sbo november 2011

NOVEMBER 2011$5.00

Report: The Southwest Marching Band

Guest Editorial: USSBA Adjudication

Performance Percussion

On the BEATPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter HortonPeter Horton

with Trumbull High School’s

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SB&O School Band and Orchestra® (ISSN 1098-3694) Volume 14, Number 11, is published monthly by Symphony Publishing, LLC, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781) 453-9310, publisher of Musical Merchandise Review, Choral Director, Music Parents America and JAZZed. All titles are federally registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Symphony Publishing, LLC. Subscription Rates: one year $24; two years $40. Rates outside U.S.A. available upon request. Single issues $5 each. February Resource Guide $15. Periodical-Rate Postage Paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER/SUBSCRIBERS: Send address change to School Band and Orchestra, P.O. Box 8548, Low-ell, MA 01853. No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The publishers of this magazine do not accept responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competition. Copyright © 2011 by Symphony Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. Printed in USA.

Cover photo by Gale Zucker, Branford, Conn., www.gzucker.com

4 Perspective

6 Headlines

52 New Products

53 Playing Tip

54 Classifieds

56 Ad Index

Columns

Features

Contents November 2011

32

38

22

10 REPORT: THE SOUTHWEST MARCHING BANDSBO investigates the small schools in Southwestern North Dako-ta who are joining forces once a year to create a giant marching band and provide new musical opportunities for rural students.

14 GUEST EDITORIAL: ADJUDICATIONThe USSBA’s George Hopkins discusses the philosophy behind the recent changes in his organization’s adjudication policy.

22 UPCLOSE: PETER HORTONSBO chats with Peter Horton, band director at Trumbull (Conn.) High School, who has applied the lessons he learned in drum corps in building a well rounded, powerhouse music program.

32 PERFORMANCE: PERCUSSIONJeff Crowell of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire presents some fundamental percussion lessons that work.

38 REPAIR: PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTSYamaha’s Troy Wallwage provides pointers on caring for and maintaining marching and orchestral percussion instruments.

42 TECHNOLOGY: DIGITAL TUNERSJohn Kuzmich explores into the evolving world of digital tuners.

48 STAFF SELECTIONS: PERCUSSION ENSEMBLE REPERTOIRE

2 School Band and Orchestra, November 2011

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Perspective®

November 2011Volume 14, Number 11

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Glee Gives Back

“Anew series on Fox is blissfully unoriginal in a witty, imagina-tive way.” That’s what The New York Times said about the launch of the subsequently highly suc-cessful show Glee back when it debuted in early 2009. Whether

you like the show or not, it’s difficult not to feel some affinity for it as 20th Century Fox, the show’s producer, has now partnered with NAfME to de-velop the GLEE Give-a-Note campaign to donate $1 million in amounts of $10,000 to $50,000 to 73 schools across the country. The money is being gen-erated by a portion of revenues from the sales of DVD and Blu-ray disks of the show going towards the Give a Note charity.

It appears that television shows and movies about musical performance have taken their content seriously enough, in recent times, to take the next step in mov-ing off-screen to support the cause of music education – and the list of contribu-

tors keeps getting more impressive each year. We’ve seen the launch of the VH1 Save the Music foundation, Mr. Holland’s Opus foundation, and now, one of the coun-try’s hottest television shows, Glee. Although the content of this show is reviled by some educators for its nega-tive stereotypes of both students and teachers, as well as other negative or unrealistic content and attributes, that it is supporting real music in real schools is a particularly redeeming feature of the program. There are dozens of other charities that were founded by music related organi-

zations, such as the Fender Music Foundation, The Smart Foundation, Tipitina’s, Supportmusic.org, Keepartsinschools.org, Guitar Center Music Foundation, and too many others to list them all in this space. It would seem that if there is so much support there would be plenty of external funding for school music pro-grams, but it’s really a tiny proportion of the needs for a country as large as the United States.

According to an AP article on October 24, 2011, “In California, a survey found that nearly half of all districts last year cut or reduced art, drama and music programs,” and that approximately 284,000 jobs in education have disappeared since 2008. Even though our latest economic indicators show some growth in GDP, the level of increase is still small and cannot offset the reduction in tax rev-enues from the real estate crisis. “Even in a best-case scenario that assumes strong economic growth next year, it won’t be until 2013 or later when districts see budget levels return to pre-recession levels,” executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, Daniel Domenech of Arlington, Virginia says in the article.

For now, the donations from the charities will go a long way to help struggling school music programs, but it is essential that we continue to push our legislators to maintain as much funding for the arts as possible.

Rick [email protected]

“Supporting real music in real

schools is a particularly

redeeming feature of the program.”

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From Marching and Concert Bands to Orchestras and Jazz Bands, instrumental groups who take part in a Disney Performing Arts program – whether that’s in a performance or in a workshop or festival – share a common bond. And now, Disney Performing Arts is celebrating this bond and commemorating

this once-in-a-lifetime experience with an exclusive badge of honor. So, if you think your instrumental group has Ears for the Arts, then there is no better time to plan your next Disney Performing Arts trip.

For more information, contact your travel planner or call toll-free 1-866-715-4095.

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HeadLinesNAMM Invites Educators to 2012 “Music Education Days”

T he NAMM Foundation recently invited music educators and school ad-ministrators from across the United States to come to Anaheim, Calif. to experience NAMM’s fifth annual “Music Education Days,” being held

on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 21 through Jan. 22 at the 2012 NAMM Show. Music educators and school administrators will have access to NAMM’s premier trade-only music products trade show, where they will be en-couraged to see and try the

many instruments and products relevant and useful to today’s music classrooms. Highlights of “Music Education Days” include a breakfast receptions including a performance by National Show Choir Champions Brea Olinda High School, a choir clinic, a brass ensemble clinic, a live interview with composer Sammy Nes-tico, and much more.

For more info, visit www.namm.org.

Garwood Whaley to Receive Industry Award at the Midwest Clinic

T he Midwest Clinic: An International Band and Or-chestra Conference recently announced conductor Garwood Whaley as the 2011 recipient of their annual

“Music Industrty Award.” The Music Industry Award was introduced in 1962 to honor conductors, educators, compos-ers, and others whose unique service to music education and continuing influence on the development and improvement of instrumental ensembles deserve special recognition.

Whaley is conductor emeritus of the Bishop Ireton Symphonic Wind Ensemble in Alexandria, Va., former adjunct professor of music at The Catholic University of America, past-president of the Percussive Arts Society, and founder and presi-dent of Meredith Music in 1979.

Learn more at www.midwestclinic.org.

Pretzelmaker Teams with VH1 with $30k ‘Save the Music’ DonationRepresentatives from Pretzelmaker and its parent company GFG Manage-

ment, LLC joined VH1 Save The Music Foundation recently at the Boston Teach-ers Union School to present a $30,000 donation to the Foundation. The donation was announced earlier this year as part of the brand’s annual National Pretzel Day celebration and was used to purchase musical instruments and equipment for the school’s growing music program.

Visit VH1savethemusic.com for more information.

New Film Highlights Legendary High School BandA new film narrated by Jamie Foxx documents the story of music director Conrad

Johnson’s famed “Kashmere Stage Band.” The film, Thunder Soul, was released on Sep-tember 23 and is in theaters now. It documents the band in its late ‘60s and ‘70s heyday and follows them during a recent 30-year reunion with their 92-year-old teacher and composer. Mr. Johnson was featured in the November 2006 issue of SBO.

For more on Thunder Soul, visit www.thundersoulmovie.com.

Online Poll Results

Visit www.sbomagazine.com and let your voice be heard in the current

online poll – results to be published in the next issue of SBO.

Does your program have percussion ensembles?

Does your program have percussion ensembles?

