Enjoying major sporting events at home is the reason you have a 70″ 4K TV and a legit sound system. The Super Bowl™, Kentucky Derby, Daytona 500, the Masters — all are must-see for sports fans.
For these events, all you need to know to watch the action from beginning to end is: what time does it start and what channel is it on? It’s that simple because they happen just once a year, at one specific time, and the broadcasting networks do their best to make sure they don’t conflict with one another. Even NFL, NBA and MLB playoffs and championships (including the World Series) are coordinated so the start times don’t overlap. That way, dedicated fans can see all the action … and the networks can maximize their ratings.
There is, however, one huge exception to this meticulous planning. Around the middle of March, the NCAA® Tournament begins. This culmination of the college basketball season presents a challenge for the fan who wants to enjoy a real home court viewing advantage.
Once the final 64 teams are seeded into four single-elimination brackets, the fun begins. A full schedule of 48 games are played in the first four days, making it impossible for a network to broadcast them all on one channel. With so many games being played at the same time, game conflicts simply can’t be avoided.
The networks have, however, come up with a solution: Spread all the games across four different channels: CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV. Sound good? Not really. Surfing between the four channels with your remote only guarantees you’ll miss a lot of great plays. The best way to watch is to pick up all four broadcasts on four separate TVs.
Sound complicated? Not really. Not if you’re a serious sports fan. In this article, we’ll show you how easy it is to convert your living room into a multi-screen, tournament-ready sports lounge. With a creative combination of cable, satellite, terrestrial broadcast and internet streaming devices, you’ll be able to watch four games simultaneously without interruption. But be sure to start planning early, so you’re not running to the store on game day.
What You Need
1. Four TVs in one room.
You’ll need one for each broadcast channel, so gather the television sets from around the house (bedroom, kitchen, borrow from a friend, etc.) and set them up in your living room alongside your main monitor.
2. Access to streaming apps for each TV.
If all the sets are smart TVs, they should be able to access the most popular streaming apps: YouTube™ TV, Hulu™, Sling™ and others. If they’re a little older and don’t support the latest versions of these apps, don’t worry — there are hardware add-ons available to get the job done, such as Apple® TV, Fire® TV, Roku®, Chromecast® or Xbox™ One. Any of these can upgrade any monitor to a state-of-the-art smart TV.
On the left: streaming services. On the right: streaming devices.
3. Indoor HD antenna for terrestrial broadcast.
You’ll need an antenna to pick up your local CBS channel. HD antennas are available online or from any big-box store. Models vary, but to ensure clear picture quality, get the one that can pick up the farthest digital station.
Indoor HD antenna.
You’ll also need to subscribe and register your smart TVs and/or streaming devices to a streaming services app like YouTube TV, Hulu, Sling or any other that carry the four channels you’ll need to watch the tournament (i.e., CBS, TBS, TNT and truTV).
Note: If you don’t already subscribe to one of these services, do a little research. The services vary in terms of broadcast content and the hardware they support. The number of simultaneous streams each subscription supports is important. Some services limit the number of channels that can be simultaneously streamed into the home. You’re going to need two to three streams to see all the games. The good news is that these are normally month to month services with no penalty for subscribing for a single month.
Set Up Your TVs
There are many ways to make this happen, but the good news is that all are equally effective. Here’s an example that uses a combination of connections from cable TV, terrestrial broadcast and two internet streaming devices. (If you’re tech savvy, get creative with the hardware and streaming services you already have available.)
1. Monitor One (TBS broadcast):
This is the main TV that normally sits in your living room. Use the cable or satellite service already connected to this TV to receive the TBS broadcast.
2. Monitor Two (CBS broadcast):
This monitor will get its signal from local terrestrial broadcast using an indoor HD antenna.
3. Monitors 3 and 4 (TNT and TruTV signals via internet streaming):
These last two monitors are going to get their signals from the internet using the built-in apps or external streaming devices mentioned above.
Switch the Sound
Now that you have different games on all four monitors, it’s just a matter of switching the sound to the one you want to watch. This is simple if you’re using a Yamaha AV receiver that has a SCENE function. (All models made in the past 15 years have it.)
Here’s how:
1. Connect each TV’s audio output to an analog or digital input on the receiver:
2. Set the receiver’s input to the monitor you want, then press and hold a SCENE button for five seconds to set the scene. For example, connect Monitor 1 to the Audio 1 input and set SCENE 1, then connect Monitor 2 to the receiver’s Audio 2 input and set that to SCENE 2, and so on.
3. During the games, simply press one of the four programmed SCENE buttons on your remote to select the sound from the desired monitor. See the action, hear the action!
Now you’re all set to watch the drama of the tournament unfold in the comfort of your home theater. Grab your bracket, your favorite snacks, and enjoy! Will it be March Madness™ or March Sadness for your team?
A few years ago I wrote a mission statement for my website that defines what drives my creativity. Here’s what it says:
“I’ve always been inspired by the place within us that’s in a continual state of pursuit — a search for something different, something better, or what might have been while still feeling that if given the choice, I wouldn’t trade my world for any other. Life isn’t perfect. But some days it’s filled with so much joy it seems as perfect as perfect can be. Still, that state comes and goes. It’s from that divine discontent that songs (or for you, perhaps sonatas or novels) can’t help but emerge.”
This has been my modus operandi since I began my journey.
When I first started out, a producer colleague said he hoped I’d always be troubled because I wrote the best material when I was in distress. There were a couple of songs he’d helped me get recorded and indeed they were terribly sad.
I thought I was doomed.
It’s not that I was always somber, mind you. I was simply more prolific when I was in that state of mind. Otherwise, I was a pretty happy gal. But his words stayed with me.
Over time, I’ve come to believe that longing, even change for the sake of change, is muse-worthy — the desire to make things better even when they’re already okay. Divine discontent. My favorite oxymoron.
I’ve talked to a lot of other creative people over the years about what propels them and there’s a common theme that it’s in our nature to reside in this state. That’s where we’re comfortable. Where we thrive. It makes sense because art doesn’t come from contentment, but from struggle and angst.
I had an interesting conversation with my attorney recently. He posited that it’s a writer’s job to explore and examine, to “what if” ourselves to death. We’re drama kings and queens. We go into caves with flashlights looking for trouble. If we can’t find it, we make stuff up! Or if we’re at a point in our lives where there aren’t bumps in our emotional road, we draw from the past. We have good memories. (Or we write a happy song. ☺)
My lawyer is more left-brained — factual, analytical, methodical, orderly — than right-brained creative folks who rely more on intuition and imagination. (You can read more about the role of the two brain hemispheres here.) I wouldn’t trade being right-brained for anything in the world but perhaps the facts, and an acceptance of the way things are, make for a less complicated life.
I dunno. I’m just musing. That’s what I’m supposed to do.
The most authentic artists, it seems, are often the most troubled. They don’t even have to look for drama — they’re embedded with it and it translates into their art organically, automatically, effortlessly. Amy Winehouse. Kurt Cobain. Janis Joplin. Chris Cornell. Where they are now? I don’t want to exchange fates. But fascinating artists? Absolutely.
So are we doomed if we’re content — if peace and calm replace push and pull? Do we risk writing from an emotional flat-line? I imagine that would be creative death. But no need to fret if we’re going through a period of emotional calm. Enjoy it. Breathe and be thankful it doesn’t last, at which point we can get back to making engaging art.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m still that happy gal who wrote those sad songs. I have love, health, a family, a roof over my head … yet I’m still searching for more.
My father-in-law once asked me, “Do you ever stop?” No, I don’t. It’s ongoing. Life is a Rubik’s cube. A crossword puzzle. A treasure hunt. Maybe that’s what Bono meant when he sang “I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”
I haven’t either. I’ll let you know when I find it. But at that point I’ll probably start looking for something else.
Daylight Saving Time is here again: the days are getting longer and the nights shorter. But with that one hour of time you just lost, you missed out on some great binge watching in your home theater. Here are a few recommended television episodes that will help you eat up the hours — night or day — and catch you up on what you might have missed.
1. Game of Thrones – Season 6, Episode 9
It’s hard not to start here due to the sheer intensity of this hit HBO show. This episode features a scene that reportedly took 25 days to film and used 500 extras, 600 crew members and 70 horses, but it’s the silence underlying the bombast that speaks so loudly. Thousands of men line up across a field from one another, and all you hear at first is a few horses snorting and flags blowing in the wind. It’s a great example of “less is more,” because you know that an epic battle is sure to follow. Check it out here.
2. Mindhunter – Season 1 Finale (Episode 10)
This American crime drama is based upon the true crime book Mindhunter: Inside the FBI’s Elite Serial Crime Unit. In it, FBI agents interview serial killers to try to understand how they think. In the first season’s final episode, there’s a chilling scene where special agent Holden Ford stares down a chained killer in a hospital Intensive Care Unit, accompanied by music that slowly grows increasingly more uncomfortable as the tension grows. When the killer grabs him in a hug, a classic Led Zeppelin track fills the speakers and … well, I don’t want to give any more away. Check it out here.
3. BoJack Horseman – Season 2 Finale, Episode 12
This unusual animated comedy drama stars Will Arnett as the title character, BoJack Horseman. It takes place in a Hollywood populated by humans and tailless anthropomorphic animals. The Season 2 finale ends with an inspirational scene that has BoJack running up a hill to the point of exhaustion, when he encounters a bearded baboon who urges him to keep on going. “Every day gets a little easier,” the baboon says. “But you have to do it every day, that’s the hard part. But it does get easier.” Words to live by. Check it out here.
4. Spartacus – Season 1, Episode 5
You can’t go wrong with a good fight scene rocking your home theater speakers and subwoofer. Produced in New Zealand, this series was inspired by the historical hero Spartacus. In this episode, he and fellow gladiator Crixus take on their dreaded enemy Theokoles. What follows is an intense battle scene, accompanied by thundering music. You might want to put the kids to bed first! Check it out here.
5. Stranger Things – Season 2, Episode 8
This spooky series is guaranteed to put you on the edge of your seat. It takes place in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana in the 1980s, where, under the guise of the Department of Energy, experiments are being carried out delving into the supernatural and paranormal. In the climactic scene of this episode, Eleven, a young girl with psychokinetic abilities, makes her grand entrance — an appearance marked with both tension and relief. Check it out here.
6. GLOW – Season 1, Episode 1
Sometimes you just need to get your GLOW on. This series takes a look at the characters and gimmicks of a fictional 1980s women’s wrestling circuit called GLOW — the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling. The last scene of the very first episode sums things up as we watch ladies with big hair battle each other in the ring, to the sounds of Journey. Check it out here.
7. Westworld – Season 1, Episode 5
This science fiction western series is based on the 1973 film of the same name. Westworld is an amusement park that caters to high-paying fantasies and is populated by android hosts. This episode is worth watching just for its “man walks into a bar” scene alone, where Anthony Hopkins, who plays the co-founder and director of Westworld, invites himself to join Ed Harris for a drink because he doesn’t like to drink alone. As their conversation unfolds, the conflict — and the self-discovery — begins. Check it out here.
What do all these episodes have in common? They all benefit from being watched in a home theater, where the sights, sounds and spectacle all come to life. There’s no better way to enjoy a spare hour!
Click here for more information about Yamaha home audio products.
It’s true that new waves of technology make it easier to access information when you need it and however you need it. Need to learn a quick “hack” — simply Google it, right?
Given all of these advances, why do teachers still need to pack up, leave the comforts of their classrooms and head to the music education association (MEA) conference? Simply put, it’s integral to your growth as an educator.
Beyond the simple transactional value that any conference can provide, there are still many reasons for you to attend your local MEA conference.
Reason 1: Be Part of a Professional Community
Lawyers are part of their bar associations, doctors are part of their medical associations — so why shouldn’t music educators be part of their own professional community? As professionals, teachers should allow themselves to grow and evolve. Annual MEA conferences provide that regular opportunity to do just that — to immerse yourself in your professional community and continue to understand what it means to be a professional music educator.
Reason 2: Be in the Room Where it Happens
The sessions are just one aspect of MEA conferences, and while an important one, it’s the informal conversations that happen in those rooms, in the hallways outside those rooms and in the exhibit hall that put you in a position to gain access to knowledge, opportunities and experiences that can’t be replaced with a simple Google search.
Reason 3: Get One-on-One Coaching
With so much knowledge and experience in one area, MEA conferences provide a valuable opportunity to get one-on-one coaching from some of the finest master teachers around the country. In a webinar, you can’t stay after the meeting to ask for clarification. A Google search can’t lead you into a conversation that uncovers something else. The back-and-forth dialogs and interactions allow for the generation of ideas and the gaining of insight.
Reason 4: Get Beyond Yourself
MEA conferences also provide an opportunity for you to explore your interests within music education. Concurrent sessions and multiple tracks allow you to learn about new trends or refresh yourself in areas that you need to improve on. Or you could sit in on topics that you do not need now but that may strike an interest down the road. When you search on Google, you’re looking for now. When exploring at MEA conferences, you have the opportunity to explore past, present and future.
Reason 5: Own Your MEA Conference Experience
Find a new favorite restaurant and arrange a reunion with a classmate or two who work on the other side of the state. Take the opportunity to immerse yourself in fantastic music. Whatever your motivation, own your MEA conference experience so that it’s memorable from a learning perspective and meaningful on a personal level. You will feel refreshed (albeit tired from all the constant activities!) when you go home, and you will be motivated to go to MEA conferences in future years.
Whatever your reason — and hopefully there is more than one reason from my list above that convinces you — attending an MEA conference is an opportunity to grow and better yourself. If you haven’t been to a conference yet, take this opportunity to participate in and engage with your professional community and gather the tools and contacts that will make you a better educator and person!
Timpani are expensive instruments. An average set can cost between $10,000 and $15,000, so damages caused by careless cartage can result in significant expenditure. Here are three steps you can take to ensure proper timpani movement.
Step 1: Planning
Before you move your timpani, it’s important to have a good plan. As time management expert Alan Lakein says, “failing to plan is planning to fail.”
1. Know the route beforehand.
2. Determine what will be required to move the timpani. Will you need:
– A cart, truck or dolly?
– Moving blankets?
– Straps, bungee cords, tie-downs or rope?
– Helpers to lift the drums?
Step 2: Prepping
1. Adjust the pedal to the highest position to protect it from hitting the ground and to brace the head for any stress it may endure.
2. Remove mallet bags and accessories from the instrument to avoid losing any mallets or damaging the bowl of the timpano.
Step 3: Moving
1. Always move slowly and carefully while transporting timpani. This simple step will prevent most accidents. Avoid big bumps and uneven surfaces.
2. When moving the instrument, be sure to hold the drum by its struts at all times and avoid touching the counterhoop (also known as the rim). Pulling by the counterhoop may cause permanent damage to the hoop and distort the pitch of the drum.
Correct movement is displayed in the left image (holding by the struts). Incorrect movement is displayed in the right image (grabbing the counterhoop).
If you are using a truck to move the timpani, be sure to lift them by their struts when loading and unloading. Once the timpani are on the truck, always use moving blankets to cover each drum completely and lock the wheels. This will protect the drum and help them from rolling during transportation.
Be sure to tie down each drum separately to the floor or wall and not to each other. Use straps or tie-downs on the struts only. Ensure that nothing will fall on or bump into the timpani.Here are a few other things to remember:
– The heads of timpani are never meant to act as tables. Do not let anything rest directly on the head.
– Cover the heads when not playing the timpani.
– Wheels are a crucial part when it comes to moving. If one or more become lost or broken, a new one can be purchased from your local music dealer.
– Timpani may become out of tune after any move, so allow time to balance the heads and adjust the gauges before any performance or rehearsal.
– Inspect the drums once a month. Refer to our “Timpani Maintenance” blog post for more information.
– Timpani are designed to be moved and stored upright on their wheels. Any other position, such as on the counterhoop or struts, will cause unwanted stress on the head and/or body of the drum.
Following these simple steps will prevent common timpani damage and keep them looking and sounding brand new even after years of play!
Photos courtesy of the authors.
Click here for more information about Yamaha timpani.
When it comes to monitor mixing in a House of Worship environment, the rule to live by is: Less is more. The quieter the onstage sound is and the better the performers can hear themselves, the better the main (“Front of House”) mix will be for your worshippers. In this video, Yamaha product manager John Schauer provides tips and techniques for using the two different types of monitors: classic onstage “wedge” monitors and in-ear monitors worn by each band member individually, where no sound is produced that can be picked up by any of the onstage microphones — hence, no feedback. He also covers positioning speakers and amplifiers as well as dealing with the loud sound levels that come from acoustic drums, along with the importance of setting input gains and crafting an overall Front of House mix before creating a monitor mix.
Click here to find out more about Yamaha professional audio products.
There are a wide range of apps out there for drummers, many of them specially designed to be used in conjunction with electronic drums. Here are three ways these kinds of apps can help your drumming:
1. They Simplify The Navigation Process
Most electronic drum modules — where all the sounds and features are housed — have very small LCD screens, which makes it difficult to navigate the menus and view notifications or any changes you have made. But apps make it easy. No more searching through the user manual to get a Ph.D in “Menu Diving”! No more learning button combinations to customize sounds, change kits or add effects.
2. They Provide Beneficial Educational Exercises
Apps provide training functions and exercises that can assist you to build the skills necessary to become an efficient drummer. Whether acting as a metronome or virtual teacher, they can also provide important visual cues that you can’t get from a small LCD screen.
For example, the training exercises offered by the Yamaha DTX402 Touch app focus on several important skills that every drummer should work on. They even provide you with audible feedback and a grade! Let’s take a look at a few of them:
Rhythm Gate – Play along to the songs in the module (or to the module’s metronome), and if you’re not playing in time, sounds won’t be produced from the pads you are striking.
Dynamic Gate – Pick the dynamic category you want to improve on, and just as in the above exercise, if you don’t play within the selected category, no sounds will be heard.
Song Part Gate – Breaks down each section of every song in the module and gives you an audible and written example of each part from start to finish so you can play along to the entire song efficiently.
Part Mute – Allows you to isolate each drum part in a song in order to learn all the distinct parts happening within the groove, making it easier to understand the role played by each limb.
Fast Blast – Counts all your pad hits within the desired set time. This is a great tool to develop your endurance and speed. Challenge yourself and continue to beat your scores!
Recorder Mode – Listen back to your accuracy and assess your time-keeping abilities by recording your audio performance, whether you’re playing solo or are playing along to any of the ten songs in the module.
3. They Allow For Video And Audio Recording
Having the ability to record high quality audio and video simultaneously is a tremendous benefit, not only for practice purposes, but for performance as well. The Yamaha Rec’n’Share app, for example, captures the audio from your DTX6 Seriesor DTX402 electronic drums (or EAD10 module) and combines it with video taken with your smart device. You can then download your performance from the app and share it on social media, or send it to a friend in a text or email.
You can opt to record just a solo performance, or, you can download songs from your iTunes® library or Dropbox™ and record yourself drumming along. If the song you’re learning is difficult and you need some assistance in getting up to speed, you can utilize an A/B Loop function to repeat tricky drum parts for efficient learning; you can even manipulate and slow down the tempo as needed.
So avail yourself of some of the fine electronic drum apps out there. Time to ditch the menu diving and focus instead on enjoying your drumming journey!
For more information, check out these blog articles:
The debut of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris on May 29, 1913 was met with outrage. The orchestral score to the ballet was not just avant garde, it was guttural, bestial, almost carnal … and wildly different from anything that had come before. During the Dance of the Adolescents section — the first moment of extreme dissonance and skewed rhythm — nothing less than a riot broke out. “Cries of ta gueule [shut up] came from behind me,” Stravinsky recalled. “I left the hall in a rage. I have never again been that angry.”
Igor Stravinsky.
It was an inauspicious beginning for a work that many today view as one of the most influential pieces of music of the 20th century — one that would inform movie scores for decades. And despite the fact that Stravinsky’s legacy endured (indeed, for more than fifty years after that raucous debut, he would compose hundreds of lasting works), few had the visceral impact of that one. “Very little immediate tradition lies behind The Rite of Spring — and no theory,” Stravinsky later said. “I had only my ear to help me; I heard and I wrote what I heard. I am the vessel through which The Rite passed.”
In other words, it was a work that was breaking new ground — pushing the envelope, in the modern vernacular. Personally, I’m of the opinion that the very best music comes from doing just that.
No one had ever before experienced songs like the ones Chuck Berry wrote, nor had they ever heard a big band arrangement swing the way Ellington’s or Strayhorn’s did. No one ever heard vocal stylings like those of Sinatra, Elvis, Little Richard or John Lennon, nor had they ever heard trumpet solos phrased the way Louis Armstrong played them. No one had ever made a saxophone wail the way John Coltrane did; no one ever made a guitar sing the way it did in the hands of Jimi Hendrix. They booed when Dylan picked up an electric guitar at the Newport Folk Festival; they were baffled when Miles Davis ushered in the era of jazz fusion. Both The Beatles and the Stones were met with a withering wall of criticism when they first appeared on the scene, based more on their appearance than their musical skills. But all would not only leave lasting legacies but serve as an inspiration to generations of new musicians.
Jimmy Douglass
Engineer Jimmy Douglass once related a story that has stayed with me for years. He got his start at the in-house Atlantic Records recording studio back in the 1970s, where he was encouraged to find new, unsigned artists to audition for the prestigious label. “One of the first acts I brought in sounded just like Crosby, Stills and Nash,” he told me, “and when [staff producer] Jerry Wexler heard the tape, his comment was, “They sound like CSN,” and I got all excited.
“But then Jerry pointed out that Atlantic already had Crosby, Stills and Nash,” Jimmy added with a laugh. “As a young kid, I didn’t understand that concept: I thought that if something sounded like the hits I was hearing on the radio, the label would want to sign it.”
Now while it’s true that many record companies in those days were always looking to cash in on a fad — something that’s sadly true to this very day — the bottom line is that an artist who sounds like someone (as opposed to sounding like themselves) can only go so far. They may enjoy some commercial success for a time, but the odds of them making a lasting impact are minimal.
So if you take your music seriously, your goal should be to innovate, not imitate. Forge a path where no one has gone before, and walk it fearlessly. We all have influences, and especially early in our careers we rely heavily upon them; after all, they are the bedrock atop which we build our own sound and reputation. But true greatness can occur only when you are prepared to move on to higher ground.
Michael Pote, an award-winning band director and highly sought-after speaker, clearly demonstrates that success in a large, high-profile program stems from understanding and utilizing the strengths of everyone involved. He equips students with the musical tools necessary to guarantee achievement at the highest level.
Under his leadership, Carmel High School in Indiana has garnered national recognition, including being named one of NAMM’s Best Communities for Music Education in 2019 as part of Carmel Clay Schools.
Pote believes that notoriety takes a back seat to creating a balanced program where every student’s musical and educational needs are considered. He strives to create a highly collaborative environment where students are active, critical listeners and an integral part of every rehearsal.
Directors who attend Pote’s presentations or read Process, his sets of ensemble exercises, will learn how his keen approach to rehearsal strategies blurs the line between traditional warmup and finetuning musicality and musicianship. Focusing on the “why” and “how” of every exercise, rather than the “what,” gives purpose and strategy to rehearsals. With clear and specific communication, music educators should help students see the value of building a skill through a particular exercise that can translate into a portion of the score or their musicality.
This strategic and focused approach provides an economical path to integrating skills directly into music. Through these tactics, Pote is a master at sharpening musical reflexes through effective warmups, which leads to students being able to rely on those concepts when a musical challenge arises. He emphasizes that all practice or exercises that students are asked to perfect should have real, tangible applications.
A few of Michael Pote’s session titles are:
Less is More — Create an Ensemble Basics Program that Really Works
There is No Off-Season — How to Create a Balanced Program that has Concert Literature at its Core
Blurring the Line Between Warmup and Literature — A Holistic Approach to Utilizing Your Rehearsal Time
Ensemble — An Integrated Approach to the Yamaha Harmony Director
Teaching from the Light — Crafting Positive, Student-Driven Feedback
To learn more about clinics by Michael Pote, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
I recently ran into an old friend — two old friends, in fact. One of them joined me for lunch at the recent NAMM show, where we spent a pleasant couple of hours catching up with life. Then, knowing of my long history with the Yamaha CP80, he asked if I had seen the new CP88 stage piano … and that’s who turned out to be my second old friend.
We took a walk over to the Yamaha exhibit area, where I quickly spotted the CP88 on display. Even before I heard a single note, I was impressed with its sleek look. Then I started exploring its simple and intuitive design: It was laid out in three sections, each with color-matched LEDs and switches. There was also an old school mini-toggle switch to turn each section on and off (which was a nice little surprise), plus an effects area that could be assigned to each or all sections.I was told by the friendly Yamaha rep that the CP88 came loaded with all the classic keyboard instruments, many of which I had used on tour and in the studio. The first sound I dialed up was, of course, the CP80. I started to play … and there it was! The sound was so exact, it took me back to the day I first heard a CP80, when I was working as a keyboard technician (a fancy name for “roadie”) for Chick Corea.
Let me digress here and tell you a little about my history. I started out as a guitarist but was inspired to make the switch to keyboards and synthesizers when I started listening to artists like Chick, Walter Carlos, Keith Emerson and Herbie Hancock. I soon dove into the world of analog keyboards (these were the days before digital ones), and took a job at a rehearsal studio in Los Angeles. Then one day in late 1976 a dream came true: I received a call from Chick Corea’s manager saying that Chick had just moved from New York to LA and was looking for a local keyboard tech, and my name had come up. It was the chance of a lifetime! I could learn from one of the true masters of the keyboard, and also possibly contribute my programming skills, if and when the opportunity allowed.
Without a moment’s hesitation I took the gig. In early 1977 Chick recorded a new album with his band Return To Forever before beginning rehearsals for the planned tour to follow. Chick had Gayle Moran on additional keyboards and vocals in that rendition of RTF, and she had a brand-new CP80 along with her other instruments. The CP80 was a real piano, though one with no actual soundboard, so it had a unique tonal quality and identity.
So here I am, playing this latest keyboard at NAMM, and I find myself taken straight back to a rehearsal room in Los Angeles more than 40 years ago. It was like reuniting with an old friend, bringing back great memories.
Next, I dialed up the C7 piano sound, since almost every studio I worked in had one; they had a crisp, bright tone that was great for recording. Bam! I was instantly transported back to a session at A&M Studios in 1992 when I played a C7 on Joe Cocker’s Night Calls album. It was an especially memorable session for me because it was the first time I ever played acoustic piano on a record — everything prior to that always all synthesizers.
But it wasn’t just the sound that transported me. Even the action of the CP88 reminded me of the C7. It’s comparable to some high-end acoustic pianos I’ve played — instruments that cost many tens of thousands of dollars.
After that eye-opener, I ventured on to some of the other classic keyboard sounds. I started with the Rhodes, which is a staple on so many great recordings. There are actually many variations of the Rhodes sound, but what the CP88 delivers is an exceptionally dynamic and pure tonality, so reminiscent of the early days. The Wurly sound was equally impressive, as was the Clavinet, originally used on many of the great R&B hits of the 1960s and 1970s by artists like Stevie Wonder and others.
By now, I was pretty much convinced that the CP88 is a must-have keyboard for every live and studio gig, but I kept trying out new sounds. The Bösendorfer Imperial Grand: stunning. Upright pianos: fantastic. Layered pianos: inventive, and fun to play. There are also a bunch of classic organ sounds, which, in conjunction with the onboard rotary and depth section, provide faithful renditions of the originals. And then there are a whole series of synthesizer sounds, including, of course, many of the classic DX7 tonalities I used on tour with Michael Jackson and other artists. There are also a number of excellent pads, strings and percussive sounds — even some guitars!
My encounter with the CP88 was like having a reunion with an old friend. No, better than that. It was like being reintroduced to a whole series of old friends — friends that defined the sounds of an era. This brand-new keyboard keeps them alive for a new generation to explore.
MusicCast is a powerful Yamaha technology that enables you to share audio sources in every room of your house, all under the control of a free app called, appropriately enough, MusicCast Controller. This app, available for both iOS® and Android™, is packed with features — so many, in fact, that it’s possible there may be some you aren’t aware of.
We’re here to help! Here are five cool things you may not know about MusicCast Controller:
1. You Can Access Room Settings with a Single Tap
Here’s a feature that can be a real time-saver. For example, with just a single tap you can set your receiver to deliver your favorite wake-up music playlist to your bedroom, at just the right volume and with the perfect DSP settings … even if you were watching a football game on the TV connected to the receiver the night before.
Just pick the playlist as the source for your receiver and adjust the volume and DSP settings to taste. Then press and hold the Room to save the current room settings (Room, Link, Source and Volume) as a Room Preset. When you wake up in the morning, tap the Room Preset icon or the MusicCast Room Presets widget to recall your settings. (You can, of course, do the same before the next game to recall those settings). It’s a win-win!
And here’s another way to use this feature: If you have all your rooms linked to enjoy that perfect party playlist in every room, save it as a single Room Preset. You can unlink rooms the day after the party, then recall your whole house preset for the next party without having to relink all the rooms manually
2. It Lets You Share Customizations with Other Devices
With the Share Custom Preferences feature, it’s a snap to share customizations (such as photos, presets and renamed inputs) with other devices, such as your spouse’s, or your kid’s, phone.
Here’s how it works: Access Share Custom Preferences from App Settings in the Settings menu. Then click Share Custom Preferences and follow the instructions that appear on the next screen. Now every device will see the same room customizations.
3. Save Yourself from Yourself
The Volume Fade Control feature (which is turned on by default) prevents you from accidentally increasing the volume too suddenly — something that can damage your speakers.After you get used to using the slider to control the volume, you may want to turn this off so you have tighter control. Access Volume Fade Control from App Settings in the Settings menu. If you turn it off, you’ll see the warning above.
4. Widgets!
You can think of “widgets” as convenient mini applets that are just a swipe away. For example, the MusicCast widget allows you to quickly see what’s playing and adjust its volume.
Need to do more? Just tap the M button to access the MusicCast Controller app. The Room Presets widget allows you to quickly access your room presets. Remember your morning wake up routine we talked about earlier? Just one tap on this widget will recall your room presets.
5. It Makes It Easy to Add Wireless Surround Speakers and a Subwoofer
We saved the best for last. If you have a MusicCast surround-capable AV receiver or sound bar, you can add YamahaMusicCast 20 or MusicCast 50 wireless speakers as rear surround speakers, then add a Yamaha MusicCast SUB 100 wireless subwoofer to create a 5.1-channel system. No mess behind your receiver and no running wires in your walls! Change your mind about where the speakers should go? Just move them. Adding rear surround speakers and more bass has never been easier.
After adding rear speakers and/or subwoofer to your MusicCast network in the app, tap MusicCast Surround/Stereo in the Settings menu. In the next screen, link the Surround Speakers or a Subwoofer by simply picking them from a list. Now you’re ready to enjoy your favorite movies and music in 5.1-channel surround sound.We’re constantly improving the MusicCast wireless multi-room audio experience. Explore the MusicCast Controller app to find more time-saving features, and check back here for more articles about this exciting technology.
When it comes to convenience, digital multitrack recording has it all over its predecessor, analog tape. You can record with a wider frequency range and lower noise. You can make copies without degrading the quality. You can slice, dice, cut, copy and paste your audio at will, with incredible precision and without affecting the original recording. You can record an unlimited number of tracks in a session, as long as you have a fast-enough computer and sufficient hard drive space to store the data.
This is all possible because the digital recording process turns analog audio into numerical data that can be freely manipulated before converting it back to sound when you play it back. When you edit digital audio, you’re simply rearranging numbers in a computer. When you edit a recording made to analog tape, you have to physically cut the tape to remove or move parts around, and then put it back together with splicing tape.
However, despite its many advantages, digital recording has a downside: It can sound too clean — even sterile — because it lacks the random irregularities that make analog recordings so endearing. In a somewhat ironic twist, many recordists these days try to make digital audio sound less perfect by adding “vintage” (i.e., analog) characteristics.
Clipping: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
What are those analog characteristics? An example is the slight random pitch variations (called wow and flutter) that are caused by minor inconsistencies in a tape recorder’s — or turntable’s — speed and physical infrastructure. Digital playback, on the other hand, has no inconsistencies whatsoever.
Another essential characteristic of analog sound is saturation. One of the advantages of analog gear compared to digital is what happens when you overload it. In digital audio, overloading the input of a recording device or processor can create harsh and nasty distortion known as clipping. The waveforms are clipped (flattened) when they overload the input because, in the digital domain, there’s literally nowhere for the audio to go beyond zero. It’s like getting smashed into a brick wall.
Unfortunately, when the waveforms flatten out, some very unappealing distortion artifacts are created. (Note that the technical definition of distortion is a waveform that’s a different shape at the output than it was at the input.)
The flat sections at the top and bottom indicate digital clipping.
In analog gear, whether you’re recording to tape or using equipment with tubes or transformers (or both), overloading also causes distortion of the waveforms, but instead of the harsh nastiness of digital clipping, you generally get a much more pleasant effect, sometimes referred to as “soft” clipping. That’s because its transient — the loud initial part of the sound — tends to get squashed down a little, reducing its hard edge, which is similar to what happens when you compress a signal. Also, additional harmonics (i.e., components of a sound that are multiples of the base “fundamental” frequency) are created. As a result, the audio sounds richer and more supple. In audio parlance, those qualities are referred to as “warmth.”
Deliberate Overload
In the era before digital recording, many audio engineers discovered that overloading analog gear could often make their recorded tracks sound better. For example, it became commonplace to intentionally overload drums when recording them to tape to get a saturated sound.
Comparing a clean signal with a saturated one.
Engineers also noticed that overloading tubes resulted in the creation of even-order harmonics (that is, octave multiples of the notes being played), which are particularly pleasing to the ear. The overdriven tube amplifier, particularly for guitar, is another mainstay of “vintage” sound.
The transformer — a common component in electronic circuitry that changes voltage internally — was also discovered to cause pleasant saturation. In particular, overloading the input in a transformer-coupled microphone preamp was found to create warmth when recording vocals. Rupert Neve, one of the pioneers in audio equipment design, established his name creating mixing consoles, preamps and signal processors (such as equalizers and compressors) with transformers that produced extremely pleasant “soft clipping” when overloaded.
That Silky Sound
In recent years, Neve, through his company, Rupert Neve Designs, has collaborated with Yamaha to bring vintage sounds to modern audio devices. The first Yamaha product to incorporate Neve technology was the Rivage PM10, a digital live mixer, followed by the Steinberg UR-RT series of audio interfaces, which have circuitry that incorporate Rupert Neve Designs transformers. The Steinberg AXR4 is the latest fruit of the Yamaha-Neve collaboration. It’s a premium Thunderbolt 2 audio interface that features precise digital emulation of the highly regarded SILK circuitry found in RND hardware.
The Steinberg AXR4.
When you plug a mic or instrument into the AXR4, you can turn on the SILK process with the press of a button, allowing you to imbue your digital tracks with classic analog-saturated sound. As a result, you get the best of both worlds: the convenience and flexibility of digital recording, along with the warmth of analog.
One of the seminal events in the history of instrument design was the invention of the valve in the 1820s. Shortly thereafter, valves were incorporated into numerous existing brass instruments (such as the trumpet and horn) and spurred the creation of many new musical devices such as the basstuba, historical precursor to the modern tuba. This instrument made its appearance on September 12, 1835 — the date a patent application was filed by its inventors, German military bandmaster Wilhelm Wieprecht and musical instrument developer Johann Moritz.
The name “tuba” comes from the Latin word for “tube,” but was also used for an ancient bronze instrument used in Greece and Rome. It was later used as a blanket term for horns, trumpets, and bugles. Moritz called his invention the “basstuba” since it had a lower tone than historical “tubas.”
Forerunners of the Modern Tuba
The serpent.
Although their structures were entirely different, instruments such as the ophicleide and serpent had a similar function to the modern tuba in orchestras. Widely used until the mid-19th century, these used keys (metal caps over the tone holes) like woodwind instruments. For example, Mendelssohn’s overture A Midsummer Night’s Dream (1826) calls for an ophicleide. And when Wagner first wrote his Faust Overture in 1840, he did so with the serpent, not the basstuba, in mind.
Three years after inventing the basstuba, Moritz created the tenor tuba, an instrument with a higher tonal range. Fellow inventor Ferdinand Sommer then made the tubes of the tenor tuba thicker and more tapered, calling this instrument the “euphonium.” The name was taken from “euphonos,” which means “beautiful sound” in Greek.
While Sommer was developing the euphonium in Germany, Adolphe Sax, noted father of the saxophone, was creating one saxhorn instrument after another in Paris: first the sopranino, then the soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxhorns. All had high tonal ranges that exactly matched the increasingly popular euphonium. (In addition, a bass saxhorn, sold under the name “euphonium,” was also developed and was a great success.)
A modern tuba is typically a C or B♭ tuba. Different varieties of the instrument can have various pitches, but these were not all invented by the same person. Regardless, as a group, we call them tubas.
The Tuba Family
Even though they have the lowest tonal range of all the brass instrument, there are slight variations of tubas. In addition to different possible structures, the four main pitches are F, E♭, C, and B♭. The baritone, euphonium, alto (tenor) horn and sousaphone are also related to the tuba.
The Baritone and Euphonium
Usually equipped with three piston valves, the baritone (which is a B♭ horn) has the same tonal range as the euphonium. As a result, many euphonium players also play the baritone, and vice versa.
Compared to a euphonium, the timbre of a baritone is brighter and its tubes are considerably thinner. In the U.S., a euphonium with the bell and pistons facing forward may be called a baritone to differentiate it from a true euphonium.
