in a straight line in front of the second door. This is where students will exit the room. These stickers will help kindergarteners learn how to stand in a line (something some young students won’t know how to do at the beginning of the year). Make sure the stickers are spaced far enough apart to prevent older students from poking and prodding one another.

Another thing that I didn’t realize is that elementary music teachers often have two classes in their room at once. This is because some teachers drop off their students early, while other teachers tend to run a bit late. If you don’t set up your room for this exiting-and-entering transition, you’ll struggle with classroom management.

After you put down the markers for the exit plan, make an entrance plan, and set it up accordingly. Where do you want the students to go when they first come in? Purchase a carpet with designated spots, so that it is easier to make your seating chart. Also make sure that there is nothing too exciting such as stuffed animals or xylophones near either door.

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2. Preparing for the Fall Open House

Preparing for the fall open house (some schools call it back-to-school night or round-up) at an elementary school requires a lot of coffee. Go ahead, laugh! But it’s true.

Add some extra self-care: Because open houses are basically an extension of the school day, there is no time to go home, grab dinner or rest. I recommend packing a double meal or even finding something frozen that you can pop into the microwave. Trust me, you’ll need it. Another helpful thing to do is to set aside five minutes to decompress or meditate before parents and students arrive.

The reason why I’m mentioning open house self-care is because that is exactly what I didn’t do. At my first open house, I was running on empty. Then, the families started to wander in.

Direct parents into your new classroom: Parents tend to bypass “Specials” classrooms like music during after-school events. At my first open house, I greeted a few parents toward the beginning, then nobody came to my classroom for the next three hours. Yikes! If you’re new, do a bit of advertising. Make a poster with your name and subject on it and add a few bells and whistles like ribbons and bright colors. Maybe even play a little bit of soft music to make your room more welcoming. You’re going to want to meet your students’ families long before the musical or (even worse) the end of the grading period.

Don’t forget the students: During open house, always have something that the kids can do. I wanted my activity to be relevant to music, so at my first open house, I put a bucket of boomwhackers in the middle of the room, which sounded like a great idea until students started to use them as swords! Remember, students have a ton of energy at the beginning of the school year. I learned that more appropriate items to leave out to keep students busy include egg shakers, finger cymbals, hand bells or claves.

3. Fast Ways to Learn Students’ Names

My favorite way to learn students’ names is pretty simple: Make nametags out of large flashcards, punch two holes in each card and tie about 24 inches of yarn through the holes. Place these nametags in an alphabetical organizer by the door, so students can grab them and put them on as they come into the classroom.

I know what you’re thinking: The nametags are going to get ripped and messed up. Yep! That’s exactly the point. Once a student accidentally rips the yarn off of the nametag, throw it away, and tell them you know their name now. This helps you gradually memorize the names of students.

Another way to learn your students’ names is to try some name-game songs. “Bounce High, Bounce Low” and “Hickety Tickety Bumblebee” work really well for younger elementary students. You can also use these games to assess singing voices. The “Telephone” song is a great name game that is more melodically engaging and works for older elementary students in 4th and 5th grades.

4. Build Rapport with Students

I made a big mistake when I first became a teacher: I was so focused on keeping my classroom in control that I didn’t spend enough time building rapport. That is until I filled in for someone else’s classroom. That teacher had something called “Carpet Time,” which was such a great idea, I immediately used it in my class.

I changed the name of the activity to “Shares” and use five minutes at the beginning or end of a class to listen to a handful of students as they share something about their day or something they’re looking forward to. This is, in and of itself, classroom management because you only select students who are on their best behavior. Before long, everyone else will straighten up.

But that isn’t the main point. Students want to get to know you as much as you want to get to know them. So, give them a voice. Start building rapport with your students in the form of shares within the first week. It’s a large time commitment, but it’s time well spent — trust me.

5. Coworkers’ Respect is Earned, Not Given

The fact that the respect of coworkers is earned and not given came as a shock to me as a first-year teacher. The janitor won’t just drop everything to help me with my musical setup? What was the deal?!

The “deal” is that respect must be earned, especially if you are a very young first-year teacher. Sure, you might have a similar degree as everyone else in the building, but what you don’t have is rapport (again) or hands-on experience.

Make sure to spend some time in the faculty room. If you aren’t around, your peers won’t respect you as much. Talk to classroom teachers during transitions and let them see you in action by showing them a music game you taught their students. And get to know — and appreciate — the school’s support staff. The custodians and secretaries will prove to be invaluable! Give it some time, and you’ll be part of the team soon enough.

6. The Actual Length of a Teachers’ School Day

We all know that the school day for teachers goes far beyond 3 p.m., but I didn’t know that the day starts way before the bell rings, too. Make sure to read up on your contract for after-school and before-school commitments. Because Specials teachers have such different schedules from other classroom teachers, we often get an extra-long planning period but have another commitment, such as bus duty early in the morning. Prepare to work an hour before the school day and at least a half an hour after. The real length of a teachers’ school day looks more like 7 a.m. to 4 p.m., plus some time for planning.

I found that planning my classes before I left the school was more effective than doing this work at home. You don’t want your home to become a place of work, too. Not to mention, it’s far too tempting to nap!

7. Setting Boundaries

It can be really difficult for empathetic people like elementary music teachers to set boundaries. Because we are Specials teachers, our schedules are different than other educators and more flexible. Unfortunately, this can lead to other coworkers trying to take advantage of you, especially if you are young and new.

I set my first boundary with a co-worker out of a sense of urgency. I remember the way my voice rang out with the words, “No, I can’t take your students right now.” I was 20, she was probably about 45. I was certainly nervous and frightened as I flexed my assertiveness muscles for the first time at work. We actually ended up being great friends shortly after this firm boundary was set.

What I wish I knew before was this: Boundary setting can improve your relationships with your coworkers and be better for your wellbeing.

Your Journey is Just Beginning!

I hope these tips will help you start off on the right foot. The start of school is just around the corner, and your new classroom awaits. Enjoy it!

Yamaha AVENTAGE: Setting the Reference Standard for AV Receivers

Written by Phil Shea on August 5, 2021. Posted in Audio Gear Guides.

The 2010 introduction of the Yamaha AVENTAGE line of AV receivers, with a name that stands for AV Entertainment for the New Age, was the culmination of an extensive two-year research and development project. The company’s engineering teams were tasked to find better ways to implement many important features from the ground up. The resultant product line would feature a unique spin on mechanical, thermal and electrical stability in order to faithfully recreate the dynamics and intricate detail found in music and movie soundtracks. Ultimately, AVENTAGE would become the reference standard to which other AV receivers are compared.

Ready to learn more? Read on …

Mechanical Stability

Vibration and resonances are detrimental to reproducing pure audio. For that reason, the Yamaha mechanical engineers were challenged with creating a rock-solid chassis. The final result was an integrated structural system where all mechanical elements worked together to achieve high levels of rigidity and vibration control.

The mechanical structure was based on a fundamental H-frame design that consisted of thoughtfully placed reinforcing brackets and bracing with new assembly techniques, giving it the rigidity to reduce chassis vibration to virtually zero, even during high volume output.

Graphic rendering of opened unit as seen from above. — *The Yamaha H-frame design, as seen with the lid off.*

An A.R.T. (Advanced Resonance Technology) wedge, also known as the fifth foot, was located at the center of the bottom panel. It provides foundational support to the massive center-mounted power transformer and adds stability to the unit when it’s channeling hundreds of watts of surround sound to connected speakers. This has been a consistent element of the entire AVENTAGE line from the very beginning to the present day.

Closeup of fifth foot. — *The AVENTAGE fifth foot.*

Thermal Stability

Transistor temperature variations are part of the physics of reproducing high dynamic signals like music, and must be electronically compensated for in real time. The more stable the temperature, the gentler the required compensation, leaving the music in a purer state.

Accordingly, instead of using off-the-shelf, uniformly thick slabs of aluminum with attached cooling fins as heat sinks, Yamaha developed a new custom design with most of the mass of the extruded aluminum heat sink on the lower part of the base, where the transistors are attached. This maximizes rigidity and at the same time increases the thermal stability of the high-power output transistors. With more mass at the transistor mounting points, temperature variations are minimized.

Closeup of the unit. — *AVENTAGE heat sinks.*

In addition, the heat sinks were placed on either side of the transformer for a symmetrical layout. Electrically separating the amplifiers for the left side of the room from those covering the right side of the room reduces the possibility of signal interactions. The result is lower noise and better signal separation, as well as increased cooling efficiency.

View of unit exposing inner workings. — *Symmetrical amplifier layout.*

Electrical Stability

Separate input circuit boards were developed for analog audio, digital audio, control systems and video circuitry. While a more costly method, the sonic benefits of isolating these different types of circuits, and their unique power supply requirements, was deemed essential.

View of circuit board. — *AVENTAGE circuit board design.*

The high current sections of all circuit boards were examined for efficient signal flow. Where necessary, thicker conduction material was added — either thicker copper foil to the boards, or additional wire or copper jumper bars for the very high current sections.

For wire management inside the unit, it was observed that metal wire ties could act like miniature antennas, potentially adding unwanted noise to the system. Taking the extra step to electrically ground all the board-mounted wire ties was the simple solution. Even the main power fuse was evaluated for its sonic integrity. While many of these minute details on their own would not produce much in the way of sonic improvement, the sum of their contributions make up the foundation of the signature AVENTAGE sound.

Upgradability

What made the original AVENTAGE design even more special was its ability to be upgraded with each new generation. The first top-of-the-line model — the RX-A3000, which debuted in 2010 — was loaded with the most advanced technologies available at the time. But with only 7.2 channels of sound and 1080p video processing, it’s not all that impressive now, especially when compared to, say, the (now discontinued) AVENTAGE RX-A3080 released in 2018, which offered 11.2 channels of audio, along with support for Dolby^® Atmos™ and DTS:X™, 4k UHD video capability and Yamaha Surround:AI™ — the world’s first artificial intelligence in an AV receiver.

View of right front of unit. — *The RX-A3000 was part of the first-ever line of AVENTAGE AV receivers.*

The forward-thinking original AVENTAGE platform was robust enough to easily handle the technological innovations of the last decade. But, like all things in technology, there comes a time to update. The latest line of AVENTAGE receivers incorporate enhancements to the original concepts as well as accommodation for as-yet-unknown new technologies to come.

They also sport a new look and new features. The dual knobs, centered display screen and panel cover on the front panel of previous models have been replaced with a single knob in the center and an off-center screen. The chipset received a bold upgrade as well, with the RX-A8A, RX-A6A and RX-A4A models now supporting immersive 3D audio, enabled by the Qualcomm^® QCS407 smart audio platform, which provides powerful quad-core audio processing for superior sound quality and a cinematic listening experience. All 2021 AVENTAGE receivers boast 8K HDMI capabilities, and the RX-A8A and RX-A6A provide support for AURO-3D, a 3D audio technology that adds an extra height layer to a standard surround sound mix.

View of unit on shelf below flat screen TV. — *Yamaha RX-A8A.*

By rethinking their design from the ground up and incorporating the latest technologies — as well as looking ahead at those to come — Yamaha has made the AVENTAGE line the reference standard for AV receivers. If you’re serious about home entertainment, you owe it to yourself to check them out.

Click here for more information about Yamaha AVENTAGE AV receivers.

Click here for more information about the AVENTAGE RX-A8A.

Click here for more information about the AVENTAGE RX-A6A.

Click here for more information about the AVENTAGE RX-A4A.

MIDI Arranging Tips

Written by Mike Levine on August 4, 2021. Posted in Recording.

Among the many benefits of MIDI is that it allows you to put the sound of almost any instrument into your music. But having access to such sonic diversity is not enough.

Knowing how to arrange MIDI instruments effectively, either in conjunction with real ones or in MIDI-only productions, is an important part of DAW-based recording. Here are some tips to help you get started.

At the Source

Choosing sounds is a crucial part of MIDI arranging. Most contemporary DAWs come with loops and collections of sampled instruments and synths, and there are countless third-party collections available as well.

It’s essential to familiarize yourself with the MIDI instruments and sounds you have. That way, you’ll know which ones you like, and which will work best for specific kinds of parts. It will also tell you if you need to purchase more instruments or sounds for the type of music you’re doing.

Stack ’em Up

When you record a MIDI track in your DAW, it contains no audio, just data. It tells your DAW what notes to play and when, as well as how hard you played them, along with other information. Those instructions are instrument-agnostic. That is, they can trigger any MIDI instrument sound. Until you bounce your final mix, you can switch sounds at will.

You can also trigger more than one instrument sound at a time from the same MIDI data. That’s called layering, and it’s an important tool when it comes to doing MIDI arrangements. Layered sounds allow you to make your own creative instrument blends, even if you’re just using your instrument’s factory presets. Custom combinations can add a lot of originality to your music, and they’re often much richer than individual sounds too.

Another cool thing about layering is that it doesn’t necessarily sound like two instruments playing. Because you’re using the identical MIDI part to trigger both layers, it often seems like a bigger and fuller version of a single instrument.

Some virtual instruments let you trigger multiple sounds from a single MIDI track. HALion Sonic SE (included in Steinberg Cubase and available as a free downloadable VST, AU and AAX instrument for any DAW) allows you to assign up to sixteen different sounds to one track.

But even for an instrument that can only trigger a single sound at a time, layering is easy: simply copy the track and assign it to either the same sound or to a different one.

Here’s an example of layering for a synth bass sound. First, here’s a single bass sound (with the drum track as well for context) from Steinberg’s HALion Sonic SE:

And here it is, layered with another, relatively similar sound from HALion Sonic SE. I panned both parts slightly away from the center to enhance the feeling of width:

In this next example, you’ll hear how you can substantially change character sonically by using a different-sounding layer instead. First, here’s a sequenced lead sound from Steinberg’s Padshop 2 synth (provided with Cubase Pro and Cubase Artist), using a preset called Keep Moving:

And here’s the result when the track is duplicated and layered with Steinberg’s Retrologue synth (again, provided with Cubase Pro and Artist) playing a preset called Aggressive Saw Plucks:

Get Real

If you’re producing electronic music, you have the advantage of a virtually unlimited sonic palette. You’re not trying to imitate acoustic instruments, so you can go for any sound that works in the context of your music.

But if you’re trying for MIDI parts that sound like actual instruments, you want to play them as authentically as you can. For starters, it’s helpful to stay in the instrument’s actual range. For guidance, you can find plenty of instrument range charts online (try Googling “musical instrument ranges”).

Certain instruments are easier than others to emulate realistically. For example, MIDI drums can be extremely convincing, particularly if you use MIDI drum loops recorded by real drummers. (For more on drum programming, check out this Recording Basics posting.) Electric bass is another instrument that’s relatively easy to imitate with samples, especially if you keep the part as simple as is practical.

Here’s an example. You’ll hear two versions. One features a real electric bass that was recorded as an audio track. The other has a MIDI electric bass part, using a sampled bass instrument. Can you tell which is the real bass?

If you guessed the first one, you’re right. But the sounds are both authentic. The real bass is playing a simple part, so it wasn’t hard to duplicate it on a MIDI keyboard.

Articulate It

Except for keyboard parts (piano, organ etc.), many controller keyboards lack the ability to duplicate articulations that are integral to the sound of specific instruments. For example, string players use legato, staccato, tremolo and pizzicato, among other techniques. Guitarists strum chords and bend notes. Trombonists move their slides to glide between notes, and so forth. You can’t get those subtle sonic variations from just pressing a key.

However, there is a feature called key switching that’s programmed into many sampled instruments. Here, several notes at the bottom of the keyboard (below the instrument’s range) are used as switches that allow you to select and change articulations when you press them. If you have an instrument that offers this feature, it’s worth your while to learn how to use it. And because it’s MIDI, you can trigger key switches after you’ve recorded the notes, if that makes it easier for you.

Some of the presets in HALion Sonic SE (for example, the Symphonic Orchestra shown below, part of the Absolute collection or sold separately) offer key switching, and Cubase’s Expression Maps feature gives you even more control over articulations.

Less is More

When you want to use a specific instrument in an arrangement but the MIDI version sounds inauthentic, perhaps there’s a way to adapt the part so that it’s less upfront. The more it’s featured, the more its sampled nature becomes apparent.

Be honest with yourself. If a part screams “sampled,” and you can’t scale it back to a more subtle role, take it out of the arrangement.

Another thing you can do to make MIDI instruments sound realistic is to avoid over-quantizing them. (For more information on quantization, see this blog posting.) Yes, you don’t want notes to be out of time, but if you quantize your performances 100 percent to the grid, they’ll tend to sound less like they were played by humans and more like they were programmed. In electronic music, that’s fine, but not in “organic” genres like rock, pop, country, blues, etc.

When going for realism, a helpful technique is to set the quantize controls to only move the notes that are significantly early or late and leave the closer ones alone. Many DAWs let you set a quantize percentage, which dictates how close to the grid it will move the notes. Think of this as an “intensity” setting. If it’s 100 percent, all notes will move to the grid. If it’s 50 percent, the notes will only be moved half as close.

In Cubase, a feature called Safe Range lets you specify a zone defined by distance (measured in ticks) before and after a note where notes won’t be quantized. The idea here is that notes within that range are close enough to the grid to be left alone. Only notes that are outside the zone, and thus farther from the beat, will get moved.

Similarly, you don’t want to flatten out the performance dynamics by changing all the velocities to be too similar (velocity measures how hard the notes are struck, which usually translates to volume). It’s OK to bring up or down the velocities of individual notes if they’re too loud or too quiet, but avoid setting all velocities to the same level, as it will take a lot of the feeling out of the part.

Coda

Just as you can use synthesizers without knowing how to program them, you don’t need to be musically literate to arrange for MIDI instruments; however, it helps to understand basic music theory, so consider making yourself as knowledgeable in that area as possible — there are plenty of online courses and resources.

That said, there’s no substitute for experience when it comes to using MIDI instruments (or any instruments, for that matter). The more you work with them, the more facile you’ll become. If nothing else, it’s a lot of fun to press keys and hear cool sounds!

And don’t worry if your initial arranging attempts don’t live up to your expectations. Not even the most successful producers put together killer tracks when they first started out. As with anything in music, keep working on it, and you’ll see steady progress.

Check out these related articles.

Click here for more information about Steinberg products.

School’s Out: Ten Tips for Keeping Your Drumming Skills Sharp

Written by Marc Dicciani on July 30, 2021. Posted in Drums How-to.

During the school year, most of your days, evenings and weekends are tightly scheduled, and it can be tough to find the time to take a step back, re-evaluate, plan and work on your drumming. Summer is an ideal time to expand your musical goals and drumming skills, and to build your unique playing style and musical voice.

Here are 10 tips to help you do just that. You may find that many, if not all of these will also come in handy year-round!

1) Get Out of Your Comfort Zone and Into the Learning Zone

It’s best to allocate just 25% of your practice time to things you have some degree of comfort with; the other 75% should be spent working on new skills or those that you want to improve. For example, you might want to spend 5 minutes working on single paradiddles on a pad or a snare (comfort zone), but then spend another 15 minutes on the entire drum set using combinations of paradiddles to create grooves, fills, and solo ideas (learning zone).

2) Generate, Create, Innovate

Start with a basic pattern, fill, sticking technique or concept that you see in a drum book, hear on a recording or watch on a video. First learn it, then use your imagination to explore some different ways of playing it (i.e., changing or adding accents, stickings, sounds, dynamics, etc.) and make it your own. This way of practicing is known as elaboration, and it makes your learning deeper and longer-lasting. It’s also a lot of fun!

3) It’s Not About Chops, It’s About Music

Limit the amount of time you spend watching and listening to social media “experts” who focus on showing off their proficiency with difficult licks. Some of those things can be cool to play, but performing music with other musicians as a team and making the music sound better is your goal. That said, there are some great videos on social media: they’re the ones posted by experienced professional drummers and teachers, as well as companies that, like Yamaha, are dedicated to education.

4) It’s Not About the Hours, Either

How you practice is just as important as what you practice. Your sessions should be focused and free from distractions — cell phone, social media, TV, etc. Also, you don’t need a single block of 2, 3, or more hours daily in order to improve. It’s actually better if you break up your practice into smaller chunks of time, a few times a day. Research studies show that practicing something for three 10-minute sessions, even if they are separate and occur at different times, is equivalent to a single continuous 30-minute block!

I recommend 25 minutes, followed by a break of at least 5 minutes, and then return and practice for another 25 minutes. Limit the time in any one practice session to 60 minutes, with a short break in the middle. Then go and do something else — hang out with friends, play some basketball, help around the house, whatever. You can then put in another hour (or more) later that day or evening.

5) Aim to Improve Just 1% Each Day

Expecting to see big results every day can lead to frustration. Rather than concentrating on getting a lot better in one skill in each practice session, try getting just a little better. Small changes, applied regularly over time, add up and lead to significant improvement. By small changes, I mean very small — targeting 1% improvement in whatever you’re working on. If you improve by even just that small percentage each time you practice, results will actually come quicker and be more pronounced.

6) Expand Your Listening

Try to listen to many different music and drumming styles, even if they’re not your favorite (especially if they’re not your favorite). Be sure to include music from other countries and cultures where drum and percussion instruments are central to the music. The more styles you listen to, the easier it will be to develop your own style, which is your ticket to drumming success. (Here’s a link to a short list of some recommended styles, drummers and recordings.)

7) Practice With Music

The best drummers are the ones who help to make the music sound great. Drummers typically spend a lot of time practicing alone without musical accompaniment, but I highly recommend listening to and playing along with music as often as possible (recordings, play-alongs, loops) and especially with other musicians. Although you can always practice with a metronome, try and play with music instead, focusing on keeping steady time, maintaining a good feel, and making the kinds of good musical choices that you learn from listening and doing.

8) You Don’t Always Need Sticks

Of the three important critical drumming skills — playing, listening and knowing — two can happen almost anytime and anywhere without sticks or drums. In addition to listening to a wide range of musical styles, reading about drummers and other musicians, as well as different cultures and drumming history, informs the choices you make about how and what to play. It also helps you realize that you are part of a world-wide community of people just like yourself who love music and playing drums. Terrific sources of interesting and valuable information can be found on the websites of drum, cymbal, drumhead and stick companies … and, of course, on this blog!

9) Balance Your Practice

Try to find some time each day to work on the following areas too:

Facility: technique, movement, coordination, reading and timing
Musicality: style, touch, tone, feel, groove and listening
Originality: improvisation, experimentation, tunings, set-ups, triggering, etc.

10) Work on These 5 Valuable Factors

Stickings. Singles and doubles in every combination and rhythm (8ths, 16ths, triplets, etc.) are especially important, particularly when applied to the entire drum set (see tip #1).
Your feet. Muscular and neural development of your feet and legs, along with coordination with the hands for accurate timing and volume balance, are critical to developing drumming “feel.” Practice 4-way coordination and focus on rhythmic accuracy and substituting between the hands and the feet.
Tempos. Practice through a wide range of tempos, including those that are very slow. Many styles of jazz, rock, metal, R&B, Brazilian and Afro-Cuban music are played at tempos from very slow to very fast, so make sure to play them that way.
Consistent timing. Playing “in the pocket” is dependent on keeping consistent time. There are many ways to develop this, including playing with loops and clicks.
Self-evaluation. Regular, even daily, feedback is one of the keys to your growth and improvement as a drummer. Record your practice sessions often, then listen back and identify (or ask a teacher to point out) areas and suggestions for improvement.

Good luck, and have fun with your drumming practice this summer!

Older man sitting in front of a digital sound workshop.

Bill Wolf

Written by Yamaha Corporation of America on July 28, 2021. Posted in Pro Audio Artists.

For more than 25 years, mastering engineer Bill Wolf’s GRAMMY^®award-winning work has brought out the best in many iconic musicians, from the Grateful Dead to Willie Nelson to Bruce Springsteen. In this video, he invites us into his studio in Alexandria, Virginia, and describes the many WaveLab features he uses regularly.

“WaveLab is my first choice for mastering,” he says. “I’ve used it for thousands of projects. It allows you to take a mix to a final product, whether it be for podcast, streaming or CD, and it’s one of the few programs that allows complete control.”

“The audio engine in all Steinberg products has always been a leader,” he adds. “I still think it sounds better than any playback engine I’ve heard.” Beyond its superior sonics, Wolf is a big fan of WaveLab’s functionality. “The audio montage allows you to isolate a clip within a song and process it individually, using individual plug-ins or stacks of plug-ins that can be recalled and used again later if the same problem occurs.”

Wolf also appreciates that WaveLab offers the ability to insert analog gear. He typically does preliminary sculpting in the Master section before dithering the digital audio to 24-bit and sending it out in the analog domain for additional outboard processing. He also relies heavily on the built-in WaveLab metering, including the loudness meter, which he uses for checking peak and RMS levels, as well as the bit meter. Wolf often references the WaveLab phase scope as well. “It lets me know about out-of-phase material on the sides,” he explains. “If something doesn’t sound right, it will show up there.” In addition, he’s a big fan of the WaveLab spectrum editor, which he uses often to ‘de-squeak’ guitars, selectively removing the sound of the player’s fingers scraping across new strings.

“WaveLab has been an essential part of my mastering career,” says Wolf. “I certainly recommend that any up-and-coming mastering engineer try it out, listen, and look at all the possibilities it offers.”

Click here to learn more about Steinberg Wavelab.

Tiffany Cox playing tuba in front of Lake Worth Community High School class

Case Study: The Power of a Transformative Teacher

Written by Christine Ngeo Katzman on July 27, 2021. Posted in Case Studies.

At Lake Worth Community High School in Florida, Dr. Tiffany Cox finds a way to provide access to music for young musicians, no matter the challenge.

For example, she convinced students to stay in band for their senior year by offering them personalized college counseling. In a similar vein, she created a mentoring program to give middle school students private instrument lessons. In just three years, Cox increased her high school band program from nine students to 95.

Building a Community

Lake Worth is a large Title I school, and Cox notes that the majority of the 2,500 students live at poverty levels. Many of their parents did not attend college. Older teens are expected to work to help support their families.

“In a school where the band program has been failing for a long time, and the football program had been through rocky patches as well, … the school spirit has been lacking in general,” Cox says.

Taking over as director of bands in April 2017 after the previous director died, Cox recruited students in the hallways; she played short passages on her trombone during class changeovers. She also asked her drumline members to play. “I literally stopped kids in the hallway and asked, ‘What instrument do you play?’ And 90% of the time, they’ve played an instrument and had quit.”

At band camp, she emphasized fun — with lots of food and even water balloon fights — and encouraged students to share their experiences and photos on social media. “I wanted the entire [student] community to see what we were doing,” Cox says. “We’re building a community.”

During COVID-19, Cox kept students engaged by performing at weekly volleyball games in addition to the two allowed football games. Capped at 30 students per game, she rotated students through performances. She also focused on mental health, creating virtual socials as well as a mindfulness in music program.

Funding Outreach

To accomplish all of her goals, Cox relies on her own resourcefulness and consistently applies for grants through various programs. Cox received bell covers and face masks for her musicians through the Give a Note Foundation. Through the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County, she received funds to buy yoga mats to do meditation in the band room.

In total, during the past four years, Cox and the band program have received $130,000 in monetary and in-kind donations. These include funds and items through DonorsChoose, the Palm Beach Symphony, the Symphonic Band of the Palm Beaches, Lake Worth High School Alumni Foundation, Nat King Cole Generation Hope, and Give a Note for a timpani, xylophones, marimbas, a whole drumline, concert tubas, electronic keyboards, iPads and microphones.

“It’s a lot of reaching out to people in the community and applying for whatever is available, [whether] we get it or not,” Cox says. “It’s really hard to raise money the traditional way. We struggle selling cookie dough or wrapping paper. … Our communities don’t have disposable income. Instead of bleeding our community dry, we reach outside of the community to look for grant funding.”

Middle School Mentor Program

When Cox noticed a high staff turnover, poor retention and low skill levels in the middle school band program from her five feeder schools, Cox recruited her students involved with the Tri-M Music Honor Society to mentor the younger kids. Beginning in spring 2018 with five mentors going to one middle school, the program has expanded to involve 35 high school students helping five middle schools. With the high school day ending at 2:45 p.m., the students would go to the middle school band classes occurring during the last bell of the day until 4:00 p.m. Older musicians would be grouped with younger ones as buddies. The high schoolers would give private lessons, do pullout sections, or sit in rehearsals and provide support.

“As a band director, you’re looking at the whole sound, and sometimes it’s hard to get in to see what each person is doing wrong,” Cox says. “[The mentor program] was a good and motivating thing.”

Sometimes high schoolers also help by learning music and sitting among the middle schoolers during their concerts.

Cox herself amended her own schedule over the years to have a planning period in the middle of the day to help the high school students with the mentorship program as well as a planning period at the end of the day to be able to swing by any of the lower schools. “My schedule is purposefully set up for recruiting,” Cox says. “Anytime that a middle school director [asks] if I can help with trombone, I can go over there.”

K-12 Inclusivity

In addition, with her background teaching general elementary music prior to becoming director at Lake Worth, Cox regularly goes to the elementary schools. Because the closest elementary school is within walking distance, Cox brings her high school musicians to perform there several times a year. The drumline plays on the first day of school as buses arrive; a pep band performs during the elementary school’s Halloween parade; and band students also host a standardized testing pep rally.

This past year, the Tri-M Music Honor Society did a youth literacy initiative. For one particular book, the drumline played along to Cox reading “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom,” and the video was sent to the elementary schools and aired during morning announcements. “[The high school band students] coordinated [the program] with the principals,” she says. “They’re incredible kids.”

Since 2017, Cox and the high school choir director have organized a holiday extravaganza winter concert with their high school programs, three middle schools, and three elementary schools. (Lake Worth doesn’t have an orchestra program, but students involved in orchestra can attend another nearby high school in the district.) Each ensemble performs various pieces, and then all students join in a band/choir finale. The city funds a professional recording of the concert. In the 2019-2020 school year, more than 500 kids participated. “It’s an opportunity to learn about each other and support each other and an opportunity to recruit,” Cox says.

Focusing on Students’ Futures

Cox helps her high school musicians not only with musical skills but also with life skills. High school students learn and get feedback from Florida Atlantic University students that Cox involves. “We’re working on recruitment and the feeder chain from elementary all the way to collegiate level.”

After a few years at Lake Worth, Cox had noticed that students were joining high school band as freshmen, sophomores and juniors, and then quitting. “It was a cultural norm for kids to go to work and support the family,” Cox says. “It’s been a challenge to teach the kids that band is a four-year thing.”

Therefore, starting with the class of 2020, Cox did her own private mentoring with students. She would sit down with seniors to go through their portfolio to plan for college. They worked on resumes, personal statements, financial aid and college scholarship applications. She would also bring in parents to work on college paperwork and discuss financial planning, inviting local bank staff to open up checking and savings accounts. Cox also connected seniors with community members who would adopt them to buy items for their college dorms.

So far, the program seems successful in helping students achieve their goals. A prior drum major received a full scholarship to attend the University of Florida to study wildlife conservation and ecology. While college planning is available through the general counseling staff, the counselors are inundated with work, Cox says, so she decided to provide this extra support on her own.

“My thing is with the kids, whatever your goal is, whatever your dream is, we can make it happen for you,” Cox says. “You just need to put in the time, effort and energy.”

Well-Deserved Accolades

For all of her efforts to transform the lives of her students and the Lake Worth band program, Cox has not only been named a 2021 Yamaha 40 Under 40 music educator, but she has also been recognized as a quarterfinalist for the 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator Award, received the 2020-2021 Spirit Award through the National Life Group LifeChanger of the Year program, and also was one of three winners of the Randolph A. Frank Prize for the Performing Arts through the Palm Beach Symphony, in addition to other recognition.

“A lot of people think that we have it really rough [at Lake Worth] because we’re in a low-income neighborhood,” Cox says. “What they don’t see are the interactions [including a recent potluck celebration] that come together in our band room to make a family. There’s a lot of misinformation about teaching at a Title I school, [but] I love it. There’s nowhere in the world that I’d rather be than where I am right now. [The students] are so inspiring. They work to make me, this program and the school better. … I’m just very fortunate to be where I am.”

Cult Classics, Part 3: Vintage Yamaha Gear of the 1990s

Written by Phil Shea on July 27, 2021. Posted in History. 2 Comments on Cult Classics, Part 3: Vintage Yamaha Gear of the 1990s

The 1990s were filled with technological advances and forgettable fashion. (Remember jackets with rolled-up sleeves?) From the first iMac^® to the pager to AOL (LOL), the ’90s were clearly a mixed bag of pop culture priorities. But it was also the true beginning of the age of home theater.

The foundations of what home surround sound could be were laid down in the 1990s with a clear trajectory towards what we enjoy today. The combination of audio and video in a single high-performance entertainment centerpiece (the AV receiver) came about as a result of these breakthroughs — and that’s not all. Here are a few of the biggest contributions Yamaha made to home audio in the 1990s.

RX-V850 AV Receiver (1991)

View of front and top of audio receiver with remote resting on top of it. — *Yamaha RX-V850 AV receiver.*

The RX-V850 and its bigger brother, the RX-V1050, were the first AV receivers to feature Digital Sound Field processing, or what has become known as Yamaha CINEMA DSP. Home theater sound could now rival the experience found in a commercial theater, and surround sound processing tailored to enhance the movie viewing experience at home became a reality.

The engine that made this possible was the Yamaha YSS203 digital surround decoder chip. The YSS203 marked a significant advancement in the evolution of home theater performance. Its digitally controlled steering system offered much better surround sound directionality and realism than the commonly used analog decoders of the era. In addition, a Dolby^® Pro Logic^® Enhanced surround mode introduced enveloping DSP processing, making your living room sound more like a movie theater.

The RX-V850 was one of the most popular products the company has ever produced, setting the bar high for all Yamaha AV products that followed.

GT-CD1 CD Player (1991)

Wood trimmed audio component. — *Yamaha GT-CD1 CD player.*

Compact Disc players arrived in the early 1980s and had an entire decade to mature with improvements to error correction, laser tracking reliability and explorations into digital over-sampling for better sound. Yamaha engineers wanted to make a statement about the advanced audio capabilities of their CD players. For inspiration, it was decided to revisit the GT (Gigantic and Tremendous) concept from a decade-old product: the GT-2000 turntable.

The GT-CD1 symbolized the ingenuity and innovation in the history of Yamaha CD players. Its chassis relied on the forces of gravity to provide mechanical stability. Weighing in at over 50 pounds, every element of the machine was solidly coupled to the massive chassis, eliminating the need for the “floating” mechanism employed by most CD players of the era.

The motorized top-load glass lid gave an impression of what to expect, and setting a disc on the spindle and placing the heavy machined brass clamp added a tactile feeling of solidness. What’s more, the DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) in the GT-CD1 featured a unique configuration of independent left and right I-PDM system 1-bit DACs. Complementing the standard RCA and digital output connections was a pair of balanced XLR connectors, a rarity at the time.

CDC-605 / CDC-705 / CDC-805 CD Changer (1990)

A multi-CD player with the drawer open showing 4 of the 5 CDs in place. — *Yamaha CDC-605 CD changer.*

With the popularity of CD players on the rise in the early ’90s, it was time to add more — more discs, that is.

Extending the music enjoyment experience beyond the 64-minute capacity of a single standard CD was a challenge for the industry. Manufacturers came up with many creative ideas, including different types of cartridges holding five, six and even 10 discs, as well as juke box-type changers that held 100 discs or more. The Yamaha CDC-605, CDC-705 and CDC-805 family all offered a unique spin on this concept, while continuing the theme of “Natural Sound.”

The Yamaha-patented PlayXchange mechanism was clever in that it could provide uninterrupted music for long periods, along with greatly improved tracking performance. This system consisted of two independent mechanisms in a single chassis. The laser/disc motor module was independent of the 5-disc loading tray mechanism, thus eliminating the common problem of vibration from the large loading tray interfering with the precision laser playback.

What intrigued most users, however, was the ability to change out four of the discs while the fifth one was still playing. Swapping out discs would no longer bring the party to a standstill as everyone waited for the new music to be physically loaded into the machine. This unique feature was a staple of Yamaha multi-disc players for almost 30 years.

MX-1 Power Amplifier (1993)

Audio component. — *Yamaha MX-1 power amplifier.*

Throughout the 1980s, Yamaha designed some very large and boldly designed power amplifiers. The MX-1 had a far more stylized look, with its thinner profile and smoothly curved front surface. But don’t let the mild look fool you into thinking this was a wimpy amplifier: At 240 watts per channel, there was plenty of power to drive any speaker system available.

More than raw power, the amplifier topography was built on patented Hyperbolic Conversion Amplification (HCA) circuity. The creative design of the HCA amplifier stage resulted in Class A sonic quality with the high power and efficiency of a Class AB amplifier.

Because of all the excitement being generated by the new surround sound technologies being rolled out in the rest of the industry at the time, these high-performance amps kind of flew under the radar. For that reason, if you find one of these on the secondhand market, consider yourself lucky to have unearthed a true gem.

KPA-501 Karaoke Amp (1996)

View of front of component with all the controls. — *Yamaha KPA-501 Karaoke amp.*

We can’t talk about audio in the ’90s without touching on Karaoke mania. Busting out a Karaoke machine during get-togethers with friends was guaranteed to elevate the status from hangout to full-blown party. Having a quality Yamaha product to use made it even better.

The KPA-501 was built on the foundation of a Hi-Fi two-channel integrated amplifier, but its sophisticated DSP capabilities were leveraged to add quality effects and all the features needed for the job of making you sound good. Besides standard reverb and delay on the two microphone inputs, its Digital Super Surround (DSS) feature added several modes of virtual surround sound. Now your singing was more than effected, it was enveloping your listeners too!

The original marketing material suggested that “the KPA-501 will make you sound so good, you’ll want to hook up a cassette deck or VCR and record yourself singing.” Could this have been what tamed the growth of Karaoke at home? Playing back recordings from the previous night’s revelry may have been a little too revealing of some singer’s limited talents.

CDV-W901 LD/CD/Karaoke Player (1996)

Front view of audio component. — *Yamaha CDV-W901 LD/CD/Karaoke player.*

This was your last chance to grab a LaserDisc™ player from Yamaha. The LD format had been the king among videophiles for its superior picture and sound quality for almost 20 years, but the DVD was on the horizon, and the new format looked like a promising replacement. However, many enthusiasts had amassed large libraries of LaserDiscs and wanted one last new machine to keep enjoying their sizable collections before moving on to the future.

Knowing that this was getting to the end of the LD format, Yamaha spiced up the CDV-W901 with a full set of Karaoke features in order to appeal to a broader audience, along with all the bells and whistles that a LaserDisc enthusiast could ask for. Perhaps the most appealing of these was its ability to play both sides of an LD without having to manually flip the disc over. (LaserDiscs, like vinyl records, had content on both sides.) This was accomplished by utilizing a laser mechanism that was mounted on a pair of U-shaped rails that looped from under the disc around to the top. When the first side was finished playing, there was a minute or so pause as the laser traversed around to the top of the disc and then continued playing.

DVD-1000 DVD Player (1997)

View of front and top of audio component. — *Yamaha DVD-1000 DVD player.*

By the late 1990s, the DVD had arrived and the “Be Kind and Rewind” signs posted at your local video rental shop became a thing of the past.

The DVD player represented a gigantic leap forward in the evolution of home theater. Up until then, VHS was the format for the masses. But with DVD, it was now possible to watch a full movie in stunning 480i resolution … and without having to rewind a tape when you were done. While progressive scan 480p players were still a few years away, skipping to things called “chapters” was a new experience that attracted many users. And besides the upgrade in video quality, the capability of hearing discrete 5.1 digital soundtracks in your home was now a reality.

By today’s standard, it was kind of primitive, but in the 1990s the performance from the DVD-1000 and other DVD players of the era blew the doors off VHS and put the final nail in the coffin of the aged LaserDisc format. Technologies learned in the development of the DVD format are still with us today as we enjoy digital video from Blu-ray discs and online streaming content providers.

DSP-A1 DD/DTS Amplifier (1998)

View of front of component. There is a digital screen that displays "Movie Theater 1, DTS Sci-Fi" on the front left. Also, there is a remote control on the surface in front of the component. — *Yamaha DSP-A1 DD/DTS amplifier.*

The DSP A-1 was the first amplifier to incorporate both Dolby Digital^® and DTS audio decoding. This made it a must-have product for the early adopters of the era, and it was equally popular with the casual AV enthusiast.

Although new AV formats were emerging rapidly, legacy formats were still widely used. For that reason, the DSP-A1 was loaded with inputs and outputs, such as five inputs for video sources, including S-video switching and accommodation for two video recorders. There were also five dedicated audio connections (including a phono preamp), and lots of optical and digital connections as well — even a built-in AC-3 RF decoder for Dolby Digital-encoded LaserDiscs. This integrated amplifier had it all!

The DSP-A1 also provided seven channels of onboard amplification. Five of the channels were for the 5.1 playback of Dolby Digital and DTS formats, while the remaining two were dedicated to front presence speakers used with Yamaha CINEMA DSP. Available in black, silver and gold finishes, the DSP-A1 succeeded in bridging the gap between new and legacy formats without compromising the performance of either.

The Yamaha audio products of the 1990s added numerous refinements to legacy formats and technologies while creating bold new directions pointing to where the industry was heading. Despite the pop culture misfires of other ’90s staples, these AV products proved it was a good time to enjoy home entertainment and be at the crossroads of so many exciting developments.

Check out these related blog articles:

Cult Classics, Part 1: Vintage Yamaha Gear of the 1970s

Cult Classics, Part 2: Vintage Yamaha Gear of the 1980s

The History of Yamaha AV Receivers

The History of Hi-Fi

What is an Integrated Amplifier?

Click here for more information about Yamaha AV receivers.

Click here for more information about Yamaha Hi-Fi components.

Click here for more information about Yamaha speakers.

Dig Deeper: How to Read Your School Accountability Report Card

Written by Don Stinson on July 26, 2021. Posted in Teaching Tips.

One of the most effective actions we can take as music teachers is to seek an understanding of our entire school and community and not just our music program.

An essential and often-overlooked document that we all have access to is the school report card, or school accountability report card (SARC). Most schools that receive state funding are required to publish an annual SARC to provide information about each school to parents and the community. These reports supply detailed information about a school’s makeup, programs and success rates. Although they vary by state, SARCs include student demographics and financial information.

Some schools and districts post their SARCs on their websites. If yours does not, you can easily find your school’s accountability report via an internet search of your state board of education or your school’s name and the words “report card.” Ensure that the report is official and not coming from a less-than-reputable source like a real estate website (some home-buying sites include arbitrary school rankings in listings). In most states, you can find your school report card as well as your district report card.

In my home state of Illinois, we have full school reports that are more than 20 pages long as well as an at-a-glance report that summarizes essential information on two pages. The full report provides options to explore five-year trends and comparisons with other schools.

Most SARCs contain the following information:

Student demographic data
Percentage of students on free or reduced lunch
School and district spending per student
Student mobility rate
Class sizes
Graduation rates
Absentee and truancy rates
Academic achievement
Curriculum and instruction descriptions
Postsecondary preparation information
Faculty and staff information, including race and education
School safety and climate for learning information

Dissecting Demographics and Asking Questions

There is a lot to unpack with a school report card. For this exercise, I looked at the 2019-2020 school report card for my school, Joliet Central High School. (This is the most recent report because most schools and districts did not have to release a SARC for 2020-2021 because of COVID-19.)

Look at my school’s at-a-glance report. Under the section marked “Fast Facts” at the top of the first page, I’m able to see the school’s total enrollment (3,275 students) and a breakdown of student races: 15% white, 18% Black, 63% Hispanic, 1% Asian, 1% American Indian and 3% two or more races. Of the total school population, 73% are considered low income, 11% are English Language Learners, 16% have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and 2% are homeless.