Yes (67%)No (33%)

YesNo

73%

27%

2012 MTNA National Conference Set for New York in MarchThe 2012 Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) National Confer-ence will take place in New York, New York, March 24–28, at the Hilton New York, located on the Avenue of the Americas. MTNA expects more than 2,000 music teachers from across the country to converge on the city for this annual five-day event. Benja-min Zander, conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra since 1979, will act as the conference’s keynote speaker. Numerous professional work-shops, teaching tracks, sessions, indus-try showcases and masterclasses will also take place, as well as the finals of MTNA’s national student competitions.For more info, visit www.mtna.org.

Disney Jazz Relocates The annual Disney Jazz Celebration,

typically held in Orlando, Florida’s Dis-ney World Resort, is relocating to the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Califor-nia. Created for middle and high school instrumental and vocal ensembles, the three-day festival will be held Feb. 24-26, 2012. Participating student groups

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HeadLines

Young Nonprofit to Set Up for Music Ed in Austin

The Hispanic Alliance for the Performing Arts, a startup nonprofit launched by Austin philanthropist Teresa Lo-zana Long, aims to provide music education to school-

age children in East Austin. Long, who is the president of the Alliance, points to an increased cognitive ability, increased global perspective, and higher education achievement as rea-sons for the program’s importance.

The alliance plans to form a youth orchestra modeled af-ter the famous Venezuelan social change program, El Sistema, which has helped more than 400,000 underprivileged children in more than 25 countries and has sprouted several similar programs in the United States.

Formed in collaboration with the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin, the alliance is offering free music lessons to middle school children at East Aus-tin College Prep. The alliance also recently kicked off a fundraising campaign, with the goal of raising $250,000 by early 2012.

Learn more at www.hispanicallianceaustin.org.

Longy to Start El Sistema-Based ProgramA new program entitled “Take a Stand” was recently announced by Cambridge,

Mass.’s Longy School of Music as a connection to the successful “El Sistema” education program started in Venezuela. The program will be enacted in collaboration with New York’s Bard College and the Los Angeles Philharmonic, which is directed by El Sistema’s most famous graduate, the 30-year-old Gustavo Dudamel (who recently was named “Artist of the Year” at the Gramophone Awards).

More info can be found at www.longy.edu.

Anmol Mehra Joins Music for All BoardAnmol Mehra, of Fidelity Investments, has been elected to the Music for All Board

of Directors. Music for All is a nonprofit educational organization, whose mission is to create, provide and expand positively life-changing experiences through music for all.

Anmol Mehra is an equity research analyst for Fidelity Investments in Boston, Mass., the largest mutual fund company in the United States. Mehra played trombone and bari-tone and was a student camper and a SWAG for a number of years at the Music for All Summer Symposium. He was also a member of the University of Texas Longhorn Band and marched a summer with the Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps. He is on the Board of Directors with Urbanity Dance, a Boston-based contemporary dance company,and he is on the Advisory Board for the University of Texas MBA Investment Fund.

Visit www.musicforall.com to learn more.

Correction: The dates of the Viginia International Music Festival at the Norfolk NATO festival were incorrectly listed in the October 2011 edition of SBO. The correct dates for 2012 are April 27 -29, 2012.

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SBOReport: The Southwest Marching Band


Rural Schools Team Up to Form the

Between routinely having to travel hundreds of

miles for performances and balancing instru-

mentation in small schools, it can be incredibly

challenging for high school music programs in

some of the more sparsely populated corners of America

to create or sustain a marching band. And yet, a group of

teachers in North Dakota have proven that with a little

cooperation and determination, kids from small schools

can join the fun, too.

Each May, Bismarck, N.D. hosts an annual celebration of music known as Band Night, which features a parade of high school marching bands from across the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota, and Southern Canada. “Band Night Parade is a vital part of whatever limited march-ing experience bands can have in our region,” says Jeff Eckroth of Eck-roth Music, a music retail chain headquartered in Bismarck and one of the primary organizers of the event. However, many of the high schools in Southwest North Dakota have a total enrollment of 150 students or less, meaning that participating in such events just wasn’t feasible, until

Southwest Marching Band

several high school directors decided came up with an idea.

“I was talking with the band director of South Heart High School, another small school in the area,” recalls Catie Hosel-ton, band director at Belfield High School, which has a student population of 120. “We were thinking how great it would be to go to the Bismarck Band Night parade, but we really can’t go because we each only had about 20 kids in our programs. So we thought, ‘What if we put our bands togeth-er and march them down the street?’”

The two band directors followed up on that conversation by bringing their drum-mers together to do a cadence. Then they ordered t-shirts that their students could wear along with khaki pants. They gath-ered the two bands together at noon on the day of the parade, did a quick rehearsal at Belfield High School, then put everyone on two busses and drove the 120 miles to Bismarck to march later that evening.

And just like that, the Southwest March-ing Band was born. When word caught on about what was happening at South Heart and Belfield, other small schools in the area (relatively speaking) jumped at the

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chance to join in. “In our region, we [band directors] are all pretty close,”

says Hoselton. “We have all either gone to college togeth-er or know one another. That second year, we talked to Charm Martian at Bowman High School, and said, ‘Hey, why don’t you come and join us?’ So she came and joined us, and then the third year, we talked to Trinity High School in Dickinson, North Dakota, and his band came and joined up with us. The fourth year Richardton High School joined us, because I happen to live there and talk-ed to their teacher, who I knew very well. In 2009, four more schools joined us, and that’s when it really got huge. In 2008, it was about 150 kids, and in 2009 in jumped up to well over 300.” Currently, about 340 kids from 10 schools, covering perhaps 250 square miles, participate in this cooperative ensemble.

Scranton High School, which has a total student popu-lation of 45 in grades nine through 12, is another partici-pant. Along with his 30 high school musicians, band di-rector Mark Perkins brings along approximately 20 junior high school musicians to “pad his numbers,” he says with a smile. “All we do [at Band Night] is straight line march-ing, and we all basically share an equal responsibility for the rehearsals,” says Perkins. “We do our own practice at home and then get together just the day of the parade. We spend the morning in sectional rehearsals. There are 10 different directors, of course, so we split the group into ten individual pieces and then go out and do our individual work outside. Then we all put it all together.”

While Perkins describes this event as a “flash in the pan” of his yearlong music curriculum, it’s also an event that kids are really excited about. “This has kept some kids in band,” says Hoselton. “They will come to the band room on the first day of school in August and ask, ‘Okay, what are we playing for Band Night?’ And that parade isn’t until the last week of school! They’re already focusing on that. It’s really not as huge of an event as it might seem. We have help, everyone works on the same song, and we throw it together in three hours.”

“It’s a fun time of the year,” agrees Perkins. “After that event there are only usually a week or ten days left in the school year, so it’s really a fun way to finish out a good year. More importantly, though, it’s the only way we can give these kids a plain old marching experience. There are a couple of our schools that are big enough to do some marching on their own, but my own, for example, is not. I wouldn’t be able to give the students any expe-

“We just thought it would be kind of

neat to provide that experience for

them, and the students have taken it

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rience marching without this. The other residual effect is the camaraderie of working with the other kids. They way they treat each other and get along is really great to see. There are a lot of social benefits that we didn’t really count on. We just thought it would be kind of neat to provide that experience for them, and the students have taken it to a whole new level.”

While the social element of participating in the larger ensemble has been fun for individuals, it has also served to bring rival communities together. “In sports, we have pretty fierce rivalries be-tween all of these schools, so it’s great that we can get them marching down the street with the same kids that they wanted to beat the crap out of on the football field,” says Hoselton. “There’s camaraderie there and when these kids are from small bands that many only have, say, one flute and two trombones, now they’re marching with 50 flutes and maybe 50 trombones. For one day, the kids are a part of something bigger than they even know.”