The Alto (Tenor) Horn
This is an instrument pitched in the key of E♭, five tones lower than a trumpet, sometimes played by trumpeters or horn players.
The Sousaphone
John Philip Sousa, the famous American conductor and composer of many marching tunes, came up with the idea of redesigning the tuba in a larger size and naming the new instrument after himself. An instrument manufacturer completed it as a special order in 1890.
The sousaphone’s prominent feature is the large bell that sits over the player’s right shoulder and faces forward, which allows the instrument to project its sound toward the front. The large, round bell is often a feature of marching bands and other ensembles that line up and play in formation.
The sousaphone looks truly heavy … and it sometimes is. When constructed out of brass, a sousaphone can weigh more than 27 pounds; however ABS resin material brings the weight down under 10 pounds.
Here’s a chart that shows the frequency ranges of the instruments in the tuba family:
Audio Examples
In the first of these audio clips, a tuba is playing from the prelude to Wagner’s The Mastersingers of Nuremberg; in the second one, a sousaphone is setting the rhythm:
In this next audio clip, a euphonium is playing Holst’s Second Suite for Military Band (Op. 28 No. 2):
In this final audio clip, a baritone is playing the British lullaby The Blue Bells of Scotland:
Tuba Tidbits
How is the tuba able to produce such low tones?
The tube of a tuba can be as much as 31 1/2 feet in length(!), which is why it can play extremely low pitches.
Can smaller people play the tuba?
You may have heard that the tuba is not suited to smaller people or those with less robust lung capacity. However, this is not necessarily true. Anyone with normal lung capacity is encouraged to give it a try!
That said, there is no denying that having greater lung capacity is an advantage for playing larger tubas and sousaphones. Dedicating some time to daily training can assist with increasing your lung capacity. The ideal approach would be to adopt an exercise habit like swimming or jogging. If this is not feasible, you might want to try deep breathing practice called “abdominal breathing.” If you practice breathing by using your abdominal muscles to fully exhale to the bottom of your abdomen, you will boost your lung capacity while also increasing control of your breath.
Borrow a desk or chair when setting down your tuba!
It’s common sense to rest a tuba on a flat, sturdy surface with the bell facing downward. However, even by doing this, there’s no guarantee that your tuba will be safe from damage to the bell (however slight); in fact, even worse damage can result if you stand it on the wrong surface, if someone bumps into it, or if another accident occurs. In extreme cases, your damaged tuba will no longer be able to play any notes at all. So when placing your tuba on the floor, make sure there’s a desk or chair nearby to ensure that it will not tip over easily. Keep this in mind whether you are in the music room or preparing for a performance!
What’s the largest tuba in the world?
A music school in Kraslice, Czech Republic has a tuba on display that is taller than the height of a person. Apparently made for the World’s Fair held in New York in 1913, it is said to be able to produce notes two octaves lower than an F tuba.
Imagine if there was an app that could take a song you love, analyze the audio and convert it to a chord chart! Now imagine taking that data and sending it wirelessly so that Genos could play the song back in a totally different style of music.
All of this is actually possible. And in today’s lesson we’re going to do just that.
As you may or may not know, out of the box, Genos has LAN (Local Area Network) capabilities (though not available in some countries outside the U.S., so please check with your Yamaha retailer), which means it can transmit MIDI and audio data wirelessly. “Wow, that’s cool!” you may be saying, “but how does that help me make music?” Well, I’m glad you asked, because I’m going to provide the answer.
There are, however, a few things you’re going to have to do beforehand in order to follow along with this exercise. Begin by securing a flash drive with at least 500MB (half a GB) of space available. Then back up your Genos files to the flash drive. To do so, press the MENU button, select MENU2 and then touch Utility:Now go to page 2/2 in the Utility Menu and touch Backup. Once that’s done, you’ll need to update your Genos’s firmware to version 1.30 or later if it is running an earlier version. Simply click hereand follow the download instructions.
Okay, now there are two more puzzle pieces you’ll need to make this work: an Android™ or iOS® (15.2 or higher) smartphone or tablet and the Yamaha Chord Tracker app, which you can download for free from the Google Play Store or App Store. This is the amazing software that converts the audio in your music library to chord charts. (For more information, check out our blog article “Chord Tracker and the Sonogenic keytar.”)
Once installed, make sure WiFi on your iOS device is turned on, then launch the Chord Tracker app:
Now let’s go back to Genos and get wireless connectivity going so the two can talk to each other. Press the MENU button, go to Menu2 and select Wireless LAN in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. You’ll see all the available networks pop up, as they would with your phone or tablet.
While you could connect Genos and your iOs device to your home WiFi network, I recommend instead using Access Point Mode. The benefit is that, in this mode, Genos and your device will be communicating peer to peer instead of sharing a network. Accordingly, go ahead and change the mode by touching Mode and selecting Yes when the “Changing to Access Point mode” dialog appears:Now go into the WiFi settings on your iOS device and you should see Genos pop up in the network list. Select the network ap-Genos-380672; the password is 00000000 (eight zeroes). You should see a check mark next to the Genos’s IP address. (It’s okay if it says “No Internet Connection” underneath.)
On the Chord Tracker Home screen, under the ”Instrument” menu, you should see Genos in the list. (If it’s not there at first, just give it a couple of seconds.)Once this connection appears, select “Music” to access your iTunes music library. (Only music you own can be analyzed by Chord Tracker; it does not support music streaming services.)
Next, select a song. For this exercise, I’m going to select one I wrote called “Ain’t Gonna Forget My Keys.” Once Chord Tracker finishes analyzing the audio — a process that takes just a second or two — a chord chart will appear. Pretty amazing stuff!
Now we’re going to send the chord data to Genos. In Chord Tracker, select the little box with the three dots in the upper left-hand corner of the screen, then select “Send to Instrument”:
You can now select a style within Genos to play back the MIDI chord data. For example, try choosing the SheriffReggae Style, under the Caribbean category. Once you’ve selected a style, touch “Send.” The Genos screen will show that it is connecting to your device:Now let’s find that chord chart in Genos. Select Song A on the Main screen (make sure you select MIDI instead of Audio), and then select the Chord Tracker folder. (This will contain the MIDI chord charts you transferred from Chord Tracker.)
All you have to do now is select the song you wish to play — in this case, “Ain’t Gonna Forget My Keys”: The song title will appear in the Song A area. Finally, press the SONG A PLAY/PAUSE button and enjoy hearing chords from a favorite song being played in a totally different style!
Have fun exploring the limitless possibilities that Chord Tracker, wireless data communication and Genos have to offer … and don’t forget to keep practicing!
In Part 1 of this two-part article, we looked at the Chord Trackerapp. This time around, we’ll focus on its partner in music-making, the Yamaha Sonogenic SHS-500. On its own, the Sonogenic is a 37-key portable instrument with 30 different sounds, but when used in conjunction with Chord Tracker it becomes a powerful tool for jamming along with your favorite music — and the best part is you don’t need any keyboard skills!
You hold the Sonogenic like a guitar (it even comes with a strap) but play it like a keyboard, which is why it’s called a “keytar.”
The Yamaha Sonogenic SHS-500.
The Sonogenic is easy and fun to play, but it’s when you’ve established the connection between it and Chord Tracker that the fun really begins. Let’s take a look at how this dynamic duo work together.
Making Connections
The best way to hook up Sonogenic to Chord Tracker is by using a USB cable and an Apple® Lightning™ to USB Camera adapter (not included) to connect the USB To Host terminal on the Sonogenic to the Lightning jack on your iOS® device. This sends both MIDI and audio data through the USB cable. One big advantage to setting up this way is that you can use the Record feature in Chord Tracker to capture your Sonogenic performance into the app.
Here’s an illustration that shows the ways you can use the Sonogenic with other devices, such as smartphones, audio players, laptops, headphones, speakers and MIDI instruments:
Sonogenic’s many interconnection possibilities.
Alternatively, you can use Sonogenic’s Bluetooth MIDI capabilities and a 1/8″ stereo mini-jack cable to plug your device’s headphone output to the aux input of the Sonogenic. This allows you to listen to both the output of the Sonogenic and the songs playing from Chord Tracker over the headphone jack of your iOS device. (On newer iPhones®, you’ll need an Apple Lightning to 3.5mm adapter [not included] in order to connect your headphones.) If you don’t have headphones with you, you can always use the Sonogenic’s speaker and the speaker on your iOS device for your music making.
Jam It Out
With Sonogenic and Chord Tracker, it’s easy to play along with your favorite music. Simply cue up a song from your music library in Chord Tracker, and after it analyzes your song and prepares a chord chart — a process that takes just seconds — grab the Sonogenic, turn on the Jam function and start playing. You’ll sound like a pro, even without ever having had a lesson!
That’s because Chord Tracker is sending data to Sonogenic in real time, updating it with the chord changes to the song you’re playing. All you have to do is start tapping the Sonogenic keys: every note you play will match the chords of the song, so you can relax, have fun, and just express yourself musically, knowing it’s always going to sound great. Any of Sonogenic’s built-in instrument Voices (other than the two drum kits) will work when you have Jam turned on, giving you a huge variety of sounds, including guitars, pianos, synthesizers, basses, horns, strings and more.
A Mode for Your Mood
The Jam function offers several different modes. In 1-Finger mode you can use just one finger to press any key on the Sonogenic and you’ll hear full chords, which will always follow the song’s chords, as displayed in the Chord Tracker chart. Just tap in rhythm to the song, and you’ll sound like you’ve been playing for years.
If you want to use more than one finger, try Backing mode. It lets you use two, three, four or more fingers — press them at the same time to play a correct but distinct chord tone. The more fingers you use, the fuller it sounds.
If you want to play single-note accompaniment such as melodic lines and lead solos, try one of the three Melody modes, each offering slightly different scale tones that give your solos and melodies a different flavor. Experiment to find the one that best matches the style of a given song. No matter which Jam mode you select, Sonogenic will always present you with notes that fit with the song’s chords.
Each press of the Sonogenic’s Jam button turns on a different mode.
Of course, you can always leave Jam mode off altogether, in which case Sonogenic will play like a standard keyboard. It comes with a MIDI break-out cable and can be used like any other MIDI controller to play the virtual instruments in your computer or other MIDI sound sources.
Stay In Control
Speaking of control, the Sonogenic offers several ways to make your playing more expressive. For example, you can manipulate the Pitch Bend wheel with your left hand to raise or lower the pitch, or add a vibrato-type effect with the Modulation wheel.
These can be used anytime, whether you’re in or out of Jam mode. You can also change the Octave (register) of the notes you’re playing with the Octave + and – buttons. What’s more, you can get sustain-pedal effects — like on a real piano — by holding down the Sustain button.
The Transport buttons let you start and stop songs playing in Chord Tracker.
You can even control Chord Tracker’s transport (Play, Pause, Fast Forward, and Fast Reverse) with your left hand, using the buttons on the far left of the Sonogenic. These functions are great when you’re jamming because you don’t have to constantly reach over to your iOS device to start and stop a song or move around within it.
The Effect is Striking
Sonogenic also gives you the ability to customize its sounds by adding onboard digital effects. You can choose reverb, chorus, filter or other kinds of effects with the Effect Select slider on the right side of the keyboard and then dial in the desired amount with the Effect Control knob above it.
The Effect Select slider and Control knob make adding effects easy.
You can even layer a second effect, such as distortion, dynamics, tremolo, rotary speaker and more. Add subtle textures or crank them up and go wild!
Sonogenic Synergy
On their own, the Yamaha Sonogenic hardware and the Chord Tracker software are really impressive pieces of technology, but when combined together, they offer capabilities you simply can’t find anywhere else. The sum of their parts is a cutting-edge digital instrument system that can be played and enjoyed by anybody, regardless of their skill level.
In a previous blog, I shared some tips on how to keep brass instruments clean, both inside and out. In this article, I’d like to talk specifically about swabbing.
For brass instruments to perform well, it’s important to use swabs regularly. While a thorough professional cleaning should typically done once a year, the use of swabs on a frequent basis plays an important role in preventative maintenance.
The reason is simple. The mouthpiece and leadpipe/mouthpipe on brass instruments are naturally the first places where moisture and debris accumulates before moving into the rest of the instrument. Keeping those two areas clean on a consistent basis will delay the need for a thorough cleaning while deterring corrosion in the leadpipe/mouthpipe. Removing the loose collected debris also allows the instrument to respond, play and sound better.
What Is Microfiber?
The coated weight on a Yamaha swab.
The best swabs today are made of microfiber cloth. This is a synthetic material that consists of very fine thread woven into a silk-like material. The microfiber structure allows it to be more effective in trapping and retaining debris and moisture but leaves no lint in the cleaning process. Their strength and soft texture is what gives these swabs the ability to be pulled through the complex interiors of mouthpieces or leadpipes without fraying like cotton.
Yamaha microfiber brass instrument swabs use a flexible nylon cord attached to the swab on one end, with a coated weight that helps guide the cord through the interior with ease. The fact that there’s no exposed metal on these swabs also helps protect your equipment against accidental scratches. Swabs are available for both instruments and mouthpieces.
Mouthpiece Swabs
Mouthpiece swabs help to keep a brass mouthpiece throat and backbore clean and free of collected debris. Yamaha offer these in three different sizes for a variety of instruments:
Size
Instrument
Model Number
Small
Horn, cornet, trumpet and flugel
YAC MPSS
Medium
Tenor and bass trombone
YAC MPSM
Large
Tuba
YAC MPSL
Instrument Swabs
Instrument swabs can be directed through just about any area of your instrument to clean out loose debris, including leadpipes or tuning slides. Yamaha offer swabs of various sizes, with the length of the nylon pull cord varying accordingly for each instrument:
Instrument
Model Number
Trumpet
YAC BSTPHR
French Horn
YAC BSHR2
Trombone Slide
YAC BSTB2
Baritone / Euphonium
YAC BSTBEP
Tuba
YAC BSBB
Yamaha YAC BSTPHR trumpet swab.
Eventually, any swab will accumulate enough dirt and debris and become dirty from use. Microfiber material is easily cleaned by just soaking it in water and dish soap, then rinsing it out with clean water. Once dry, the swab is ready to be used again.
A clean instrument will always respond better, making it easier to play. It will also produce a more even tone because it is able to produce sound more efficiently. So swab regularly!
Clickherefor more information about Yamaha brass instrument swabs.
Welcome to Part 1 of a new series of blogs for newcomers to guitar and bass.
When you first bought your electric guitar, it came with a brand-new, shiny set of strings. However, after awhile, you may notice that the sound of your guitar is getting dull, and your fingers don’t slide over the fretboard quite as easily as they used to. Time to change your strings! If you’re new to guitar, this may seem somewhat intimidating, but it’s actually quite simple.
The video below explains how to restring a wraparound electric guitar. (The term “wraparound” refers to a common type of bridge — the metal component down at the bottom of your guitar that anchors and supports the strings.) All you need is a new set of strings, a wire cutter (most pliers will do that too), a clip-on tuner such as the Yamaha GCT1 and optionally, a peg winder (an inexpensive guitar accessory that helps speed up the process).
Click here for Part Two: How to Change Strings on an Acoustic Guitar
Click here to find out more about Yamaha guitars and basses.
Much has been written about the relationship between music and architecture. For Dan Brunn, it’s not just some abstract academic discussion, it’s the story of his life.
Dan Brunn.
Brunn got into music early. “I grew up in Tel Aviv, and remember my mom playing Beatles records. I would listen along, and it was everything to me. Evidently, when I was seven, I turned to my mom and said, ‘When I grow up, I’m going to be a singer, but in English.’”
After moving to the U.S. at age eight, Brunn started playing piano and eventually switched to the guitar. His love for The Beatles remains to this day, and he doesn’t shy away from playing guitar and performing live when the opportunity presents itself.
Finding Inspiration
Brunn, who studied architecture at the University of Southern California and the Harvard Graduate School of Design, says his professional life has become an extension of his appreciation of both music and art.
His architectural vision was informed by the two cities he calls home: Tel Aviv and Los Angeles. The former, known as the White City for its Bauhaus-rich architecture style; and the latter, marked by the work of mid-century notables like Richard Neutra, Craig Ellwood and Pierre Koenig.
Brunn’s LA-based firm, Dan Brunn Architecture (DBA), has built many award-winning and noteworthy projects including “The Hide Out,” a renovation of a Frank Gehry home, now occupied by renowned artist James Jean, and the “Flip Flop House” in Venice Beach.
Exterior of “The Hide Out.”
Interior of the “Flip-Flop House.”
Brunn says his passion for music has influenced his architecture. “I don’t think about it when designing,” he says, “but I go back and look at my designs, and then I figure it out. I talk a lot about choreography: The choreography of time, space and light.”
Measuring Up
Brunn’s musical sensibilities also played a significant role in his latest project, known as Bridge House, a one-of-a-kind home on an oversized lot in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Brookside. The name reflects what Brunn’s design was meant to achieve and communicate: a raised structure, sitting above a brook that peacefully runs through the property.
In partnership with Dwell Magazine, Dan Brunn Architecture jumped at the rare opportunity to design a home on such an unique site. The house is 210 feet in length and 20 feet in width (4500 square feet in total). It’s entirely energy self-sufficient, thanks to an array of solar panels on its roof, and is made from steel that’s up to 90-percent recycled.
The main entry hall is framed by oversized pivot doors, ten feet tall and almost 20 feet wide. Brunn says they’re designed to evoke two open arms, greeting you with a hug. The four-bedroom house also features amenities like a bar area, an outdoor living room and a terrace.
Bridge House was designed to offer a cohesive, immersive experience that is both practical and innovative. Each room creates its own distinct experience by using openings, colors, textures, sounds, smells, and space to inspire curiosity or stimulate a connection to the people and things around you.
Turning Around
Because the building is situated on an oblong lot that includes a wooded area, Brunn was able to set it back and turn it 90 degrees. This unusual placement disrupts the traditional idea of having a front and a back yard.
Blueprints of Bridge House.
This setting also made it possible for some of the rooms to have a completely natural view. “There are seven layers of landscape,” he says. “You have no idea you’re in the middle of LA. The house is just a few blocks from Wilshire and Highland, but you feel like you’re in a forest.”
One of the ways that Brunn was able to create a different aesthetic and spatial experience for each room was by creating dramatic variation in the natural light — changing the rhythm, as it were, as you walk through. “There are four windows that are at the fulcrum of the house, right where it sits over the water,” he explains, “and light from the south goes through them, so as you’re walking, you get light that staccatos across your face, just like you were driving through a forest at sunrise. That is rhythm through space.”
Four windows at the fulcrum of the house.
The next room is highlighted by a large window that hits visitors with a burst of light as they walk in. “You can imagine it as like hearing a big bass drum during a symphony,” says Brunn. The room after that one is lit by ten small skylights, each of which creates its own ray of light.
“Bridge House can be described having a pattern of time and light,” Brunn enthuses, “and it gives you that pace as you’re moving through that zone. That’s how I think rhythm is so connected, and that’s how music is so connected. I think you could literally write a score in Bridge House by walking through it.”
Skylights in the ceiling create rays of light.
Sounding It Out
So there is plenty of tech in the house, but Brunn designed it to integrate seamlessly. “You have to really think through everything and make technology disappear into the background of the house,” he says, “so the number one thing that you experience — and feel — is the space.”
Besides the musical influences on the architecture, there is a lot of actual music playing in Bridge House, thanks to the natural weaving and subtle inclusion of Yamaha audio gear, including low-profile ceiling speakers, receivers and more. All were chosen and placed so that they subtly allow music and sound to amplify the visual experience. For example, there are Yamaha surround systems in the den and master bedroom — Dolby Atmos® and 5.1-channel, respectively.
“Throughout the house, we have ambient music,” Brunn explains, “and I love that — to be able to walk in and have some kind of experience through sound … via speakers that enhance the space. [And] just as we have light, we have a system that works with the air conditioning to put out a scent. So we’re incorporating all the senses. We want to integrate [the] overall experience to include vision, feeling, touch, sound and scent.”
Basking In Nature
Brunn’s design philosophy is remarkably similar to that of Yamaha: the evocation of joy, encouraging discovery, and celebrating natural beauty. An example is the den in Bridge House, which has a forest-like view.
The den in Bridge House.
“Enhancing nature is extremely important for me,” Brunn says. “I want to connect the inside to the natural beauty around me. The den is truly immersive, with floor to ceiling wood panels. A window in the room creates a portal and frames a view of the wooded area outside.
“Imagine you’re elevated above the ground,” he continues. “Looking out, you’re in the tree line, and you have this innate connection from inside to the view of nature that rests outside. You feel like you’re immersed within the nature outdoors. To be able to have music and sound delicately enhance that experience is critically important. And it’s pure.”
In Part 1 of this two-part article, we talked about the importance of matching power amplifiers to loudspeakers. Now we’ll take a look at powered speakers and how they make it easier to configure your PA system.
A powered (“active”) speaker such as the Yamaha DBR15is a loudspeaker that has one or more built-in amplifiers (contained inside the speaker cabinet), so there’s no need for an external power amp. The most important benefit it offers is that there’s no guesswork involved regarding which power amplifier to use because the designers of the speaker have already done that for you. You simply connect the outputs of your mixer to the inputs of the speakers, and that’s it — you’re done. Unlike passive speakers (i.e., speakers that have no built-in amplifier), most powered speakers offer XLR or combo (XLR/TRS) input jacks.
Connecting a mixer to a powered speaker couldn’t be simpler.
The DBR15 actually has two built-in power amplifiers. One is dedicated to the woofer (which reproduces low frequencies) and the other is dedicated to the tweeter (which reproduces high frequencies). This two-amplifier arrangement is called biamplification and provides several advantages. In addition to matching each amp to a specific driver (i.e., woofer or tweeter), power is used more effectively. Woofers are much larger, heavier and less efficient than tweeters, so they require more power to generate sound. Biamplification allows different power amps to be used for each driver. For example, the DBR15 has a total continuous power output of 465 watts; one amplifier provides 400 watts for the woofer, and the other amp provides 65 watts for the tweeter. That might seem like a small amount of power for the tweeter, but high-frequency drivers are small and light so they require less power to achieve high volume levels. Biamplification allows putting the power where it’s needed most.
Advantages of Powered Loudspeakers
Powered speakers are more efficient than passive speakers. Most speakers that use separate low- and high-frequency drivers have a built-in circuit called a crossover. This is like a traffic director for sound. It sends the high frequencies to the tweeter and the low frequencies to the woofer. The crossover in a passive speaker has to handle high power levels from the amplifier and, as we discussed last month, that can be as much as 1,000 watts or more! Most tweeters can’t handle as much power as the woofer, so part of the job of a crossover is to reduce power going to the tweeter by turning it into heat — and that’s wasted power.
However, a powered speaker (unlike a passive speaker) can put the crossover before the amplifiers, so power going to the tweeter is used more efficiently and not wasted as heat. That’s another reason the high-frequency amplifier in a biamped speaker can be less powerful than the low-frequency amp. Placing the crossover before the amps also reduces a type of distortion called Intermodulation Distortion (“IMD”).
When choosing a powered speaker, pay attention to the speaker’s Maximum SPL (Sound Pressure Level) specification, which tells you how loud the speaker will sound. Many powered speakers are rated to produce upwards of 125 dB SPL — plenty for most small and medium-size clubs or coffee houses.
Powered speakers also sometimes include onboard DSP (Digital Signal Processing) such as EQ or filtering. The DBR15 has two rear-panel switches that adjust the response of the speaker depending upon how you plan to use it. A D-CONTOUR switch changes the onboard EQ to make the DBR15 suitable for use as either a main speaker or a monitor speaker. A second switch called the high-pass filter (“HPF”) cuts the low frequencies for use with a subwoofer such as the Yamaha DXS15mkII.
Yamaha DBR15 rear panel.
The DXS15mkII has an onboard low-pass filter (“LPF”) that cuts the high frequencies because there’s no need for a subwoofer to produce them — the main (full-range) cabinet will do that. These switches, combined with the DBR15’s “thru” jack, make it very easy to link the DXS15mkII to the DBR15 when you are ready to add the subwoofer. You won’t have the worry of crossover settings that you would if you were using passive subwoofers and speakers. The DXS15mkII sums the left and right outputs from the mixer to mono in the low frequencies, so you can start with one sub and add another when you need to expand your PA for larger gigs. (Output from the DXS15mkII remains stereo for the full-range speakers.)
Connecting a mixer to full-range speakers and subwoofer.
Another advantage of a powered speaker is that in some cases it may allow you to do a gig without a mixer. As an example, the Yamaha DBR12has two inputs on the rear panel, each with a separate level control. It also has a “CH1+2 MIX” switch for the output that enables inputs 1 and 2 to be mixed together. If you have a show where you need just one microphone and a keyboard, you could connect the microphone to input 1 and the keyboard to input 2. The level controls allow you to balance the two channels, and you can even connect an additional playback device such as a laptop, smartphone or tablet using the RCA jacks:
The Yamaha DBR12 provides two separate inputs.
Powered speakers can be a little bit heavier and more expensive than passive speakers, but on the other hand you won’t need to carry around or buy a rack full of amplifiers. You’ll also use fewer cables to connect everything so your setup will be faster and less complicated, and you’ll know that the power amps are matched perfectly to your speakers, so a lot of time they’re a great choice, especially for smaller live sound rigs.
Falling in love with love is falling for make believe
I remember hearing those haunting lyrics from the Rodgers and Hart classic “Falling In Love With Love” as I played on the kitchen floor of my parents’ Manhattan apartment. Rendered by Frank Sinatra with effortless intimacy, they suggested a world of adult sophistication a universe away from the rough-hewn, working-class life my family lived. Regardless of that chasm, my father — a tough Italian-American who had dropped out of high school years earlier and read electric meters for a living — loved listening to the masterpieces of the Great American Songbook.
William B. Williams.
His favorite show was The Make Believe Ball Room, hosted by William B. Williams, the man who famously dubbed Sinatra “The Chairman of the Board.” The glorious voices of Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Nat King Cole and others floated constantly from the radio near our kitchen table, where my father sat reading the New York tabloids and studying the horse racing forms. When he was home, the radio was always on.
I was unaware that this music was making any impact on me at all. It was simply omnipresent, no more notable to me at the time than the linoleum on our floors or the paint on our walls. But rock ’n’ roll and its variants? That was another story. Late-period doo-wop, Elvis, Dion, girl groups, early Motown and, cataclysmically, the Beatles — those all made a dramatic impression.
In my immigrant Italian neighborhood (all right, it was Greenwich Village, but still), so European and old school, this was the sound of America — modern, youthful, hip, colorful, raucous, unruly and joyous. Suddenly, my father’s supper-club songs seemed as outdated as the stack of old newspapers that he’d pile on the radiator cover next to his chair. I became obsessed with rock ’n’ roll and sought out every occasion to hear it on the radio, watch it on TV and read about it in the magazines I searched through on local newsstands. When host Dean Martin mocked the Rolling Stones during their incendiary appearance on “Hollywood Palace” in 1964, I was infuriated. Even at twelve, I could tell that his condescension was the last gasp of an older generation desperate to hang onto its beliefs and musical tastes.
With the benefit of hindsight, I believe that my falling in love with music was a result of the strange combination of styles I heard during those early years. It was akin to a child learning about loving relationships simply by living in the world of affection his parents created; after all, the best learning is done when you are not even aware that you’re being taught. So I absorbed the elegance and melodic genius of the songs my father loved without even realizing it.
Dion DiMucci.
My dad pushed the envelope further still a few years later when he managed to find the only country music station in New York City. Soon our radio was cranking out a steady stream of George Jones, Tammy Wynette, Charley Pride, Johnny Cash and other practitioners of the genre during that era. I liked some of it but it was so foreign to me, it was as if he’d discovered a station that broadcast only in Croatian. I was reminded of it years later when I interviewed Dion DiMucci (formerly of Dion and the Belmonts fame) and he described tuning into a station that transported the sounds of Hank Williams into his family’s apartment in the Bronx. “I’d sing ‘Honky Tonk Blues’ or ‘Jambalaya’ on the stoop,” he told me. “My friends would go, ‘What’s honky-tonk blues?’ I’d go, ‘I don’t know.’ ‘Well, what’s jambalaya?’ ‘I don’t know.’ I didn’t know what they were, but they sounded so good coming out of my mouth.”
What Dion and I heard in such music was the sound of a world beyond our own parochial environments. We were New York hicks and this music was our emotional education. And that is what love does: It opens your mind — and your heart — to possibilities you didn’t even know existed. When inducting Dion into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Lou Reed described fighting his way through his math homework as the radio brought him “the dusky, musky, mellifluous, liquid sounds of rock ’n’ roll. The sounds of another life. The sounds of freedom.”
Mick Jagger.
I once described to Mick Jagger, who actually seemed touched to hear it, how I felt that the Stones were the first band that required something of me. They required my defense — against my elders and my teachers, even some of my more conservative friends. I once read that you feel the deepest love not for the people who do the most for you, but for those for whom you do the most. Great as they were, it was easy to love The Beatles; after a while it seemed that everyone did. That was never true of the Stones, and it deepened my commitment to them. Of course, they, too, introduced me to another world: the world of the blues and R&B — black American music that a white kid like me otherwise had virtually no access to. It seemed that my love for that band just kept giving in the form of other styles of music that I also grew to love. Even now, as the Stones get ready to tour once again, the members of the group all well in their seventies, they continue to give.
Jackson Browne.
Music is the gift that truly keeps on giving. Jackson Browne once told me that “If, when I die, they open my brain and do a cross-section, like the rings of a tree or something, they will find several years in there where there’s nothing but Bob Dylan.” Dylan eventually inspired Browne to write his own songs, just as the doo-wop that Lou Reed revered “made me believe that I could write a song.”
That might be the greatest thing about love: that when you fall in love you both lose yourself and begin to discover yourself; discover what you can do and who you want to become. What begins as “falling for make believe” in the Make Believe Ball Room can lead you to your truest self. And music serves as much more than the soundtrack to that deeply personal journey. It is the entire story, the very journey itself.
Photos by Joseph Scherschel/The LIFE Picture Collection, David Kennedy, David McGough/The LIFE Picture Collection, and Ebet Roberts/Redferns.
Each and every one of us is born with a unique DNA strand and genetic code of characteristic qualities. We inherit personality traits and physical features from our parents. Our interactions with friends and family, as well as our education, further develop our unique personality and cultural habits as we grow into young adults. We then continue to learn new skills and expand our minds with the experiences we have and the knowledge we gain throughout our lifetime.
Our public brand may also be well established, whether we like it or not. How we present ourselves to the world is how we represent ourselves. First impressions really do matter; most of us make judgments based on the appearance of a stranger literally within seconds of casting eyes upon them!
That’s why I prefer to brand myself before someone else does. By presenting my authentic self in every situation, I take any guesswork or assumptions out of the equation. I understand that “clothes do not make the man,” but if you work in the entertainment industry your image is part of the marketing package. Think of your style and appearance as your product label and the content and substance of the product as your personality and the person that you are on the inside. And take the time to assess your public image on a regular basis to make sure you are representing your brand in a credible, current and appealing way.
Here I am performing at NAMM.
For me, it’s less about fashion and more about authenticity — how you wear what you wear, your posture, personality, presentation and owning your personal space. Jeans, boots and a T-shirt are just as powerful a statement as a business suit, when they are worn with the same attitude and confidence.
Having great interpersonal skills will also elevate your personal brand. Maintaining eye contact shows that you are engaged and present in the conversation. Listen first, respond second, be impeccable with your word and above all, be a person of integrity: If you don’t back up what you say, eventually your brand will suffer and lose value.
Musical Branding
Can we also build upon our musical identity, update and refresh our signature sound for a revitalized career? I believe so.
My students often ask me how much time they should spend working on the skills and techniques that they aren’t very good at. My response is to tell them to stop focusing on the weak aspects of their playing and instead magnify and expand upon the best aspects. There simply isn’t enough time to waste on the negatives!
Other instructors may not agree with this advice, but I would argue that Eric Clapton didn’t become an icon by practicing his sweep picking technique, and Eddie Van Halen probably didn’t spend decades practicing jazz standards. They focused on what they were good at, and the rest is history.
The Videos
The videos below are live performances of me demoing guitars for Yamaha at NAMM 2019. Listen to the approach I take in playing relatively simple ideas over the chord changes for maximum musical impact:
In these stage performances, I’m using a Yamaha Revstar 720B. I love this particular guitar because it faithfully represents my sound. The FilterTron-style pickups are warm, clean and articulate, and the chords, double-stops and melodies come out sounding just the way my hands played them.
There were several custom one-off Revstar guitars on display at the show this year, just to tease us and keep us guessing as to what might appear as standard models — next year perhaps?
By the way, Yamaha did a little rebranding themselves at NAMM this year, introducing a new message of “Make Waves,” as featured on a huge backdrop facing the main stage that urged musicians everywhere to make the world listen, make music, make waves:
I came home from the show so inspired by this (and by so many wonderful interactions and incredible musical performances) that I wanted to take stock of my own evolution for this year. Where can I apply positive change in my life and my music? How can I express myself with a clearer voice and vision? One thing I do know for sure is that I will be a constant work in progress, and I’m open to the infinite possibilities of personal evolution!
The Wrap-Up
Due to personal injury and tendon issues I suffered in my twenties, I was unable to play guitar for several years. I continue to have those issues, and it’s sometimes very painful when I perform. Physical speed and supreme dexterity on the guitar is out of reach for me, so I decided to focus on the aspects of my playing that would allow me to have a unique personal voice, using simple techniques and approaches that I can manage on a daily basis.
I focus on hitting the chord tones and double-stops with accuracy, and I utilize simple melodic motifs and repetitive phrases. I don’t fight my weaknesses. Instead, I choose to embellish the positives, and ultimately this gives me a distinctive sound that I’m very happy with. I know my limitations and I’m at peace with them. Understanding this allows me to focus purely on the signature aspects of my style … although I am constantly refining those traits to make them better.
So, if like me you have physical limitations, let those limitations shift your focus to finding musical alternatives around your current capabilities and define a sound that is uniquely your own. Take a moment to identify your musical strengths and make a conscious effort to refine those ideas, distill the magic and refresh some old licks or chord passages until they feel cleaner, clearer and represent your current modality of playing.
Listening to a great surround sound mix in a well-equipped, properly set up home theater is an extraordinary experience. But it should not be assumed that it is always better than listening in stereo. In this article, we’ll take a look at four common myths of surround sound.
1. Everything Sounds Better In Surround Than It Does In Stereo
Sorry, that’s simply not always the case. There are in fact a number of variables that dictate just how good (or bad) a surround mix is — the skill of the mix engineer being paramount. After all, nothing more has an impact on exactly what the listener will ultimately hear.
It’s equally important that the room in which the mix is created be properly set up and calibrated, so that what the engineer hears as he or she blends the tracks together is similar to what the end listener hears in their home theater. While most engineers and production facilities do take great care to ensure the mix translates well, that is not always the case.
Another issue is the fact that some surround mixes are not even created by an engineer. Yes, you read that right. The term “upmixing” (or, for the more cynical among us, “Faux 5.1”) describes the process of building a surround mix by using software or audio signal processors that automatically convert a stereo mix into a multichannel one with the use of digital algorithms and/or phase manipulations. It’s true that when the original multitrack tapes or files are damaged or unavailable, upmixing is pretty much the only way to create a surround product, and there is often some degree of control offered. However, the results are generally not nearly as good as having a professional skilled engineer create a true surround mix from the original multitrack files.
2. The Sweet Spot Is Bigger When Listening In Surround
Nope, it’s actually smaller. Professional surround sound mix rooms have carefully calibrated speakers systems and acoustic treatments so that the levels, balances and frequency responses are all accurate. The mix engineer sits in a fixed location in front of the console (referred to as the “sweet” spot) that lets him or her hear the sound coming from all the speakers at the same time in order to make proper mix decisions. While a good engineer will try to evaluate the sound outside of that sweet spot, the actual space where the mix sounds accurate can be challenging, due to the fact that there are typically five or more speakers involved, as well as a subwoofer.
Unfortunately, consumer home theaters are rarely set up in such a pristine fashion. They tend to be placed in living rooms or environments that vary widely as far as walls, carpets, ceiling heights and the all-important placement of the couch or chairs. With all these challenging variables, a quality calibration technology like YPAO™( Yamaha Parametric room Acoustic Optimizer) takes on increasing importance.
With stereo, there is actually a wider sweet spot: You can hear and experience the accurate playback of a mix from multiple positions and still get satisfying results. The actual acoustic elements of the room and the speaker placements are less important because there are only two speakers (augmented sometimes by a subwoofer) to align properly.
3. A Subwoofer Isn’t Really Necessary
When it comes to surround sound, it’s totally necessary. That’s because the subwoofer is not only handling the low frequencies that your sound bar or satellite speakers cannot, it’s also responsible for playing back a special LFE (Low Frequency Effects) channel — the “.1” in a “5.1” surround sound mix.
In a typical home theater surround sound playback system, the subwoofer reproduces the low end of all the main channels using the bass management circuitry built into most AV receivers. This is essentially a crossover network that directs the bass information into the subwoofer. By utilizing the subwoofer for what it does best — reproducing low end information — this helps lighten the load on your other speakers so that the overall sonic picture is tight and clean.
In fact, having more than one subwoofer in the room can help fill the sound out even more. The flagship Yamaha RX-A3080 can handle a second subwoofer along with nine full-range speakers; it also offers 11.2 channel processing. Or you can choose to take the single subwoofer output from a standard 5.1 AV receiver like the Yamaha RX-V485 and split the signal off to a second sub, which can then be placed in a different location in your room.