An interesting side note: The enrollment of Joliet Central does not match the demographics of the city of Joliet, which, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, is estimated at 66% white, 17% Black, 31% Hispanic or Latino, 2% Asian, 0.5% American Indian, and 3% from two or more races.

One of the first things I do is to break down the statistics on my SARC for some of the groups — 73% low income is easy for me to grasp, but 2% homeless is harder to understand. But once I do the math, I realize that we have 65 students at our school who are considered homeless. Further breakdown of the data shows that 360 students are learning English, and over 500 students require special services.

Some questions immediately come to mind. Does my music program or performing arts ensemble accurately represent my school? Does my school represent the community? If my program does not include students from each subgroup, why doesn’t it? Finally, what can I do to encourage or even allow participation?

It would be easy for me to focus on recruiting the 27% of students who are not categorized as low income, but that wouldn’t result in a band that is representative of my building. Because I have about nine feeder schools, my next step might be to explore their SARCs.

One of my feeder schools is 98% low income and 5% homeless. Racial/ethnic diversity is 6.1% white, 47.4% Black and 41.1% Hispanic. The total school population is 426 students. This school happens to be one of my smaller feeder programs. Music was cut at this school a few years ago, but it was recently brought back. The directors are working hard to build and grow their program. I have made an effort to visit this school more often, work with the band and talk about music opportunities at the high school level.

Enrollment in music from this particular feeder school has increased, and representation of each subgroup in my band are beginning to match the school more closely. I also find ways to increase the number of instruments I have on hand to supply to students who cannot afford to purchase or rent instruments.

I want to help other directors who face similar situations at their schools. If your band is missing representation from a particular race, the answer may not be as simple as going out to a feeder school more or playing music from their backgrounds. Strategies vary depending on your situation, but a good place to start is to reflect on whether your program is inviting and representative of all student groups. Also, look to invite guest musicians and speakers who are representative of your students.

Academic Achievement in All Areas

Do you have students who flourish in music but have average to below-average marks in their other classes? Celebrate them for their musical accomplishments but recommend them for additional help or tutoring. Academic achievement can be a critical area in a school report card. It plays a “significant role in predicting initial enrollment and retention in urban middle school band programs,” according to a study by Daryl W. Kinney on predictors of urban students’ decision to enroll in music.

At Joliet Central, students who do not reach a specific literacy benchmark as freshmen cannot take band, choir or orchestra because they need remedial support courses that take up an elective spot. Recently, our district was contemplating double math courses for all incoming freshmen who did not qualify for honors math. This would have resulted in these students having two elective spots taken up, nearly eliminating their performance music options during their freshman year. Stakeholders gave some feedback, and the decision to add more math was tabled.

Math scores, however, are essential, and the district is continuing to look at revisiting this idea or finding other options to provide support for these students. We’ve all heard that music helps math scores, but you can use your school report card to see actual data and correlation of data to help the students in your program and help advocate for your program.

Important Terms to Know

You’ll have a much easier time reading your SARC if you understand the terms used. Some words and phrases are self-explanatory, but others can be confusing. Most SARCs have a reference guide or glossary. The 2020 Illinois Report Card Glossary of Terms is an 18-page document. The New York State Education Department’s is a little shorter, coming in at 11 pages. Listed below are some of the most relevant terms (descriptions have been simplified and summarized from the Illinois and New York glossaries). The legal definitions may vary in your state.

Student Group includes students who fall within a particular demographic or service group.
- Race/Ethnicity refers to the race in which the student primarily identifies as indicated by the student or the parent/guardian. Commonly included race/ethnicity groups include American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, white and multiracial.
- English Learners (ELs) are students who are eligible for bilingual education services. The percentage of EL students is the number of EL students divided by the total student enrollment multiplied by 100.
- Children with Disabilities include students who are identified as having a disability through formal evaluations and meet specific criteria, as stated under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). A team that develops an Individualized Education Program (IEP) determines a student’s eligibility for special education and related services. A 504 Plan is for students with a disability who meet specific criteria as stated under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. They may be eligible to receive accommodations and related services in a general education setting.
- Low-Income Students may receive or live in households that receive Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or Temporary Assistance to Needy Families benefits. They may also be homeless, migrant, runaway, Head Start or foster children. They may live in a household where the household income meets the U.S. Department of Agriculture income guidelines for free or reduced-price meals.
- Students with Individualized Education Programs are students who are eligible to receive special education services. The 14 special education categories are 1) intellectual disability, 2) hearing impairments, 3) speech or language impairments, 4) visual impairments, 5) emotional disability, 6) orthopedic impairments, 7) other health impairments, 8) specific learning disabilities, 9) deaf-blindness, 10) multiple disabilities, 11) autism, 12) traumatic brain injury, 13) developmental delay and 14) deafness.
- Military-Connected Students are students with a parent or guardian who is a member of the Armed Forces on active duty.
Percent of Students Who Exceed, Meet or Do Not Meet Expectations/Standards, which was established by states’ boards of education, refers to the students’ distribution in the various performance levels based on their scores on the assessment.
Percent of Teachers by Race/Ethnicity is the number of full-time equivalent classroom teachers belonging to particular racial/ethnic group as reported for the district, divided by the total number of full-time equivalent classroom teachers, multiplied by 100.
Postsecondary Enrollment includes students who graduated with a regular high school diploma from a public high school in Illinois three years before the current school year and enrolled in a U.S. college within 12 or 16 months.
Title 1 Status indicates whether a school is eligible for targeted or schoolwide supports according to Title 1.
- Schoolwide Title 1 Programs are for schools in which the poverty rate is 40 percent or higher.
- Targeted Assistance Programs are Title I schools with less than the 40 percent schoolwide threshold or schools that choose not to operate a schoolwide program. In short, the Title I assistance is not usable by every student in the school.
Graduation Rate refers to students who begin and finish an education program. Four years is typical, but low-income area schools may encounter more fifth- and sixth-year graduates.
Student Mobility Rate refers to students who transfer in and out of a school for reasons other than normal transitions (e.g., graduation).
FRL stands for Free and Reduced Lunch. You may also see Free and Reduced Price Meals or similar terms.
Homeless Students are children/youth who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residence. They may include students in shared housing, motels, camping grounds, shelters, cars, parks, hospitals or other private or public places not intended for residency.
Instructional Expenditure per Pupil includes the direct costs of teaching pupils or the interaction between teachers and pupils.
Annual Attendance Rate is typically determined by dividing the school’s (or district’s) total actual attendance by the total possible attendance for a school year. A school’s (or district’s) actual attendance is the sum of the number of students in attendance each day the school was open during the school year.
Student Enrollment is the total student enrollment in the school and district.
Chronic Absenteeism is typically determined by the number of chronically absent students, divided by the average daily enrollment of the responsible school and multiplied by 100.
Dropout Rate is the rate of dropouts in an entity (school, district, state) per enrollment. Dropout refers to students who are expected to be enrolled but did not register. They did not graduate from high school or a state/district-approved educational program.

Compare Your Program to Your School Report Card

At Joliet Central High School, we have 125 students in the band, 100 in the orchestra and 85 in the choir. The school population is approximately 3,200, which means that the band comprises 3.9% of the student body, the orchestra 3.2% and the choir 2.6%. These are not impressive numbers in the scope of state and national averages, but it is what we can do with the resources, feeder programs and faculty that are in place.

When numbers allow, I always lean toward larger ensembles for a variety of reasons. Our auditioned group is larger than the popular wind ensembles found in many schools today. This considerable size is primarily because we prefer a large, symphonic sound, but an added benefit is that the size of this group (75-85 players) helps eliminate some emergencies. When attendance issues arise, a large ensemble creates a safety net from derailed performances due to missing parts. A larger group with multiple players per part (or numerous students learning a secondary part) will make the ensemble feel more comfortable if a soloist is not in attendance on the day of a performance.

Fostering the future is essential, so I try to have as close to 25% of the band come from each grade level (freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors). Some schools don’t allow freshmen in their auditioned ensembles, or they have separate bands for freshmen. I don’t have that option due to our numbers and program setup. Plus, I believe that allowing freshmen in a premiere group helps them to rapidly improve their skills.

Ted Lega, my high school band director when I attended Joliet Central High, would often take younger students and place them in between two experienced band members. I take this same approach today, and the results have been beneficial for the student and the band. We typically have around 10 students each year who move in, and five to 10 who move out. Placing newer or less experienced members with two mentors can help musical advancement and acclimate students to our school.

Answering the “Why”

Diversity is essential in education. Does your classroom represent your school? As a servant of your school, you have agreed to teach all members of your school. No one is asking you to change your class or audition process, but if you notice that your top ensemble tends to lean toward a certain income level or group, begin investigating why. You may also notice that students from lower income families gravitate toward certain instruments. I found the article “The Benefits of Socioeconomically and Racially Integrated Schools and Classrooms” from The Century Foundation to be extremely helpful in answering the “why” question.

Look at what programs you or your school can put in place to narrow the participation gap. It could be a simple solution. Summer programs, extra lessons or even a shift in the music you perform could help encourage or provide the musical experience for groups that may not have had this opportunity. More complicated situations can be at the core, however. Maybe your school has specific testing requirements for incoming students. For example, if students don’t hit a particular benchmark, they are then scheduled into a class that directly conflicts with music.

When you review your SARC, does anything in it surprise you? Does your program line up with the demographics of your school and community? Does your school line up with your community demographics? Are there student groups that need more representation in your classroom?

Your school report card is a useful tool to see your program and your school from a different perspective — take a look at yours today!

This content is from the book “High Needs, Monumental Successes: Teaching Music to Low-Income and Underserved Students” by Don Stinson. Copyright © 2021 GIA Publications, Inc. Reprinted with permission.2019_2020_JolietCentralHigh_SARC_AtAGlance

Playing Well With Others

Written by Jerry Kovarsky on July 26, 2021. Posted in Keyboard How-to.

There’s a world of difference between playing keyboards by yourself for enjoyment, and making music with other people. If you’re accompanying a singer or performing as part of a band, you’ll probably need to adapt your keyboard technique to some degree.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at some of those adjustments.

Supporting A Vocalist

The first rule when providing accompaniment for a singer is: Don’t play the melody! That’s the job of the singer, and they need to be given the freedom to sing the melody as they see fit. You need to stay out of their way and let them do their thing.

Your role is to play the chords and any musical figures that are signature parts of the song. That said, you need to know the melody line, both in terms of the notes and also where the singer is singing and when they have breaks. When the singer is singing, it’s crucial that you not play any notes that may clash with the melody, as you might cause the singer to stray off their pitch. For example, let’s say the melody is a simple one like this, sung over three chords:

The opening note of the song has the singer singing the root of the accompaniment chord, but the chord itself is a major-seventh. If you put a B (the major-seventh note) at the top of your voicing, it is only a half-step below the note the singer is trying to sing, and so it’s likely to make them feel uncomfortable; it may even pull their pitch down a little flat. For that reason, it’s better to use a chord inversion so the major-seventh is in the middle, or at the bottom of, the voicing. Compare the two versions shown below: The first causes a clash for the vocalist, while the second is much more pleasing to the ear.

Particularly if the harmony calls for more advanced chord types, you need to avoid putting a note at the top of your voicing that’s going to negatively affect the singer — especially if the note is a half-step away from the melody. For example, if the singer is singing the root, don’t put a flat-ninth at the top of your voicing; if they’re singing the major third, don’t put a sharp-ninth at top; if they’re singing the minor third on a minor ninth chord, don’t put the ninth at top. Here are the wrong ways, followed by the right ways, to voice chords in these situations:

The last consideration when working with a singer is to not play too busily when they are singing the melody line. Avoid fancy figures and runs that will either get in the way of the melody or draw attention away from the singer. You’re there to support them, not show off! Better to fill the space when there’s a break in the melody line, or at the end of a section. We’ll talk more about this in a future posting.

Joining the Band

If you’ve only been playing your keyboard at home by yourself, the first time you try to play with a band, you’ll quickly realize that it’s a very different situation. By yourself, you’ll instinctively want to fill out the sound, to define the bass note or the rhythmic feel of the song, etc. Once you join a band, however, you need to understand that the other players have the responsibility of doing some of those things, and you don’t want to get in their way. As when accompanying a singer, keep the word support in mind at all times. Your job is to help make the whole band sound good, not just yourself.

Getting Into the Groove

What you play wants to be in perfect time with the drummer. In general, “less is more” is the key to making that relationship work well. When I play in a band, I often concentrate on what the drummer’s playing on their hi-hat (the pair of small cymbals mounted on a stand that drummers play both with a pedal and their sticks). I find that listening and looking at the hi-hat is a good way to help me lock in with the overall rhythm.

The pattern that the drummer plays with their right foot on the kick drum is also very important to the groove of the tune, and so you want to try to match up with that too. Bear in mind that the bass player is also going to be trying to lock in with the kick drum pattern, and you don’t want to be getting in the way of them establishing a great groove. Listen to what the bassist and drummer are playing and come up with a part that works well with both of them.

The Lowdown

Speaking of the bassist, there is a cardinal rule for keyboard players: Stay out of the way “down there”! Someone accustomed to playing solo piano/keyboard commonly plays strong notes (often octaves) with the left hand to fill out the sound, perhaps even adding some bass figures to give the song a good feel and some movement. In a band, however, you don’t need to do that — in fact, you should avoid it in most situations.

Here are the notes of the open strings of a bass guitar (and acoustic bass), which sound an octave lower than they are written:

A good rule of thumb is that, if there’s a bassist in the band, anything played on the keyboard from the C below Middle C or lower is potentially going to get in the way:

The bottom line (pardon the pun) is that, if you’re going to play a single note in your left hand to support your right hand chord, don’t go too low with it. Similarly, make sure that any left-hand chord voicings are constrained to that one octave below Middle C, or things will start to get muddy.

Get Along with the Guitar

In many songs, both the keyboard and the guitar will be playing chords, so you need to get together with the guitarist and decide ahead of time on what the basic chords are. And if either of you are going to add some color tones beyond the seventh of a chord, you both need to agree on what those tones will be.

Here are two very common issues that can arise between a keyboardist and a guitarist:

– One of you wants to make a chord a suspended fourth for a few beats and then resolve it to the third. You both need to do that for it to sound good.

– If you are going to add a ninth to a dominant seventh chord, you both need to agree what type of ninth it will be. (Dominant seventh chords can have three different types of ninths: a natural ninth, a flat ninth or a sharp ninth.) A common real-world example of this is when a band wants to play something funky, and you play a dominant seventh sharp ninth chord on the keyboard while the guitarist is playing a natural ninth:

The clash between the two is all too obvious, as you can hear from this audio clip:

Besides getting your chords together, you and the guitarist need to come to an agreement about how you’re each going to play the chords rhythmically — at the very least, you need to listen carefully to each other’s parts. I usually let the guitar player establish the basic rhythm, and then I try to blend into their pattern. Don’t copy it exactly, though. It’s better if you only play some accents on top of their pattern.

As an example, here’s a busy guitar strumming pattern, followed by the way I might support it on keyboard, without getting too busy, and without getting in their way:

All audio played on a Yamaha P-515.

Check out our other Well-Rounded Keyboardist postings.

Click here for more information about Yamaha keyboard instruments.

Man sitting in a lotus position meditating on on a roof with a cityscape behind him. He is wearing headphones.

Six Ways Music Can Improve Your Life

Written by Jake Uitti on July 23, 2021. Posted in Creativity.

From the moment human beings started banging on logs and humming along, music has been a part of our daily existence, a constant accompaniment to so much of what we do in our everyday lives.

Music is like a hearth — something people can gather around, listen to and discuss. Artists have built entire careers because they know how to invigorate a crowd. Indeed, music is an incredible source of entertainment, joy and wonder.

But it can also be so much more. Music can actually be used to improve our lives. Here are six ways it can do just that.

1. Getting Fit

Music is an ideal way to grease the proverbial wheels when it comes to getting your body moving. When I played basketball in high school decades ago, the coach would blast songs on the gym’s overhead speakers to pump our team up before tip-off. Today, music is usually in my headphones as I jog, keeping the rhythm and pace. Music’s constant beat can be the maestro that speeds up your own personal tempo.

2. Finding Inner Peace

While some music can get your heartbeat going, other kinds can relax and calm it down. All too often, the human mind finds itself racing through to-do lists, relationship statuses, bank accounts and much more. But there is some music in the world that can begin to unwind that tangled ball of yarn in your brain and help put the brakes on thoughts that are racing out of control. In a moment where meditation might seem impossible, if you put on the right soundtrack, you may be able to pleasantly lose yourself in the vibrations swirling all around you.

3. Facing Your Fears

My wife has long had a fear of spiders. A few years ago, however, she wrote a song about spiders. And now, after performing it hundreds of times onstage, her distress level at the sight of arachnids is honest-to-goodness subsiding. She even picked one up the other day, gently removing it from a picnic blanket. She swears the song helped … and I believe her!

4. Understanding History

Music is a time capsule, a history book. Listening to a song from a certain era can tell you so much about the time period in which it was written. Reports of the state of the world in old blues, jazz or rock’n’roll/classic rock tunes are often more articulate and clear than you’ll find in any encyclopedia. Well-crafted songs frequently tell stories of a generation, the same way that ancient cave drawings or hieroglyphics did thousands of years ago.

5. Gaining Knowledge

Those of us who have benefited from formal lessons and training (regardless of the field) know that growth can only come from dedication, study and sacrifice. For some, that may mean reading the entire works of Charles Dickens, or learning everything there is to know about the ecosystem of dolphins in the Pacific. But music is just as viable an avenue toward knowledge. To understand music is a skill. It’s like learning a language. Having a grasp of time signatures or dynamics, or knowledge of a lineage of songwriters and their body of work — that’s the kind of focus that helps to sharpen a mind.

6. Learning to Collaborate

It can be difficult to know where you fit in. But one of the most amazing things about music is that you can always add something new to it: one more string player in the section, one more voice in the harmony, a tambourine in the background, an ambient layer of chatter to the intro. There’s always room for other musicians — even non-musicians! — if they bring something tasteful to the blend. Collaborating musically not only teaches teamwork, it allows you to build friendships. Those are truly benefits that can last a lifetime.

What is AURO-3D^®? An In-Depth Exploration

Written by Rich Tozzoli on July 21, 2021. Posted in TV & Movies. 3 Comments on What is AURO-3D^®? An In-Depth Exploration

AURO-3D^® is a three-dimensional audio technology that immerses the home theater listener in a hemisphere of sound. It uses virtual height channels (no in-ceiling speakers required) to achieve a transformative audio experience that many other multichannel systems cannot offer.

While AURO-3D is fairly new, it’s already been employed in a number of popular films, including Red Tails, How To Train Your Dragon 2, Black Panther, The Expendables 3, American Sniper and Spider Man: Homecoming. In this posting, we’ll take a deep dive into how it all works.

Upmixing

To better understand AURO-3D, it’s helpful to know about a digital process called upmixing, where an algorithm is used to spread a 2-channel stereo audio signal (or even a mono one) over the other speakers in a multichannel setup. Upmixing is usually done during film postproduction with software plug-ins that include tools for dialog extraction for the center channel and spatial and/or frequency analysis to “intelligently” distribute audio into the surround speakers.

This is especially useful when older archive material is the only thing available to work with, such as older stereo or mono recordings that need to be repurposed into surround sound. But upmixing can also be applied to 5.1- or 7.1-channel mixes to increase the number of channels carrying signal and the size of the perceived soundscape. It’s an integral part of AURO-3D, since it allows the technology to be fully backward-compatible with legacy content, whether it was originally mixed only for stereo/mono or for 5.1- or 7.1-channel distribution.

Scaling the Heights

AURO-3D adds one or two extra layers to a standard 5.1- or 7.1-channel surround sound mix. The sound assigned to these layers, called Height and Top, are perceived by the listener as coming from above the existing surround channels.

Audio assigned to the Height layer is routed to two additional speakers mounted over the screen in your AV setup, above the 5- or 7-channel layer of speakers (which are typically set up at eye level) and pointed downward at a 30 to 50 degree angle. This is known as an AURO 9.1 configuration.

By adding two more speakers pointed downward at a steeper (up to 90 degree) angle, an optional Top layer is created. This AURO 11.1 configuration causes the sound from the “Top” speakers to be perceived as coming from overhead… without the use of physical in-ceiling speakers (though these can be used if preferred). This Top layer, which is primarily used for special effects such as flyovers, creates a fully immersive surround experience.

Unlike Dolby Atmos, which requires actual ceiling-mounted speakers, the two (or four) additional AURO-3D speakers fill in the gap between the floor and the ceiling, creating what the company calls a “vertical coherent stereo field” — translation: fewer sonic “holes.”

In the Ceiling

Although not strictly required by AURO-3D, speakers physically mounted in the ceiling can provide a listening experience that standard speakers can’t always deliver. Yamaha makes a number of compact yet powerful in-ceiling speakers, including the NS-IC800 and the 100-watt 3-way NS-IW280C with 6-1/2″ cone woofers and dual 3/4″ dome tweeters.

Mounting speakers in the ceiling involves a bit of planning and forethought. You’ll need to think about location, connections to the AV receiver, templating, tools and other factors. But don’t worry — these speakers are actually pretty easy to install. You can find step-by-step directions in this blog.

In order to experience AURO-3D, you need an AV receiver that’s outfitted with the appropriate software decoder. Both the 9.2-channel Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A6A and the 11.2-channel AVENTAGE RX-A8A include an AURO-Codec decoder and world-class AURO-Matic upmixer, enabling a fully immersive sound experience when used with a Blu-ray player and an AURO-3D speaker array. And, because AURO-3D is fully backward-compatible, such systems transport the listener into the virtual world of their favorite content, regardless of the original audio format used. Great things lie ahead!

Image courtesy of AURO-3D.

Check out this related blog article:

Surround Sound Systems Explained: Dolby^®, AURO-3D^® and More

Click here for more information about the Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A6A AV receiver.

Click here for more information about the Yamaha AVENTAGE RX-A8A AV receiver.

How to Prepare for a Virtual Piano Audition

Written by Shana Kirk on July 16, 2021. Posted in Piano How-to. 2 Comments on How to Prepare for a Virtual Piano Audition

Even as restrictions ease for students and schools, video auditions continue to provide a convenient and efficient way to audition for conservatories as well as festivals and competitions (at least in preliminary rounds). Luckily, technology has evolved to the point where pianists no longer need expensive equipment to create compelling video material.

For many young players — especially those who have never known a world without YouTube — creating a video of their performance will seem like just another day at the keyboard. But for others, the idea of recording a video can be intimidating. In this article, we’ll provide tips for preparing that all-important virtual piano audition.

Sound Is Key

Although visual elements of a video are important, you are first and foremost a musician, so capturing your authentic sound should be a priority. To that end:

Record on the best piano you can access, and make sure it has been tuned. If you don’t own a great piano, consider asking a piano store, school or place of worship for access to their instrument. Consider offering to barter something like a free community performance in exchange. If you find a suitable piano that is out of tune, maybe offer to pay for the tuning.
Prepare the acoustics of the recording space. Capturing the sound of a piano is notoriously complex. Once keys are depressed and strings are struck, the sounds swirl around the case and bounce off the lid to create the piano’s unique sonority. Then those same sounds bounce around every other surface in the room … and not always in ways that are pleasing to the ear. To capture the cleanest, richest sound from your piano, you’ll need to dampen any unwanted echoes in your room with soft curtains, rugs or pillows.
Record with a microphone that is up to the task. Even though smartphones and tablets can record good-quality audio if the room is well prepared, for the best sonic results, you should consider using an external microphone instead. You’ll need one that is designed for capturing music, not video conferencing, since the latter specifically eliminate some frequencies to make speech sound clearer.
Eliminate ambient sounds. No matter where you are recording, there’s always the possibility that outside traffic, appliances, pets or other ambient sounds can make your recording seem less than professional. Choose a time of day when these are less likely to be a problem.

Spark Joy with Your Visual Space

You want to be remembered for your dazzling double-thirds, not your messy bookshelf! Keep the visual background simple so it doesn’t distract from your performance.

Remove as much as possible from the frame. Ideally, the piano should be in front of a solid-colored wall or curtain with no other visible furniture or décor. If you need to hide something unsightly, put a green plant in front of it.
Use a curtain on a tall frame for a backdrop. A basic frame (like those used for green-screens) with a tasteful solid-colored curtain is an inexpensive way to hide a cluttered room. Just make sure the curtain frame is completely outside the view of the camera.
Make the piano the center of the shot. Piano judges will want to see the full keyboard and your pedals. An ideal way to get everything you need into the shot is to set the camera on a tripod just barely behind your right shoulder a few feet away and at just above the height of your head.
Use good lighting. To best demonstrate your graceful scales and commanding octaves, record in full daylight or in a bright space that does not put glare on the keys. Sometimes pointing a light at the ceiling helps diffuse shadows or glare.

Prepare Yourself

This involves logistics as well as mental and physical preparation.

Practice, practice, practice. Make test videos well before you need to record the actual submission. Knowing that you’ve set things up for a good recording and feeling comfortable in front of the camera will work to greatly reduce your stress levels.
Dress for the occasion. Depending on the event or type of audition, you may or may not be expected to dress in formal attire. If not, the best rule of thumb is to dress the same way you would if you were auditioning in person.
Consider inviting a small audience. If you’re the kind of performer whose playing gains energy from a live audience, invite some encouraging friends to listen as you record. Even one or two engaged faces can make a big difference in how you communicate musically.

Other Tips

Trim excess from the video. It’s okay to leave a little pause before and after a performance, but for the cleanest look, everything else should be trimmed away. Not only is it more professional, but the judges will appreciate not having to sit through those extra moments of non-playing time.
Keep overlays simple. It might be useful (or even requested) to insert subtitles with info about your repertoire, but don’t clutter the recording with flashy transitions or video effects.
Be yourself! Smile graciously at the camera, take a deep breath, and play your heart out. You’ll demonstrate to the listeners that they are seeing a living, breathing musician, even though they’re not in the same room with you.

What If I Have a Piano With SILENT™ Technology?

Many current Yamaha hybrid pianos, including Disklavier, SILENT Piano™ and TransAcoustic™ models, include an option for silent performance and internal audio recording. With this feature, regardless of the sound or tuning status of the acoustic piano, you are always able to create a recording with the sound of a perfectly tuned 9′ concert grand, without any ambient sound.

If you want to prepare an audition with this technology, you have two options:

Connect the piano’s audio output to your video recorder’s input (or use an audio interface for recording to a computer, tablet or smartphone), or
Capture the audio with an external microphone or the built-in mic in your smartphone and use a simple video editor like iMovie or Filmora to replace it afterwards with the audio recorded internally in the piano.

Taking this concept even further, some auditions even employ the Disklavier Video Sync feature to host auditions in which performances are fully reproduced on a Disklavier piano (yes, even the keys and pedals are moving, exactly as they were played!) along with synchronized video. (Check out this blog posting for more information.)

Check out these related blog articles:

Remote Auditions Are Now Reality

Pianos Without Borders

Click here for more information about the Yamaha Disklavier.

Click here for more information about Yamaha SILENT Pianos.

Click here for more information about the Yamaha TransAcoustic Pianos.

Closeup of someone's hands as they dig through record stacks in a store.

Secrets of Running a Record Store

Written by Jake Uitti on July 15, 2021. Posted in Vinyl.

This year, vinyl aficionados will honor the 14th annual Record Store Day on July 17th. During these events, customers are treated to special new releases, deals and, often, in-store performances as well.

Ever wonder what it takes to run a record store? In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into what goes into buying and selling vinyl.

Why Vinyl?

Chances are you own a record player, or know someone who does. You may even know someone who is borderline obsessed with albums — something that’s not all that rare among vinyl fans.

There are many important reasons for the recent resurgence in vinyl. For one, they’re tangible, tactile works of art — you could frame many album covers like one might frame a famous painting. Also, because vinyl records are analog, to many, their sound is superior to digital. It’s true that digital files don’t need to be pampered; there is no brush to take out, dab with cleaning alcohol and glide over the top of a spinning MP3. However, an expression of care can be meaningful to both the recipient and the giver. It establishes a relationship, a literal give-and-take from which even a culture can sprout.

But there’s something else that contributes to vinyl’s longevity. To listen to a vinyl album on a real turntable is to dive into an experience. In a world where so much is available at our fingertips via computer 1s and 0s, to listen to vinyl means unplugging from the proverbial matrix.

Modern turntable with clear lid open. — *Yamaha MusicCast VINYL 500 Wi-Fi turntable.*

While digital streams and downloads remain the standard by which most people consume music today, the vinyl market has been growing steadily and doesn’t seem to be fading. In fact, numbers increased sharply in 2020 (growing 29% and surpassing CD sales, according to the Record Industry Association of America) as music listeners forced to spend more time indoors opted to expand their collections.

Why Record Stores?

There are many reasons why collectors usually prefer in-person shopping to the impersonality of purchasing records online. “You are out in the real world exploring a literal forest of beautiful sounds made by every possible kind of human,” is one explanation offered by Marc Weinstein, co-founder of Los Angeles’ famed Amoeba Music. “Each record offers an opportunity to express how much you love something and a chance to really focus on it in a way you cannot with files and streaming.”

Man in graphic t-shirt and curly hair looking through collection of vinyl. — *Marc Weinstein.*

“Vinyl shopping is like going out for ice cream,” says Matt Vaughan, co-owner of Easy Street Records in Seattle. “Most vinyl is sold at brick-and-mortar indie shops these days, not chains or big box stores. People feel good about recycling their money in their neighborhoods.”

Buying Vinyl

Shoppers often have their own strategies when it comes to buying records. Some like to hunt in specific artist bins for rare finds, while others just like to browse free-form and see where their wanderings take them. Whichever approach you adopt, consider taking a list with you, as it’s easy for your mind to go blank when you see all the records on display.

Yamaha Artist and Dave Matthews Band saxophonist Jeff Coffin is an avid record lover. Here are his keys to vinyl hunting success:

1. Look for original pressings if possible.

2. Check the record before you buy it to see if it’s clean and in decent shape.

3. Don’t touch the face of the album with your fingers. Keep your thumb on the edge and pinky notched in the center hole.

4. Put the album back just how you found it, if you don’t purchase it.

5. Research the proper needles to use.

6. Remember that heavyweight vinyl lasts longer than lightweight.

7. Say thank you to the store clerks and have plenty of room at home to store your new purchases!

Selling Vinyl

Weinstein, Vaughan and Mike Pitts, owner of Sonic Boom Records in Seattle, Washington, each have clear memories of the early vinyl purchases they made as youngsters. Pitts recalls being thrilled by the album covers and artistic connection to older generations. Weinstein remembers learning how to play drums by practicing to the records he was listening to in the ’60s and ’70s. For Vaughan, who was a latch-key kid for a period of time, music and vinyl records served as more of a companion. For all three, the experience was like opening a door and seeing magic behind it. It’s a feeling they’ve since chosen to pass on to the people in their communities.

If you’re thinking about following in their footsteps and opening a brick-and-mortar record store of your own, here are a few tips from the pros:

1. Be organized.

As with any business, a systematic approach is key. “We organize our store to make it as easy as possible to find things and we have many experts on the floor ready to help with any questions or opinions,” Weinstein reports. The more you can assist your customers in finding what they are looking for, the more likely it is that they will come back.

2. Mix the new with the used.

Variety is the spice of life, and that’s especially true when it comes to selling records. “New arrivals sections are the bird feeders of our shop,” says Vaughan. “People want to know what’s hip, what’s new, what’s fresh. That’s human nature. We have to funnel that desire.”

3. Find the best collections and purchase them for resale.

You can’t achieve retail success unless you have a lot of inventory that people want to buy. To that end, you need to constantly be on the lookout for collections that will move quickly off your sales floor. Amoeba, of course, is well-known, not just in Los Angeles, but nationwide. As a result, says Weinstein, “We have access to so many collections and estates [and] we can afford to buy large collections in their entirety, as opposed to just picking out the good stuff, as many dealers do.”

Pitts adds, “We make it a point to pay people fairly for their collections. We never try and lowball folks and that builds trust. We have a lot of return sellers because of that.”

Man in graphic t-shirt, jeans and cap standing in front of urban record store with signage indicating it is "Sonic Boom Records & CDs". — *Mike Pitts.*

4. Create great bargain bins.

Vinyl hunters, like most shoppers, are always looking for deals. Many record store owners say that a key to their success is offering large and diverse bargain bins, with lower-grade records at rock-bottom prices — even if they are loss leaders that yield little or no profit. “We buy thousands of records every day, and many on the lower end make their way to our bargain bins,” says Weinstein. “The utter variety of what you might find there is all due to how many pass through our doors.”

The use of clever, attractive signage and divider cards is a good way to lure shoppers to those bins, though it’s important to make sure to not overload any bargain bin with too much of one particular artist.

5. Look for unique ways to stand out.

For example, buy a van and consider home delivery — a good way to compete with online vinyl subscription services. Matt Vaughan reports that in the first four months his store offered this service, they made over a thousand deliveries.

View of a well-used cargo van with stickers for record store and "We can buy your records" and their phone number. It is parked on a street and man walking towards it. — *Matt Vaughan and the Easy Street Records van.*

Or consider sponsoring in-store performances by local bands — something that Amoeba is especially well-known for. “In-store performances bring a different crowd of passionate music fans to every event,” says Weinstein. “There’s nothing like seeing the rapport between artist and their fans in a record store.”

6. Be prepared to get creative, especially in uncertain times.

The difficulties of the past months are a perfect case in point. “It was devastatingly uncertain throughout the first year,” says Weinstein. “But gradually we regained our balance and set out to create a beautiful next chapter.” Pitts is hopeful that things have finally turned around and that the trend will continue. “It seems like people are truly investing in vinyl [as a] lifestyle, rather than it just being a passing fad,” he says.

7. Cultivate lasting relationships.

In the end, a record store is often only as good as its connection to its patrons and surrounding neighborhood. Like any local institutions, people keep returning to them for the treasures they provide. “I am so grateful for our customers,” says Pitts. “They’re my tribe, and have been since I was a kid. I’m incredibly thankful that I get to be immersed in this every day.”

Photographs courtesy of Marc Weinstein, Matt Vaughan and Mike Pitts.

Check out the Amoeba Music web series What’s In My Bag?, featuring artists and tastemakers sharing what they found shopping.

Click here for more information about Yamaha turntables.

Man on stage playing guitar and singing.

How to Play Guitar and Sing at the Same Time

Written by Robbie Calvo on July 14, 2021. Posted in Guitars How-to. 2 Comments on How to Play Guitar and Sing at the Same Time

Something magical happens when you hear the sound of your voice vibrating freely with the body of an acoustic guitar. It’s where melody meets harmony and a deeper understanding of music can be felt and heard. In this article, I’d like to explore and expand on this concept.

Getting in Tune … and in Rhythm

I stress to all my students the importance of singing as you develop as a guitar player. This helps you make the connection between single notes and the chord structures that support them.

In the same way, vocalists can benefit from learning to play guitar. That’s because the resonant frequencies coming from a guitar can actually help fine-tune your vocal pitch. And when a voice is in tune with a supporting chord, there’s a direct connection; the sound becomes harmonious, strong and resolute. If the vocal pitch is out of tune with the guitar, it feels dissonant, disconnected and uncomfortable.

Let this resonance guide you. Trust me, you’ll feel the pitch as much as you’ll hear it.

Rhythm also plays a large part in the musical equation. Guitarists that accompany themselves vocally tend to have a better sense of phrasing, and vocalists that play guitar are better at finding new rhythmic pockets for their melodies.

Key Elements

If you’re just learning to sing while you play guitar and vice-versa, these are the key elements to focus on:

1. Song and Key Selection

Select a simple song you really like, and learn the guitar chords. If the song contains chords you don’t know, you may be able to transpose it to a key that contains chords within your repertoire. For example, if you take a song that contains these chords:

D (I) – A (V) – Bmi7 (VI) – G (IV)

and transpose it to the key of C, you’ll end up with this progression, which you may find easier to play:

C (I) – G (V) – Ami7 (VI) – F (IV)

Alternatively, you can always transpose with the use of a capo. Using the example above, you can bring the song back up to D by placing a capo at the 2nd fret. If you feel more comfortable playing the song in a key higher than D, simply continue moving the capo upwards.

Keep the chord structures simple at first, and in “open” form as much as possible, as this will allow you to stay in one position on the fretboard while you concentrate on the vocals.

As a bonus, transposing may put a song in a better key for your voice. If you have a hard time reaching certain notes with your voice, the song may be in a key that’s too high for you. Try lowering the key until it allows you to reach those tones. Conversely, if the song is in too low a key, it may affect your vocal pitching. In that case, you’ll need to transpose the progression into a higher key or use a capo to raise it up without changing the chord shapes.

There are times when I’ll change the key even if it’s not strictly required. If I’m singing long sets, for example, or have to give a performance in the morning (before my vocal cords have fully stretched), I lower the keys of most, if not all, songs a half-step. This helps me sustain the complete performance without straining my voice.

Over the years of developing my voice and repertoire, I’ve also found that I’ve sometimes been able to successfully raise the key of certain songs. Take time to find the right key for you.

2. Focus on the Lyrics

I suggest you have a copy of each song’s lyrics in front of you as you practice, and that you start with just the first line of the verse, no more. Memorize the line, and as you do so, analyze what beat the vocal phrase starts on. For example, it might start on the downbeat of one, the upbeat of two, or even before the bar. This is called a pick-up (not to be confused with a guitar pickup).

Designate an intro section to the song (i.e., the music before the first lyric), and play the chords in time, but slower than the original tempo. Sing the first line and listen carefully to its rhythmic placement and the pitch of the melody. Make sure the melodies correspond with the chord changes and that the lyric is sung at the correct pitch. (There’s a lot going on here, which is why I’m suggesting you learn one line at a time.)

Once you have a good handle on the opening line, add the second line of the song, then repeat the process until you have the whole song memorized and analyzed. You may find that phrasing varies from verse to verse; in fact, it may well shift completely on the chorus and bridge sections. Speaking of which …

3. Phrasing

Phrasing is the rhythmic delivery of the melodic and lyrical content — something that’s extremely important to the “feel” of the song. If you’re already reasonably proficient on guitar, you should have a good grasp of this concept.

It’s particularly important that you have a strong understanding of the rhythmic subdivision of the beats. A song in a 4/4 time signature with a “straight-eighth” feel, for example, will subdivide into twos and fours, whereas a 12/8 song with a shuffle feel will subdivide into threes.

You’ll be using your voice to sing pitch, lyrics and syncopated rhythms against this underlying pulse. That’s why having a good comprehension of the feel of a song will be crucial to your growth as both a singer and as a guitarist.

4. Hand and Voice Independence

As a guitarist, your two hands need to be able to operate independently, but you also need to establish independence between your voice and your hands.

Let’s break down what’s going on when we watch a guitarist perform:

1. The fretting hand is forming harmonic chord clusters that create a musical progression to support the melody being sung; and
2. The strumming hand is playing the rhythmic feel, following the bass notes of each chord change and creating dynamic expression through subtle volume changes. Great rhythm players will also add percussive rhythms, voice-leading and single notes to connect the chords.

This hand independence requires a lot of concentration, but will keep the song in time and at tempo. The beauty of solo performance is the ability to push and pull the tempo for extra musical expression.

Finally, the vocals deliver the lyrics, melody and rhythms over the guitar parts … and these rhythms may be very different from guitar rhythms. That’s why complete independence (not only between each hand, but with your voice as well) is the key to excellence in performance. Working slowly through a song will help you develop this.

5. Learn Some Inversions

An inversion is a chord that has a note other than the root in the bass. For example, here are the root position and “first” and “second” inversions of F major, C major and G major chords:

… and here’s what they sound like, both arpeggiated and played as chords:

As you can hear from these audio clips, inversions can change the sound of a chord considerably. They also allow you to connect to other chords in a smoother or more dramatic way. It pays to learn at least some basic chord inversions, as they can help you develop your melodic sensibilities and may even change how you approach singing a song.

6. Entertain the Audience

One of the cardinal rules of show business is: Never let ‘em see you sweat. It’s important to look like you’re having fun while you’re performing onstage … even if you’re not. Smiling at the crowd, making eye contact and engaging in polite conversation between songs can win over your audience even if you’re having a bad day and hitting a couple of clams every now and then. Professionalism means taking every aspect of your performance, demeanor and persona to its highest level.

The Video

This is my version of a classic rock song, captured at a live performance I did in Florida during a Yamaha Guitar clinic. I wanted to demonstrate how a Yamaha LS-TA TransAcoustic guitar and its onboard effects really shine when supporting the voice of a solo performer. I think it demonstrates how an artist can interpret and develop harmony, melody and rhythm into a unique version of a well-known song.

The Guitars

The guitar featured in this video is a Yamaha LS-TA TransAcoustic. Its solid rosewood back and sides, combined with the concert body Engelmann spruce top, produce a warm, rich tone, perfect for supporting the vocals of a singer-songwriter.

TransAcoustic guitars also feature dual onboard effects: a room/hall reverb and a lush dimensional chorus. Amazingly, these effects are heard even when the guitars are unplugged. I used a touch of the onboard hall reverb and a light sprinkle of chorus for this performance. The microphone captured the acoustic tone of the guitar (with onboard effects) and the “dry” un-effected vocals.

Man smiling and playing guitar. — *Me playing the LS-TA.*

The Wrap-Up

There’s a big difference between playing a song and performing a song. I recommend these three phases of song development:

1. Learn the song structures, form and lyrics.

2. Rehearse the song repeatedly to perfect the sum of its parts.

3. Perform the song, adding all the emotional content, joy and feeling you can summon. Leave nothing to chance … and everything on the stage.

You’ll find that your whole musical world changes when you sing and accompany yourself on guitar at the same time. You gain a deeper experience and understanding of rhythm, harmony and melody — all crucial factors when it comes to honoring the song.

Photographs courtesy of the author.

Click here for more information about Yamaha TransAcoustic guitars.

I Created an Organization System for Music Directors

Written by Jennifer Antonetti on July 13, 2021. Posted in Teaching Tips.

One of the challenges of being a band, orchestra, choir or general music teacher is how to manage everything in the classroom.

Keeping track of instruments, uniforms, lockers, equipment, finances, the music library, ensembles and so much more can be overwhelming. It’s a lot for one person (or even a staff) to process.

When I first started teaching band, I was the assistant at Topeka High School, the head director at Robinson Middle School, and I also taught beginning band at Meadows Elementary School. My co-director at the high school had been teaching for more than 35 years and kept track of everything on sticky notes, note cards and on papers in several binders and on numerous clipboards. So much paper! There was no known inventory at any of the schools for anything.

Over the next several years, I buried myself in spreadsheets to try to bring some sort of organizational structure to the band programs at my three schools. With about 300 students per day and almost 200 instruments to inventory, plus uniforms and everything else, it was very time-consuming.

It was impossible to do the necessary legwork during the school year, so my husband, Kris Antonetti, and I worked in the buildings during the summer when the air conditioning was not turned on. At the time, we only had desktop computers — no laptops or tablets — so we started in the hot storage room, writing down instrument model numbers and serial numbers on a yellow legal pad. Then we went back to my office to input this information on my computer. We spent hours doing this.

A couple of weeks after we had finished everything at my middle school, our district IT staff “cloned” all of the computers — that is, they deleted everything in order for teachers to have a “fresh start” at the start of the new school year. Our inventory records were lost — I was devastated.

A Better Way

Kris said, “There must be a better way to do this.”

While music classroom management software programs are available, the cost is prohibitive because of the number of levels of subscriptions I would need based on teaching at three schools with about 10 different ensembles.