Of course, as one might expect, managing an ensem-ble of that size brings with it its own obstacles. Instru-mentation can be tricky, and balancing the sound of that

many kids in a way so that the entire ensemble is audi-ble is an ongoing challenge. “It gets a little overwhelm-ing,” admits Hoselton. “We talk over email or get to-gether in a restaurant and talk about how many kids we’re going to have, how many of each instrument, and what our lineup is going to be, but it’s become one of those things that’s just fun.

It’s so good to get the kids together. Yes, we want them to look good and yes we them to sound good, but we are less concerned about getting the kids on the right foot; this is about music and it’s about bringing people together. For one day, these kids get to be in the largest band in the area. If we can do it, anybody can do it. And we’re getting better at how we look, too!”

As much fun as it is for the kids, this unique ensemble has also had an extremely positive impact on the Band Night Parade itself. “They add this tremendous dynamic and kind of amazement with more than 300 kids march-ing down the street,” says Jeff Eckroth. “With these small communities, not only do they support their kids in music education and their kids are thrilled to be a part of it – some even stay in band because of it. But it also draws the community into music education, as well. It gives them a purpose to get behind, so they travel to Bismarck to see their kids and cheer them on. It becomes this great experience for everyone involved, not just the musicians. The Band Night parade is pretty cool.”

And the benefits don’t stop there. The directors of the ten little schools are grateful for this collaborative ef-fort. “It really opens the lines of communications,” says Perkins. “We’ve always been a pretty tight group in this corner of the world because it is a sparsely populated area. We have always worked together a lot, but nothing on the scale like this. After this, though, we don’t hesi-tate to pick up the phone if we’ve got a question about a piece of music or something else. We share music and ideas on how we do things back and forth. It really has enhanced the communications that we have and made everyone feel more at ease with each other. There’s re-ally been no competition, too. I know sometimes people are a little secretive about how they run their programs, but we don’t have any of that. We are definitely running wide open program here now.”

The Southwest Band is done growing for now, and talk of a tour has fizzled because there are too many conflicting schedules. However, the next project these teachers have taken on is a comparable indoor ensem-ble, the Southwest Concert Band, which already has 105 students from five of the ten schools in the Southwest Marching Band. The Southwest Concert Band is hoping to make its debut by traveling to Minneapolis for a Me-morial Day performance.

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SBOGuest Editorial: Adjudication

An Adjudication System for

“Everyband”By GeorGe Hopkins

After 23 years and close to 2,000 marching band competitions, the

U.S. Scholastic Band Association of Allentown, Pa. recently changed

the adjudication criteria for many of the participating bands. Al-

though it has been using singular criteria that serviced 700 or more

bands per year in 12 different categories of competition, the USSBA team

has decided that, perhaps, there is a better way to assist and support the

bands of this ever-growing association.

A bit of historyIn 1988, the then Garfield Cadets, a four-time Drum Corps International World Champion,

hosted a single marching band event at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Twenty-Four bands participated. In 1989, the newly formed Cadets Marching Band Cooperative managed 12 events, and in 1990, 20 events. Fast-forward to today: the now-named U.S. Scholastic Band Association is the promoter and organizer of over 130 events in 16 states with over 725 partici-pating bands.

GuestEdit.indd 14 11/8/11 7:43 AM

School Band and Orchestra, November 2011 15

Why the growth?Perhaps the USSBA was at the right

place at the right time. Perhaps the fact that the sister program, the Ca-dets Drum Corps, now 10-time Drum Corps International World Champi-ons, are intimately involved in the ad-ministration of the USSBA. Perhaps it has grown so much because the three-fold foundation that serves as the centerpiece of the USSBA calling for bands to participate offers:• Acommitmenttoprovideopportu-

nities in excellent venues • Anofficethatprovidesservicefrom

7 a.m. – 7 p.m. most days of the year and all days of marching season

• An adjudication system that con-tracts with quality teachers and technicians, all committed to sup-porting and assisting bands from the marching world.

Well, yes, all of the above contribut-ed to the expansion, but what I believe truly drew bands over the years was an overarching attitude of care and sup-port, combined with an adjudicationsystem that used scholastic scales to as-sign scores at events from coast to coast.

An attitude of care and concern

The USSBA has worked hard to train adjudicators and administratorsto the over-arching idea that their role is to support and care for bands. The USSBA’sjobistoassistthebanddirec-tor in maintaining and growing his program. This organization is not in-terested in penalizing a band for poor performance, or passing judgmentupon a band that may not have the best in personnel or program. Instead, its goal is to keep music in the schools by encouraging students to join andstay in band programs. The USSBA wants to be part of the solution.

See, for those in the USSBA and its parent company, Youth Education in the Arts, music is very important. Mu-sic and arts education are critical com-ponents in the lives of many young men and women. But at a deeper level, and with the knowledge that 95 percent or so of high school band students will not

pursue a career in music education or music performance, it’s still possible to assist students and teachers in a pro-gram that contributes to life education. In band students learn about:• Teamwork• Thevalueofpersistence• Sportsmanship• Selfdiscipline• Selfmotivation• Howtoleadandhowtofollow• Andsomuchmore!

So creating band events allows band directors the chance to do their job,andprovidingserviceatthelevelthat the USSBA does allows the band director to concentrate his or her ef-forts on the band and the students, not the details and worries of marching band festivals and circuit administra-tion. And through it all, and across somanyevents, the adjudicators andthe administrators come to the events knowing they are part of the solution

SBOGuest Editorial: Adjudication

An Adjudication System

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– a solution that is far more than as-signing a winner.

An adjudication system that makes sense

Speaking of winners, this is clearly a competitive environment, but a few characteristics make the process more palatable.

First off, the USSBA makes sure that bands compete only in like cate-gories. Bands are separated first by size of the band, not the size of the school. This allows for a comparison of like entities. Who is to say why a band has only 60 members with a school size of 1,400? Perhaps there is a new band

director. Perhaps the middle school system is not strong. Perhaps there is a history of small bands and marching is not supported at various levels of the environment. It would be foolish to pass judgment on this sort of crite-ria. Adjudicators should evaluate only what is presented on the field. With this in mind, the USSBA has 6 differ-ent groups categorizing bands as small as 35 members (Group 1) to 150+ membership (Group 6).

Bands are also separated by abil-ity level. The USSBA has two different classes of competition, “A” Class and “Open “ Class. “Open” is for the better performing, more mature bands, and “A” class is for those schools that perform at a lesser level of excellence. Now, this in itself is a philosophical point. Why is a band not achieving excellence and why should they be judged, and even be giv-en awards, alongside those bands who performed at a higher level with the same instruments, the same rules and the same opportunity?

Again, the USSBA has taken a posi-tion that it should simply assist bands in moving to a new level of perfor-mance. There are just too many pos-sible factors to issue a snap judgment. How many hours does a band spend in rehearsal? Does the band director have marching experience? Does the school come from a history of march-

ing excellence or does the community pay more attention to other program offerings? What about the equipment? What about the in-class schedule?

Point of order, there are so many variables. And in actuality, many of the issues are not so much a judgment or a reflection of the students but a reflec-tion of the director and his or her his-tory. And is that really our place to be critical? Is that why there are march-ing band competitions?

And finally, inside of the groups, the classes and what can be 12 winners at each and every event the USSBA man-ages, there is a basic scoring agreement that runs alongside what we have all grown up with in school:

A – Excellent (93+) B – Very good (85+)C – Good (77+)D – Fair (70+)F – Failure (below 70)

The criteria used as a staple of the USSBA’s adjudication program allow for scoring that reflects what the com-

munity understands. The goal is to create a system to which people can relate.

In fact, this philosophy is most critical to the success of music festivals and competitions: Scoring criteria that Mom and Dad can understand, that the principal relates to, and that the other students in the school “get.”