4. Speaker Positioning Is Less Important
Again, not true. If anything, speaker positioning is more critical to getting the full surround experience, as intended by those who created the content.
Unfortunately, many home theater users position their surround satellite speakers in a less than optimal way. The left, right and center speakers may be on top of the television or video monitor in a straight line without being angled in. Rear speakers are often on the side of (instead of behind) the listening position, placed behind furniture or mounted too high to properly hear. This can cause the audio to be smeared, muffled or improperly scattered throughout the room.
Ideally, all the sound coming from all the speakers in a surround system should arrive at the listening position at the same time. Without an auto-calibration system like YPAO to get you close, this can take quite a bit of time, effort and experimentation to achieve. Stereo speaker setup is way simpler: just place the two speakers at approximately the same distance, angle them in towards your ears, and you’re good to go. You can use fancy measuring devices and/or apps to optimize stereo speaker positioning, but any tinkering you do will affect the overall sound far less than in a surround system.
Don’t get me wrong: Surround sound is a wonderful format for experiencing music and film … when done correctly and listened to in an optimized environment. But there’s a reason why stereo has stuck around all these years: it’s still the easiest, and sometimes best way to enjoy audio.
In a recent blog post, my colleague (and blog editor) Howard Massey wrote about how to know when a recording is done. I’d like to talk about how to know when a song is done … or to put it another way, how do you know when it’s over? (No, that’s not the title of a break-up song — although it wouldn’t be a bad one. ☺)
There are some simple, pat answers: That there are no more i’s to dot or t’s to cross. That you’re pretty sure you won’t wake up the day after mastering your single and realize you dreamt of a stronger opening line.
But I think there’s more to it than that.
For songwriters, our songs are our babies. Like real babies, we want to protect them and ensure that when they go out into the world they’re ripe. Ready. Prepared to do their job. But until we set them free, they’re still a work in progress. A work that needs time to breathe, to simmer. A work that needs to be rolled over this way and that, looked at from all angles.
(And like babies, when you send your child off to college / send your song out for consideration and ask yourself, “Did I do everything exactly right?” the answer is: probably not. But they usually turn out pretty wonderful anyway.)
Here’s my real baby.
We songwriters are all too familiar with that sinking feeling when we realize we might have signed off on a song too soon — when a tastier chord progression or a more natural, unique or quirkier phrasing occurs to us after we’ve left the studio. Do we call the engineer on the way home and tell him (or her) we’re making a U-turn? Maybe. How much does that engineer love you?
I have, on more than one occasion, felt my body tense up at a certain spot in a song when playing it to a prospective artist, producer or record label. Not until that moment was the weakness so obvious. Why now? I’ve often wondered if there’s some kind of psychology to the mind pushing a boundary only after we’ve committed to the mix.
There are those whose nature it is to overthink. They can drive themselves (and their collaborators) crazy. A work-in-progress can go on indefinitely if we let it. My friend and one-time American Idol judge Kara Dioguardi once posited (and I Kara-phrase), “If it feels inspired going in, it will feel inspired coming out.” Touché. Maybe that’s enough. “Done” is so subjective!
I’ve found that mornings are an opportune time to assess a new work. Our slates are clean and batteries recharged after a night’s sleep. We can be more objective about things like: Have we left out a piece of information that will leave a listener unsatisfied? Have we included enough emotion and not just fact, so the listener can feel you, not just hear you? At the end of the day, we have no choice but to trust our instincts. The good news is that the longer you practice your craft the sharper your instincts will get.
For example, I know that, when it comes to lyrics, I over-write. I ramble. Until I stumble — usually quite randomly — on the final thought about the point I’m trying to make (something called the “sum up.”) It arrives on its own clock. Luckily, my seasoned antennae usually recognize it as a golden nugget, at which point I put my pen down (or close my laptop) and make a beeline for the fridge.
Look on the bright side. If down the line you have some buyer’s remorse, it’s not the end of the world. You’ll write another song. The thing is, you’ll never move on if you can’t put a period after your last creation.
So don’t rush to cross a finish line just because you’ve written something amazing and you’re dying to play it for everyone ASAP! Take your time. Marinate. Eventually, after reasonable consideration and assessment (and instinct!) you’re gonna have to take the damn thing out of the oven and invite some guests to dinner.
If you’ve always wanted to play music but never learned how, you’ll want to check out the new Yamaha Sonogenic SHS-500. It’s a unique new keytar (a keyboard that you hold like a guitar) that features 30 instrument sounds and the ability to connect to your smart device so you can jam along with the tunes in your music library. Best of all, when used in conjunction with the free Yamaha Chord Tracker app (available for iOS® 15.2 or higher and Android™), the Sonogenic helps you play the right notes — even if you’ve never played an instrument before!
In Part 1 of this two-part series, we’ll focus on Chord Tracker, which has plenty of powerful features, even when used on its own, without a connected Sonogenic keytar.
What It Does
Chord Tracker is a way cool app that analyzes the songs in your library and nearly instantaneously shows you the musical structure of each in the form of an easy-to-understand chord chart like this:
Here’s what you see after Chord Tracker analyzes a song.
It has its own transport controls, so you can play a song directly from the app and watch the chords change in time with the music. Icons at the bottom of the screen enable you to view piano fingering, guitar fingering or standard music notation for each chord as it plays.
Using Chord Tracker is a great way to learn songs because the app lets you slow down the music to make it easier to play — you can even change the key if you want. There’s also an AB feature that lets you specify a section of the song that will loop (play repeatedly) so you can focus on practicing specific riffs or parts:
Onscreen sliders allow you to set volume and tempo, as well as transpose the key.
Ready to get started? Read on …
Striking the Right Chord
First, download Chord Tracker from the App Store. It’s free, and is compatible with iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch as well as Android devices.
Once you’ve installed and opened Chord Tracker, you’ll be brought to the home screen:
Chord Tracker Home screen.
Tap the Music tab, and you’ll see a complete list of the playlists, artists, songs, albums and genres from your iTunes® Music library. (You can also import common audio formats like MP3 and WAV files.)
(Note: In order for Chord Tracker to recognize a song you’ve purchased on iTunes, it must be downloaded to your device from iCloud®. If the song or album you want isn’t showing up in Chord Tracker, simply go to your Music app and download it. Other music file formats can be accessed in the User Songs folder by connecting Chord Tracker to your Dropbox account. And, since the app can browse your Play Lists, you can also get songs into Chord Tracker by adding them to a playlist in iTunes.)
Chord Tracker can analyze any song in your library except for those with DRM (Digital Rights Management) protection. If you try to load a protected song, you’ll see the message “This data cannot be selected” underneath the song title. But don’t worry — most iTunes music is compatible with Chord Tracker.
After you’ve chosen a song in the Music Library screen, the app will switch to the Player screen, and you’ll see transport controls on top and a red progress bar moving from left to right that indicates that Chord Tracker is analyzing the song. Within seconds, a chord chart will appear.
Each line of the chart has the chord name and four squares, known as “Blocks.” Each Block represents a (quarter-note) beat. Each group of four Blocks represents a measure. Hit the Play button in the transport controls, and the song will start playing back, with the cursor moving along in time.
Advanced Features
Chord Tracker is designed to be easy to use, but beneath the surface there are a number of advanced features.
For example, there’s a Melody Suppressor function, which, when turned on, significantly reduces the level of the lead vocal and/or lead instrument, making it easy for you to sing along (or play along) with the song’s instrument backing tracks.
Chord Tracker’s analysis is generally quite accurate, but there may be times when you want to experiment by substituting different chords for the ones it’s detected. No problem! Simply tap the Block with the chord you want to change, then tap again to bring up a window showing you other options related to the current chord. (You can also select “Others,” which lets you replace it with any chord.) When you make your selection, you’ll hear the sound of a piano playing that chord, and you’ll see the chord change in the chart.
You can change chords or song sections from this pop-up window, shown as it appears in an iPad.
You can also copy and paste a chord from one Block to another by pressing, holding and then releasing the chord name. This will highlight the Block that the chord is in, and you’ll get the option to copy, paste or delete it:
The Bm chord (highlighted in orange) has been selected and is ready to be copied, pasted or deleted.
The same pop-up window that gives you the ability to substitute chords also allows you to change the boundaries between song sections such as verses, choruses and bridges. During its analysis, Chord Tracker automatically detects up to four of these different sections and labels each with a color-coded letter (A, B, C, D). If you want to change where the boundaries fall, simply double-tap the chord name and touch either the A, B, C, or D box. That section will then start from where you tapped and continue to the boundary for the next section.
Once you’ve got the chords and section boundaries where you want them, you can save your altered song to a Favorites folder for easy access. Next time you visit the Home screen, you’ll find that song under the Favorites tab.
Be sure to check out Part 2, where we look at how to use Chord Tracker along with the hardware half of the equation: the new Yamaha Sonogenic SHS-500 keytar.
Since marching drums are used in both indoor and outdoor environments, a well-tuned bass drum is necessary for the maximum projection of sound. Yamaha Sound Impact Strips™ are designed to eliminate unwanted overtones and create the true resonant tones that are essential for contemporary bass drum sounds.
All Yamaha Marching Bass Drums — both the 8300 Field-Corps Series and the 6300 Power-Lite Series — come with REMO™ Smooth White Ambassador drum heads installed. These heads are recommended for marching bass drums as they produce the most desirable fundamental tone and are visually effective in drill patterns.
Bass drums in a set are usually tuned a minor third to a perfect fifth apart to give a feeling of melodic movement between drums. Applying the recommended length of Yamaha Sound Impact Strips around the perimeter of the bass drum head will help you achieve the sound you desire.
Instructions
Yamaha Sound Impact Strips are packaged in 15′ rolls. These must be cut into various strip lengths depending on the size of the bass drum. Each strip should be centered from the bottom of the drum in an arced or horseshoe shape, one strip per drumhead, and applied to the drumhead next to the hoop.
Recommended Strip Sizes:
Drum Size
Length of Sound Impact Strip
Total per Drum
14″ Bass Drum
Two 14″ strips
2′ 4″
16″ Bass Drum
Two 15″ strips
2′ 6″
18″ Bass Drum
Two 17″ strips
2′ 10″
20″ Bass Drum
Two 18″ strips
3′ 0″
22″ Bass Drum
Two 30″ strips
5′ 0″
24″ Bass Drum
Two 38″ strips
6′ 4″
26″ Bass Drum
Two 55″ strips
9′ 2″
28″ Bass Drum
Two 58″ strips
9′ 8″
30″ Bass Drum
Two 75″ strips
12′ 6″
32″ Bass Drum
Two 100″ strips
16′ 8″
Note that, depending upon the desired pitch of the bass drum, these recommended strip sizes may over-muffle the bass drum. If this is the case, reduce the strip size on each drumhead in small increments until your desired sound is achieved. (Do this either indoors or outdoors, depending upon your ensemble type.)
Carefully planned tuning and dampening are critical to the development of your percussion section and can help increase the musical effectiveness of the entire band and percussion ensemble. There are limitless combinations of pitches and tuning variations, with endless ways to muffle and dampen. The ones you choose will depend upon on your style and personal preference.
Click here for more information about Yamaha Sound Impact Strips.
One of the biggest challenges for every worship team is that many of the people participating in the service are not professional performers and therefore don’t have much experience using microphones. In this video, Yamaha product manager John Schauer shares tips for coaching inexperienced worshippers so they feel comfortable handling and using microphones, demonstrating two simple methods for correctly positioning handheld mics and describing multi-microphone placement techniques for capturing the sound of choirs. Also included is an explanation of the all-important “3 to 1” rule that dictates optimum placement when using more than one microphone on vocal ensembles, drums or piano.
Click hereto find out more about Yamaha professional audio products.
In Part 1 of this two-part article, we talked about Hi-Fi receivers. Now let’s shift the focus to AV receivers, which live up to the acronym in their name by supporting multiple audio formats (including surround sound) as well as video formats. Most AV receivers handle everything a Hi-Fi receiver can — plus a whole lot more.
If you have a home theater system, an AV receiver is a must for distributing video to your TV, video monitor or projector, and the audio to your multichannel speaker system.
What Goes In
The back of an AV receiver typically offers a collection of connectors that make the back of a Hi-Fi receiver look simple. For one thing, it will likely include multiple HDMI® inputs for connecting video devices such as cable or satellite TV boxes, game consoles, Blu-ray/DVD players and/or streaming devices such as Roku™ or Apple TV®. For example, the Yamaha RX-V685 receiver has five HDMI inputs and two HDMI outputs:
Rear panel of the Yamaha RX-V685.
When several video sources are plugged in, you can use the receiver, or its remote control, to select which input you see on your screen.
Other inputs you’re likely to find on an AV receiver include those for analog video formats such as component video and composite video, along with their accompanying audio ports, all of which are usually on RCA connectors. Although almost all video today is digital, these legacy ports are useful for supporting older devices (such as VHS players) that were manufactured when analog video was the standard.
On the audio side, AV receivers typically offer line-level audio inputs for devices like CD players, and many (including the RX-V685) even have phono inputs — which we discussed in Part 1 — for connecting a turntable such as the Yamaha TT-S303. You’ll also usually find coaxial inputs of the digital variety, which offer another option for audio input from external devices.
Not all the connections are on the back, however. In addition to a headphone jack, the front panel of most AV receivers will provide an input for connecting devices such as smartphones, tablets and laptops as well as a USB input for plugging in a storage device with music files on it, such as a flash drive. The reason these jacks are on the front is that they’re more likely to be used for temporary connections to devices rather than permanent ones, so accessibility is of greater importance.
YPAO (Yamaha Parametric room Acoustic Optimizer)-equipped Yamaha AV receivers such as the RX-485 also provide a front panel jack for their included microphone. This feature allows you to automatically tune your system based on the acoustics of your room.
The front panel of the Yamaha RX-V485 includes an input for the YPAO mic.
On the Network
It’s important for an AV receiver to be able to connect to the internet via your home network — a necessity for streaming online content. A network connection also lets you access music libraries and other content you have on your mobile devices or home computers.
Yamaha AV receivers like the RX-V485, RX-V685 and many others give you both wired and wireless network options: You can either connect directly from your router via an Ethernet cable plugged into the Network jack on the back of the receiver, or you can connect via Wi-Fi.
Another wireless format that some contemporary AV receivers support (including many Yamaha models) is Bluetooth®. This kind of connection allows you to stream music wirelessly from smartphones, tablets, laptops and other devices into your receiver and then route it to your speakers. The RX-V485 and RX-V685 offer not only this kind of input but Bluetooth output as well, for sending music to your headphones and earbuds.
There’s actually another type of wireless reception that most AV receivers support, though it may appear a little less obvious: AM and FM radio. Like Hi-Fi models, AV receivers will also typically include external antennas to improve radio reception.
On the Outs
Now let’s look at what makes these receivers really special: their ability to send incoming video to your TV or projector in up to 4K resolution, as well as decode and amplify incoming audio and route it to the correct speakers in your surround sound setup.
Nowadays, there are many different surround formats. Not all AV receivers can handle all of them. For example, the RX-V485 supports up to 5.1 surround sound (front left, right and center speakers, rear left and right and a subwoofer — the “.1” in the equation), while the RX-V685 gives you up to 7.2 surround, which adds two additional rear speakers and another subwoofer to the 5.1 configuration. It also supports two kinds of “immersive” surround sound: DTS:X™ and Dolby Atmos® (which adds elevated speakers so that some sounds come from above you).
Speaker placement for a 5.1 surround sound system
Many Yamaha AV receivers are also equipped with a feature called Cinema DSP, which is a digital processing system that simulates a selection of 3D sound spaces, optimized for a variety of categories in both video and music. For the former, you can choose from simulations for Adventure, Drama and Sci-Fi content, among many others. For music, the options include a Vienna music hall, the Roxy Theater and the Bottom Line (a former New York music club). Even if you only have stereo speakers, you can simulate surround with the Virtual Cinema DSP feature offered by many Yamaha receivers.
Amped Up
As we discussed in Part 1, Hi-Fi receivers are designed to provide amplification for the left and right speakers of a stereo system. The amplification sections of AV receivers have to be much more complex and powerful in order to drive the six or more speakers in a surround system.
With so many speakers and so many connectors, you might think connecting the speaker cables for a surround system would be a difficult and confusing task. Fortunately, most receivers have well-labeled output jacks on the rear panel, and as long as you connect the correct speaker to the proper jack, you shouldn’t have any problems. Yamaha offers a free mobile app called AV Setup Guide to help you get your system up and running:
The Yamaha AV Setup Guide app makes it easy to configure your system.
Many Yamaha AV receivers, including the RX-V685, RX-V485, AVENTAGE 1080 and AVENTAGE 3080, come with wireless remote controls that allow you to operate all their features from the comfort of your easy chair. They also all support the Yamaha MusicCastsystem, which lets you use wireless powered speakers for cable-free stereo or surround systems — even multi-room ones!
If you’re looking to create a versatile system that can play video and audio in all the popular formats, a quality AV receiver is essential. By allowing the interconnection and integration of virtually any type of consumer video or audio gear, it enables you to create a powerful home theater system that will keep you entertained for many years to come.
Clickhere for more information about Yamaha AV receivers.
Most creative projects have their genesis in inspiration. You have an experience so profound it begs to be shared with the world; you read something so impactful it stays with you long after the last page is turned; you encounter a wonder of nature or a painting so moving it brings tears to your eyes; you hear a piece of music that touches your soul.
So the way things start is usually pretty clear. But how do you know when your work is complete?
This is a topic that’s long interested me, because a defining characteristic of most creative folks is that they are never satisfied. That song you’ve written? That track you mixed? Never done. Not really. Sure, there are deadlines and other imperatives that force you to “finish” your work and move on (there are plenty of artists who will tell you, “I didn’t really finish the record — the clock finished the record”), but there’s always that little nagging feeling in the back of your mind: I could have done more. I could have done a better job.
In my years as a music journalist, when I was interviewing well-known record producers and recording engineers, it was a question I would ask often. The answers would fascinate me. They were frequently variations on a theme (“you feel it instinctively” was the gist of it), but the subtle shadings of their responses help explain why the choice of producer/engineer can be so critical to the way a record turns out — in some cases, even more so than the vision of the songwriter or the artist themselves.
Bruce Swedien.
“You can’t overthink things too much,” veteran engineer Bruce Swedien told me. Swedien, who crafted dozens of hits for Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson, recalled that “Quincy used to call it ‘paralysis through analysis.’ A record is done when the music feels complete, when the song has successfully made its musical statement. It’s done when I feel that, no matter who I play this recording for, they will get it. I know that people have a problem letting go. But there is a point where the music will say, ‘Get your ass outta here; I don’t need you any more.’”
Sylvia Massy.
Engineer Sylvia Massy, who cut her teeth with Prince and has since worked with everyone from Johnny Cash to Tom Petty to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, shared a little more detail. “As soon as it gets real crowded,” she said, “you’ve gone over the line. A production needs negative space as much as it needs space to be filled up. As long as you have left a pocket here and there, you’re doing okay. Simplicity always seems to be better when you’re talking about musical parts, so as soon as it feels claustrophobic, you might want to simplify it a bit.”
Andy Bradfield.
British engineer Andy Bradfield, who specializes in movie soundtracks, referred to the oft-quoted (at least in recording studios) Law of Diminishing Returns, which states that once you get past a certain point, things start to go downhill from there. “You have to ask yourself if you achieved what you’d hoped to achieve,” Andy added. “You can carry on past that point but experience tells you that things will just get worse, not better. You sometimes know when you’ve done one overdub too many when you ask yourself, ‘Do we really need this part?’”
John Leckie.
Perhaps things were summed up best by Radiohead producer John Leckie, who made the following observation: “At the end of the day, all you want out of a finished record is to hear everything. The worst thing is when [the musical elements] start getting obscured. People will turn the music off when it’s a strain to hear what’s going on. It’s like watching a film that’s been shot in darkness so you can’t see what the actors are doing.”
Focus. Openness. And above all, clarity. Once you achieve those goals in your creative endeavors, that’s the time to move on to the next great project.
Photos courtesy of Rowman & Littlefield, Andy Bradfield and John Leckie.
We’ve written before about how Surround:AI™, the breakthrough artificial intelligence technology in many Yamaha AV receivers, can enhance horror movies, but this time we’re going to dive a little deeper into the technology aspect for all you propellerheads out there.
In a nutshell, Surround:AI analyzes and optimizes the DSP parameters for each scene of a movie five times per second. That means instantaneously analyzing each scene in real time, focusing on distinct sound elements (such as dialogue, background music, ambient sounds and sound effects), and automatically optimizing the overall surround effect for your home theater.
Let’s take a look at how it works. The illustration below shows the audio for a scene in which there is dialogue only, with no background music or sound effects. DSP processing keeps the audio primarily in the center channel, so that the dialogue is clear and intelligible with no unnatural echo:
Dialogue on the center channel.
In your home theater, the sound field is confined to the center channel, as shown in the purple area in the illustration below. This keeps the focus on the actors’ on-screen performance.
Here, the sound field is primarily dialogue coming from the center speaker.
In the next scene, background music is added to the left and right channels. Additional processing produces spacious front effects, while the dialogue remains focused in the center:
Background music is added on the left and right channels.
As shown by the purple area in the illustration below, the sound field in your home theater now expands to include the left and right front speakers, allowing the background music to accentuate the emotion in the dialogue:
Background music comes from the left and right front speakers.
In the next scene, sound comes from behind you and requires additional rear processing on the left and right surround channels. Note that the dialogue remains prominent on the center channel:
Surround effects on left and right surround channels.
With full 360 degree surround, the sound field feels naturally larger and enveloping, as shown below:
The sound field fills the room.
In the final scene, all channels are involved, providing effects such as explosions, crashes and shouting. As shown in the illustration below, enveloping DSP processing is applied to all channels:
All channels engaged.
As shown below, your home theater is cooking on all burners now, with the most immersive surround sound experience possible:
Fully enveloping sound.
Best of all, Surround:AI is easy to use. It doesn’t require changing multiple settings on multiple screens every time you sit down to watch TV. Just press the AI button on your AV receiver’s remote and enjoy your favorite TV shows, movies and sports events for a home theater experience that’s worth staying home for.
Click here for more information about Yamaha AV receivers.
It’s the night of the beginning band concert, and the curtain will go up soon. You’re back stage shepherding all of your students, who are bubbling with nervous excitement, to their chairs.
Then, from the rear of the ensemble one of your trumpetsraises his hand and says, “My valves are sticky – can you help me oil them?”
This could never happen because all beginning band students have received extensive training on how to properly care for their instruments, right? All of your brass players know how to oil their own valves, right? Unfortunately, all too often, this is not the case. To help clear up some of the mystery, here is our official Yamaha-approved method to oiling brass instrument piston valves.
Valve oil needs to go directly on the widest part of the piston.
Step 1: You’ll need both hands free, so place the instrument someplace that it can safely stay put with the valves easily accessible. Sitting in a chair with the instrument on your lap is a good choice – if you’re worried about oil dripping on your pants, put a towel or rag underneath the instrument to catch the drips.
Step 2: Unscrew the top of the valve oil bottle and set the cap aside. It may seem silly, but it’s a lot easier to do this now rather than after the next step!
Step 3: Starting with the first valve, fully unscrew the cap at the top of the valve until it comes loose. Then, with one hand gently slide the entire piston assembly up until you can see the wide silvery-gray portion of the valve body. The piston doesn’t need to come all the way out of the instrument – as long as you can see the top of that wide area, you’ve pulled it out far enough.
CAUTION: the piston can be easily damaged if it’s dropped or banged against something, so be very careful while it’s unscrewed and exposed!
Step 4: Place several drops of oil around the top of that silvery-gray area and allow it to run down the side of the piston and into the valve casing. Don’t be afraid to use more oil than you think is necessary – any excess will drain out the bottom of the valve and will help keep the instrument clean by washing out dirt, bits of food, saliva or any other debris that may have found its way onto the valves.
Step 5: Carefully slide the piston back down
into the casing, making sure that everything is still lined up the way it
started. For Yamaha trumpets, you will see the valve number stamped into the
metal near the top of the piston – this number should be facing toward the
mouthpiece, so that if you were playing the instrument you would be able to
read it. Depending on the instrument, there may also be an audible “click” as
the piston guide locks into place, so listen for that click as a good sign that
everything is where it should be. Once the piston is lowered all the way, screw
the top cap back into place until it is tight.
Step 6: Repeat steps 3 to 5 for the rest of
the valves.
Step 7: Once all the valves are back in
place, work all of the pistons up and down a few times to help spread the oil
around. This is also a good time to blow some air through the instrument to
make sure everything was put back together correctly – do this once with all
the valves open, and then again with all the valves pressed down. If the air
feels blocked or restricted, go back to step 5 and re-check each valve to make
sure each piston is lined up correctly.
Do NOT put oil down the valve stem or through the bottom vent holes.
I’ll confess that when I first started playing a valved instrument, I developed a few bad oiling habits because no one had taught me the proper way to oil valves. The first was dripping oil down the top valve stem without unscrewing the caps. At the time, I didn’t know that there was felt underneath the stem that was absorbing all the oil, so the oil never got where it needed to go.
The second bad habit was squirting oil through the vent holes in the bottom valve caps. While some oil might have found its way to the proper place, I didn’t realize just how filthy the bottom caps can get since they’re like a lint trap collecting all the dirt and debris that drips down from the pistons. Any oil that did make it onto the piston would have picked up some of that debris and put it right back where you don’t want it.
Unscrewing the caps may seem like a complicated process, but even a beginning student can learn to do this with a minimum amount of instruction and practice. My own son started playing trumpet in 6th grade, and he had no problems learning to safely oil his valves by this method. It’s also the best way to guarantee that the oil is getting right onto the sides of the piston where it will do the most good.
Spend a few minutes with your brass players to teach them this process – they’ll be self-sufficient and you’ll have fewer stuck valves to worry about!
We recently ran a series of articles here on the blog in which I introduced the elements that I believe should be a part of every snare drum warm-up. This posting will wrap things up for you, but before you continue, please read the previous posts to familiarize yourself with the key components:
1. Take 10-15 minutes to complete. (This exercise takes approximately 11 minutes.) Any longer and I probably wouldn’t do it every day.
2. Warm up my muscles and continue to build my technique.
3. Be flexible so I could adapt and change it over time as needed, based on the repertoire I am preparing.
I also created a play-along video on YouTube for this warm-up that you can find here. Here’s a brief description of each line in the routine:
A) 8 on a Hand “Cloned”: This classic exercise gives the hands and wrists a chance to move and gets the blood flowing to your extremities. Make sure to start at a slow tempo and use a big range of motion to get the muscles loose.
B) Singles (with Metronome Speed Up): Now that the blood is flowing, it’s time to do some singles. If you follow the YouTube video, the speed is increased by 2 BPM every time the exercise is repeated. This allows you to start slow and increase the speed gradually throughout the routine.
C) Paradiddles: This is the first time I start to use my arms as I do a wrist lift to execute the accents. Be careful with the stickings. The exercise starts with triple paradiddles.
D) Flams: I go back to 8 on a hand and add flams at the beginning. This also introduces a down stroke on the last eighth note of each measure.
E) More Flams: Now that you are halfway through the warm-up, it’s time to work on grace notes with the 4 flam rudiments that are in the Wilcoxin Rudimental books.
F) Rolls: I like to work on double and triple/multiple bounce rolls during my warm-ups so I can work on my fine motor skills. I generally do these exercises for 30 seconds and then switch hands. Make sure that once you start you don’t change the tempo.
G) Long Rolls: While long rolls are not difficult, it is important to remember to relax.
Once you have completed this routine, make sure you shake out your wrists and do some light stretching. Good luck and keep those warm-ups going!
With its remarkable capacity for expression and a sonic range unmatched by any other musical instrument, the piano has long played a major role in the sound of ensembles and bands performing everything from classical music through to jazz and rock. But with the rise in popularity of rock music (and all its related subgenres), the music industry was in desperate need of a piano that could hold its own with the explosive sounds of the electric guitar and could also be quickly and easily set up on stages both indoor and out.
The instrument developed to address this need was aptly christened the “stage piano,” the most well-known of which were the Yamaha CP70 and CP80 electric grand pianos. First introduced in the mid-1970s, they were used widely on records and in concert by major artists for more than a decade — and some even still use them to this day!
Yamaha CP80 and CP70.
Of course, technology has advanced by leaps and bounds since the ’70s, and now the time has come for the rebirth of the stage piano. With the release of the CP73 and CP88, Yamaha designers have reimagined the instrument from the fundamentals up.
Great Sound
Sound is, of course, the most important part of any musical instrument. The CP73 and CP88 stage pianos feature a wide variety of grand piano, upright piano, electric piano and keyboard sounds — including an extraordinarily dynamic CP80 sound — for playing any music genre. There are also synth sounds, including split, layer or solo warm pads, lush strings, deep synth basses, synth leads, brass and more, plus Virtual Circuitry Modeling of vintage effects and high-end studio signal processors.
Authentic Touch
The CP73 and CP88 also offer an authentic touch — something of paramount importance to keyboardists everywhere. The CP73 features a newly-designed 73-key balanced action that provides an electric piano feel, with an “E-to-E” keyboard perfect for playing in bands with guitar and bass. The full 88-key CP88 model provides pianists with a tactile response almost indistinguishable from acoustic pianos, with graded weighting that reproduces the feel of a piano’s hammers — heavy in the low end and light in the high end — and Natural Wood keys with synthetic ebony and ivory key tops that are lightly porous, which adds grip to the keys and helps maintain accuracy during long performances or practice sessions; it also enables grand piano-like key repetition, where notes can be re-articulated without a complete release. This makes it easier to play fast, repeated notes and is one of the main reasons pianists choose grand pianos over uprights.
Innovative Design
One of the most important features of the CP73 and CP88 is a user-friendly control interface that puts everything at the player’s fingertips and allows real-time interaction for instant sound creation: no programming, menu-diving or web searching required.
Both models are designed to withstand the rigors of the road, yet are among the lightest and most compact stage pianos anywhere: The CP88 weighs in at just 41 pounds, while the compact CP73 weighs only 28.9 pounds. Optional soft cases are available, with wheels and zippered compartments for storing pedals and accessories.
Check Out the Videos
Click here for more information about the Yamaha CP73 and CP88.
From the early days of audio recording and production, the name Rupert Neve has been inextricably linked with quality sound. Neve is a true recording technology pioneer fully deserving of the description “living legend.” The sound of Neve-designed equipment has been a huge part of countless iconic recordings for decades, and it continues to captivate listeners and inspire artists to this very day.
Rupert Neve.
The collaboration between Yamaha and Neve began in 2009, when a Yamaha design team headed up by Dr. Toshifumi Kunimoto (better known as “Dr. K”) visited Rupert in Wimberley, Texas to discuss creating software emulations of the Portico 5033 5-band EQ and Portico 5043 compressor. After two years of critical listening and development, the very first Rupert Neve Designs™ plugins were approved by Rupert and released by Steinberg™ to much acclaim. These plugins were also integrated into Yamaha CL Series consoles, and thus made available to live sound engineers working entirely in the digital realm.
Also discussed at that initial meeting were Rupert’s classic modules — specifically, his 1970s and 1980s EQs and dynamics processors — and their hallmark transformer saturation properties. With the release of the Yamaha Rivage PM10 in 2016, emulations of these vintage EQs (the Rupert EQ 773 and EQ 810), compressors (the Rupert Comp 754 and Comp 830), and the SILK feature from Rupert Neve Designs’ Portico II Series were integrated into a digital console for the very first time.
In addition, the Rupert Neve Designs 5045 Primary Source Enhancer is distributed by Yamaha. This revolutionary signal processor is capable of reducing unwanted signal well in excess of 20dB—a boon to live sound engineers coping with background sounds bleeding into mics. By simply reducing the background sounds relative to the main audio source, a high degree of clarity is achieved as well as additional gain before feedback.
In 2018, two Steinberg interfaces incorporating Rupert Neve Designs transformers were announced: the UR-RT2 (with two such transformers) and the UR-RT4 (which has four of them). Both models deliver the legendary, high-end Neve studio sound from real hardware, without software emulation — a landmark development for a truly mobile audio interface. These transformers are renowned for their highly musical and expressive sound with rich harmonics — especially beneficial for vocals, acoustic guitar and other instruments with a broad dynamic range.
And now there’s the Steinberg AXR4: a groundbreaking audio interface that provides four hybrid mic preamps designed by Yamaha that combine accurate component-level digital modeling of transformer-based preamplifier circuitry from Rupert Neve Designs with top-quality analog, similar in concept to those in the PM10. What’s more, these preamps incorporate SILK processing — another innovation from Rupert Neve Designs. This function enhances recorded sound with the same type of natural compression and saturation achieved by vintage audio equipment designed by Rupert Neve. The AXR4 offers two SILK modes: The “Red” mode emphasizes mid to high frequency harmonics for extra presence and sparkle, while the “Blue” mode focuses on low to mid frequency harmonics for a full, rich sound. There’s even a Texture knob to adjust the strength of SILK processing.
SILK controls on the Steinberg AXR4.
For more than a decade, these two pioneering companies have been working together to create the perfect blend of vintage and modern technology. That’s the true connection between Yamaha and Rupert Neve Designs.
Click herefor more information about the Steinberg AXR4.
Ever since the explosion of YouTube™, hopeful piano players everywhere have made a practice of searching for videos of pianists performing their favorite songs so they can learn to play by watching. These videos vary in terms of sophistication, but generally are shot with a camera mounted above the keyboard so viewers can see which fingers are used and which notes to play:
More advanced videos add visuals reminiscent of old player piano rolls, making it possible to see electronically which notes are “coming down the pike.” This allows viewers to anticipate the order and timing of notes in the song:
Now Yamaha and the developers of the popular flowkey app have combined their efforts to drastically improve this methodology. flowkey includes score notation, a “wait” feature and right/left hand selection. Combined with the newest Yamaha CSP Clavinova models, which feature Stream Lights above the keys, the two companies have created a system that can best be described as YouTube learning on steroids.
flowkey allows students of all levels (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Pro) to learn songs interactively. Versions are available for many platforms, including iOS and Android™, as well as Macintosh/Windows (running the Chrome browser), and the app works with any acoustic/digital piano or keyboard.
Simply select your level of play and choose a song (subscription required). You are then presented with scrolling sheet music below a video of an instructor’s hands performing the song on an 88-note piano keyboard. Additional teaching aids are visible, such as special orange video highlighting the pressed keys and note names above each key:
Now comes the best part. With YouTube, things are not really interactive: if you miss a note, the video and music keeps playing. With flowkey, if you select “Flow Mode” for either the right or left hand, the instrument waits for you to play the correct notes before proceeding. This is huge: if you miss a note, it shows you which note you missed on both the screen keyboard and on the scrolling score:
What’s even more amazing is that this “wait” functionality is available using any keyboard or acoustic piano. In its most simple form, the app uses the microphone built into the smart device or computer running flowkey and then figures out what notes you are playing by “listening” to the audio. (For the techies, this uses an “analog to digital converter” to convert audio sounds into MIDI notes.) Using a microphone is surprisingly accurate, although not perfect. For example, repeated notes sometimes get lost when you hold down notes and the music proceeds, even though you didn’t actually repeat the note.
If you want to improve the accuracy to 100% and are using a digital instrument equipped with MIDI (most are), a better option is to use a Bluetooth® MIDI adapter or a cable to provide the MIDI data directly to flowkey — something I find to be much more satisfying than relying on the microphone. You can even do this wirelessly by using a device such as the Yamaha UD-BT01 (which uses a USB port) or the MD-BT01 (which uses MIDI ports).
The ultimate setup is a combination of flowkey and a CSP Clavinova. Simply place an iPad® or iPhone® on the Clavinova’s music rack and you have the most sophisticated interactive learning system available today — much better, in my opinion, than any YouTube experience.
There are numerous CSP models, including the CSP-170 and CSP-150:
All CSP Clavinova models not only have one light above the keys for teaching (called “Guide Lamps”) but four lights per key, called “Stream Lights.” These Stream Lights create a similar experience to a piano roll effect, but are located directly above the actual keys of the Clavinova piano: very direct, very clear:
To use flowkey on an iOS device with a CSP Clavinova, simply use the power cable supplied by Apple® for your iPhone or iPad and plug it directly into the CSP “To Device” port located just behind the music rack on the right:
This enables flowkey to access the Stream Lights directly above the notes on the Clavinova keyboard. (Note that Stream Lights can only be accessed via this wired cable connection.)
This also provides a direct connection between the notes on the scrolling sheet music in the app and the 88 notes of the CSP Clavinova keyboard. And if Flow Mode (the “wait” mode described above) is activated, the lights stop advancing when a note is missed, and missed notes start to blink. At the same time, you can see the notes that are coming up soon in the music, so you can anticipate where to place your hands. These notes will NOT be blinking:
After this connection is made, when you first select a song in flowkey, you will see all 88 Guide Lamps on the CSP Clavinova momentarily flash in series, indicating that the Stream Lights have been activated:
To check this connection, select the “GEARS” icon in the top right-hand corner of the flowkey screen and you will see a new option appear called “Activate Yamaha Stream Lights” (or “Deactivate Yamaha Stream Lights”). The app is able to automatically sense whether a CSP Clavinova is connected or not, and you can toggle the Stream Lights on or off at any time:
This exciting new collaboration between Yamaha and flowkey provides an extraordinary implementation of complementary technologies: the authentic piano touch, tone and pedals of the Clavinova with a state-of-the-art teaching app. The end result is that anyone can now learn notes, chords and songs interactively while receiving instant feedback from videos, digital highlighting, note names and streaming lights above the keys on the physical keyboard being played. In other words, the best of both worlds!