We brainstormed options and decided to create a solution that was based on the director, not schools or number of ensembles. That way, directors could take their subscription with them when they switched jobs.

Luckily, Kris has a background in software development. He could also relate to the scope of what was needed because he was a band kid and played trombone in college while getting degrees in aerospace engineering and computer science.

We started with the problems I faced and then gathered ideas from other directors to see what was needed most. Many of our music education friends faced similar challenges in their classrooms. We wanted to focus on the inventory aspect of organization, so we started developing instrument and uniform management as well as the ability to check these items out to students and to organize students into ensembles.

Kris and I spent many afternoons at the public library, using a workspace with wall-sized whiteboards to brainstorm the best ways to implement our ideas — we made and color-coordinated lists, drew diagrams, designed flow charts and more.

We finally procured a giant whiteboard for our garage and continued our planning and designing from home.

Help from Our Network

We decided to call our new program BatonSync. We wanted to keep everything simple in the design, but we had no idea how to run a business. The more we talked to people, the more questions we had, and the more we realized that we needed help with what we didn’t know.

We met with Dave Gnojek, the associate design director at The University of Kansas’ Office of Public Affairs — and someone I knew from the saxophone studio at KU — to help us build a brand package with colors, a logo and a general idea of design and layout for our website and marketing materials.

We also met with lawyer Jade Brown, another saxophone player, to help us with our business documents, privacy policy, terms of use and trademarks. For help with business accounts and financial coaching, we went to Scott Holloman, CPA, a parent of some of my former band students.

Working with our network of connections and other local small businesses was an essential part of our process of building BatonSync.

Testing Phase, Adjustments and Additions

BatonSync’s first stage kept track of instruments, uniforms, ensembles and students. At this point, the program was ready to be tested, so we asked several of our friends who are band, choir and general music teachers to try it out.

This was a critical time for us because we received direct feedback from directors about what they wanted in an organizational program. We added many new features based on their suggestions, such as:

Equipment and locker tracking
A financial section for trips, fees, fundraising, vendor payments and more
Bulk adding uniform components
Upload templates for all inventories
A music library for sheet music and digital music
Notes and histories on individual inventory items and students
Repair notes for instruments
Reporting so that directors can give inventory printouts to principals and building leaders

The comments, opinions and advice we received during BatonSync’s beta stage were invaluable.

The Future of BatonSync

We launched BatonSync in 2019. The program is simple and intuitive — no training is necessary. Most users just need to read the user guide.

We wanted to make the program affordable. The current subscription price of $20 each month ($240 a year) is based on teaching one private lesson per month. We plan to add a district subscription level for larger districts with centralized instrument inventories, music libraries and everything else.

Currently, directors in 15 states use BatonSync. We continue to grow organically based on the recommendations of directors who use the program. Here’s what some people have said about BatonSync (from our Facebook page):

Our goal is to build a community of directors who use BatonSync and share ideas — please follow BatonSync on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. We plan to attend more conferences and talking to more directors about BatonSync.

BatonSync will save you time and eliminate stress from your job so you can focus on being an outstanding music educator. Contact us at support@batonsync.com or me directly at jantonetti@batonsync.com for information.

Fix It: Vibraphone Teaching Tips

Written by Dr. Gifford Howarth on July 12, 2021. Posted in Percussion.

Within the mallet instrument family (marimba, orchestra bells, xylophone, vibraphone), the vibraphone or “vibes” is the newest member and the most unique.

There is an added level of coordination needed to play the vibes because of its dampening pedal. Students must combine basic mallet-playing technique with pedaling technique.

I recall as a young percussionist spending a lot of time focusing on the different coordination combinations and once it “clicked,” I never had an issue again. It’s like taking the training wheels off of your first bike — once they are removed, you never have to put them back on!

How to Fix Mallet Placement and Equal Right-to-Left-Hand Involvement

How to Fix a “Wind-Like” Legato Phrase that Isn’t Coppy or Staccato

How to Know When to Pedal If it Isn’t Noted

Fix It: Mallet Placement and Equal Right-to-Left-Hand Involvement

This is an issue with any mallet percussion instrument, but the issue can be exaggerated with the vibraphone: A student’s dominant hand will sometimes be louder. Make sure that the student’s height of rise with their basic stroke is equal. You do not want to hear that common slight accent from their dominant hand.

The large metal bars of the vibes are so resonant that the slightest difference with mallet striking placement can be heard. The easiest location for all of the bars is dead center. Young students commonly have an issue playing the upper manual (accidentals) in the center of the bars. When you strike too close to the node or “the string,” the sound really suffers. Students must become consistent and always strike the same spot on each bar. Over time, “muscle memory” will help with this process.

Fix It: Producing a “Wind-Like” Legato Phrase that Isn’t Choppy or Staccato

Through a combination of some uniquely vibe techniques, you can produce “wind-like” legato musical phrases.

Pedaling is not an “on” or “off” option. The dampening pedal on the vibes is similar to the pedal on a piano. Many young students get into the habit of having the pedal either all the way up or all the way down. This doesn’t have to be the case. There are unique pedaling concepts, such as “half pedal” or “flutter pedal” that can be explored. Let your students experiment with the pedal. The dampening pedal only needs to be lowered a little in order to allow the vibe bar to ring out. A slight amount of down pressure will allow the bar to ring.

Students should also experiment with the timing of when to move the pedal up and down. Imagine that you are playing a half note on an F followed by a G. As the F bar is ringing, do not lift the foot up until a split second before you strike the G bar. The shorter this split second can be, the better. The goal is to have the vibraphone sound like a wind instrument, almost slurring from one pitch to another. This same concept can come into play connecting vibe chords.

Mallet dampening is another effective technique to help connect legato notes. The pedal remains DOWN as you move from note to note. The mallet head is used to press against the metal bar to stop its vibrating. The coordination needed to do this is tricky, and getting used to it will take some time. There are a couple of different ways to approach mallet dampening. First, there is a certain notation used to show when mallet dampening is needed. This notation is simply an X . Here is a very basic exercise to introduce this idea to young students. The pedal remains DOWN the entire time.

The simplest way to mallet dampen is to make one hand the “player” and the other hand the “dampener.” The trick is the timing and the different type of stroke required for each hand. The dampening motion is simply pressing the mallet head into the bar. You do not want to hear the dampening mallet make contact! There must be just enough pressure to stop the sound from the bar. The playing mallet uses a normal stroke. The timing is important because both hands must do their strokes at the same time. With this simultaneous timing, you should not hear any contact sound from the dampening hand.

Another approach to mallet dampening is to change the roles of each hand depending on the musical line itself. For the exercise below, both hands can dampen at different times depending on the ease of playing the musical line.

There are several other variations that can be used for mallet dampening, but the two examples above are a great starting point.

Also, you can press a finger into the vibe bar to stop the vibration rather than the mallet head. This finger dampening is used a lot while playing the bells.

Fix It: When to Pedal If it Isn’t Notated

Most large ensemble literature will not have pedal markings notated for the vibraphone part. This is left up to the performer. Sometimes long musical slurs or phrase marks are used to show where the composer wanted to bring across a legato phrase. Remember to keep in mind what the overall goal is in regard to the sound of the musical moment. Between the use of the pedal and mallet dampening, the student wants to bring across that overall goal. There is no absolute rhythm or reason on how to do this. Through the dampening and pedaling ideas listed above, you must help your students bring across that musical goal.

The music theory behind the linear note collection might help in your decision. How does it sound with those couple of pitches ringing through at the same time? The quick half pedal can help in quicker passages while mallet dampening might help when time allows it. Again, this is something that you, the music educator, and your student can experiment with. How does the vibraphone musical moment work with or against the wind moment and the other mallet parts?

Final Tips

A few “nuggets” to think about:

Use WD-40 on the pedal mechanism to limit all the squeaks and clicks that can sometimes come across with the vibraphone.
Every now and then, check and make sure all knobs, screws, bolts, etc. are tightened, especially those that face toward the floor. Vibration and gravity tend to loosen things over time.
In most ensemble situations, the vibraphone gets lost in the overall ensemble sound. The instrument comes across as a quiet instrument. The quick, easy fix is to use harder mallets than you might think are needed. Compared to most other mallet instruments and the different drum-type instruments, the vibes do not project as well.

The view of the apartment neighbors from the window. Working from home or communicating with neighbors.

Writing When Nobody’s Watching

Written by Shelly Peiken on July 12, 2021. Posted in Creativity.

Every so often I find myself in a conversation with someone who asks a lot of questions about my work. For instance, how do song ideas come to me? How do I get started writing them? How do I cross the T’s, dot the I’s and finally send songs out into the world?

I get a sense that somewhere inside that person there’s an inner songwriter who wants to get out.

Anyone should be able to write a song without feeling judged. Making art of any kind is an act of courage, and it’s also therapeutic. Writing lyrics in particular can usher buried feelings out of our body so we can face them, deal with them, maybe someday even laugh at them. But more importantly, it allows us to embrace and accept them.

It’s easy for a novice to cook a meal with no intention of publishing a cookbook, or to dance in front of a mirror without dreams of being on a stage. Why is it, then, that writing a song is paralyzing for so many people?

Maybe it’s because, if done well, it exposes a very personal side of us that’s scary to reveal. Or simply scary to feel. But sharing a song isn’t the point of writing it. The magic of songwriting is how we get to know ourselves better through it — how we can answer questions we weren’t aware we were asking, discover uncharted emotional territory without realizing that was our goal. Writing a song doesn’t replace therapy, but it’s a lot less expensive!

Not every song is meant to be heard A lot of my song-babies don’t get past my studio or my car. But I do it anyway because it feels good. It’s fun! And it’s healthy too. I don’t want a trophy for doing something fun and healthy. (Although I wouldn’t turn one down either.) 🙂

I guess it’s easy for me to say this because songwriting is my wheelhouse. I’m a woman of words. A long time ago, however, when I was a teenager, I sketched this:

Sketch of two faces with only the view of the top half of each.

I remember pushing that Number 2 pencil around the paper thinking I was attempting an art form I wasn’t very good at. Even so, when I was finished, I surprised myself. I felt creatively empowered — more inspired by, and more connected to, my subjects. I’ve kept that sketch tucked away all these years, so I guess the accomplishment meant something.

Now, if you asked me to dance in front of an audience, well, that’s a different story — one that makes me feel self-conscious … which speaks to the popular Mark Twain quote: Dance like nobody’s watching. In other words, don’t be afraid of what others think — even if (especially if) it makes you feel uncomfortable.

As the Inc.com article of the same name states, creativity is actually born out of discomfort. May that’s why USC professor Fred Cook asks his students to expose themselves to new experiences. “Trying new things gives you the courage you need to experiment with your life and not be worried about whether or not you fail,” he says.

Since you’re reading this on the Yamaha blog, I’m guessing there’s a good chance you may already be a songwriter or a composer. But for that friend or neighbor or hairstylist in your life who asks you a lot of questions about what you do, I suggest you consider being that person who opens the door and sets their inner songwriter free. They may thank you one day. And, yes, they’ll probably ask that you listen to their song and may even request a critique that might be uncomfortable (for you). So, remember to be gentle.

Or you could just congratulate them for writing a song when no one was watching. That’s a reward in itself.

Choosing the Right Bass Guitar, Part 1: Four-String or Five-String?

Tips to Be a More Effective Private Music Instructor

Written by Aleah Fitzwater on July 9, 2021. Posted in Teaching Tips.

Hello! My name is Aleah Fitzwater, and I am a licensed instrumental music educator. In this guest blog post, I want to share some tips on how to recruit, retain and captivate the students in your private lessons studio. Let’s go!

How to Recruit Students

While recruiting band students can be challenging, finding piano and guitar students is even more difficult. Local band programs offer a direct line to their marching band and sectional students. Recruiting for instruments like piano or guitar is clearly trickier. But I recommend getting in touch with bands and orchestras anyway because students who are committed to one instrument are likely to commit to another.

I’m sure you have heard it a million times before, but you must network, network, network! Call the directors in your area and see if they’ll put your business card on the bulletin board in the band room. The worst they can say is no!

As I said before, students who are already in an ensemble are more likely to want to take private lessons for other instruments. So, if you’re a multi-instrumentalist, here’s another tip: Teach sectionals and at band camps. This is another way of getting your foot in the door. Oftentimes, students will want to take lessons with you after they’ve seen your vibrant personality in action.

Another great thing to do is to get on a sub-list for a private music school in your area. This next tip is also related to recruitment, so hang on tight!

Try Upwork, Musika and Other Online Platforms

Make an account on a freelancing website that isn’t geared specifically toward music. One big advantage of doing so is that any parent who looks for music lessons on freelancing sites will be immediately recommended to you. Some wonderful flute and piano students came to me through Upwork. While people seeking lessons for rarer wind instruments (like bassoon) are few and far between, there are plenty who are searching for piano or guitar lessons.

Musika is another great site to begin teaching studio lessons, although there isn’t much wiggle room when it comes to lesson prices. You can find private lesson students for both online distance learning and for local, in-person lessons.

Retaining Your Students

It is relatively easy to start up a studio and find some students, but it is much harder to retain them for years to come. Here are a couple of tips for student retainment.

First, get to know them, not just their musicianship. I had a breakthrough with one of my students after she told me about her birthday party, and how her favorite food is fried green beans. It really is in the little things.

Second, find ways to make them laugh because if you can do that, you can make them listen.

Teaching Techniques: Dig Deeper and Manipulatives

Rather than answering questions quickly as you might in a classroom setting, try digging deeper. Provide guiding prompts that force students to think critically about the music and what the piece sounds like to them.

For example, when I asked a student about the theme of a piece, she said that a part of it sounded like “a thief’s theme.” So, I ran with her observation. I followed up with questions like:

- “What is the thief stealing?”
- “What is the thief’s behavior — quiet and sneaky or clumsy and loud?”
- “Where does the thief run away to?”

Finally, I asked her to tell me what happens next and then to show me in her playing.

As a private music teacher, you have the luxury of one-on-one time with your students, so use it to your advantage.

Another teaching technique to bring into the mix is manipulatives — and no, these aren’t just for the elementary classroom! My flute professor in college used everything from flashcards to straws to spitting rice to breathing bags … and they worked because they confused me, excited me and kept me on my toes. Remember: We are never too old for music manipulatives.

Continue Your Own Projects

I have often made the mistake of stopping my own musical projects to focus on teaching private lessons. This, however, is a big mistake. If you aren’t pursuing your own creative agenda, you might lose your zip. And kids will sense that.

Show that You’re Human

Students will relate to you on a deeper level if you show them what you are working on, but be humble about it. The best advice I can offer to other private music instructors: Show your students that you’re human. Did you struggle with the “Barber of Seville” when you were at this stage? Tell them what was hard for you! This will make the you and your lessons more relatable.

It’s OK to poke fun of yourself, but don’t go too far. You don’t want to turn your teacher-student relationship into a friend-friend one. Keep your authority but show that you are flawed just like everyone.

Go for It!

Choosing to be a private music instructor instead of signing a contract comes with a new flavor of challenges. But with a little bit of elbow grease and a lot of patience, you can get your studio stabilized and up and running in no time. Good luck!

Thank you so much for welcoming me as a guest blogger on the Yamaha Educator Suite!

Benefits of a Five-String Bass

Written by Michael Gelfand on July 9, 2021. Posted in Bass.

One of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned — musically or otherwise — is that less is often more. When you have something to say, choose your words carefully, and state them concisely. When it comes to bass, choose your notes carefully, and play them precisely. You don’t need to express yourself with 16th note arpeggios — you can do a lot more with great tone, tight syncopation and emotive inflection, especially when you leave lots of empty space to let it all breathe and co-mingle.

This concept of “less is more” was put to the test the first time I picked up a five-string. For starters, there’s a fifth more worth of notes you can play, but E is also not necessarily the bottom note. For me, it was exciting but scary because I was out of my element, even though the fretboard still looked familiar. It was no longer a question of what to play, but where to play it.

Playing a five-string bass requires you to rethink how you approach the instrument. You won’t forget what you already know, but you expose yourself to the possibility of some awkward growing pains. You may have to get past what makes you uncomfortable, but the rewards are exponential because fluency on a five-string also enhances your technique on a four-string.

Let’s take a closer look at how it all works.

The Two Varieties of Five-String

Five-string basses essentially come in two flavors: either outfitted with a low B-string for B-E-A-D-G tuning, or a high C-string for E-A-D-G-C tuning. Most of the ones I’ve seen and played — including the thunderous Yamaha TRBX605FM — sport that low B-string. That said, I know some bassists who prefer the higher-strung models because they get all of the four-string bass’s traditional range along with easier fretboard access to higher notes and the ability to play the kinds of thick chords more commonly the province of the baritone guitar.

Electric bass guitar. — *Yamaha TRBX605FM.*

My personal preference is for the lower-strung models. The deep impact those five extra notes (counting the open B) can make in a song is the equivalent of squeezing a new color of paint onto an artist’s palette. For starters, it gives you the flexibility to drop way down low to play the root of a song in, say, the key of D or C, where it doesn’t compete with any other instrument — and, as a bonus, those ultra-low notes marry up beautifully with the thump of the kick drum.

In addition, you can create more dramatic tension and release when you drop down an octave in a second verse, more visceral excitement by shifting down into the Earth’s mantle to create space for a guitar solo. You can’t do that to the same extent on a four-string bass without altering its tuning or using a pitch modulator or sub-octave effect — something which, to my ears, never sounds as good as the real thing.

The Freedom to Shift Positions

It was the prospect of dropping down lower that initially attracted me to the five-string bass, but I quickly discovered that the additional string also gave me more freedom to shift positions to change the tone of the note. For example, a low F at the sixth fret on the B-string is much more harmonically rich than the same note played on the first fret of the E-string.

Furthermore, by shifting your position, you can often find an easier way to reduce the acrobatics required to play a certain pattern. As I described in a previous blog, two-octave runs no longer require a huge muscular effort — instead of rapidly climbing up or down and across the strings at a breakneck pace, you can subtly shift across the strings with less stressful hand movements, giving you more opportunities to be spontaneous and making it easier to hit the landing.

Five-String Considerations

As with anything new, there are a couple of things you’ll need to think through before you go shopping for the five-string of your dreams:

1. Make sure your amp and cabinet can handle the extra low end that’s going to get served up. A sealed cabinet loaded with larger speakers (12″ or 15″) will be inherently better at reproducing the lower frequencies generated by a five-string bass (an open B-string is 31 Hz, whereas an open E is around 40 Hz) than, say, a ported 2 x 10″ cabinet, but the only way you’ll know is to research the specs and then actually listen very closely. A great choice here would be the Ampeg™ RB-115 combo, which pairs a 15″ speaker with a powerful 200-watt amp, complete with overdrive.

A small bass amplifier. — *Ampeg RB-115 combo bass amp.*

2. Choose an instrument with a neck that feels comfortable to you. As you try out different five-string basses, you’ll undoubtedly notice that their necks feel quite different from those of their four-string cousins. Some manufacturers opt for tighter string spacing, while others simply make the fretboard slightly wider with more comfortable spacing. Remember, like any new instrument in your arsenal, this may take some time to get used to, but if you want that extra string, you’ll have to accept some change in the way you get from note to note.

That said, plug a top-notch five-string bass with a perfect neck profile (such as the extraordinary Yamaha BBP35) into a great amp and you won’t be thinking about fretboard width or string spacing. All you’ll be able to focus on is how you can feel the barometric pressure in the room drop when you ride that B-string.

Check out these related blog articles:

The Ampeg Story

Click here for more information about Yamaha bass guitars.

Click here for more information about Ampeg bass amps.

Summer NAMM 2021 Preview

Written by Yamaha Corporation of America on July 8, 2021. Posted in Gearguide.

Summer NAMM is back! Here’s a look at some of the many products being shown by Yamaha at the annual Nashville event.

DGX-670 Portable Grand Digital Piano

The DGX-670 Portable Grand digital piano is ideal for beginners and accomplished pianists alike. It has an 88-note weighted keyboard with a graded action that gives the low keys a heavier response and the high keys a lighter response … just as in an acoustic piano.

It’s got great sounds, too, including high-quality samples of the flagship Yamaha 9-foot CFX concert grand piano, as well as over 600 other Voices, including non-keyboard instruments and drums, plus 250 accompaniment Styles. There’s a microphone input with high-quality effects that allows the player to sing along and record their performances directly to a thumb drive, and Bluetooth compatibility enables wireless streaming of the player’s favorite music to the keyboard’s onboard dual speaker system, making practice easy and fun.

Weighing in at less than 50 pounds and offering a streamlined workflow via a full-color touchscreen and dedicated backlit buttons, the DGX-670 is perfect for live performance, but it’s also a great home keyboard. The optional L-300 stand enables an LP-1 three-pedal unit to be added, providing a playing experience similar to that of an acoustic piano.

DTX6 Series Electronic Drum Kits

DTX6 Series electronic drum kits are ideal for quiet practice at home, as well as for live performance and recording. They provide a perfect balance of high-end audio with great feel and great flexibility … plus they’re super user-friendly and fun to play.

There are three models to choose from: the DTX6K-X, DTX6K2-X and DTX6K3-X. All come equipped with a kick drum pad and a TCS (Textured Cellular Silicone) snare drum pad, along with tom and multi-zone cymbal pads, as well as an all-new DTX-PRO module loaded with hundreds of Yamaha drum sounds recorded in professional studios around the world.

The layout of the DTX-PRO is so simple and straightforward, even newcomers to electronic drums will find it easy to understand right away. For example, a unique Kit Modifier offers immediate access to three essential elements of sculpting drum sounds — room ambience, dynamics and effects — simply by turning dedicated knobs. DTX6 Series electronic drum kits provide drummers with great sound and great feel … and without the loud volume levels that come from playing an acoustic drum set.

THR30II Series Desktop Amps

With the introduction of the original series of THR amps some 10 years ago, Yamaha was the originator of the desktop amplifier category. The upgraded THRII Series offered numerous advancements, and the THR30IIA, specifically designed for the acoustic guitar, is the latest addition to the line.

Since an acoustic player doesn’t need amplifier models, the THR30IIA provides mic modeling and preset EQ curves instead, all on a single dial for easy tone shaping. In addition, there are dedicated bass, midrange and treble knobs, along with a three-position stereo imager for control over sound dispersion width. The THR30IIA also comes with every kind of effect an acoustic guitarist needs for practice and performance, including chorus, delay and chorus/delay combinations, plus short and long reverbs.

A second combo XLR input — complete with its own volume, gain and reverb controls — allows you to connect a microphone (or a second instrument), making the THR30IIA the perfect singer/songwriter amplifier system. There’s also Bluetooth support, USB connectivity and footswitch control, as well as an onboard tuner, a stereo headphone output and a dedicated Aux input for playing music from a phone or tablet. The THR30IIA even has a built-in wireless receiver, which, when used with an optional Line 6^® Relay^® G10T transmitter, allows for a fully cable-free experience.

New GigMaker Packaging

Promotional posters for four different Yamaha GigMaker Guitars that shows the guitars with a short list of features overlaid.

The Yamaha GigMaker guitar starter kit product line incorporates everything the beginner needs to start playing immediately. At Summer NAMM, new packaging will be unveiled, giving the products even more eye appeal.

There are four varieties available:

GigMaker Standard includes a Yamaha F325 steel-string acoustic guitar, available in two different finishes.
GigMaker Deluxe includes a premium solid-top steel-string acoustic guitar for superior tone and projection.
GigMaker Classic includes a classical nylon-string acoustic guitar.
GigMaker Electric includes an electric guitar (available in four different colors), a dual-channel 15-watt practice amp and a connecting cable.

New Pacifica Color Variations

Originally developed in partnership with our Los Angeles custom shop way back in 1990, Yamaha Pacifica electric guitars have a long and storied history and continue to be a popular choice for both entry-level and advanced players. At Summer NAMM, two new colors will be featured: Fired Red (shown above) and Teal Green Metallic (shown below).

Both models feature Seymour Duncan Custom 5 TB-14 and SSL-1 pickups, Graph Tech TUSQ nut and string trees, Grover locking tuners, a Wilkinson VS50 vibrato bridge, an alder body, a maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, an H/S/S pickup configuration with 5-position selector, and a push-pull coil-split switch for additional tonal options. Additionally, the Fired Red PAC612VIIFMX model has a flame maple veneer top.

SLG200S SILENT Guitar™

Yamaha SILENT Guitars allow guitarists to play whenever and wherever inspiration strikes, making them ideal for practice, travel and performing. Although the instruments themselves are ultra-quiet acoustically, their Studio Response Technology (SRT) powered preamp system delivers natural-sounding acoustic tone through headphones or the line output. Onboard studio-quality effects further enhance the playing experience, plus there’s a line input that allows jamming along to backing tracks, as well as a detachable wooden frame that facilitates easy transport. There’s also a built-in tuner, and a durable gig bag is included.

The SLG200S steel-string model on display at Summer NAMM comes in a Crimson Red Burst finish (shown above), which adds a bold look to an already modern aesthetic.

SA2200 Electric Guitar

Long a favorite of jazz guitarists, the Yamaha SA2200 semi-hollow body double-cutaway electric guitar combines classic design with outstanding craftsmanship, premium materials and player-focused features. Its laminated sycamore body has a soft maple center block, paired to a mahogany neck with an ebony fingerboard. Other amenities include Yamaha/Alnico V humbucking pickups, Gotoh SG30 tuning machines, a Gotoh GE103B bridge, a Gotoh GE101Z tailpiece and the choice of violin or brown finishes.

TRBX605FM Bass

Yamaha TRBX Series basses are renowned for their comfort, power and road-ready durability. The TRBX605FM five-string model shown above provides the same tone and modern look as its four-string cousin, the TRBX604FM, but the added low-B string packs extra punch when extended low-end is needed.

The TRBX605FM offers alder/maple body construction with a flamed maple top, married to a maple/mahogany neck with a slim 1 11/16″ nut width that makes it easy to get around the fretboard in every playing position. Its slightly narrower string spacing (as compared to the TRBX604FM) offers outstanding playability for slap or finger style techniques, and a high-mass die-cast bridge efficiently transfers string vibrations to the body for a full, rich sound. For extra tone shaping, there’s an onboard 3-band active EQ with an active/passive preamp, complete with a battery alert LED that warns the player when it’s time to change batteries.

Here are some pictures from this year’s Summer NAMM — and remember, if you can’t make the show in person, you can always catch the highlights here!

For more information about these and other great Yamaha music products, click here.

Case Study: Rural Realities

Written by Carmen Fields on July 7, 2021. Posted in Case Studies.

Music educators in rural settings face a unique set of challenges.

Depending on the community, these can range from lack of funds and support for the program, limited performance opportunities and limited exposure to quality venues. However, with the right mindset and strategies, the rewards of teaching in a rural school can be immeasurable.

Relationships

I am a product of LaRue County Schools, a small rural program in Kentucky, and I am in my 10th year of teaching at Edgewood City Schools, a very rural system in Ohio, so I have insight into rural education as a student and a teacher. I have found that building a successful program begins and ends with relationship-building. Rural communities tend to be very proud of their heritage. Many families are multigenerational and have been connected to the same land for generations. It is important for educators to quickly learn what is important to the community and align programs with those community values.

Populations in rural communities tend to be stable. Many of your colleagues and your students have years of community and institutional knowledge. Many students have had the same educator group since kindergarten. They will be curious about you, and the more comfortable you are answering their questions, the more successful you will be. I start every year at Edgewood Middle School with a pre-test about ME!

I want my students to know me and understand my background for two reasons. First, I want them to know that even though I am not from the same area, our backgrounds are similar. I can usually find something — even if it’s small — to be able to relate to each student in the room. It could be pictures of ATV riding or my cats.

Second, I like to show my students some of my experiences with music. Instead of talking about it, I show them. I break out pictures from my choir trips when I was in high school and college, some of which were international performances. I play clips from my senior recital, my community theater roles and show performances of past choirs. With this simple first-day activity, I build trust with my students and prove that I know what I’m doing without actually telling them that I know what I’m doing.

Relating to the interests of your students is critical. Again, this doesn’t have to be big and flashy. Get to know your audience. Talk to your students about their interests outside of music.

For example, 4H is very popular in my area. In the spring, I talk with my students about how they’re getting their baby animals ready for the fair. The Butler County Fair is the Super Bowl™ of summer here. My students work incredibly hard raising and preparing their animals. While I’ve never shown livestock, my students light up talking about their pigs, calves and goats, and I enjoy learning about them.

Going and cheering on my students at a show takes one afternoon of my summer, but it makes a lifetime of memories for them and deepens the connection I have with their parents. Putting your words into action impresses your students and their parents.

Getting to know your audience also helps in tailoring your teaching techniques. I once had a young man in my class who had little interest in general music, and he just didn’t see where it had real-life implications. I knew he was an avid duck hunter, so I related the concepts of rhythm, pitch matching and timbre by comparing them to the different calls used in duck hunting.

Resources

Except for a lucky few, most music educators are constantly seeking resources. This issue can be especially acute in rural schools where tax bases tend to be lower, so fee-based programs must be used very selectively.

However, there are ways to overcome a lack of resources. For example, most rural students do not have ready access to attend an opera, musical or symphony orchestra. However, students can be introduced to many quality performances online. Excellent virtual learning opportunities have proliferated since the start of the pandemic.

Educators can also seek out grant opportunities for everything from Orff instruments to classroom equipment to guest performers. Creativity is essential. It is also helpful to collaborate with the other fine arts teachers in your school and to coordinate your programs as much as possible. If there are other music educators in your district, seek their guidance.

Facebook groups of like-minded professionals can be a great way to share ideas and learn about new opportunities, but like all social media, beware of the inherent drama of some groups.

Another invaluable resource is your parent booster group. Our boosters have provided everything from financial support to advocacy with decision-makers. Also, some of your students’ parents may work at organizations that offer assistance to educational programs.

Recognition

Finding opportunities for students to achieve recognition and validation is imperative and pays endless benefits. Most rural schools have at least one sport — be it wrestling, basketball or football — that is a source of pride for students and the community. Kids want to be a part of these winning teams. Crafted properly, your music program can have the same appeal and winning reputation.

How? Set clear expectations on Day One and set them high. Some educators argue that trophies aren’t important and that they have students enter competitions just for the personal satisfaction of doing a good job. That may work in some locales, but I firmly believe that opportunities for formal recognition — and the hardware that comes with it — is important and motivating to the majority of rural students. It also builds school pride, brings honor to the school system and strengthens buy-in from parents and administrators.

Always search for venues and participation opportunities for your programs. My 8th graders have performed at Kings Island amusement park for critique and ratings from professionals. Our recently developed Overtures Show Choir competed at multiple venues prior to the pandemic. In the past year, we have used virtual competitions and critiques to measure our progress.

If traveling is simply not an option, look to professionals you admire. Set up Zoom meetings or send videos of performances to friends and colleagues in the music field. Former teachers are a great source for authentic feedback for your students. While this may not produce trophies, it gives the students pride in what they are accomplishing in your class.

In addition to competitive recognition, it’s essential to be your program’s ambassador to the community. Find out which events are important to the community and have your students participate. Whether it’s having a float in a community parade or performing at a local Christmas festival, any event that brings your students in contact with the community is important.

Becoming your program’s primary marketer is another vital role for the rural educator. It’s simply a fact that most parents, co mmunity members and sometimes school board members have no idea what you teach or what students gain from your program. Make sure that your program aligns with other subjects taught and tested at your school. Collaborate with teachers in those subjects and make sure they understand the degree of support and reinforcement your class provides.

Any time your program or any of your students achieve recognition, use whatever means available to promote those accomplishments. Different schools have different methods, but you should notify your administrators and your district public relations executive. Use social media, parent newsletters or any other media available to spread the news. I vividly remember my grandmother’s refrigerator covered in newspaper clippings of her grandchildren’s accomplishments. These are little things, but they build those invaluable relationships when you need booster support or funding.

Recruitment

Whether starting a new program or building on an existing one, recruitment is critical. Your existing kids are your best resource for recruiting their fellow students. Success breeds success. As your students receive recognition and pride in the program grows, others want to become a part of the fun.

In rural schools, several of your most talented prospects are likely athletes. It’s important to develop cooperative relationships with athletic coaches to ensure that practice schedules and competitions can be coordinated. Mutual support can be achieved. Before COVID, our entire show choir turned out to support the wrestlers in our groups at a major match. Coaches appreciate singers who know how to project, cheering on their athletes.

In addition to building student outreach, I worked with my counterparts at Edgewood High School — Libby Wolf and Nick Fields — to create recruiting videos and posters on social media to reach prospective students. After watching some YouTube tutorials, we were off and running making our own videos. It cost us nothing but a little time, and we ended up with high-quality recruitment media that brought pride to our returning members and intrigue to those who were new.

Relax

My last tip is to simply relax. Kids are kids, regardless of their background. Hopefully, you became a music teacher because you love music and want to share that love with students. At the end of the day, that must be your primary focus and goal. Do not be afraid to show your students that you love music. Have fun with it and with them. It doesn’t matter where your students come from, the more genuine you are, the more buy-in you will get.

Rewards

As music educators, we have the ability to make a connection with our students that few teachers can enjoy. We tend to have students in our program for several consecutive years and really get to know them. In rural communities, you can make connections throughout families, and often teach siblings and cousins of your original students. These families become your best cheering section and your own extended family. I will be forever indebted to the band dad who helps with our plumbing issues and the former choir family, whose kids have all graduated, that offers to babysit my 3-month-old when I have a weekend rehearsal.

It’s incredibly rewarding to see my students grow up, seek further education, join the local workforce and begin families of their own. But perhaps my highest honor was when a student’s family asked if they could name and register their newborn alpaca as ANF’s Carmen Fields. It just doesn’t get better than that!

Embrace your rural realities — the opportunities and rewards are limitless.

MIDI Editing

Written by Mike Levine on July 7, 2021. Posted in Recording. 1 Comment on MIDI Editing

MIDI (short for “Musical Instrument Digital Interface”) is a digital “language” that allows electronic instruments to control each other and communicate with computers. Among other things, it gives you the ability to record performances into your DAW from a connected MIDI keyboard or other “controller” instrument. Because MIDI recordings consist only of data that tells your DAW which note to play and when (along with other performance-related information), you can assign any MIDI track to any virtual instrument in your DAW, or to a connected MIDI synthesizer or drum machine.

In addition to their sonic flexibility, MIDI recordings are freely editable. Every DAW gives you plenty of options for viewing, changing and perfecting your MIDI tracks. In this article, we’ll look at some of the most common ones, and show you how to use them.

Roll It

The most commonly used and versatile MIDI editor is known as the piano roll (in Steinberg Cubase, it’s called the Key Editor). The concept is relatively simple: MIDI notes and data are displayed on a grid, somewhat reminiscent of a old-fashioned player piano roll, hence the name. Elapsed time (usually expressed in bars and beats) is shown on the horizontal axis, while note pitches are shown on the vertical axis, with the duration of notes corresponding to their length.

In this editor, you can use standard cut, copy and paste operations to manipulate notes, or you can click on a note (or notes) and drag it to another location or another pitch. Additionally, you can also drag on one end of a note to lengthen or shorten its duration.

Transposing MIDI notes is simple in a piano roll editor too. Just select the note or notes you want to transpose and drag them up or down until they’re at the desired pitch.

Other Views

Another type of MIDI editor offered by many DAWs is called an event list. (In Cubase, it’s referred to as the List Editor.) The basic idea is to display a list of every MIDI event, including note-ons and note-offs, as well as Velocity and controller events such as Pitch Bend or Modulation. This lets you edit events precisely, using numeric values.

In many DAWs (including Cubase), if you select an event in any other MIDI editor (such as a piano roll), you’ll also find it highlighted in the event list, where you can input changes numerically to any of the fields. You can also select notes and events directly from the event list.

Cubase’s List Editor is unusual in that it also provides a graphic section. The notes in the list are shown as slashes going from left to right as time elapses, and top to bottom with each successive note:

Many DAWs also provide a specialized editor interface for MIDI drum parts. In Cubase, it’s called, not surprisingly, the Drum Editor. It’s not all that different from the Key Editor, except that the notes are depicted as diamond-shapes and, since they represent drum hits, are all one length. When fully quantized (see the “Timing It Right” section below), they also sit on the grid lines instead of between them, like they do in the Key Editor.

With the grid snap on (more on this in the next section), it’s easy to manually enter drum notes or move notes from one drum or cymbal to another, and they’ll all be on the grid. You can even change the grid value for each drum independently. Drum editors are most valuable when working with quantized parts, such as those commonly found in genres like EDM.

In a lot of DAWs, you can also edit MIDI in standard music notation. To do this in Cubase, use the Score Editor:

Powerful as they are, score editing windows are not as fully featured as dedicated notation programs such as Steinberg Dorico. Still, they’re handy if you prefer working in notation, and you can easily switch back and forth between a score editor and other MIDI editors.

On the Grid

Understanding the grid is critical for successful MIDI editing — and audio editing, for that matter. The grid provides the rhythmic contours of your song. It’s particularly useful on music that was recorded in time with your DAW’s click track or metronome.

If you set the grid for, say, quarter notes, each measure in the editor will be split into four equal sections. For eighth notes, you’d get eight equal sections, and so forth. Each grid line represents a beat. How you set the grid depends on the rhythmic content of the track.

The grid has two critical functions. First, it’s a visual aid. Depending on how you set it, you’ll see each measure subdivided by that setting. It’s crucial when you’re editing to see where, say, each quarter-note or eighth-note falls in a measure.

Three screenshots. — *Common grid-size choices.*

The other important aspect is something called grid snap or snap-to-grid (in Cubase, it’s simply called Snap). When activated, it constrains your editing to whatever the grid setting is. For example, to move entire measures within a song, set the grid value to a full bar (1:1 in Cubase). More usually, you’ll end up setting it to match the smallest rhythmic value in the track you’re editing.

Learn your DAW’s keyboard shortcut for turning grid snap on and off, because you’ll want to often toggle between the two when you’re editing. In Cubase, press the J key to activate or deactivate grid snap.

Timing it Right

Quantizing is an important MIDI editing function that’s related to your grid settings as well. When you quantize a note (or a multi-note selection), it gets moved onto (or closer to, depending on your settings) the nearest grid line.

A rule of thumb is to never set the quantize function for a smaller rhythmic value than the smallest one in the section or track you’re quantizing. Otherwise, you’ll likely get at least some notes quantized to the wrong beat.

If you want your MIDI part to sound like it was played rather than programmed, you’ll want to avoid quantizing the whole selection so that every note is precisely on the grid. Your DAW will offer options for tightening up the rhythms through quantization, without putting every note directly on a beat.

The most straightforward of these is usually referred to as quantize strength. It allows you to quantize your selection by less than 100 percent. In Cubase, this function is referred to as Iterative Quantize.

Two screenshots. — *Before (top) and after (bottom) quantizing with the Cubase Iterative option.*

Another Cubase feature that lets you control the degree of quantization is called the Safe Range. It lets you tell Cubase not to quantize any notes that are within X number of ticks of the grid line. Depending on how many ticks you set it for, it will leave notes alone if they are close to but not exactly on the gridline, thus preserving some of the feel of your MIDI part. Most DAWs offer similar options.

Escape Velocity

The Key Editor in Cubase, like most MIDI editors, shows MIDI Velocity. This parameter measures how hard a note on a keyboard is struck (technically it measures the speed, or velocity, with which a key travels down from its resting position), and it is usually used to affect the loudness and softness (dynamics) of each note and/or its brightness.

In the Key Editor, Velocity is displayed on the bottom of the editor screen in the form of vertical lines that you can lengthen or shorten by dragging, as shown in the area circled in red in the illustration below:

Like many other MIDI parameters, Velocity is expressed in values from 1 to 127. For example, a snare drum hit with a Velocity of 120 will be considerably louder than one that’s at 35. Like any MIDI variable, you can edit Velocity, either note by note or in groups of notes defined by a selection, giving you a lot of control over the dynamics of a MIDI performance.

Velocity is often adjusted by moving individual sliders or by applying a Velocity value to a note, selection of notes or an entire track. In most situations, you won’t want to make all the Velocity values the same, because doing so will remove the dynamics. It’s better to bring Velocities up or down by an equal amount, so that the relationship between notes stays the same.

The Long and Short of It

When you change the duration of MIDI notes, you are altering whether they sound staccato or legato. If notes are short and have space between them, they’ll sound staccato. If their durations go right up to the edge of the following note, they’ll sound legato. You can easily select all the notes in a part or section and drag them to change their length all at the same time.

Be sure to watch out for is notes that overlap, where the end of one note hangs over the beginning of the next. In many types of instrument parts, such overlaps would be undesirable for two reasons. One, the two notes might sound discordant when sounding together, and two, the end of the first note might obscure the attack of the second.

Under Your Control

While this article has covered the basics of MIDI editing, we’ve only scratched the surface. The deeper you get into MIDI, the more you’ll use some of the other available control and expression options — for example, Pitch Bend, Modulation and Aftertouch.

MIDI has been around for nearly four decades now, so its longevity and durability is proven; however, it’s fair to say that the best is yet to come. The original MIDI spec (MIDI 1.0) has been updated to MIDI 2.0, which exponentially increases the resolution of MIDI parameters. It’s going to take time for MIDI 2.0-supported devices and software to make it to the market, but when they do, MIDI performances will undoubtedly rise to an even higher level of expressiveness and editing will be correspondingly more precise.

How to Easily Expand Your Outdoor Sound System

Click here for more information about Steinberg Cubase.

How to Create a Resort-Level Audio Experience in Your Backyard

Written by Eric Thies on July 6, 2021. Posted in Audio Gear Guides.

Summer has arrived! It’s the perfect time to build a resort-quality outdoor sound system for parties with friends or barbecue fun with the family. Best of all, advancements in audio products now allow you to bring a fully theatrical sonic experience to pretty much any open-air space.

Here’s how to find the products that are the perfect fit for the system you want to create, whether it be for listening to ambient music or for watching movies.

Choosing the Right Speakers

When choosing speakers, it’s important to begin by assessing whether you want your outdoor experience to depend more upon look or audio quality. All-weather wall- or ceiling-mounted speakers offer the best sonics, but may take away from the overall aesthetic of your space. Options like “rock speakers” (speakers designed to look like rocks) can blend seamlessly into the backyard environment, but generally don’t deliver the kind of audio fidelity you’ll get from wall-mounted speakers. Then there’s the option of going with light-and-speaker combos. These all-in-one units can serve the important function of lighting up your late-night parties while providing music at the same time.

An audio speaker designed to look like a rough hewn rock. — *A rock speaker.*

Whichever speakers you decide on, remember that you can always augment them with buried subwoofers. These fit well into the backyard and provide the bass that above-ground speakers can lack at times. Installation is a snap, too: Simply dig a hole and then drop a cement subwoofer box down, leaving a four- to five-inch port extending up. To your guests, it will look like a landscape light, but it’s actually delivering the all-important rumble that brings movies and dance parties to life.

Don’t just stop at stereo, either. Building a full surround sound setup in your backyard will turn simply watching movies outdoors into a gloriously cinematic event. There are countless options for speaker setups, and having a mix of different types of speakers can make for a more dynamic experience. Consulting an installer is a good way to determine the best blend of speakers for you.

Choosing the Right Controller

A high-quality outdoor sound system wouldn’t be complete without an easy-to-use controller to manage everything. You want one that not only controls the outdoor components, but all the ones inside the house too. One of the best options for this is Yamaha MusicCast, which provides full-featured wireless control over all connected Yamaha speakers, receivers and sound bars, either from a free downloadable app or through voice assistants like Amazon Alexa and Google Home. MusicCast also supports direct streaming from the biggest music platforms like Spotify^®, Pandora^® and Amazon Music, and it can work with more than just music by using features like Apple^® Airplay 2^® and Wi-Fi to stream any kind of audio, including podcasts, movies and TV.