A student in a band can understand after explanation that a 57.0 is just a number and finishing 23 of 34 bands in a competition is admirable. Inside a band room we have time to explain, we can rationalize, and we can create a shared appreciation for the process.

However, when a score is an-nounced over an intercom, a place-ment is written up in the school news-paper, or the school website reports on the results of the state champion-ship, there is no time for explanation. A 57 is a failure. A 75 is a C, and a 90 is fabulous. This is what schools and their communities understand, and this has been the model we have used over the years.

Add that to a general approach which is supportive (we have given only 2 penalties in 23 years) and you have the ingredients for success.

So, why change the grading system in 2011?

“The goal of the USSBA is to keep music in the schools by encour-aging students to join and stay in band programs.”

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The New SystemSince 1988 the USSBA has used

one scale or system of criteria. Al-though “A” class bands did not com-pete against “open” bands, they did use the same criteria. “A” bands would perhaps achieve an 88 or 89 at the end of the year but an excellent rating was not possible. That was reserved for the open bands.

Was this what was wanted? Would a student in Algebra only be allowed to achieve a “B” because the top marks were saved for the Advance Placement students? That seems unfair, if not silly, but, with introspection, perhaps this is what was happening?

“A” bands make up 70 percent of the bands of the U.S. Scholastic Band As-sociation. Why not allow these bands, which admit to shortfalls in perfor-mance, the opportunity to gain the top marks at the level they are choosing to compete? And in fact, why not give these bands a framework that allows for success and perhaps pave the way for a higher level of performance and success in the years to come?

To address this change in philoso-phy, the USSBA had to change the cri-teria for the “A” bands. Teachers would never expect different levels of classes to generate the same levels of achieve-ment. Why should festival organizers?

After examining the criteria, and what specific achievement was really wanted from the mid-level band, as well as shortfalls of the adjudication system, it was recognized that these “criteria for all” actually may have pushed the middle level band to do far more than was necessary.

As an example, the criteria under Repertoire Effect might include:• Creativity• VarietyofEffect• Coordination• ImpactsandClimaxes• AudienceAppeal

Well, no one really expected a class “A” band to create a band show that was never seen before. Judges were not looking for great speed or wild musicalarrangements. In fact,what Ihave personally stated time and time again comes to mind:

• Playtogether• Marchinstep• Catchthestuffyouthrowintheair

It sounds pretty simple and easy,but this is rarely achieved. In fact, itis not achieved by too many marching groupsanywhere. Indeed,weall talkabout achievement, and with good reason, but at some level, good old fashioned execution may be all that is needed?

So what did the U.S. Scholastic Band Association do?

1. Took the sheets for the “A” Bands and re-wrote the criteria

2. Made the expectation per-former-centric

3. Lessened all expectations re-lated to demand and creativity.

The five levels of criteria were also adjusted so that the “A” bands could more easily receive the highest rat-ings. After all, if, at the level selected, a band achieves at the expected level, the band and the students should re-ceive an “A.”

This change was rushed to the field this year because the USSBA staff be-lieved in the possibilities. And, in fact, theearlyreportsarepositive.Indeed,as noted, 70 percent of the bands in

the USSBA are “A” class. With that in mind, why not make the highest marks available?

After all, marching band is an art form. Some call it a sport because of the physicality involved, but, indeed, music is art. And band is art because the level of quality achieved will al-waysbesubjective.Clearlyeffect isasubjective caption but even discussions of achievement are in the eye of the beholder. I may give more credit torhythmic challenges and another judge may be more impressed with quality of intonation. Which is more important? Whoiscorrect?It issubjective?And,in fact, much of the adjudication pro-cess is subjective.

So… the criteria was changed and, today, the weekends are still being spent ranking and rating the performances of bands. However, the USSBA believes that bands are returning home hap-pier than in previous years. Parents are more hopeful, principals will see more value in the effort of the band, and the community will connect to the new-found achievement level of the bands. Hopefully, over time, this newfound enthusiasm will lead to better bands: maybe, just maybe, more band direc-tors might stay in the profession and more students might stay in the band.

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If more people are learning music, that might translate to higher level of per-formances, and, maybe, better bands!

Speaking of better bands, what about the open class bands? Are they not affected when they see bands at “A” class now with the same numbers, or even higher ratings?

Well, as was expected, open bands are led by smart and capable directors. These directors can explain to their students and staff the value of a system and the differences of systems. And at the root, higher numbers for one class does not devalue the performance lev-el and rewards of those at the higher-level one iota.

ConclusionTime will tell if this change is for the

positive, but if band director response is an indicator, it is already a success. In recent post show evaluations, 95 percent of the comments related to the system have been positive. Many have asked, “What took you so long?”

Well, we are here. The U.S. Scholastic Band Associa-

tion made a change that allows for a higher level of perceived success. Hopefully this will carry the message and program to more bands and more students over time, with a goal of reaching 1,000 bands before the close of 2013 and to help tens of thousands of students make a difference in the world. We hope that these kids will use the lessons learned in band as a foundation for all that they might ac-complish.

The Cadets will carry the banner of music education for years to come. The U.S. Scholastic Band Association carries the banner of music educa-tion from state to state and school to school. And the parent company of each, Youth Education in the Arts, will continue to develop programs and op-portunities that hopefully will support many young people on the road to magnificence.

And creating that possibility is why we get up and go to work each day.

George Hopkins is the CEO and executive director of Youth Education in the Arts, a not-for-profit organiza-tion with headquarters in Allentown, Pa. He is also a member of the Drum Corps International Hall of Fame and the Cadets Hall of Fame. He has been on the DCI Board of Directors since 1982, the DCI Executive Committee from 1983-1999, and 2005-present, the NJ Music Educators Board of Directors from 2000-2003 and the president of the NJ Coalition for Music Educators from 2001-2003.

Youth Education in the Arts (YEA!) is a youth agency committed to supporting the development of young people into magnificent human beings through their participation in the performing arts. Program offerings include the 20-time national champion Cadets Drum and Bugle Corps and the US Scholastic Band Association. Over 70,000 young people across the country are involved in pro-grams supported by YEA! with festivals, performances, and clinics scheduled each year from coast to coast.

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BeatOn the

with Peter Horton and the Trumbull Golden Eagles

Pride, attitude, and concentration. These are the tenets that were drilled into Peter Horton when he was a young musician in drum corps. And these same concepts have served as the foundation upon which Horton, now director of Trumbull High

School’s Golden Eagle Band program, has developed one of the top all-around school music programs in the state of Connecticut for more than two decades, including a percussion ensemble that is a fixture at the WGI World Championships.

By Eliahu SuSSman

Upclose.indd 22 11/7/11 4:30 PM

with Peter Horton and the Trumbull Golden Eagles



Peter Horton was introduced to musical performance at the age of eight, when he began playing bugle in a drum and bugle corps. Quickly progressing musically, Horton later joined the newly formed Stateliners Drum Corps of Greenwich, Connecti-cut, which went on to have, accord-ing to Horton, “one of the best first year drum corps records in history,” winning both of their circuit champi-onships as a small drum corps. Mean-while in his high school music ensem-bles, Horton was gaining invaluable experience from his choral director, a priest whom Horton cites as “a great musician,” noting that the “choral as-pect was an integral part” of his for-mative musical experience. Enthralled with all aspects of music – composi-tion, performance, the camaraderie of the ensembles, and satisfaction of teamwork – Horton went on to study music education and taught in several New Jersey schools before making his way back to Connecticut and to Trum-bull High School, an institution that already had a well developed music program.

In this recent SBO interview, Peter Horton talks about the evolution of drum corps, its connection to music education, and how he has integrated lessons from his youth, such as the im-portance of consistency and rewards of teamwork, into the ensembles he now leads.

School Band & Orchestra: Would you talk about what the program at Trumbull High School was like when you came on board?