There’s no place like home. With its familiar sights, sounds and smells, home means comfort. When you travel, you can bring some of those comforts with you – a photograph of loved ones, your favorite cologne or aftershave, a delicious snack from the kitchen.
But what about sound?
The good news is that you’re not without options when it comes to bringing familiar audio with you wherever your travels may take you … thanks to something Yamaha calls True Sound: sound as it was meant to be heard by the artist, the producer, the composer, the creators.
Even if it’s not labeled as “portable,” your wireless speaker doesn’t need to be confined to your home, as long as you plan accordingly. Here are some tips for taking True Sound with you on your next journey.
Bring the Party with You
Ever get invited to a party, family function or work event where you think they may need an assist when it comes to sound? Ever have those suspicions confirmed when you arrive and find that the sound system is lacking? (Maybe the biggest speaker in the room is the one in your smartphone!)
That’s no way to enjoy music.
Bringing the party with you is the best way to share and enjoy True Sound, and it’s easier than you think. All you need is a wireless speaker or two, electricity and a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth® connection. (Wi-Fi usually works best.) Just plug in and connect, and you could be streaming your favorite music in no time, impressing friends, family and co-workers.
Packing and Transport
If you’ve kept the original box your wireless speaker(s) came in, the task of packing your True Sound system will be quite easy. If not, you’ll be able to find replacement packing material with a little resourcefulness. Alternatively, try and find a box that’s slightly larger than the speaker(s) but has enough room to put in packing material like Styrofoam, bubble wrap or even a blanket — anything to ensure that it won’t rattle around during transport. If you’re taking an overnight road trip, wrap the speaker in a blanket and tightly pack it in a separate bag to ensure complete protection.
Placement and Setup
Once you arrive at your destination, perform some quick reconnaissance on potential locations for your speakers, noting the space needed and proximity to an electrical outlet. The Yamaha MusicCast 20 wireless speaker, for example, has a width of 5-7/8 inches and a depth of 5-1/8 inches. If you’re bringing a larger model like the Yamaha MusicCast 50, you’ll need a little more space (its width is 15-3/4 inches, with a depth of 7-7/8 inches). Note that these particular speakers are intended for indoor use, and the power strip or wall outlet should be within 10 feet. If you’re using a different speaker, be sure to find out how long its power cord is prior to picking your setup location.
Once you’ve picked your spot, plug in, connect to the local Wi-Fi and fire it up. You could also connect via Bluetooth or Airplay®, in the event Wi-Fi is unknown or inaccessible. Start by playing music you’re familiar with so you can see how the speaker sounds at different volumes. If you can place it close to a wall or corner, that’s always a good idea since it allows the sound to bounce off the walls and have a better chance at filling the room.
Click here for more information about Yamaha True Sound.
Every January, the entire musical instruments industry — manufacturers, dealers, artists, fans and the merely curious — convenes in Anaheim, California for the annual NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show. It’s quite an event. A wide assortment of music-related products and technologies are put on display, orders are placed for the coming year, autographs are gathered, and concerts and parties run long into the night.
If you weren’t able to make it to the 2019 extravaganza, these were some of the hottest new offerings from Yamaha.
Sonogenic SHS500 keytar
The Sonogenic SHS-500 is a “keytar”— a musical keyboard that can be held like a guitar — that enables anyone to play their favorite songs, regardless of musical ability. It can be used in conjunction with the free Yamaha Chord Tracker app (available for iOS® 15.2 or higher and Android™), which analyzes the music library residing in your smart device and then sends data directly to the instrument via wireless MIDI over Bluetooth® so that keys on the SHS-500 trigger only the correct chords — and any soloing notes that go with them.
The SHS-500 can also be used to wirelessly control software-based synths and virtual instruments on a laptop computer or mobile smart device, plus it comes with 30 high-quality Voices (including piano, synths, and two drum kits) for stand-alone playing. Wheels and buttons along the neck provide pitch-bend, modulation, octave shifting, key transposition, playback control and more.
YVN Model 3 violin
The YVN Model 3 violin represents a major step forward in stringed instruments for developing players and school music programs. Drawing upon advanced building methods first developed for Yamaha percussion and wind instruments, the Model 3 is constructed with the tight tolerances normally associated with much more expensive, luthier-built models. These improvements allow the violin to sing with a rich tone while maintaining student-proof durability — all at an affordable price. Among its innovations is a proprietary graduated spruce top that offers exceptional tone and resonance for a student violin, as well as a new laser cutting technique that uses resin to create handsome inlaid purfling. The YVN Model 3 outfit includes a bow and sturdy shaped ABS case.
CP73 and CP88 stage pianos
The new 73-key CP73 and 88-key CP88 represent a radical reinvention of the digital stage piano, with three main sections that can quickly be split or combined as desired: Piano, Electric Piano, and Sub. Both models include voices sampled from the Yamaha CFX and Bösendorfer Imperial grand pianos, Yamaha U1 upright, CP80 electric grand and other instruments, including strings, pads, organs and chromatic percussion. Also provided is a rotary speaker simulation, as well as synth-like attack and release controls, plus tempo-syncable delay, lush reverb and a three-band global master EQ. The CP73 offers a Balanced Hammer action, while the CP88 features a Natural Wood triple sensor action as well as Synthetic Ebony and Ivory key tops to increase finger grip. Balanced XLR outs allow connection to a mixer or stage snake without direct boxes, and there are left and right 1/4″ inputs with their own gain control, allowing a second keyboard to be heard through the CP’s main outputs without the need for a mixer.
CG-TA and CSF-TA guitars
Yamaha first introduced its groundbreaking TransAcoustic technology in 2016 with the premium LL-TA and LS-TA models, Now, with the introduction of the CG-TA and CSF-TA, TransAcoustic comes to classical and parlor guitars. Like other TA models, they incorporate an actuator hidden inside the guitar that senses the vibrations of the strings, enhances them, and conveys them back to the body and the air in and around the guitar to create authentic reverb and chorusing … with no need for external amplification or effects devices.
The CG-TA is based on the popular, mid-priced CG162, part of the CG/CGX line of classical nylon-string guitars. It features an Engelmann spruce top and a body of ovangkol, an attractive rosewood relative with excellent tonal properties. The CSF-TA provides the affordability, portability and premium sound and construction of the Yamaha CSF line of parlor guitars. It offers a scalloped bracing to boost tone and projection and has a solid Sitka spruce top mated to laminated mahogany back and sides, nato neck, rosewood fingerboard and bridge, and abalone rosette. The 20-fret fingerboard sports a 600 mm (23.7″) scale length to offer easy playing without compromising the instrument’s range. Both models include a SYSTEM70 TransAcoustic + SRT Piezo pickup system.
MODX synthesizer
For over 40 years, from the DX7 to the MOTIF and MONTAGE, Yamaha synthesizers have inspired sound designers the world over. Now there’s MODX+, a new synth with the DNA of MONTAGE plus upgraded sound engines and expression control, all in a compact, mobile and lightweight package. There are three models to choose from: The 61-note MODX6+, perfect for synthesists seeking the dynamic sound of modern Frequency Modulation (FM-X) synthesis; keyboardists looking for realistic piano, electric piano, strings, brass and other imitative sounds will appreciate the versatility and expanded range of the 76-key MODX7+; and pianists needing a realistic piano touch and sound will be inspired by the MODX8+, with its 88 graded and weighted keys.
AvantGrand N1X piano
In 2009, Yamaha debuted AvantGrand, the world’s first digital acoustic “hybrid” instruments that successfully captured the sound, touch, action and physical resonance of a concert-quality grand piano … but without the tuning, cost or footprint of a comparable stringed instrument. The newest model to join the lineup is the N1X, an affordable second-generation instrument housed in a space-saving, vertical-style modern cabinet. It features samples of the Yamaha CFX and Bösendorfer Imperial grand pianos — even a binaural CFX optimized for listening through headphones — recorded at multiple velocity layers for seamless transitions, with extended dynamic and harmonic range suitable for all genres of music. In addition, Virtual Resonance Modeling (VRM) captures every detail of how the internal components of an acoustic piano vibrate in response to struck notes, including sympathetic string resonance, damper pedal resonance and the natural resonance of the soundboard.
Employing real wooden keys and hammers, the action of the N1X is the same as that of a grand piano, but with non-contact optical key sensors that detect every nuance of the player’s timing, velocity, legato and other musical techniques. The end result is a playing experience virtually indistinguishable from that of sitting at a top-notch concert grand. The N1X also provides an advanced four-channel speaker system that sends subtly different frequency information to each channel’s speaker so that the sound “blooms” from the instrument in the same manner as from a concert grand piano. Via Bluetooth, songs from a computer or mobile device can be wirelessly streamed through the speaker system, and the N1X’s onboard audio recording system even enables playback of downloaded song files.
Live Custom Hybrid Oak drum sets
The new Yamaha Live Custom Hybrid Oak series drum sets provide drummers with an enhanced and expanded sonic range, from powerful attack to low fundamental tones. Employing the hybrid shell construction from the acclaimed PHX series, the LCHO’s 7-ply shells are constructed with a phenolic ply between the oak plies, giving players more shell life, sustain and dynamic range. To cut unnecessary frequencies and boost low tones, Yamaha developed a new process called Bass Drum Frequency Control weight. This introduces dark chrome Absolute lug weights strategically placed inside the bass drum to provide a stronger low-end. Other features include a YESS III Tom Mount to allow the shells to vibrate more freely, as well as durable dark chrome lugs and hoops, plus Remo U.S. heads.
Live Custom Hybrid Oak snare drums in the 14″ x 5.5″ edition include high carbon steel 25-strand snare wires. Their hybrid shells allow for maximum protection and sensitivity, giving the classic cutting tone that comes with oak wood. The series features five new unique uzukuri finishes: UZU Ice Sunburst, UZU Magma Sunburst, UZU Natural, UZU Earth Sunburst and UZU Charcoal Sunburst.
Yamaha Live Custom Hybrid Oak drum set in UZU Ice Sunburst finish.
YFL-597H / YFL-697H / YFL-797H professional flutes
High school, college and professional level flutists will all appreciate the trio of new Yamaha flutes shown at NAMM: the YFL-597H, YFL-697H and YFL-797H. All three offer rich, nuanced tonality over a wide dynamic range, along with sterling craftsmanship, consistency, precision and visual elegance. The 597H and 697H models combine the brilliance of nickel silver with the characteristic mellow timbres of sterling silver, while the 797H delivers the warmth and expressive color that only the finest sterling silver flutes can provide.
The new instruments feature a newly-redesigned mechanism incorporating a split E key, a vital component now available as an option on all Yamaha professional flutes. Other highlights include a beautiful hand-finished sterling silver head joint on all models, and 0.43mm wall thickness and Straubinger Phoenix™ pads (in the 600 and 700 series), which provide a precise seal and quick response, especially when combined with newly redesigned tone holes and pad cups.
Yamaha YFL-797H professional flute.
TR-8310ZII(S) Custom Z trumpet
NAMM also saw the introduction of the TR-8310ZII — the second generation of the popular Yamaha Custom Z trumpet. The original Custom Z, released in 2001, was borne out of the company’s long and close partnership with legendary trumpet player Bobby Shew, who has been a Yamaha artist since 1992. Shew wanted to create one super-efficient instrument that could alternatively scream out a powerful lead, or play soft, mellow ballads. The result of this collaboration was the YTR-8310Z.
While maintaining many of the design features that made the original Custom Z trumpet so unique, the YTR-8310ZII has an updated leadpipe and a precise valve casing design. These modifications combine to offer unprecedented tonal richness and depth, while maintaining maximum efficiency and comfortable resistance for players in any setting and genre — from the jazz club stage to the recording studio.
YTR-8335IISKG (Kangakki) Xeno trumpet
Another major product announcement from Yamaha was the limited edition YTR-8335IISKG Xeno trumpet. Xeno trumpets blend outstanding instrument design and advanced technology with the experience of respected artists around the world, and the Xeno line was the company’s first to fully incorporate a “heavyweight” bell design across all models. These expertly crafted instruments are defined by outstanding power and projection, combined with refined resistance and highly responsive action for extraordinary tonal flexibility.
Only 100 of the new YTR-8335IISKG trumpets will be made, designed with unique features including gold-plated trim, black mother-of-pearl finger buttons and special “Kangakki” (which means “wind instrument” in Japanese) engraving on the bell. These enhancements speak not only to the rich history of advancements in Xeno design but also to their modern, state-of-the-art production.
See you at next year’s 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.
For many musicians, it can be difficult to maintain a high level of playing while at the same time managing a busy lifestyle. Normal day-to-day activities can make it difficult to keep our home, car — and yes, the instrument we play — in good condition. Here are some simple ideas that will allow you to keep your brass instrument in optimum working order and help avoid that panic trip to the repair shop.
Exterior Maintenance
The way to keep the exterior of your instrument looking good depends upon the type of finish. For most brass instruments, the finish will either be lacquered or plated in silver or gold. Many finishes are polished to a high luster and then a clear lacquer is applied to protect the metal underneath.
To remove fingerprints, dust and smudges (usually from tuning slide grease and/or valve oil) on instruments with lacquered finishes, wipe down the exterior with a soft cloth to which a small amount of furniture polish has been applied. This will help to protect the finish and reduce the need to clean it often. Most polishes contain wax or silicone and these will also work well to reduce the water spots that will collect on the exterior with regular use.
For instruments with plated finishes, start with a glass cleaner to remove grease and grime as well as those pesky fingerprints. Note that silver-plated finishes will also tarnish over time. An easy way to keep them looking good is to use a silver polish cloth impregnated with a dry polish. (This works equally well on gold-plated instruments.)
One more exterior maintenance tip: Avoid leaving your instrument in direct sunlight for extended periods. Sunlight can and will tarnish any plated finish, especially if the instrument is exposed on a daily basis.
Interior Maintenance
Over time, there will be a natural buildup of debris inside your instrument due to the saliva and organic material that collects during normal use. In addition, the natural oxidation of the metal surfaces inside will cause calcium and other deposits to begin to adhere. These conditions will get slowly worse if not addressed. Fortunately, there are some preventative measures you can take to avoid this.
Each time you oil your valves, apply five or six drops of valve oil down the leadpipe through the receiver. This helps to keep organic material from sticking to the inside of the leadpipe and valve ports, and at the same time serves to disrupt the corrosion process, which will otherwise act upon the brass in the absence of a preventative coating like valve oil. When the oil is applied this way, the organic material that would normally adhere to the interior will pass through and most times exit with the use of the instrument’s water key. (Click here for more information about Yamaha synthetic valve oil.)
Yamaha microfiber swab for trumpet.
In addition, use a swab on a periodic basis to clean the leadpipe and other parts of the instrument. This helps to not only remove loose debris, but will also absorb the moisture that has collected through normal playing. Note that emptying the water key after playing will only remove about half of the moisture that has collected. Most of the moisture that is left will be in the form of condensation and it is only possible to completely empty the instrument after it is set down and allowed to cool.
On small brass instruments, rinse out the leadpipe and tuning slides with dish soap and water and an instrument cleaning snake (a flexible coil with a small brush mounted on either end); this can go a long way in preventative maintenance. With larger brass instruments, this is not always an easy task, so you might want to use swabs instead. On baritones, euphoniums and tubas, you can remove the first valve and insert the pull cord through the leadpipe port inside the casing. The swab is then pulled back out through the leadpipe exiting out of the receiver. The Yamaha microfiber swab is an excellent tool to perform this job, not only on the leadpipe but the tuning slide as well.
The bottom line is this: A clean brass instrument will always play better, respond faster and have a fuller sound because it is more efficient in producing sound. Let’s not work harder than we need to!
Click here for more information about Yamaha brass and woodwind instruments.
A metronome is the most valuable tool a drummer can have. It’s a huge aid in becoming a good timekeeper, which is, after all, the drummer’s primary job.
Any metronome — even an old-fashioned manual one with a pendulum ticking away — can be used to help you practice at different tempos, and, needless to say, being able to play grooves and fills at all tempos is essential. Start by setting the tempo on your metronome to a relaxed 60 BPM (beats per minute) and then play a basic groove to the click. Gradually increase the tempo by 10 BPM until you reach 200 BPM, or as fast as you can play accurately. As you get more comfortable with this exercise, you can also change up the style of groove you’re playing and add a drum fill every four or eight bars to really challenge yourself.
As you go through the various speeds, you will find that there will be certain tempos that are harder for you to lock in with, especially the slower speeds. Repetition is the key for overcoming these problem spots.
If you’re using electronic drums (E-drums), you may not even realize that there is an onboard electronic metronome on your drum module. There is! And better yet, it’s often programmed with a number of exercises (both basic and advanced) to help you improve your playing. Let’s take a look at four cool E-drum metronome exercises built into the Yamaha DTX402 Series, DTX6 Series, DTX8 Series and DTX10 Series modules.
Measure Break
Rushing or dragging is a common problem for drummers. An effective way of working on consistent timing is with an exercise called Measure Break, which, in addition to the DTX402, is also built into Yamaha DTX-PRO module provided with all DTX6 Series, DTX8 Series and DTX10 Series drumkits. This is one of my favorites because it’s great for practicing grooves and fills at different tempos. In this exercise, the metronome inserts breaks into the click track each time it loops around; your job is to continue to play through the silence until you hear the click again.
Start by setting the total number of measures you want the click to be audible, then select the number of measures you want it to go silent. For example, you could have a four-bar phrase consisting of two bars of click and two bars of silence, or you could set three bars of click and one bar of silence.
As the metronome begins looping, play a basic groove and continue playing through the silent measures. Eventually the click will come back in — right on time — on beat 1 of the next measure. As soon as the click returns, you will instantly know whether you are on the beat, behind the beat or ahead of the beat. If you’re off, don’t stop playing; it’s important that you try to catch up to the click and continue the exercise just as you would if you were playing a song with a band. After all, when you’re onstage, just because you rush a fill doesn’t mean you stop playing!
This training exercise (also built into the Yamaha DTX400, DTX700 and DTX900 Seriesmodules) measures how far behind or ahead of the beat your hits are. As you play to the click, Groove Check shows your hits in relation to a perfectly in-time quarter note. If your timing is rushing and you’re ahead of the beat, the hit marks will move to the left. If your timing is dragging and you’re behind the beat, the hit marks will move to the right.
This is also a great tool for learning how to play on top of the beat (if you want the music to feel a bit pushed) or behind the beat (if you want the groove to lay back in the pocket a la Charlie Watts).
Use the Tempo Up/Down exercise to see how fast you can play and still maintain accurate timing. As you play along, the metronome will automatically increase the tempo if your timing is good, but will decrease the tempo if you need more practice playing in time.
In Change Up, your goal is to maintain accurate timing as you play along with up to seven different practice rhythms (subdivisions) that change every two measures. You can increase or decrease the tempo as you go along.
As you can see, there’s more to a metronome than just a repetitive tick-tock. These exercises (or similar ones) should play a part in your weekly practice routine, along with working on rudiments, playing along to songs and just trying out new sounds. After all, playing drums is supposed to be fun!
Photo courtesy of the author.
Click here for more information about Yamaha electronic drums.
“Everybody has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith. In music … there is a stepping stone towards all of these.”
Those are the words of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Berlin Jazz Festival in 1964. As we celebrate King’s many accomplishments (including the Nobel Peace Prize he won that year), it’s a good time to reflect on the contributions of black composers and performers to American music.
W.C. Handy.
Black composers and performers thrive on the creative DNA of the survivors of the transatlantic slave trade who brought with them the drum patterns and polyrhythms that influence and inspire all modalities of black music. Our story begins with the blues, a genre that began in the cotton fields of the Deep South throughout the late 19th century as musicians channeled African spirituals, chants, work songs and hymns into narratives that spoke to their condition. A pivotal figure was the composer and cornet player William Christopher “W.C.” Handy, considered “father of the blues.” Handy toured the Midwest and the South extensively, popularizing the style and exposing audiences to his particular brand of the 12-bar blues.
Scott Joplin.
In the latter part of the century, a piano-driven medium called Ragtime began to take shape, as exemplified by the popular tune “The Entertainer,” written by composer and pianist Scott Joplin in 1902 — a song that found a new life on the soundtrack for the award-winning film The Sting in 1973. Another piano man of the era, Jelly Roll Morton, straddled ragtime and jazz, gaining prominence through recordings he made with his group Morton’s Red Hot Peppers.
Louis Armstrong.
The next major superstar in black music was vocalist and trumpeter Louis Armstrong, who first rose to prominence in the 1920s. “If you love jazz, you have to love him,” said trumpeter and bandleader Wynton Marsalis on Armstrong’s importance. Louis Daniel “Satchmo” Armstrong is considered one of the greatest jazz soloists ever. Some critics have made the observation that he played “beyond the notes,” creating intricate layers of feeling and nuance. What is inarguable is that he influenced every jazz musician who came after him. This was particularly evident with saxophonist Coleman Hawkins. While the pair played in Fletcher Henderson’s big band in 1924, Hawkins took note of Armstrong’s patience during solos, his use of silence for dramatic effect, and his unique phrasing, and later used those techniques to later develop his own recognizable sound.
Duke Ellington.
And then there is Duke Ellington. The iconic trumpeter and jazz architect Miles Davis is credited with saying, “At least one day out of the year all musicians should just put their instruments down, and give thanks to Duke Ellington.” That’s not an overstatement. Edward Kennedy Ellington was one of the most consequential composers and bandleaders of the 20th century. He wrote thousands of songs and was a deft pianist, but his true instrument was his orchestra — an ever-changing cast of star musicians he led for over 50 years, often financing their expenses out of his own pocket. Among his enormous catalog, some of the Ellington Orchestra’s most well-known hits include “In A Sentimental Mood,” “I Got it Bad And That Ain’t Good” and their signature tune, “Take The A Train,” written by arranger Billy Stayhorn. But Ellington’s contributions to music and culture don’t end there. From 1965 to 1973 he wrote three lengthy compositions that fused elements of jazz, classical, choral music, spirituals, gospel, blues and dance — “sacred concerts” that were presented to audiences in churches and cathedrals across the globe.
As the big band era, dominated by figures like Ellington and Count Basie, began to fade in the mid-1940s, a group of younger and aggressive players began to put their imprint on jazz. The trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie was at the forefront of the Bop era, not only for his compositions and improvisational skills, but his willingness to mentor other musicians, including Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan and Arturo Sandoval. The era was also shaped by the contributions of drummer Kenny Clarke, guitarist Charlie Christian, saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker, and pianist Thelonious Monk.
Chuck Berry.
Images of Elvis Presley or Bill Haley and the Comets may come to mind when thinking about early rock’n’roll, but most music historians point to “Rocket 88” — ostensibly by “Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats” but in reality sung by Ike Turner (later of Ike and Tina Turner fame) — as the first rock record. Its up-tempo danceable pace set the framework for similar works by the likes of Chuck Berry, who gave the world unforgettable tunes like “Johnny B. Goode” and “Maybellene,” and Little Richard, whose high-tenor vocals and high-energy stage antics wowed crowds with “Tutti Frutti and “Good Golly Miss Molly.”
The 1960s saw the rise of Motown — the Detroit-based record label founded by Berry Gordy with the explicit aim of popularizing black music to the nation as a whole. For more than a decade, the company nurtured a roster of songwriting, producing and vocal talent that was staggering. Motown exported its unique brand of R&B through artists like the Supremes, the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and, later, The Jackson 5, singing hit after hit by the songwriting team of Holland-Dozier-Holland and other composers.
Jimi Hendrix.
In the late 1960s, innovative guitarist Jimi Hendrix came to prominence. Hendrix had served apprenticeships with both the Isley Brothers and Little Richard, but those were mere footnotes for a musician who expanded the possibilities of his instrument through the use of effects and feedback. He was also a master showman who could play guitar with his teeth and behind his back … and famously set fire to his instrument at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967. Hendrix’s life was cut short tragically at an early age but his experimentation with funk and blues set the path for later artists like George Clinton, Prince and Living Colour.
Rap and hip-hop are two genres dominated by black artists. Ever since the seminal 1979 hit “Rapper’s Delight” by The Sugarhill Gang, practitioners have steadily moved beyond simple party rhymes to addressing serious social and political issues. Some of rap’s most influential storytellers include Public Enemy, A Tribe Called Quest, NWA, Eminem, Mos Def, The Notorious BIG, Tupac Shakur and Snoop Dogg. In 2017, Jay-Z (Shawn Carter) was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and LL Cool J (James Todd Smith) received a Kennedy Center Honor; just last year, the rapper Kendrick Lamar won the Pulitzer Prize in music. This marked the first time the award went to a non-classical or jazz musician — an amazing achievement for a genre that was once derided by critics.
Sometimes performances by black artists are less about the art they make and more about the symbolism behind them. In 1939, opera singer Marian Anderson was dragged into a fight about segregation between a group called the Daughters of the American Revolution and then-first lady Eleanor Roosevelt. Anderson was invited to sing in Washington by Howard University, and the only venue large enough to accommodate the crowds was Constitution Hall — a venue that had instituted a whites-only policy. Roosevelt, a DAR member, was furious and canceled her membership. When the group refused to change their policy, the concert was instead held on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, with a desegregated crowd of 75,000 in attendance.
And this brings us to another defining moment at the Lincoln Memorial. The gospel singer Mahalia Jackson, who was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, played a pivotal role in Dr. King’s historic speech at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. Often called “The Queen of Gospel,” she moved the massive crowd (over 300,000 strong!) with her renditions of “I Been ’Buked and I Been Scorned” and “How I Got Over.”
Mahalia Jackson and Dr. King at the March on Washington in 1963.
However, Jackson’s role at this event far outweighed the power of her vocals. Drew Hansen, author of “The Dream: Martin Luther King Jr., and the Speech That Inspired a Nation,” wrote in a 2013 New York Times article that King initially thought he wouldn’t have time to use the “I have a dream” imagery in his remarks. As he neared the end of the speech, King implored the crowd to return to their communities (“Go back to Georgia; go back to Louisiana; go back to the slums and ghettos of our Northern cities”) with the hope that America’s racial conflicts would be resolved. It was at this point that Mahalia Jackson, seated nearby, shouted, “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” What followed became some of the most famous lines in American oratory.
Perhaps the greatest contribution of black composers and performers has been their ability to bring our nation together. Sometimes in song, sometimes in protest, sometimes on the dance floor … but always to heal our wounds and celebrate our love.
Photos by Santi Visalli/Getty images, David Redfern/Redferns, Bettmann, Robert Altman/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, and Bob Parent/Getty Images.
Every PA system — whether designed for a solo artist at a coffee house or an arena show in front of 15,000 people — employs amplifiers: devices that take low-level audio signal and boost it into a stronger signal. They are necessary because speakers are very inefficient devices, and the signal coming out of your mixer is not strong enough to move speaker cones. Ideally, an amp simply boosts the signal without changing it in any other way, but all amplifiers have a limit to the amount of power they can generate. If you try to go past that point (or, conversely, if the amp is delivering too little power to a particular speaker), bad things can happen. The trick is choosing the right amp for the job.
Types of Amplifiers
Power amps come in several different types of packages. A “stand-alone” power amp like those in the Yamaha PX Series takes the signal from a mixer, boosts it and delivers it to a passive speaker (that is, a speaker that does not have its own built-in amplifier):
Basic PA system with mixer, stand-alone power amplifier and passive speaker.
Stand-alone amps are versatile because they can become part of a larger PA system and grow with your needs. However, they require more connections, and you’ll have to match the amp to the speakers you are using. More about that in a minute.
The Yamaha EMX5 and EMX7 are examples of powered mixers; i.e., mixers that have a built-in power amp. Powered mixers are easy to set up because they require fewer interconnections — you simply hook them up directly to the speakers:
Yamaha EMX7 output connectors.
However, these kinds of mixers have somewhat limited flexibility because you can’t change the amplifier if you need more power. If you think you may need a larger PA system in the future, a powered mixer might not be the best choice.
Powered speakers like those in the Yamaha DZR Series have an amplifier built into the speaker cabinet. We’ll discuss these kinds of speakers in Part 2 of this article, coming next month.
Making Sense of the Specs
Choosing a power amp can be confusing because there are a lot of technical specifications to consider. Some of these specs are less important than others. For example, total harmonic distortion (THD) and noise levels in modern power amplifiers are so low that you’re not likely to hear them. Frequency response is also not a major concern because most modern amps can easily produce accurate response across the entire audible range of human hearing (20 Hz to 20,000 Hz).
However, one very important amplifier specification is power output, a number that tells you how many watts the amplifier can deliver into a specific load. A “load” is a device that consumes power — such as a loudspeaker. A speaker’s load is rated as its impedance and as you’ll see shortly, impedance affects the power amplifier’s output.
There are two things you need to keep in mind about choosing a power amplifier:
1. You want an amp powerful enough to not be overworked when playing loud music,
BUT
2. You don’t want the amp to have a power rating so high that there’s risk of damaging the speaker with excessive heat or mechanical stress.
For example, let’s suppose that you have a pair of Yamaha S115V passive speakers that you plan to use for gigging in a small club, and you want to pair them with an appropriate power amp. Start by looking at the specifications for the S115V, where you’ll find some important numbers. One is the sensitivity of the S115V, which is 99 dB. This means that the speaker will produce a Sound Pressure Level (SPL) of 99 dB measured one meter away from the speaker when the amp feeds it one watt. The illustration below shows the amount of power the S115V requires to produce various sound levels. (These numbers vary with the model of speaker.)
Yamaha S115V sensitivity.
As you can see, doubling the power increases the SPL by 3 dB, so if the amp feeds the S115V two watts, it will play at 102 dB; four watts will produce an SPL of 105 dB, etc. That may seem very loud, but remember the measurement is made very close to the speaker (closer than most audience members are likely to be), plus your PA system needs to be heard in a venue with lots of background noise.
Next, look at the S115V power capacity specs and you’ll see three important numbers:
1. 250 watts noise. This means that the S115V can handle 250 watts of power when producing a noise test signal over a long period of time.
2. 500 watts program. This tells you that the S115V can handle 500 watts when producing a “program” test signal, a signal which more closely resembles music.
3. 1000 watts maximum (peak). This is the maximum amount of power that the S115V can accept instantaneously (for a fraction of a second) without damage.
The other important specification for the S115V is its nominal impedance, which is similar to resistance. Knowing the speaker’s impedance helps you understand how the S115V interacts with the amp’s power rating. Like most power amplifiers, the Yamaha PX5 has different power ratings for different loads. If you look at the chart below, you’ll see that the PX5 (second column from the right) can generate 500 watts per channel into 8Ω (8 ohms), 800 watts per channel into 4Ω, and 500 watts per channel into 2Ω. These numbers are for a short burst of sound and they represent the peak power output of the amp. The S115V has an impedance of 8Ω, so when you use it with the PX5, the amp will produce a peak output of 500 watts per channel.
Yamaha PX Series power output.
Go back to the illustration before this one and check out how the S115V responds when fed 500 watts. As you can see, 500 watts will produce a SPL in the vicinity of 126 dB. (Way louder than you probably need!) What’s more important is looking at some of the lower numbers. At 256 watts, the S115V will produce an SPL of 123 dB, and at 128 watts, an SPL of 120 dB. That’s plenty of volume, plus it gives you significant headroom (extra power in reserve), meaning the PX5 is a good match for the S115V.
What happens if you try to run a pair of S115Vs from an amplifier that has a peak output of only four watts? Using such a low-powered amp would create a problem because it would drive the S115V to a maximum SPL of only 105 dB, and you’ll almost certainly need higher sound levels than that, even at small club gigs. When you increase the output of your mixer, the amplifier output also increases — but only to a finite point, and that point is called clipping. If you continue to raise the mixer’s output beyond that point, the amp’s output does not get any higher. Instead, the signal becomes distorted or “clipped.” You can see an example of clipping in the two illustrations below:
On the left is the maximum undistorted output of the amp; on the right, the input has been increased but the amp’s output cannot go any higher and so it chops off the top of the audio wave. This type of distortion is often the cause of loudspeaker failures, so it’s important to avoid underpowering your speakers.
Paralleling and Bridging
Some speakers, like the S115V, offer “parallel” connectors on their rear panel so you can link two speakers and power them from one amplifier channel.
Yamaha S115V input panel.
When you “parallel” two 8Ω speakers this way, the impedance presented to the amplifier changes to 4Ω — and that would increase the PX5’s output power to 800 watts per channel peak, so you’ll get more power out of the PX5 by running two S115Vs per channel. Is 800 watts too much power for a speaker that’s rated to handle 500 watts of program? Not necessarily, because the S115V specifications also tell you that the speaker can handle peaks up to 1,000 watts.
In addition, the PX5 has the ability to operate in a “Power Boost” mode, where the two channels are bridged to create one channel of higher output power (in this case, 800 watts into 8Ω, or 1400 watts into 4Ω). This means that you can use the amp with larger speakers — albeit monaurally — when the need arises in the future instead of having to replace it.
Traditionally a lot of pro audio engineers prefer to use power amps rated at twice the power capability of a speaker so that they have plenty of headroom. It’s kind of like driving a Ferrari in NYC traffic: You won’t need all that horsepower most of the time, but it’s nice to know you have it when you need it!
For most of us, a plastic recorder was the first musical instrument we encountered back in elementary school, and for that reason it’s something we tend to think of as a childhood toy. However, the recorder is actually a serious instrument, with a rich history that goes back to ancient times. Intrigued? Read on …
History
One of the very first recorders was the Quena — a Latin-American instrument that dates back to the ancient Incan Empire. The modern recorder was developed in Europe during the Middle Ages. From the second half of the 15th century to the 17th century it was frequently used in live performance, but in the late 18th century it began to be overshadowed by the flute, a related instrument, though one that differs significantly in terms of volume and timbre. In fact, the recorder was originally known by the name “flute.” Eventually, the modern flute began being referred to as a transverse flute in order to differentiate it from the recorder.
Recorders of the 17th century had a cylindrical bore, and a timbre that was broader and less piercing than that of today’s instruments. Initially, they played a substantial role in ensembles that included vocals, as well as in all-recorder ensembles (called “whole consorts”) as well as “broken consort” ensembles that included stringed instruments such as violin.
With the advent of the Baroque period (1600 – 1750), the recorder came to be used almost exclusively as a solo instrument. Because a more piercing sound was deemed desirable, the bore of the recorder was made conical. As a result, higher pitched harmonics became more prominent, yielding the distinctive timbre we hear today.
During this period, a great many “sonata” and “concerto” works were produced for the instrument — in fact, it could be said that this was the golden age of the recorder. In addition to G. F. Handel’s “Seven Sonatas” and “Two Trio Sonatas,” a number of operas and oratorios featured recorders. They were also used for solos in J.S. Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto” No. 2 and No. 4, and as an instrument for performing obbligato in many cantatas. In addition, Italian composers such as Scarlatti and A. Vivaldi wrote numerous sonatas, triosonatas, and concertos for recorder — “Concerto in C-Major for Sopranino Recorder and String Orchestra” is one that is particularly well known.
From the time of the classical period, when works by Mozart and Beethoven became popular, orchestras began to develop, but due to its limited volume, the recorder was unable to hold its own. And since the flute was more expressive, the recorder gradually became less popular, although it still continues to be used widely in performances of Baroque music. Today, the recorder is the most popular instrument in early music education, with widespread usage in elementary schools the world over.
Varieties of Recorder
Yamaha YRGB-61 great bass recorder.
Recorders come in many varieties, from the sopranino recorder, which is about the size of a Sharpie™, to the great bass recorder, which is as big as a piece of furniture. The type most frequently used for solos is the alto recorder. There are also quartet ensembles that perform with four types of recorders; soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
Because they are so big, some bass recorders and great bass recorders cannot be blown directly with the mouth as with smaller-sized instruments. For that reason, a long pipe (called a blowpipe) extends from the sound-generating part of the instrument to the lips. Furthermore, as the gap between tone holes is wider, keys are added for the locations where they cannot be covered directly with the fingers. However, since the blowpipe is just a simple structure to channel the breath, anyone can quickly produce sound, and the fingering is almost entirely the same from recorder to recorder, although the timbre produced varies.
As the size of the recorder increases, its pitch range gets lower. Great bass recorders are twice the length of tenor recorders, and there are also contrabass (sub-bass) recorders, which are twice the size of bass recorders. In addition, there are many types within the soprano and alto recorder families, each about half an octave higher in pitch than the next larger-sized one, as shown in the chart below:
The pitch range of different types of recorders.
Plastic vs. Wood
Recorders were originally made of wood, but today there are of course also plastic recorders, which are moderately priced and robust yet produce a solid sound. Plastic recorders also have the advantage of relatively straightforward maintenance, although water droplets can sometimes clog the windway (airway) since these instruments do not absorb moisture. (This can be easily remedied by lightly tapping just above the windway, or by blowing or sucking to force out the droplets of water.)
The ABS material used in Yamaha plastic recorders gives these instruments exceptional impact resistance, making them extremely durable. They offer a clear timbre and exceptional intonation, and their overall pitch can be adjusted by simply changing the extension of the head joint, allowing the recorder to be tuned to participate in an ensemble with other musical instruments.
