Applied
Tuba and Euphonium, Spring 2003
Required Texts:
Tuba:
Blazevich, 70 Advanced Etudes, vol.1
Rochut, Melodious Etudes for
Trombone, book 1
Kopprasch, 60 Selected Studies
Arban, Famous Method. (Trumpet,
Trombone or Tuba editions are all acceptable)
Snedecor, Low Etudes for Tuba
Euphonium:
Rochut, Melodious Etudes for
Trombone, book 1
Voxman (Rubank), Selected Studies
for Baritone
Blazevich, 70 Advanced Etudes
(tuba), vol.1
Arban, Famous Method. (trumpet or
trombone)
Pottag and Andraud, 335 Selected
Melodious, Technical… for French Horn
I
realize that some of you might be through with some of this material. I will
make further etude assignments as needed, but everyone should have this basic
library of books…you will use them for years to come.
Each
student will work at least two solos per semester. I will assign the solos at
the first lesson of the semester.
The
following companies do a good job of stocking brass music and getting it to you
in a hurry:
Sheet
Music Service of Portland, (800) 452-1133. www.sheetmusicservice.com
Hickey’s
Music Service, (800) 442-5397. www.hickeys.com/
Southern
Music, (800) 284-5443. www.southernmusic.com/
Bernel
Music, (678) 721-1344 www.bernelmusic.com
TUBA
Press, www.tubaeuphoniumpress.com
Recommended Supplies:
In
order to make the most of the time spent pursuing your musical studies, I
recommend investing in the following paraphernalia:
·
A battery operated metronome. Doesn’t need to be top of the
line…a $30 metronome will get the job done.
·
A digital tuner will help you understand your instrument
better and will make you a better ensemble citizen. A Korg DT3 will set you
back about $60.
·
A mirror for your stand. For a couple of bucks, Wal-Mart
sells a pretty good camping mirror that will hang from your stand.
·
A mini-disc player or a tape recorder that will record well
enough to have some sort of good representational playback. The tape does not
lie. Learning to be critical of your own performance is an invaluable musical
skill.
Course Description:
The
basic principle behind applied lessons is to teach you as much about the
performance of your instrument that the time we have together will permit.
While I will strive to teach you all aspects of music performance to include
technique, tone production, tonguing, articulation, and phrasing, my emphasis
in teaching will be based largely on coaxing the most musical performance out
of you as possible. Music is a communicative art form, not just notes and
technique. Since many of you will go out into the big wide world to teach
younger students about music, it is my goal to incorporate concepts that we
discuss into situations that you will undoubtedly encounter as a band director.
Objectives:
Students
in applied tuba and euphonium should be able to demonstrate:
·
An evolving technical ability on the instrument.
·
Knowledge of all major and minor scales.
·
An understanding of musical phrasing and artistic interpretation.
·
A basic understanding of the language of music.
·
The ability to evaluate performances critically and
coherently.
·
An active interest in their craft.
·
A concerted commitment toward improvement.
Attendance and
participation:
Attendance
at lessons is required. If you need to miss a lesson, please do your best to
give me 24 hours notice. I am happy to make up lessons that were missed for
legitimate reasons at a time that is convenient for both of us. Not showing up
for a lesson will result in an F for that week and missing three lessons during
the course of the semester will result in a failing final grade. I will always
try to make up lessons that I am forced to miss due to other professional and
personal commitments.
Tuba-Euph
Ensemble (4790) will meet on MWF at 11:15 in the band room. On Monday and
Wednesday we will rehearse the ensemble and on Friday we will have a
masterclass. You will be given an assigned performance date for masterclass.
Attendance at these classes is required. Missing three class periods
(unexcused) will result in the lowering of your final grade by one letter.
Missing five class periods will result in the lowering of your grade by two
letter grades and seven or more absences will result in a failing final grade.
Assignments:
You
will be given assignments for each lesson. They should be prepared as if you
were performing them publicly at the time of your lesson. To take away some of
the ambiguity of how lessons are graded, consider the following:
A lesson will
be given the grade of A if:
It is obvious that you have prepared
the music for the lesson. You are playing the material
technically very well and it is obvious that you have given a good deal of thought into the artistic interpretation
of the assignment. You exhibit an understanding of the material and can perform at near-performance
level. Repeated material from the prior
lesson has been more or less solved.