Peter Horton: When I got here, the program had been established with three other directors. It was always one of the stronger concert and marching programs in the area. We just took that and kept developing it over the last 20-plus years. We keep adding more and more kids, and we’re at our largest numbers now, between 140 and 160 kids. It’s been a great run. The students understand what it’s all about, and they work re-ally hard at making this one of the best programs around.

SBO: What were your initial goals upon arriving at Trumbull?

PH: At the outset, my goal was to maintain what had already been go-ing on, while also getting the students used to me and my style, and well as


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what we wanted to accomplish. Find-ing the right staff and the right people to work with the kids was a critical piece. We worked on building up the musicianship aspect of the program and finding the kids who liked playing great music in all kinds of styles. From there we proceeded, and we got better each year. This has been our consistent goal, to improve the program, to have the kids be better year and year after.

SBO: It’s easy enough to say, “We want to get better each year,” but what are some of the specific ac-tions you took to help make that happen?

PH: From a musicianship aspect, one of the key messages I work at get-ting across is having kids understand their responsibilities to their instru-ments: the practice time they need to put in to become a better musician. Improving individual abilities is really important, and that starts by getting them to understand how to perform, and have them work on their play-ing techniques through lessons and the music that we play. We give them different varieties of music, work on reading, and support them on articu-lations and phrasing. And we also put an emphasis on what I call, “the other half of the music.” Making it music, so that when they perform, the audienc-es understand and enjoy what we’re playing. The kids have responded re-ally well to that. We have had some very emotional programs that we’ve

put out over the years. My focus is get-ting the kids to learn how to perform all the time and the first time.

They need to understand that every time they sit down to play, they are performing on their instruments. In order to do that, it takes focus on the specific technical aspects of playing, which we address through our lesson program and after school programs. The jazz, concert, and marching pro-grams all work together to help kids develop and learn to play different styles and enjoy what they’re playing.

SBO: How has your drum corps experience shaped your perspec-tive as a music educator, and what elements of that have you brought into your own program?

PH: Drum corps was the inspira-tion for me. It has evolved over the

Trumbull High School Bands at a Glance

Location: 72 Strobel Road, Trumbull, Conn.On the Web: www.thsgembcorp.comStudents in High School: 2,200Students in Instrumental Music Program: 210

Ensembles (and students in each)Golden Eagle Marching Band: 140Scholastic Open Percussion Ensemble: 30Scholastic A Percussion Ensemble: 20Scholastic World Winter Guard: 20Scholastic A Winter Guards: 30Concert Band: 32Symphonic Band: 80Jazz Ensemble: 25Christmas Brass Ensemble: 12

Recent Accomplishments2010Musical Arts Conference (MAC) Class V Cham-pionsFlorida Citrus Festival Parade, Spectro Magic Pa-rade (Orlando, Fla.)WGI: Guard Scholastic World, Fifth Place Finalist.• Percussion,ScholasticOpenFinalistMAC: Winter Champions• ScholasticWorldGuard• ScholasticAAGuard• ScholasticOpenPercussion

2009 56th Inaugural Presidential Parade, Washington, D.C.Winter Guard: MAC World Silver Medalist, WGI World Class FinalistWinter Percussion: Undefeated MAC Open Class State Champion Gold Medalist • 5thconsecutiveyearWGI Open Class Silver Medalist• 2ndconsecutiveyear)

2008 HollywoodChristmasParade,Hollywood,Calif.DisneylandMainStreetParade,Anaheim,Calif.Winter Guard: MAC World Silver Medalist, WGI World Class Finalist

Scan this image with your smart phone to watch the Trumbull High School Golden Eagle Marching Band’s 2010 MAC Cham-pionship performance!



years. Their approach to great playing and the technical aspects of perform-ing, as well as the changes in the visual and theatrical elements, is something that we’ve been watching closely and learning from. We try to keep up with the times and the musical styles that are out there. It’s helped us to evolve into the program that we are. I base a lot of it on consistency, on doing the same things every year. This goes back to something I learned from my baseball coach in high school: no mat-ter who you were or what class you were in, when you came out for base-ball, everybody worked together and learned together, and then we broke into a team. Well, we try to do the same thing with the band.

We have certain marching pro-gram basics that we go through every year, which every student in the pro-gram learns every year. We go over the same things in band camp, and it is the same with the musical aspects: the technique that we’re working to develop, the quality of sound, breath support – the technical aspects of the program. That consistency has helped us to remain one of the top programs in the area.

SBO: Consistency is an interest-ing concept, especially consid-ering how much evolution there has been of late in the world of marching bands. What’s your take on where that field is going?

PH: They’ve gone from a military performance style through an evolu-tion of the visual aspect, from a lot of straight line presentations to curves, and the music now is more supportive of the visual elements, which are much more complex. The visual aspects also support the music. The color guard involvement has gone from basic mili-tary moves to all kinds of dance and body movement. Incorporating that with the flags, sabers, and rifles. It’s just a major shift that has happened. A lot of kids, especially around where we are, don’t have much opportunity to participate in drum corps locally, so they’re getting that same experience that I had through the high school program now. There are those in the group that aspire to go on and per-form with some of the DCI corps – I have a half dozen kids who are looking to audition for some of the top drum corps groups. It’s something that’s grown for the better, in that we’re producing great musicians at the high school level, and the drum corps have taken the musical aspect of the bands, and the bands have taken the visual as-pect of the drum corps, and over the years, it’s really been a great melding together and bringing a lot of success to a lot of programs throughout the country.

SBO: What do you think that im-pact has been in terms of music education?

PH: I think it’s been good for mu-sic education. The students are more aware of what they need to understand about music. We get into the mean-ing of the music from the composer’s perspective, what they’ve written and why they’ve written it, and also, from an educational standpoint, they’re learning the discipline that it takes to learn the technical aspects of how to play their instruments. The discipline of this approach has helped my stu-dents strive to be better in their aca-demics. Without the program, a lot of the kids might be floundering in other

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classes, but many of them are doing great things from an academic stand-point. Traditionally, music and the arts have fostered great academic achieve-ment from students, as well as great musicians, and that’s the case here.

SBO: How does the emphasis on percussion carry over into the con-cert season?

PH: We have a strong winter percus-sion program, and that gives the kids

the ability to branch out and perform on other instruments, to play a vari-ety of styles of music. The percussion enhances all of the different styles of music that we play, not just the march-ing style of percussion and the march-ing shows that we do. However, even there, the students’ techniques are be-ing honed and developed. So when they come into the concert program, they’re ready to perform with us. It gives us an opportunity for variety. I

have the students switch instruments and play a different one on every piece. It also gives a lot more chance to play, also.

SBO: How would you compare the evolution in marching and drum corps with modern concert music?

PH: The music of today has grown. The great composers that are out there have a really good understanding of what school programs are looking for, as well as the things we’re trying to do to enhance our programs. We are getting a lot of literature that keeps us striving to be the best we can be. We choose levels that we know we can play, and we also choose music that we know we’ll have to work on to sound good, so we can improve technical abilities and the challenge education of music.

SBO: One of the consistent ele-ments of drum corps and the marching world has been the focus on competition. How does that play a part in your music program?

PH: I wouldn’t be engaging in com-petitive events if I didn’t think we were doing it the right way, with the goal of enhancing our musical capabilities. We are all competitive in nature. We all want to compete and be the best out there. First place in the competitions is always a striving point, but it’s also to go out there and perform the best so that when you walk off the field that night, you can say to yourself that you did the best job that you could at that time. I think that just spills over into everything that we try to do.

I approach preparing for competi-tions the same way as I approach the concert work: I want the same sound as we have out on the field. I don’t want to come inside and have to re-teach anything or take a long time to make the transition from outdoors to indoors. Focusing on the fundamental aspects of music – performing, playing properly, breathing properly and all of the other techniques we really work on – has helped us in both the concert and marching areas.