Wooden recorders have a distinctive, rich tone that is not generally matched by plastic recorders. However, wooden recorders are more expensive than plastic models, and require more maintenance. They can be made of rosewood, ebony, maple, Kingswood or Castelo wood. In general, the softer woods produce a softer sound, while the harder woods produce a more pronounced sound, though there is a broad expressive and timbral range within each variety.
Two Different Fingerings
In the 1920s, instrument designers in Germany felt that the standard Baroque recorder was too difficult for beginners to learn, since some notes put the player’s fingers in positions that can feel uncomfortable or unnatural. Because of this, they made a small change to make those notes easier for a beginner to play. As a result, there are two varieties of recorder in common use today: “Baroque style” and “German style.”
In “Baroque style” recorders:
– Soprano F (Alto B♭) tone fingering is not in sequence with the rest of the scale.
– Fingering for sharp (♯) and flat (♭) notes is simple.
– The same fingering can be applied when playing recorders that differ in size.
In “German style” recorders:
– Soprano F (Alto B♭) tone fingering is in sequence with the rest of the scale.
– Fingering for sharp (♯) and flat (♭) notes is difficult.
– The same fingering cannot be applied when playing recorders that differ in size.
On a soprano recorder, playing a simple melody with a narrow range in a pitch range such as C major or F major presents no particular issue with a German style recorder, but performing a piece with a wider range or accidentals (sharps and flats) is more difficult. Also, since models other than the soprano are mostly made in the Baroque style, if fingering is learned on a German-style soprano model, it cannot be applied on a Baroque-style instrument. For more information, see our blog article “Recorders: Baroque vs. German”
As you can see, a recorder is much more than just a toy! And now that you’re long out of elementary school, it might just be time for you to reacquaint yourself with this wonderfully expressive yet easy-to-play instrument.
I love the excitement, optimism and hope that comes with the start of a brand new year. Resolutions are shared, goals are set and plans are made to fulfill lifelong dreams.
The word “resolute” means that we are steadfast and courageous in achieving what we set out to accomplish. Spending more time at the gym, giving up smoking, working less, or booking the trip of a lifetime to French Polynesia could all be seen as worthwhile pursuits.
Whatever your personal desires may be, they can all be realized with a focused mind and tenacious energy for the task at hand.
Set Your Intention
Before I set my intention, I make sure that I am very clear on what my motives are. Then I plan, aim and shoot at the target. If my preparation is impeccable and the work I do is consistent I will have done everything within my power to land a bull’s-eye.
To this end, I use a series of tools to keep me on track and in forward motion. The first step (and, for me, the most important one) is to be very specific about the target I want to hit. Am I being realistic, sincere and honoring my authentic self in this pursuit? If anything about my goal is disingenuous, I won’t have achieved anything except to serve my ego. Intentions that are honest and true are also worth claiming when they come to fruition!
The next step is to visualize the “big picture” end result, see it clearly in my mind and take a mental snapshot of the finished canvas. Having a clear picture of your ideal horizon is going to help you forge a pathway towards it. Dreaming big is great, but envisioning those dreams is even better.
Do we always achieve what we set out to accomplish? No, and that’s because there are variables beyond our control. Objects hit the fan when least expected, other people convolute and shake our resolve … and sometimes life just happens. The key is to keep going, never give up — and, even in the face of adversity, adversaries and sheer misfortune, somehow find the strength within to keep going.
I have found that a great way to stay focused on a specific project is to create something called a mind map — a diagram that use shapes and colors to connect ideas or topics to a central theme. Using words, colors and shapes in this manner stimulates my visual nature and helps me to organize my creative thoughts. Some of my maps are ideas for guitar courses, while others are project lists with deadlines; in the case of the latter, as each deadline is met, I change the color to green and move the shape to a new location.
As an example, here’s a mind map for a guitar course I created a few years ago:
As you can see, sub-topics revolve around a central theme and related topics are joined as a thread. To me, these visual planners are less intimidating than a written list, plus they appeal to the eye and serve as constant reminders of work that needs to be done. So if you tend to procrastinate, try mapping out a project and self-impose a creative deadline. You’ll start to enjoy much greater productivity and personal sense of achievement.
Add Intention to Your Guitar Playing
When you pick up your guitar, do you have a specific goal in mind? Is it purely to have fun and unwind, or are you practicing scales, chord progressions and songs for a band rehearsal or upcoming performance? I’m a firm believer that five minutes of focused playing is far more productive than two hours of “noodling.” When you focus on a topic, you are dedicating time to improve. When you noodle you are mostly just reinforcing muscle memory. Sometimes that’s good, sometimes not. If you noodle and continue to make mistakes, you are programming those mistakes to be repeated perfectly every time. Thats right — you’re perfecting your mistakes!
Instead, the next time you sit down to practice, set your intention for that session before playing a single note. Decide what you are going to do before you even unlatch the case. Want to learn how to use an E9 arpeggio over a blues? Set your intention to learn one E dominant 9th arpeggio shape and a few licks within a single 20-minute practice session. Even if you have only five minutes a day to hone your chops, apply that time wisely and after a week of mindful practice you will have improved exponentially … trust me!
Create a mind map of the practice goals you want to implement and work through them methodically. Set realistic goals that are easy to accomplish. Small chunks are easier to digest than larger ones and eventually add up to a broader achievement.
The Video
In this video I wanted to demonstrate a finger-style blues and slide guitar solo. Notice how clean and precise the chordal and single note rhythm playing is and how the bass guitar follows the single note riffs. This was not pure chance; it was completely intentional.
Similarly, as you listen to and watch the slide playing, check out the right-hand technique and pay attention to the way the muting and picking deliberately coordinates with the left-hand slide. Again, every note was played intentionally. I wasn’t just hoping for the best; I chose the tones very carefully and decided what to play … and as you may know, playing slide guitar requires a lot more accuracy for correct intonation.
The cool guitar I use here is a Yamaha CSF3M parlor guitar with a passive pickup — the perfect choice for the style of music I’m playing in the video. The mahogany back and sides impart smooth warm tones and the Sitka spruce top provides the clarity for those single-note lines.
Yamaha CSF3M parlor guitar.
I plugged the guitar directly into a Line 6 HX Stomp pedal running a super low-gain patch I’d created (shown below) and recorded everything direct to my DAW:
The Wrap-Up
We have the power to pre-select what we want to say in our compositions and improvisations. If we target specific chord tones, phrase those ideas to be conversational and leave space between the lines for the breaths of air, it aids musical digestion and gives our audience time to relax and savor the notes.
So don’t be frivolous with what you play. Set your intention, articulate your sentences and make every note count!
Ever wake up with very little on your calendar and find yourself savoring the idea that you’ll finally get to finish something you started the week before?
Then midnight comes around and you realize you didn’t get anything done.
How can all those hours have slipped by?
Maybe there’s a danger in having too much time on our hands. After all, the more time there is, the more opportunity we have to waste it.
As a creative creature, I revel in a structure-free day, tending to tasks at my whim. I’d rather make art when inspiration strikes than force my muse to dance. But I’ve come to realize that even if I’m working on something solo, I might have to block out the time to do it — make an appointment with myself, just as I would if I were scheduling a co-write or a session with a collaborator. Even though making music is my joy, it’s also something I often resist. There’s that voice in my head: What if I sit at the piano for an hour and nothing comes out? And so the procrastination begins. The dawdling.
There are other thoughts that curb my enthusiasm, too, though they are really ones of pure arrogance. For instance: I don’t need to practice, I’ll be fine. Ridiculous. How can I expect to be on my game at my next performance if I let two weeks go by without picking up my guitar? How will my voice reach the high notes if I don’t do daily vocal warm-ups?
So I’ve been trying this new thing. It’s called scheduling myself.
Duh.
First things first. Wake up. Have coffee. (That’s non-negotiable.) Next, I ask myself: What are my commitments today, and what else do I (realistically) want to accomplish in the next 16 hours? And then I write it all down. With a pen on paper. (Why? Because we are more invested in that which we have written by hand. But that’s another blog for another day.)
Then I make a timeline blocking out my day down to the hour. No, to the minute. And I stick to it! It’s my personal AA meeting — the sponsor I must account to.
There’s little margin for error. Even folding two loads of laundry can make me late, so I account for that too. I know exactly how long it takes to do the stuff I’ve been doing for years. Work out: one hour. Drive to yoga class: 15 minutes. Social media: one hour. (OK, two.) 🙂 Calls, emails, that long overdue task of getting those extraneous papers off my desk. Ugh. They always come back too soon.
If my GPS says it will take 26 minutes to get to my meeting across town, I leave the house 26 minutes prior to that meeting and pray for no traffic and good parking karma.
This system has been working out so well that I’ve made a New Year’s resolution to keep it up. As regimented as it sounds, the alternative is having the most unproductive day ever.
You see, regardless of my resistance, when I’m finally sitting at the piano (or writing this column, for that matter) I’m back in my zone. In familiar territory. My happy place. Even if I felt empty when I first sat down, it doesn’t take long before I’m smiling and tapping away (at the laptop or keyboard) because I’ve found something interesting to say. Or sing. Or play.
I may not finish the lyric but I’ve most likely loosened the lid. After all, you never know when that magic song is going to fall from the sky, completely by accident. So we have to make time for the accidents and trust that they will happen. I want to be available for my muse to find me. Because if I’m not there, she may go somewhere else.
Have a happy and productive New Year, everyone. If you have a resolution of your own, you might want to put it in your calendar and make it happen instead of hoping it will.
Have you checked out Soundmondo yet? This way cool social website allows you to discover new synth sounds, as well as organize and share your own sounds. Originally designed for the Yamaha reface line of mobile mini keyboards, support has since been added for MONTAGE, MONTAGE M, MODX and MODX+ synthesizers.
You can access Soundmondo via any desktop computer running a current version of Google Chrome, or, with our free downloadable app, from any iPhone®, iPad®or iPod touch® running iOS 9 or later.
The number of free Performances available for MODX grows every day. They’re searchable by tag …
… or, if you know the name of a Performance (or its author), you can use an onscreen Search box. You can also “Browse by Instrument” to show only MONTAGE/MONTAGE M/MODX/MODX+ Performances. Once you find a Performance you’d like to try, simply click on the SYNC button to transfer it to your synth; from there, it can easily be saved to memory.
If you’d like to share a sound you created, Soundmondo allows you to include a short audio example or video (in the form of a SoundCloud, YouTube or Vine URL) to accompany your Performance:
Organizing your MONTAGE, MONTAGE M, MODX or MODX+ Performances is a snap with Soundmondo. You can view a list of all the sounds you have uploaded, or the sounds (uploaded by other users) you have selected as a favorite. You can even rate Performances and organize your sounds into set lists.
Soundmondo also provides a User Leaderboard that shows the most prolific users and the top downloaded Performances:
So what are you waiting for? Check out Soundmondo today and start climbing up the ranks of the Leaderboard!
Congratulations! You landed your first job as a high school band director, a position that you’ve been preparing for ever since you were in your high school band. The principal wants you to revitalize the marching band program, and you look forward to a few big parades this fall, along with the half time show at the home football games. You have 100 kids in the program, a small booster group and a budget to get a new drumline.
The bad news is that you don’t know much about drumlines. You were the first chair clarinet in your college wind ensemble, and you only did one year of collegiate marching band because it was a requirement for your general music degree. You have watched a few drum corps shows over the years and have some friends who marched in The Bluecoats and the Madison Scouts so you know there are more than a few drumline brands out there … but you really can’t tell one brand from another.
How can you make a smart choice for your students, spend the school’s money wisely and purchase quality instruments that will be delivered in time for band camp? The purchasing process can be a bit complicated, but with a little research, you can make an informed decision. Here are nine tips to keep in mind:
1. Talk to Your Local School Music Dealer
Local dealers are great resources, especially if they’ve been in business for a long time. Ask them lots of questions, such as: Which musical instrument brands hold up over time? Which brands can get parts without delay? How long does it take to get delivery?
2. Don’t Be Fooled
There are some brands that sell different drums to drum corps or a college than they do to high schools. With other brands, the products used by a college or drum corps is exactly the same as those you’ll be buying for your high school. Make sure this is the case, so you are not sold something that is different than what is advertised.
3. Understand Your Programmatic Needs
This comes down to the amount of marching your program will be undertaking. Will there be two parades or ten each year? Is your program producing one halftime show or four shows each fall? Are you also developing an indoor percussion program? Is your program participating in larger regional events such as USBands or Bands of America marching festivals? The answers to these questions will narrow the choices relating to drum finish, installed drumheads, size options and purchase quantity.
4. Compare Options and Prices
All drum brands are not created equal. Established brands have a long history of doing it right. Their instruments have a well-documented construction process and have been tested with the top drum and bugle corps for years. If one drumline price quote is much less expensive than the others, there may be a reason why. More often than not, cheap drums sound cheap, don’t hold up well and will likely end up costing you more in the long run.
5. Colors Options are Abundant
Do you want a stain or a wrap? Do you want your drums to blend in or contrast with your uniform? Do you need a custom color? Will you change the color each year to blend in with your halftime show? Keep in mind that a custom drum finish will probably take extra time to deliver, and there will probably be an upcharge. Standard finishes are great options to supplement your traditional school colors. Be sure to ask if drum finishes for the brand of choice are UV treated to prevent color fading. Having your white drums turn yellow after the first year will be a real disappointment.
6. Ask Around for Advice
Ask collegiate marching band directors and percussion friends for recommendations to the brands they prefer. Was the company sales representative available when needed? Were the drums easy to carry? Where the carriers flexible enough to fit students of all sizes?
7. Drumheads are Important
Be sure you know the type and brand of head preinstalled on each drum, and get it in writing. This is important because low-cost, non-branded drumheads may not be very usable, and so can lead to an expensive and unbudgeted purchase to get the correct drumheads. For snare drums, choose a Kevlar-type top batter drumhead and a clear ambassador on the bottom or snare side. For multi-toms, select a pinstripe head; and for bass drums, get a white ambassador head.
8. Protect Your Investment
To keep your drumline in tip-top shape all year, purchase a few accessories like covers to protect the drums from the damage of heat and moisture, as well as hard cases to protect the drums during travel. Other accessories to consider include rim savers to keep bass drum hoops free from the damage of rim clicks, stick bags for snare drums and multi-toms, and tom guards to protect the bottom edges of multi-toms. An ounce of prevention goes a long way to keep a drumline in good working order.
9. Drum Sizes and Quantity
Drums differ in sizes. If you have a program with 75 brass players, you need drums that will project to the top of the stands over the brass section. If you are using a PA or sound reinforcement, it’s even more important to have drums that project. Several factors allow a drum to produce volume, but the most important ones to consider are the shell material and shell depth. When a wood shell is made properly, there are no gaps in the construction. (Some brands fill in the plies with wood putty.) The wood shell must vibrate freely to produce a full sound. A shorter shell depth, while lighter, produces less volume.
A standard wood shelled snare drum is 14″ in diameter and 12″ deep. Multi-toms come in various depths and sizes. A small band program should look at small quad or quint options, where the largest drum is 13″ in diameter. Large quint or sextet sixes are not needed for programs where the musical ability of the student is not advanced. Bass drums are important to keep the band’s beat but keep the sizes close together for optimal tonal response.
Alternative shell depths are good options for students of smaller stature or when the amount of marching is limited. If your program is not marching a lot, don’t get the biggest drum sizes available. Keep it simple.
As with any major purchase, the key is to research your options and ask a lot of questions. That’s the best way to ensure that your students are equipped with quality instruments that will last.
Click here for more information about Yamaha marching drums.
If the only music you ever listen to is digital content from your mobile device or computer, sure, you can build a home audio system based purely around Bluetooth®. But if you want to connect your turntable, play over-the-air radio, or even listen to physical digital media like CDs, you’ll want a component stereo (“Hi-Fi”) system, like the kind that was popular with your parent’s generation.
The heart of every audio system is its receiver, and in this two-part series, we’ll look at why it’s such a critical component in any audio setup. In this article we’ll talk about Hi-Fi receivers, and in Part 2 we’ll talk about AV receivers, which add video to the equation.
Why Hi-Fi?
The best receivers are simple to use yet complex and powerful under the hood. Contemporary models are equipped to handle virtually any type of music source, from analog to digital. They’re definitely not just for your Dad’s generation, as they can be used as the central hub for all the music and audio that you play throughout your house.
Hi-Fi systems give you the ability to mix and match components to put together a system that’s right for your space and your finances. What’s more, if you build around a quality receiver, you can always add or swap other components (such as speakers) as your needs and budget grow.
Connection Central
A receiver functions as the central “brain” of the operation, routing inputs (such as those coming from turntables, CD players, etc.) to outputs (such as speakers and headphones). All of the input sources — except, as we’ll see shortly, those coming from streamed audio such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth — physically connect to the jacks on the rear panel:
Yamaha R-N303 receiver rear panel.
These include a number of line-input stereo pairs for connecting CD players and other types of audio sources that have analog line-level outputs. However, turntables (such as the Yamaha TT-S303), must be plugged into designated “Phono” inputs. These inputs connect to an internal preamplifier that boosts the level of the signal coming from the turntable’s cartridge and processes it with a special EQ curve called RIAA equalization. Many receivers also provide a post next to the phono inputs for connecting a ground wire from the turntable — something that can really help keep hum under control.
The Yamaha TT-S303 turntable phono outputs.
Contemporary receivers such as the Yamaha R-N803, R-N303 and R-N602 supplement their analog inputs with circuitry for receiving digital Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals. These “Network” receivers even have Ethernet ports for wired connection to a home network, as well as USB inputs for connecting mass storage devices such as hard drives and memory sticks, enabling the playback of MP3 music files and other digital formats via USB.
There are also rear panel output jacks for connection to speakers and other components. In a stereo system, there are two speakers, one for right and one for left. Many receivers, such as the Yamaha R-S202, offer a second set of speaker jacks and facilities for switching between two speaker pairs.
Yamaha R-S202 speaker connectors.
In addition, some receivers offer outputs for an optional subwoofer, which supplements the left and right speakers and adds significantly more bass response, and there will always be a headphone jack (typically be located on the front panel for convenience) so you can listen without speakers when desired.
In addition, the Yamaha R-N803, R-N303 and R-N602 support the MusicCast system, which allows you to send music to compatible sound bars and wireless speakers throughout your house.
Master Control
In addition to a control that allows you to easily switch between various input sources, receivers offer a master volume control as well as separate knobs for bass and treble — sometimes midrange or other frequency bands too — so you can shape your sound using a process called equalization.
There will also usually be a “loudness” on/off switch in recognition of one of the primary characteristics of human hearing: we perceive frequencies differently at different volumes. At loud levels, we hear more bass and treble and less midrange, while at quieter levels, the bass and treble are much less prominent and the midrange louder. Activating the loudness control boosts the bass and treble, so that you can listen at a soft volume with a similar frequency response to when you listen at loud levels.
The Yamaha R-N803 offers controls for volume, tone, loudness and input source selection.
Most receivers today (including all Yamaha models) come with remotes so that all these functions can be adjusted from the comfort of your sofa or recliner.
Power to the Music
The function of the amplifier stage of a receiver is to raise the level of incoming signal high enough to drive passive (that is, unpowered) speakers. The specific amount of power, which varies from model to model, is reflected in the receiver’s wattage. Needless to say, the more power, the louder the sound will be.
Less obvious, perhaps, is that more power also makes for a cleaner sound. That’s because the extra wattage gives your system extra headroom — that is, the gap between the highest level of an incoming sound source and the point where distortion begins. This allows you to listen at loud volumes without coming close to straining the amplifier’s capacity.
Tuning In
In a nod to your father’s generation, receivers today still almost always include a radio tuner for both the AM and FM bands. Although listenership to terrestrial radio has dropped in recent years as online music sources have become ubiquitous, the medium is still popular.
There are typically controls for switching between AM and FM and for tuning in radio stations. Many allow you to save stations as presets, so you can switch between them with a touch of a button. Most Yamaha Hi-Fi receivers allow you to save up to 40 different stations for later recall.
Receivers also generally provide special jacks on the rear panel for the connection of an antenna to help boost the incoming radio signal. A small indoor antenna is often provided, but if reception is exceptionally weak, you can always connect a more powerful outdoor one.
The bottom line is this: Hi-Fi isn’t just for your dad. Especially given the recent rise in popularity of vinyl, these kinds of receivers have become more relevant than ever. If you love music but a home theater isn’t in your budget (or immediate future), they’re well worth checking out.
Having amassed billions of views and millions of followers, The Piano Guys (www.ThePianoGuys.com) have become one of the most successful instrumental music groups ever to grace the internet, while capturing the hearts of music fans as they tour worldwide.
The meteoric success of the “Guys” — pianist Jon Schmidt, cellist Steven Sharp Nelson, video producer Paul Anderson and music producer Al van der Beek — can be ascribed to their more than 60 breathtaking videos. In these videos, they perform their unique brand of classical, contemporary and rock and roll music in locales where a piano has never gone before, from atop the Great Wall of China to the edge of a 1,000-foot cliff in the Utah desert.
Recently, a dozen of The Piano Guys’ most popular viral videos moved into a new format: Now they can be experienced as simultaneous television and “live” piano performances in the homes of Disklavier owners around the globe.
These DisklavierTV performances put a bright spotlight on both the amazing talent of The Piano Guys and the Yamaha Disklavier — a high-tech reproducing piano that can transmit nuanced performance data (not only the actual keystrokes but also the subtle gradations of pedal movement) between similarly equipped instruments over the internet. In other words, as an artist performs, their precise note-for-note performance data is captured and then can be streamed to similarly equipped instruments anywhere in the world, where it is recreated exactly as the artist originally intended.
DisklavierTV adds yet another layer of technology, allowing a piano and ensemble performance to be streamed to and enjoyed on a television screen. So as fans of the Guys watch and hear Schmidt and Sharp Nelson trade piano and cello jabs on the big screen television, Schmidt’s actual performance is faithfully recreated, note-for-note and in perfect sync, on a connected Disklavier in the viewer’s home.
“This data is not a recording of the sound of the piano,” Anderson points out, “but rather it’s a precise digital map of Jon’s performance — what notes he played, how fast and hard the key was pressed, how he used the sustain pedal, etc. We recorded each and every one of Jon’s keystrokes and pedal movements to create this new DisklavierTV experience. It provides us an opportunity to let our fans experience our videos in a way they cannot on YouTube or Vimeo. Think of it as an “enhanced reality” experience: Jon’s fingers are essentially reaching out from the video and playing the piano sitting in front of you.”
To make the experience even more authentic, Van Der Beek meticulously removed Schmidt’s acoustic piano part from the original audio recordings, which was then replaced with Schmidt’s performance data to enable playback on other Disklavier pianos. Technical consultant Craig Knudsen also programmed several unique Disklavier “keyboard animations” — silent keyboard patterns that dance up and down the keyboard when Schmidt is not playing — to give the performances a visual impact never before experienced on a piano.
Sir Isaac Newton (who, as the commercial says, clearly knew a thing or two about seeing a thing or two), once modestly said of himself, “If I have seen further [than other men], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”
Geoff and I sharing a laugh.
We lost one such giant a couple of months ago: legendary audio engineer Geoff Emerick, who I’ve written about here before — and for me it was personal, as Geoff and I were close friends for nearly two decades. Beyond the numerous innovations he brought to the art of recording (as exemplified in many of the great Beatles records he, along with producer George Martin, helped bring to the world), Geoff was a humble man who devoted much of his last years to reaching out to students. I have many happy memories of wandering around trade shows with him; it seemed we could never move more than 50 feet without being stopped by an aspiring musician or home recordist who wanted to chat or take a selfie, and Geoff was always generous with his time and ready to offer advice and an encouraging word.
He and I often did presentations to audiences that included young men and women who weren’t even born when Beatles records were dominating the airwaves, and I could see a little skepticism in some of their eyes as we were being introduced. Both Geoff and I understood how they might feel that the recording techniques we would be discussing — mostly developed in the 1960s — were not especially relevant to them, or the modern genres of music they were interested in. It was at those moments that I would toss out the Isaac Newton quote, and it was with some degree of satisfaction that I would see an “Oh, now I get it” look on many of those young faces.
The point is this: Nobody begins their career in a vacuum. Geoff’s knowledge base began with the underlying work done by Thomas Edison and Emil Berliner (inventors of, respectively, audio recording and the phonograph record), Jack Mullin (developer of the tape recorder), Alan Blumlein and Georg Neumann (pioneers in microphone design), Les Paul and Tom Dowd (who created and defined the art of multitrack recording), as well as his own personal mentor at Abbey Road Studios, Norman Smith, who engineered all the early Beatles records.
Every aspect of music creation and music-making has their giants. Composers build upon the epic works of Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Tchaikovsky; songwriters on the tunes of Stephen Foster, Irving Berlin, Lieber/Stoller, Holland-Dozier-Holland and Lennon/McCartney. Classical pianists develop their performance skills by closely studying Rachmaninov, Gould, Horowitz and Rubinstein. Saxophonists learning to improvise take inspiration from Charlie Parker and Coltrane; trumpeters from Louis Armstrong, Dizzie Gillespie and Miles; bassists from Mingus, James Jamerson and Jaco. Jazz guitarists search for new fingerings and chord inversions based upon those of Charlie Christian, Wes Montgomery, Django Reinhart and Barney Kessel, just as classical players aim to further refine the technique of Segovia, Julian Bream and John Williams. Even modern rock guitarists refer back to past masters like Chet Atkins, Scotty Moore, Chuck Berry, Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman.
So as we start a new year, this might be a good time to reflect on some of the musical giants upon whose shoulders you stand. Who are they, and what have you learned from them? You might be surprised at how much relevance the old can have to the new.
Producer/engineer/composer/arranger David Kahne has a career to envy. The impressive résumé of artists he has worked with is topped off by none other than Sir Paul McCartney, who last September gave an exclusive concert for a lucky audience of fans at Grand Central Station in New York City.
Featuring a set list of Beatles and Wings classics, combined with songs from Sir Paul’s studio album Egypt Station, Kahne’s job was to ensure that the vocal mix for the YouTube stream was picture perfect, and with only half an hour between the live performance and the streamcast, do-overs were a luxury he did not have.
Kahne explains why Steinberg Nuendo DAW software was the software he trusted with a mission this critical. “I was in one of two broadcast trucks,” he says. “The first was taking a split from the front-of-house mixer, and that truck sent me about 20 stems: drums, bass, the rest of the instruments, then individual tracks for all the vocals. I was taking feeds into two redundant MacBook Pro laptops, so I could stop one to tweak and sweeten tracks while the other kept recording. I would do that, render the audio, copy it all to a USB stick, then physically run that up to the guys in the video editing suite, again and again, sneaker-net style.”
What aspects of Nuendo helped Kahne rise to this challenge? “The main thing I like about it is that it always works,” he laughs. “With a running half-hour window in which to do everything, it all had to go down without a hitch. I’ve run much larger projects on just a laptop — such as a recent project for National Geographic where I had over 100 tracks — and Nuendo is always extremely stable.”
Another factor of the slim time frame in which Kahne had to work is that any audio processing and sweetening had to be done with the most ready-to-hand tools. “For doubling or tripling vocals, the Automatic Audio Alignment tool in Nuendo is simply amazing,” he says. “You select one track as your timing guide, then you can select a bunch of other tracks and — boink — they all sync up with the timing of the master. We had to do plenty of this in real time, and it’s normally a tedious process that requires busing to and from a third-party plug-in. In Nuendo … you can make it happen in, like, two seconds.”
Nuendo’s time accuracy also proved invaluable. “I’ll mention time code only to say I didn’t really need to think about it,” says Kahne. “Everything came in time-stamped, and when I finished working, I gave the rendered files to the video guys, and all of it synced up with their workflow perfectly.”
His three favorite Nuendo features? “Stability, stability, and stability. It never gives me any glitches, freezes, or dropouts, even with tons of tracks, even on just a laptop. For my composition and more MIDI-centric work I love Cubase, but for anything to do with film or video, or live streaming, it’s Nuendo all the way.”
Check out the YouTube video of the Paul McCartney concerthere.
“Music to me is like breathing. I don’t get tired of breathing; I don’t get tired of music.” — Ray Charles
Have you ever sat in an audience during a recital and started to feel uncomfortable about the performance onstage? I’m talking about something other than the occasional memory slip or stick drop — it’s something far more profound, a moment of disquiet. I think we have all experienced this (some more than others).
Obviously, tension is a bad thing. It is bad for our bodies and makes any performance less musical. There are lots of factors that go into a stiff performance (poor preparation, lack of rehearsal time, new room, etc.). But as I watch these tense moments begin to happen, I always notice one thing: The performer’s mouth is closed.
I remember the first time I observed this as one of my students was playing through a piece for their lesson. “Just open your mouth and play through that phrase again,” I told him.
It worked! In fact, it was almost as if a different person had walked into the room and played the same passage. That got me thinking: Do we tend to close our mouth when we play and does this lead to tension? Time for some research!
My first stop: YouTube. Sure enough, there was plenty of visual proof. Of course, YouTube presents a collection of videos from all kinds of players at all different levels of ability, so I realized that it might not be the best place to test out my theory. So I tried it with more of my students. About 85 – 90% of them sounded like a different player when they opened their mouth (just slightly — not like yelling!) and put a little space between their lips.
As I thought about this more, I began hypothesizing that when you open your mouth, you release the tension from your body.
Don’t believe me? Try this little experiment:
1) Clench your face with your mouth closed.
2) Clench your face with your mouth open.
When your mouth is closed, you can feel the tension in your upper body and arms. When your mouth is open, it feels odd and it is difficult to clench your face.
This is not a new concept. While taking a Lamaze class with my wife before our son was born, we learned that when it is time to push during labor, a woman should keep her mouth open in order to relax. Breathing is fundamentally an involuntary action. Wind players and singers tend to be more conscious of their breathing than other musicians and even work out ahead of time when to breathe depending on the musical line or pace of the music. Non-wind players don’t usually “plan” their breathing and as a result, generally play with their mouth closed … though they’d probably get better results if they opened it once in awhile.
Try it out during your next practice session and see if it works for you. If you’re like most people, I think you’ll discover that your performance will improve if you just open your mouth.
Many times, sound problems in a House of Worship can be solved just by moving some of the key components around. In this video, Yamaha product manager John Schauer describes how to efficiently set up a sound system in your worship venue while at the same time preparing the system for easy teardown. He provides tips to help you avoid accidents and potential safety issues, as well as how best to create logical cable runs and channel layouts in your mixer. For example, in order to ensure that the stage has the cleanest look possible, running cable should only be done after all equipment is physically in place and all mic and speaker stands are set to the correct heights.
Click here to find out more about Yamaha professional audio products.
Part of the joy of owning a home theater is being able to sit back and take in the visual and aural spectacle of great films. From timeless classics like “Casablanca” and “The Wizard Of Oz” to comedies such as “Wayne’s World” and modern action adventures like “Mad Max Fury Road,” each of the movies listed here offer powerful musical moments that will keep you coming back time and again. So get that bowl of popcorn, fire up your system, and prepare to be entertained.
1. Casablanca – La Marseillaise
Yes, music can make a political statement. In this 1942 romantic drama starring Humphrey Bogart, a clash happens when Nazi officers begin singing “Die Wacht am Rhein” at the piano. Not to be outdone by the unwelcome guests, Victor Laszlo orders the orchestra to begin playing “La Marseillaise.” Unable to overtake the fervor and volume of the patrons, the Nazis back down, ending with the patrons clapping and patting each other on the back yelling “Viva La France!” Check it out here.
2. Wayne’s World – Bohemian Rhapsody
Who would ever have thought that a classic film scene could take place in an AMC Pacer? This scene from the 1992 side-splitter has Dana Carvey (Garth Algar) and Mike Myers (Wayne Campbell), along with their rocker friends, banging their heads to a cassette tape of the Queen tour de force “Bohemian Rhapsody” blasting inside the cramped car. It was a brilliant and comical use of the song and the scene became an instant pop culture meme. Side note: Apparently Freddie Mercury got to see the scene shortly before he passed and loved it; in fact, Queen won an MTV Video Music Award for the scene and also saw the song propelled to number two on the Billboard singles chart years after its original release. Check it out here.
3. The Wizard of Oz – If I Only Had a Brain
“What would you do with a brain if you had one?” asks Dorothy (Judy Garland) in this 1939 landmark film. The answer from scarecrow Ray Bolger evolves into a fully orchestrated musical piece, beautifully performed by the MGM Studio Orchestra. Check it out here.
4. Top Gun – To the Danger Zone
Training the best fighter pilots in the world, the Top Gun school made a perfect platform for this 1986 blockbuster featuring Tom Cruise and Val Kilmer. As an F-14 Tomcat launches off the deck of an aircraft carrier, the song “Danger Zone” (performed by Kenny Loggins) slowly builds up to the high-flying adventure that’s about to place. When it comes to action in the skies, it’s hard to “top” this movie! Check it out here.
5. Mad Max Fury Road – Guitar Guy
This wild scene from 2015 Australian post-apocalyptic action film features a hard-rocking guy on the back of a rolling truck with a wall of amplifiers. As the rolling caravan comes under attack, the music issuing forth from the flame-spitting guitar plays a central role in the fire and fury of the scene. Check it out here.
6. Platoon – Opening
Sometimes it’s the unusual choice of music that makes a powerful impact on the overall feel of a film. Such is the case with this 1986 movie, which explores a soldier’s journey in the Vietnam War, where the use of Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber for the opening music on the dusty windblown airstrip grabs you immediately. As Charlie Sheen and the others walk off the plane and get their first taste of a foreign country, the sweeping strings help to foreshadow what’s about to come. Check it out here.
7. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – Duel Scene
This is one of the great Clint Eastwood scenes of all time, although not a single word is spoken. With the heroic Ennio Morricone score pulsing and flowing underneath, the camera pans in on the characters’ shifting eyes and movements, and the music continues to build as they do a slow, gradual dance on the stones in the center of a graveyard to gain position. We can all guess what happens in the end … or can we? Check it out here.
8. Caddyshack – Opening
As a gopher chews up the golf course, Danny Noonan (Michael O’Keefe) rides his bike to work, accompanied by the song “I’m Alright” (written by Kenny Loggins — there he is again!), immediately delivering the feel-good nature of this wacky and star-studded 1980 comedy. Check it out here.
9. Batman The Dark Knight – Bank Heist Scene
Opening with a solitary and rather uncomfortable string note, the score (by Hans Zimmer) underpinning this scene unfolds into a pulsating synth movement as clown-masked bandits perform a bank heist. Loading up a bus full of cash, the musical crescendo eventually reveals that the Joker is behind it all. This is just one of the many moving moments in this 2008 superhero film based on the DC Comics character Batman. Check it out here.
10. Dr. No – Casino Scene
Just as Sean Connery famously introduces himself at the card table as “Bond … James Bond,” one of the most memorable guitar riffs in movie history starts playing underneath in this pioneering 1962 British spy film that launched a thousand imitators. The recurring themes from composer Monty Norman would go on to populate many of the films in the decades-long Bond series that shows no sign of letting up today. Check it out here.
She offers new orchestra instructors, a plan to help them succeed in their first year. Like Greene did at Cashman Middle School, you, too, can expand your program and take your students to perform at prestigious music conferences.
1. Consider the School’s Needs: Find out the goals of the administration and partner to achieve them.
2. Crunch the Numbers: “You’ve got to stabilize the budget and figure out where your money comes from,” Greene says. “And figure out your inventory. If you need more instruments, figure out how to get them.”
3. Tailor Your Fundraisers: “A lot of schools [sell] coupon books for $25 to $30,” Greene says. “My families are not going to buy a single coupon book. What I can do is sell a bunch of $6 to $9 items. We also sell candy. Candy sells well, and it’s cheap. We also do a donation drive because some families would rather give money and call it a day.”
4. Look for Opportunities: If your program is cash-strapped, find unique ways to get the resources that you need. Greene acquired and repaired an instrument that another school was planning to throw out. And the music program received a grant from VH1 Save the Music Foundation and Toyota.
5. Cut Yourself Some Slack: “Roll with the punches and forgive yourself for mistakes because you’re going to make them,” Greene says. “Early on while I was making mistakes, I reminded myself that I was going to get better at it. I had an aptitude for music. I was good at working with kids. I was trained. I just needed to not put too much pressure on myself to be perfect.”
Photo Courtesy of James Cashman Middle School
This article originally appeared in the 2018 V4 issue of Yamaha SupportED. To see more back issues, find out about Yamaha resources for music educators, or sign up to be notified when the next issue is available, click here.
Imagine a director asking, “Can you make your sound move the same way you moved your arms?”
Dr. Thomas McCauley
Earlier in the rehearsal, the director showed students how to indicate the dynamics of forte with wide, sweeping motions and piano with smaller, more nuanced wrist flicks.
Most students never get to experience the musical and personal development that results from conducting an ensemble. Conducting is a skill often reserved for student leaders, particularly drum majors, or postponed until college. However, teaching conducting techniques within high school and even middle school music ensembles can improve students’ general musicality.
“[Conducting] can give an opportunity for them to see outside themselves a bit more,” says Montclair (New Jersey) State University Director of Bands Dr. Thomas McCauley. “That’s the goal of every teacher of every large ensemble — [doing] an activity that would help [students] realize that there are things going on beyond them playing notes.”
Giving students the opportunity to conduct the ensemble helps them develop confidence and leadership abilities that can be applied to everyday life. “This kind of exposure to what it takes to be a leader, the passionate commitment and the ability to communicate, not just word to brain but heart to heart, is truly effective,” McCauley says.