A lesson will
be given the grade of B if:
It is obvious that you have prepared
the music for the lesson. You are playing the material
fairly well, but still have a few technical issues that need to be worked out.
You show signs of artistic
interpretation, but still need to develop the song a bit further. You know that you could play this better.
Repeated material from the prior lesson shows improvement.
A lesson will
be given the grade of C if:
It is not obvious that you have
prepared adequately for the lesson. You cannot play the material without hesitation. Notes are missed. Your
performance is void of artistic expression.
You show signs of understanding the material, but cannot execute these ideas through your instrument. Repeated
material from the prior lesson shows little improvement.
A lesson will
be given the grade of D if:
It is obvious that you have not
prepared the music for the lesson, yet somehow you are struggling through and improving during the course of the
lesson. You don’t know how things should
sound. You have ignored key signatures, missed notes, and are embarrassed by your performance. Repeated
material from the prior lesson shows no improvement.
A lesson will
be given the grade of F if:
You didn’t show up, or, it is
obvious that you have not prepared for the lesson and no amount of struggling can improve your
performance. You have offended me with your lack
of self-discipline. You are wasting my time and your time in the studio. You
failed to bring in the assigned
material.
As
a music major, you should spend a bare minimum of one hour a day practicing
your instrument. Two hours a day would be ideal and if you can do more, even
better. The quantity of practice is not nearly as important as the quality of
your practice sessions. Go into your practice sessions with goals to achieve
and don’t give up until it is evident that you have accomplished something.
Each
lesson will be graded. Your jury will count as two lesson grades. I will throw
out your lowest grade and average your lesson grades to achieve a final grade.
Juries
will be held on a date in May to be announced later on in the semester. I would like to hear at least one jury per
year with piano accompaniment. If you wish to play your jury with an
accompanist this semester, you must have engaged your pianist BEFORE you leave
for Easter break. The week before juries, you should plan on hiring your
accompanist to play at your lesson. Please do not procrastinate!
You
will be required to listen to ten of the following tunes this semester.
Following your listening, you are required to write a critique of the work and
the performance. What did you like about it? What didn’t you like about it?
This is strictly an opinion/observation assignment. Your critique does not
necessarily need to be scholarly; however it does need to be intelligent and
thoughtful. In your critique be sure to include the name of the orchestra and
the conductor of the recording that you listened to.
These
assignments will be due by 8AM of the following Monday and may be submitted via
e-mail or left in the Tune of the Week Envelope outside of my studio. I will not accept late assignments this
semester. Please stay on top of this assignment! I will post the TOW for
the current week on the Tuba/Euph bulletin board in the main hallway.
Failure
to complete ten assignments will result in the lowering of your applied grade
by one whole letter grade. As an aspiring musician, you should be
listening the same amount of hours that you spend practicing during the course
of the week.
Students
taking lessons as independent study (MUSI 2000, 4000, 6000) are also required
to complete the TOW assignment.
1. Respighi Roman Festivals
2. Haydn #104
3. Copland Billy the
Kid/Rodeo
4. Elgar Enigma Variations
5. Bartok Music for Strings,
Percussion and Celeste
6. Shostakovich #10
7. Brahms Horn Trio
8. Mahler #9
9. Handel Water Music
10. Strauss Don Quixote
11. Faure Requiem
12. Corigliano #1
13. Wagner Prelude to act 3
Lohengrin
14. Beethoven #3
15. Rimsky Korsakov Scheherezade
Please be
aware of the requirement to purchase a recital card and to attend at least
fifteen recitals this semester. Your card will be inspected at your jury. Failure
to buy a card and/or attend fifteen recitals will result in a failing final
grade. This is the School of Music’s policy, not mine. I will inspect
your card during the course of the semester to ensure your compliance with this
simple requirement. You should be going to as many live concerts as possible!
Every time you hear someone else perform, you have the opportunity to learn something
about yourself and your own performances.
Please
try to swing by the bulletin board at least once a day for news and/or
important information.
I’m
very excited about this semester! If you need to talk to me about anything at
all, please do not hesitate to call me at home (770-725-8073) or at the office
(542-2725). I also love e-mail and can be reached at zerkmail@aol.com or dzerkel@uga.edu. I am
here for you, so if you’ve got any issues that you need help with, school
related or not, find me. I’ll be in by 8AM on most days and can make myself
available nearly anytime.
Have
a great semester!
DZ