The Yamaha MusicCast app includes multi-room audio control.

If you want to take things to the next level, you can even opt for a control system that governs all of the “connected-home” aspects — not just outdoor and indoor sound, but lighting, curtains, etc. Third party companies like Control4, RTI^®, URC^®, Elan^®, Josh.ai and Crestron^® provide this kind of full coverage, and also offer control of dozens of Yamaha audio devices via MusicCast technology. The possibilities are endless!

While some folks may find building an outdoor audio system to be a DIY project, for others, it requires considerable skill, especially if you want to go all-in. That’s why you might consider hiring a custom installer, who can answer specific questions regarding what you want out of your outdoor experience and ensure you get the best performance out of your system.

Check out these related blog postings:

Enjoy Music Outdoors With Zone 2

How to Mount Outdoor Speakers

How to Enjoy Great Outdoor Sound Without Disturbing Your Neighbors

Take the Party Outside!

Wireless Amp Turns Outdoor Speakers Into MusicCast

How to Use Alexa With MusicCast

How to Use Google Voice Control With Yamaha MusicCast

How to Use Actions on Google With Yamaha MusicCast

How to Use Yamaha MusicCast With Airplay 2

The Perfect Pairing: Yamaha MusicCast and Home Automation

Smart Home Integration — From DIY To CI Guy

Top Five Things You Should Know When Hiring an AV Installer

Click here for more information about Yamaha all-weather speakers.

Click here for more information about Yamaha MusicCast products.

Everything You Need to Know about Lossless Audio and ALAC

Written by Mike Levine on July 2, 2021. Posted in Music and Streaming. 1 Comment on Everything You Need to Know about Lossless Audio and ALAC

If you’re an audiophile (or just someone who appreciates high-fidelity sound) and you haven’t taken advantage of a technology called lossless audio compression, you owe it to yourself to check it out. That’s because music processed this way can be downloaded quickly and streamed in real time — without sacrificing any audio fidelity.

Here are the ins and outs of how it works.

At a Loss

To put lossless technology in its proper context, let’s start by looking at lossy audio compression, a related process that’s in much wider use. If you’ve streamed music on Spotify^®, TIDAL or Apple^® Music^®, or if you’ve downloaded songs from iTunes^®, chances are what you’ve been listening to has been converted to MP3, AAC, WMA or some other lossy format, which means it’s literally not all there.

Data compression takes full-bandwidth music files and reduces their size significantly, using a codec, which is short for “code/decode.” These are usually software-based, though there are some hardware devices and chips that carry out this function. Either way, the job of a codec is to encode the audio information on one end and decode it on the other.

Lossy codecs decrease the size of a music file by looking for and removing specific frequencies that, for psychoacoustic reasons, your ears either won’t be able to hear or are not likely to notice are missing. For example, some frequencies mask others at specific amplitudes (levels). The algorithm in the codec knows it can discard the data representing those masked frequencies at any point in the song where the levels match those amplitude criteria.

When you play or stream a compressed file, your phone, tablet, computer or receiver automatically uses the appropriate codec to decode the compressed data. But here’s the catch: with lossy compression, the frequencies removed during the encoding process do not get restored when the file is decoded back into audio.

Squash that Data

The reason that data compression is necessary is that uncompressed music files are large and often unwieldy. They contain too much data to stream in real-time, take a long time to download and use up a great deal of hard drive space.

If you convert uncompressed audio to a lossy format, you can reduce its file size significantly, depending on the bitrate setting. Expressed in kilobits per second (kbps), the bitrate indicates how much data-per-second was used to encode the audio.

The higher the bitrate, the better the quality, but the larger the file size. If file sizes get too large, you might have trouble streaming if you don’t have a fast Wi-Fi connection. Because of that, most streaming music sites allow you to select a lower (“normal”) or higher bitrate. Here’s the TIDAL screen that offers this option:

The specific bitrates available depend on the format and/or streaming service being used. For example, the MP3 format supports bitrates from 96 to 320 kbps, while Spotify offers bitrates of 96 kbps (for mobile devices) and 160 kbps (on desktop devices); subscribing to Spotify Premium unlocks access to 320 kbps audio streaming.

A CD-quality (16-bit, 44.1kHz) WAV or AIFF stereo audio file takes up approximately 10.6 MB of data per minute of music. With lossy compression at a bitrate of 128kbps, you can reduce the file size to just under a megabyte, as shown in this illustration:

Diagram showing compression ranges. — *One minute of music uncompressed and compressed.*

If you’re curious to compare the sizes of various audio formats at different resolutions and bitrates, you can find several file size calculators online, such as this one.

Can’t Win for Losing?

Lossy compression has a lot of practical advantages. It can reduce a digital audio file by as much as 90 percent, and a lot of people can’t hear the difference between the original and compressed audio. But, it’s not a win-win for everyone. Audiophiles, audio professionals and others keenly aware of fidelity can tell the difference, and most don’t like what they hear.

Typical complaints are that lossy compressed music sounds tinny, a bit distorted and lacking in dimensionality. In addition, the lossy compression process, particularly at low bitrate settings, can sometimes result in unwanted “digital artifacts.” One of the most common of these imparts a swirly, almost underwater sound to certain frequencies or frequency ranges.

To the Rescue

If you’re one of those discerning people who finds the sound of lossy compression problematic, lossless audio compression is a viable alternative. It shrinks audio files enough to enable streaming, fast downloads and reasonable file sizes for storage without discarding any audible information. Audio decoded by a lossless codec sounds virtually identical to the original.

While lossy encoders find and remove actual frequency content to slim down an audio file, lossless encoders work differently. One of the methods they use is to find and remove all the spaces (even the smallest ones) in the music. During playback, the decode process restores the spaces correctly.

Because it doesn’t discard any actual audio data, a lossless codec can’t reduce the file size as dramatically as a lossy one. Most compress the originals by between 50 and 60 percent, depending on their settings.

ALAC

There are quite a few lossless data compression systems in use today, but perhaps the oldest and most well-known is FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec). It’s an open-source codec introduced back in 2001 that’s renowned for its fast processing. Three years later, Apple released their own proprietary system called ALAC, short for “Apple Lossless Audio Codec.”

Although its processing is not quite as speedy as FLAC, ALAC is fully supported in iOS and iTunes, which is crucial if you own an Apple device. The entire Apple Music catalog is available in ALAC format. These files are usually stored in an MP4 container and have the .m4a file extension.

Most streaming services now offer “high-resolution” audio options, which use lossless codecs. Typically, you have to pay extra for these, but Apple Music recently announced that lossless streaming using ALAC is available to basic subscribers at no additional cost. To turn it on or off, all you have to do is go to the Settings menu in your iOS device. Here, you can also choose the audio quality for streaming and downloading audio: lossy AAC, standard lossless ALAC (for a maximum resolution of 24-bit/48 kHz) or High-Resolution lossless ALAC (for a maximum resolution of 24-bit/192 kHz):

Mobile screenshot. — *Apple Music ALAC quality settings.*

ALAC is not just for Apple, however. Other companies license the codec to use in their music-playing products. For example, Yamaha offers ALAC decoding in all its current MusicCast-enabled products.

Not at a Loss

The differences in fidelity between lossy and lossless compression are often more subtle than you might expect, though of course, a lot also depends on the quality of your playback system. That said, if you have the ability to directly compare the same piece of music in a lossy-compressed format such as MP3 and a lossless format such as ALAC, you’ll probably be able to hear a clear difference … and you’ll probably find the latter to be superior. If you want to try out your own ear, you can find comparative listening tests on this website.

Whether you have “golden ears” or not, if you’re a music lover, you’ll almost certainly appreciate the improved fidelity of music that’s been compressed in a lossless fashion … plus you’ll have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that the decoded audio you hear will be essentially equal in quality to the original.

Click here for more information about Yamaha MusicCast.

Click here for more information about Yamaha YH-E700A wireless headphones.

Black woman, smiling with eyes closed and listening to music sitting at an outdoor table with a glass of juice

Create a Happiness Playlist

Written by Kathryn Drury Wagner on July 1, 2021. Posted in Self-Care.

Mark Mallman is a Minneapolis-based songwriter, composer and performer. He’s written music for TV, has released eight albums, and his epic work, “Marathon III,” went on for 78 hours and spanned 576 pages of lyrics.

A few years ago, he had an epic episode dealing with anxiety and depression — and he turned to music to help him heal. He shared his experience in the book “The Happiness Playlist: The True Story of Healing My Heart with Feel-Good Music.”

We asked him about his song list, and how students (and educators!) can use the idea of a happiness playlist to bolster their own mental health.

Trauma Trigger

In 2013, Mallman’s mother died of suicide. Soon afterward, he started getting panic attacks. During a panic attack, the brain region called the amygdala is hyperactive. With it stuck in high gear, people feel like they are choking or going to pass out, or even that they are dying. Panic attacks usually start quickly, peak within 10 minutes and end within 30 minutes, according to “What Happens in the Brain When We Experience a Panic Attack,” an article from Scientific American.

“I don’t know if her suicide triggered them,” says Mallman. “I don’t want to blame her. Suddenly everything was scary.”

Mallman had played the piano since age 3, and composed music since 10. But now, even music felt frightening. “The music I usually turned on was now scary. It couldn’t be in a minor key,” he says. “It couldn’t have the word ‘death’ in it. It had to be something you would play for someone under age five.”

It took him about three months to dial down the panic disorder with medications, and about three years to truly feel like he had figured things out. “I say, dimes make dollars; that is, a lot of small solutions instead of one big one. One of the tools I used to manage was creating my happiness playlist,” Mallman says.

The Happiness Mix Project

Mallman remembers making mixed tapes for road trips, back when people made mix tapes for friends, special occasions or to woo potential love interests. He found that creating the right list of songs helped him feel calmer. For a year, he listened constantly to his happiness playlist, and these days, he listens to it if he’s feeling anxiety. “It’s something I integrate into my day-to-day existence,” he says.” (His playlist is on Spotify.)

“I dissected what makes a song happy,” says Mallman, who read books such as “Music, The Brain and Ecstasy: How Music Captures Our Imagination” by Robert Jourdain. “When you’re in anxiety and panic, that is in the brain, it’s not real. It’s the amygdala misfiring. The quickest way to get rid of a panic attack is to stop thinking about it. Anxiety takes a bit longer to deal with. It helps if you can engage the body more than the mind.”

So, what makes a song happy? “Funkiness, funk, funk, funk,” says Mallman. “I would say a beat that you can dance to. Songs with fluffy lyrics. Happy songs don’t concern the brain, and nonsense lyrics work. ‘Happy’ by Pharrell Williams is a great example of what makes a happy song. It’s a universal dance song with repeated lyrics that encourage singing along, without thinking. In that way, dancing is mindful meditation.”

He also found that songs that recall childhood work well, like “Potato Chips” by Slim Gaillard.

“I think you can divide happy sounds into two groups. The gentle songs that say, ‘you are okay,’ like ‘Friendship’ by Pops Staples or ‘Try’ by Pink. These are like therapeutic mantas.” Then there’s the dance tempo songs, he says.

“I can’t really say if there’s a specific time signature,” he muses. “I didn’t put Peter Gabriel’s ‘Solsbury Hill’ on my list but almost did. It’s in an odd time signature.”

That song is in 7/4, reports Billboard in an article about “Solsbury Hill,” which also notes a “beating heart of the drum thump, steady throughout, keeping the song even-keeled, marching forward and undeniably alive.” Which sounds like a pretty good state of being, come to think of it.

While Mallman doesn’t think songs are a cure-all for depression and panic attacks, it helped him cope well enough that he wrote his book, which came out in 2019. In April 2021, he also released a companion album to the book called “Happiness” — listen to a song from the album on SoundCloud.

Happiness in the Classroom

Mallman recommends that music educators create their own happiness playlists with students. “Amass a group of songs, and as you listen to them as a class, have the kids write down their emotional response — not their intellectual response,” he says. “They will start to learn how songs can guide our emotions.”

Once students can tell a sad song from a scary song from a happy song, he says, “I would say, let’s recognize we can use songs to feel better when we feel sad, and start asking the ‘why’ questions.”

As a class, you could start a collective list of happy songs (you may need to throw out some ideas to get it rolling). “Or the class could collectively write a happy song, based on the other happy songs,” he suggests. “Figuring out what song makes you dance the most is a great way to start accessing this idea. You can manifest joy in the brain via your body. Get students to recognize what makes them want to dance and then go from there.”

The past decade has seen a shift in our understanding of emotions. “Rather than being inevitable, hard-coded experiences, researchers now think emotions are malleable, and people have more influence over them than previously thought,” reports NPR in the article “Stuck in a Rut? Sometimes Joy Takes a Little Practice.”

With schooling, Mallman says, we can wind up with a lot of job skills, but not a lot of people skills. “Music is a way to open up that emotional intelligence. To learn and accept our emotional complexity. Emotions are a part of being human.”

Learning how songs make you feel and how to choose the right music to match what you need means that you will have the ability to define your emotions. That’s a pretty powerful tool.

Yamaha Advanced Nylon-String Guitar Technology: A Closer Look

Written by Rich Tozzoli on July 1, 2021. Posted in Acoustic Guitars.

Yamaha NX Series nylon-string acoustic-electric guitars combine the latest in modern technology with traditional build and look. The various models differ in terms of body size and neck width, as well as the tonewoods and electronics used, but they all sound great whether played acoustically or connected to an amp. In this article, we’ll take an up-close look at the technical innovations that make these instruments unique.

Atmosfeel™

The NCX5, NCX3, NTX5 and NTX3 models come equipped with the proprietary Yamaha Atmosfeel pickup and preamp system, which takes the best elements of a piezo pickup and a microphone and combines them with an ultra-thin synthetic sheet transducer.

Yamaha Atmosfeel system.

This sheet transducer contact sensor, located below the saddle, is responsible for the higher-end treble frequencies and soundboard vibrations. The piezo pickup is equipped with individual string sensors and is located where the strings meet the bridge. It’s designed to reduce the harsh high frequencies often associated with this type of pickup — in essence, it captures only the guitar’s mid and low frequencies. Finally, the mini-microphone, mounted just inside the body near the left upper bout, provides additional low and midrange frequencies. When these three elements are combined, the full frequency range of the guitar is reproduced in all its glory.

The entire Atmosfeel system is controlled from a simple three-knob panel mounted on the left side of the guitar so it’s easily accessible when you’re playing the instrument. These allow you to adjust Master Volume, Treble EQ and Mic Blend.

Closeup of knobs on side of body of acoustic guitar. — *NX Series Atmosfeel controls.*

Master Volume, as you might expect, sets the overall output of the system, while Treble EQ cuts or boosts high frequencies using a peaking filter. Mic Blend determines the amount of mic signal. When turned fully counterclockwise, you’ll hear a premixed blend of the transducer and piezo pickup. When turned fully counterclockwise, 50% of the mic signal is added to the mix. While these guitars sound quite natural with the piezo pickup and sensor alone, the mic signal adds a whole new dimension of clarity and width. Together, this trio of controls provides a broad range of tonalities and sonic options.

In addition to being useful when recording in the studio or practicing through an amp at home, the Atmosfeel system provides excellent onstage sound with reduced potential for feedback.

Signature Bracing

As described in our “Step Up to a Better Acoustic Guitar” blog, the internal design of guitar bodies — their bracing in particular — impacts how the sound from the strings resonates through the instrument’s body and therefore has a significant effect on the tone. To increase the low frequency response of NX Series nylon-string guitars without sacrificing durability, Yamaha engineers made several refinements to their inside bracing, using precise measurements and experimentation to refine the natural characteristics of the tonewoods used in the construction of the instruments.

A.R.E.

With over 100 years of piano-making and decades of acoustic guitar design, you might expect that the engineers at Yamaha possess exceptional woodworking skills, and you’d be right. The A.R.E. technology (short for “Acoustic Resonant Enhancement”) used in many Yamaha acoustic guitars is a patented, non-chemical process that uses controlled temperature, humidity and pressure to alter the structure of wood all the way down to a subcellular level. This helps the wood sound like it’s many years older than it is … and when it comes to guitars made of choice tonewoods, that’s a good thing!

Side by side graphic of sound waves. — *The benefits of A.R.E. treatment.*

This treatment is applied to wood panels that are carefully dried and cut before they are incorporated into guitars, helping to improve sound transmission and resonance, and allowing the wood to vibrate more easily. A new guitar with A.R.E treatment resonates more like that of a vintage instrument that has been played for many years. That adds up to sparkle in the highs, depth in the mids and extra response in the lows, which, simply put, makes for a better-sounding nylon-string guitar with greater tonal richness and extra sound projection.

The advanced technology incorporated into Yamaha NX Series nylon-string guitars allows them to meet any challenge, whether they’re played subtly in a carefully controlled studio environment or onstage at full performance level. Try one out and see for yourself!

Check out these related blog articles:

Introducing the NX Series

Step Up to a Better Acoustic Guitar

Atmosfeel: The Next Generation of Yamaha Acoustic Guitar Pickups

Atmosfeel Technology Comes to the Nylon-String Guitar

A Quick Guide to Yamaha Acoustic Guitar Pickup Technology

Tips for Playing Nylon-String Guitar

Click here for more information about Yamaha NX Series nylon-string guitars.

Man in his 30s with short hair, moustache and beard looking at camera. There is a digital studio setup behind him.

Justin Perkins

Written by Yamaha Corporation of America on June 30, 2021. Posted in Pro Audio Artists.

In this video, mastering engineer Justin Perkins discusses working with Steinberg WaveLab at his Mystery Room studio. Perkins’ background is in recording and mixing, including a stint at famed producer Butch Vig’s Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin. In 2009, he made the move to Milwaukee and shifted his focus to mastering.

In comparing the crafts, Justin points out that in mixing, “you have access to all the elements of the song and you can really paint a sonic soundscape. Mastering is [more of] a micro-art; it’s the art of attention to detail, to subtlety. It’s the art of knowing what not to do.”

“When I was transitioning from mixing and producing into mastering,” he adds, “I knew that I needed a special piece of software that wasn’t doing what my DAW was doing. Mastering [isn’t just] about stereo bus processing — there’s a whole lot of stuff that happens after it. So WaveLab was perfect for me, because it did all the things that my DAW couldn’t do: sequencing the songs, applying the processing that’s needed, working in all the different delivery formats. It’s a whole different world sending out master files for final distribution than it is just sending out stereo mixes for approval.”

Justin also appreciates the benefits that WaveLab brings to his workflow. “I know some people who have to use two or three different apps to do their mastering. WaveLab is designed to let you work just in one application for the entire process. For me, it creates an almost frictionless workflow where I’m almost not even thinking about the software anymore, which allows me more time to think about the music. It helps you stay in the zone and focus.”

“WaveLab really is an all-in-one mastering solution,” Perkins concludes. “It’s a really full-featured program, and it’s got such a special set of tools. If you’re serious about mastering — whether you’re a professional mastering engineer or a mix engineer that sometimes has to master your own projects — there’s really nothing like it.”

Check out these related articles.

Click here to learn more about Steinberg Wavelab.

How to Transpose

Written by Jerry Kovarsky on June 28, 2021. Posted in Keyboard How-to. 1 Comment on How to Transpose

As a keyboardist, you will likely be called upon to accompany a vocalist on occasion. However, there will probably be times when the song they choose will not fit their vocal range if played in the original key (i.e., the one used in the recording).

Perhaps some of the highest (or lowest) notes are just a bit out of their range, or maybe a female singer wants to perform a song originally written for by a male singer, or vice versa. If they are having trouble hitting higher notes, you’ll want to move the key down. If the song travels very near or even below the lower end of their range, you’ll want to move it up. Either way, to help them sound their best, you’ll need to change the key — a process called transposing.

On a digital keyboard or piano, transposition is easy: all you have to do is press a button (usually labeled “Transpose”). After you set the amount up or down by the desired number of semitones, you simply keep playing in the written key, and the instrument will do the rest for you. (This video covers the basics.) Just be sure to reset the transposition value back to 0 when you’re done playing the song!

On acoustic piano, however, the process is quite a bit more challenging. Here are some helpful tips on how to do it.

The Importance of Rehearsal

Often, you and/or the singer won’t know there’s a need to transpose until you do your first run-through of the song during rehearsal. (Yes, you absolutely should get together and rehearse before the performance!) During the run-through, listen for issues like notes out of the singer’s range, and whether the timbre (tonal quality) of their voice changes unpleasantly when they hit certain notes. Be sure to play the whole song, not just the beginning: often it’s in the middle of a tune that the melody changes more.

Bear in mind that when you support a vocalist, you shouldn’t be playing the song directly from the sheet music (if you have it on hand), as you don’t want to be playing the melody — that’s the singer’s job! So you are only concerned with the chords, and perhaps some signature melodic phrases that may occur in the intro, etc. (I am assuming that you know how to play chords and have some understanding of harmony. For a refresher, I’ve covered the subject in this blog and this one.)

If you are working with an experienced vocalist, they may already know what key they prefer to sing the song in. Even better, they might have a chord chart for you to use — it’s always good to ask in advance.

The “Brute Force” Method

This is a good way to approach changing the key of a song when you have the sheet music or chord chart to work from. Here’s an example of what a chord chart of a simple pop tune chord progression might look like:

And here’s how I might opt to play those chords:

If the singer and I come to the realization that the key needs to change, the first decision is: How far off is it? If they can get through the piece okay but a few high notes are hard to hit, then you can transpose it down by a small amount. If the whole song feels uncomfortable, you’ll need to move it to a key further away. To do this, you need to be familiar with the concept of intervals between notes. These are expressed in terms like a half step, a whole step, a major third, a perfect fourth, etc. My two-part “Playing By Ear” blog will help you review the concept.

Let’s say you only need to lower the key of the song by a whole step (two half-steps). As you look at each chord on the chart, simply think of the note that is a whole step lower than what’s on the page. In the chart shown above, the first chord is a C major triad. So you need to think and play a B-flat major triad instead. The second chord is an E minor, so play D minor instead … and keep doing this all throughout the tune. If it’s hard for you to do this in your head, get a pencil and write in the replacement chords you need to use. Here’s that chord progression, modified to play a whole step lower:

And here’s how I might play these chords:

Let’s try the same concept, but now we’ll bring the tune up a perfect fourth, so instead of starting on C Major, we’ll start on F Major:

I’d likely voice the chords like this:

It may take you some time to get comfortable with doing transpositions this way, but it will become natural the more you practice it.

The Numbering Method

Most music is set in a given key, which means it is based on the notes of a scale, be it major or minor. At the start of the first line of the sheet music or chord chart, you’ll find a number of sharps or flats; these tell you which notes are to be played on the black keys instead of the white keys. This is called the key signature. If you already understand this concept, and you know your major and minor scales, you can use that knowledge to help transpose songs.

To show you how this works, let’s return to our original example, which is in the key of C major, with no sharps or flats:

(Yes, I know there is a B♭9sus4 chord in the third bar — I’ll deal with that in a moment.)

Roman numerals are commonly used to denote the relationship of a chord to the key center, with a “I” indicating the root chord, “V” indicating the chord built on the fifth step of the scale, etc. Uppercase numerals are used to designate major triad-based chords, while lowercase are used for minor or diminished-based chords.

Here’s how the chart above would be numbered:

The great thing about using numbers this way is that the chord progression becomes “universal” — it can be applied to any key. That’s why this is the most common way that musicians communicate with each other about tunes and chord progressions.

As you can see, the chords in the first two bars are from the key of C Major, but in bar three, the B-flat root tone occurs outside of the C Major scale. That’s no problem; instead of vii, it’s called a flat vii (♭VII), using the uppercase roman numeral with the 9sus characters to denote that it is a Dominant ninth chord that has a suspended fourth in place of the usual third. In this fashion, any chord can be described relative to the key center and assumed scale.

Best of all, when it comes time to transpose, all you have to do is think of the new key signature/scale, keeping the roman numerals intact. For example, if we wanted to lower this chord progression by a full tone, the chart would look like this:

Again, the chords might be played like this:

As another example, let’s say we need to raise the song to the key of E Major. Here are the transposed results and the possible voicings:

Make it part of your practice routine to take songs you know and play them in other keys. Work on your knowledge of and comfort level with intervals, as these will allow you transpose in your head quickly and easily. You can even sharpen your transposition skills when away from the keyboard — just look at some music and think through the chords in different keys.

All audio played on a Yamaha P-515.

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Claudia Taylor Johnson band members doing community work

Case Study: A 10-Year Growth Plan for Enrollment, Facilities, Instruments and Staffing

Written by Jarrett Lipman on June 25, 2021. Posted in Case Studies. 1 Comment on Case Study: A 10-Year Growth Plan for Enrollment, Facilities, Instruments and Staffing

Claudia Taylor “Lady Bird” Johnson High School in San Antonio, Texas, opened in 2008 as the seventh comprehensive high school in the North East Independent School District (NEISD).

I am lucky to be Johnson’s band director since the school opened, and I have worked enthusiastically with our staff and community to grow the music program. I started teaching at Johnson my first year out of college, so I have “grown up” with the campus, and it has been a remarkable journey to see so many lives changed coming through the school’s band program.

Because Johnson was constructed on top of one of the tallest hills in Bexar County, the community dubbed it the “City on the Hill.” The campus is colorful and vibrant to match the wildflowers that Mrs. Johnson shared with the country as first lady. (There’s a Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas at Austin.) The school opened with about 1,800 students, splitting from Ronald Reagan High School after receiving approval from the community in a 2005 bond. I was a student-teacher at Reagan in 2007, the year prior to the split, and helped navigate the transition for Johnson’s band members from Day One with my friend, mentor and colleague, Alan Sharps, who recently retired after 40 years of teaching. Together, we opened and established the Johnson program.

Looking at an explosion of population on the northside of San Antonio, the NEISD 2005 bond aimed to relieve stress on Reagan, which had a capacity of 3,000 students, but enrollment was approaching 4,000. The initial plans for Johnson provided for a capacity of 3,000 students, but during construction, administrators approved an additional wing that expanded capacity to 3,200. The new campus included a 4,000-square-foot music rehearsal hall.

Because of unprecedented rainstorms in 2006, campus construction fell behind schedule. Johnson opened in 2008, but with only 70% of the campus operational. The cafeteria, athletic fields, auditorium, library and many of the classrooms weren’t functional until Christmas.

However, the show must go on! For our 2008 band camp, the Johnson band rehearsed at neighboring James Madison High School, and we quickly learned that the field was inundated with fire ants. The kids remained positive and had a great sense of humor as they dodged the ant mounds, and the parents worked to eliminate the threat, but the fire ants proved to be worthy adversaries over our two-week camp.

Through most of that first school year, students worked through the challenges of continued construction and a less-than-smooth transition to their new campus, but they maintained the very best attitude. I think the challenges of Johnson’s first year created our culture of flexibility and adaptiveness, which, 12 years later during the COVID-19 pandemic, proved to be invaluable traits to help the band win its first state championship in the face of tremendous adversity.

Less than 10 years after Johnson opened, the school’s music program had grown so much that it required a new hall. During this time, the campus had doubled its instrument inventory but needed more, and music staff expanded from three full-time band directors to four.

Johnson successfully received community support, and in 2018, construction began on an additional $2 million, 3,500-square-foot band hall next to the campus’ existing facility.

Gain Support by Educating Administrators and the Community

When pursuing anything that involves asking for funding — additional facilities, equipment, staffing, etc. — I find that the single most crucial piece of the puzzle is to patiently educate stakeholders. Administrators and parents may or may not realize your needs until they can see them spelled out clearly with facts and supporting data.

By examining other districts with similar demographics and learning from others, we were able to entice stakeholders to see the value in our proposal. We shared good news about our program’s accomplishments and demonstrated the value of the financial investment, which helped support a growth-minded vision. We began the process by sharing facts and evidence and then followed up patiently and consistently. With time, the Johnson band directors successfully made their case for expansion.

District’s Guiding Principle: Equity

NEISD is a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse district that spans over 144 square miles on the northcentral and northeast side of San Antonio. The district was formed in 1950 and has grown from one high school to seven, 14 middle schools and over 40 elementary schools that serve nearly 68,000 students.

Equity is the guiding principle for the school district. Whenever the district builds a new school, it also targets one of the older schools for additions or demolition and reconstruction. Over the last two decades, NEISD has rebuilt from the ground up two of its original high schools and significantly added to or remodeled four other schools, including Reagan, which opened in 1999.

The district has also torn down and reconstructed several aging middle schools to provide new academic wings, and fine arts and athletic facilities. District planners and leaders meet annually with campus administrators and community members on the (CBAC) to identify new or replacement construction priorities and plan a vision for these subsequent upgrades. In other words, by the time construction is wrapping up on one bond, the district is already preparing to float another to address needs and improve the experience of its students.

Traditionally, when floating a new bond, the district approaches a “wish list” that focuses on seven categories, five physical construction and two related to bond management:

Safety and security
Instructional technology
District operations
Extracurricular Programs (athletics and fine arts)
District Facilities
District Bond program management (financial management)
Bond Global Contingencies (financial management)

Johnson’s new band hall fell into category #4. Here is the breakdown and project list from the NEISD 2015 bond.

The 10-Year Growth of Johnson’s Band

When Johnson opened in 2008, the band hall was built based on the model used in other district high schools. The 3,904-square-foot building had a capacity of 195 students. Johnson also boasted a smaller “ensemble” classroom with an additional capacity of 38 students. The facilities were adequate for the band size of 150 in 2008 and could comfortably accommodate up to 200-250 students.

Year 1, 2008-2009 — 150 students in band: The band opened with smaller junior and senior classes that were split from Reagan, a heathy-sized sophomore class (40-50) mixed from Reagan and and a strong incoming freshman class from Tejeda Middle School (50-60).

Year 2, 2009-2010 — 190 students: With a small senior class graduating from the year before, the band added another healthy freshman class and rapidly approached 200 students.

Years 3 to 5, 2010-2013 — 220 students: With a single middle school feeder, the Johnson band stabilized at around 220 total students with four full classes that ranged in size from 40 to 60 students in each grade. Growth had stagnated in the North San Antonio area due to the economic downturn of 2008-2009, and the school enrollment remained flat at around 2,500 students.

During the fall of 2011, NEISD narrowly passed a bond that included the construction of the district’s 14th middle school, which would be a second dedicated feeder for Johnson. The construction of the new middle school was controversial because several of the middle schools surrounding Johnson had plenty of capacity, and growth in the North San Antonio area was reasonably flat to negative.

Fortunately for the Johnson band, the construction meant a new infusion of numbers and talent. Instead of 300 students in a single middle school band, future projection models showed 550 to 600 students in two middle school bands.

Years 4 to 8, 2013-16 — 260 students: As the economy recovered, construction of new homes in the Johnson attendance zone began to grow gradually. Tex Hill opened in the fall of 2014, just three years after the bond passed to build the campus.

In the fall of 2013, the Johnson band exceeded 250 students, and rehearsing the entire marching band together indoors became impossible. The band started utilizing orchestra, choir and any available spaces in the fine arts wing during the school day.

Our color guard numbered 40 members for the 2013-2014 school year, and the entire team could not rehearse inside the current band hall due to space constraints. With the campus growing, gym space was at a premium, and our color guard often had to split into two groups to rehearse. Half of the flag students would be inside with the color guard director; the other half was outside, rehearsing with student leadership and a band director supervising.

After Hill opened, Tejeda continued to flourish, and projections based on retention and the 2014 size of the sixth-grade class between the two middle schools showed that the Johnson band would reach 350 students within three years.

We shared the 2014 projections that forecasted that the incoming 6th-grade band class would nearly double — from 100 beginners to 200 — and demonstrated the down-the-line impact on Johnson High School’s band program.

We initially requested a portable for additional rehearsal space during the day. But, as the CBAC was meeting in the fall of 2014 to discuss floating another bond in 2015, we began to discuss the idea of expanding the band hall capacity at Johnson and other campuses in the district that were seeing similar growth.

The CBAC identified Reagan, Johnson and Winston Churchill high schools for band hall expansion projects on the 2015 bond. Legacy of Educational Excellence (LEE) and MacArthur High would also receive upgrades to their band and fine arts facilities, but not additional capacity, with bond funds. Theodore Roosevelt High School had already received a new fine arts facility in 2008, and Madison welcomed a new fine arts facility as a part of the 2011 bond. In the end, the district listened to its teachers, band parents and administrators and significantly improved the fine arts facilities at all seven high school campuses.

Year 9, 2016-2017 — 303 students: The Johnson program surpassed 300 students in the band as projected.

Year 10, 2017-2018 — 350 students: Contractors broke ground on Johnson’s new band hall at the end of the school year in 2018 and completed the project in the summer of 2019, in time for the 2019-2020 school year. The new facility added nearly 3,500 square feet of space and an additional capacity of 175 students. It included a small classroom for instruction, a new office, a new storage room and additional instrument locker storage. The original architect for Johnson High School also designed the addition to provide for continuity. The addition looks like it was there from Day One.

The larger Johnson band has benefited tremendously from the additional capacity granted through the 2015 bond. With the new facility, the capacity at Johnson is over 400 students now. All band students also have enough locker space for equipment.

With COVID-19 challenges, the additional space was invaluable as we split bands into smaller groups. Band enrollment dipped to 310 due to the pandemic, but numbers have bounced back, and we are currently sitting at 335 for the 2021-2022 school year.

Staffing and Team Teaching

As we approached an enrollment of 300 students in the 2015-2016 school year, we met with our principal and requested hiring a fourth band director. Our orchestra program was also growing, so administrators decided to support both disciplines and hire a single director who would split time between band and orchestra. The additional staff member was a blessing in managing the transition from 290 students to 350 in the band and the orchestra’s growth to 150 students.

The four directors at Johnson work together closely, but each has a defined role. I am the Head Director, which is like the CEO of a corporation. I chart the overall course for the program, manage communication, coordinate fundraising and engage with the middle schools daily to recruit and retain students. I also conduct the wind ensemble/honor band and direct and program the marching band. The Associate Director, which was the position Mr. Sharps held, is the eyes and ears of the program and has his/her hand in everything the Head Director does, but also focuses on the jazz program and co-conducts the wind ensemble/honor band.

The two Assistant Directors manage the inventory and music library, and they conduct the non-varsity and sub non-varsity concert bands. The Assistant Director for Percussion teaches percussion for grades 6-12 and manages building events/facilities. The Assistant Director for Band and Orchestra co-conducts the full orchestra and teaches music theory.

We team teach all the concert bands, even though someone will ultimately conduct them at University Interscholastic League (UIL) Marching Band Contests. By taking this team approach, our students benefit from the strengths and personality that each director brings to the table.

If it’s not possible to have a team of directors at your high school, or if you’re limited to one assistant, try to team teach as much as possible with other music teachers in your district or department. Bring together choir, orchestra and band, or team teach with the middle schools. Band directing can be lonely, and having one or more partners is powerful.

Growing the Instrument Inventory

When the Johnson campus opened in 2008, the construction project was over budget due to the additional G-Wing added to the campus midway through. This resulted in across-the-board cuts to equipment purchases, including musical instruments, chairs, stands and more.

The band opened with enough instruments for a program of 150-175 students and shared equipment with Reagan. As Johnson’s program grew, administrators promised to allocate monies each year to purchase additional instruments to bring the equipment capacity to match the 350-member Reagan inventory before the split.
As other schools in our district saw their band programs declining, administrators permitted Johnson to borrow out-of-circulation instruments from those campuses. From 2008 to 2015, Johnson slowly added to its inventory while continuing to borrow from other campuses to meet our needs. By 2015, the band inventory matched the one at Reagan, and we began to focus on replacements and upgrades.

We constantly communicated with administration and other band directors to borrow out-of-use instruments on other campuses and maximize the use of resources. Today, this practice continues in our district as schools regularly share equipment to save money and apply toward replacement and upgrades. We have been careful to service, clean and maintain our original inventory since 2008 so that instruments did not fall into disrepair. Now, we work with our middle schools in our cluster to identify needs that will benefit all three schools before we purchase additional instruments.

Pay It Forward

Our earliest goal was for Johnson to serve as a shining “City on the Hill” full of positive energy for music education. We realized the unique privilege afforded to us by our community and that our challenges were unique to our situation. But our hope was to share what we learned through the process of building a successful program from scratch and to drive conversations about the “what ifs.”

Mr. Sharps and I are both non-native Texans — we did not grow up in the UIL or Texas band culture, but we came here to learn and be a part of it. I believe that Johnson has benefited from our desire to bring together multiple schools of thought from all over the country, and I encourage band directors to learn from great programs in every city and every state. In our view, success is not dictated by trophies or accolades. Often our greatest success as music educators is rooted in the small “gems” that we learn from one another’s programs.

Johnson regularly engages four to five student teachers each year in hopes of giving back to the music education community and ensure that we support the future of our profession. We are always open to visitors. We share our ideas and give generously as so many have helped us, and we hope that the ideas we have provided will help someone else grow and improve their music program.

Man playing digital piano in a modern living room.

A Quick Guide to Weighted Keys

Written by Yamaha Corporation of America on June 24, 2021. Posted in Digital Pianos. 8 Comments on A Quick Guide to Weighted Keys

You’re about to buy a digital keyboard instrument. One of the many questions you need to ask yourself is: Do I need one with weighted keys?

The answer mostly comes down to whether or not your ultimate goal is to play piano. (If you’re already a pianist, you’ll definitely want an instrument with weighted keys, for reasons we’ll explain shortly.)

In this article, we’ll take a look at the benefits offered by weighted keys, and will discuss the various systems in common use today. Ready to learn more? Read on …

What Are Weighted Keys?

As the name implies, these are keys to which weights have been added so as to simulate the complex mechanics that occurs when a key is depressed in an acoustic piano — a series of levers that eventually cause a hammer to strike a grouping of two or three strings. This system has a natural weight or resistance that you can feel as you play a piano, and it’s that resistance that helps you gauge how hard to hit a key to get the sound you want. Use a delicate touch and the note will be soft and less strident; strike with greater force and the extra pressure will cause the hammer to hit the strings harder, resulting in a louder, brighter sound.

Graphic showing a mechanism for testing key's weighting. — *A complex series of levers are attached to each key of an acoustic piano.*

Unweighted keys (which are usually spring-loaded) are most often found in synthesizers and entry-level digital keyboards. Digital pianos, including some portable models as well as most “stage” models (keyboards designed for live performance), will typically have weighted keys. Yamaha Portable digital pianos, as well as our two Stage Pianos (the CP73 and CP88) combine portability with weighted keyboards. Yamaha ARIUS digital pianos all have weighted keys and built-in consoles. And the entire premium Clavinova digital piano line provides fully authentic touch thanks to cutting-edge technology such as weighted “Grand Touch™” keyboards that feature real hammers and graded action (see below for more information).

Interior view of the Grand touch keyboard. — *Acoustic piano hammer mechanisms.*

Go Where the Action Is

The “feel” of an acoustic piano is most often described as its “action.” This can be adjusted by a skilled technician so that the pianist encounters greater or lesser resistance as notes are played. The difference in action is one of the main reasons why playing a grand piano feels very different than playing an upright model. Because the strings are mounted horizontally in grand pianos, the hammers return to their rest position due to the force of gravity, under their own weight. In addition, grand pianos utilize a double escapement mechanism that allows keys to be played rapidly in succession, without first letting the key return all the way to its starting position. In upright pianos, where the strings are mounted vertically, the hammers rely on springs to return to the at-rest position. As a result, key repetition (i.e., when a player repeats notes quickly, such as when playing trills) is much smoother and faster in grand pianos than it is in upright pianos — to a maximum of roughly 15 times per second in grands, versus seven times per second in uprights.

Unlike acoustic pianos, the sounds made by digital keyboards do not come from the vibrations of strings. Instead, the sounds are generated from streams of numbers — numeric emulations (“samples”) of acoustic pianos and other instruments. The weighted keys in digital keyboards often incorporate physical counterweights and/or hammers to evoke the sensation of playing an acoustic piano, and the feel of these instruments is also referred to as their action.

Let’s take a look at the three weighted actions most commonly used in digital keyboards.

1. Semi-Weighted

As mentioned previously, most entry-level digital keyboards and synthesizers have unweighted keys. However, some intermediate models offer a semi-weighted action. These instruments incorporate spring-action keys with more resistance than those found in an unweighted keyboard, providing a playing experience which is more responsive to your touch.

2. Hammer Action

Digital instruments with a hammer action keyboard include a mechanism that replicates that of an acoustic piano. This is usually achieved by the attachment of a physical lever system and hammers to add more resistance to the keys you’re playing.

3. Graded Weighting

Every single key on a grand piano keyboard is weighted differently. This is because the strings for each note are slightly thinner and shorter in the treble register, becoming thicker and longer towards the bass register. As a result, there is greater resistance when playing low notes than when playing high notes. In other words, a heavier touch is required in the left hand and a lighter touch in the right hand. To emulate this in a digital piano, the keys are often individually weighted, with the lower keys heavier than the higher ones — something that’s called graded weighting.

Yamaha Weighted Key Designs

Yamaha has been building acoustic pianos for more than a century. This long experience has allowed us to develop a number of innovative keyboard actions for our digital instruments. These include:

Graded Hammer Standard (GHS)

Graded Hammer Standard (GHS) action incorporates real hammers and is found on many Yamaha digital pianos, including ARIUS PDP Series and Portable P-Series and DGX-Series models. Instruments with GHS actions are ideal for beginners that want to start getting used to the feel of an acoustic piano. They deliver the graded, weighted touch piano teachers recommend for building proper technique.

Graded Hammer 3 (GH3) and Graded Hammer 3 With Escapement (GH3X)

Utilizing the same hammering system and spring-less mechanism as a concert grand piano, GH3 and GH3X actions accurately reproduce the touch of an acoustic piano, from the heavy feel in the lower register to the lighter touch in the upper octaves. It also allows the player to feel the weight of a key when depressing it a second time, even when the key has not yet been completely released.

In addition, the GH3X action incorporates an escapement mechanism. In a grand piano, this moves the hammers away from the strings quickly after they are struck in order to prevent any interference with string vibration; it also produces a slight clicking sensation when the keys are pressed gently. The GH3X mechanism reproduces this sensation near the bottom of the key dip. It has been designed in such a way that the click is discernible only on the lightest keystrokes, similar to the keyboard of a grand piano. This keyboard action has also been adjusted to provide additional friction that balances key repetition and response without impeding performance.

You’ll find GH3 and GH3X actions on Yamaha Clavinova CSP-150 and CVP-701 digital pianos, as well as the ARIUS YDP-165 and YDP-S55 models.

Yamaha GH3 keyboard action mechanism. — *GH3 action.*

Grand Touch Keyboards

The Grand Touch keyboards offered by all Yamaha Clavinova CLP Series and select CVP Series models provide a detailed grand piano feel that allows for uniform tone control, precise rhythm and smooth melodic expression.

An important part of this is the use of differing weights and key returns for each one of its keys, similar to that of an acoustic grand piano. Grand Touch keyboards also provide an escapement mechanism, similar to that employed by GH3 and GH3X keyboards, along with extended key length, which gives the player extra leverage for better expressive control, even when playing at the backs of keys.

Yamaha Grand Touch keyboard escapement mechanism. — *Grand Touch keyboard escapement mechanism.*

The Benefits of Weighted Keys

In order to develop proper piano technique, players need to feel that they are pushing against a key to play a note, and they also need to experience the sensation of the key pushing back up when returning to its resting position. In a digital instrument, this can only be accomplished with the use of weighted keys.

Weighted keys also encourage finger strength, just as lifting weights in a gym encourages arm, back and leg strength. The principle is the same: The more you lift a heavier weight, the easier it is to lift lighter weights.