Stick to the Basics
Start students with the basic movements of conducting: large arm movements, posture and dynamic indications. “The basics of conducting are not complicated,” says McCauley, who taught high school for nine years prior to taking on several university positions. “There are a few simple patterns that one must memorize.”
Although conducting styles go further than marching band, simple two-handed drum major conducting in familiar time signatures such as 4/4 can help students understand the foundation. Do not delve too deeply into the details of conducting technique, McCauley advises; instead, the lessons should be more introductory. “The teaching of actual conducting to high schoolers is more like giving them a taste of what it’s like,” he says. “You’re exposing them to what a conductor does and what it’s like to do it.”
Move with the Music
In addition to conducting, teaching students to move with the music can help them develop musicality. “What we’re really trying to do is take the intricacies out of playing for a moment and have [students] engage with the music using large muscle groups,” says McCauley, who founded the University of Indianapolis Orchestra Festival and Festival of Winds for high school students.
Because both instrumental and vocal music require finely tuned, small muscle movements, using a broader spectrum of body movement — such as shoulder swaying and head nodding — helps students better understand the “shape” of the music and communicate nonverbally with the musicians around them. For example, chamber musicians use body motions to play together, even without a conductor.
Tie It In
Conducting lessons can be made relevant to the general ensemble rehearsal by integrating them into the curriculum. “It’s another tool, another avenue, another pathway to help students understand not just intellectually but also physically, emotionally [and] spiritually what it is we’re trying to accomplish with a phrase or a dynamic marking,” McCauley says.
He recommends using conducting lessons to break up rehearsals. “When the students might need a break anyway, and you’re trying to make a point, it’s time to truly engage them and have them try to replicate what you’re doing on the podium,” he says. “It’s something physical you can refer to for the rest of rehearsal [and] use as a way to develop the music.”
Think of the Future
Learning conducting techniques will help students not only in their high school music careers but also in their college educations and career pursuits, regardless of whether conducting is an active aspect of their journeys.
“Obviously, if they’re going to be teachers, it’s a good way to introduce them to the idea of listening and being aware and movement,” McCauley says. “It’ll certainly give them a bit of a leg up before they show up to the first day of basic conducting. Even if they’re going into music therapy or composition or jazz or performance, these kinds of tools can only help them, even if they don’t use them every day.”
Photo of Dr. McCauley courtesy of Daniel J. Schmidt
This article originally appeared in the 2018 V4 issue of Yamaha SupportED. To see more back issues, find out about Yamaha resources for music educators, or sign up to be notified when the next issue is available, click here.
The best recruiters for music programs are our current students. When retaining music students from middle and elementary schools, your current students serve as the best public relations for your program.
These student leaders are role models and can make an immediate and impactful impression on younger students.
The goal of recruitment is for both students and their parents to see the long view of music-making as one sequential program that starts in elementary school, continues through middle school, and concludes with high school graduation and hopefully beyond.
In addition to traditional events like the annual marching band night to bring together middle and high school students, there are other activities and opportunities that directors might consider implementing to help bridge the gaps from elementary to middle to high school programs.
Organize an Annual Elementary School Assembly
Have the high school band in full regalia march through the elementary school to an energetic cadence that will bring all the students into the performance venue. At some point during the student-led performance, the drum major/conductor should ask, “Who would like to conduct the band?” It’s likely that every hand will immediately be raised.
Give the chosen youngster a baton and help him or her conduct a march or even the high school fight song. At this young age, students are the most impressionable, and every student in the school will wish they had been chosen to be the student conductor!
This activity could predispose elementary students to want to be members of the high school band and, thus, join the middle school music program.
Encourage Summer Internships
New instrumentalists will quickly understand what a music education program can offer in a more individualized, casual setting, such as a half-day summer lesson program. High school students would benefit immeasurably from serving as intern instructors at these summer camps. They will gain peer coaching experience while being guided and supervised by directors, and beginners will view these high school students as leaders to emulate. Everyone wins!
Maintain Ties to Elementary and Middle Schools
High school students can remain engaged with their elementary and middle school programs to clearly demonstrate that instrumental music reaches beyond the elementary and middle school years. They can speak to younger students and parents from their former schools about the short- and long-term advantages of active participation in instrumental music.
High schoolers can also serve as emcees for the elementary or middle school concerts or other appropriate events. Working with a prior music director shows the connection from one program to the next.
High school students can offer to teach group lessons during the year or even assist with tutoring in a supervised setting. They can sit in on rehearsals at the elementary or middle schools to provide musical leadership in the various sections.
Provide Testimonials
High school music students can talk about the balance that can be achieved with participation in multiple activities, such as sports, cheerleading, drama or debate, in addition to band.
A photo of a football player in uniform holding his trombone sends a great message that students can participate in music along with other activities. Student leaders can speak with middle school students who may be thinking of leaving the program and counsel them in how participation in multiple activities can be accomplished — especially in regard to scheduling.
A short speech or presentation from a high school student leader at the beginning of a rehearsal at the middle school can help greatly. The high schooler can address any objections or questions regarding the music program from the middle school group. This tactic provides a better chance of keeping a student in the program by allaying his or her concerns beforehand rather than trying to reverse a decision to drop the program.
Host a Big Brother/Big Sister Instrument Night
High school leaders can offer to help beginning students select their instruments for the first time. At these events, parents can meet the high school director and see the continuum within the program. Beginners will love working with the high school students.
Send Notes of Encouragement
A nice touch that can go a long way are short notes of encouragement to elementary and middle school students. High school students can write these notes to younger students playing a like instrument, praising their exemplary talents as demonstrated in a recent concert or at solo and ensemble or large group festivals.
This article originally appeared in the 2018 V4 issue of Yamaha SupportED. To see more back issues, find out about Yamaha resources for music educators, or sign up to be notified when the next issue is available, click here.
Today, he teaches his students more than just the fundamentals of performance; he also stresses that professionalism will help students secure gigs and succeed in their musical careers. Here are some ways that educators can encourage professionalism with their students.
Help Find Gigs: Jones learned about many of his gigs from his teachers. With the advent of the internet, Jones says that no one should be left uninformed about potential gigs. Educators can inform their students of new gigs they find online. “Google ‘local jam sessions,'” he says.
Teach Practical Skills: While it may seem self-evident, Jones finds it important to impart a few life lessons on how to exude a professional image. Teachers should tell their students: “Show up on time.Make sure you’re a good person on the bandstand and that you’re dressing for the gig,” Jones says.
Reminder to Follow Up: Educators should let students know the importance of following up after a performance. Staying in touch with other performers can help students keep a gig long-term.
Seize Opportunities: Educators should frame gig acquisition as an active process. They should tell students about searching for gigs, networking with other musicians and seeking out work wherever they can find it. “You can’t sit at home and wait for the phone to ring,” Jones says. “You have to introduce yourself, be in people’s faces, go out there and get it. Every day go after it!”
Photo by Rob Shanahan for Yamaha Corporation of America
This article originally appeared in the 2018 V4 issue of Yamaha SupportED. To see more back issues, find out about Yamaha resources for music educators, or sign up to be notified when the next issue is available, click here.
When leaders consider the ideal infrastructure for a school district’s music program, they need to agree on several things.
They must look at how to set up K-12 feeder programs, create K-12 aligned curriculum, define a K-12 music education philosophy, and ensure equitable and sustainable resources.
Knowing that the “magic” happens in the classroom between students and teachers, many feel that the music teacher should be empowered to control all of these factors. In a previous position as a middle school band teacher, I made decisions without considering factors beyond my classroom. Looking back, I now realize that I should have been more collaborative with the other middle schools as well as with the elementary and high schools in the district.
Now as part of an arts administration team for Shelby County Schools, a district in Memphis with nearly 100,000 students, I know that there is greater strength through collaboration. Any situation that ends with a leader saying, “It’s my way or the highway,” is not good.
Rarely are there only two choices. The best option is usually a compromise that factors in many voices. Here are the top considerations when working to build this collaborative approach.
Trends in Education Leadership
Some school districts have an established vision of aligned teaching and learning among all of the schools in the district. Others empower principals to be leaders of curriculum and pedagogy in their schools. A teacher who wants to increase the amount of autonomy in the classroom or increase the amount of K-12 program alignment should first gain an understanding of the school’s or district’s philosophy.
Transient Students and Staff Turnover
Students who live in concentrated poverty tend to change schools more often than students in affluent communities. As students move from one school to another, some stakeholders will desire a pedagogical approach that is more aligned, so that students experience greater consistency even though it may impede music teachers’ ability to implement their own vision.
It can be difficult to collaborate with other music teachers when staff turnover rates are high. Relationship fatigue can hinder collaboration as it takes a significant investment of time to build trust among collaborators.
Fundraising Philosophies
Some schools empower music teachers to be the sole person in charge of raising funds to support their students. Other school districts effectively use the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) Opportunity-to-Learn Standards and invest in a district infrastructure to support music programs with equipment, facilities and resources in a way that creates equity among schools and programs.
Feeder Patterns
What works in small districts that have clearly defined feeder patterns may not work in large districts that have competition among schools.
Or a community may wish to align feeder patterns between preschool, elementary, middle, high school and even college experiences, often referred to as the Pre-K-16 continuum.
Teacher Support
In Memphis, there is a strong Orff Music program led by Wincle Sterling that serves all K-5 students across the district. Teachers have a strong collaborative support system that includes new teacher mentoring, professional learning communities, curriculum workshops and sharing sessions.
There are a number of formal and informal ways to build collaboration throughout the music program with curriculum committees, peer evaluations, all-district ensembles and professional development workshops.
Another strategy for collaboration is the cultivation of our district leadership team, comprised of experienced teachers, that provide support to new teachers, give recommendations on policy matters and make sure that teacher voice is represented when district decisions are being made.
Time Management
Because collaboration requires time, leaders need to be intentional about when and how to engage stakeholders. In-person meetings might work for some groups, but most music teachers are overwhelmed with teaching all day and spending time before and after school with additional rehearsals. That leaves the weekend — except for competitions, festivals, community events and the Saturday honor ensemble auditions!
In Memphis, we have utilized strategies to support in-school collaboration through creative scheduling and early student release days or by using online meeting tools such as Zoom or Google Hangouts.
Most importantly, however, Memphis music teachers have developed a strong network of collaboration by developing friendships and spending time “off the clock” to support one another.
Investment in Students
People will not care about your vision for the program until they are convinced that you care about your students and the community you serve.
Once you demonstrate a sincere passion for developing the students and communities, you can reach out to other teachers in the area, at all grade levels, and strive to value every voice at the table. Invest time to build relationships, set curricular goals, advocate for greater financial and staffing support, and leverage a collective vision. Normalize the support systems, so that the infrastructure remains during times of change.
This article originally appeared in the 2018 V4 issue of Yamaha SupportED. To see more back issues, find out about Yamaha resources for music educators, or sign up to be notified when the next issue is available, click here.
When Kathryn Greene began teaching orchestra at James Cashman Middle School in Las Vegas in 2006, she may have been in over her head.
Not only was Greene yet another teacher in a revolving door of instructors who had tried to succeed in the position, but she had a secret that she didn’t tell her students during her first year: She had no actual experience teaching orchestra or performing on string instruments.
“I don’t play at all — I took violin for a few weeks when I was 4, and that was it,” Greene says. “My experience was with band.”
Yet despite these initial setbacks, Greene was passionate about her job. While working to become a better instructor, she quietly grew Cashman’s orchestra into a nationally recognized program. The orchestra program had 160 students out of about 1,100 in grades 6 to 8 when Greene began; now it has more than 240. She’s expanded the program to include two beginning orchestras, an advanced beginning orchestra, two intermediate orchestras, an advanced orchestra and a chamber orchestra.
“Her work ethic, expectations, work with colleagues and ability to reach students — many of whom are in challenging situations — is second to none,” says Dr. Richard McEnaney, coordinator of secondary music, dance and theater for Nevada’s Clark County School District. “Her program is a reflection of her dedication, love and plain old hard work, both from her and her students.”
Money Matters
When she took the position, two of Greene’s earliest priorities were stabilizing her budget and increasing her inventory. Most Cashman families couldn’t afford instrument rentals, so students relied on the orchestra department’s inventory of violins, violas, cellos and basses. Today, most students get their own instruments, but that wasn’t always the case.
“When I came, we were using the same violin five periods a day,” Greene says. “You can’t expect kids to practice if you don’t have an inventory. And you can’t build an inventory without money.”
All funds for Cashman’s orchestra come from a $25-per-student annual course fee plus fundraisers.
“We squeeze the pennies out of everything,” Greene says. “I got a bass that another school was going to throw out. I asked the repair guy how much it would cost to make this playable, and he repaired it for $150.”
In 2017, Cashman Middle School received grants toward the purchase of wind and string instruments as well as pianos and keyboards from the VH1 Save the Music Foundation and Toyota as part of a charitable campaign.
Internal and External Support
At previous band jobs, Greene had observed orchestra classes, but those experiences didn’t fully prepare her to teach her students at Cashman. She took some private lessons to familiarize herself with string instruments and relied upon other skills she’d used as a band instructor.
“Rhythm and setup … that’s the same no matter what instrument you’re playing,” Greene says.
Having her administration’s support has been crucial for Greene’s success. “You can’t have a great program without support,” Greene says. “I needed my schedule built in a certain way, so I could have the right kids at the right level. If it’s between my class or a math class, the priority will be given to math. To keep from losing students to scheduling conflicts, I needed my master schedule changed, which required administrative support.”
A Certain Caliber
Greene constantly recruits students with a strong work ethic. “You can be the best teacher in the world, but you have to get the right students,” she says. “That’s why I look for students who have the right skills to succeed — skills like listening and being organized. I need students who are built for the work, and they’re not necessarily the straight-A kids.”
Each year, Greene handpicks her most promising beginning students and asks them to join the advanced beginning orchestra during the second semester, which meets after school. This orchestra has performed at the ASTA Nevada chapter’s annual music festival for the past five years.
“Every time I’ve taken the advanced beginners, I score a first place because the kids know how to really work,” Greene says.
By the time they make chamber orchestra, Greene’s students are accustomed to practicing consistently and staying after school.
Music students do better when they receive private lessons, but most families at Cashman can’t afford them on their own. Thankfully, the Cashman Family Foundation stepped in to provide $10,000 in scholarship funds for students who take lessons through the Nevada School of the Arts.
“The vast majority of our kids who went to Midwest had private lessons,” Greene says. “My parents can’t drive my kids, so we have the private teachers come to the school.”
Prestigious Heights
During the 2016-2017 school year, Cashman’s chamber orchestra was one of only three middle schools nationwide that performed at the Midwest Clinic. “Performing at Midwest is like the pinnacle of every music teacher’s career,” Greene says. “It took me 10 years to get the program to that level.”
The students were committed to the performance and devoted months of their time to get everything right. “They gave up their summer vacation,” Greene says. “They played four hours every day. We had just graduated a large 8th grade class, so we had to get the younger kids up to the level.”
The 2016 trip to Chicago was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for the students and parent chaperones. “I had kids who had never flown before, kids who had never been out of Las Vegas before,” Greene says. “It definitely was something that they will never forget.”
In March 2019, Cashman’s chamber orchestra will be one of seven middle schools performing at ASTA. Until then, chamber orchestra students will play at school twice a day to prepare for the event. And the students and parents couldn’t be happier.
“I know nothing about music, but I know when I see people doing their job right,” says Ivan Bachvarov, whose daughter, Anna, plays violin in the chamber orchestra. “Ms. Greene is definitely one of those. She loves her job. She puts a lot of energy in it. The best part is: She is able to get the kids to put a lot of energy in it, too. And when they put a lot of energy in it, the results follow.”
Photos courtesy of James Cashman Middle School and Ivan Bachvarov
This article originally appeared in the 2018 V4 issue of Yamaha SupportED. To see more back issues, find out about Yamaha resources for music educators, or sign up to be notified when the next issue is available, click here.
Some educators command attention with a booming voice and a larger-than-life presence. Sean Jones employs a completely different tactic that is equally — and probably more — effective.
He teaches with a soft voice and an unassuming demeanor. But the acclaimed jazz trumpeter and music educator instantly gains his students’ respect. How? “[I] lead by example,” he says.
Leading by example involves spending a lot of time playing for his students, rather than just discussing concepts with them. “My students learn from me by me showing them: This is how you play a scale. This is how you articulate,” he says. “I believe the apprenticeship approach is crucial in artistic development.”
According to Jones, leading by example is more important than titles or formalities. “I’m not one of those professors who needs to be called ‘Professor Jones.’ Call me Sean!” he says. “But understand that my work speaks for itself. That’s what garners respect, not a title.”
Foretelling the Future
When Sean Jones was 16 years old, he wrote his mother a letter declaring that he would be a college professor. The letter, which focused on what he planned to be doing in 10 years, was an assignment for an English class at Warren G. Harding High School in Warren, Ohio. The teenage Jones wrote about the connection he hoped to make with his future students, how he didn’t want to work a 9-to-5 job and that he planned to record his own album.
“And lo and behold, all those things happened,” Jones says. “[My mom] still has the letter, which is cool.”
Jones started playing the trumpet when he was 10 years old. “Everybody wanted to play the clarinet, flute, drums or saxophone; I wanted to be different, so I picked up the trumpet,” Jones says. “I fell in love with the challenge of playing [the trumpet]. … The harder it got, the more I wanted to practice.”
“Musicians have the ability to make or break a person’s day with a sonic vibration,” he says. “I take the job of educating and performing very seriously. I know the sounds created can heal or destroy a person.”
Sound, Spirit and Soul
As a child, Jones was introduced to the world of music through church. He recalls that his childhood church services were composed almost entirely of music, helping him develop musical skills early in life. “I was playing and singing by ear at a very early age and at a high level,” he says.
Jones joined a church horn ensemble called the Sound of Victory, which performed on Friday nights. When he was 14, the Sound of Victory went on the road and started performing in other churches.
Jones believes that music has a spiritual component. “Music — and sound — is the most powerful sense we have,” he says. “There is something magical about it. It resonates with your soul. It vibrates throughout your whole spirit and consciousness.”
In addition to performing with his church ensembles, Jones also performed with his high school’s music programs. Jones really wanted a jazz combo class, so he asked one of his teachers about starting one. “I actually founded the jazz combo at Warren G. Harding High School,” he says.
He recalls two Youngstown State professors — Tony Leonardi and Stephen Gage — who influenced his teaching style in different ways. While Leonardi had a tough-love approach, Gage was uplifting and spiritual.
As an educator, Jones combines aspects of both approaches. “[Students] want to feel fulfilled. … However, the art requires us as educators to let students know [when] their output is subpar,” he explains.
While he never wants to stifle a student’s creativity and confidence, Jones also emphasizes that some music fundamentals are non-negotiable. “You have to understand phrasing. Technique is important,” Jones says. “It’s my job to nurture young minds while curating excellence.”
Jones recognizes his own teachers as some of the most important pillars of support he had growing up. When Jones wanted more time to practice, one of his teachers gave him the key to his rehearsal space. Jones would then spend all night practicing. “I’ve always had great teachers, and I think subconsciously, that made me want to be a teacher myself.”
Keep Playing!
Jones says that his teachers also helped him find paying gigs. “My mom didn’t have a lot of money, so I had to play gigs to [help] make ends meet,” he says. “I’d be in school all day, and at night I’d travel to Pittsburgh or Cleveland to do gigs.”
Jones navigated different types of gigs, and he encourages his students to be prepared for a variety of musical situations. “The hardest gig I ever played was a circus; you’re just repeating the marches forever,” he says. “That gig taught me pacing, it taught me endurance, and it taught me that I didn’t want to play in the circus ever again.”
Regardless of the type of gig, Jones says that performers need to understand the music to be successful. “I played in wedding bands. I played bar mitzvahs. Name the scenario, I played it,” he says. “I attribute my success in every one of those situations to my ability to be pedagogically sound and to know the genre sensibilities enough to be authentic.”
Performance continues to be a key component of his career. “Just because you’re an educator doesn’t mean you can put down your ax and just teach,” he says. “Keep playing! I find educators all the time who gave up playing. I think that’s a bad thing because you become disconnected from the music itself.”
Educators need to stay connected to the music they are teaching as well as with the students themselves, Jones adds. Jones recommends that educators attend their students’ performances outside of school, if possible.
“Music is constantly evolving,” he says. “The older I get, the more I realize, I have to [keep] studying what’s current. It’s important to stay relevant.”
Berklee, Peabody and Beyond
In 2018, Jones finished his fourth year of teaching at Berklee, where he spent his time developing a curriculum that would give all students a solid pedagogical foundation.
“The big thing I added was the requirement to do various etudes, no matter what style of playing you focused on,” he says. “You had to do Clarke studies. It’s important to study those etudes, … so that you can get a strong foundation. That’s part of the lineage of playing a brass instrument.”
Jones is also a proponent of a diverse education, meaning that students are educated in a variety of styles. “They want to be prepared for more than the symphony orchestra that [accepts] five people every few years,” he says.
He is now bringing this concept of a diverse education to the Peabody Institute. Jones plans to integrate jazz studies into the school’s broader music curriculum.
While he enjoyed his time working at Berklee, he knows he can bring a lot of growth to Peabody’s jazz department. “I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I didn’t go after the opportunity,” he says. “It’s time to rise to the challenge.”
Photos by Rob Shanahan for Yamaha Corporation of America
This article originally appeared in the 2018 V4 issue of Yamaha SupportED. To see more back issues, find out about Yamaha resources for music educators, or sign up to be notified when the next issue is available, click here.
Try to fit these eight recommendations into every rehearsal. If you keep things moving, it’s amazing how much you can accomplish during a 45-minute class.
We spend a lot of time with our students. In a given school year, a 45-minute class taught for 180 school days amounts to 8,100 minutes spent with the same set of students. Those minutes are a valuable commodity. It’s imperative to display the agenda or plan for the day so students know that you have a plan, and it helps lower student anxiety levels when they can count on things happening in a particular order. Having a plan usually saves time over the course of multiple classes.
1. Individual Warmup Time
I am a big believer in allowing students to warm up individually before the rehearsal begins. I realize that there may be reasons why you might not want them all playing before class starts, but in most cases, it’s essential to know how proper individual warmups can drastically improve success for the entire ensemble. I can’t tell you how many times students find out that their instrument isn’t working, or students are able to help each other with musical and non-musical items during warmup time. Give them a set time limit of two to three minutes for the warmup. If you have younger students, you might want to post several warmup “choices” on the board, such as long tones, major scale, chromatic scale, a melody from a piece of music, lip slurs, rudiments, etc.
To keep students accountable during this time, have them journal periodically in their folder so that they have an opportunity to describe the warmups they are using. Making them write about it usually helps keep them on track for several days afterward. Watch several videos of professional musicians warming up so that students can see and hear it done correctly. I also recommend that students see you warm up on your instrument from time to time so that you can show them what you are trying to accomplish in that time period.
2. Play In Unison
It is so important to play in unison. It’s a wonderful way for students to learn to come to a “musical consensus” and is often the only time in a rehearsal where you can teach the exact same thing to every student. It’s an opportunity to focus in and out from your own sound, instead of jumping right into playing in harmony. The payoff for playing in unison is that students learn how to start, sustain and release together. They learn how to play with dynamics and how to manipulate pitch so that the intonation sounds correct.
At Metea Valley High School, we start almost every band rehearsal with a Concert F Remington exercise (sometimes called an F Pivot), which allows us to work on light articulation in a legato style, shifting from note to note cleanly and playing in tune and in time. Next, we typically have students play a scale in unison or perhaps a unison melodic phrase. Try this to get students super focused for the next part of rehearsal!
3. Play Intervals
Many times, we mistakenly jump from playing in unison directly into a chordal piece. Students need more time to develop their understanding of playing 2nds, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6th, 7ths and octaves. This practice allows you to teach pitch manipulation, but honestly they do it naturally. Perhaps the best way to experience intervals is playing along with a drone pitch. Try playing a drone on the tonic, or pick a specific pitch in a melody that needs work and play that pitch as the drone. My students really enjoy this!
The easiest way to work on interval training is to split your ensemble in half from left to right. Tell the students on your right to focus on your right hand when you conduct, and then tell the students on your left to focus on your left hand. Start everyone playing a Unison Bb (or any key), then only move your right hand to direct them up the scale one pitch at a time. The players on the left are sustaining and providing the drone for the other students. At any point, you can move up and down the one-octave scale creating intervals as you go. Students naturally correct the 4ths and 5ths easier than they correct 3rds and 6ths. After you have brought each group up and down the octave, both end on the Unison Bb.
4. Play Chorales
After we finish playing in unison and intervals, we move onto chords by playing chorales. First and foremost, it is so important to get wind, string and percussion students playing in a legato style so that the idea of uninterrupted breath, stroke, bow, etc. is achieved. This is where beauty of tone takes place. Chorales offer this experience whether playing slowly or quickly. My favorite way to get students thinking about playing chorales in SATB (soprano, alto, tenor and bass) parts is by allowing them to see the score I use as the chorales in the Tradition of Excellence Technique & Musicianship by Bruce Pearson and Ryan Nowlin with the 9th graders. I use 36 Chorales For Band by Aaron Cole with my upperclassmen (which is available online as a free resource with a suggested donation). Many books today have sections where students read from a SATB score, and this helps students learn other parts in a chorale.
5. Sight Read as Much as Possible
Students learn so much when they sight read, but most of us have no time to sight read regularly. To force the issue in our 9th grade band several years ago, I created folders for each student called the “Sight Reading Anthology.” I collected pieces of music in a beginner through intermediate range that progress students through several keys, time signatures, styles, etc. In total, there are almost 30 pieces. Students read one piece per day (generally speaking) until we finish the project. By late November, students should finish the folder. The benefits of this activity are that students regularly practice analyzing, reading, entering, resting, matching, creating, and best of all, make connections between success and failure from day to day, which is what learning is all about!
6. Practice Rhythm: Count, Clap, Play
Students need several methods for counting, subdividing and practicing rhythm so that they can process it on their own one day. It’s our responsibility to give them strategies for counting and executing rhythm, and one of the most crucial items is exposure to multiple time signatures, note and rest values, and learning how to process rhythm quickly.
Most method books have pages of rhythm in the back of the book, or you can create your own “rhythm sets” so that students have opportunities to see and master lots of rhythms in many different contexts. Another variable to adjust is tempo.
One of my favorite games in ensemble rehearsal is when I play a measure of rhythm, and then students have to guess which rhythm I played from a page that has 20 rhythms on it. Hands go up to provide the answer, and then once the correct answer is revealed, the entire ensemble gets to play the rhythm. The student who answered correctly is rewarded by getting to play the next rhythm for the class to guess. Students would play this game for hours if you let them!
One part of each of my rehearsals includes a rapid fire “to-do” list of micro details. For example, for song 1, you would write on the board:
Flutes – pitch @ end of meas. 17
clarinet – sixteenth notes meas. 17-18
trombones Eb & Ab chords meas. 35
percussion – sd tamb groove @ meas.107
I typically do a list like this for every piece of repertoire being played that day. The students know that after we accomplish fixing all of the items on the “to-do” list, they get to move onto playing bigger chunks or entire pieces. The nice thing about using an approach like this is that you don’t get bogged down during a piece of music trying to fix random details that coincidentally just occurred — something I call “whack-a-mole” rehearsing where you just stop every time you hear an error. Music educators want to be in an instructional mindset where we already know what we want to accomplish.
8. Individual Playing
When playing warm-ups and chorales, detailing music or sight reading, there are opportunities for individual playing, which I consider to be the breeding ground for students inspiring other students. They also serve as learning models as you work on fundamentals or details in their playing.
I love teaching individuals during ensemble class time because it allows all students to see the process of improvement. Students who struggle the most can benefit from your help, and even your best players can always play something more musical or with more professional attention to details like articulation or intonation.
I don’t use individual time for grading their playing; I use it as “example” time. Use questioning like: “Who wants to play the first note at measure 12?” Then move on to: “Would you mind playing the whole measure now?” or “Who can play a beautiful concert F for us today?” Then I follow that up with: “Everyone try to play that note exactly like you just heard Joe play. Didn’t you love the way he started that note?”
Use positive and specific language when listening and helping individuals in front of the ensemble and ensure that other students are paying attention to the lesson you are teaching so that they can benefit from the information as well. The idea here is that you are making each and every link in the chain stronger.
It’s Your Turn: Try It
It is possible to fit all of this into a rehearsal. If you have trouble managing your time in a class and feel like you usually do not accomplish everything you were hoping to, consider having a co-worker observe your class with a stopwatch and have them keep track of the minutes you allot for announcements, talk rather than play, etc.
Of course. we need rehearsals where we develop some depth of understanding, but for the most part, students like it when you have a plan for many activities that vary instruction and learning. By ensuring that you are fitting these essentials into most rehearsals, you are showing an enthusiasm for learning music. I’ve found over the years that students feed on our enthusiasm, so I continue to keep things fast paced, focused on musical and personal growth, and encouraging improvement every day. I hope these ideas will keep your rehearsals fresh and productive.
This article was originally published in the December 2018 issue of SBO Magazine.
The ultimate goal for beginning band students is the development of skills and understanding that enable the student to experience musical artistry. Marguerite Wilder‘s innovative, game-filled approach to teaching fundamentals help set students on a strong path toward success.
This technique helps teachers monitor individual progress while providing the students with a comprehensive, rigorous and creative learning experience that includes strong aural skills and improvisation techniques.
Wilder’s long tenure as a middle school band director has helped her work with educators on effective strategies to transfer young musicians from short method book songs and arrangements to full band arrangement experiences. She explores how daily routines start with warm-up and fundamental exercises that address the components of music that will be used in their music literature. Young instrumentalists also need an understanding of how melody, rhythm, harmony and bass lines combine to produce music.
Band directors looking for ideas to incorporate into their beginning band classes have found great success implementing Wilder’s unique ideas and have discovered that her comprehensive approach has led to enhanced musical independence for students at an accelerated pace.
Some of Marguerite Wilder’s session titles are:
Meaningful Middle School Band Rehearsals
An Aural Approach with Instrumental Music Using Conversational Solfege
Habits of a Successful Middle School Band
Teaching and Rehearsing the Middle School Band
Do It! Teaching through Rain, Sleet, Snow and a 7th Grade Fire Drill
You Too Can Be a Winner with Beginners
Creating Habits of Success for the Young Band
To learn more about clinics by Marguerite Wilder, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
Dr. Emily Threinen is director of bands and associate professor of music at University of Minnesota. She consistently works with composers, arrangers and performing artists of varied disciplines. Residencies and projects with composers and new compositions are integral to her creative work. She is an active and in-demand guest conductor, clinician, conference presenter and performer.
Passion with excellence motivates Threinen’s teaching. She aims to create an environment, whether it’s during a rehearsal, in the classroom, in private lessons, in public workshops, etc., where students and educators can achieve something beyond what they previously thought possible. When working with students, she shares her ideas and processes in a way that inspires thought, feeling and creativity. When working with educators and conductors, she brings solid pedagogy, research, analysis and respect for tradition as well as incredibly high standards, inspiring the goal of being true to oneself.
Threinen is a true artist when it comes to programming and careful study of score, which she highlights in presentations titled “Connecting the Dots: Linking Score Study to Authentic Gestural Communication” and “You are What You Program: Developing a Programming Philosophy.”
Threinen is keenly aware of time when interacting with students and educators, recognizing every minute spent with a student or educator is a gift to be carefully considered. Success and development take time, investment and practice. Focused work and diligent awareness of oneself can spur educators and students toward success in both career and personal ambition. Inspiring directors to take time and make the long-term investment in their students’ development drives Threinen, and makes her a highly sought-after educator.
A few of Dr. Emily Threinen’s session titles are:
Passion from the Podium: Rehearsals Aiming to Inspire
Score Discovery: Finding Your Interpretation
We are What We Play: Developing a Programming Philosophy
V.I.P. Revisiting the Art, Craft, Responsibility, and Joy in our Work
To learn more about clinics by Dr. Emily Threinen, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
Dr. Kevin Sedatole is Director of Bands and Professor of Music at Michigan State University. He serves as administrator of the entire band program at Michigan State University, totaling over 700 students, which includes the wind symphony, symphony band, concert band, chamber winds, campus bands, Spartan Marching Band and Spartan Brass.
Having conducted and taught all over the world, Sedatole’s commitment to music-making and conducting is to the music itself, through the study of the score, the understanding of the intent of the composer and knowing what is best for the musicians. This provides a setting for increased musicianship on the part of the performers as individuals as well as the proficiency of the ensemble.
“When the ensemble knows that the director’s top priority is to serve the music,” Sedatole says, “the bar is raised.”
Sedatole continues to serve high school and collegiate level band and orchestral teachers as a clinician, guest conductor and adjudicator. As a young educator, one of the first things he learned from his mentors was to treat everyone equally. In their positions as leaders, ensemble directors walk a fine line of being perceived as an authority figure.
Directors who work with Sedatole soon discover that his conducting and teaching style provides more of an atmosphere of equivalence, as he presents different ways of doing and looking at things, giving musicians things to think about on their own. Whether working with students in an honor band setting or with educators in a workshop setting, his approachable style provides a genuine atmosphere that truly connects the director and the ensemble members.
A few of Dr. Kevin Sedatole’s session titles are:
Expressive Conducting Gestures Based on the Laban Method
Quality Repertoire — The What, Why and How
Building Musical Depth Through Quality Experience
To learn more about clinics by Dr. Kevin Sedatole, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
Dynamic, energetic, exciting — these are the words used to describe Marcia Neel, one of the most knowledgeable professionals in the field of music education today. This began years ago when she was a secondary music educator whose ensembles were known for consistent quality and attention to artistic detail.
She has carried that philosophy and constant search for perfection into everything she does — particularly when it comes to the complex art of school- and district-wide program building, where all of the pieces relating to standards-based curriculum, including instruction, scheduling, recruitment and retention, professional development and student achievement, come together to form the ideal, sequential program.
Neel cares about serving schools and school districts by providing just this type of guidance. From building or refining course syllabi to organizing a K-12 Master Music Education Plan that results in increasing the numbers of students served through an enhanced, relevant curriculum, Neel has done it all as the Secondary Fine and Performing Arts Coordinator for the Clark County School District (CCSD), headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Over the course of her 14-year tenure, she led the Secondary Arts Education program to an astounding level of growth and enrollment. The standards-based Mariachi Program, implemented in 2002 in the CCSD, has grown from 250 students to almost 7,000 today. Neel is currently President of Music Education Consultants and Senior Director of Education for Yamaha Corporation of America.
Neel’s enthusiasm for engaging more children in music-making is contagious, and providing these opportunities through an organized, well thought-out vision and unified approach is her passion.
Some of Marcia Neel’s session titles include:
Combatting the Teacher Shortage: Sharing Short- and Long-Term Innovative Strategies
5 S.M.A.R.T. Ideas to Retain THIS YEAR’S Beginners
From Zero to Mariachi
Defying Gravity: Gaining Leadership Momentum
KEYNOTE: Back to the Future: A Return to the Why
KEYNOTE: One is Too Small a Number to Achieve Something GREAT!
5 S.M.A.R.T. No-Fail Ideas for Retaining Your Beginners
Bridging the Gap Between Middle School and High School: Tips for Ensuring a Seamless Instrumental Music Education Experience
Broadening Your Base: From Zero to Mariachi
Building Your Music Program: A Practical Guide for Recruitment and Retention
Crossing Over to the Other Side of the Podium: Lessons in Body Language
Creating a Unified Message: Creating the District-Wide Music Education Plan
Inclusivity and Diversity in Music Education: Programs that Engage Underserved Populations and Embrace Social-Emotional Learning
Interviewing Skills: The Rules of the Road
Making an Advocate out of Your Principal: Ten Things You Can Do On Monday
Show Me (How to Get) the Money: Accessing Federal Funds for Music Education
Tips for Success: A Guide FOR Instrumental Music Educators BY Directors FOR Directors
To learn more about clinics by Marcia Neel, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
With a broad and diverse arsenal of experiences spanning over five decades, Anthony Maiello‘s enthusiasm for teaching music is nothing short of contagious. Having taught instrumental music education from the grade-school level through the university doctoral level, both in the United States and aboard, his experiences give him a unique view and approach to teaching and making music.
Not only is Maiello one of the most inspiring conductors of our time, he approaches every teaching situation with the same verve — whether teaching a private lesson, having a one-on-one conversation or conducting the premiere of a new work. He views each moment as an opportunity to inspire and nurture a love of sharing music with others.
Currently, a Distinguished University Professor at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, Maiello’s mantra is that music is a powerful art form, with the power to touch humanity, souls and a person’s complete being. His presentations are centered around teaching with enthusiasm and energy, “like your hair is on fire!” He believes that directors should continuously strive to motivate each other on a daily basis, so that they might do the same for their students. This is displayed in his session entitled “Student Motivation Techniques.”
Maiello is an extremely effective clinician for bands, wind ensembles and orchestras. He is a highly sought-after lecturer for college-level conducting students.
Working collaboratively with Maiello is a game-changing, inspirational experience in the life of any conductor, whether in a professional development session, such as “How’s Your Podium I.Q.(‘I’ Stands for Inspirational)?” or as an observer in an ensemble rehearsal with musicians of any age or ability level.
Some of Anthony Maiello’s session titles:
Conducting — A Hands-On Approach
Conducting Nuances — Little Things Mean a Lot
Serious Score Study
How’s Your Podium IQ? (“I” Stands for Inspirational)
Student Motivation Techniques
To learn more about clinics by Anthony Maiello, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
A multi-faceted artist, Gary Lewis has done it all — from jazz performance and marching band, to musical theater and opera, to arranging for a variety of genres. He has also been involved in entrepreneurial efforts such as establishing a contemporary music festival.