SBO: How about developing that consistency – what’s your ap-proach to that?

PH: We work on becoming the best


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that we can be each day and giving 100 percent all the time. Coming in where you left off the day before and making yourself a little bit better each and everyday. We work on a motto of pride, attitude, and concentration; de-veloping pride in themselves and their approach to the program; the attitude

of the proper way of performing; and the concentration level, which I think is the biggest factor on getting them to be able to focus, wipe out any other problems, and be able to perform for that eight or ten minutes. We then elaborate on that when we play con-cert pieces. It’s a big part of what we work on.

SBO: Is there anything that your program does that you think other band programs might benefit from considering?

PH: I know everybody in music education works hard and to the best of their abilities. Each program has it’s own unique obstacles to confront. If there’s one thing we do well that other bands might be well served to emulate, it would be the consistency of what we do, all the time and over and over. Getting that started with the program means that upperclassmen can begin to teach the freshman, sophomores, and anyone knew who comes into the group. You can give them the respon-sibilities of teaching the basics to their

fellow students, as well as the tradi-tions of the band and other aspects of the culture of the program. That con-cept has helped us build a solid base here.

SBO: After all these years, what’s the most gratifying aspect of be-ing a music educator for you these days?

PH: I work hard at building an overall good relationship with the students and bringing forward the best of their abilities. It’s a great re-ward to see them go out and perform and really enjoy what they are doing. If the students aren’t enjoying them-selves, that’s going to show in the performance. There’s a lot of hard work involved, so not every aspect is fun, but those performances are a culmination of what they’ve worked on for the week, for the season, and for the year. That’s where I get the most gratification; when they enjoy what they’re doing and everyone has a good time together as a family and a team.

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SBOPerformance: Percussion


Percussion Lessons That Work

By Si Millican

I am a musician who is a percussionist, plain and simple, and

in that order. Yet, how I interact with my instrument and

make my music is different than, say, the wind or string in-

strumentalist. Perhaps because percussionists strike to create

sound, we, unfortunately, have many traits that do not encourage

our musical sides. Those areas need to be addressed, as well as

the technical issues that arise from how we generate our sound.

I’ve done numerous clinics and masterclasses all over the country and what always amazes me is that the longer I’m in this field and sharing my knowledge with others, the more I find myself saying just about all of the same things! I’m sure this fact is true for many people, but for percussionists we have such a unique way of approaching our instruments that it almost breeds a bunch of problems, or “pitfalls” as I call them. And we need to address these at an early age or they can become habits that are very hard to break.

By Jeff crowell

Let’s get one thing straight: these issues are not always our fault. It’s just part of who we are and how we play; but they are our problems to deal with and address so we better be aware of them and have them on our immediate radar to avoid falling into the trap of keeping them going.

In most cases, what we do isn’t rocket science; it’s actually quite sim-ple. Simple things unfortunately are hard to get engaged with and what happens is that often the student loses focus because of this lack of depth. I’m

not saying there aren’t a lot of things in this craft that are specific, deep, and take a great deal of concentration and ability, but what I’m about to talk about doesn’t fall into that category. Addressing the following areas will make a huge difference when it comes to performance; unfortunately the concepts behind these ideas are obvi-ous to everyone.

What bothers me is that if the things we need to do when we play are so obvious, then why aren’t we do-ing them already? I do have an answer. It’s because our instruments are what I call “instantly gratifying” which means that if you hit it, it doesn’t sound that bad. Where are the months of trying to get an okay sound on drum, say versus a French Horn? It doesn’t hap-

“I tell my percussionists

to remember to check

the simple things first.”

Performance.indd 32 11/7/11 4:32 PM


pen for us. Anyone can hit a drum and make it sound okay, even from the first hit. So then, why should I prac-tice to make it better sounding when it already sounds fine? Our problem is that fine isn’t good enough; we need it to be great. If we haven’t really needed to pay attention to our sound and the way we interact with our instruments then our attention to that interaction and sound is probably non-existent.

Lesson 1: Pay Attention to What You Are Doing, Always

This may seem simple, and it is. We have to be an active participant in what we are doing because if we aren’t, we then have no gauge or way of com-prehending how we are playing. This makes it hard for us to change what we are doing when the musical need arises. You’d be amazed at how easy this is, but since we don’t really have to, we never do. Have your students answer questions about what they are doing. For example, “Tom, that was a good crash, but I want it a little dryer sounding, can you do that for me?” Tom now needs to know what kind of sound he just made, how he got it, and how he can change it.

Some percussionists might argue that it takes too much extra concentra-tion to do this, but it actually doesn’t. It’s just something that we are not used to doing and when you start ask-ing yourself what you are playing and how it sounds/fits with the rest of the ensemble, it’s actually quite easy. It’s like opening a door that’s always been there, we’ve just never noticed it be-cause the door has always been closed. Once we get the ears turned on, it takes little if no extra focus to assess our playing.

I have a saying that goes: “Your answer to the next three questions should be the same – What do you want to do? What do you think you are doing? What are you doing?” You’d be amazed at how much we can do when we start paying attention to our actions and listening to our sound.

The remaining lessons represent more of my “Greatest Hits,” the sug-gestions that I use the most and, quite frankly, affect a student’s playing in a

drastic, dramatic, and all-encompassing way. I adhere to these points myself and I teach all my students to do the same and I encourage you to try them and see what positive results they can bring.

Lesson 2: We Rush, So Don’t Rush

We rush, it’s a fact. So don’t rush. Problem solved.

I know, I know. I wish it were that easy. It is conceptually, but to make it actually happen is another issue.

We live in a very short durational world. Almost all of our sounds are initiated by a very short strike of the instrument. If you try to play suc-cessive, very short notes, the human temptation is to come in early. Do that twice in a row and you are rushing. Add to this the fact that many percus-sionists don’t keep a strong internal sense of pulse and it makes it worse. I’m never solely relying on a conduc-tor for time – I set my internal pulse with the conductor and keep my in-ternal clock going while using the con-


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ductor as a guide. If there’s no conduc-tor, then that internalization of pulse is essential.

Every percussionist must realize this tendency to rush and do their best to think of the notes they are playing as longer and actually hear them that way in their head. I find having the student sing the notes with this longer intended duration actually helps them keep better time and avoid the natural tendency to anticipate. Hearing them

longer when we play will keep us from rushing, as well as helping our inter-nal metronome keep a better sense of time.

Lesson 3: Make MusicWe are technical beings, we can’t

help it. Playing fast or doing tricky stickings on a snare part are what fas-cinates us, and it’s just the world we live in.

But are those things musical? Abso-lutely not. The technical side to what we do often gets in the way of thinking musically. The vertical – how we gen-erate our sound – does not aid us in the horizontal – that is music, phrase, shaping, and so on.

Then, by default, thinking hori-zontally isn’t first on our agenda. The great thing is that we can do this, we are often very good at thinking horizontally. We just don’t normally think of it first. To us it’s just one more facet to what we do, well after the technical side, another piece of the pie.

As all of us know, one of the most important areas besides quality of sound is musical communication, and one could argue the musical in-tent of a musician might supersede everything else. I’m ok with that – I agree. The act of playing percus-sion, though, doesn’t reinforce this concept. We don’t see it that way. As I said before, it’s just one more piece of the large puzzle.

The directors’ job is help student percussionists realize that this idea is paramount and to have them put it on their immediate agenda. Once we know that we can do it, it’s then a matter of constantly reminding and engaging percussionists in a re-hearsal to think of that musical side. Have them be responsible for un-derstanding how their part fits into the ensemble as a whole. Do per-cussionists share the melody with the flutes? Does the triangle part fit in with another section rhythmi-cally, or is it all on its own? Either way, how should the phrase be ap-proached?