Non-weighted keyboards can be fine for the casual player, or for someone who only ever intends to play organ or synthesizer. But if you learn or practice exclusively on non-weighted keyboards, you will likely find it difficult to make the transition to acoustic piano. So if your ultimate goal is to play piano, weighted keys are really the only way to go.

Check out these related blog articles:

What’s the Difference Between a Grand Piano and an Upright Piano?

What’s the Difference Between a Digital Keyboard and a Digital Piano?

Buying Your First Digital Keyboard

Which Digital Piano Is Right for Me?

Step Up to a Better Keyboard, Part 1: Feel and Sound

The Rebirth of the Stage Piano

Click here for more information about Yamaha digital pianos.

Click here for more information about Yamaha stage keyboards.

How Does a Vinyl Record Make Sound?

Written by Rich Tozzoli on June 23, 2021. Posted in Vinyl. 2 Comments on How Does a Vinyl Record Make Sound?

Vinyl records may have been around for over 100 years, but it’s a format that’s still going strong. Whether it’s the tactile feel of holding an actual record in your hands, the joy of laying down the stylus needle or just the pleasure of sitting back and hearing a great recording while enjoying cover art and reading extensive liner notes, vinyl provides an experience unlike any other.

Making Waves

Listening starts with sound waves, which are simply vibrations in the air. A vinyl record provides an analog representation of those waves.

The trick is that these sound waves have to get from the recording studio — where the musicians create, produce and mix the music — onto a vinyl record that you can play in your home. (Today’s records are actually made of polyvinyl chloride, which is a type of plastic; nonetheless, many people simply refer to them as “vinyl”.) The process is quite fascinating.

Onto the Lathe

Once a final mix is created (whether digitally or on analog tape), it is played back and the signal routed into a device called a cutting lathe; this usually occurs at a specialized facility called a mastering studio. Using a diamond needle, the lathe cuts a continuous spiral groove into an aluminum disc covered in lacquer; this groove, which runs from the outside of the disc to the inside, is an analog representation of the sound waves.

Closeup of the grooves on the aluminum disc. — *Record grooves.*

The groove is actually V-shaped, and each side of the groove “wall” carries one of the stereo signals. The right channel is carried by the side closest to the outside of the record, and the left is carried by the inside wall. The frequency and amplitude (volume) information are a reflection of the groove’s width and depth. If there’s too much bass, a needle could literally jump out of the groove! It’s the job of the mastering engineer to get it just right when doing the transfer to vinyl.

Once a lacquer master has been created on the lathe, it is used to make a metal stamper, which has ridges instead of grooves — almost like a perfect “negative” copy of the lacquer. The stamper is then loaded into a hydraulic press and pushed into soft vinyl to create the final record, which typically comes in 7-, 10- and 12-inch diameters.

The Record Player

Record players (commonly called turntables, for reasons I’ll explain in a moment) are electromagnetic devices that convert the vibrations encoded in the grooves of the vinyl into electrical signals. The record is placed on a turntable, which is a circular plate usually covered with rubber to prevent scratching. The turntable then rotates via a belt or direct drive system to spin the record at a set speed of 33 1/3, 45 or 78 RPM (Revolutions Per Minute).

The actual transformation of energy is the job of the cartridge, to which is attached a stylus — a needle made of a hard substance like a small piece of industrial diamond. These sit on the end of a tone arm mounted on the record player; as the record spins, the tone arm follows the grooves and spirals inward. (Note that the size and shape of the tone arm can also affect audio quality.) As it does so, the stylus “rides” in the grooves carved in the vinyl, which carry the amplitude and frequency of the audio, as well as the left and right stereo information. The vibrations picked up by the stylus travel to the cartridge, where they are converted to an electrical signal.

Turntable seen from above. — *The Yamaha **GT-5000** turntable has a short, straight tone arm for pristine audio.*

Cartridges come in two types: moving magnet (MM) and moving coil (MC), each of which have slightly different output levels. Your receiver amplifies the electrical signals generated by the cartridge to the level necessary to drive loudspeakers and/or headphones.

The Preamp

If your record player has a phono preamp stage, it can be connected to a dedicated phono input on your receiver, if it has one. This not only raises the level of the signal coming from the cartridge, but serves another important function. When records are cut to vinyl, high frequencies are boosted and low frequencies reduced (attenuated). This is known as the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) equalization curve, which became the de facto industry standard way back in 1954. The application of this curve not only helps preserve the sonic quality of the original master but also helps reduce groove damage and allows for the creation of longer LP recording times by keeping the grooves small.

Turntables that have a built-in preamp typically offer a stereo “Line” output (which can be connected to any standard receiver line input or even directly to self-powered speakers) in addition to a phono output that can only be connected to a receiver’s phono input. For example, here are the dual outputs offered by the Yamaha MusicCast VINYL 500:

Sideview of closed turntable with clear cover. — *Yamaha MusicCast VINYL 500 line and phono outputs.*

The Yamaha TT-S303 takes a slightly different approach: It offers a single stereo output that can be switched between line-level (“EQ Thru”) and phono-level (“EQ ON”):

Sideview of turntable with closed clear lid. — *Yamaha TT-S303 switched output.*

All Yamaha AV receivers and amplifiers can easily integrate with pretty much any turntable. The flagship A-S3200 integrated amplifier, for example, has a phono input that can accommodate both MM (moving magnet) and MC (moving coil) types of phono cartridges. Note that, if your AV receiver does not have a dedicated phono preamp, it can be purchased separately and easily added to your system.

So jump aboard the vinyl train and dust off some of your favorite records … or buy some of the exciting new releases that are available today. Either way, the joy of placing that needle down and hearing the audio magic happen will bring a smile to your face and pleasure to your ears.

Check out these related blog articles:

Here’s What You Need to Know About Vinyl

Appreciating Vinyl Records … and the Best Way to Enjoy Them

Five Reasons Vinyl Is Making a Comeback

Top 10 Vinyl Albums for Audiophiles

10 Hip-Hop Albums That Sound Great on Vinyl

Spotlight on Vinyl Subscription Services

Hi-Fi Starter Guide

Dialing in the Perfect Two-Channel Experience

How to Connect a Turntable to an AV Receiver

The Difference a Tonearm Makes

Seven Fun Places to Put Your Wireless Turntable

Get Your Party Started with the MusicCast VINYL 500

Shopping for Vinyl

Caring for Vinyl

How to Clean Vinyl Records

Click here for more information about Yamaha turntables.

Pride Month Special: Breaking Barriers

Written by Emily Starbuck Gerson on June 22, 2021. Posted in Artists.

In honor of Pride Month, I spoke to three inspiring Yamaha artists in the LGBTQ+ community about their unique journeys. From a concert pianist to a flute player to a Southern rock ‘n’ roller, these trailblazers shared how their identities impact their artistry, how they’re redefining their craft and why music has the power to build bridges.

Intersectional Identities

All three artists I spoke with discussed how being musicians and members of the LGBTQ+ community are both innate and deeply connected parts of who they are.

LG, who founded queer Southern rock band Thelma & The Sleaze in 2010, started playing music in her teens and came out as lesbian early on. “I’ve never really not been out, and there’s never been a separation of music and my sexuality,” she says. “They’ve always gone hand-in-hand.”

Woman with long hair and a t-shirt rocking out on a guitar on stage. — *LG.*

Jeffrey Khaner, long-time principal flutist with the Philadelphia Orchestra and a Juilliard graduate and professor, also discovered an early passion for music. “After I started playing flute in seventh grade, it never really occurred to me to do anything else,” he says.

Khaner also knew he was gay early in life but never felt the need to hide it. Over the years, when fellow college students or colleagues at new jobs cautioned him about being out, he remained true to himself and let his music speak for itself. “It was something I sort of worried about for an instant, then I thought, look, if they’re going to have a problem with it, it’s going to be their problem,” he says. And nobody ever gave him a problem.

Bald-headed man with cropped white beard in a black button up shirt looking over his left shoulder. — *Jeffrey Khaner.*

The Life-Saving Power of Music

The experience of coming out due to gender identity can be challenging, as it was for Sara Davis Buechner, an award-winning concert pianist and professor who fell in love with music as a toddler.

Buechner was assigned male at birth and experienced gender dysphoria at a young age, but at the time, with social stigma and scant information on being transgender, coming out seemed impossible. Instead, she used music to soothe her soul and express herself.

In her early teens, she couldn’t put her feelings into words but found solace by attending the symphony. “When I was in the concert halls and heard the music exploding forth, it was my ‘it gets better’ therapy,” Buechner says. “I knew that if I followed the music in me, it would always lead me to something true and honest and beautiful. And it did.” Focusing on her art for her first 35 years supplied Buechner with a steady source of therapy, beauty, culture, and calm.

Middle-aged woman with light hair and glasses playing a grand piano on stage. — *Sara Davis Buechner.*

Turning Tides

In her thirties, as Buechner’s career soared, she took a hard look inward. It was the late 1990s, and bolstered by newly available information and community online, she decided it was time for Sara’s debut.

Though Buechner gained a sense of inner harmony, colleagues treated her poorly, and her career fell flat. “I lost professional connections, I was basically fired from my job, conductors who used me a lot stopped answering calls, and chamber music [work] just disappeared since people didn’t want to play with me,” she says. Struggling to make a living, Buechner relocated to Canada, where she wasn’t well known and could make a name for herself on her musical talent alone.

Buechner has recently observed a sea change, as some conductors who previously abandoned her now want to reconnect and work with her again. “I’ve had to swallow my anger and pride a bit,” she says, “but people evolve and change and learn to be better, so I try to focus on the goodness of that.” She also appreciates how, for her younger colleagues and students, being LGBTQ+ is a non-issue; instead, it’s all about the music.

Additionally, with the new cultural focus on diversity, Buechner says the part of her identity that once damaged her career is now an asset — and, she reports, her calendar is the fullest it’s ever been.

Blazing Trails

While LG’s performances sometimes take her places that may not be LGBTQ+-friendly, she refuses to live in fear. “Being in an all-female queer Southern rock band, you need to confidently walk into every room like you own it, or you’ll be blocked at every turn,” she says.

And though being gay is a huge part of LG’s identity, she doesn’t want to be pigeonholed or appeal solely to the LGBTQ+ community. She’ll take a gig nearly anywhere, and she’ll be herself and say what’s on her mind in hopes of using her platform to create change and cultivate acceptance.

LG views performing in even the most unwelcome spaces as a way to effect change and build bridges, despite the fact that she may have to deal with people trying to shoot her down in the process. “I’ve forced myself to be in those spaces, because I know that if I can get into a room with a bunch of people who have had no exposure to radical queer culture, and they say ‘Hey, I love rock ‘n’ roll, I love babes, I love hair, I love amps, I love guitars’ — well then, guess what, jerk, you love queers too!”

Buechner has adopted a similar approach. Instead of avoiding areas that feel unsafe or unfriendly to trans people, she takes the risk and uses it as an opportunity for representation and bridge-building. Even in towns where she thinks it might be an issue, people come up to her after concerts to thank her for her visibility. “It means a lot to them that someone like me makes an appearance, goes on stage, and says, this isn’t an impediment — this is who I am and I’m proud of it.”

Expanding Diversity in Repertoire

Buechner says the current explosion of awareness of social justice issues in America is long overdue, and notes that the classical music business has a history of lacking diversity both in performers and in repertoire.

Her awareness of this began when she was studying at Juilliard and needed to develop sight-reading skills. Buechner visited the school library in search of sheet music and was astounded by how much piano repertoire she was unfamiliar with. She began spending hours daily at the library honing her sight-reading ability and learning music that is rarely heard. Ever since, Buechner has made it a personal mission to include lesser-known music into her concerts, and has noticed other performers starting to do the same.

Khaner has also observed this shift. Not only has the industry been forced to find new ways to make and present music, he says, but it has led to more exploration of music by women and minorities.

“I’ve been introduced to music that I’d never heard of,” Khaner explains. For example, the Philadelphia Orchestra’s music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin (who is also gay) made it a priority to perform and record the symphonies of Florence Price, an early 20th century female Black American composer. “They’re wonderful symphonies,” Khaner says. “I thought, how had I not heard of her or known of these before? How had they not been recorded?”

Leaving a Legacy

As he reflects on his legacy, Khaner has found meaning in mentoring the next generation of flute players. He’s astounded by their confidence and ability to play new, technically demanding flute music that would have been considered unplayable years ago. Whether his students continue with music or not, he aims to leave them with the unique problem-solving skills that one develops from performing music. He also believes the creativity fueled by the events of the past year has opened doors to countless new possibilities for artists.

Khaner has also left his mark by expanding the traditionally limited repertoire for flute players. The best composers typically just wrote for piano and strings, he points out, so he’s transcribed music for flute, has had music written for him and has also premiered a large amount of new music. Khaner’s career hit another high note when he worked with Yamaha to create a custom flute on a scale suited to his orchestra’s pitch, which has since been adopted by other professional flute players.

LG is also proud of breaking cultural barriers and creating more acceptance and understanding in the industry for those who follow. She has a rotating lineup of musicians in her band, and she uses this as an opportunity to mentor young female musicians amidst what she calls ‘the boys club.’

“These girls want to play with me and learn what they aren’t going to learn in music college,” she says. “Not just how to be good at music, but how to be iconic inside your scene.” She confesses that knowing she’s inspiring other women and queer people helps motivate her to keep the band going.

Buechner feels equally inspired by the younger LGBTQ+ artists she’s worked with, such as Jared Miller, a gay former student of hers who’s now a successful composer in Canada, as well as the Brooklyn-based organization ChamberQUEER. While Buechner is blown away by young musicians living authentically so much earlier in life, she makes sure to share her story and the LGBTQ community’s history to help keep progress moving forward rather than in retrograde. “When I’m speaking to young people about being trans and what it was like growing up trans, I try to really communicate to them that their voice matters, their activism matters, their concern matters,” she says. “They need to know if they don’t fight for their rights and for humanity and their equality, we could go backward very easily.”

For more information, visit:

http://thelmaandthesleaze.com/

https://iflute.com/

http://saradavisbuechner.com/

View from behind of someone climbing stone stairs wearing a backpack through a dense green forest towards sunlit area.

How to Find (and Stay on) Your Own Unique Path

Written by Jake Uitti on June 21, 2021. Posted in Creativity.

For over a decade, music has been a central part of my personal and professional life. I’ve interviewed and written about hundreds of artists, from Lady Gaga to the next up-and-coming guitar player. What’s more, my wife is a radio DJ who receives song submissions for the airwaves on an almost hourly basis. So when it comes to the scope and landscape of the music industry, I’ve seen how much of the sausage is made.

When it comes to getting new work noticed, I’ve learned one lesson above all others: Be yourself. But what does that mean, exactly? Aren’t we always being ourselves by default? To some extent, that’s true. But what I’m talking about here is leaning in and doubling down on what makes you you.

In other words, believe in what makes you stick out, not fit in. Don’t run from it. Embrace it.

With that in mind, here are six ideas to help you find, and stay on, your own unique musical path.

1. Don’t compare yourself to others.

There’s an old saying: “Comparison is the thief of joy.” While it’s important to learn from other people along the way, it’s equally important not to imitate their journey. Prince would not have been Prince if he tried to be just like Jimi Hendrix. David Bowie wouldn’t have been David Bowie if he wanted to sound, look or carry himself like Frank Sinatra. It’s hard to forge your own path instead of following someone else’s, but in the long run, it’s almost always what’s best. Sure, going it alone can be scary, but the things you’ll discover along the way will be more personal. And it’s what’s most personal that leaps off the proverbial page.

2. Take risks.

Standing out requires a leap of faith. You have to believe you have something to say and you have to be willing to say the things no one else will, can or has. You have to take risks and create what you’d like to see in the world. First, see how well you stand on new ground. Then risk it all again and leap off for even fresher terrain. You’ll likely find new inspirations to fuel your next work.

3. Don’t conform.

As human beings, most of the time, we just want to fit in. We don’t want to feel ostracized so we tend to try not to rock the boat. But as artists, we have to stand out or else our work can get lost, like the static in white noise. So don’t try to conform to what’s around you. Instead, be the most expressive version of you, even if it means breaking the mold.

4. Follow your curiosity.

What interests you is truly a sacred thing. It’s your instinct, your internal voice speaking directly to you, saying, “Hey, let’s check this out! We want to know more about this!” There’s likely a good reason for it, too. So trust your curiosity. It’s your guiding light in an unknowable future.

5. Learn from others.

Absorb as much as you can from others, then leave the rest for later (or never). As Shakespeare once noted, “All the world’s a stage.” But the world is also an encyclopedia. So take in new ideas or philosophies, and by all means try them on for size — but if they’re not for you, discard them and move on.

6. Find your voice … and believe in it.

Finding your own voice and believing in it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t want to evolve. But it does mean that once you’ve identified what makes you unique, you need to cultivate it. Someone else may have a roaring bonfire going, but that’s okay. Creativity is not a race. Your journey is singular; your fire is your own. Let the spark inside you flicker at first, then help it grow into a flame that can light the way for others.

Topeka High School concert band performance

Case Study: From a $67 Budget to Success — A Four-Year Journey

Written by Jennifer Antonetti on June 18, 2021. Posted in Case Studies.

After two years of teaching elementary general music, I was ready for a change, so I applied to a music education master’s program and for more band jobs.

Luckily, I was hired to teach band at Meadows Elementary and Robinson Middle School in my current district, the Topeka Public Schools. Eager to start my new position, I quickly learned that there were significant challenges and hurdles in my path.

Year 1: Budget and Bellwork

During the first year in my new position, the biggest challenge was little to no budgets in place for my middle and elementary school bands. I also faced additional hindrances including no organizational methods in place, low enrollment numbers, poor instrumentation, students’ lack of musical background knowledge, and a mistrust from administration on the “loyalty” of a traveling teacher. I knew that I had to tackle these issues one by one in order to make progress.

My top priority was budgets. The middle school principal at the time did not understand the cost of band items because the previous director taught band, orchestra and choir, and she spent all her budget on equipment for the musical.

I asked the principal, “What is the budget this year?” Her response was, “I think that $200 for the music department should be good.” My mouth dropped. Split three ways between band, orchestra and choir, that meant my budget for the middle school band was $67 for the whole year. With that paltry budget, I could barely afford to replace the frayed and broken mallets in the old, busted percussion cabinet. I then asked if there was a repair budget and was told that one did not exist. Oh boy.

Thankfully, our district had recently made the music librarian the de facto music coordinator for the district, so I went to him and asked for his help and support. Additionally, I came up with several plans of my own. I was not allowed to charge band participation fees, but I could charge instrument rental fees. We have some instruments in the district rental pool, and some instruments at the schools. For the school instruments, I could charge the same rental fees as the district, and I used that money to fund a repair and supply budget. This went into effect almost immediately.

We didn’t have many extra winds instruments for rental, any our percussion equipment was severely lacking. I have since acquired marching bass drums, a vibraphone, chimes, congas, timbales, bongos and various small percussion instruments.

I also did a bit of advocacy and asked the principal to fund some items that our band program needed. I sent her a priority-ranked wish list (which included flutes, trumpets, trombones, chimes, a vibraphone, bongos, cabasa, concert toms, a tambourine, a triangle and beater, marching bass drums and a sousaphone), found some refurbished/used instruments from a local repair shop, and she was able to get some instruments through the general fund.

At the middle school, we could not have specific club/activity fundraisers (only school fundraisers are allowed) so I needed to get creative. Thanks to a band parent, I found a great solution the following year.

For lack of musical literacy, I had an easy solution. Students were required to do some sort of bellwork at the beginning of each class. My initial plan was for students to get their instruments ready, get their music in order according to what was written on the board, sharpen pencils, etc. The principal said that a writing component or thinking question was required because we were working on literacy as a building. So, I revised the bellwork: Students copied down a music vocabulary word and definition from the board into a spiral notebook. Students could use their notebooks to ask questions about music and think about music while using their expanded musical vocabulary.

Then, using the ideas from “Threading the Concept” by Dr. Debra Gordon Hedden, I took the vocabulary word and taught it as a concept in several different parts of the rehearsal including the warmup, listening, rhythmic focus, skills and drills, and the repertoire. I also grouped the vocabulary entries into units that I could pre-test/post-test to check for understanding as well as grade for completion in the notebooks. This procedure of one vocab word per day with an entire lesson focused around that word and organized into units worked remarkably well toward those music literacy goals.

I didn’t want to rock the boat too much that first year. My main focus was adding the vocabulary notebooks and getting the budgets right.

Year 2: Recruitment and Resources

For the following year, I had a longer list of things to focus on: recruiting, communication, budgets (which is always on my list) and instrumentation.

Recruiting: My recruiting efforts began at the end of my first school year. I took my current music students and planned an elementary school tour. We went to five different elementary schools, performed, ate lunch at a park and promoted the summer music program.

When I received my enrollment numbers the following year for the middle school, they went up from 48 to 68 – an increase of more than 40%! However, I still had a very small band class at my elementary school, so I had to rethink how to build my program there.

To recruit students for the beginning band at Meadows Elementary, I made sure to talk to all 5th graders on the third day of school along with the elementary strings teacher. She played her instruments, and I played several winds instruments including clarinet, trombone and trumpet. We answered questions and handed out interest forms, which also helped with instrumentation as we could assign students to their first or second instrument choices.

During my second year, elementary band and strings were at the same time as PE and music, which was not ideal. I spoke to the principal, and band and strings were moved to different times, such as during lunch recess and library time, but these times did not work either. Finally, band and strings were scheduled during the independent work block, and this has worked well for me and my students.

Band class at Meadows Elementary is 35 minutes every day. At the beginning of the school year, I see woodwinds on Mondays and Wednesday, brass and percussion on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and everyone on Fridays. Toward the middle of the third quarter, I switch to seeing all students every day to prepare them for middle school, where I see all band students every day for 42 minutes. This schedule has been super helpful in retaining students as I am one of my own feeder schools for Robinson Middle School.

We also started instrument information and placements in the spring with 4th graders. Students filled out forms listing which instrument they liked and which instruments they could play, and then students ranked their top five choices. We kept these records each year and passed them along to other teachers in our district if students moved. By placing students on the right instruments for them and getting the schedule under control, I tripled enrollment at my elementary school — enrollment grew from 12 to 36 — and my middle school numbers grew to 98 students. For the 2020-2021 school year, I was supposed to have 104 students in the middle school band, but unfortunately due to COVID-19, this didn’t happen.

Organization and Communication: For my second year, I wanted to work on organization and communication. Because I had more time to prep, I created a band handbook that I provided to all students. It included a parent signature page and outlined all of my expectations, performance dates, grading policies and everything else that I thought my students and parents needed to know. I also created a Facebook page for my middle school band. The handbook and Facebook helped me start building more relationships with band parents and families who could see exactly what was happening and when in multiple formats. Here is the 2019 RMS Handbook.

Budgets and Fundraising: My budget increased for my second year to $500 for my middle school band alone, which was seven times more than my first year! Then a band parent, who was on the PTO, approached me with some ideas. She said that the PTO would pay for a bus for our tour of elementary schools and other local venues to perform, as well as to travel to contests if we played at the pancake feed. No problem.

She also suggested that we have a bake sale at our concerts. What a great idea! At the first bake sale, we made $50, and I was so excited. Now parents have come to expect a bake sale, so we make over $250 at every concert, and we have four concerts per year. This money has allowed me to purchase equipment for the band, offer instrument rental scholarships, send kids to music camps, purchase supplies for students and more. All of the food is parent-made. I usually bring some baked goods, too, and I talk it up a lot. Kids are excited to buy Mrs. Antonetti’s cookies. We have also added bottled water to our offerings.

Instrumentation: I talk about all of the different types of instruments in my ensembles, and I frequently play different instruments in class. This really grabs the attention of many of my students. I keep saying things like, “If you improve on this instrument, then maybe in January, you can try this other instrument.”

When switching students to different instruments, I try to keep them in the same family. For example, I will find a saxophonist with a big, powerful sound and put him or her on tenor, then eventually bari. Or, I’ll try to find a clarinet student with a big, full sound to play bass clarinet. Or, I’ll take some strong trumpet players and switch them to horn.

I have had a lot of success with switching trumpet players who can only get the first four notes on trumpet to treble clef baritone. I had two students who struggled with trumpet. I switched both to baritone, and they could both instantly (within the same class period of getting the instrument) play the B-flat scale that they had been struggling with all year. I eventually switched one of those students to tuba.

My middle school students come from several different elementary schools with different teachers, so for percussion, we jump into snare, bass and mallets from the beginning. They all rotate instruments between each scale pattern, method book exercise, etc., and I assign them different parts on each of the pieces we do so that no one is funneled into being a certain “type” of a percussionist. This has worked well for my students.

Year 3: Amplify and Expand

By my third year, I had several great things in place. My goal was to continue with what I was doing and amplify, expand and get creative. I was able to reach these goals in several ways:

Started to streamline my organization and processes for teaching concepts. For example, I worked on folder organization, vocabulary units and physical visual aids to help teach abstract concepts.
Expanded the use of the vocabulary journal to include gluing in diagrams and answering questions so that it was more like an interactive notebook.
Included more project-based learning such as a composition project, improvisation and more reflections. In order to introduce composition techniques to young students, I used chance music activities such as this chance composition worksheet with pentatonic scales and dice. These worksheets help bridge the gap of knowledge for students who have never done any composition before. Encouraging creativity and helping students make a plan (even if it was based on chance) motivated them to take positive risks in the classroom.
Encouraged more students to participate in solo and ensemble festivals, and I helped to revitalize the middle school solo festival at Washburn University.
Continued the bake sales and kept looking for alternate and creative funding.
Expanded the repertoire list at my school to include more diverse composers and representative literature from various cultures and backgrounds. I have really tried to include more female composers and LGBTQ+ composers in my literature selection. Some of those have included Julie Giroux, Alex Shapiro, Randall D. Standridge, Anne McGinty, Robert Sheldon and more. I have also included band arrangements of folk music from other countries such as Japan, Ireland, Africa (Swahili), China, Russia, Guatemala, Cuba and more.

Year 4 and Beyond

With each year of experience, I have gained more confidence as a music educator and have found better ways to be effective, efficient, and to challenge and support my students in the classroom. I have brought in guests from universities and local businesses to talk to my students and broaden their understanding of music. I have commissioned new works for my band as part of a consortium. I have taken my groups to festivals, tours and on trips to enrich their band experience. I just want to continue to challenge my students and let them experience life through the power of music.

For the 2021-2022 school year, I am moving to Topeka High School as the head band director. Some of my goals in this new position is to do more fun things in band since we did not get to have as much fun during the year of COVID. I also want to work on music and rhythmic literacy, and some fundamentals because we missed out on so much instructional time this year. I also want to work on empowering student leadership to have a more active role in coaching younger students. We have a bit of remediation to take care of, but we are going to have fun doing it!

Closeup of someone's hand adjusting the controls of an electronic drum kit.

DTX6 Deep Dive, Part 5: A New Level of Playability

Written by Steve La Cerra on June 18, 2021. Posted in Electronic Drums.

Yamaha DTX6 Series electronic drum kits incorporate innovative features that take electronic drumming to new heights of expression. Regardless of your playing style, a DTX6 kit can capture all the energy and emotion you put into a performance, and will inspire you to keep on playing.

Use Your Heads

All DTX6 drum kits come equipped with an 8-inch Yamaha XP80 snare pad. The playing surface on this trigger pad is made from TCS (Textured Cellular Silicone), a foam material that emulates an acoustic drumhead. Air bubbles in the material act as a cushion for your drumsticks, providing excellent feel while ensuring reliable triggering, quiet performance and reduced fatigue. What’s more, TCS heads never loosen, so the feel remains consistent even when you hit the pads hard during a long performance or practice session.

Closeup of drumstick striking and compressing foam. — *TCS provides realistic rebound.*

To increase pad sensitivity and eliminate crosstalk to other pads through transmission of vibration, the XP80 has a floating structure that isolates the TCS head from the rest of the pad. Even when you’re slamming the snare pad, you won’t have to worry about other pads being accidentally triggered.

Cross-section of mechanism. — *The XP80 floating structure.*

Zone In

The XP80 has three zones, allowing it to react like an acoustic drum. Striking the XP80 on the TCS surface produces a head sound; striking opposite sides of the rim produces different rim sounds.

Closeup. — *The XP80 zones: head (blue), closed rim (pink) and open rim (green).*

Each XP80 zone can layer up to four voices, and each layer can be set for different levels of velocity sensitivity, so the pad can play different sounds depending on how hard you strike it. For more information on how to layer voices, see Part 4 of this series.

Three-zone construction is also employed in the Yamaha PCY135 13-inch ride cymbal pad included with all DTX6 Series kits. In addition, it offers positional sensing, which permits different sounds to be played from different areas of the pad such as bell, edge or bow — just like a real cymbal. As with the XP80, each zone of the PCY135 can layer up to four voices, with different velocity sensitivity for each layer.

Table with dial indications. — *DTX6 cymbal pads feature three zones with multiple layers.*

All cymbal pads supplied with DTX6 kits feature “choke-ability,” whereby grabbing the edge of the pad chokes a crash cymbal or mutes the ride cymbal, creating authentic playing action. A stopper pin mounted to the cymbal holder prevents the cymbal pad from rotating, ensuring that the pad always faces in the correct direction. An output level control on the pad can be used to adjust the trigger signal to suit any style of playing.

Hats Off to You

DTX6K3-X and DTX6K2-X kits are outfitted with a Yamaha HS-650A hi-hat stand and RHH135 hi-hat controller, a 13-inch moving hi-hat pad that also employs positional sensing.

Image of highhat stand with hi-hat installed. — *The RHH135 trigger pad works with any Yamaha hi-hat stand.*

The RHH135 is capable of playing closed edge, open edge, closed bow, open bow, foot closed and foot splash sounds, and when used in combination with the HS-650A, it performs just like a real hi-hat — you can even adjust the tilt angle for the bottom cymbal! The HS-650A also has a sturdy tripod design to ensure stability, along with heavy-duty spurs that prevent hi-hat “creep.”

Create Your Own Custom Setup

Setup and positioning of DTX6 pads is made easy using the RS6 Electronic Drum Mounting Rack included with DTX6K2-X and DTX6K3-X kits. Designed especially for use with electronic drums, the RS6 is a compact rack system with L-shaped legs that stand up to the heaviest playing, while allowing flexible placement of the pads, foot pedals and supplied DTX-PRO module.

View of setup equipment. — *The RS6 rack provides set-it-and-forget-it stability.*

The RS6 is lightweight, can be set up by one person in minutes, and occupies minimal floor space. The height of each rack arm can be set independently, and the left side of the rack permits the hi-hat stand and kick pedal to be placed exactly wherever you want for maximum comfort — even if you use a double kick pedal like the Yamaha DFP-8500C. What’s more, the KP65 and KP90 kick drum pads supplied with DTX6 kits are large enough to easily accommodate two beaters from a double pedal, plus they support connection of an additional external pad if you decide to expand your kit. The output level of either can be adjusted for maximum sensitivity while eliminating double triggers, even when you’re playing fast rhythms.

Closeup of mechanism. — *The KP90 kick drum pad.*

A Yamaha CL-940B ball clamp is used for the snare holder. It mounts on an independent rack arm, enabling adjustment across a wide range of positions, so you can set the snare pad precisely where you want it.

Crash cymbal holders are also mounted on independent arms, using clamps that pivot 360 degrees so you can offset the position of the cymbals from the tom pads. Both cymbal and tom clamps attach to any RS6 rack arm and rotate 360 degrees, making it a breeze to achieve any mounting angle while creating your own custom setup. The clamps hold tight under all playing conditions and are secured using easy-to-grip finger bolts and key bolts that accept a standard drum key. The DTX-PRO module mounts to an independent arm that can swing to the right of the floor tom pad, keeping it within arm’s reach for convenient control while making sure it’s out of the path of drumsticks.

Yamaha DTX6 trigger pads and the RS6 rack system produce a playing experience that’s true to playing an acoustic drum set. Now your electronic drum kit can be your electronic dream kit!

Check out the other installments of our five-part “DTX6 Deep Dive” series:

Part 1: The Kit Modifier

Part 2: Recording Options

Part 3: Training Tools

Part 4: Customizing, Importing and Layering Sounds

Click here for more information about Yamaha DTX6 Series electronic drum kits.

Exploring the Levels of Yamaha Audio Room Calibration (YPAO™)

Written by Phil Shea on June 16, 2021. Posted in Audio How-to. 1 Comment on Exploring the Levels of Yamaha Audio Room Calibration (YPAO™)

If you own or are considering buying an AV receiver, one of the first things you’ll want to do is calibrate your system to your room — something that allows you to get the most out of the content you listen to. For all Yamaha AV receivers, this is done via a proprietary technology called YPAO™ (short for Yamaha Parametric room Acoustic Optimizer).

Graphic showing the pattern of sound dispersion in a living room.

There are several levels or grades of YPAO technology that are implemented into different Yamaha products. All Yamaha surround receivers are capable of speaker equalization and distance measurement, but some add Reflective Sound Control (R.S.C.) and multi-point measurement capabilities (click here to learn more about these features).

To help you gain a deeper understanding of what YPAO can do, this article will focus on the advanced angle and height measurement algorithms available in the latest high-end Yamaha AVENTAGE receivers.

Speaker Placement Suggestions

By the early 1990s, surround sound was widely being used not only in theaters, as well as recording and broadcasting studios, but even in home playback systems. It soon became obvious that best practice recommendations were needed as to where to actually place these surround speakers in a room. For example, if a re-recording engineer were to create a surround soundtrack while monitoring through a studio’s proprietary speaker positioning and the final tracks were played back on a system that had a different speaker configuration, the in-home or theater experience would not be what the engineer envisioned.

Graphic showing ITU-R 5.1 channel speaker placement.

As a result, the International Telecommunication Union developed the ITU-R 775 speaker placement standard for multi-speaker surround sound systems. As surround technologies advanced, the addition of more channels called for addendums to the original standard.

In today’s home theaters, the Dolby Laboratories suggestions for speaker placement are most commonly used. They are closely based on the original ITU-R standard, with added recommendations for the positioning of surround back speakers and overhead speakers. The goal is to allow the listener to reproduce the sound designer’s creation as accurately as possible at home.

Graphic showing Dolby Laboratories 7.1 channel speaker placement.

A perfectly designed home theater will follow these guidelines and deliver great results. If your 7.1-channel surround system is within these speaker placement tolerances, congratulations! Your system will likely accurately reproduce cinematic audio as the creators intended.

Graphic with headline of Symmetrical Sound Field.

Most home theaters, however, do not meet those “perfect” criteria, since physical objects like doorways, windows and furniture will take priority over speaker placement, resulting in uneven sound field recreation.

To place audio content within a “perfect” sound field, a tight adherence to speaker placement is necessary. This is particularly important when applying Yamaha proprietary CINEMA DSP enhancements to your listening experience. Knowing that such perfection is not often achievable, Yamaha developed an advanced workaround: YPAO.

YPAO Angle Measurement

Using a specially developed microphone stand and some very advanced processing, the YPAO calibration system automatically locates the exact angle of each speaker in the room relative to the prime listening position. This angle measurement data is passed on to the built-in CINEMA DSP processor to generate a perfectly symmetrical and balanced sound field. Once applied, it allows a movie soundtrack to be enveloping without any noticeable acoustic “holes” or overloads in the sound field.

Graphic with symmetrical sound field with incorrect speaker placement.

Plugging in the microphone and following the simple on-screen prompts, a full one-time calibration can be done in less than 10 minutes. The YPAO stand should ideally be screwed to a camera tripod for a sturdy foundation, placed at ear height and located in the prime listening spot. The number one position on the stand should be pointed in the direction of the center channel. The calibration process will send a quick set of test tones to position one, then pause and wait for you to place the microphone on position two and then again for position three.

YPAO Height Calibration

The angle calibration does a great job of locating your horizontal 5.1- or 7.1-channel surround system, but what about overhead speakers? Knowing where those are located above your listening position is just as crucial.

Three legged stand with center vertical pole.

The addition of a fourth microphone position mounted above the plane of the three horizontal positions gives the YPAO measurement system the extra data it needs to locate the overhead speakers in a 3D space. Knowing the exact placement of all the speakers in the room allows YPAO and CINEMA DSP to generate a seamless and enveloping sound field that will virtually transport you from the physical confines of your listening space.

If you’re like the majority of us who can only dream of a custom-built room specifically for home theater use, the YPAO angle and height measurement tools will get you most of the way there. Once you’ve run through the calibration, you can start enjoying content in your newly configured home theater the way it was meant to be heard.

Check out these related blog articles:

How to Calibrate Your AV Receiver with YPAO™

How to Recreate the Movie Theater Experience at Home

How to Burn-in Speakers

How to Install In-Ceiling Speakers

Click here for more information about Yamaha AVENTAGE receivers.

Aaron Zeilinger with clarinet student at Orange Lutheran High School

Case Study: A Performing Arts Academy Offers Individual Learning and Career Exploration

Written by Christine Ngeo Katzman on June 14, 2021. Posted in Case Studies, Professional Development.

Imagine training as a music educator while you’re still a senior in high school.

That’s what Dani Buschini, a recent graduate of Orange Lutheran High School in Orange County, California, did during the 2020-2021 academic year. As her capstone project for the school’s Performing Arts Academy, she taught and conducted “The Seal Lullaby” by Eric Whitacre in the student-led spring concert.

The Performing Arts Academy is one of six academies at Orange Lutheran, and all provide specialized instruction so students can explore potential career paths. Students apply to academies during their sophomore year, participate in their junior and senior years, and receive an endorsement on their diploma upon successful completion of the work. In addition to performing arts, the school offers academies in business, humanities, ministry, STEM and visual arts.

The Performing Arts Academy has multiple pathways; students can choose from instrumental music, acting, dance, musical theater and vocal music. Instrumental music is the only one with specific concentrations: music education, composition and performance.

Instrumental Music Specialization

Director of Instrumental Music Aaron Zeilinger explains that academies “bundle current higher educational offerings with field trips, master classes and extra projects.”

He provides college-style programming and nearly individual learning to hone the passions of his students. All of his instrumental music academy students take Music Theory 1 and 2, but the rest of their coursework varies.

Music education and composition students study with Zeilinger independently after school. Education students learn score study, lesson prep, classroom management, as well as conducting and educational concepts, while composition students work on preparing original pieces to be debuted in spring of their senior year. Performance-focused students must take private lessons in their instrument and plan a 30-minute recital. All must also participate in honors-level ensembles.

As a result of their varying interests, culminating senior projects have been diverse. In the 2016-2017 school year, Zeilinger’s composition student wrote two original works, one for wind ensemble and one for string ensemble. For the wind ensemble, he created an original march, called “Old Hundredth,” that drew inspiration from the marches of Karl King and John Philip Sousa. The string ensemble piece, called “Rush,” was based on scale patterns in increasing and overlapping forms to weave an intricate, almost mathematical-style composition. In 2019, a performance student played the “Concerto in E Minor: Movement 1” by Felix Mendelssohn on violin as well as arranged “Time” by Hans Zimmer for three violins and a piano.

Collaboration with other classes has also been encouraged. For example, “we had the Acting 3 class write a monologue as an intro to one of our concerts,” Zeilinger says.

Download this Top 10 Workforce Skills.

Customized and Student-Driven Program

If students are interested in teaching at younger levels or in music technology, Zeilinger says that he would find ways to make those experiences possible. “I want each student to pursue what they are truly passionate about and have a culminating project that represents their unique abilities and desires,” he says. “It’s very student-driven.”

In fact, Zeilinger’s overall philosophy with all of his students has been to “support them where they are and where they want to go,” he says.

As a faith-based private high school with no specific feeder programs, Orange Lutheran has a student population of 1,355. About 250 to 300 students overall participate in performing arts with 50 involved in instrumental music each year. Approximately 12 students per year have chosen to participate in the Performing Arts Academy with one to three involved in the instrumental music program. Students at Orange Lutheran are not required to enroll in an academy, but those who do can participate in as many as they want after their successful application.

All 50 instrumental students — whether or not they are in the academy — have a plethora of musical opportunities. Orange Lutheran has a marching band, wind ensemble, string ensemble, chamber ensembles, full orchestra, jazz band, jazz combos and percussion ensembles.

Zeilinger who is also the corps director with the Impulse Youth Arts Organization in Buena Park, California, is the head teacher for all of those groups — anything instrumental except the praise band — and he brings in coaches where needed.

In past years, Zeilinger has even taught hand bell and steel drums when students express the desire. “When I see the interest, I’m going to go down that path because I want my students’ high school experiences to be memorable. … My program is really focused on developing the desire among students to pursue something they’re passionate about.”

All students have a chance to make decisions for the spring Student Showcase. Zeilinger will ask students what they are passionate about and run with it. “My main purpose in education is providing experiences for the kids who want it,” he says.

The need for customization has arisen due to the wide variety in students’ instrumental experiences. For instance, Zeilinger might have musicians who have taken private lessons since the age of 2 and others who have just started learning their instruments a few months ago. “I have to figure out how to meld that into an ensemble that everyone feels excited about,” Zeilinger says.

Master-Class Experiences

As part of the academy experience, about three master classes are available for students to join each year. “I normally bring in people from industries that students wouldn’t have access to on their own,” Zeilinger says.

These professionals have included studio musicians, studio arrangers, a Broadway composer and a group called LALA Brass.

While all performing arts participants have access to the master classes, academy students are required to attend at least two per year and get exclusive privileges, such as more intimate Q&A sessions or the opportunity to work directly with the guest artist in demonstrations.

Evolution and Expansion

The Performing Arts Academy has made changes to its structure over time. “It’s been a continually evolving process,” Zeilinger says.

In the first year, each director bundled up existing coursework and put it into the academy pathways. During faculty meeting days, instructors brainstorm ways to improve the academies. Creation of the new dance program is one example.

Starting in the 2021-2022 school year, students will have the option to participate in the academy and benefit from a field trip to the Los Angeles Philharmonic and master classes without the capstone project, or take the academy honors track with all of the individual and culminating work. The Performing Arts Academy staff believes that more students would participate if they didn’t have the pressure of pursuing the stand-alone project, Zeilinger says.

“We’re continuously coming up with ideas to make this more defined and … worth their time,” Zeilinger says.

In the future, Zeilinger says that he would like to pivot the instrumental music program to offer all types of specialties without specific divisions, to offer AP Music Theory and to coordinate with state colleges.

While approximately 70% of the Performing Arts Academy students have pursued the discipline in college, about 30% do it just for fun. “The parents and students … are always thankful that they get to do something like this,” Zeilinger says “It is 100% my philosophy to try and give students something unique in high school before they get into college. … High school is the last chance to try something without it affecting the rest of your life. That’s why I offer so many things. … I want students to walk away from high school having done something really cool [and] special.”

Light My Fire

Written by Shelly Peiken on June 14, 2021. Posted in Creativity.

Jose Feliciano’s soulful rendition of the Doors’ ode to seduction, “Light My Fire,” is one of my favorite covers of all time.

The title also speaks to me about how I might rekindle a creative flame that’s suffering from burnout. Over the years I’ve come to recognize certain things I can do to keep from getting frustrated and giving up too soon. I touched on the subject in a previous blog entitled “Blocking Writer’s Block,”but since my own discoveries about helpful habits are constantly expanding, I’d like to take it a bit further here.

Here we go!

1. If you want to write a song that evokes a certain mood, first try listening to other songs that make you feel that way. The intent is to simply access and absorb that feeling so you can offer it up yourself. For example, give Pharrell Williams’ “Happy” a listen if your song is carefree, or Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drivers License” if you want to channel that disappointed heart.