With such diverse experiences, Lewis lives his belief that music serves as “the thread that connects us all.”
Lewis is currently the Director of Orchestral Studies and the Bob and Judy Charles Professor of Conducting at the University of Colorado Boulder. He conducts the University Symphony Orchestra and is also Music Director of the West Texas Symphony Orchestra. He is a fervent believer that music is the great equalizer and that educators can change lives through the indispensable gift of teaching young people how to make music — what he calls the single most important thing.
Core to Lewis’ teaching and workshops is a focus on developing and enhancing the unique relationships that are found within the exemplary ensemble. He inspires directors to discover how they can empower their own students by teaching them how to interact and collaborate with each other in the music-making process. This art of close and connected collaboration is critical to the success of a chamber ensemble, and he applies the same types of principles to larger ensembles. Fostering an environment where all musicians discover the inherent intimacy and awareness of music-making not only leads students to become more independent musicians, but also provides heightened and more fulfilling experiences with others.
As conductor of the University Symphony Orchestra at the University of Colorado Boulder, Lewis also oversees the entire orchestra program and leads the graduate program in orchestral conducting. His graduate conducting students have enjoyed great success as conductors of university orchestra programs, youth orchestras and professional orchestras alike.
A few of Gary Lewis’ session titles include:
Conducting: Giving Up Control to Gain Control
Rehearsal Techniques (The Long Game: Giving Our Students the Skills and Responsibility to be Independent)
Making Our Large Ensembles More Like Chamber Music
4/4 is 4/4: Empowering Ourselves to Work with Strings, Winds and Percussion
Building Leadership In Your Ensemble
Score Study and Preparation: How Analysis Meets Performance
Bach and Beyond: Baroque-Style Performance Practice Applications for String Orchestra
Art vs. Craft: How to Get to the Technique Through the Music
To learn more about clinics by Gary Lewis, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
Having appeared as a guest conductor throughout the world, Craig Kirchhoff brings a deep understanding of both traditional and contemporary literature to his sessions, including one titled “Score Study: A Different Perspective.” With a celebrated teaching career spanning decades, Kirchhoff is professor emeritus of conducting at the University of Minnesota and remains true to his mission of changing lives through the experience of making music.
Kirchhoff works extensively with undergraduate and graduate music students, helping them amass a collection of tools which they, in turn, may use to provide life-changing experiences for their future students. Kirchhoff also thoroughly enjoys working with and guest conducting high school and collegiate ensembles.
Inspired by his high school band director, Kirchhoff challenges and motivates educators to rediscover the “magical moment” when their lives were changed through music. Through this sense of purpose, directors find a more philosophical framework for teaching, and realize their most significant contribution as an educator is to pass this inspiration on to their students. He truly believes that all decision-making stems from a director’s desire to provide an atmosphere that enhances the students’ curiosity, so that they are able to unlock their own discoveries about and passion for meaningful music-making.
Kirchhoff believes that enthusiasm is external, and alone will not motivate an educator or a student. Passion, however, is internal, lasts a lifetime and moves us all forward while inspiring others.
A few of Craig Kirchhoff’s session titles are:
Some Things I Believe
Score Study: A Different Perspective
The Rehearsal Technique: It’s Not What You Say, But How You Say It
Teaching the Art of Listening in Rehearsal
Is Your Conducting Helping or Hurting Your Ensemble?
To learn more about clinics by Craig Kirchhoff, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
Whether conducting a group of professionals or students, Jerry Junkin is committed to ensuring that musicians under his baton make an emotional connection to the music. This comes, in part, as a result of choosing the exact, right piece of repertoire for the ensemble, as well as delving into the intent of the composer to discover the inspiration for the work.
As Director of Bands and Professor of Wind Conducting at Butler School of Music at The University of Texas at Austin, Junkin thrives when approaching an ensemble with a solid base, so he can enhance the great work being done and really move it to a deeper, more inspired level.
Educators attending Junkin’s workshops soon discover that the technical aspects of ensemble music-making simply scratch the surface. Although the development of musicianship is always at the forefront, Junkin believes that it is only through a comprehensive understanding of the music — it’s purpose, musical elements, emotion — that directors can assist and lead students to develop natural instincts, and eventually arrive at a place where they can inspire themselves.
Junkin is a respected authority on conducting and is an in-demand speaker, adjudicator and conductor. He is an ideal guest as a conductor for honor ensembles or as a lecturer at staff development days and MEA events.
Some of Jerry Junkin’s session titles include:
Leave No Tone Unstirred
Does Expressive Conducting Make a Difference?
Score Study
To learn more about clinics by Jerry Junkin, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
Students, leadership, excellence and passion — the core of Barry Houser‘s teaching, as well as his working with directors, is based on the intermingling of these four components. At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he is the Associate Director of Bands, Director of the Marching Illini and the Chair of the Conducting Area, Houser brings a unique energy and enthusiasm to all that his varied positions require. His teaching background encompasses both extensive high school and university experiences, which have been met with incredible success.
He ignites a passion in others for life-long music-making, regardless of their chosen career path. He is in constant pursuit of artistry and believes in continuing to pursue success and excellence every day.
Keeping students at the core and heart of what music educators teach is a pillar Houser stands by, both in teaching and in practice. His own experience as a collaborative director has led him to discover that directors must do more than “copy and paste” what other programs have done. Rather, there must be a comprehensive understanding of the process that leads to success. Meeting the ensemble where it is then taking it to the next level is his mantra to band directors. By focusing on the students and their ability to grasp musical concepts, Houser believes that musical excellence will follow and will ultimately drive the ensemble forward.
Providing opportunities for success for each student is at the heart of all that Houser does. He believes that the sky is the limit as long as he holds students to a communicated level of excellence, whether in the classroom, on the gridiron, or in life outside of the music-making realm.
Some of Barry Houser’s session titles are:
From the Football Field to the Concert Stage
Technology on the Gridiron
System + Spirit = Success
Inspiring Leadership
To learn more about clinics by Barry Houser, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
Jeffrey Grogan is an internationally known conductor and teacher who is dedicated to pursuing his craft and sharing the joy of musical excellence with young musicians. His early teaching experience taught him the importance of “getting to work,” teaching grades 6-12 in a very small town.
He quickly learned how to manage it all — from teaching and ordering buses to setting up stands, working with parents and much more. Grogan engaged fellow teachers, parents, custodians and others to “get the job done.” He continues to do this as Professor of Music and Director of Orchestral Activities at Oklahoma City University and as the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Oklahoma Youth Orchestras.
Grogan’s collegial approach helped mold his fundamental belief that gaining the trust of one’s peers, while providing an inspirational angle to understanding the spirit of the music by the players, is fundamentally important. Core to his approach is ensuring that those under his baton know and understand their responsibility to the music and are able to trust and support the ensemble. This is what inspires successful performance experiences. Whether conducting a small chamber ensemble or large all-state orchestra, Grogan’s focus on each individual’s emotional engagement is key, ensuring every ensemble member is fully engaged in every moment of a rehearsal.
Grogan pours an exorbitant amount of emotion, energy and passion into every moment, and he also makes the time to celebrate the successes of the music-makers. He creates inspirational moments and fosters a unique vocabulary that serve to provide connections within the music and among the players. He believes that what’s most important is what’s happening in the “here and now” and looks for each opportunity to create a little bit of magic in every rehearsal.
A few of Jeffrey Grogan’s session titles are:
Lead Rehearsals that Inspire
Conducting Artistry through Gesture
To learn more about clinics by Jeffrey Grogan, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
Inspired by his own high school band director, Larry Gookin‘s primary focus when conducting wind bands of any level is for the performers to “say something.” Mere perfection of the technical aspects of performance is simply not enough — the musicians must make a personal connection to the music, which results in an expressive, musical presentation. Only then will the ensemble members truly experience the performance as opposed to presenting the performance. Audience members are greatly impacted by this experience, as well.
Gookin has more than four decades of educational experience and is a Distinguished Professor and Emeritus Professor of Music at Central Washington University. His open and inviting podium style puts his players at ease from the very first note. His teaching philosophy is based on the premise that educators teach people, not just music. He works to help players discover the emotional content within the music, then uses that discovery as the impetus for them to interject their own emotions into the performance. This instills empowered, expression-filled musical decision-making.
Whether conducting an honor band or working in residence with a school band program, Gookin’s teaching style promotes honest exchanges with both students and educators alike. He also enjoys working in-depth with young music educators as they strive to discover who they are as directors and what their ultimate purpose is in teaching.
Some of Larry Gookin’s session titles are:
The Art of Musical Conducting
Performance Anxiety and Stage Fright
Music Advocacy
Wind Band Intonation – Yamaha Harmony Director
Emotion and Meaning in Music
Podium Personality and Communication
Band Director Burnout
To learn more about clinics by Larry Gookin, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
First, he assists his students, and their families in understanding the connection between the artistic and music-making processes, and growing as individuals to become service-minded and compassionate people.
Second, he encourages the art of collaboration, both through leadership and by example. By allowing and prompting his students to find answers and solutions, he encourages a process that allows for flexibility and empowerment in the music-making process. This enhances the students’ experiences because they are a part of a collaborative environment, which fosters empowerment and creativity.
With empowerment comes responsibility. Ford sets high expectations for himself and his students at the Leadership Conservatory of the Arts to come to rehearsal prepared and leave with new goals, which the students set for themselves. This is a shared commitment to achieve more and be better every day. This is echoed in the way Ford utilizes mentorship in his program — experienced musicians are partnered with less experienced musicians in small ensembles, which provides student leaders the opportunity to inspire, lead and help their growing colleagues.
Ford has a great deal to offer any instrumental educator when it comes to the topic of bringing out the best in student musicians. His leadership program at Tarpon Springs High School is nationally recognized. Any program looking to extend its traditional curriculum to include a creative approach to learning, which focuses on leadership development and artistry should consider learning more about this conceptual approach through a session with Ford.
A few of Kevin Ford’s session titles are:
7 Habits for Highly Effective Directors and Students
TEACHING: Building a Culture of Artistic Excellence
Artistry: Unlimited Possibilities
Leadership
Show Design Process
The Importance of an Outstanding Educator
New Teachers: The First 100 Days
To learn more about clinics by Kevin Ford, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
Richard Floyd is the State Director of Music Emeritus at The University of Texas at Austin. He is a recognized authority on the art and craft of teaching and making music. He is an ideal director for honor ensembles or lecturer at staff development days and MEA events. Floyd specializes in challenging student ensembles and music educators alike to reach their highest level of craft and artistry.
When directors have the opportunity to work with the incomparable Richard Floyd, it doesn’t take long to discover that it is his commitment to artistry and passion for the art of making music that are what define him as a conductor. He believes making music is core to our human experience. Floyd is unique in that he continually creates artistic, musical connections for every level of music-maker, whether they are in a middle school, high school, collegiate or an adult ensemble.
Sharing his passion for the art of making music with students and fellow educators is one of Floyd’s greatest joys. Directors who have the opportunity to see him work with an ensemble observe an uplifting, artistic rehearsal. He desires to lead educators to view what they do as their calling — passion-filled, with art, beauty and inspiration — instead of merely a job.
One of the key distinctions to Floyd’s conducting and teaching is that he leads musicians to uncover the art that is inherent in each piece of quality literature by encouraging them to think and make discoveries on their own. In doing so, Floyd provides an enlightening experience where music makers create their own artful decisions and subsequently enjoy the rewarding feeling that comes with a sense of ownership of those choices in performing with others.
A few of Richard Floyd’s session titles are:
To Be a Better Teacher, Be a Better Conductor
Pathways to a Happy Workshop
What They See is What You Get
The Seven Deadly Sins of Music-Making
Getting to the Art of the Matter
Hear It, Feel It, Fix It
Fail Safe Fixes for Frequently Frustrating Flaws
The Music You Play Matters
Do You Hear What I Hear?
The “Three Es” of a Productive Rehearsal: Efficient, Effective and Engaging
Getting It Correct Don’t Make It Right
To learn more about clinics by Richard Floyd, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
Cheryl Floyd is at home presenting on any instrumental music topic. But as the retired Director of Bands at Hill Country Middle School in Austin, Texas, she shines especially bright in the realm of “all things middle school.”
At this incredibly challenging, yet significantly crucial, time in the lives of young music students, she consistently brings a fine-tuned balance of high expectation, passion and an extra helping of heart to each of her rehearsals.
What young students always seem to take away from Floyd’s teaching is her passion for developing their musicianship and skills by scouring repertoire to find the perfect piece to accomplish this superior goal. She is highly dedicated to discovering and commissioning exceptional repertoire, which she speaks to in her session titled “Commissioning Music for Young Band.”
As an educator and presenter, Floyd shares her lifetime of music making and teaching with fellow educators by challenging them to introduce their students to excellent music and to teach with lots of energy and passion — something she does as a dynamic, in-demand guest clinician and conductor through her session “Rehearsal Strategies for the Young and the Restless.” Floyd is also a champion of unique teaching methods and learning pathways, such as the Suzuki Method. Understanding that students, especially middle school students, learn fastest when they are happy, Floyd provides a learning environment for students that is fun, high energy, musically focused and inspirational; wisdom she imparts upon other educators so they can inspire the students in their programs.
Viewed and respected as a highly-effective conductor, directors across the United States repeatedly call upon Floyd to work with their students and fine-tune their ensembles.
Some of Cheryl Floyd’s session titles are:
Tuneful Teaching from the Start
The Magic of Having a Mentor
Picking Pieces for Picky People
Rehearsal Strategies for the Young and the Restless
Best Beginnings for Beginners
Commissioning Music for Young Band
To learn more about clinics by Cheryl Floyd, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
With a dynamic and engaging teaching style, Douglas Droste brings a level of enthusiasm to orchestral rehearsals, which stems from his determination to achieve musical success for every student, at every level, in every ensemble. He is passionate about this approach and takes full responsibility for ensuring that students are motivated to perform at the highest level.
A former full-time public school music educator and currently the Director of Orchestral Studies at Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music in Berea, Ohio, Droste has firsthand experience with the challenges that are inherent to music educators. He regularly works with school-aged musicians through all-state and honor orchestras, music festivals and school visits, as well as with their directors. Because he holds himself to the highest standard, young musicians under his leadership are nurtured to a rewarding level of achievement. Directors champion Droste’s ability to translate music-making skills to life-enhancing skills through his in-depth interpretations, keen sense of community and personal ability to empower and inspire.
Droste’s presentations and workshops range in scope, much like his teaching experience, from the practical and technical aspects of bowing, to high-level and inspiring conducting workshops about making informed decisions on the podium.
A few of Douglas Droste’s session titles are:
Conduct Like You Mean It!
Bowing Misuses and Conducting Fixes
Conducting Decisions, Decisions, Decisions!
Orchestral Leadership Principles
To learn more about clinics by Douglas Droste, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
Dr. Rodney Dorsey‘s expertise in music education stems from a diverse background of experiences, which include teaching at multiple distinct public high schools as well as directing college ensembles for decades.
As an African American band director, Dorsey knows what it means and how it feels to be a minority — a unique and motivating perspective he brings to students and teaching moments.
He is currently a Professor of Music and Conductor of Wind Orchestra as well as the Director of Graduate Wind Conducting Studies at Florida State University College of Music and is active guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator in the United States and has welcomed engagements in Bulgaria, Hungary and Canada.
Making connections with students as individuals is one of Dorsey’s strengths and passions. He understands that directors can have a powerful, positive impact on young musicians and their goals, and accepts this as part of his professional responsibility.
Serving the roles of both director and mentor, Dorsey’s student-centered approach to teaching focuses on providing valuable and useful input, which can be immediately implemented. Through the process of setting goals and making connections with fellow students within the ensemble, Dorsey works with students individually to help them develop a plan to achieve their objectives.
Some of Dr. Rodney Dorsey’s session titles are:
Strategies for Long-Term Success
Get Inside the Music
We are What We Teach: Quality Literature and the Instrumental Ensemble
To learn more about clinics by Dr. Rodney Dorsey, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
Dr. Travis J. Cross is a Professor of Music and Director of Bands at UCLA, where he conducts the wind ensemble and symphonic band and directs the graduate wind conducting program. His diverse areas of expertise make Cross an ideal presenter for any session designed to enhance the skills of the earnest band director.
For example, his session on the role of the conductor explores the profound relationship between conductor, score and ensemble, as well as common barriers to success, progress and growth. Another session provides directors with strategies to increase the level of students’ individual musicianship skills by empowering them to think, listen and use movement to enhance the performance experience.
As an engaging and active conducting clinician, Cross often utilizes real-time participation, where audience members form small ensembles that Cross conducts. This “real-time” problem-solving approach assists directors in understanding how they may use these techniques in their own classrooms.
Cross is an ideal director for honor ensembles, as he has a profound understanding of music-makers at any age. His dynamic personality engages students quickly, which inspires them to perform at the highest level. His ability to choose the right concert material provides a solid base for enhanced student learning.
Core to his own teaching approach are the tenets of listening, problem-solving and active engagement within the ensemble. On the podium, Cross seeks to conduct not just the music, but also the players — the people who bring the music to life. This subtle shift focuses his words and gestures on how to motivate, educate and instigate the players to make effective and musical sounds. He is passionate about assisting and mentoring educators of all levels, specifically early-career band directors, building connections between university and high school programs.
A few of Dr. Travis Cross’ session titles are:
Better than Before: Questions and Ideas for Successful and Sustainable Teaching After the Pandemic
The Interactive Rehearsal: Empowering Students to Think, Listen and Move
We are What We Play: Developing a Programming Philosophy
The Conductor’s Role
The State of Our Art
Zero to Concert in 48 Hours: Strategies for Success with Honor Bands
To learn more about clinics by Dr. Travis J. Cross, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
In his inspirational and practical presentations, Daniel Berard, the Director of Bands at Chatfield Senior High School in Littleton, Colorado, shares his experience of starting with nothing but a blank piece of paper and a vision. He helped build support systems comprised of community members and parents to create a thriving program.
He brings knowledge and experience of what must be done at various stages of development to place a program on a trajectory of sustained success.
Berard’s passion for developing musical literacy and high levels of performance excellence in students is infectious. He offers valuable advice on how to create and sustain a nurturing environment for student success, creativity, leadership and independence, as well as advancing one’s pedagogical foundation, rehearsal environment, and effective and expressive conducting techniques.
He hears and understands what teachers experience and what they might need to do in order to clear obstacles and build support systems. Berard is an expert at diagnosing and prescribing what may be the best steps for teachers seeking to advance their pedagogy, positively impact their students and sustain successful music programs.
Berard assisted with the process of opening Fossil Ridge High School and Kinard Middle School, in Fort Collins, Colorado, and created thriving music programs at both schools. He has led the music department through a path of explosive growth, innovation and excellence, and provides practical suggestions for teachers to connect to the larger scope of the school community by positively engaging colleagues across disciplines.
He is often asked to speak about integrating technology into pedagogy, assessment and rehearsals. These sessions focus on everything from establishing a music technology lab to production classes that include live audio reinforcement, digital creation, recording and film scoring.
Some of Daniel Berard’s session titles include:
Collaborative Rehearsal Strategies
Empowering a Student-Centered Ensemble Experience
Developing Independent Musicians Through Collaborative Rehearsals
Fueling Your Fire, Sustaining Your Passion— A Discussion on Career Longevity, Finding Joy and Balance, and Avoiding Burnout
From Nothing to Nationals — A Blueprint for Building and Sustaining a Thriving Band Program
The Business of the Band — the Band Director as CEO
The Unintended Consequences of “Don’t” — Rehearsal Strategies that Foster Student Engagement and Build Musical Independence
Creative Show Design Solutions for Marching Bands Large and Small
Engaging the “Screen-Ager” and Leveraging Social Media Within Your Ensemble
Streamlining Your Assessment Systems Through Integrating Technology — Helping You “Inspect What You Expect”
To learn more about clinics by Daniel Berard, please contact Jalissa Gascho at jgascho@yamaha.com.
The holidays are supposed to be filled with joy, right? Well, the truth of the matter is that they can also be a source of stress and tension. In fact, part of that twisted knot in your stomach may be due to those holiday songs that you keep hearing over and over and over again.
The good news is that there are ways to undo those feelings and bring both musical and emotional contentment back into your life.
Let that sink in for a moment. Music is supposed to bring us joy and happiness, not induce stress in our bodies and minds. All year long, most of us play music in our homes, cars and offices to feel good. Why should it be different this time of year?
The answer lies in the fact that, during the holidays, we’re assaulted by an endless onslaught of themed songs that play relentlessly, from every loudspeaker hidden in the ceilings, nestled in our car doors, lurking behind every innocent-looking potted plant. Yet holiday music is not for everyone. The reason you hear holiday music earlier and earlier each year, especially in places of business, is to stir up a sense of nostalgia … which in turn makes you want to spend more on gifts. However, at some point this technique can start to have an adverse effect. And for those who have had unpleasant associations with the holidays, this kind of musical overload can actually create feelings of contempt or sadness.
But just because you can’t stand to hear “Silent Night” or “Frosty The Snowman” anymore doesn’t mean you can’t take matters into your own hands and try to change the narrative. I’ve found, for example, that putting up holiday lights is an effective way to combat the holiday blues. This year, I decorated a fern plant before the Thanksgiving holiday with both white and multicolor lights. It immediately made me smile, and I found myself turning the lights on not only every night, but as soon as I got up in the morning.
Then I ran across an article that helped confirm my theory about lights: people who decorate earlier are simply tapping into the holidays before others, which makes them happier. In the article, psychologist Deborah Serani also notes that “decorating can definitely lift your mood.”
I also find that playing my all-time favorite holiday CDs — A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio and the soundtrack to Dr. Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas — help lift my mood. I also enjoy creating my own custom playlist of holiday songs that elicit good memories or make me feel festive. This also has the bonus of letting me take control, at least to some extent, of which holiday songs I am listening to.
My final piece of advice is to embrace the spirit of giving. Years ago, I got together with a friend — the talented keyboard player Peter Vitalone — to record a holiday record called In the No L, where we did unique cover versions of some of our favorite seasonal songs. Along with special guests ranging from Shawn Pelton to Grammy-nominated opera singer Angela Blasi, we created a project that we’ve never sold. Instead, we’ve simply given this music away to help spread the cheer. So in that spirit, here’s a gift for you, dear reader: “Carol of the Bells,” featuring David Sancious on piano and Jerry Marotta on drums/percussion:
So if the holiday blues have got you down, try to take some positive steps to turn things around. Maybe it’s time to put on that holiday station, make some hot chocolate, put up a string of lights and try to create some new memories. And don’t forget to give if you can!
As I sit down to write this, the holiday season almost upon us, what I want to say — or at least what I think I should say — is that I always feel a festive creative spirit calling this time of year.
But the truth is, the last thing I want do at the moment is write a song. And that’s odd because usually I can’t wait to get my hands on an instrument and start making music. It’s strange to not feel an impulse tugging at my sleeve. I should be inspired.
There’s a Christmas playlist resounding in every mall I enter, every restaurant in which I dine, every gas station, supermarket, nail salon. They’re inescapable. A guilty little voice in my head whispers: “Every songwriter on earth must be writing a holiday song today. Why aren’t you?” Yet I’d much rather shop. Or bake cookies. Or sit by a fire and read while Nat King Cole serenades me.
What’s wrong with me? Making music has never been work.
Still, for some reason, my creative brain needs to shut down at the end of the year. It simply runs out of gas.
To be sure, there are other holiday-related activities I do enjoy: wrapping gifts, decorating gingerbread houses, ornamenting trees, finding the quintessential balance of rum and nog, taste-testing my friend Fran’s Chanukah Latkes. But picking up my guitar? My journal? Sitting at the piano? Not so much.
For me, December is about reflection, taking stock, disengaging, rejuvenating, alphabetizing my spice rack (I actually just did that), cleaning out closets and giving away things I purchased in haste. You know, making room for the new.
Maybe taking time off is the best thing I can do for my creativity. After all, a recharge is an investment for the future.
After the holidays are over, when I take down my tree and put the box of ornaments back on the shelf where they’ll rest for the next 12 months (wasn’t it just yesterday that I put them away?), I’ll be more than ready to get to “work.”
Come January, I’ll be rested, my mind and heart ready for a fresh look at the world, at time flying by, at love and laughter. I’ll be ready to make peace with my demons, reacquaint myself with my better angel. The seasons they go round and round and so another year will begin.
But songs about cider on the stove, carolers at my door, reindeers, sleigh bells and mistletoe? I’ll leave that to my colleagues who can’t slow down.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m no humbug. I adore dressing up and going to holiday parties. I love giving and receiving. I live for romantic holiday Rom-Coms set in New York City. (In fact, I wish I was at Rockefeller Center right now watching the ice skaters glide under the big Christmas tree.) I yearn for a long walk through Central Park in the snow, a hot chocolate nestled in fuzzy gloves. I miss the cold. I miss the stuff New Yorkers are sick of. Christmas isn’t the same in Los Angeles. 🙁
Click on this picture to hear a song I wrote about Christmas in LA.
Uh oh — what’s this? I feel something shifting inside me — a flutter in my heart. Maybe it’s all the New York talk making me feel nostalgic. Where’s my capo? Where’s my pick? I think I’m tuning to an open D.
What is happening?
A song. A song is what’s happening. After all, no matter what we say, no matter how we may try to give it a rest, let’s face it: When lightning strikes, a writer writes.
Happy holidays, everyone. Whoever you are, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing. Whether you’re working or playing, revving up or cooling down, may next year bring you all the hope, the love, the laughter — whatever it is you need — to start again.
Give beginning band and orchestra students a boost in confidence by providing an opportunity for them to showcase their newly acquired music skills in front of family and friends in a public setting. That’s the mission of the First Performance National Day of Celebration (FPNDoC).
Developed by the Music Achievement Council (MAC), FPNDoC is a turnkey demonstration concert that takes place early in the school year and recognizes the achievements of beginning instrumental music students.
The Goals
MAC has identified the third Thursday in November as the official FPNDoC, however, music educators can pick any day within first six to eight weeks of the school year.
In addition to applauding the musical accomplishments of beginners, the primary goals of the program are to reduce dropout rates among beginning music students, create short-range incentives for students, encourage communication with parents, and strengthen administrative support of the music program.
The Toolkit
To help music educators plan and implement a First Performance concert, MAC has created a free FPNDoC toolkit that includes:
Template letter/invitation to parents. It’s recommended that the music director announce the date and time for the First Performance at the first parent meeting.
Template letter/invitation to principal/administration
Customizable and printable PDF certificate of advancement. Make sure to have certificates printed for each student to celebrate this major advancement from beginning instrumental music student to member of the band/orchestra.
Script template. You will need to find an emcee for the First Performance. Consider asking a representative from the school administration, a member of the parent organization or the high school band director to serve in this role.
Press release template. You will need to publicize the event across the school and community. So in addition to a press release, you will need posters and school-wide announcements.
You need to select what to perform.Select pieces from a beginning band method book or check out MAC’s “First Performance – A Demonstration Concert,” which is available through Hal Leonard.
Make sure light refreshments are provided following the performance.
You may want to consider involving high school music students to pass out programs, answer questions, serve refreshments or assist in tuning students before the performance. The beginners will look up to their older peers and parents will see the long view of participating in a music program.
Tape highlights of your rehearsals as you prepare for your First Performance concert. Interview students and their parents about the First Performance. Or tape yourself giving an overview of the FPNDoC experience. And, of course, don’t forget to capture clips of the performance.
At the 2017 Midwest Clinic in Chicago, attendees were treated to the First Performance of two local schools’ beginning music students. (Read about the FPNDoC performances at Midwest here.) Parents were asked two questions after the concert:
Now that you have seen your child perform, are you more likely to encourage your child to stick with band?The response was unanimous – 100%.
What one word would you use to describe your reaction to today’s performance? Here are the responses.
The sound of applause early in a musician’s life is infectious and can encourage continued growth leading to a lifetime of music-making. The resulting memories will last for a lifetime. With beginners, there will never be a more enthusiastic group of performers and audience members than these young musicians and their families and friends. FPNDoCis designed to provide a singular opportunity for students, parents, administrators, student peers and the community to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of beginning instrumental students. It will also help to ensure a strong program overall.
‘Tis the season when the bells are a-jingling, the herald angels a-singing and the drummer boys a-drumming.
Some of us have more tolerance for holiday music than others (personally, I tend to start getting a little weary of it somewhere between Black Friday and Cyber Monday) but there’s no question that the songs that dominate the airwaves, shopping malls and elevators this time of year carry a certain spirit all their own — a spirit that evokes feelings of love, peace and goodwill towards our fellow man.
What is it that puts the “holiday” in holiday music, anyway? It turns out that there are several factors — some that are glaringly obvious and others that are quite thought-provoking.
First, the obvious:
1. Holiday music makes us feel good. Like other sensory experiences, music has a powerful effect on our subconscious, to the extent that it can actually change our mood. When we hear music we like, we feel good. The same is true if we hear music that triggers warm memories such as past holidays with family and loved ones. (Psychologists call this the “reminiscence bump.”)
2. They’re just plain great songs. The mainstays of holiday music all have one important thing in common: They’re well-crafted songs. Usually written in a feel-good major key with clever lyrics that deliver positive, uplifting messages and/or paint pictures of an idealized time gone by, they tend to consist of simple melodies and chords that lend a sense of familiarity before throwing you a surprise once in awhile — the ideal recipe for a song that sticks in your head year after year.
And now for the perhaps not-so-obvious:
1. Their instrumentation. Holiday songs unashamedly incorporate elements like church bells, trumpet fanfares and dramatic orchestral strings to remind you of hymns and religious settings. In addition, they often feature high-pitched instruments like sleigh bells and glockenspiel that conjure up images of falling snow and children’s toys. Subtle? No. Effective? Definitely.
2. Their versatility. Most popular holiday songs lend themselves to a wide variety of arrangements and can easily be played by anything from a full orchestra to a marching band to a small jazz ensemble to a group of carolers. As David Ludwig, dean of artistic programs at the Philadelphia-based Curtis Institute of Music points out, “a lot of these songs have existed for hundreds and hundreds of years and have survived the test of time precisely because they’re so singable, they’re so accessible, they’re so flexible.”
3. The weather outside is frightful. “When it’s most cold out and the bleakest, is sometimes the time when people want to celebrate the most,” Ludwig adds. “[That’s when they] want the most warmth and sense of community with each other.” In other words, when it’s time to cuddle and huddle, that’s when we’re most receptive to songs that emphasize affection and human connection — the very definition of holiday music.
“White Christmas,” written in 1942, is the best-selling song of all time.
By the way, in case you think that all “traditional” holiday songs are centuries old, think again: With some notable exceptions (such as “Silent Night” and “Jingle Bells”), many of the secular ones were actually written in the first half of the 20th century. That’s why their musical characteristics (i.e., solo vocals sung over lush orchestral instrumentation) reflect those of the American popular music of that era. The rise of rock’n’roll in the 1950s ushered in a new generation of holiday songs such as “Jingle Bell Rock” and Elvis’s perennial “Blue Christmas,” but there have been relatively few memorable holiday songs written since then, apart from Bing Crosby’s improbable 1963 hit “Do You Hear What I Hear?” (actually written as a protest song in the midst of the Cuban missile crisis) and José Feliciano’s heartfelt “Feliz Navidad,” written and released in 1970.
Why is that the case? Hard to say, but perhaps it’s a simple as the fact that it takes a generation or more for a song to become so imbued in our subconscious that we consider it a “classic.” Or — and I hate to say it — maybe it’s because the holiday spirit has eroded in recent years due to factors like over-commercialization and “Christmas creep,” where the sound of sleigh bells begins wafting from the speakers in overzealous stores eager to rake in the gift dollars even as the summer sun is blazing outside.
All food for thought — like gingerbread cookies and candy canes. Me, I’m off to deck my halls with boughs of holly. Happy holidays, everyone!
You know that annoying device that beeps incessantly, often completely out of time with your playing? You may have one the size of a book that has more knobs and switches than a soundboard. You may be “old school,” with one that swings like a pendulum from side to side. Or you may be the “less is more” type with a free app on your smartphone or tablet — something that’s always handy anyway. Regardless, this device often seems to serve no better purpose (at least when you bother to turn it on) than to irritate you with its refusal to stay in sync with your brilliant sense of time.
Well, that’s because you’re doing it wrong. My advice: Don’t play with the metronome.
You may say to me that your music teacher, band director, percussion instructor, parent, etc. have all told you to use your metronome every time you practice. Well, yes, of course, you should certainly use it while you practice. Just don’t play with it.
Confused? Allow me to elaborate.
Rather than play with your metronome, count with your metronome. Turn it on, then count along with it. Count quarter notes. Count eighth notes. Count sixteenth notes, triplets, quintuplets, septuplets … any rhythmic unit that you think you might encounter in the music you’re playing. After you’ve established a rhythmic context, count anything that has rhythm (yes, I know, that means everything) along with the metronome: your études, your band music, your solo and ensemble music, your audition piece …. every piece of music you play or are learning.
It may seem like a matter of semantics, but hear me out. It is practically intuitive to count out loud as you play — just as intuitive as it is to play along with your counting. Your hands and feet easily sync up with the syllables coming out of your lips because all of that information is originating from the same brain. So if you allow verbalization (i.e., counting out loud) to function as an interpreter of sorts between the metronome and your playing, you’ll likely find that the metronome will no longer be a source of frustration, but a true asset in time-keeping.
We live in a world of modern conveniences. So what’s to stop us from modernizing the most vintage way to enjoy music?
The recent resurgence of vinyl reflects a combining of the old with the new, and there are a number of exciting products such as the Yamaha MusicCast VINYL 500 Wi-Fi turntable that allow you to take advantage of this convergence. The problem is that collectors often find themselves spending inordinate amounts of time combing through the racks at stores and flea markets. Wouldn’t it be cool to instead be able to explore this world without ever having to leave the comfort of your home? Vinyl subscription services provide the perfect solution, and they offer a variety of options to suit almost any need.
Here are five of the top vinyl subscription services available today:
Started in 2013, this is one of the largest services. They provide music with a focus on discovery and education.
Options and Features: VMP offers a mixture of new releases from both up-and-coming artists and established legacy artists. They offer a variety of genre-specific subscriptions, including classical, jazz, rap and Hip Hop. All albums are pressed on heavyweight colored vinyl and any remastering is done “hand-in-hand with the artist.”
Founder Brandon Bogajewicz has a recording industry background and is publisher of the music blog The Burning Ear. After getting into vinyl, he saw a need for a record club that would share compilations of new artists’ music, rather than single-artist albums.
Options and Features: Bands and labels submit their work and each month’s release provides music from different artists that Bogajewicz chooses himself. In addition, each volume’s record jacket and vinyl are designed by a different visual artist who is given free reign to create a unique experience. Members also have access to purchase exclusive albums from previously featured bands, and VIP members also get special perks like unique vinyl colors and collectible items.
Started by Nashville musician Drew Holcomb, this service is geared to those who love indie, folk, and country music. Each album is hand-selected by Drew or other artists.
Options and Features: Each record is a new release in an exclusive pressing — complete with listening notes and a unique art card — designed with the intent of becoming a collector item. Subscribers can also choose to add on an Artist Discovery Album: an up-and-coming act’s vinyl, usually signed or personalized by the band. There is also a Facebook group where club members can share their love of music and all things vinyl.
Founders Travis and Nick Jourdan started this subscription service in 2015 with the mission of helping to share new artists with others.
Options and Features: Artists are found through relationships with record labels and by scouring Soundcloud and taking artist submissions. Subscribers to the popular Breakthrough Record of the Month option get a different artist’s debut record sent to them each month, along with add-ons such as signed album covers, photos and posters.
Founded in 2008 by Matthew Hickey and his wife Kasey Fleisher as an online publication dedicated to music criticism, cooking, and food photography, the company launched its first vinyl subscription service in 2012.
Options and Features: The Pairings Box option provides an exclusive, limited edition seven-inch vinyl record by an up-and-coming artist each month, along with three original recipes, an ingredient to go with the recipes, and a digital mixtape of new music. Other subscription types include Coffee & Vinyl Pairing, which includes fresh-roasted artisan coffee, and SOUNDS DELICIOUS, which offers full-length cover versions of the albums that influenced each featured artist.
The starting prices for each of these services are roughly the same, so you’ll likely want to make the selection of vinyl being offered as your focal point when deciding which one is right for you. Whichever you choose, your mailman will soon start serving as your conduit for enjoying new music!
NOTE: While we do our best to provide useful information and resources for our customers, Yamaha does not endorse or affiliate with any of these services.
This article is all about something called assignment. The standard definition of the word in most dictionaries goes something like this: “To allocate (as in a job or duty).”
When most people think of assigning something, they think of delegating a task, as in assigning your child a chore to complete, or assigning an employee to do a particular job. When it comes to the Yamaha Genos flagship workstation, the concept isn’t all that different: you assign functions to controllers such as a button, a knob or a slider. In other words, you’re telling Genos, “When I press or move this button/knob/slider, I’d like it to execute this task.”