I love working on this with my students. I’m always amazed at the things they know they want to do musically but because they are so caught up in the logistics of play-ing their instruments – changing mallets/sticks, moving to another instrument and not making it in time – that it’s just one of the many things that gets left out. Yet, it’s the one thing that should never get left out. Help students realize this and they’ll be fantastic musical contrib-utors.

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Lesson 4: You Want to Sound Consistent? Then Play That Way

Once again, a simple concept that is difficult to realize. What I mean by this is that your students should be playing in a symmetrical/balanced way from one side of their body to the other. Most of our instruments require this balanced approach. Drumset, multi-percussion set-ups, and some other in-stances where one hand might be play-ing something while the other hand is playing a different instrument does exist, but for a majority of what we do we need, we want both appendages to generate the same tone and dynamic. We are unique this way. If you had to throw a football with your weak hand or your strong hand, which would you choose? The stronger one obvi-ously. But, when it comes to playing percussion, I want no obvious discrep-ancy between sides, so we need to pay attention when we play to help this come to fruition.

Have students watch themselves play in a mirror or record them playing so they can watch it back. What do they see? Is it what they want or intend? I find almost every student sees many inconsistences about their symmetry when they view themselves from a different vantage point. Most phones now have decent video cameras and mir-rors are cheap. I actually just have one of those dorm room mirrors in my office and I use it daily.

You can also ask student percus-sionists to answer specific questions regarding this balance. Are they holding the sticks the same way in their hands and in the same place on the stick? Are they moving each side (fingers, wrists, elbow) the same? Are they hitting the instrument in a consistent fashion? Are dynamics consistent between sides, do they play with equal dynamics? They must answer these for themselves. The director could probably answer these questions, but it’s important

to help students think about them on their own. Only when they see what’s happening will they then be able to change what they’re doing for the better. Don’t do the work for them.

This whole concept might seem so obvious – and it is – but, as I mentioned in Lesson 1, we often miss it. I tell my percussionists to re-member to check the simple things first. When we do this, we can fix the easiest things to correct, it nor-mally doesn’t take a long time to re-train our muscle memory to adjust, and it affects our playing to a large extent. If we are addressing, say, a practice pad more consistency, then everything we play will be more consistent, right? I like those odds.

Utilize these lessons and see what successful results come from them. If you can get your percussionists en-gaged in how they are playing, not rushing, thinking and making music with their parts, and addressing the instruments consistently from a tech-nical standpoint, I think you’ll find a you’ll have a whole new depth to your players. They’ll be more involved in the music they are making, and that’s what it’s all about.

Dr. Jeffery Crowell is an as-sociate professor of Music and co-ordinator of the Wind and Percus-sion Division at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he is the director of Percussion Studies, as well part of the award-winning Jazz Studies area. He is active throughout the United States as a performer, clinician, adjudicator, and educator with recent performances in South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, and at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washing-ton, D.C.

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SBORepair: Percussion Maintenance

How to Care for and Maintain Marching Percussion InstrumentsBy Troy WollWage

For any percussionists who have ever felt exhausted after a long

practice session, imagine the wear and tear on the instruments

themselves, since they are taking a literal pounding by all types

of sticks and mallets. Being proactive about protecting this

equipment does not cost a lot, and the returns are huge, since a few

simple steps will help marching percussion gear not only sound bet-

ter, but also last longer. With all of the stress and strain a long season

takes on the gear, it’s critical to take a few extra steps that will keep the

equipment in top competitive shape all year round.

The University of Kentucky drumline.

Repair.indd 38 11/7/11 4:34 PM


To institute effective and efficient routine and practices, each ensemble should designate a specific individual to be responsible for completing an end-of-season inventory and mainte-nance check of all instruments during the off-season. It’s also a good idea to have each member of the organization check his or her particular piece of gear after every show or practice to prepare for the next event and ensure that long-term maintenance is made easier.

When it comes to maintaining marching percussion instruments, there are several over-arching principles to keep in mind. Do not keep the gear on an equipment truck for any length of time. The last thing you want is for that truck to leak water on the instruments. Extreme seasonal weather conditions in the winter and summer, especially in the Midwest and Eastern part of the United States, can significantly damage percussion instruments and cause un-necessary wear and tear.

As a general rule, it is best to store all musical instruments in a cool, dry indoor environment year-round. All instruments – including keyboards – should be kept under some form of supervised or secure arrangement to avoid theft. At the end of every season the entire battery should be thorough-ly cleaned. We recommend taking the heads off each drum, cleaning each part and re-lubricating everything with lithium grease as the drum is re-assembled. To ensure optimal storage conditions, clean drum covers should be placed on the drums, which should then be stored in soft or (preferably) hard cases.

Care details on battery instruments are provided below. For all drums, hardware and percussion instruments, wipe the parts down with a soft cloth without using any chemicals, which can damage finishes and do more harm than good.

Snare DrumsCarefully inspect and clean the drum

during disassembly and reassembly. Re-duce the tension on both the top head and bottom heads by half. The heads should be taut to keep the tension rods in place during storage. For the snare guts, the vertical adjustment should

be loosened by three or four turns. If the snare drums have an MTS unit, the MTS should be stored in the off or down position. Ensure that all of the hardware attached to the drum for the carrier is tight and in working order. Take note of any missing or corroded parts that may need replacement.

Multi-TomsEach tom set should be carefully

inspected and cleaned while being dis-assembled and then reassembled. The tension on the head should be reduced by half. The heads should be taught to keep the tension rods in place during storage. Make sure all of the spacers and tenor rails are tight and in work-ing order. Note any missing or corrod-ed parts that may need replacement.

Bass DrumsEach drum should be carefully

inspected and cleaned while being disassembled and then reassembled. The tension on both heads should be reduced by half. The heads should be taught to keep the tension rods in place during storage. Take note of any missing or corroded parts that may need replacement.

Hardware and CarriersThese items can be left stacked

neatly in an indoor facility. Take note of any missing or corroded parts for replacement prior to the first camp. Do not store hardware or carriers in the cases with the drums. This can damage the finish and the hardware of the drums over time.

A marimba properly prepared for down time.



Marimbas, Vibes, and Xylophones

Take the bars off the instrument and store in a cool dry place off the floor. The bars should be wrapped in a soft blanket and can be rolled up like a sleeping bag. Bar bags are avail-able and highly recommended. These bags are made specifically for the bars and will help to prevent any sliding or shifting that is often found with blan-kets and sleeping bags. Avoid storing any objects on the wood frames or the accessory bars. Wipe down the wood and metal frame with a soft cloth. Take note of any missing or corroded parts that may need replacement. Check all cords and replace any that are worn or frayed. Place a clean cover on the instrument for storage.

TimpaniThe heads should be left in-tune.

Do not adjust the tension of the heads. Pedals should be in the forward or “toe down” position to keep the ten-sion on the heads. Take note of any missing or corroded parts that may need replacement. Place a clean cover on the instrument for storage.

BellsThe bars do not have to be removed

from the instrument frame. Store the instrument in its original, closed case. Do not store the instrument laying flat

on top of another mallet instrument such as a xylophone, marimba, or vi-braphone. The instrument should be stored flat in a cool dry room.

ChimesTake note of any missing or corrod-

ed parts that may need replacement. Check all cords and replace any that are worn or frayed. The instrument should be stored upright in a cool dry room.

Concert Snare and Concert Toms

As with marching bass drums, the tension on the drum heads should be reduced by half. The drum head should be taut to keep the tension rods in place during storage. For the snare guts, the vertical adjustment should be loosened by three or four turns and in the off position. It is strongly recom-mended that snares be stored in a case. The toms should be stored in hard cases if appropriate sizes are available.