2. Trust in the morning. A good night’s sleep is incredibly restorative. Your brain is working even when you’re not wracking it. Sleep is where tired synapses and cells recharge. You’ll be surprised how fresh you feel when your alarm goes off.

3. If you can’t get un-stuck, walk away. Make a sandwich. Call your mom. Allow yourself some retail therapy. Ignore creative block as you might a high school crush back when you played childish games. Watch how fast “it” comes back.

4. Do not be a slave to that screen, no matter how helpful a rhyming dictionary or search engine can be. Get up and move. Motion stirs up natural word-play and, at times, even unexpected rhyme.

Digression alert: I’m actually tapping this article while on an elliptical machine. Added perk: Workouts go much faster when your mind is active. Even faster than they do when you’re (passively) listening to music.

5. Check out an old photo album — hard copy or digital — and wait for the feels you used to feel for an old flame. There’s nothing like the memory of that magical summer with the One That Got Away to trigger a vulnerable opening line. Case in point: “Almost made you love me,” the first line of my song “Almost Doesn’t Count,” fell from my lips while turning the pages of an album of my own.

6. Pick up a different instrument. You don’t have to play it well. In fact, it’s probably better if you don’t because you’d be too in control. And that’s not what creativity is about. Happy accidents can happen when you stumble on the keys or fumble with the strings!

7. Seek out a new collaborator with a different sensibility. Just when you have no idea how to advance your song, they very well might know exactly what to do. Your rut is their no-brainer. And their rut is yours. If you’re lucky enough to find each other, you’ll want to hug and kiss constantly. Even jump up and down. I’m not kidding. I speak from experience.

8. If you’re getting bored of your own predictability, have a listen to other songwriters. For example, check out the way Silk Sonic changes key on “Leave The Door Open.” I might not have thought to go there myself, but I totally dig it so maybe I’ll consider something like that in the future. There’s no right or wrong — just an invitation to open your mind and widen your palate.

9. Less is more. Sometimes we overthink and want to make all of our creations masterpieces, even though many of today’s pop songs are actually more like nursery rhymes. Consider a simpler, sparser lyric on a verse, or a chant instead of a conventional bridge.

10. Go easy on yourself if you just can’t get into the zone. We’re not supposed to be in that space every day; otherwise, there would be no need to differentiate the area by calling it “the zone.” Maybe today just wasn’t the day. But it’s no time to wallow in the mire. Let it go. Because you know what they say about letting go: If it comes back, it was meant to be yours.

How to Shop for a Surround Sound System

Surround Sound Systems Explained: Dolby^®, AURO-3D^® and More

Written by Rich Tozzoli on June 11, 2021. Posted in Audio Gear Guides. 2 Comments on Surround Sound Systems Explained: Dolby^®, AURO-3D^® and More

You’ve got the large screen television fired up and the popcorn and drinks ready to go. What’s needed to complete this picture? A good surround sound setup to envelop you in audio.

There are a number of ways to get that surround experience from your favorite movies, TV shows and video games. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the most popular technologies for achieving immersive audio at home.

Dolby^® and Dolby Atmos^®

Dolby is a company that has been around since the mid-1960s. Their first system, which helped reduce tape hiss on analog recordings, was called Dolby Noise Reduction^®. Since that time, they have introduced numerous multichannel encoding technologies, including several designed for use in home setups. These include Dolby Surround Sound^®, Dolby Digital^®, Dolby Pro Logic^®, Dolby EX^® and Dolby Digital Surround EX^®.

Here, “encoding” refers to a process by which multichannel digital audio is converted into two compressed channels (i.e., stereo) so that it can be easily stored and streamed. Devices capable of decoding this data (typically AV receivers) then restore it to its original multichannel format.

In 2012, Dolby Atmos was introduced. It expands on basic 5.1- or 7.1-channel surround sound by adding height channels. This allows for a sense of three-dimensional audio with the use of in-ceiling or upward-firing speakers. In recent years, a growing number of film releases and television series have become available in the Atmos format, further expanding its reach and popularity.

Atmos provides up to 64 channels of audio by combining front, side, rear, back, and up to four overhead speakers with a sophisticated audio processing algorithm that adds spatial information for a totally immersive experience. Sound “objects” (such as, for example, a helicopter flying by) are carefully positioned by a re-recording mixer during post-production and their movements are reproduced as the Atmos-encoded stream is decoded. Most current Yamaha AV receivers, including all AVENTAGE RX-A and RX-V models, support Dolby Atmos. What’s more, the RX-V6A can create “virtual” height channels for Atmos-encoded streams even if no overhead speakers are connected! (Click here for more information.)

Front and right view of receiver. — *Yamaha RX-V6A AV receiver.*

DTS^®

DTS, short for Digital Theater Systems, is a competing surround sound technology that debuted in 1993. The company’s first system, used for the film Jurassic Park, was a 5.1-channel encoder/decoder that employed a slightly higher bit rate than Dolby Digital, so some listeners may perceive a slight increase in audio quality.

Like Dolby, there have been numerous DTS variants over the years, including DTS^®ES™, DTS^®ES Discrete 6.1™, DTS^® EX Matrix 5.1™, DTS^® 96/24™, DTS HD^® DTS^®Neo:6™, DTS Neo:X™, DTS^®X™, DTS^® Virtual:X and even DTS^®Headphone:X™.

DTS:X is an object-based multichannel format that uses height channels to deliver a three-dimensional sound experience. Introduced directly to the home theater market in 2015, it can support up to 32 speaker locations. Unlike Dolby Atmos, DTS:X can work with any standard 5.1 or 7.1 system by allowing you to arrange the speakers in whichever way fits your space and letting the receiver’s auto calibration feature maximize your sound setup. It also allows you to manually adjust sound objects, so you can make that spaceship flyover even louder, or raise the level of the center channel dialog. Most current Yamaha AV receivers, including all AVENTAGE RX-A models and the RX-V6A, support DTS:X. (The RX-V4A supports DTS-HD.)

DTS: Virtual X employs proprietary audio processing technology to analyze the incoming audio in real time and create a 3D experience with a sound bar, without the need to connect extra height speakers. It can also work with any standard 5.1- or 7.1-channel audio system. Most current Yamaha sound bars, including the SR-B20A and YAS-109, offer DTS:Virtual X decoding.

Close-up of a long thing speaker mounted on the wall horizontally under a flat screen TV. — *Yamaha SR-B20A sound bar.*

Surround: AI

View of a remote control. — *RX-A8A remote control (AI button circled in red).*

Surround:AI is an object-based surround sound format developed by Yamaha — the only AV receiver technology that uses artificial intelligence to increase audio clarity and space, automatically creating a fully enveloping 360-degree sound field. It works seamlessly behind the scenes by analyzing and adjusting the audio portion of the film in real time, at up to five times per second.

The technology, available in select Yamaha AVENTAGE AV receivers such as the RX-A4A, focuses on individual sound elements such as effects, dialog, ambience or music. This enables sonic components such as the all-important dialog to become more distinct and present in your speakers.

It also takes the worry out of selecting a different listening mode for each type of program. With Surround:AI, there’s no need to dig into the parameters and tweak, since it automatically enhances each scene through its intelligent DSP processing of the content. Simply press the “AI” button on your AV receiver’s remote and Surround:AI will take care of the rest.

AURO-3D

AURO-3D^® is a next-generation technology that virtualizes sound from beyond the ceiling and floor for a three-dimensional audio experience. During decoding, it adds one or two height layers on top of a traditional surround mix. There’s also an optional third layer that can be placed above those for an increased sense of height, which is especially good for sound effects and “fly-overs.”

The height information is captured during recording or created during post-production and is combined with a standard 5.1- or 7.1-channel audio stream. This AURO-3D mix can then be decoded and played back by any AV receiver with an AURO-Codec decoder. Always on the cutting edge, Yamaha has new receivers coming out soon that will feature this exciting technology.

No matter which surround system you choose, Yamaha has you covered!

Check out these related blog articles:

Home Theater Basics

What’s So Good About Dolby Atmos and DTS:X?

What Is Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization?

What Is Surround:AI?

Virtual Surround Sound and Yamaha Sound Bars

Click here for more information about Yamaha AV receivers.

Click here for more information about Yamaha sound bars.

Timpani Bowl Construction

Written by Troy C. Wollwage on June 10, 2021. Posted in Percussion.

There are many types of timpani, each with various types of pedals and different types of bowls and bowl materials. Options can be numerous, and needs will vary by the requirements of the ensemble. In this article, we’ll discuss the unique manufacturing process that Yamaha uses when making timpani bowls.

The Importance of the Timpani Bowl

When it comes to the construction of a timpano, the bowl has the greatest impact on sound. The type of material and the shape and thickness of the bowl all play a considerable role. An instrument that is musically consistent from one size to another allows the band director to focus on teaching, and when it is easy to discern pitch, students are better able to learn proper timpani tuning.

Choosing the Bowl Material

The first step in the bowl manufacturing process is choosing the right material. Yamaha makes five different models of timpani, utilizing two different bowl materials: copper and aluminum. Only high-grade copper (1.5 mm thick) and aluminum (3 mm thick) are used.

Aluminum has sonic properties that are very close to copper; it’s also recyclable and is a better alternative to fiberglass, another common bowl material. In addition, aluminum can be repaired if it is damaged, while fiberglass cannot.

Cutting and Spinning

Next up is cutting and spinning the material. A special machine takes a large square sheet of copper or aluminum and spins it very slowly to a specific size, depending on the ultimate size of the bowl. It’s important to ensure that density and consistency is maintained as the material is spun into shape.

An arm connects to the flat sheet and slowly pushes it around a steel mold. These molds vary in size, depending upon the size of the timpano. The spinning process ensures that the metal consistency is even throughout the entire shape of the bowl, so the sound can resonate freely. In addition, the bowls have no seams, which can interrupt and interfere with the sound waves traveling inside.

Forming of bowl from cut circle of copper.

Annealing

During the spinning process, the bowl must be annealed. This is a heat treatment that alters the physical properties of a material to increase its ductility and reduce its hardness, making it more pliable. This process involves heating a material above its recrystallization temperature, maintaining a suitable temperature for an appropriate amount of time, and then cooling it. Copper needs to be annealed many times in order to reshape it and maintain a constant thickness throughout the bowl. This level of detail leads to greater tuning accuracy and more consistent quality of sound.

Timpani bowl in metal box with fire being applied.

Sanding, Polishing and Hammering

After the bowls are spun, they get a sanding and a polish to clean them up inside and out.

On YTP-7300 and TP-8300 Series timpani, a hammering process follows. This makes the material denser and gives the timpano a darker tone, helping to hide the fundamental pitch and focusing the third overtone, so it sounds clearly — an important part of the sound of a timpani. Yamaha TP-8300R Series timpani have close to 30,000 hits on each bowl.

Degreasing, Lacquering and Baking

The bowl is then washed in a four-step degreasing process — a series of four baths to ensure it is clean before the lacquering process. This is important so the finish adheres correctly. The bowl is then set aside to dry for a short period of time.

Once completely dry, each bowl is given a light coat of clear lacquer. This imparts a shiny exterior finish that will pop visually on any stage.

Person wearing PPE spraying lacquer on an inverted timpani bowl.

A large oven is then used to bake each bowl up to 300 degrees. This ensures that the lacquer is completely dry and hardened before moving on to assembly with the frame and timpano head.

Man moving a timpani bowl into or out of a large metal cabinet.

Final Assembly

During assembly, the bowl is placed into a frame where it is freely suspended by a suspension ring. This limitation on pressure allows the bowl to resonate to its fullest potential. Just as in brass instruments, a heavy frame promotes more resonance. Yamaha frames are comprised of heavy die-cast aluminum, which minimizes vibration transfer, allowing the timpano to project even more.

Framework being built onto timpani bowl.

Lastly, each timpano is put through a final inspection. This is when the drum is tuned to the expected range. The head is adjusted a few times each day to ensure that it’s seated properly, and the pedal is engaged multiple times so that it works smoothly. Every Yamaha timpano is played and thoroughly tested prior to being shipped. This way, it’s ready to go, right out of the box.

Closeup of a line of timpani being played.

The innovation you find in Yamaha timpani is a combination of skilled craftspeople, high-quality raw materials, and the latest in manufacturing techniques and technology, borne from years of research and development. From the symphony hall to the band room, the football field to the recording studio, there is a set of Yamaha timpani for every application.

Also check out these related blog articles:

A Brief History of Yamaha Timpani

Anatomy of Timpani

Buying New Timpani? Here’s What You Need to Know

How to Change Timpani Drum Heads

Timpani Maintenance

Caution! Are You Moving Your Timpani Correctly?

Click here for more information about Yamaha timpani.

Tips for Playing Nylon-String Guitar

Written by Robbie Calvo on June 9, 2021. Posted in Guitars How-to.

As a musician, I rely on my cache of instruments to create the tones and textures needed for each individual recording session, project and performance.

Could I play most pieces of music on just one guitar? Probably, but certain instruments produce tones that are more appropriate for certain genres of music, arrangements and mixes. That said, choosing the right acoustic guitar will largely come down to experience, taste and price. Let’s take a look at some of the most important factors that differentiate between guitar types.

Size

Body shape and size have a major impact on an acoustic guitar’s projection and tonality. A compact parlor-size instrument, for example, is great for finger-style passages and blues slide, while a larger concert-size model is excellent for fingerpicking, strumming and accompanying a singer-songwriter.

Sound

In general, steel-string guitars produce a bright, focused sound, while nylon-string guitars are typically softer- and warmer-sounding. Of course, nylon-string guitars can be quite dynamic when played in flamenco and Latin styles, but generally speaking these instruments will have less presence than their steel-string cousins.

A big factor in this is the type and combination of tonewoods used. Quite often, classical guitars will have tops made of cedar, as opposed to spruce, which is typically used for steel-string acoustic instruments. Traditional classical guitars also usually feature “chunky” necks and wider fingerboards with a flat radius. (Yamaha NTX nylon-string models are the exception; they offer a neck profile closer to that of an electric guitar.)

String Tension

String tension is considerably less on nylon-string guitars than on steel-string models, meaning that the strings will be softer on the fretting hand fingertips. (We all know how painful it is to practice before we’ve built up those hard skin calluses!) That’s one reason why nylon-string guitars are particularly well-suited for beginners.

Musical Genre

Steel-string acoustic guitars personify the sound of country music, and are also frequently used in pop and rock. Nylon-string guitars have been used throughout history in almost every musical genre. We may associate it more with classical, flamenco, Latin, jazz and folk music, but a well-played nylon-string guitar can sound exceptional in any genre, when used in the right context.

Nylon-String Guitar Playing Tips

1. Use the correct picking hand technique. I’m a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to picking techniques on nylon-string guitar. For one thing, I use my fingers almost exclusively — even for single-note lines — as opposed to using a pick. For that reason, I keep my nails long in order to achieve a clean and crisp sound for chordal parts and subtle melodies … and if I strum the strings, I use the back of my fingernails and thumbnail in a downward and upward motion, similar to the way a pick held between the fingers and thumb is used.

Of course, you can use a pick if you’d like to, but I think you’ll find it takes away from the desired tonality of the instrument. However, if you have an intricate solo line that’s just too hard to articulate with your fingers, try using a medium-heavy or extremely heavy nylon pick that allows for a smooth sound and string attack, as if you were using your fingers.

2. Use the correct fretting hand technique. For the cleanest tones, it’s always best to keep your fretting hand fingers directly facing the fretboard. You should find this a little easier to achieve on a nylon-string guitar than a steel-string model due to the wider fretboard and string spacing.

Also, when playing a nylon-string, vibrato on single notes is typically achieved with a side-to-side motion instead of the up-and-down motion used on steel-string guitars.

3. Use the right touch. Generally speaking, you’ll want (and need) to play with a lighter touch on a nylon-string than on a steel-string. Take some time getting used to this new dynamic before embarking on a gig or session.

4. Set the action sufficiently high. Playing a nylon-string guitar with a low action will require a seasoned playing technique to produce a clean sound without the strings slapping against the fretboard in an undesirable fashion.

5. Choose the right strings. Gauges of nylon strings are measured in tension rather than thickness; you can choose between light, medium, normal, medium-hard and hard tension strings. If you are new to the classical guitar, I’d recommend choosing normal tension strings until you develop a style that requires an alternate string set. If your style requires a more dynamic sound, or you have extremely strong hands, try using a harder tension string.

By the way, nylon strings won’t come supplied with ball-ends to secure the string at the bridge. A tying technique is employed for this, and it may take some time to get it right. Nylon strings will also need to be fed through the slot-head design and secured around the tuning post to stop the strings from slipping once tuned. (See illustrations below.) You’ll notice that the silver-wound sixth, fifth and fourth strings will stay in tune overnight, but the other (all-nylon) strings often detune quickly when not in use.

The Video

All the guitar parts in this video were performed on nylon-string instruments. The finger-style rhythm parts in the video were played on my trusty Yamaha NCX1200R (sadly now discontinued) — its larger body size and distinctive tonewoods yield an extremely well-balanced, warm sound for chordal passages. I double-tracked those parts direct to the recording software, where I added some light compression and ambient reverb.

The dynamic intro and top-line melodies in the video were played on a Yamaha CG-TA TransAcoustic nylon-string guitar. Its smaller body size and slightly higher string tension were perfect for those brighter, expressive phrases that stand out from the underlying rhythm part. I miked the CG-TA at the neck join using a pair of condenser microphones in an X/Y pattern, using a touch of the onboard hall reverb for the melodies to give those single-note lines more sustain and acoustic presence in the mix.

In the introduction, I’m articulating the descending and ascending legato scale runs with my thumb and fingers, but I’m playing the chord accents with the nails on my picking hand. This downward fast arpeggiation allows the notes in each chord to ring out distinctively, from low to high.

The melodies in the main body of the piece are also articulated with my picking-hand fingers and thumb. I’m outlining the Fma7(#11) and E7 chords with double-stop sixths to accentuate that E Phrygian modality. The Phrygian mode is often used and associated with Latin styles for its exotic sound.

The Guitar

Acoustic guitar in a park setting. — *Yamaha CG-TA TransAcoustic guitar.*

The CG-TA features an ovangkol back and sides, an Engelmann spruce top, and a rosewood fingerboard and bridge. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this technology, TransAcoustic guitars feature onboard effects that are available even when the guitar isn’t plugged in (they appear at the instrument’s output jack too, courtesy of the built-in piezo pickup), making them perfect for ambient inspiration anywhere you go. These effects include sweepable room and hall reverb, plus a dedicated chorus that adds anything from subtle to extreme amounts of modulation to the sound.

The Wrap-Up

Every guitar player should own a distinct palette of instruments, as tonal options and variations will quickly become a part of your unique sound. Adding a nylon-string guitar to your arsenal will require (and inspire) new ways of performing, but you’ll be rewarded with an expressive and eloquent “voice” that will help broaden your sonic horizons.

Photographs courtesy of the author.

Frequently Asked Questions: Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Programs Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Programs

Click here for more information about the Yamaha CG-TA TransAcoustic nylon-string guitar.

Platteville High School recording studio

Case Study: Use Intellectual Discomfort to Expand Music Offerings

Written by Kevin Cooley on June 7, 2021. Posted in Case Studies.

Music teachers are unique individuals, but they often share a few common traits.

If you asked them why they chose to teach music, you’ll often hear that they had an incredible experience growing up in their school music programs. Many will point to a former teacher, an experience or a collection of experiences that guided them in their career choice.

A Preference for Teaching What You Know

All music educators want to give their students musical experiences that are just as good as, if not better, than the one they received. This is where an important split forms. Some teachers’ experiences were wrapped around their concert band, string orchestra or concert choir. For others, it was their jazz ensembles. And still others point to their experiences in show choir, pep band, marching band, pops string, etc.

Often, teachers are intrinsically driven to make the favored ensemble from their past the highest quality possible because they have such a clear picture of what they want, they know what success looks like, and they have a strong connection to that particular ensemble.

In my case, I had fond memories of my concert band and marching band experiences. When I started in my current position at Platteville High School in Wisconsin, I hit the ground running and made changes to those portions of the music program. It was easy for me to identify topics that needed to be taught with a fresh perspective, and, more often than not, I knew what I wanted and how to do it. After a short time, my concert and marching programs looked uniquely different than they did prior to my arrival. Members of the community were coming to me and commenting on how they noticed and appreciated these changes, and I felt good about the direction we were headed.

I assume other music educators have probably had a similar experience in their own programs.

From Cruising Attitude to Discomfort

I quickly reached a spot, which I refer to as “cruising altitude,” with my program. However, I quickly became dissatisfied with the idea of maintaining. I had never faced this before. I suddenly realized that I didn’t want to have a great program, I wanted to build a great program.

This brought me some alarming insight: I wanted to improve the quality of my program but I didn’t know how. I brought the program up to my minimum expectations, but I had exhausted my knowledge and experience. I was faced with the reality that although I had a desire to continue growing, improving and providing opportunities for my students, I had run out topics that I felt comfortable teaching.

I had reached the end of the sidewalk, and I was faced with a decision. Do I settle for what I had already achieved or do I enter the unknown? If I continued forward, I would be forced to teach topics as I learned them in real time. Said another way, I would be required to live in intellectual discomfort.

Embrace Your Shortcomings

The idea of living in intellectual discomfort isn’t well-loved. Teaching topics that you are intellectually uncomfortable with is horrifying! Upon the realization that I would be embarking on a journey into the unknown I was, well, uncomfortable.

My shortcomings fell into three categories:

1. I was stretching myself past my deepest understanding,
2. I hadn’t received any formal training,
3. Or worst of all, I hadn’t received training AND I had zero hands-on experience.

I knew that I would run into scenarios where I wouldn’t have the answer on hand or where a student would know more about a topic than I did.

First, I lacked a depth of knowledge regarding jazz. Second, I wanted to enrich the curriculum for my marching percussion and color guard sections. While I had some experience with these topics, I was woefully unprepared to teach these groups myself. Finally, I wanted to delve into the world of digital music production — something I knew essentially nothing about and had no experience with whatsoever.

Diving into Jazz

I waded into these topics by swallowing my pride and seeking information from people with more experience and knowledge than me.

I attended workshops on how to listen to and digest jazz music, and then I spent multiple hours each day listening to different jazz artists. I sought out jazz clinicians and paid them to come to my school and work with my jazz band, and while they worked with my group, I vigorously took notes in the background much like a practicum student — in full view of my students. I subbed in rehearsals with local jazz bands whose skills drastically outpaced my own to see the real application of the skills that I was learning.

Slowly, my eyes started to open to how vast my lack of understanding actually was. I graduated from not knowing what I didn’t know to knowing what I didn’t know — a huge step!

Specialized Staff for Drumline and Color Guard

As the marching season approached, I began to look around the country at what other successful programs were doing. I realized that although the schools around me were doing good things with their marching bands, this focus narrowed my vision to look at models exclusively based on proximity.

I noticed that the strongest programs had specialized instructors for color guard and drumline. The best programs did not have a single instructor doing everything because those instructors had come to the conclusion that they couldn’t be experts in every area.

I decided to follow suit and appealed to my administration for support to give our students a richer marching band experience. When I laid out my plan, the administrators were open to the ideas and supported my recommendation to bring in additional instructors. This was largely thanks to my earnest effort to offer more to students rather than easing the burden on myself.

Digital Music Outreach

The most formidable challenge on my list, digital music production, started with the consideration that modern music education needed to pivot to match what modern musicians were doing. Having zero knowledge on the matter, I drew a terrible sketch of a floor plan of what I thought a recording studio looked like. I pitched the idea and the drawing to my principal, who was interested but skeptical because no school in our area offered anything remotely similar. He wisely saw that I had heart but not much more.

Hopeful, I did what anyone would do. I Googled every term I could think of and quickly realized that I couldn’t learn everything on my own. My colleague and I began to reach out to recording studios for help in creating this new course on digital music production. Not only were these artists willing to help, they explained everything to us from construction of their physical spaces to recommending types of hardware and software.

About this time, I began my master’s degree at the University of Illinois and I took a course on digital music production and modernizing music curriculum. This further opened my eyes to the possibilities of a music production course at our school. By this time, we were able to secure several grants to cover the cost of converting a storage room into a recording studio. Every step of the way, we consulted with musicians who knew far more than we did.

In the fall of 2019, after two years of learning, consulting and writing grants, we had a recording studio in our school! I remember feeling confident that I knew what I didn’t know on the first day of my Digital Audio Production class. Little did I know that I was peering into a doorway of doorways!

This class has probably generated more humbling intellectual moments for me than the rest of my cumulative teaching experience. In my effort to build the plane while it was flying, I was forced to see that students had to be stakeholders in the design of the course. Not only that, I had to accept that students could meaningfully contribute toward teaching about new tools. Although it was uncomfortable, I welcomed when a student knew something I didn’t and wanted to share it with the class in a positive way.

In all these instances, the story was the same: I saw my shortcomings, accepted them, made them known to myself and my students, and used every available resource to move forward. There were uncomfortable moments along the way, and more than once, I worried that my boss would wander into the room and think that I was an ineffective educator. What I didn’t consider was that these intellectual risks that I took were signs of a strong teacher, not a weak one.

The Results So Far of My Intellectual Discomfort Experience

Four years of living in intellectual discomfort has radically changed my perspective as a teacher. My program grew in vast ways, but not in the ways that I expected.

For instance, our marching band went from a three-set to a 60-set show and started participating in the Wisconsin School Music Association’s State Marching Championship. Our jazz band split into two ensembles and won recognition at the University of Wisconsin Platteville Jazz Festival, a local competition, for the first time in decades. Two of our students were selected for the state honors jazz band — a first in school history. The pep band has exploded in popularity with the addition of a rock combo, and we have built strong relationships with the sports boosters and families of student athletes. Our concert program is tackling projects that extend far beyond the boundaries of the band room.

We have more students enrolled in music than we have had in quite a long time thanks to the addition of digital music production. We went from 29% our of student population enrolled in music during my first year of teaching to 33% in 2019.

COVID-19 threw us a curve ball — instead of 24 students, our digital music class could only accommodate 10 students during the pandemic. However, the administration has seen the value of the class and has asked us to build a Digital Audio Production 2 course.

Shift Your Focus from Quantity to Quality

When I first started this process, I foolishly convinced myself that, like most music teachers, I should focus on enrollment numbers. As long as the number of students in concert band is high, my program is good. While there’s nothing wrong with increasing enrollment numbers, I understood that what truly matters — and what I truly wanted — was to improve the quality of the offerings. Seen another way, I shifted my focus from quantity to quality during this experience.

This shift resulted in several instances where I was incredibly uncomfortable teaching a particular topic. I’m not ashamed to admit that students have taught me things that I have now incorporated into my regular teaching.

I am also aware that I have a LONG way to go on almost every topic I’ve covered here. So, I’m excited at the prospect of putting myself in more uncomfortable intellectual situations!

Showing my students that it’s okay to be wrong and demonstrating what it looks like to be a lifelong learner are powerful teaching tools. Beyond that, I have noticed that my students are far more willing to open themselves to making mistakes as a way to improve. I firmly believe that this has led to a higher level of retention in my program.

If I were to summarize my entire experience with intellectual discomfort, this quote from Columbia University Professor Randall Everett Allsup (in “Popular Music and Classical Musicians: Strategies and Perspectives”) is the most applicable:

“I realize that discussions about music that include more than its structural components can make a music teacher feel suddenly unsafe and unmoored. But the lack of safety is not the same as danger. Predictability, in music and in teaching, is rarely a place of deep insight.”

My advice for music educators: Embrace your shortcomings and the challenges before you. It’s okay that you’re not the expert in the room all the time. Cruising altitude is comfortable, but intellectual discomfort is much more exciting and meaningful for you and your students.

Five Ways to Get From Noodling to Live Performance

Written by Jake Uitti on June 4, 2021. Posted in Guitars How-to.

I never, ever thought I’d play in a band. Or perform on stage for anyone. I never thought my time spent musing alone would extend past the four walls of my bedroom.

In the long run, maybe that’s what helped make it all happen.

I got my first guitar, a six-string acoustic, when I was a freshman in college. A few months beforehand, I’d seen a songwriter on TV, accompanying himself on guitar as he performed a Beatles song on the anniversary of John Lennon’s death. I watched as thousands in the audience were enraptured. “I need to learn how to do that,” I thought.

It wasn’t so much the act of performing live that drove my interest. Rather, I wanted to understand the instrument. I wanted to know what it was like to pluck an E-string and to have the sound ring out.

When I got that first axe, I honestly didn’t want to sign up for any lessons. I didn’t want to do anything but noodle away at my own pace, whenever and however I chose. I picked that guitar up and put it down some 50 times a day. If it had been a dumbbell I would have slowly turned my arms to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s.

Somehow, I ended up playing in numerous bands, recording dozens of songs in prestigious studios and opening for prominent, Grammy-winning acts on big stages. I swear, I never thought this would happen. But if I think about it, I know how it did.

Based on my personal experience, here are five tips for getting from noodling to performing. With these in the back of your mind, you too may end up becoming a musician … whether you wanted to or not.

1. Play Often

Yes, practice can be painstaking and arduous. And while it’s necessary at times, what’s more important is for you to keep your spirit up and your appreciation of music intact. If your practicing is breaking the will to move forward, something is wrong. Put down the intricate sheet music and learn a favorite TV theme song instead, or vice versa. Playing often is the key to improvement, but enjoying it is the key to playing often.

And what you play doesn’t have to be strenuous. For guitar players, it can just be putting your fingers on the frets and moving them around. To use a fitness analogy that a wrestler friend once told me, “All that matters is that you go to the gym. Once you’re there, whatever happens is fine.” Just go, then decide if you’re tired.

2. Be Silly

The best musicians in the world like to goof off, whether backstage, during rehearsal or even in the middle of a performance. So let yourself do it, too. Nothing should be totally serious. Stress can easily become your foe.

Musicians can often find new tricks or sonic phrases — even discover an otherwise unimagined spark — when just goofing off. Offering yourself the chance to literally “play” and take the pressure off is important. We can learn as much about our craft when we’re smiling as when our brow is furrowed.

3. Focus (Sometimes)

While enjoyment is paramount, when you’re feeling particularly studious, make sure to spend time on the basics. Mastering scales and key signatures, along with learning how to read tabs and sheet music, can lead to more options for you whether or not you decide to get together and play with others. Music is like any language; to be able to “speak” it, you need to learn some of the rules. There’s no need to overload yourself, but gaining a solid grounding in basic musical principles can go a long way.

4. Follow Your Curiosity

Along the way, if you feel a desire to play with other people — whether in a loose jam session or in front of a live audience — do it. Your curiosity and creative instincts will determine your level of investment in music, as well as your point of view in the art form. But remember: Just because you play on stage once doesn’t mean you have to repeat the experience if you dislike it. Similarly, just because you jam with someone, doesn’t mean you’re now in a band. Your time is just that: yours. Find the best environment for you.

5. Listen

Your ear will teach you a great deal. Listen to the other musicians you play with; listen to yourself as you noodle absentmindedly. But most of all, listen to your heart the whole way through.

Key Takeaways from FAQs on ESSER and GEER Funds

Written by Dr. Dave Gerhart on June 3, 2021. Posted in Funding.

On May 26, 2021, the U.S. Department of Education released a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) on ESSER and GEER funds.

This document helps educators justify how and why they can access these funds for their program. There are 78 questions and answers about COVID-19 relief funds, and while some parts may seem very technical and dry (which they are…), I have pulled out some highlights and key takeaways that you can bring to your principal to access money for your program. As you may know, these funds provide schools with over $200 billion of emergency relief funds to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The FAQ document is split into 5 sections:

1. Overview of ESSER and GEER funds
2. Reopening schools safely and promoting the health and safety of students, staff and the school community
3. Advancing educational equity in COVID-19 response
4. Using ESSER and GEER funds to support educators and other school staff
5. Additional fiscal considerations

Click here if you need help decoding the acronyms used in this article.

Show Me the Money

The COVID-19 relief funds (CARES, CRRSA and ARP) give schools money to ensure a safe and healthy return to school, while addressing learning loss and establishing equity. ESSER specifies that there are 15 areas of “allowable use” in every state, and this FAQ clarifies how funds can be used.

“… allowable uses of funds and describe how these funds may be used to implement actionable strategies to meet the urgent needs of students and educators as LEAs and schools work to return to and safely sustain in-person instruction, address the educational inequities that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and address students’ social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs. …

“The DOE encourages States and LEAs to use the funds described in this document to safely reopen schools, maximize in-person instructional time for all students, and provide opportunities to address the impacts of lost instructional time resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. When making decisions about how to use ESSER and GEER funds, States and LEAs are encouraged to take into consideration how the funds can be used to address inequities, including focusing supports and services on students from low- income families, students of color, students with disabilities, English learners, students experiencing homelessness, children and youth in foster care, migratory students, children who are incarcerated, and other underserved students who have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.”

Before you start asking for funds, you should use these questions to determine if an activity is an allowable use of funds:

“Is the use of funds intended to prevent, prepare for, or respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, including its impact on the social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of students?”
“Does the use of funds fall under one of the authorized uses of ESSER or GEER funds?”

In reading the FAQ, it is apparent that the federal government wants these funds to concentrate on the safe reopening of schools for all students while maintaining safety protocols and advancing educational equity. While these funds have been available for over a year, most educators and even administrators are still learning about how these funds can be used as well as how to access them. We need to do our part to make sure these funds will be used to support music programs in our schools.

Key Takeaways

I want to spotlight a few specific questions. As you begin to draft your plan, these FAQs will help you address concerns from your administrator.

C-2. How may an LEA use ESSER and GEER funds to support students who have lost instructional time due to the COVID-19 pandemic?

ESSER and GEER funds may also be used to provide a variety of activities and supports to help improve the achievement of students to address the impact of lost instructional time due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, funds may be used for costs associated with evidence-based approaches to accelerating learning, high-dose tutoring, leveraging technology to provide embedded assessment and differentiated instruction, diagnostic and curriculum-embedded assessments, and extending the school day or year to provide additional time for student learning, enrichment, and support. These costs may include supplementing the salaries of educators and other qualified personnel to perform additional services. ESSER and GEER funds may also be used to support the costs associated with hiring additional teachers and teacher aides to provide intensive support to students. ESSER and GEER funds may further be used to provide professional development to educators on research-based strategies for meeting students’ academic, social, emotional, mental health, and college, career, and future readiness needs, including strategies to accelerate learning without remediation or tracking.

Music educators can use these funds for summer opportunities including:

Marching band sectionals
Beginning band or string classes
Producing a musical
Teaching music technology classes (notation, writing beats, film or video game scoring)
Bucket drumming ensembles
General music instruction with recorders or pianicas

Not only can you teach these classes, but these funds can also be used to hire private lesson teachers and coaches.

C-3. How may an LEA use ESSER and GEER funds to support students’ social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs, including by hiring support personnel such as nurses, counselors, and social workers?

An LEA may use ESSER and GEER funds, including the 20 percent of ARP ESSER funds set aside to address the academic impact of lost instructional time, to support students’ social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs, including by implementing school-wide strategies that enhance supports and interventions for students as well as targeted assistance for students who need such supports. For example, an LEA might hire additional personnel to prioritize student well-being and health by increasing student access to teachers, nurses, guidance counselors, social workers, and other support personnel.

An LEA might also address the needs of students arising from the COVID-19 pandemic by using ESSER and GEER funds to implement or expand arts programs, such as music programs, including purchasing instruments; expand sports programming so more students can participate; or initiate clubs, such as a robotic or STEM club.

LEAs should also work to ensure that schools are implementing instructional practices that are culturally responsive and that incorporate trauma-informed pedagogy in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We all know the benefits of music education and how it can support our students’ social, emotional and mental health needs. Why not use this money to start or expand your music programs? Don’t forget that purchasing additional musical instruments and mouthpieces for each student eliminates sharing and falls under allowable use #5 of ESSER funds.

C-25. What kinds of summer programs may ESSER and GEER funds support?

ESSER and GEER funds may provide broad support for summer learning and enrichment programs. Given that this summer affords students a critical opportunity, LEAs should consider a variety of options for procuring summer services with ESSER and GEER funds, including programs run by non-profit or community organizations as well as those run by the LEA. Effective summer programming can address students’ social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs through a combination of activities that include strong partnerships with community-based organizations and other summer providers, including summer camps. These partnerships can help to sustain these programs and can also support programs in rural and remote communities.

Partnering with a non-profit or community arts-based organization can be beneficial for both your students and the community.
D-1. May an LEA use ESSER and GEER funds to stabilize and support the educator workforce?

Yes. An LEA may use ESSER and GEER funds to stabilize and support the educator workforce and to support the conditions that will allow schools to return to in-person instruction. This may include using funds to pay teacher salaries and avoid layoffs. Funds may also be used to address educator shortages exacerbated by the pandemic by hiring new teachers, including expanding student access to a well- prepared and diverse educator workforce.

If All Else Fails, Don’t Forget Allowable Use #1

The federal government has allocated more money than ever before, and school districts are struggling to keep up with all aspects of the COVID-19 federal relief funds. Over the past months, educators have told me that their district says that “music and the arts don’t fit into the allowable uses.” This is not true. The language for allowable use #1 of the ARP Act states that funds can be used for:

Any activity authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965.

ESEA includes the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and both spell out that music is a part of a “well-rounded education.”

Action Items

ESSER and GEER funds can be used to pay teacher salaries and avoid layoffs. We must maintain our programs and address our students’ social, emotional and mental health needs. Start now, do your homework and meet with your supervisor to make sure your voice is heard to determine how these funds can be used to support your program.

Additional Resources

Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students’ Needs

Decoding Acronyms

ARP Act = American Rescue Plan Act
CARES Act = Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,
CRRSA Act = Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act
DOE = U.S. Department of Education
ESEA = Elementary and Secondary Education Act
ESSA = Every Student Succeeds Act
ESSER = Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief
GEER = Governor’s Emergency Education Relief
LEA = Local Education Agency (aka School District)
SEA = State Education Agency (aka State Department of Education)

Allowable Uses of ESSER and GEER Funds

ESSER spells out “allowable uses” in each of the COVID-19 federal relief funds. Below is the list of 15 allowable uses from ESSER III, which is part of the ARP act:

1. Any activity authorized by the ESEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act (AEFLA), or the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins).
2. Coordination of LEA preparedness and response efforts with state, local, tribal, and territorial public health departments, and other relevant agencies, to improve coordinated responses with other agencies to prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.
3. Activities to address the unique needs of low-income children or students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youth, including how outreach and service delivery will meet the needs of each population.
4. Developing and implementing procedures and systems to improve the preparedness and response efforts of LEAs.
5. Training and professional development for LEA staff on sanitation and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases.
6. Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities of an LEA, including buildings operated by such agency.
7. Planning for, coordinating, and implementing activities during long-term closures, including how to provide meals, technology for online learning, guidance on IDEA requirements, and ensuring other educational services can continue to be provided consistent with all applicable requirements.
8. Purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students served by the LEA that aids in regular and substantive educational interactions between students and their classroom teachers, including low-income students and children with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment.
9. Providing mental health services and supports, including through the implementation of evidence-based full-service community schools.
10. Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental afterschool programs, including providing classroom instruction or online learning during the summer months and addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.
11. Addressing learning loss among students, including low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care, of the local educational agency, including by
  - Administering and using high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable, to accurately assess students’ academic progress and assist educators in meeting students’ academic progress and assist educators in meeting students’ academic needs, including through differentiating instruction.
  - Implementing evidence-based activities to meet the comprehensive needs of students.
  - Providing information and assistance to parents and families on how they can effectively support students, including in a distance learning environment.
  - Tracking student attendance and improving student engagement in distance education.
12. School facility repairs and improvements to reduce risk of virus transmission and exposure to environmental health hazards, and to support student health needs.
13. Inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrade projects to improve the indoor air quality in school facilities, including mechanical and non-mechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, filtering, purification, and other air cleaning, fans, control systems, and window and door repair and replacement.
14. Developing strategies and implementing public health protocols including, to the greatest extent practicable, policies in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the reopening and operation of school facilities to effectively maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other staff
15. Other activities that are necessary to maintain operations and continuity of services and continuing to employ existing staff.

Yamaha is an active advocate for music education, and we want to empower music educators to strengthen their programs in any way we can. Please register for the Yamaha Educator newsletter to read up on advocacy, professional development, information about instruments, resources, partnerships in education and more. Join the Yamaha Music Educator Community on Facebook or email us at educators@yamaha.com.

How to Connect a Sound Bar to a TV with HDMI^® ARC

Written by Mike Levine on June 3, 2021. Posted in Audio How-to. 5 Comments on How to Connect a Sound Bar to a TV with HDMI^® ARC

When the HDMI^® 1.4 spec was introduced back in 2009, it included a new protocol designed to significantly improve the audio experience for television viewing: ARC, which stands for Audio Return Channel.

HDMI ARC makes it possible to simplify your TV setup while improving your ability to configure and control your system. Ready to learn more? Read on …

ARC Basics and Benefits

To make an ARC connection, simply plug an HDMI cable into the dedicated ARC jacks on both devices. As shown below, these are usually clearly labeled:

Closeup of rear panel. — *The HDMI ports (circled in red) on the Yamaha YAS-109 sound bar.*

One of the key benefits of ARC is that it supports bi-directional audio through a single HDMI cable. That means the audio can travel both “downstream” (from your TV to your sound bar or AV receiver) and “upstream” (from the sound bar or AV receiver back to the TV), assuming all components are ARC compatible. As a result, you have a variety of options for interconnecting the various devices you’re using.

Another benefit is fewer cables, since you don’t need to use a separate optical cable to send audio from your TV to your sound bar or receiver. With ARC, a single HDMI cable carries both audio and video.

As an example, let’s say your home audio setup consists of a smart TV, a Blu-ray player, a game console and an ARC-capable sound bar such as the Yamaha SR-C30A, SR-C20A, SR-B20A or YAS-109. As shown in the illustration below, simply use HDMI cables to connect the Blu-ray player and game console to the TV. With this configuration, the HDMI ARC connection will carry all the audio from your devices to your sound bar, plus you’ll also be able to control all the source-switching from your TV’s remote.

You can use the remote for even more functions by engaging an HDMI feature usually called Consumer Electronics Control (CEC), though different manufacturers refer to it by a variety of names. This allows you to use a single remote to control power on/off, audio level and other essential functions of any ARC-connected devices. So, with HDMI ARC, not only will you have less cables, but fewer remotes to deal with.

However, the CEC feature isn’t necessarily plug and play. You typically must go into your TV’s settings to activate it. Not all remotes or TVs offer this feature, so make sure the one you have (or are considering buying) does.

Extra Flexibility

ARC’s two-way audio capability gives you additional setup flexibility. For example, you could use your sound bar as a hub — as long as it supports ARC and has multiple HDMI inputs.

To do that, you’d connect the TV to the sound bar using ARC and plug any game controllers and Blu-ray players to the HDMI inputs on the sound bar. Now, you’ll not only have audio going from the TV to the sound bar, but video from the game controller and Blu-ray player getting passed through from the sound bar to the TV:

HDMI-ARC-Fig.-3 — *An alternate way to configure HDMI ARC.*

This kind of setup can be really helpful, particularly if you have a wall-mounted TV where connected HDMI cables are run through holes drilled in the wall.

Yet another alternative setup is possible if your home setup includes an AV receiver that supports ARC, such as the Yamaha RX-V6A. You could use the receiver as the hub, connecting it to the TV through ARC with one HDMI cable and plugging Blu-ray players or game consoles into the receiver using HDMI. In case you’re wondering, ARC doesn’t have anything to do with the functioning of Blu-ray players and game consoles, so there’s no need to worry about their compatibility.