All in all there are 22 different controllers on Genos, each with a factory default assignment (i.e., job to do). But you can tell any of them to do something different. Here’s how:
How to Change Button Assignments
Let’s start by assigning a function to one of Genos’ six ASSIGNABLE buttons (A-F):
You begin the process by holding down the DIRECT ACCESS button and pressing the button you want to reassign:
This will take you to the Assignable menu screen, which shows all current assignments for not only the buttons but the Foot Pedals and Home button shortcuts as well. By default, Yamaha has already assigned the six Genos buttons to commonly used functions. As you can see in the photo below, ASSIGNABLE button A is assigned to Mixer, while B is assigned to Channel On/Off, etc.:
But let’s say that instead of calling up the mixer, you would prefer to have quick access to editing your Voices (“Instruments,” in Yamaha lingo). Simply highlight the Assignable Button A field (which should already be highlighted by default), then touch that field.
You’ll see the list expand with 13 glorious pages of functions which can be assigned to the highlighted button. Touch the onscreen down arrow below the page ratio, and go to page 3 of 13 (3/13), then select Voice Edit:
Now touch Close to execute the action. Voila! Now whenever you press ASSIGNABLE button A you’ll be taken directly to the Voice Edit menu. Follow the same steps to change the assignments for the other ASSIGNABLE buttons.
Having a dedicated button really is a time saver. Before this re-assignment of ASSIGNABLE button A, if I wanted to access the Voice Edit menu, I’d need three button presses, (Menu, onscreen Menu 2, then Voice Edit). With this change, accessing that menu only requires one button press!
How to Change Knob Assignments
Let’s move on now to changing the assignment of a knob. You’ll notice there is already a dedicated physical button labeled KNOB ASSIGN:
You might well think that this is used to assign a particular function to one of the six knobs, and you wouldn’t be far off. But what this button actually does is cycle through the three pages of current knob assignments. These can be seen in all their glory in the OLED Sub Display — the dedicated thin strip above the knobs. If you keep pressing the KNOB ASSIGN button you’ll see that the display goes from page 1 to 2 to 3 and than back around to 1 again. That means in essence you can have 18 different knob functions at your fingertips at any given time.
Assigning one or all of the knobs is as simple as holding down the (you guessed it) DIRECT ACCESS button and pressing the KNOB ASSIGN button. You will now be taken to the Live Control screen where you get a comprehensive look at all the Knob and Slider Assignments:
Let’s start by re-assigning Knob 1. As you can see, Knob 1 (shown onscreen in page 1, row 1) is currently set to Cutoff. Maybe you’d rather have quick access to changing the Portamento Time instead. To do so, simply highlight the Cutoff field onscreen (it should already be highlighted by default). Touch it and you’ll see the “Knob 1 – Type 1” menu appear. Touch the onscreen down arrow directly below the page ratio and go to page 3 of 5 (3/5), then select Portamento Time:
When you touch Close, instead of the Sub Display showing Cutoff for Knob 1 Page 1, it shows PortaTime:
Again, you can use the same procedure to change the assignments for all six ASSIGNABLE knobs.
How to Change Slider Assignments
Now let’s change the assignment of a slider. One of the coolest things about Genos custom assignments is being able to assign a function normally reserved for one kind of controller to a different kind of controller. So with that in mind, let’s assign one of the sliders to panning — something usually accomplished with a knob.
Start by holding down the DIRECT ACCESS button and (yes, you guessed it again!) press the SLIDER ASSIGN button:
You’ll find yourself in the Live Control screen once again. Highlight Slider 1 (in row 1 — it should already be highlighted) and touch it:
The “Slider 1 – Type 1” menu will then appear:
Volume will be selected, which makes perfect sense since that’s what sliders are usually used for. Select Pan instead and touch Close. Now the OLED Sub display strip shows Pan instead of Rhythm1 Volume:
Grab that slider and experience a whole new way of panning! Yes, some might argue that a knob is a more intuitive controller for panning, since when you turn it to the left it moves the signal to the left and when you turn it right it moves the signal to the right. That said, there are engineers that prefer using sliders for functions other than volume. In the end it’s all about what feels right to you.
As before, the same process is used to change the assignments for all six ASSIGNABLE sliders.
How to Rename Assignments
If you’d like to personalize your Genos experience even further, you also have the option of renaming your assignments. (These personalized names will be displayed in the OLED Sub Display strip.)
To do so, simply highlight the name of the assignment you’d like to change (I’m using PortaTime for this example),and touch the onscreen Rename field:
The onscreen keyboard will appear:
You can rename assignments any way you’d like, as long as there are no more than nine characters. (For this example, I’m going to rename the assignment “PortaCool.”) When you’re finished, touch OK in the lower right hand corner, and bask in the glory of your newly personalized name assignment:
So go forth and assign to your heart’s content. It’s one of Genos’ most useful shortcuts, and with some practice I think you’ll find it will greatly streamline your musical workflow. And — with the possible exception of Daylight Savings — who doesn’t like to save a little time?
All photographs courtesy of the author.
Check out these related postings about using Genos:
Every mixing console provides a number of faders that allow you to change the level of incoming signals on the fly. They’re usually colored white or yellow so they contrast with the darker color of the board itself, making them easy to see in the low-light conditions of clubs, churches and other venues.
In addition to these individual channel faders, there’s also always a master fader (typically located to the right of the channel faders) that enables you to alter the overall mix volume at a touch. But many times there are also two, four or more faders near the master fader, sometimes colored differently. These are called group faders. What do they do? In this article, we’ll provide you the answer and explore this important tool for mixing live sound.
What It Is and How it Works
Groups (sometimes called “subgroups”) are a great way to organize your mixes and make them easier to manage. They also provide the ability to route signals to additional devices so that you can record or send audio to multiple locations.
As an example of the way grouping is implemented, Yamaha mixers such as the MGP12X have a feature called “Bus Assign.” This consists of three small buttons labeled “ST,” “1-2” and “3-4” located next to each channel fader, as shown below:
MGP12X Bus Assign section.
As described in our blog posting about aux sends and returns, a bus is an audio path that takes a signal from point A to point B. When you want to travel to a specific place, you need to get on the right bus — like going to work. And like public transportation, you get on a bus with other people and everyone rides as a group to the same destination. On a mixing board, a bus takes a group of audio signals to the same place.
The simplest mixers have only a left/right stereo bus which eventually makes its way to the speakers. See that red button labeled “ST”? When pressed, it assigns (connects) the input channel to the L/R stereo bus and master fader. You can then use the pan control to position the sound from left to right. But here’s the important thing: If you don’t assign the channel to a bus, you’ll never hear it.
The other buses are groups. The MGP12X buttons labeled “1-2” and “3-4” assign the input channel to stereo group faders, not to the master fader. They serve as a sort of “local” bus that groups a bunch of channel faders together. The group fader can then assign the signals anywhere you like, including to the main stereo bus.
Why would you want to do that? One reason would be to make mixing a lot of channels more manageable.
How to Use Groups
Let’s suppose that you have three people singing, each into their own microphone. Each microphone is connected to its own input on the mixing board, so now you have three vocal channels that you can balance for a good blend. Obviously, once you’ve got the balance set you won’t want to disturb it, but let’s suppose that over the course of the performance the band gets louder and the vocals become difficult to hear. The problem is that, if you raise each vocal fader separately — no matter how carefully — you will inevitably alter the blend you created between the three microphones. Sure, you can try to raise each fader equally to maintain the balance but that’s not likely to happen because faders are not linear — they don’t behave in a manner like, “if you push up each fader a half-inch, they all get louder by the same amount.”
This is when you need a group. Instead of assigning the vocal channels directly to the stereo bus, assign them to groups 1 and 2. This way, the vocal channels take a detour in the signal path — they go to group fader 1-2 on their way to the stereo mix. If you want to make the vocals louder or softer, all you have to do is raise or lower that one group fader. The balance between the vocal mics stays the same and you can alter the level of all three channels with one finger.
But you’re not done yet! The vocals are now on the group 1-2 buses, but those buses haven’t left the depot. Here’s what the group faders on the MGP12X look like:
MGP12X group faders.
As you can see, next to each group fader is a red ST assignment button, just like the ST button found on the input channels. This is what connects the groups to the stereo bus. If you push that button, the groups are sent to the stereo fader and you will be able to hear them. (The odd-numbered groups — 1 and 3 — are automatically connected to the left side of the stereo bus, and the even-numbered groups — 2 and 4 — are automatically connected to the right.) When you use the pan control on the input channel, you are actually deciding whether to route the signal to group 1 (left) or group 2 (right) or both (center).
The group faders on the Yamaha MGP24X are a little more sophisticated:
MGP24X group faders.
For one thing, the groups on the MGP24X are mono, not stereo. You still have to assign the group fader to ST in order to hear it, but here you can actually pan it from left to right. A mono group panned to the center would work fine for the vocal channels in our example above because you’d probably pan the vocals to the center anyway (you don’t want the audience on one side of the room not hearing the vocals because they’re panned to the opposite side). You could then use group 2 for bass, maybe blending a bass DI channel with a microphone on the bass amplifier.
That would leave groups 3 and 4 for a bunch of drum mics. By panning group 3 to the left and group 4 to the right you would create a stereo pair. The pan controls on the individual drum mic channels would then move a signal between groups 3 and 4, while the pan controls on the group faders would determine where (left to right) the sounds will be heard. If the group faders are panned center and you pan a signal between groups 3 and 4, you’ll still hear the sound in the center.
The groups on the MGP24X also have on/off switches. You could use these to turn off those drum channels on a song where the drummer doesn’t play (in order to reduce mic leakage or rumble) — but don’t forget to turn them back on!
Once you’ve assigned a channel to a bus, whether it be to a group or the master stereo fader, the signal is on its way out of the mixing console.
Group Output Jacks
Mixers that provide grouping often also have dedicated group output jacks on the rear panel. Here’s what they look like on the Yamaha MGP12X:
MGP12X group output jacks.
Why in the world would you want the group signal to go to a separate jack? One example would be for making a live recording of your band. For example, you could put the drums on group 1, the bass on group 2, guitars on group 3 and vocals on group 4. Then you could connect the group output jacks to a recording interface such as those made by Steinberg and record the instruments to separate tracks. At the same time, you could also assign the channels to the ST bus so that the audience can hear those sounds in the PA system. After the show, you’d have the ability to mix the recording of your band, with separate control over levels and EQ for drums, bass, guitar and vocals.
Another use for group output jacks would be if you needed to route your mix to a second set of speakers placed in a different room at your gig. You could assign the input channels to groups 1-2 and ST at the same time, use the stereo outs to feed your main speakers, and then use group outs 1-2 to feed a second set of speakers.
When you think about it, grouping — especially when combined with aux sends and returns — provides a slew of new options and a great deal of additional flexibility when it comes to mixing live sound.
The bassoon is one of the more unusual woodwinds, with a distinctive shape consisting of a long tube that looks as if it has been folded in two. Here are some interesting things you may not know about this intriguing instrument.
A bassoon.
Birth of the Bassoon
The modern bassoon was designed in Germany but its musical ancestors were developed in the 16th century in France and other European countries. All were low-pitched double-reed instruments.
The name “bassoon” derives from the French basson, an instrument that became widely used in orchestras in the latter half of the 17th century. However, the basson had only a few keys and produced a low volume. In addition, it was difficult to tune. Nonetheless, composers such as Ravel, Debussy, Saint-Saëns and Berlioz produced exquisite works in which the basson features prominently.
A four-key bassoon.
Up until the end of the 18th century, bassoons commonly had just three or four keys. Then bassoons equipped with six or eight keys began to appear. However, the fingering varied depending on the manufacturer, and a standard design had yet to be established. In the first half of the 19th century, German military bandmaster Carl Almenräder began efforts to improve the instrument. He increased the number of keys and made other innovations such as improving the part of the instrument where the tube bends back on itself, known as the “U-tube.” This made the instrument’s pitch easier to control, and at the same time increased its volume. The fruits of these efforts — passed down via musical instrument maker Johann Adam Heckel, who worked with Almenräder — have now come to be known as the German-style (or Heckel-style) bassoon. The overwhelming majority of instruments in use today use that design.
The decline in popularity of the basson and rise of the modern-day bassoon is largely attributed to influential orchestral conductors. During his tenure as conductor of the NBC Symphony Orchestra in the 1930s, Arturo Toscanini promoted the German-style bassoon for its superiority in providing more accurate pitch. When Herbert von Karajan became conductor of the Orchestre de Paris in 1969, he was said to have sometimes made disparaging comments to musicians such as, “Are you still playing the basson?”
Physical Structure
The bassoon is an unusually long instrument, nearly four and a half feet in length. Since the tube of the instrument has a folded shape, it would reach almost twice that if extended to its full length!
At the tip of the instrument is attached a fine metal tube known as a bocal. The bassoonist blows air into the double reed attached to the very end of the bocal. The bore of the bassoon extends from the joint to which the bocal is attached, continues downward before performing a U-turn within the metal part at the instrument’s lowest point, and then leads all the way up to its highest point. At the very top there is an opening called the bell.
The interior of a bassoon, from the bocal to the bell, is a conical tube, the diameter of which steadily widens. The diameter at the very tip of the bocal is around 4 millimeters, while the diameter at the bell is 40 millimeters. Between those two points, the interior of the bore gradually becomes wider.
Inside a bassoon is a conical tube that gradually widens.
Note that there is also a type of bassoon with a range one octave lower, known as the contrabassoon.
Contrabassoon.
The Differences In Double Reeds
A bassoon is somewhat similar to an oboe in that sound waves are produced as the two parts of a double reed quickly vibrate. However, an oboe reed is attached to a short piece of metal, while a bassoon reed consists solely of the reed itself, and is inserted into the long metal tube of the bocal before being used to produce sound.
Compared to that of the bassoon, the tube, or “bore,” of the basson is smaller, so producing a strong sound is difficult. To counteract this, the reed (which is the part that produces the sound), is made larger.
L to R: The reeds of a contrabassoon, a basson, and a bassoon.
Why Is It Difficult to Hear the Lowest Bassoon Note?
It is often thought that the sound of the bassoon is difficult for bassoonists themselves to hear, since the bell is high up at the top of the instrument. That’s actually not the case. For brass instruments that have no openings through the rest of their structure, the bell is the only place where sound can emerge. However, a woodwind instrument like a bassoon has many tone holes, so sound can escape through any holes that are not being covered at any given time. That said, the very lowest note of a bassoon can be somewhat difficult to hear. That’s because when this note is played, all the tone holes are covered, so the sound does not emerge from the instrument anywhere other than the bell at its top.
Does the Sound of the Bassoon Move?
Since the bassoon is a tall, slender instrument, the positions of the tone holes are comfortably spaced some distance apart over its full length. For this reason, with the very lowest tone coming from the bell alone and the note one tone higher coming from tone holes below the bell, sound emerges from farther down the instrument as the pitch becomes higher. However, after the lowest hole is reached around the tenor joint (the point at which the instrument folds back on itself), the pattern reverses and the pitch instead rises as the tone hole positions climb higher. For those performers who sit in front of the bassoon in an orchestra or small ensemble, this can create the eerie sensation of the sound seeming to move around behind them.
Compare the Sounds
Curious to hear what the bassoon, basson and contrabassoon sound like? Check out these audio clips. The first features a modern bassoon playing the Ode to Joy from Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, repeated three times, first at a high pitch, then at a middle pitch and finally at a low pitch:
In this second clip, you’ll hear a basson playing an extract from La fille aux cheveux de lin by Debussy:
Lastly, here’s a contrabassoon playing part of Die Forelle by Schubert:
There’s a distinct tonal similarity, but you still should be able to hear a significant difference between the three instruments!
I’m often asked by my fellow guitar players what kind of music I listen to when I’m relaxing at home. Honestly, I mostly like to just listen to the peace and quiet around me. I spend most of my working moments writing, recording and performing music, so when I’m not working, I prefer the ambience of nature around me.
I have the good fortune to live in Hawaii, and most mornings you’ll find me in the ocean, swimming and gazing at the wonders beneath the surface. Vibrant marine life and the natural colors of coral hue, enhanced by sunlight and aqua blue water fill my visual senses with wonder, while the underwater silence cleanses my spirit of the stress of daily life.
It’s very important for me to find space for creative thought, so I consciously make an effort every day to create an open environment around me. I may spend a couple of hours watching the palm trees sway back and forth like Hula dancers on the breeze while I sip freshly roasted coffee. To the observer, it may appear that nothing of any value is occurring, but it’s during these moments of serenity that I formulate my best ideas. When there is “air” around my thoughts, it allows me to think clearly and visualize my next body of work.
I find that visualization is one of the most powerful tools for manifesting the reality you want to see in your life. It’s the quantum physics approach of “Thought Is Matter” — that whatever you think is the seed to grow the reality. If you nurture the seed and water the ideas with further optical input, the plan becomes more clear and the dream can often become a reality.
I’ve always been a bit of a dreamer, but I also pair those mental blueprints with additional active ingredients such as hard work and tenacity. Without a strong work ethic, dreams often stay in an ethereal world and never manifest in real life. Even with a strong plan for the future, work needs to be done and action taken before tangible results can be seen.
Our minds are the most powerful aspect of our human being. Musicians spend hours practicing scales, arpeggios and chord voicings with our physical body, but do we spend any time at all training our minds to achieve better physical results? Our fingers don’t move without the brain engaging the motor functions first, so surely we can visualize the movements and send those neural impulses to our fingers, even when we are away from the instruments we play. In a similar fashion, we can also use visualization techniques to overcome stage fright, prepare for live performances or even gracefully execute a challenging musical passage.
Horn players use both hands to articulate the lines they play, but they also have to breathe between each phrase. This physical limitation in technique is also a natural way to leave “air and space” between melody lines and solo improvisations. I recently found myself wondering if guitar players could find a similar way to bypass our muscle memory and force ourselves to “breathe” between our phrases. After giving it some serious thought, I devised an idea that you might try the next time you pick up your guitar.
The Concept
The concept is really simple: Just jam along to one of your favorite backing tracks, but lift your fretting hand off of the fingerboard between each phrase. While your hand is off the fretboard, finger-snap in time with the track for two or three beats, then place your hand back on the fretboard to play your next line. This will yield an approximately breath-long pause between each phrase — or more, if you decide to wait for another beat or two.
The fact that you are unable to play any notes during that brief period of time forces you to phrase with a little more air. Check out the video below to see and hear exactly what I mean.
The Video
The progression I’m improvising over consists of chords derived from the key of A major. This is an A Ionian progression with a tonal center of the I major chord, A:
I: A I C#mi7(b13) I F#mi7(b13) I Dma7 E7sus :I
My lead guitar phrases combine notes from the A major pentatonic scale and the A major scale, along with a judicious amount of chromatic passing tones.
I chose to use a Yamaha Revstar 720B with FilterTron-style pickups for this demo, as the open tonality they impart to the sound further illustrates “air and space” within the tone, as well as around it. These Alnico V magnetic pickups are humbucking in nature, but often remind me of a super quiet, single-coil pickup.
I created an amp and effects signal path in my Line 6 Helix® using only six effects blocks, as shown below. Keeping the signal path simple further allowed my guitar and the notes I chose to play “breathe” within the music.
The Wrap-Up
Any time you feel restricted by your creativity or musical chops (or by life itself, for that matter), take a moment to find some inner peace or a new vista. Then make space in your mind and visualize your dreams and goals. Let your mind wander freely, allow those new thoughts to wash the old regimes and ideas away.
When you play music, let the conversation evolve naturally. Listen first before responding with your musical point of view. Let the listener digest each of your sentences … and give them time to enjoy your story!
Adding a turntable is a great way to expand your home entertainment system and embrace the growth of vinyl records. It’s also a simple process. Here are step-by-step instructions that will ensure that everything gets connected correctly:
1. Place your turntable directly next to your receiver. Consider an entertainment cabinet or shelving system that can dampen the vibration of both units with minimal shaking.
2. Connect the supplied RCA-type stereo cable to the output of your turntable. (If your turntable didn’t come with them, you’ll need to purchase a quality RCA-type stereo cable, readily available from retailers everywhere.)
3. Look at the back of your receiver and examine the audio input options. Receivers with a built-in phono preamp will have inputs labeled “Phono.” (If the receiver does not have an input labeled that way, jump to step 4 below). If your receiver has such an input, simply connect the output cable coming from your turntable there and you’re pretty much done! (If your turntable is equipped with a GND (ground) wire, you’ll need to connect it to the GND terminal screw on the receiver.)
Note: If you are using a turntable that gives you the option of selecting between “Phono EQ” and “Thru” (such as the Yamaha TT-S303, shown above), make sure the switch is set to “Thru” so both preamps are not running at once. In most instances, the receiver’s EQ will be better than the turntable’s.
4. If your receiver does not have a phono input, don’t worry – many turntables have their own built-in preamp. (You can verify this in the owner’s manual.) As long as this is the case, you can use any receiver input, such as the ones labeled “Line,” “Audio,” “CD” or “Auxiliary.”
5. In order to hear vinyl playing back from your turntable, be sure to check the input setting on the front display so that its name matches the rear panel input you used for connection.
To summarize, the output/input connections should look something like this:
Turntable Output:
AV Receiver Input:
Phono*
Phono
Line Out**
Line, Audio, CD or Auxiliary
* If your turntable has a Thru/Phono EQ switch, switch it to Thru to turn off its preamp.
** If your turntable has a Thru/Phono EQ switch, switch it to Phono EQ to turn on its preamp.
You might also consider sidestepping cables altogether and going wireless instead. Yamaha provides this capability with the MusicCast wireless multiroom audio system, which utilizes your home’s Wi-Fi connection and allows you to stream music through MusicCast-enabled devices and wireless speakers throughout your entire home. The Yamaha MusicCast VINYL 500 Wi-Fi turntable even lets you stream the sounds of your vinyl!
“What was that melody I just sang?” I ask myself in a panic. You know, that hooky little bit I can not repeat. Well, I can sort of repeat it … but not quite. And we all know it’s the “quite” that matters.
Like it says in the title of a song I once wrote (“Almost Doesn’t Count”), similar is not the same. It was something about that particular, peculiar bit — that je ne sais quoi — that shall never come again.
I have to face it. It’s — GONE! Headed for the great abyss to join all the other magical melodies, chord progressions and guitar licks that have escaped because:
The mic wasn’t on.
I’ve made this mistake before. When will I learn?
No getting around it: I’ll have to start from scratch. And that’s a shame because it didn’t have to be this way. I’d have a killer hook If Only: If only the mic was open, or the voice memo was activated or — for those of us with analog hearts — that portable cassette player was in Record. (Mine is hidden in my piano bench because I don’t want my younger collaborators to see it.) It’s a regrettable faux pas that might be the difference between an unmemorable writing session and a creative experience that could change my life … not to mention the size of my bank account.
So what’s my excuse for resisting this simple prerequisite to a productive writing session? I actually have three:
1. There’s a superstitious voice in my head that believes once I make a conscious decision to press Record, I’m signaling to the Universe that there’s an expectation that something remarkable could happen. The problem is, the Universe doesn’t like when I presume anything. It wants to surprise me — to be in control. It wants to give me a gift I don’t expect to receive. Apparently, that’s what brings the Universe joy. And power. So if it witnesses me taking steps to catch the magic, it won’t bestow me with any. 🙁
2. Knowing I’m being documented makes me self-conscious. I feel a pressure to be brilliant. To perform. To be on my game. I do not want to disappoint anyone in the room. So I play it safe, coloring within the lines. And we all know it’s stream-of-consciousness — that un-calculated, disorganized madness — from which magic descends.
3. Once I acknowledge there was something pretty special a ways back, then I have to locate it. But did it happen before I ordered lunch? After I Googled Lady Gaga? I could be rewinding and fast forwarding for days. And then I’m already down the rabbit hole — committed to retrieval and analysis. Sometimes I find the bit. Sometimes I don’t. Sometimes it wasn’t as good as I thought it was and now I’ve wasted a whole lot of time and taken myself out of the moment. And I might not be able to get back in. Ugh.
Creativity is complicated.
But the fact is that none of the above are good enough excuses, because there’s too much at stake. So I’ve been trying to embrace the idea that documentation is a responsibility — an automatic precursor to any creative endeavor. Just like seatbelts before driving, a napkin on a lap. It’s insurance — protection against loss or damage of something valuable. A necessary inconvenience. And once I make a habit of it, I’ll start forgetting that the computer or smartphone or cassette recorder is running, which is a good thing.
You might say, “But what about all those untitled new recordings cluttering up my voice memo queue?” Well, that’s what air travel is for. Get yourself a cocktail, pop in the ear buds and get busy. Delete. Delete. Delete. Or maybe you’ll hear something you forgot about completely — that cool little ditty you dictated at a red light. It’s a “start” you can bring to your session tomorrow. Awesome!
There’s a curious balance in life between the things we lose (lightning in a bottle, sunglasses, car keys) and the things we find (those earrings, a letter from my father, that long-forgotten voice memo). I’m trying to be more forgiving with myself when things disappear. After all, there’s a lot on our multi-tasking minds. That said, with a little more care, there are losses we can prevent. If we’re more mindful we will surely lose less.
In September 2011, world-renowned artist Elton John debuted his “Million Dollar Piano” show at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace. The concert extravaganza took Las Vegas by storm, receiving widespread acclaim from critics and fans over the course of its seven-year run.
The centerpiece of the show was, of course, Elton’s one-of-a-kind piano, which was the result of a four-year collaborative partnership with Yamaha to design and build one of the world’s most advanced musical instruments.
At its core, the Million Dollar Piano is a highly modified, hand-assembled Yamaha CFX, a top-of-the-line nine-foot concert grand, with harp and hardware made from nickel rather than brass, all hidden within an acrylic panel and supported by clear acrylic legs.
But it’s also much, much more. After all, Elton John had requested a piano that could materialize out of nowhere on stage during his performances and provide an unparalleled playing experience, so something truly magical had to be created.
Marrying artistic inspiration with technical expertise, Yamaha designers outfitted the instrument with state-of-the-art video and lighting features, including 68 LED video screens to display imagery that synchronizes with the imagery on stage, allowing the piano to blend chameleon-like into its surroundings before transforming its appearance to complement each of Elton’s iconic songs. They also added sophisticated MIDI controls that allowed Elton to trigger and manipulate light, sound and video all in real time.
The process began with the construction of a full-size mockup of the instrument. Computer graphics were then used to assess the effect that lights would have on its appearance, which led to the polygonal shape of the finished product. “We … [wanted] to gauge how stage lighting from different directions would reflect off the piano and to predict the kind of outlines it would create,” report designers Akie Hinokio and Yukinori Mikage. “This effort shows in the way the clear acrylic scatters light with a prism-like effect from the triangular legs.” The design also takes into account the thermal expansion of the acrylic caused by heat from the LED monitors.
The team also came up with an ingenious solution to another request from Elton John. “[He asked] that this piano be a truly inimitable, almost like a high-end sports car,” Hinokio and Mikage explain. “In response, we utilized the same genuine leather from his sports car to wrap around the keyboard.”
With all these cutting-edge technologies, the Million Dollar Piano actually ended up costing more than a million dollars to build: 1.3 million, to be exact. And there are actually two Million Dollar Pianos; in addition to the primary piano, an “understudy” was built as a backup instrument.
The Elton John: The Million Dollar Piano concert film featuring the namesake piano made its international cinematic debut in 2014 and was shown in 1,200 movie theaters in more than 40 countries before being released on home media, making the Million Dollar Piano one of the world’s most recognizable instruments.
Click here for more information about Yamaha grand pianos.
The percussion family consists of vast number of instruments. In a standard music room, there will be timpani, marimbas, xylophones, bells, snare drum, bass drum, cymbals, tambourine, triangles and much more. All require regular care and maintenance. In this article, we’ll talk about one of the most difficult percussion instruments to maintain: Timpani.
Problem #1: The pedals are slipping.
This is the most common issue regarding timpani. Before you adjust the spring tension, you must check the range of the timpani. Plastic heads stretch and if the timpani are not tuned to the correct range (something that should be checked every month), the pedal will slip or will not stay in place.
Here’s a chart showing standard tonal ranges for Yamaha and most modern-day timpani:
If your timpani are not in the proper range, make the necessary adjustment. Once you are certain that each timpano is tuned properly, check its pedal. If it is still not holding the pitch, then it is time to adjust the balance action spring. This component regulates the tension between the pedal and the head. Be very careful when adjusting the spring — if you loosen it too much, it can come off.
If the pedal will not stay on the top note, you need to tighten the spring. If the pedal will not stay on the bottom note, you need to loosen the spring. Remember: “Righty tighty, lefty loosey.” Bear in mind also that when you change a timpano head, you need to loosen the spring to “reset” it back to the middle tension. A lot of people forget to do this and then you will have pedal problems because the spring is too tight and can’t be tightened any further.
Problem #2: The pedal is “sticky” or doesn’t move smoothly when tuning the pitch.
This is usually an issue of lubrication (or lack of lubrication). Locate the part known as the spider mechanism (on Yamaha timpani, it is located under the base), then identify the rod that goes through the base and pulls the mechanism when the pedal is engaged. (See the circled part [4-8] in the illustration below). This is the rod that needs lubrication:
Here are the steps to do so:
1. Push the pedal up to the highest note.
2. Carefully set the drum on its side on a carpeted surface.
3. Clean the rod with a rag and remove any debris or old grease.
4. Using a Q-tip, apply some white lithium grease to the rod. (White lithium grease holds up better than spray lubricant.)
5. While the drum is on its side, move the pedal to spread out the grease. If it is extremely dry, you may need to apply more grease.
6. Put the drum back in the normal playing position and play.
Problem #3: The gauge doesn’t work.
This is a common problem in a school setting. Check that the cable (similar to a brake cable on a bicycle or motorcycle) is attached to the strut and is not bent. You can use zip ties to loosely secure it to the strut so that it doesn’t get pulled out during transportation.
If this does not fix the problem, it’s time to get a new cable. This is usually a simple matter of contacting the manufacturer or an authorized dealer. Be sure to have the model number of the timpani to help them locate the correct part.
Bonus Question: Where should the pedals be set when the drums are not being played or stored?
If your timpani are being used every day during the school year, pedals should be kept in the middle of the range after every rehearsal. Whenever the timpani are moved, push the pedals to the top note in the range. This will help keep the heads centered in case the drums are hit going through a door. Over the summer and during breaks, set the pedal to the lowest note. This will help keep tension off the head for long periods of time and give the drum heads more life.
Click here for more information about Yamaha timpani.
In this video, Yamaha product manager John Schauer focuses on sound system safety issues, explaining the difference between what can be done by volunteers in your House of Worship and what needs to be done by professionals. As an example, electrical wiring and the hanging (or “rigging”) of speakers from the ceiling should only be done by a licensed contractor — not only because it is an absolute requirement for insurance purposes but for the safety of your staff and parishioners. Also included are a number of tips for easily implemented safety measures, such as taping down onstage cables and using proper instrument stands:
Click here to find out more about Yamaha professional audio products.
For parents and educators alike, there is a great deal of interest in how learning to play an instrument such as piano benefits a child. One benefit can simply be feeling the joy of making music and developing an appreciation of music. Another could be fostering a habit of practice and mastery that might transfer to other aspects of life. In some cases, playing an instrument can lead to other experiences, such as playing in an orchestra or even a career in music.
And then there’s the possibility that musical experience enhances the mind and brain of a child in ways that extend beyond music. This interest promoted a widely known misunderstanding called the “Mozart effect.” In 1993, three researchers reported in the prominent journal Nature that listening to a piece from Mozart — as opposed to relaxation or mere silence — temporarily enhanced the performance of one of several spatial reasoning tasks. Such was the public eagerness for musical experience to have benefits beyond music that popular accounts suggested that listening to classical music made people smarter, but the original finding was highly limited, and most researchers have been unable to replicate even those limited findings.
More careful science has asked whether adults with many years of experience in playing an instrument have enjoyed psychological benefits beyond music. At Stanford University, Dr. Nadine Gaab and I compared the ability of people with at least nine years of experience in playing an instrument (musicians) to people with little or no instrumental experience (non-musicians). Of course, the musicians knew a lot more about music, but we wanted to determine whether they also had superior abilities in hearing the sounds of spoken language by asking them to make challenging judgements about speech sounds like “ba” or “wa.” What we found was that musicians performed better than non-musicians only for speech sounds that demanded precise timing or temporal judgments. (Further, the more years that musicians had practiced their instruments, the greater the advantage relative to non-musicians.) But the musicians had no advantage in making other kinds of judgments about language sounds. We interpreted these findings as indicating that musical training may enhance precision in auditory temporal acuity that spontaneously generalizes from music to spoken language.
These and other similar findings indicate that playing an instrument may enhance specific abilities beyond music. But there was a catch related to the usual issue that correlation does not mean causation: Maybe it was not the experience of playing an instrument that made musicians more accurate at certain aspects of language, but instead it was something about the nature of people who played musical instruments that also made them better at certain aspects of language.
Consider a sports analogy. Being taller is helpful in being a good basketball player, but playing a lot of basketball does not make you taller. Maybe children with a better sense of timing are more likely to enjoy playing an instrument and therefore have additional motivation to continue to play an instrument. Maybe children with a better sense of timing play their instruments better, and therefore receive more positive encouragement from teachers and parents. Maybe parents who encourage their children to play instruments also tend to talk more with their children, or are more supportive in other ways, and thus foster timing skills in both music and language for entirely separate reasons.
The only way to scientifically prove causality — to prove that it is the experience of playing an instrument that makes children better at certain aspects of hearing language — is a training study in which children without prior instrumental experience are randomly chosen to either be trained or not trained on playing an instrument. Any difference after the training must be caused by the experience of playing the instrument (a design known as a randomized controlled trial or RCT) because this design has eliminated any differences in initial talents or parenting.
But educators could ask another question. In the limited hours of the school day, they must choose carefully what curriculum most benefits a child. Perhaps playing an instrument does enhance the perception of spoken language, but could the same amount of time devoted to a more standard part of the school curriculum, such as reading, do even more to enhance spoken language? After all, reading is built on language — print makes spoken language visible and children use their knowledge of spoken language to learn to read. The correlation between reading and language is clear-cut. So what happens if one group of children receives reading instruction instead of music instruction? Would the children receiving music instruction show a benefit for spoken language compared to the children receiving reading instruction? Comparing music and reading instruction also rules out other explanations of any benefit from music, such as simply the extra time receiving attention and instruction from an adult (because that extra time and attention would occur also with reading).
Yun Nan, Robert Desimone, Chen Chen Gong, Eveline Geiser, and I (from the McGovern Institutes at MIT and Beijing Normal University) designed such a study, of 74 four-to-five year-old Mandarin-speaking children in China. The children in the musical group received six months of piano training, in a curriculum developed by Chen Chen Gong. The children in the reading group received an equal amount of reading instruction. For both groups, two experienced teachers taught 45-minute sessions, three times a week, delivered to small groups of four to six children. There was no extra practice outside of class. A third group received neither kind of instruction and served as a baseline group to demonstrate what happens without either extra piano or reading instruction. At the outset, the groups had similar scores on many measures of cognitive abilities (such as IQ scores) and came from similar socioeconomic backgrounds. Therefore, any differences after training were unlikely to reflect initial differences in talents or parenting.
Extra education — both piano and reading — improved accuracy in both hearing words and hearing vowels, relative to children who received neither instruction. This is already interesting, because the benefits from music (which has no direct relation to language) were similar to those from reading (which relates directly to language). But music provided an additional boost in language beyond reading. Children who practiced the piano outperformed the other groups of children on judgements about words when those judgements had to be made on the basis of consonants.
What was special about consonants (versus vowels)? Probably it was all about timing (and thus similar to the findings from Stanford). Speech sounds (the small sounds within words) fly by rapidly as we hear spoken language. With every sound, we have to quickly judge what sound we heard, and whether we heard one sound versus another sound; the correct recognition of sounds empowers us to correctly know what word we have just heard. In this high-speed world, vowels have relatively longer durations, and this gives us a bit more time to judge whether we just heard an “a” or an “e” or “i”, etc. But consonants are merciless and give us almost no time at all. The difference between a “b” and a “d”, for example, depends on tiny fractions of a second of auditory information. As a result, consonants demand remarkable temporal precision to be heard correctly. And practice with the piano enhanced the discriminating of one word from another specifically on the basis of consonants.
The perceptual advantage from piano training was mirrored by a brain difference. Brain functions were indexed by “event related potentials” (or ERPs), which are electrical signals from the brain measured by electrodes placed on the skull. ERPs can measure brain responses to sounds (and other things) in milliseconds. After piano training, children who showed the greatest improvement on consonant-based word discrimination also showed the greatest enhancement of the brain ERP to musical pitches, thus linking expected brain gains from musical experience to gains in consonant perception in words:
These findings bring scientific precision to the question as to whether piano training provides benefits beyond musical experience. It appears that some of the auditory skills learned from piano playing enhance specific aspects of the perception of spoken language, even beyond that gained from additional experience in reading. At the same time, these benefits from piano instruction are quite specific, at least for the six months of training, since all three groups of children showed similar developmental growth on tests of IQ, working memory, and attention.
References
Nan, Y., Liu, L., Geiser, E., Shu, H., Gong, C.C., Dong, Q., Gabrieli, J.D.E., and Desimone, R. (2018) Piano training enhances the neural processing of pitch and improves speech perception in Mandarin-speaking children. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, in press.
Zuk, J., Ozernov-Palchik, O., Kim, H., Lakshminarayanan, K., Gabrieli, J.D.E., Tallal, P., and Gaab, N. (2013) Enhanced syllable discrimination threshold in musicians. PLoS One, 8, e80546.
Rauscher, F.H., Shaw, G.L., and Ky, N. (1993) Music and spatial task performance. Nature, 365, 611.