View of front of unit and remote control — *The Yamaha RX-V6A AV receiver.*

ARC vs. Optical

Even if you’re happy with using an optical (TOSLINK) cable rather than ARC for sending audio from the TV to your sound bar or receiver, it’s worth comparing the two. You might change your mind.

Both formats are superior in sound quality to analog (RCA cables). Both can handle compressed, multichannel audio up to 5.1, and neither can handle 7.1 audio, although an advanced version of ARC called eARC can. (More on this later.)

Optical cables have better shielding than HDMI and are therefore less susceptible to interference. However, ARC is superior to optical when it comes to bandwidth — that is, the amount of data it can handle at a given time. As a result, it’s able to support a couple of Blu-ray formats (specifically, Dolby^® TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio™) that optical can’t.

One downside to ARC is that audio coming from a set-top box or other peripherals can sometimes get slightly delayed, which can cause annoying lip-syncing issues. Also, if your system requires cable runs of over 15 feet, you may have signal loss problems with HDMI.

Hop Aboard the eArc

HDMI 2.1, announced in 2018, brought a significant improvement to the ARC standard. It’s called eARC (the “e” stands for “enhanced”), and it has more robust capabilities than the original ARC.

If you have an HDMI 2.1-compatible TV and audio device (for example, a Yamaha RX-V6A AV receiver), you can take advantage of more powerful audio formats. That’s because eARC supports uncompressed 192kHz/24-bit audio, along with 5.1- and 7.1-channel uncompressed audio. It also supports several compressed formats, including DTS-HD Master Audio, DTS:X^®, Dolby TrueHD and Dolby Atmos^®.

Another advantage to eARC is that it includes lip-sync compensation, which takes care of the sync issues you may encounter when using ARC.

It’s worth noting that, to enjoy the full feature-set of eARC and HDMI 2.1, you’ll want to purchase new Ultra-High-Speed HDMI cables. HDMI 2.1 and eARC are backward-compatible, so you can use your old cables but won’t reap all the benefits of the latest technology.

Ready to Use

Manufacturers have included ARC on HDMI TVs and audio devices for quite a few years now, so most likely, your gear is compatible. To find out, just look for the word “ARC” on one of the HDMI ports on your TV and sound bar or AV receiver.

If you’re purchasing new gear for your home theater, be sure to look for HDMI 2.1-capable products. They’ll allow you to utilize eARC technology, which can significantly raise the multichannel audio capabilities in your home theater.

Check out these related blog articles:

Raiders of the Lost eARC

HDMI 2.1: What It Means for Gear and Gamers

There’s a Sound Bar for Every Space and Budget

Virtual Surround Sound and Yamaha Sound Bars

Click here for more information about the Yamaha SR-C20A sound bar.

Click here for more information about the Yamaha SR-B20A sound bar.

Click here for more information about the Yamaha YAS-109 sound bar.

Click here for more information about the Yamaha RX-V6A AV receiver.

Think Like a Drummer, Part 2

Written by Mike Levine on June 2, 2021. Posted in Recording. 2 Comments on Think Like a Drummer, Part 2

In Part 1 of this two-part series, I discussed the pros and cons of using MIDI and audio loops to create realistic-sounding drum parts. In this installment, I’ll show you techniques for putting your drum track together.

It’s About Time

Whether it’s MIDI or audio loops you’re using, the more you can think like a drummer when putting the parts together, the more realistic the results will be. For audio loops, find a song grouping in a loop collection that fits the feel of your song and is close or identical in tempo. If you’re using MIDI loops, you’ll need to time-stretch it to make it fit. (See Part 1 for more info.)

When you’re assembling audio loops, it’s critical to have your grid snap on and set to bars. That way, you can drag and drop loops, end to end, and they’ll stay in time with the song.

The Sum of the Parts

A real drummer generally plays different variations of a particular feel or style for each song section. If you want authenticity, you need to replicate that concept in your loop part. For example, verses are typically simpler or lower in energy than choruses. And if a song has a bridge, it will usually have a feel that’s different from the rest of the song, which means the drum part will change as well.

By the way, there’s nothing wrong with choosing a “basic beat” loop for each song section, then using the same ones each time those sections repeat — as long as you create variety with fills. That said, if you have a slight variation in, say, the second verse, it might make sense to use it again for a verse later in the song.

Fill ‘Er Up

Whether you’re using audio loops or a MIDI drum instrument, it’s essential to have a good selection of fills on hand before you put your part together. Drummers almost always play a fill in the last measure of a section to help propel the song into the next part, and the fills are often only in the second half of that last measure.

If you’re using a MIDI virtual drummer such as Groove Agent SE5 in Steinberg Cubase, you can easily grab a fill from another song. Because it’s MIDI, the instrument will play it with the same kit sounds, so it should fit nicely if it’s stylistically similar … assuming the mapping (i.e., the placement of samples on specific MIDI notes) is the same. If it’s different, you may have to move certain notes in the loop so the correct samples get triggered.

With audio loops, using fills (or any loops, for that matter) from outside the song grouping is next to impossible. That’s because kits from different collections are recorded in different studios with different drummers and won’t sound at all alike.

Often, it can be difficult to find enough fills, because the creators of the collections didn’t provide enough of them for a full-length song. In those cases, you’ll have to repeat some of them. When that happens, try to space the repeats apart as much as possible. Listeners are less likely to notice a fill that’s used in the first and fourth verses than one that’s used in the first and second verses.

Another problem with fills from loop collections (both audio and MIDI) is that they’re often a full measure long and too busy. They might sound cool on their own, but in many songs they’ll seem like overkill.

Sometimes you can successfully use the last two beats from a measure-length fill. If it sounds good, replace the first half of the measure with a repeat of the basic beat you’re using for that section.

In the following graphic, you’ll see part of an audio loop drum track. The purple is the basic beat for the verse; it lasts four measures and has a little flourish at the end. After that, the same section was copied and pasted, but the last measure was replaced by a fill consisting of two beats of the basic beat (shown in green) and the last two beats of a fill (shown in red):

Whenever you’re assembling audio loops, if you hear any glitches at the edit point, a short crossfade will often smooth it out. Just be careful not to make it so long that it lessens the impact of the hit.

Adaptation

Often, you’ll find you have a loop that works with your song’s basic groove, but needs to be adapted in places. With MIDI loops, it’s easy to make changes. But with audio loops, it’s not always possible to edit and move drums or cymbals within a loop. When it is doable, you often must finesse the edits to make them sound realistic.

For example, let’s say your song has an eighth-note anticipation to start the measure, and you want to move the bass drum back from beat one of the loop so it’s hitting in the right place. In this graphic representation, the beat you want to move is at the left edge of the blue event, circled in red:

Here’s how to accomplish it:

1. Turn the grid snap off, select just the bass drum, and split it to make it a separate event:

2. With the grid snap set to sixteenth notes, drag the bass drum hit earlier by an eighth note:

3. You now have a space between where the bass drum is, and where it was. Listen to how it sounds in the context of the song. If there’s a noticeable dropout, you can try lengthening the right edge of the event, revealing more of the audio after the edit point:

A Crash in Time

Many audio loops have crashes on the downbeat (beat 1). But, inevitably, you’ll run into places where you don’t have a version of the loop you want to use that has a crash.

An easy solution is to create a separate stereo audio track for your crashes (and any other drum samples that need to overlay the main loop track). Typically, a loop collection will give you individual samples for all the kit elements. Find crash samples you like (even if they’re from a different collection) and place them in that second track, so they’ll play along with the loops:

Mixing with Audio Loops

With MIDI virtual drummers like Groove Agent SE, adjusting the mix of the kit is usually easy because most have powerful internal mixers. But with stereo audio loops, you have no way to address kit elements individually. And, although they’re usually well mixed (at least when heard on their own), there will be times when the loop simply doesn’t work so well in context with the rest of your mix.

If you need to make a simple mixing change, such as raising the bass drum or reducing the snare, you can try using EQ. The idea is to boost or cut a frequency range corresponding to the kit element you’re trying to affect, as shown in the illustration below:

This type of adjustment is almost always a compromise, but can sometimes work. If you want complete mixing control of drum loops, you must find multitrack ones. There are multitrack collections available, but there are fewer to choose from than the large number of stereo loops available.

A Strong Foundation

It’s best to record the other instruments (except for reference tracks) in your song after you have the drum loops in place as a groove reference. Drums are foundational to most musical styles, so you want to overdub to them whenever possible. If you record everything to a click and then add the drum loops later, you may discover that other rhythmic elements (i.e., rhythm guitars, keyboards and bass) aren’t locked in with the loops.

The reason is that every drummer interprets time in a slightly different way, and those variations are what create a drummer’s “feel.” Some play a tiny bit ahead of the beat, others a little behind it (see Watts, Charlie). So, if you record your instrument parts to the metronomic rhythm of the click, the musicians will be using a different rhythmic reference and won’t be able to make their parts groove with the drum loops.

You don’t need to have your entire drum track in place before you start overdubbing instruments (although that’s ideal), but you should at least have a basic beat chosen from a song in a loop collection. Create a temporary drum track that repeats that beat throughout the song so you can record your other parts to it.

The Last Hit

In situations where recording a live drummer isn’t practical, drum loops — whether MIDI or audio — are the next best thing. You’ll have more flexibility with MIDI loops but more authentic sound and feel with audio.

Whichever you choose, keep in mind the techniques described in this article. They’ll make it easier to put together authentic-sounding drum parts.

www.yvetteyoungmusic.com

Click here for more information about Steinberg Cubase.

female student practicing trumpet in stairwell

Case Study: A 3-Week Fine Arts Exploratory Course More than Doubled Band Enrollment

Written by Christine Ngeo Katzman on May 28, 2021. Posted in Case Studies.

In less than three weeks, the Ralls County R-II School District in Center, Missouri, more than doubled its beginning band program.

Before Director of Bands Douglas Schaffer, a 2021 Yamaha 40 Under 40 music educator, joined the district in 2019, only 24% of 6th graders signed up for band at Ralls County Elementary. Though they were required to participate in fine arts, many students favored art or general music. (Choir becomes an option in 7th grade, and the district does not have orchestra ensembles.)

After a mandatory exploratory fine arts program was launched at the start of 6th grade, band enrollment rose to more than 60% and almost 80% of those students remained in band when they transitioned to Mark Twain Junior High. Schaffer sent home this letter to parents to explain the exploratory course.

“Elementary art translates into middle school art, but elementary music does not necessarily translate to playing an instrument,” Schaffer says. “When most kids are coming into 6th grade, and they’re looking at picking their elective, they have this big mental block about band. … One of the things I heard [from students was], ‘I don’t know how to play an instrument.’ … [Because of] those preconceived notions, I wasn’t getting them in the door. I had to show them that they can actually have success on an instrument.”

Program Implementation

With an average of 60 students in each grade at Mark Twain Junior High, the 6th grade students separate into four groups and rotate between band, art, general music and gym during the third hour of each school day. After 2½ weeks, students decide which fine arts class to keep.

“I demonstrate the instruments [flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone and percussion] for them and get the mouthpiece in their hands,” Schaffer says. “I’m able to get them to test and try out those instruments. … It’s actually showing the kids that they can make a sound on the instrument.”

At the start of 2019, Schaffer rotated and sprayed down four or five mouthpieces per instrument for each class. With COVID-19 safety guidelines in the fall of 2020, the school used CARES Act funding to purchase 20 Wind Instrument Try-Out Kits that include a simulated flute headjoint, woodwind mouthpiece with synthetic reed, and brass mouthpiece with two cup sizes. Made of plastic and rubber, the fake mouthpieces and reeds could be washed in the dishwasher each day.

“That made people a lot more comfortable than sanitizer spray,” Schaffer says. “These will have some longevity. We’ll be able to keep them for years to come and use them often.”

Students’ ability to try the instruments before they commit accounts for 90% of the exploratory program’s success, Schaffer believes. The other 10% happens through relationship building. “They need to be convinced that they want to commit the next year … and potentially the next seven years [with me],” he says.

This chart shows the growth in 6th grade band students.

Schaffer believes that the exploratory program could be implemented at any school, increasing or decreasing its duration depending on the number of total students in the grade.

Multiple Points of Contact

Though an instrument fair could accomplish similar goals — and the district will be hosting one this spring — Schaffer says that some students would slip through the cracks. With an instrument petting zoo or fair, “you only get the [kids] who want to go,” he says. “You don’t catch every student. The advantage of the exploratory class is that I get to put a horn in the face of every 6th grader in the school district.”

Schaffer and the art teacher now start the recruiting process by visiting 5th grade classes together. “[The art teacher] takes a couple examples of artwork, and I do a quick breakdown on [the process of band].”

In addition to showing 5th grade students the instruments, Schaffer makes sure to play a fun song from Disney or Pixar. Schaffer will also take some musicians from the high school band for a concert.

“I’m going to have three or four points of contact with these kids before I even try recruiting them with the exploratory class,” he says. “I have 18 little brothers or sisters in this 5th grade class right now. … That’s one of the awesome things about building a program in a small school [district]. Eventually it does become a self-fueling machine where kids just want to do it.”

Though more students are now choosing band instead of art, the exploratory program has benefited both groups. “The art teacher and I understand that it’s a symbiotic relationship,” Schaffer says. “If he has an art class of 40 or 50 kids, he’s doing a whole lot of generalized stuff. If he has a smaller class, he can build better artists and keep them in his program for a longer period of time. Our art program is rocking.”

As for his own bursting classroom, Schaffer welcomes the larger class sizes. “Band teachers are a different breed,” he says. “For me, it’s never an issue having more kids in the room. … We just stay busy every second of every day. I don’t give them a chance to make bad decisions.”

Marching Ahead

Schaffer, who also teaches the 7th/8th and high school bands, implements a similar progressive approach for retaining students between junior high and high school.

In his first couple of years at his previous position at Laquey (Missouri) School District, he noticed that he didn’t retain anyone between 8th and 9th grade. After speaking to a student, Schaffer realized that the high school commitment felt overwhelming in comparison to the junior high schedule.

“It clicked,” he says. “We were trying to go from two concerts and maybe one concert festival in middle school to five football games, four marching competitions, two or three concert festivals, [and possibly] jazz band in the high school. Well, that is a really big jump.”

At Laquey and then at Mark Twain, Schaffer started a junior high parade band. Mark Twain 7th and 8th graders participate in three marching events — two of which are combined with high school activities.

“I recruit 6th graders by showing them what 6th grade band is. I retain middle schoolers by showing them that this is what high school is,” Schaffer says. “If you do three parades in middle school, the five or six that the high school has isn’t so scary anymore. I [also] take them to multiple concert festivals, so they can get used to what high school is like.”

In 2020 when most band competitions were being canceled, Schaffer even created his own local festival, the Mark Twain Invitational, featuring parade, field, indoor guard and indoor percussion categories. Both Mark Twain’s junior high and senior high participated. “It was a great day for us last year, pandemic and thunderstorm notwithstanding,” Schaffer says.

As a result of these various initiatives, Schaffer has an impressive retention rate — about 75% to 80% between 6th and 7th grade, 92% to 97% between 7th and 8th grade, and 100% for high school. While at Laquey, Schaffer had increased total band enrollment from 30 to 135 in 6th through 12th grade within four years.

Just Ask

Getting buy-in for program expansion or funding has never felt difficult for Schaffer. “What did [I] do to convince admin to do this? I just asked,” he says. “I didn’t have anything written up. I didn’t have any proof.”

“I’ve been lucky to have admins who want to grow the program, who want to see children have opportunities,” Schaffer says. “They want to see students succeed. They’ve been very open to stuff that [might] look unorthodox in other years [or in other places].”

Schaffer, who mentors young directors, says that instructors need to get more comfortable seeking out support. Administrators will typically not approach teachers to find out what they need, he adds. “You are your program’s biggest advocate,” he says. “You need to go to the office to ask. [Don’t be] afraid to go to your admin with unconventional ideas. [They] are going to be approachable because they understand that they hired you to be the expert in your room.”

Cultures in Harmony: The Heritage of Asian American Pacific Islander Music

Written by Jennifer Chen on May 27, 2021. Posted in Artists.

In celebration of AAPI Heritage Month, I recently spoke with three Yamaha artists about how they weave their respective cultures into their music and how their artistry seeks to bring communities together. Each artist spoke passionately about their beliefs in the power of music to unite us all in harmony.

Early Instrumental Inspiration

For acclaimed marimba player Naoko Takada, witnessing Akiko Suzuki, a student of world-famous marimbist Keiko Abe, perform at an all-girls cultural festival in Japan changed her life when Naoko was just eight years old. “She looked so elegant,” Takada remembers. “I didn’t [even] know what a marimba was. I thought it was some kind of furniture that makes beautiful sounds.” After the performance, Takada sought out Suzuki, and later Abe, for lessons and devoted herself to the instrument. That initial inspiration became her calling, and Takada has since toured the world, performing solo recitals in Carnegie Hall, Konzarthaus in Berlin, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., and Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

Woman on stage playing marimbas. — *Naoko Takada.*

Six-time GRAMMY^® winner and ukulele musician Daniel Ho similarly credits Hawaiian slack-key guitarist George Kahumoku Jr. for helping first guide him as a young artist. “Kahumoku Jr. taught me traditional Hawaiian repertoire on guitar and ukulele,” Ho says. “We’ve recorded 13 albums together now, and four of them have won Grammys, so he has changed my life in a big way, [and] also in a cultural way. It was his openness and humility that allowed me to learn not only the songs, but also more about [native] Hawaiian culture [so I could] really immerse myself in it.”

Yvette Young, guitarist, visual artist and songwriter in the band Covet, received inspiration from her family. Her cousin Clara Yang, in particular, has been a consistent source of motivation. “She is such a talented pianist, and [is] carving out a solid career for herself as a professor at a major college, while also working as a touring pianist,” says Yvette. Young also credits her parents, who emigrated from China, with introducing her to the joys of playing instruments at a young age. “They were the ones who encouraged me to learn piano and violin in the first place,” she says. “I may not have appreciated it at the time, but I certainly am grateful now that they started me so young and raised me in such a musical household.”

Bridging Cultures

Hawaiian-born Daniel Ho has made a decades-long career out of partnering with artists around the globe to keep traditional music alive, shared and archived. Through his work, he has seen how musical collaborations between different cultures can elicit camaraderie and help form genuine bonds.

Young man in hat playing an acoustic guitar. — *Daniel Ho.*

On one recent recording, he traveled to Taiwan to record with native Aboriginal tribes. The resulting album, On a Gentle Island Breeze, was nominated for a Grammy, with Ho playing piano, slack key guitar and ukulele alongside five different tribes, incorporating their indigenous songs and melodies. There is a centuries-long connection between Taiwan and Hawaii that can be traced back through linguistics, and Ho felt privileged to be given the opportunity to create music that blended their cultures. “My idea was to build a frame around the traditional music without touching it at all,” he explains, “and then construct counterpoint and harmonies derivative of their traditional melodies. The Aboriginal elders appreciated that I was not [altering] their music — just supporting and framing it.”

Melody and the Rhythm of Language

Combining different cultures is also a big part of Naoko Takada’s work as a performing artist and marimba professor at the University of Southern California. Though Takada came to America at age 19, she reports that she still incorporates the linguistic style and rhythm of her native Japanese language into her playing and instruction methods.

For example, she emphasizes the Japanese concept of “ma” (loosely translated as “empty space”) to her students. “When I teach, I always say, ‘Music doesn’t end when the notes end,’” she explains. “When you are playing an instrument like a marimba, vibraphone or even piano, sometimes the silence is the beauty.”

Similarly, Takada often incorporates the rhythm of the traditional haiku poem structure (five- / seven- / five-syllables) into her playing. “The music of five notes or seven notes, or a combination of five or seven, makes [it] like a little fun conversation,” she says.

Empathy in Music

The idea that music and the arts can help create understanding gives Yvette Young hope for unity during times of divide. “Art can build empathy by helping people feel more comfortable with their own identities and more grounded in their emotions, [as well as] how they relate to the rest of the world,” she says. “I think the world would be a far kinder place if people just felt more heard. Art and music can be a fantastic way to confront and heal that dissonance.”

Young woman playing guitar on rooftop. — *Yvette Young.*

Part of the reason Young feels this can happen is the introspective nature of art. “Art can propose questions and encourage people to look within,” she says, “which I don’t think many people are comfortable with at times. Music and the arts can help people link up with the deeper parts of themselves, and [so they] are such important outlets for people to have so they can explore their own identity and purpose in the world.”

Living in Harmony

“World music, to me, is the purest connection of sound to emotion,” says Daniel Ho. And the harmony that music can bring to people is a message he continually shares, both as an instructor at the Yamaha Musician’s Creativity Lab and through his work as a musician and artist.

For a recent Los Angeles County Holiday Celebration, Ho created a song called “Colors in Harmony.” He explains its meaning this way: “If we work together and respect each other, we can create harmony and actually all live a better life. I wrote a verse that goes, ‘Here we gather from afar / Hear our song of peace / Woven melodies we are / Living colors in harmony.’ The woven melodies represent each of us, as individuals, and the colors refer to our many cultures. ‘Colors in Harmony’ is my way of saying if we all did good things and respected each other, and not hate each other, that’s the answer. It starts at home, and it starts with yourself.”

Photo of Daniel Ho by Lydia Miyashiro-Ho

For more information, visit:

www.naokotakada.com

www.danielho.com

Greg Lukens

Written by Yamaha Corporation of America on May 26, 2021. Posted in Pro Audio Artists.

Greg Lukens began his career in the music business as a roadie for Janis Joplin in her early touring days before going on to do live sound for Rush and eventually becoming a highly sought-after mixing and mastering engineer — all despite being blinded at an early age. In this video, he invites us into his home studio in Alexandria, Virginia, where he discusses how he uses Steinberg WaveLab for a variety of applications — not just mastering, but even for providing audio for flight simulators.

“My visual imagination is making up a view of what the music is,” he explains. “The real-time 3D spectograph that’s in WaveLab is a view of audio that I have been calling up [in my mind] for the last 45 years.”

“As an early adopter, I have enjoyed Steinberg’s continuous attention to the detail of its audio engine,” he adds. “The file playback is better than any of the media players that audio files use. One of the gems I’ve discovered in WaveLab is the new tube compressor. You could have convinced me that it’s an analog insert of my favorite tube compressor! It’s fun to be able to take a piece of music that was recorded in 1968 and apply today’s technology to bring that old recording to the place that I remember.”

Lukens is also a big fan of the WaveLab Global Analysis tool. “Its power in editing music is a wonderful thing, but its ability to understand audio data that’s not music is equally powerful. To understand and mark the peak energy [of a file] is really fascinating.”

He also utilizes numerous MasterRig templates in order to speed his workflow. “It provides a valuable set of great-sounding tools,” he says. “Everything is uniform; everything is consistent. You can rearrange the [plug-ins] and everything stays the same as you reconfigure them … and, by the way, it happens to sound wonderful.”

“WaveLab is not just an editor,” Lukens enthuses. “It’s a complete mastering suite that allows you to do any or all of the processing that today’s music needs.”

Check out these related articles.

Click here to learn more about Steinberg Wavelab.

View of front of AV receiver with fifth foot visible on bottom center.

Why Do AVENTAGE Receivers Have a Fifth Foot?

Written by Phil Shea on May 25, 2021. Posted in Audio Gear Guides. 1 Comment on Why Do AVENTAGE Receivers Have a Fifth Foot?

Yamaha AVENTAGE AV receivers are widely known for their meticulous design and powerful surround sound capabilities. Many of their unique features are unseen. But one of their most notable is actually in plain sight: a fifth foot under the chassis.

So why this extra appendage? Let’s find out.

Design Considerations

With most high-end audio products, mechanical engineers spend significant planning resources to reduce the amount of vibration and resonance permeating throughout the chassis. In fact, chassis stability is a consideration even before the electronic engineers finish building the circuit boards. Decisions like where to place the power transformer and where to mount the heat sinks and amplifier modules are all made in the early design stages.

Why is a Solid Chassis So Important?

The solidity of the chassis has great significance due to a phenomenon called microphonics, whereby electronic components can generate a small electrical signal (or a variation in signal flow) when vibrated from an external source. When designing electronic circuits to precisely reproduce every nuance of an audio signal, every detail must be considered, and so vibration reduction is very important.

Structural Reinforcement

The best architecture for high-end audio is to use a symmetrical layout, where the amplifiers for the left side of the room are on one side of the chassis and the amplifiers for the right side of the room are on the other side. This provides better channel separation between the left/right signals, spreads out the cooling heatsinks for more efficiency and makes room for the power supply to be placed in the middle of the chassis. Mounting the power supply in the center is beneficial because it shortens the distance to the individual channels. Shorter distance means less impedance for more dynamic sound reproduction.

The transformer is the heaviest component in an AV receiver; however, suspending it in the center of the chassis is usually the furthest point from the four supporting feet in the corners. Mechanical designers account for this with the addition of metal brackets and mounting hardware to give the transformer a solid platform for mounting. However, even with all this reinforcement, the transformer’s inherent mechanical vibrations can migrate through the chassis and eventually induce very small vibrations to the sensitive electronics on the circuit boards.

Problem Solved

View of the bottom of the unit with the fifth foot dead center of the bottom.

Yamaha engineers came up with a simple but unconventional solution: simply add a fifth foot under the massive power supply for additional stability. It performed as theorized, resulting in lower chassis vibration with more detailed sound imaging and higher dynamics. Hours of critical listening tests proved that such a seemingly simple solution worked well.

Tripod holding a small rectangular unit in a room with a grid-tracked floor. There is a small electronic unit on a pad that is on grid track in front of the unit on a tripod.

To quantify these results, Yamaha engineers identified a Laser Doppler Vibrometer (shown in the illustration above) as the perfect tool for the job. This test instrument reflects a calibrated laser beam off the surface of the chassis and measures where and how much mechanical vibration is present. When the fifth foot was first used, the laser’s measurements indicated a dramatic decrease in chassis deflection (vibration). With the unit still connected to the vibrometer, the engineers experimented with different materials, shapes and pad materials for improved results before selecting the final design.

View of bottom of unit. Fifth foot is visible on center of edge of bottom.

New and Improved

The latest AVENTAGE AV receivers have undergone a substantial upgrade of internal chassis reinforcements that even further stiffen the structure. Always looking to get better results, engineers revisited the mechanical testing room to confirm that the theorized upgrades, in fact, performed as expected. Not surprisingly, the chassis was much more rigid. Further testing revealed that the point of maximum deflection or vibration was no longer located directly under the transformer. In fact, the extra rigidity of the new chassis moved the location of greatest vibration to a different zone of the bottom panel. Final experimentation found that mounting the fifth foot towards the front of the new AVENTAGE models provided up to 10 times improvement in vibration reduction.

Closeup of front center of unit with fifth foot visible.

The bottom line is that mechanical stability is paramount for precise sound reproduction. Yamaha uses a simple but extensively tested method for providing the best possible sound for your investment. But don’t take our word for it. See — and feel — it for yourself!

Check out these related blog articles:

What’s the Difference Between 4K Ultra HD, 8K UHD and HDR10+?

HDMI^® 2.1: What It Means for Gear and Gamers

What is Dolby Atmos Height Virtualization?

How to Recreate the Movie Theater Experience at Home

The History of AV Receivers

Click here for more information about Yamaha AVENTAGE AV receivers.

Top 10 Piano and Digital Keyboard Practice Tips

Written by Jerry Kovarsky on May 24, 2021. Posted in Keyboard How-to.

It’s always fun to add a new song or piece of music to your repertoire. But to really learn a new piece of music, you need to take a focused and results-driven approach — and you also need to understand that true practice is much more than just playing something over and over again.

Here are 10 tips to help you work smarter, use your time efficiently and attain great results in record time.

1. Listen Before You Play

Whether it’s a classical composition, a pop or show tune or something else, hopefully there is a recording or video that first attracted you to it. With the score or sheet music in hand, listen to the piece a few times, following along with the music. This way, you know what it is supposed to sound like and can better interpret the written music as you start to work on it. If there are multiple performances available — even from different performers — so much the better. Listen for how they each treat the piece and decide which way(s) you like the best.

2. Warm Up

Just like any form of exercise, it’s important to stretch and warm up your muscles before every practice session. My very first Well-Rounded Keyboardist blog offered multiple tips for doing just that.

3. Avoid Distractions

You need to give your practice time your full focus, so before you sit down at your keyboard, silence your phone, turn off notifications on your computer/tablet and take necessary measures to forestall any other household activities that might interrupt and distract.

4. Read It Through

The first time you work on a new piece — even before you actually start to play the composition — you should read it carefully, paying attention to many things.

First, check the key signature so you know what sharps or flats you will need to be playing.

Next, familiarize yourself with its road map — in other words, the places where there are repeat signs, first or second endings and things like D.S., D.C. or Coda signs. (More information about these terms can be found here.)

You may also need to work out fingerings for any tricky or difficult passages. Best to do this right up front so you can be consistent in your performance and not instill any bad habits while practicing.

5. Slow It Down!

One of the most common mistakes players make when learning a new piece is playing it too fast. The temptation is to immediately play the music at the tempo it was recorded at, or intended to be, but don’t do it! Practice is a special task of digesting what is being asked of you, following the printed music, and training your fingers and your mind for what is required. Getting it right at a very slow tempo first is key. Then, when you’re ready, you can gradually increase the tempo in stages.

6. Break It Up

When you are first learning a piece, it’s best to break it up into smaller sections to work on. Most music has logical sections or phrases that you can use to decide these groupings, whether it’s the verse of a song or the repeating theme of a sonata. These could be as small as a few measures, or as long as a page or two, but they will inevitably be easier to learn than the whole tune.

As you work through a section, you may find an especially tricky phrase due to the fingering required, a large jump in range, or a difficult rhythm that has to be maintained between the hands. Stop and focus on those bits, even if they are only a few beats in duration. Repeat and drill those problem areas until they become comfortable, then go back to the longer phrase or section and integrate your newly mastered phrase back into the form.

And remember: Practicing is not performing. That means there’s no need to always start at the beginning and work your way through the entire piece. You’ll be freshest at the start of your practice session, and you don’t want to wait to encounter trickier sections later on, when you may be getting a little tired. My advice? Some days, start in the middle instead. It’s only when you have made significant progress with a piece that you should try to play it all the way through from start to finish.

7. Hands Alone

When you come to a difficult phrase, stop and work on each hand by itself a few times. This way, you can really pay attention to what you are doing. When you get comfortable with one hand, you can go back and put the two parts together. Combined with a slow tempo, this technique will help you master these trouble areas quickly so they become second nature.

8. Memorize It

The sooner you can stop looking at the music as you play, the better. Without the visual distraction of following the score, you can concentrate on what you’re doing, and what you’re hearing. I know this can be difficult for some (it’s my Achilles Heel for sure!), but the sooner you can get the piece memorized, the faster your progress will be.

9. Record Yourself

When you’re in the throes of playing, you already have a lot on your mind, making it hard to judge your progress. Recording yourself and then listening back gives you the focus and objectivity to really hear what is going on. Many digital pianos have a built-in recorder function, and most smartphones and tablets come with a memo recorder app that will do the trick. (No need to spend money on something fancy.) Recording your practice allows you to sit back and decide what’s working well and what needs more effort. It may even spur you to try a different approach altogether.

10. Be Consistent

Practicing daily — at the same time each day if possible — will deliver better results than trying to cram in longer sessions two or three times a week. Even if you’re busy, try to practice at least five times a week. You are training both your muscles and your mind to perform a task, and doing it often is key.

At each practice session, limit the time you spend on a new piece to 15-20 minutes, tops. Then get up for a few minutes and grab a drink of water (or do some other small task) before returning to your practice, mentally refreshed.

Check out our other Well-Rounded Keyboardist postings.

Click here for more information about Yamaha keyboard instruments.

Top 10 Drum Practice Tips

Written by Marc Dicciani on May 21, 2021. Posted in Drum Artists. 1 Comment on Top 10 Drum Practice Tips

There are no shortcuts to becoming an excellent drummer. It requires time, a plan, commitment, desire, consistency, perseverance and patience.

However, certain aspects of what (and how) we should practice have been handed down for decades. Some are based on custom, intuition, hearsay, trial and error, or tradition … but not all are based on facts. My years of research in neuroscience have led to designing some more effective ways to practice and learn to play drums.

Based on these findings, here are the top 10 recommendations I make to my students:

1. Know the How and the What

How to practice is just as important as what to practice. Spend 75% of your practice time in the learning zone and 25% in the comfort zone. We’re in the learning zone when we work on things that challenge and stretch us; we’re in our comfort zone when we’re playing things we can already do fairly well. The learning zone is where improvement is made.

2. Identify Your Goal

If your ultimate goal is to make music with other musicians, then always keep that as your target when you select things to practice and study. For example, if you want to improve your jazz or Afro-Cuban drumming, identify or have your teacher recommend specific things to work on and listen to that are consistent with that goal.

3. Practice the Way You’ll Play

As much as possible, practice the way you’ll play, which is in context with music. In other words, don’t just practice free-form: play along to recordings, loops, etc., and in a wide range of tempos, volumes and styles.

4. Track Your Progress

However you obtain it, feedback is critical to your development and to the avoidance of acquiring bad habits. So, in addition to listening to many different recordings of music and drummers, you should also listen frequently to recordings of yourself in order to track your progress and recognize any weaknesses in your playing. Beginning students should share those practice recordings with their teacher, who can identify issues to work on; advanced players can do this on their own. Here’s a good habit: Try and record yourself every time you practice, even if it’s just for a couple minutes playing on a pad, to evaluate what you’re doing and how you’re doing it.

One of the most effective tools for obtaining instant feedback is an electronic drum kit (I recommend Yamaha DTX6 Series electronic drums). Many have built-in recording capability and the ability to connect a laptop, tablet or smartphone, making it easy to record, edit, store, share and evaluate your progress.

5. Mix It Up

After practicing something for twenty to thirty minutes, move on to something completely different. Then, the following day or two, return to practice the original idea, relying on your memory. This learning process is known as interleaving. In contrast, a more typical but less effective form of practice is called massed or block practice, where you spend hours working on one specific thing. When you do this, you may feel like you’ve attained some mastery, but it is short-lived.

Also, mix it up by practicing many different styles of drumming and music in order to expand your own unique musical voice. Music and drumming are becoming more homogenized, with styles overlapping and new hybrids springing up all the time. When it comes to both listening and playing, it helps greatly to draw from many different sources.

6. Create and Improvise

Use your imagination when practicing. Learning becomes unlimited through what’s known as elaboration, which is adding your own elements and ideas to what you’re practicing — in other words, making it your own. This will promote both learning and memory, and help bridge the gap between practice and performance.

7. Understand What You’re Learning

Just having the ability to physically play something is not enough. Understanding what you’re learning — and why — makes information useful, usable and transferrable. Read and study articles, interviews, transcriptions, books, magazines and websites.

8. Focus

Keep your practice focused and free from distractions like texting, watching TV, checking social media, etc. Thinking that you can multi-task while focusing on your practice and learning is a myth. Although you may be able to drive a car and listen to music at the same time, learning and developing advanced skills requires intense focus — so put your smartphone in another room and concentrate.

9. Sleep and Rest

Get enough rest and sleep — at least 7 to 8 hours a night. This is the critical time when your brain moves what you’re learning from short-term into long-term memory, which hastens development and growth. Plus it’s almost impossible to concentrate and learn if you’re tired! In addition, it’s highly beneficial to both learning and motor skill growth to take a break every 60 or 90 minutes and just relax a bit and expand your view from narrow to wide — take a walk, meditate, call a friend. Deep focus followed by relaxation is an excellent formula for practice and development.

10. Be Patient and Have Fun

When stressed and frustrated with your practice or playing, remember why you probably started playing in the first place — because it was fun! Some ideas and ways to play can be learned fairly quickly; other aspects can take many years. Commit to lifelong learning and improvement in drumming (as well as in all areas of your life!), and have a great time doing it.

For more information, visit https://www.dicciani.com.

Check out these related blog articles:

Practice Exercises for the Beginning Drummer

The Benefits of Recording Drum Practice and Performance

How to Practice Drums Without Disturbing the Neighbors

Five Reasons Why You Should Practice On Electronic Drums

Three Ways That Apps Can Help Your Electronic Drumming

How To Get the Most Out of Your E-Drum Metronome

Click here for more information about Yamaha drums.

Click here for more information about Yamaha electronic drums.

A Quick Guide to Yamaha Acoustic Guitar Pickup Technology

Written by Yamaha Corporation of America on May 20, 2021. Posted in Acoustic Guitars. 3 Comments on A Quick Guide to Yamaha Acoustic Guitar Pickup Technology

While it’s great to play an acoustic guitar unamplified, something special happens when you plug it in. With both steel-string and nylon-string instruments, the sound gets bigger, bolder and takes on a new dimension.

Have you ever wondered which acoustic pickup will work best for you when you want to play plugged in? Let’s check out what Yamaha has to offer.

SRT

When it comes to acoustic guitar pickups, Yamaha has a long legacy of technological innovation. Their APX line of acoustic-electric guitars, which debuted in 1987, featured hexaphonic pickups that offered a separate pickup for each string. Also included were preamp switches for mono or two different stereo output options.

In 2010, the company unveiled a technology called Studio Response Technology (SRT), which allows guitarists to achieve a distinctive tone by creating a custom blend of microphone and piezo pickup sounds. SRT combines advanced DSP technology with state-of-the-art recording techniques, so you can get studio-quality sound directly from your guitar’s output jack.

Piezo (short for piezoelectric) pickups, which are normally placed under the saddle of an acoustic guitar, only capture the sound of the strings and not the air moving around the instrument. Microphones capture the sound of the air, but the best results are achieved only when high-quality mics are used and the ambient space is carefully controlled, as you would find in a professional studio. SRT gives you the best of both worlds, allowing you to combine the bright, crisp sound of a piezo pickup with the warmth and organic, natural sound of a digitally-modeled microphone (in the case of advanced SRT2 technology, your choice of two vintage mics), along with the ambience of a professional studio environment.

Long thing pice of metal with an L-shaped piece at end. — *SRT pickup.*

In addition to a Blend knob that allows you to mix between the pickup and mic model, the SRT system includes low/mid/high frequency controls and a Focus/Wide knob to adjust stereo imaging. There’s also a built-in tuner, Automatic Feedback Reduction (AFR) and a Resonance control.

All Yamaha A Series acoustic guitars are equipped with SRT pickups, as well as the following L Series models:

LL6 ARE / LL6M ARE
LS6 ARE / LS6M ARE
LL16 ARE /LL16M ARE / LL16-12 ARE
LS16 ARE / LS16M ARE

In addition, all Yamaha SILENT Guitar™ SLG Series models are equipped with SRT pickups.

TransAcoustic

Yamaha TransAcoustic guitar technology was introduced in 2016 and was first implemented in select L Series models. This revolutionary system utilizes a small metal disk called an actuator, which is installed on the inner surface of the guitar back. The disk vibrates when the strings are played; these vibrations are conveyed to the body of the instrument, and then out the sound hole into the air, enabling the creation of authentic reverb and chorus effects without the need for any external effect devices or amplifiers.

TransAcoustic (TA) guitars are also equipped with a piezo pickup, which captures the sound of the reverb and chorus produced by the actuator, as well as that of the strings themselves, sending the effected signal to the instrument’s output jack.

Because they can be played with or without effects, TransAcoustic guitars are eminently suitable for both live performance and recording. Three simple controls on the instrument allow you to turn the TA system on and off, blend the amount of chorus and reverb and select either Room or Hall reverb. In addition, a Line Out knob enables you to set the level of the piezo pickup.

The lineup of Yamaha TransAcoustic guitars includes:

LL-TA, FG-TA and FGC-TA (steel-string, traditional western-size body)
LS-TA, FS-TA and FSC-TA (steel-string, concert-size body)
CSF-TA (steel-string, compact parlor-size body)
CG-TA (traditional, classical nylon-string)

Atmosfeel

Atmosfeel made its debut in 2019 with the release of Yamaha FG/FS Red Label steel-string guitars, and it has since been incorporated into selected NX Series nylon-string guitars.

This unique system consists of a trio of elements: a piezo sensor mounted in the bridge, a mini microphone inside the guitar body and a proprietary synthetic sheet transducer underneath the soundboard. The contributions of the separate elements can be easily combined and custom-blended using three knobs on the side of the instrument.

Image of guy playing an acoustic guitar. There are titles of "Atmosfeel" with the built-in microphone, undersaddle pickup and contact sensor identified on the guitar.

In order to account for differing sonic properties, the piezo sensors on the nylon-string models vary slightly from those used in steel-string models. Specifically, their midrange has been revoiced, and a Treble knob replaces the Bass EQ knob to help accentuate the high frequencies.

Two acoustic guitar. — *Yamaha NCX5 (left) and NTX5 (right).*

Yamaha guitars equipped with the Atmosfeel system include:

Red Label:

FGX3 / FGX5 (steel-string, dreadnought size)
FSX3 and FSX5 (steel-string, concert size)

NX Series:

NCX3 / NCX3C / NCX5 (traditional classical nylon-string)
NTX3 / NTX5 (nylon-string with a slimmer neck profile and thinner body)

No matter what your musical preferences are, Yamaha has an acoustic pickup system that will suit your needs!

Check out these related blog articles:

Getting Amplified

Step Up to a Better Acoustic Guitar

Discover Yamaha TransAcoustic Guitars

How Yamaha TransAcoustic Guitar Technology Works

Which TransAcoustic Guitar Is Right for Me?

MJ Ultra and the FG-TA TransAcoustic Guitar

“Breaking Amish” With My Yamaha FG-TA

Nylon TA on TV

Her Name Is Ruby

How to Record TransAcoustic Guitar Effects

Introducing the New Generation of Yamaha Red Label Guitars

Introducing the NX Series

Atmosfeel: The Next Generation of Yamaha Acoustic Guitar Pickups

Atmosfeel Technology Comes to the Nylon-String Guitar

Click here for more information about Yamaha A Series guitars.

Click here for more information about Yamaha L Series guitars.

Click here for more information about Yamaha SLG Series SILENT Guitars.

Click here for more information about Yamaha TransAcoustic guitars.

Click here for more information about Yamaha FG/FS Red Label guitars.

Click here for more information about Yamaha NX Series guitars.

What’s the Difference Between a Digital Keyboard and a Digital Piano?

Written by Yamaha Corporation of America on May 18, 2021. Posted in Digital Pianos. 7 Comments on What’s the Difference Between a Digital Keyboard and a Digital Piano?

If you (or your child) is new to the world of digital keyboards, there are a wide array of options available to you — so wide, in fact, that it can sometimes appear overwhelming.

Digital keyboards, portable keyboards, arranger workstations, digital pianos … what’s the difference between them? In this article, we’ll describe both the differences and the commonalities.

Acoustic vs. Digital Keyboards

First, though, it’s important to understand the difference between an acoustic instrument (like a grand piano, for example) and a digital one, which lies solely in the way they make sound. The sound of an acoustic piano is actually the sound of physical strings vibrating in the air, which occurs when they are struck by hammers, as a result of keys being pressed. Although piano is by far the most common acoustic keyboard instrument, there are others as well, including harpsichord (which also has strings) and celeste (which instead has bells).

In contrast, digital instruments (including both digital keyboards and digital pianos) make their sound electronically. In other words, they require an amplifier and loudspeaker (or connected headphones) in order to be heard; without an amp and speakers (which are often built in), you wouldn’t hear anything, which is why digital keyboards make no sound when they are turned off.

Boy playing a digital piano while wearing headphones. — *Yamaha P-125a portable digital piano.*

What’s more, the sound made by these instruments begins life as a series of numbers (i.e., digits — hence the name “digital”), same as data in a computer. This works in a very similar fashion to the way your laptop, smartphone or tablet stores and plays back your favorite tunes, except that in the case of a digital keyboard or piano, the numbers are describing a single sound (played back at a pitch corresponding to the note being pressed on the keyboard), as opposed to a complete song. This is why most digital instruments (including virtually all digital keyboards and digital pianos) can be easily connected to laptops, smartphones and tablets, allowing you to record your performances and play along to your favorite songs, even while practicing over headphones.

Digital Keyboards vs. Digital Pianos

Digital pianos, as their name implies, are designed specifically to have the sound and feel of acoustic pianos — and sometimes to look like them as well. Digital keyboards, on the other hand, typically offer a wider range of sounds, but rarely have the feel or look of an acoustic piano.

Here are their main differences:

Number of Keys

Digital pianos will almost always have 88 keys, the same as an acoustic piano. Some digital keyboards also come equipped with 88 keys, but more commonly have 61 or 76 keys. Their keys are sometimes smaller, too.

An electronic keyboard musical instrument. — *Yamaha PSR-EW425 76-key digital keyboard.*

Feel

The keys of a digital piano will almost always be weighted, giving them a feel very close to that of an acoustic piano. (Yamaha digital pianos such as Clavinova, Arius and Portable P-Series and DGX-Series models have graded weightings, where the “action” is heavier in bass notes and lighter in treble notes, like an acoustic piano.) Their keys may sometimes be made of wood or synthetic ivory and ebony, giving them a tactile feel similar to that of pianos.

Digital piano in a living room setting. — *Yamaha Clavinova digital piano.*

In contrast, the keys of most digital keyboards are unweighted and are almost always made of plastic. Many digital keyboards, however, offer touch-sensitive (sometimes called velocity-sensitive) keys. Though this is not the same as weighted keys (there is no “resistance” when you depress them), this feature does cause sounds to get louder and/or brighter as keys are struck with greater force, similar to what happens on an acoustic piano.

Quality and Quantity of Sounds

As you might expect, digital pianos tend to have better quality piano sounds than most digital keyboards. The recordings (“samples”) of the acoustic pianos stored in their memory are often multi-layer — that is, taken over many different key ranges and at multiple degrees of intensity — giving them a great degree of realism. Digital pianos may also offer a number of advanced features that help to further the acoustic piano experience. For example, selected Yamaha Clavinova models employ Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM), which simulates the distinctive reverberation generated by the body of a concert grand piano as it resonates when notes are played.

However, the tradeoff for these kinds of precision piano sounds is that there is often less memory space for other types of sounds. For that reason, you’ll generally find more, and a larger variety of sounds in a digital keyboard than in a digital piano, though in some cases the piano sounds won’t be quite as high quality. With so many different sounds at your fingertips (including drums and percussion), it’s easy to construct “one-man-band” arrangements in most digital keyboards. This is especially true of instruments called arranger workstations (or digital workstations), which typically provide many hundreds of sounds as well as sophisticated onboard accompaniment and recording tools. Yamaha Genos digital workstations, for example, offer 1,710 voices, 550 accompaniment styles and 216 arpeggio types, along with dozens of sophisticated effects like reverb and chorus — you can even apply various vocal harmony effects to your voice as you sing.

A large electronic keyboard instrument. — *Yamaha Genos digital arranger workstation.*

Size, portability and price

For the most part, digital pianos tend to be considerably larger and heavier than digital keyboards, which are designed with portability in mind. Many digital pianos are actually built into wooden piano-like cases (for example, Yamaha Clavinova and Arius models), and, as you might expect, these are primarily intended to be used in one place. There are, however, portable digital pianos like the Yamaha P-Series or DGX Series, which combine authentic piano sound and feel with the ability to be easily transported.

Digital piano keyboard on a desk in front of a window in a highrise apartment. — *Yamaha DGX-670 portable digital piano.*

On the whole, though, if you intend to make music on the go or will need to bring your instrument to rehearsals and performances, you’ll generally be best served with a digital keyboard. Some, like Yamaha PSR Series instruments, literally weigh just a few pounds and take up very little space; some models are battery-operated and small enough to tuck under your arms and be played anywhere!

Digial piano keyboard. — *Yamaha PSR-E273 portable keyboard.*

Both digital pianos and digital keyboards offer benefits not available from an acoustic piano. For one thing, even the most expensive digital piano is likely to be less costly than most acoustic pianos; for another, digital instruments are much easier to maintain, and you never have to tune them. However, the advanced features, size and weight of most digital pianos tends to make them costlier than digital keyboards, which are generally quite affordable. But there are many exceptions to this rule, and you’ll find both kinds of instruments at a wide variety of price points.

So, which should you buy — a digital keyboard or a digital piano? The decision is largely determined by how important a true piano sound and feel is to you. But there’s one inescapable fact: Whichever you choose, a lifetime of musical pleasure awaits!

Check out these related blog articles:

Buying Your First Digital Keyboard

Which Digital Piano Is Right for Me?

Choosing the Right Keyboard on a Budget

Choosing the Right Keyboard When You Have Space Limitations

Step Up to a Better Keyboard, Part 1: Feel and Sound

Step Up to a Better Keyboard, Part 2: Advanced Features

Click here for more information about Yamaha digital keyboards.

Click here for more information about Yamaha digital pianos.

Click here for more information about Yamaha digital and arranger workstations.

Top Scenes to Demo Your Home Audio Gear

Written by Joel Kennedy on May 17, 2021. Posted in TV & Movies.

You just got a new sound bar. Or maybe an AV receiver. Now it’s time to make it shine.

Getting new audio gear can be as exciting as it is overwhelming. We polled our resident audio experts for the scenes they use to demo their home gear. These include setups with the following:

– Sound bar

– AV Receiver with 5.1.2-channel Dolby Atmos^®

– AV Receiver with Dolby Digital 5.1™

Take a look and try them out!

Sound Bar Demo

Title: Starship Troopers

Scene: Klendathu Drop

Time Mark: 59:21 to 1:07:12

Gear: Yamaha SR-B20A sound bar

When stepping up from your TV speakers to a sound bar, you want to demo dynamic content that shows off the full frequency and dynamic range. Action and sci-fi movies check all the boxes. Starship Troopers is a big, loud, fun action movie set in space, chronicling the war between humans and an insect-like alien race.

Long thin speaker laying on a counter underneath a flat screen TV which hangs on the wall above it.

What to Listen for:

While this is an invasion / attack scene, some of the most ear-catching moments come from the low end. Listen for the roar of the spaceship engines as they move through space and touch down on the planet, the slam of the loading ramps, the stomping of feet as the soldiers run through the battlefield, and the litany of explosions throughout the battle. It’s at these moments when features like 3D virtual surround sound and built-in subwoofers really make their presence known.

This clip also showcases the sound bar’s high-frequency and midrange capability. Listen for each character’s breath as they run toward certain death, the metallic rattle of the trooper’s gear, and the crisp, clear dialogue (“Remember your training and you will make it back alive!”), all perfectly balanced with the rest of the audio. It’s loud, intense and graphic, so be sure to take stock of who may be around you (especially if they’re sleeping!) before you try it out.

AV Receiver with 5.1.2-Channel Dolby Atmos Demo

Title: Ready Player One

Scene: The First Challenge

Time Mark: 12:26 to 16:55

Gear: Yamaha RX-V6A AV receiver, NS-IC800 in-ceiling speakers

Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One has long been one of the best home theater demos. Not only does this movie allow your gear to display the brilliant CGI animations with crystal clarity, but it also features an outstanding Dolby Atmos soundtrack designed by Gary Rydstrom, also known for Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, T2: Judgment Day and Ad Astra.

The vehicle race through New York City has everything you need to demonstrate the full capabilities of a 5.1.2-channel surround setup. As a bonus, it includes several well-known vehicles in pop culture, including the DeLorean from Back to the Future, the original Batmobile, Stephen King’s Christine, Bigfoot, Speed Racer’s Mach 5 and even the van from A-Team.

Modern living room with couch facing TV and surround sound speakers.

What to Listen for:

The scene begins with a low rumble from a bridge forming, followed by fireworks soaring overhead from the Statue of Liberty. Enjoy the softer audio subtleties there, because once the race starts, it’s nonstop, jaw-dropping mayhem.

You can feel the powerful impact of cars smashing into barriers and collisions from other vehicles in all directions. It’s surround sound at its best, with each speaker accentuating the sounds of tires bouncing and screeching, plus the low-end roar of Kaneda’s red motorcycle (from Akira) as it weaves in and out of traffic.

All this action provides your subwoofer with a nice, punchy workout, which shines in conjunction with a wide variety of atmospheric sounds in the surround and Dolby Atmos height channels. Perhaps the best is saved for last, as King Kong leaps from the Empire State Building and pursues Parzival to the finish line, stomping on top of buildings and bridges along the way.

AV Receiver with Dolby Digital 5.1 Demo

Title: Twister

Scene: Tornado / opening scene

Time Mark: 00:01 to 04:40

Gear: Yamaha RX-A2A AV receiver, NS-1000 speakers, YST-SW800 subwoofer, NS-IC800 in-ceiling speakers

The whole point of building a home theater is to transport you from reality and into the movie’s action. With that guiding principle, this 25-year-old classic can go toe-to-toe with any modern film. You not only hear it — you feel it. For the most immersive experience, it’s best experienced on a surround sound system enhanced with overhead speakers.

Modern living room with couch facing large flat screen TV. The TV is flanked by tall speakers.

What to Listen for:

You see a farm in the Central Plains. A storm is imminent. Listen to the wind begin rustling through the trees and the sound of debris blowing around the yard. All your speakers will be engaged at this point and your subwoofer will start coming to life.

You then get taken inside a farmhouse. The dialogue from a TV weather broadcaster is clear, and the creaking of wood flooring inside the house is distinct. The storm continues to build outside the home.

The final minute literally speaks for itself. The soundtrack takes over and your receiver, speakers and subwoofer flex to their full potential. After the storm passes, the scene is virtually silent. It takes a handful of seconds to realize that you too are holding your breath.

Go ahead and breathe. You’ve just experienced the very reason you invested in a home theater.

Looking for more tips to set up and dial in your gear? Check out these blog articles:

How to Install Banana Plugs on Your Speaker Wire

How to Connect a Turntable to an AV Receiver

How to Configure an AV Receiver for Gaming

How and Why to Bi-Amp Your Speakers

How to Connect a Subwoofer to a Sound Bar

How to Install Speaker Wire

How to Install In-Ceiling Speakers

Click here for more information about Yamaha sound bars.

Click here for more information about Yamaha AV receivers.

The TikTok Vintage Resurgence

Written by Tara Mahadevan on May 14, 2021. Posted in Music and Streaming.

Since its 2016 launch, TikTok has grown tremendously in popularity, with its usage skyrocketing over the last year. Now, the video-sharing app boasts at least 100 million users in the U.S. and at least 689 million international users. This boom has led to the resurgence in popularity of a number of vintage artists, songs and albums, either through users creating new clips or adding original songs. A lot of these have also generated dance challenges and memes — both planned and improvised — resulting in these iconic recordings and artists once again being pushed to the forefront of cultural trends.

Let’s take a look at some of the most popular TikTok videos that have contributed to this vintage resurgence.

“Dreams” — Fleetwood Mac

TikTok user @doggface208’s video of him skateboarding while mouthing the lyrics to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” and drinking a jug of Cran-Raspberry juice became a viral sensation last year, when everyone was still reeling. Though it was improvised, watching doggface208 at his most carefree and relaxed was the panacea everyone needed at that difficult time. In fact, his video became so big that Fleetwood Mac’s Mick Fleetwood did his own rendition, though it appears he’s on the back of a truck instead of skateboarding. Fleetwood Mac’s song “Dreams” was included on the band’s eleventh studio album, Rumours, which was released in 1977. That year, the song peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 as well as the Billboard 200. After the TikTok video came out, the song went from streaming at around 490,000 times a day to over a million times a day, while sales tripled in less than a week.

Lil Nas X ft. Billy Ray Cyrus — “Old Town Road”

Billy Ray Cyrus’ career saw a resurgence when he hopped on the remix to Lil Nas X’s breakout hit “Old Town Road.” While the song soundtracked a number of TikTok videos, the remix also spawned one challenge in particular, which involves dance moves for spending money, playing a guitar and driving a car. Lil Nas X released the original version of the song in December 2018, which saw so much popularity that he recorded and released the remix with Cyrus in April 2019. Both peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and appeared on Lil Nas X’s debut EP 7 in 2019 as well.

The Chordettes — “Mr. Sandman”

The Chordettes’ 1954 hit song “Mr. Sandman” saw a resurgence on TikTok in 2019 with two popular videos making the rounds online. TikTok user @enochtrue videoed himself lip-syncing the song’s iconic “bum bum bum,” as well as the first chorus, using the app’s nine-split-screen filter, making it look like he was an entire barbershop quartet (plus five). That same year, user @jade13tr created a similar video with her cat Ed performing a dazzling dance routine.

Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” x Beyoncé’s “Yoncé”

While TikTok user @marie.brukerikkemer created the remix of Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” and Beyoncé’s “Yoncé,” it’s unclear how the song clip became popular on the platform. The beginning of the mashup features the intro to “Hollaback Girl,” which then flows into the second verse from “Yoncé. The sound generated a number of complex dance challenges that younger girls and women have gravitated towards. “Hollaback Girl” appeared on Gwen Stefani’s debut studio album Love. Angel. Music. Baby. in 2004, while “Yoncé” was a hidden track on Beyoncé’s song “Partition” from her 2013 self-titled album.

Jason Derulo — “Ridin’ Solo”

TikTok was responsible for the revival of Jason Derulo’s 2006 single “Ridin’ Solo,” which appeared on his debut and eponymous album. While the song didn’t garner a challenge per se, a lot of the videos that employ the sound clip hinge on dating and relationships. In another viral video using the same sound clip, user @mootopia and a plastic fish in her lap are sitting on a couch mouthing the lyrics.

“Whatta Man” — Salt ’N’ Pepa ft. En Vogue

While it’s unclear when or how Salt ‘N’ Pepa’s 1993 song “Whatta Man” first saw a comeback on TikTok, it does seem that a majority of the videos have to do with women lusting after a man. A number of them specifically reference actor Chris Evans — who played Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and a particular video of him walking down a hallway. “Whatta Man” featuring En Vogue appeared on Salt ‘N’ Pepa’s fourth studio album Very Necessary, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200. “Whatta Man” also reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Ariana Grande’s “Motive” x Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous”

TikTok users love to blend songs, and a perfect example is the mashup of Ariana Grande’s “Motive” and Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous.” They were given the challenge treatment earlier this year, with @samobam0 choreographing a dance that includes the tornado arm move. While Grande’s song “Motive” with Doja Cat arrived on Grande’s 2020 album Positions, Furtado’s older song “Promiscuous” saw a full revival: the version featuring Timbaland was released on her 2006 album Loose.

“I’m a Slave 4 U”— Britney Spears

Britney Spears recently re-emerged into the cultural zeitgeist following the New York Times documentary Framing Britney Spears, which examines her career and delves into the complexities of her father’s conservatorship. Around that same time, her song “I’m a Slave 4 U” also saw a renaissance on TikTok. While the track led to several dance routines, one of the more popular ones was choreographed by @thesharptwins; another, similar challenge was created by user @ssneha.r. “I’m a Slave 4 U” was the first single released from Britney’s 2001 album Britney, which hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

Soulja Boy’s “Pretty Boy Swag” x Two Door Cinema Club’s “What You Know”

Another good mashup that TikTok has spawned is the lyrics from Soulja Boy’s “Pretty Boy Swag” superimposed over the beat from Two Door Cinema Club’s “What You Know.” The remix led to several variations of a dance challenge, with one of the first and most popular coming from users @sharlizetrue_, @pressleyhosbach and @shariahtrue. Soulja’s “Pretty Boy Swag” was the first single from his 2010 album The DeAndre Way, while “What You Know” appeared on Soulja Boy’s debut album Tourist History.

TikTok videos are best enjoyed on quality headphones. Click here for more information about Yamaha wireless headphones.

Acoustalon™ Marimba and Xylophone Tone Bars

Written by Troy C. Wollwage on May 13, 2021. Posted in Percussion. 1 Comment on Acoustalon™ Marimba and Xylophone Tone Bars

Yamaha draws on all its resources when choosing materials for the production of musical instruments. In particular, the company’s vast experience selecting the finest woods for pianos, guitars and drums has been extremely beneficial in the search for materials to be used in marimba and xylophone tone bars. As the need for alternatives to wood became clear, a synthetic material by the name of Acoustalon was developed by Yamaha to accurately reproduce the sound of wood. Let’s take a closer look at this remarkable material.

Closeup of a marimba with Acoustalon. — *Yamaha Acoustalon tone bars.*

The Inspiration Behind Acoustalon

The inspiration for Acoustalon actually came from the Yamaha sporting department! While Yamaha has grown to become the world’s largest manufacturer of musical instruments, as well as a leading manufacturer of semiconductors, audio/visual and computer-related products, the company has also produced items such as skis, golf clubs, ski boots, tennis rackets and archery equipment.

Research and trial production of fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) began by applying the painting technology cultivated in the woodworking field. Full-scale production and sales of FRP products commenced in the 1960s and 1970s, and the material soon became incorporated in interior car parts and furniture.

What is Acoustalon?

Acoustalon is not a molded product. Instead, strands of a fiberglass material are adhered together throughout the full length of the tone bar to give an acoustical resonance similar to that of natural wood like rosewood or padauk. Its holes (called “Sonic Tone Holes”) are not bored through the length of each bar, but are instead extruded from a slurry mix. The presence of these holes increases the surface area of the bar and brings the bar’s tone closer to that of natural, porous wood.

By creating Sonic Tone Holes at the extrusion stage, the pitch is also closer to that of a wooden tone bar. Another byproduct of this innovation is that Acoustalon tone bars can be manufactured with the same dimensions as the wooden sound board they are attached to.

Closeup image. — *The Acoustalon Sonic Tone Holes.*

The Advantages of Acoustalon

Although rosewood is often regarded as the material of choice for marimba and xylophone tone bars, Acoustalon provides an excellent synthetic option. Its outstanding tonality and natural feel make it easy for players to transition from wood bars. Acoustalon is also exceptionally stable and durable, making it a perfect choice for school music programs and drum corps that spend a lot of time outdoors.

Humidity

Unlike natural rosewood, Acoustalon is totally unaffected by changes in humidity. As shown in the illustration below, its pitch remains centered regardless of the moisture content in the atmosphere. This is because synthetic materials do not take on water like wood.

Temperature

The tuning of any instrument will be affected by changes in temperature, but as you can see from the illustration below, tone bars made of Acoustalon will change much less than those made of rosewood, making their tuning more stable in comparison to a wood bar.

This level of detail leads to greater tuning accuracy, an easier process of tuning each wood bar and improved sound. The benefit to both the student and the music educator is a level of quality and consistency; the benefit to us all is the conservation of precious wood resources.

Also check out this related blog article:

What’s the Difference Between Marimba and Xylophone?

Click here for more information about Yamaha marimbas.

Click here for more information about Yamaha xylophones.

teacher with student -- both wearing masks -- at white board

The New Normal

Written by Kathryn Drury Wagner on May 12, 2021. Posted in Self-Care.

“Nerv-i-cited” is how my daughter describes the feeling of being simultaneously excited and nervous.

As the pandemic evolves, it’s only natural that music educators will feel extra excitement and trepidation about the start of school this fall. What will it be like once in-person classes resume around the country? How will students, teachers, families and administrators navigate the transition? Let’s look at some of the trends that are shaping the “new normal,” and what opportunities may lie within them.

Anxiety All Around

As they return to “normal,” students may be dealing with grief over lost loved ones and worries about feeling safe. On top of that, they have the evergreen stressors, such as going through puberty, concerns over their appearance or being bullied. Parents are likely feeling anxious, too, with their own worries about employment, physical safety and learning losses for their children.

In their professional lives, music educators may be feeling anxious and in a state of mourning because according to Berkeley News, workplaces will never quite be the same again. (Teachers may be dealing with trauma, stress and grief in their private lives as well.)

Here are some ways to soothe anxiety:

Create routines because they make people of all ages feel more secure.
Focus on what is within your control, such as planning a great new lesson and activity for your students.
Go at your own pace. Extroverts have been keen to head to concerts, parties, movies, the theater … but for an introvert, these might be overwhelming. Baby steps and smaller group outings are fine until you feel back up to speed.

Home Schooling Remains a Force

According to this article on Education Week, an unprecedented number of parents decided to home school their children during the 2020-2021 academic year, which created “a shift that could have lasting effects on both public schools and the home-schooling movement.” Christopher Lubienski, a professor of education policy at Indiana University, told EW that the pandemic may cause a long-lasting increase in the number of families choosing to home school, giving it a more mainstream appeal. “People who haven’t really thought about it before suddenly saw themselves forced into [home schooling], and then realizing that it’s something they can see themselves doing,” he explained.

For educators who teach private lessons, a boom in home schooling could open up opportunities to work with new students, as families who have been relying on a school music program may instead seek lessons from a qualified instructor.

This home-schooling trend could affect funding for public school music programs, as school districts may need to compensate for fewer enrolled students.

Outdoor Classrooms

Open-air education is another trend that accelerated due to the pandemic — and it’s being embraced for long beyond. “Forest schools” and outdoor classrooms foster movement, creativity and sensory experience, reports EdSource. While they have been used primarily for young children, they hold potential for K-12 students.

In addition to an increased sense of wellbeing and lesson retention for students, outdoor education also leads to higher job satisfaction for teachers, according to the World Economic Forum. Are there ways you can get your music students out into the fresh air? Perhaps an outdoor amphitheater can be used, for example.

Road Trip!

Students and their families will likely be traveling again, as people are re-booking travel that was cancelled during the pandemic, and they are planning to travel more in the future. According to vacation home rental company VRBO, which conducted a survey among 8,000 people, 82% of families already have travel planned for 2021, and 65% plan on traveling more than they did pre-COVID. As for 2022, “that is going to be a record year, I think,” hospitality executive Jon Grutzner told CNBC. You may notice students slipping away a few days early, prior to an official holiday break.

Self-Care

During the pandemic, self-care became more than a buzzword — it became essential. With burnout and stress at all-time high levels in society, and especially for teachers, self-care finally got the legitimacy it deserves. As we ease back into a more face-to-face society, keep the trend going with simple self-care practices such as:

Setting flexible goals instead of endless and unrealistic lists of to do’s.
Having healthy boundaries, such as “I don’t answer work email past XX time.”
Indulging in restful sleep.
Enjoying healthier food choices.
Creating a home environment that feels like a soothing sanctuary with pleasant lighting and scents, and soft materials.

Think about things that supported your mental and physical health during the pandemic, and what is worth keeping as a new habit. Maybe you rediscovered the joys of a daily walk, or found an online streaming yoga class, or learned to play a new instrument.

The best thing we can all do is to take the transition gently and being open to possibility. The world is not the same as it was, and we are not the same people we were. But here’s to creating something new in the upcoming school year and seeing where the journey takes us.

How to Play the High Notes on Your Guitar

Written by Robbie Calvo on May 12, 2021. Posted in Electric Guitars. 1 Comment on How to Play the High Notes on Your Guitar

I’ve always loved how logical the piano keyboard is. Seven octaves (plus a minor third) of chromatic tones, color-coordinated in ebony and ivory to indicate the sharps, flats and naturals. Better still, the distance between each note is always the same, regardless of the octave.

If only things were that simple for guitarists! We need to navigate the fretboard in a very different way. For one thing, the distance between frets gets smaller as you go higher and higher up the neck (for reasons detailed in the blog posting “Why Do the Spaces Between Frets Grow Narrower Down the Neck?”), limiting the space we have to articulate melodic and chordal passages. In addition, we have to deal with the fact that the interval between the G and B strings is a major third, but is a perfect fourth between the other string pairs. We also must account for open strings within our chords and memorize which notes fall within each fret location.

Perhaps we should all get bonus points for even attempting the intrepid journey from our guitar’s lowest notes to its highest ones!

In this article, I’ll offer some tips on how to get positive results no matter what notes you’re playing, along with some specific advice about what to do when you are running out of oxygen in the upper stratosphere. Note that, like electric guitars, some acoustic guitars have cutaway designs that make life easier for those who like to venture all the way up the fretboard. The techniques discussed in this article apply to both, and will allow you to go as far as you possibly can on any given instrument, electric or acoustic.

The Lowdown

Guitar players that primarily stay in the open position (close to the nut and headstock) will appreciate the open space between the frets in this area. If you also have large hands, guitars with wider fretboards (i.e., a wider nut width) are available to accommodate you.

When I’m working with a new student, I often suggest they use a capo to place chord voicings higher up on the fretboard in order to reduce the size of the chord or scale shape. The student can then move the capo down the neck, one fret at a time, until the shapes are manageable in every location.

The Fingertips

Unless a barre is required, I’m a huge advocate of playing chords and scales with the fingertips — in other words, with the tips of your fingers facing the strings at a 90-degree angle to the fretboard. This will keep chords nicely articulated and free from choking or buzzing on adjacent strings. This technique will also produce clean results when you climb further up the neck.

The Wrist

Reducing the amount of bend in your wrist will allow the tendons and fingers to move with fewer restrictions. The best way to achieve this is to place the guitar on your right leg (if you are right-handed) and rotate the guitar at a 45-degree angle to your body. As shown in the photographs below, moving the guitar headstock away from you at this angle will straighten the wrist and make articulations along the full length of the string much easier.

Seen from above a closeup of the position of the hand and wrist high on the neck of the guitar.

Seen from above a closeup of the position of the hand and wrist lower on the neck of the guitar.

Classical Posture

Right-handed classical guitar players do something very similar: They rest their instrument on their left leg, raise their left foot on a low footstool and angle the headstock upwards at approximately 45 degrees. (Left-handed players do the opposite.) Again, this approach allows for a smooth transition of fretboard locations and keeps the wrist relatively straight. Here’s a short video that shows how it works:

Standing Up

Of course, we want to look as cool as possible when we perform, and we’ve all seen the guys that have their axe slung super low when they rock out. It may look the “business,” but the unmistakable fact is that it’s really hard to play when the wrist is bent to such a degree. Instead, raise the guitar strap to support the instrument as if you’re at a sitting position, then position the guitar away from you at 45-degree angle. It still looks pretty cool, and trust me, you’ll be able to play much better.

Mind you, I’m not advocating having the guitar under your chin at gigs … unless you’re in a Merseybeat tribute band!

Action/String Tension

Unless you’re playing slide guitar, you’ll almost always want to make sure that your guitar has been set up with the lowest possible action — that is, with the strings as close to the fretboard as possible, without any buzzing. This is especially important as you play further up the neck, where the action will get higher and the string tension will increase.

This means that any articulations will need more finger strength, and that the time it takes for the string to reach the fret wire will take longer. That’s a good reason why you should practice scales at every possible fretboard location to get used to these variances. Play along to a metronome or groove track and record yourself playing in both the lower and upper regions. If there are timing discrepancies, you’ll want to make the appropriate adjustments. Keeping your fingers close to the strings at all times will help reduce timing errors due to the two distances (fingers to strings and strings to fret wire) changing.

Scale Length

Guitars come in various scale lengths, and different lengths change the fret spacing, so finding a guitar that works for your hand size and playing style is crucial. Scale length also impacts string tension — the longer the guitar, the greater the tension. For example, a scale length of 25-1/2 inches has a higher string tension than a guitar with a 24-3/4 inch scale length.

Neck Join

The place where the guitar neck joins the body will also have a big impact on the playing range of your guitar. Guitars that join at the 12th fret will have less range than those with a 14th fret neck join. If playing in the upper ranges is an important part of your repertoire and style, this should be a very important factor in deciding which guitar to buy.

String Gauge

It may be worth experimenting with string gauges too. If you’re struggling with medium- to heavy-gauge strings (i.e., 12s or 13s) in any area of the fretboard, you may want to try a lighter set, such as 11s. This will often affect the tone, but is well worth the trade-off.

Man in the Mirror

Practicing in front of a mirror is also a good idea. You’ll be able to see the transitions and fret spacings more easily, and it may also allow you to see any problem areas in your technique or posture.

Whether or not you expect to be playing in the high register of your guitar very much, I advise you to practice your scales, arpeggios and chord voicings in every fretboard location. As you do so, work your way upwards to the highest area in which you can play comfortably. Understand that this is actually the highest range of your guitar regardless of how many frets you see; if you can’t reach them, you can’t use them!

Lowering your thumb to the lower bout of the neck will also help you reach the upper strings in the higher ranges of the fretboard.

Try playing the following three musical exercises of the harmonized E major scale and focus on making all the fretboard transitions smooth, with open strings ringing out without a buzz. This will help you adjust to the fret spacing of your particular instrument.

The Video

In this video, I’m playing a Yamaha SLG200NW SILENT Guitar™ — a nylon-string with a classical neck width that is uniquely qualified for recording, live performance and, of course, silent practice sessions thanks to its headphone jack. It also offers an auxiliary input for jamming to tracks and some wonderful onboard effects. (The electronics on the SLG200N and SLG200S models are identical, but their necks are slightly narrower, making them a great choice for people accustomed to electric guitars or those players with smaller hands.)

Notice how the 12th fret neck join and the generous cutaway allows me to easily access those upper frets and navigate the full length of the fretboard, creating vertical and horizontal melodies using chords, double-stops, arpeggios and single-note solo lines.

The Wrap-Up

Before purchasing any new guitar, consider its body style, neck join and pitch range to be sure it fulfills your musical needs and style. Once you’ve made your decision, be prepared to make any and all necessary adjustments to your posture, fingering and timing. The full range and potential of the instrument will then be yours to explore with relative ease.

Photographs courtesy of the author.

Click here for more information about Yamaha SLG Series SILENT guitars.

Nobody Does It Better

Written by Shelly Peiken on May 10, 2021. Posted in Creativity.

As a teenager I remember how viscerally I was drawn to Carly Simon and her confessional style of lyric writing. Every candid disclosure (“That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be,” “Anticipation”) made me feel closer to her even when her admissions weren’t pretty or strong — especially when they weren’t pretty or strong — because she trusted me with her secrets. Her honesty about her own emotional vulnerabilities and weakness was an integral part of her craft. Nobody did it better. It was Carly’s superpower.

Then there was Bob Dylan, who wasn’t anything like Carly. (Can you imagine Bob crooning “Anticipation?”) Yet … wow. He cut right to the bone. It was brutal and brilliant! Nobody did it like Bob. It was his superpower.

Taylor Swift is a master at channeling the hearts and minds of young women in love — and those who want to be. And then there’s Joni’s Mitchell’s insightfulness. Burt Bacharach’s melodies. Bruno Mars’ soul. Pharrell Williams’ joy.

It’s tempting to want to jump into someone else’s lane, especially when we admire their work. In fact, I came up with a term for these kind of songs: WIWI, as in “wish-I-wrote-it.” But just because I wish I wrote “I Can’t Make You Love Me” doesn’t meant I could have done it as well as Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin. One size does not fit all.

No doubt I adopted a confessional palate from Carly Simon but I’d like to think I accessorize my work through my own personal lens. If you read my blog postings regularly, you won’t be surprised to learn that I spend quite a bit of time pondering my inner workings and trying to accept myself as I am — flaws and all. So perhaps that’s my superpower: writing about self-identity and vulnerability. Looking back, I can see that out of the thousands of songs I’ve penned in my professional career, the handful that have struck the strongest chord (no pun intended) and have also garnered the greatest commercial success have been the ones that have circled those introspections.

It took a while to realize that I’m better at writing the personal stuff than the party song. Sometimes I wish it were the other way around. But I’ve come to accept that party songs are simply not my thing.

Have you ever thought about what your superpower is? Doing so requires that you step back from your work and consider which of your songs have resonated most deeply with listeners … and why. Identifying that thing you do best can be a lifesaver when you’ve ventured too far out of your zone and lost your way. Knowing what that power is can help you get back on the right path.

This concept doesn’t pertain to music-making alone, either. In a Muddy Colors article entitled “What Makes Your Art Unique,” visual artist Dan Luvisi writes, “Every artist has their own unique and individual style. If you know how to recognize it, and can perfect or master it, that’s what allows you to stand out before anyone else. … What’s important not to do, is try to mimic someone (else’s) style because you simply enjoy it.”

Let’s face it. In this this algorithm-centric music-creating culture, it’s tempting to follow the leader and forget that our most important asset is our own voice, our own nuanced way of looking at the world, love, friendship, intimacy, values … life. Better to ask ourselves what sets us apart instead of how can we blend in.

So open your closet. Find your one-of-a-kind red cape. Dust it off and trust it. It’s a good bet you’ll wear it well.

Part 1: The Kit Modifier

DTX6 Deep Dive, Part 4: Customizing, Importing and Layering Sounds

Written by Steve La Cerra on May 7, 2021. Posted in Electronic Drums. 1 Comment on DTX6 Deep Dive, Part 4: Customizing, Importing and Layering Sounds

The DTX-PRO sound module furnished with all Yamaha DTX6 Series electronic drum kits comes loaded with 40 preset kits built from a library of over 700 amazing drum and percussion sounds. In addition, you can create up to 200 of your own customized user drum kits from the factory sounds and/or imported WAV files; you can also craft complex layerings of sounds and/or switch between sounds depending upon how hard you hit the drum pads. In this Deep Dive, we’ll show you how it all works.

Substituting Instruments

The drum kits in the DTX-PRO are collections of sounds called Instruments (“Inst” for short) such as kick, snare, toms, cymbals and hi-hat. Changing the Instruments in a preset kit is an easy way to build your own customized kit.

When the DTX-PRO is first powered on, it displays the Kit Screen:

Pressing (F1) opens the Inst Select Screen where you can view the category, number and name for any Instrument. Simply tap the drum pad for the one you want to edit, then use the scroll wheel or the +/- pads to audition different Instruments. The down arrow scrolls to the next page, where tuning, muffling or cymbal size can be changed. You can also press F3 to import your own custom WAV file and use it as an Instrument. (More about this shortly.)

Here’s an audio clip of me playing DTX-PRO preset kit P001 (“AbsoHybridMaple”):

Compare that with this next example, where the kick and snare Instruments have been changed to “18MpleAHM2” and “13×6 Brassy,” respectively:

This next clip is of the same “13×6 Brassy” snare Instrument, but with its tuning changed to -3.00 (that is, down three semitones). You can hear how even this slight change in tuning alters the attitude of the entire kit.

Similarly, changing Cymbal 2 to Perc 127 (“Tamtam”) gives the kit a very different flavor altogether:

Use Your Voice … and Get in the Zone

The Kit Edit menu gives you another way to access Inst Select, plus it provides access to an important parameter called voice.

A voice is the sound that makes up an Instrument. Voices can consist of either internal sounds or imported WAV files. Some Instruments (such as kick and toms) utilize one voice, but others use multiple voices. A snare Instrument, for example, is usually constructed from three different voices: one for the head, one for the open rim (rim shot), and another for the closed rim (cross stick). When you change a snare Instrument, all the voices are changed.

Different voices can be played from a multi-zone pad such as the Yamaha XP80, which is divided into three zones, one for each voice.

Diagram indicating knob and settings for zones. — *The three zones of the XP80 pad.*

Any voice can be assigned to each of these zones. For example, you can assign an acoustic drum sound to the pad head, a tambourine to Rim A, and a cowbell to Rim B — enabling a unique performance on your custom kit. These settings are stored to each User kit you create.

Importing Sounds

One of the most exciting DTX-PRO features is its ability to import up to a thousand WAV files (mono or stereo) that can then be used to create custom Instruments. First, you’ll need to copy the files you want to import onto a USB flash drive (tip: copy the files directly onto the root directory of the flash drive; if you copy them into a folder they may not be recognized). A list of compatible USB devices can be found here.

Next, go to the Kit Screen, press F3, and tap the Instrument pad you want to edit. The scroll wheel or the +/- buttons will then take you through the list of WAVs that are on the connected flash drive:

Screenshot with annotation. — *The DTX-PRO Import screen.*

Once you find the WAV you want to import, press F3 again. The DTX-PRO will display a confirmation screen; pressing F1 (Yes) will import the file to the Instrument, and the pad will now play the imported WAV file.

When an audio file is imported to an Instrument, a multi-zone pad will play that sound regardless of which zone is struck. However, you can also import an audio file for use as a voice, in which case a different WAV sound can be assigned to each zone of a pad. To do this, navigate to Menu -> Kit Edit -> Voice. Use the down arrow (F2) to highlight Import Voice, then press F3. Tap the zone of the pad you want to edit, select a WAV from the flash drive, then press Import (F3) to confirm your choice. You even have the option of importing different WAVs to different layers (see below).

Layering Sounds

Adding to the versatility of DTX6 kits is the fact that different sounds can be layered together. Every zone of every pad has four layers (A, B, C and D), and each layer can play a different voice. The Yamaha PCY135 multi-zone pad is capable of playing up to 12 voices!

Voices can be stacked so they play simultaneously, or they can be played sequentially. It is also possible to create velocity switching so that the voice changes, or a second voice is added, when the pad is struck with a certain strength.

To demonstrate, here’s me playing preset kit P002 (“Steel Ring”):

And here’s how that same groove sounds when a tom is stacked on the snare pad. Every time the snare pad is struck, you’ll hear the snare layered with a tom:

Layers are edited by navigating to Menu -> Kit Edit -> Voice and then pressing F3, which brings you to the Trigger Input Source screen:

Tap the pad (trigger) and layer you want to edit, then press the Exit button. This takes you to the Voice Select screen, where you can choose the voice to be played for that particular layer. (Tip: When working on layers, turn on the PAD LOCK [F2] to ensure that you don’t accidentally tap another pad and edit it instead.)

You can also use layers to change the sound of an Instrument through velocity switching, where striking a pad with a certain strength causes different layers to play different voices.

To demonstrate how this can be used, here’s a simple figure played on a snare drum:

Here’s the same rhythm, with Layer A playing the same snare as in the previous clip, but with the other layers modified as follows: Layer B plays a high tom on medium-soft strikes, Layer C plays a mid tom on medium strikes, and Layer D plays a low tom on the hardest strikes.

Insertion Effects

You can also noticeably change the sound of the Instruments in your custom kit by adding effects. In addition to the Kit Modifier effects we talked about in Part 1 of this series (EQ, Transient and Comp [compressor]), you can apply Insertion effects to each individual Instrument. These tend to be quite dramatic and can take your sounds in a new direction. To demonstrate, here’s preset kit P13 (“Modern Country”) without any Insertion effects:

Inserting the Dynamic Flanger on the snare drum produces this very cool sound:

And adding the Dynamic Ringmod effect to the toms results in a drum kit that sounds like it could be from outer space!

Ready to learn more about customizing sounds? Check out this video:

Check out the other installments of our five-part “DTX6 Deep Dive” series:

Part 2: Recording Options

Part 3: Training Tools

Part 5: A New Level of Playability

Click here for more information about Yamaha DTX6 Series electronic drum kits.

Think Like a Drummer, Part 1

Written by Mike Levine on May 5, 2021. Posted in Recording. 3 Comments on Think Like a Drummer, Part 1

For many musical styles, there’s nothing like a real drummer. But capturing the sound of a drum set — be it acoustic or electronic — is not practical in most home studios. For one thing, there’s often not enough physical space to set up a kit; for another, multiple mics and/or multiple input channels on a mixer or audio interface are required to do the job right.

Fortunately, there are numerous tools that you can use to create authentic-sounding drum tracks even in the most modestly sized (and/or modestly equipped) home studio. Here, in Part 1 of this two-part article, I’ll show you how to incorporate drum loops — both audio and MIDI — and talk about the advantages of each. In Part 2, I’ll offer specific tips for programming your own drum parts.

Audio Drum Loops

There are millions of electronic beat loops widely available, and many audio drum loops capture the feel of a real drummer, but those made from recordings of actual drummers playing acoustic drums are the most authentic-sounding option for putting together a drum track. There’s no shortage of such loops out there; in fact, your DAW may very well include some. Steinberg Cubase, for example, comes with several libraries of drum loops.

The basic idea is simple: Once you’ve found loops that fit the feel of your song, you drop them into a track in your DAW, one after the other, and construct a complete drum part that way.

Audio drum loops come in many forms, but the great majority are stereo recordings edited into a one- to four-measure (sometimes more) pattern. Most come as WAV files, but you’ll also find them as AIFF files and in other formats that allow for automatic time-stretching in specific applications. (See the “Tempo in a Teapot” section below for more about time-stretching.)

Loop collections are often broken up into different song groupings, typically separated in folders. Each grouping contains an assortment of loops based around a single groove. As you assemble your song-length drum track, you pick and choose from loops representing various generic song sections (i.e., verse, chorus, bridge, etc.), along with a variety of variations and fills. (More about fills shortly.)

Song groupings usually have generic names such as “Motown 120,” “Slow Funk 85” or “Trainbeat 160,” although sometimes their titles are more descriptive, hinting that they’re in the style of a well-known song. The number in the titles refers to the tempo in beats per minute (BPM).

Although most loop collections are stereo, you can also find multitrack drum loops on the market. These allow you to do the drum mix yourself but are much more complex to work with. If you’re into mixing your own drums, you might want to consider such products.

One-Shots

Most audio loop collections (such as the one provided by Steinberg Groove Agent SE, a plug-in included with Cubase) also come with a folder of one-shot samples that you can drag or import into an audio track (separate from your loop track) to add an accent (sometimes called a “hit”) here or there. For example, you’ll probably want to add crash cymbals at appropriate spots in your song.

Tempo in a Teapot

Audio loops will only play in time if they match the tempo of your song. One easy way to make sure that happens is to find the loop grouping you want to use ahead of time, and then set your project to the tempo of the grouping before you start recording.

But if you can’t match your song to the loop’s tempo, you can match the loop’s tempo to your song. Most DAWs, including Cubase, feature sophisticated time-stretching capabilities that can adjust a loop’s tempo without changing its pitch. As long as the time-stretch is no more than roughly 15 BPM up or down, it should sound fine. If the difference is larger than that, however, the process can cause your loops to sound unnatural. Use your ears to determine what works and what doesn’t.

Cubase offers several options for time-stretching audio, including Musical Mode, which automatically matches loops to the project tempo. You can also accomplish this manually by changing the Project Selection Tool to Sizing Applies Time Stretch, and then just stretching the loop to the nearest barline, as shown here:

MIDI Drum Loops

Drum loop collections can also come in MIDI format. These can be used with a software-based sampler or a dedicated app such as Groove Agent SE. Many such instruments come with a large selection of MIDI drum loops. (In Groove Agent SE, they’re called “Patterns.”)

If you’re going for the sound of real drums, look for MIDI loops that were created by capturing the data of a skilled drummer playing an electronic kit. While not quite as realistic as audio loops, they can still capture the drummer’s feel and sound quite authentic.

One of the big advantages of using MIDI loops is that, unlike audio loops, you can change the sounds at will. For example, let’s say you like the pattern being played but don’t care for its sound. No problem — simply load another set of drum samples until you find what you like.

MIDI loops can also be edited a lot more easily and deeply than audio loops. It’s especially easy to move, add or remove drum hits.

Also, with the exception of multitrack drum loops, you can’t change the mix of an audio loop appreciably. MIDI drum instruments provide significantly more mixing options. Many of them (including Groove Agent SE) come with built-in virtual mixers that let you process and adjust individual drums to your heart’s content.

Hand Made vs. Loops

Some people like to “play” in their MIDI drum parts from a keyboard controller. That works best for genres in which the drums will be heavily quantized, because it’s hard to imitate the feel of a drummer when you’re tapping on a keyboard. It’s usually more effective to use loops that were recorded by a real drummer, either in audio or MIDI format.

In Part 2, we’ll get into the nitty-gritty of putting together a song-length drum track.