Concert BassThe drum head should remain in-

tune and does not have to be loosened. Place a clean cover on the instrument for storage.

Miscellaneous HardwareStack the hardware neatly in an in-

door environment. Tighten all parts

before storing. Take note of any miss-ing or corroded parts that may need replacement. Hardware tends to “dis-appear” during the off-season because the parts and pieces are small. A full inventory list of all equipment will help cut down on future purchase needs.

In this economy, school budgets are tight. Thus, it makes sense to get the most out of valuable march-ing and pit percussion instruments. While every ensemble puts a lot of work into practice and performing, by paying a little more attention to the care and storage of gear, it will last longer and sound better, pro-viding more value for the school program and giving audiences an enhanced musical experience.

Troy C. Wollwage is the marketing manager for Percussion instruments with the Yamaha Corporation of America. 2011 is the eighth year of Troy’s leadership at Yamaha, oversee-ing all aspects of marketing, product research, and development for the percussion product group.


www.charmsoffice.com

SBO_41 41 11/7/11 4:30:46 PM

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SBOTechnology: Tuners

By John Kuzmich, Jr.

Playing In Tune: More Than Following a Display

“A lawyer’s relation-

ship to justice

and wisdom is

on a par with a

piano tuner’s relationship to

a concert. He neither com-

poses the music, nor interprets

it – he merely keeps the ma-

chinery running,” says Lucille

Kallen, a noted scriptwriter,

lyricist, and novelist. After

all is said and done, success

hinges on attention to the ba-

sics; and there’s nothing more

essential to music than good

intonation.

Intonation is a daily challenge, guiding students to play consistently in tune with each other and as an ensemble. This requires more than matching a single concert A-440 pitch. Playing different pitches relatively in

tune is more demanding and more im-portant than perfect (absolute) pitch. We’ve relied heavily on electronic tun-ers for more than 50 years without re-alizing, sometimes, that not all tuners are equal and there are factors affect-

ing the best use of a good electronic tuner.

Before getting into the specifics of tuners, it would be good to review the basic elements that affect intona-tion quality. In equal temperament, all

Technology.indd 42 11/7/11 4:35 PM

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www.bodybeat.net


notes are defined as multiples of the same basic interval. This is okay un-til you realize that string, brass and woodwinds are basically utilizing their overtone series with “just” intonation based on tuning to intervals with ratios found in their overtone series. Fretless string instruments add another dimen-sion of intonation. A slight increase in the pitch results when pressing the string increases its tension. If the in-strument doesn’t compensate for this with a slight increase in the distance from the bridge saddle to the fret, the note sounds sharp. Like unfretted string instruments, the tenor trom-bone also relies on the musician pre-cisely positioning something, in this case the trombone’s slide. The slide’s pitch adjustment on a single partial is approximately the interval of a tri-tone on a slide length of over 80 cen-timeters. Putting multiple families of instruments together in an ensemble creates a challenge of the first order in getting these instruments to play in tune with each other, particularly with chords. Consequently, intervals in these two systems of tuning are not the same. Each “just” interval differs from its nearest equally tempered interval. To hear the differences between just intonation and equal temperament intonation, go to www.kuzmich.com/SBO112011.html.

The Electronic Tuner Market

Electronic tuners detect and display the pitch of notes played on any musi-

cal instrument. There are a number of types of electronic tuners: dedicated tuners for guitars and electric basses, chromatic tuners for all instruments, strobe tuners for more precise tun-ing, clip-on tuners, floor-pedal tun-ers, rackmount tuners, PC/Mac soft-ware tuning applications, and iPhone/Pod applications. Student electronic tuners are typically either clip-on or hand-held, whereas most common classroom display tuners are still the big table model strobes. Each type of tuner has its own advantages.

Clip-on tuners are small, compact, and work well when clipped onto any-thing that vibrates. While they can be fragile and sometimes inaccurate, they’re very convenient for guitar and electric bass. A hand-held tuner will often include an external microphone with a quarter-inch jack, and some have a DC jack in the event that the unit’s batteries die. Table and strobe tuners have high accuracy and can be used for interval work as well as pitch tuning. They also can be bulky to transport. Rackmount tuners can be integrated into a rack system, pre-wired for each setup, have good vis-ibility on big stages, and can be muted. They are usually only AC powered and, while not usually as handy as portable tuners, security-wise, they’re safe from theft. Pedal tuners are con-venient for live performances because they’re easy to transport, integrate well into pedal-board setup/power, easy to mute for silent tuning, and some have a by-pass so signal quality will not be compromised. The pedal

tuner LED display can become invis-ible under bright stage light.

Meet the PlayersPeterson Tuners is the oldest con-

tinuous and best-known company still exclusively producing electronic tuner technology, as they have since 1937. Korg developed the first portable hand-held tuner in 1975. Peterson, Korg, and Boss tuners are the primary manufactures of today’s electronic tuners. Other emerging players in the tuner market are Sonic Research,

A Representative Sample of Popular Tuners

Dedicated tuner for guitar/bassKorg GA-1 (tinyurl.com/3mok5fu)

Chromatic tunerKorg CA40 (tinyurl.com/3kdk56k0

Strobe tunerPeterson StroboRack Tuner Features (tinyurl.com/3jae4bq)

Clip-onPeterson StroboClip (tinyurl.com/36nocwn)Peterson StroboFlip (tinyurl.com/mwhuts)

Floor Pedal Boss TU-3 (tinyurl.com/3jg8wct) Peterson Stomp Classic Pedal Tuner (tinyurl.com/443d7ae)

Table or Desktop TunersBoss TU-12BW (tinyurl.com/3ofugla)Peterson AutoStrobe 590 with Tone Generator (tinyurl.com/3smn7oc)

Tuning SoftwareStrobeSoft 2.0 (tinyurl.com/3snfl4p)

iPhone/iPad Tuning SoftwareiStroboSoft iPhone (tinyurl.com/3ewx7gf)


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Snark, Fender, and Planet Waves, which sell affordable LED-based tun-ers. Most tuners range in price from $12 to $200 and more sophisticated Peterson Tuners cost up to $3,700, providing full chromatic chordal tun-ing capabilities. A software strobe tun-ing application by Peterson Tuners can define lengthy linear tuning of musi-cal passages with detailed graphs and printouts for greater analysis and com-prehension.

SensitivityThe most accurate tuners can be

.1% of a cent or 1/1000th of a semi-tone, which represents the highest ac-curacy in the industry. Not all tuners will advertise their accuracy. Students at home can easily use tuners that are at least 1% of a cent. But schools should look to use .1% of a cent accu-racy, especially since ensemble rooms tend to be noisy. Unacceptable would be plus/minus 3 cents. There is only a 1.9 cent difference between an equally tempered fifth and a perfect fifth and if the tuner can’t recognize the differ-ence, it isn’t going to be much good for training or improving intonation.

Some tuners assess pitch by sam-pling, which delays the display of the pitch. They record a pitch and make a ballpark, mean average calculation. That takes time and won’t provide a response worth talking about. Look for a real-time, accurate assessment in a tuner. A tone generator is more useful than an average tuner because students can learn to play against a root. The note generator can be used as a tuner and also to tune intervals, like thirds or fifths, against it until they can be heard meshing together. Many inexpensive pocket tuners have tone generators; and most tun-ers have outputs for external speak-ers so the tone generator sound is more realistic.

So how can you tell if you are pur-chasing a real-time assessment tuner instead of sampling technology? Read the promo info. Be aware that many tuners are less accurate sampling units. The intonation accuracy of a good, real-time tuner will be posted in cents or fractions in the tuner’s literature. A sample tuner will not be able to

promote any such claim of accuracy. Simply read the advertising materials, manual, or box to discover its worth.

DisplayThe effectiveness of a tuner is more

than sensitivity to pitch differences. Be sure to check out the type of readout display. All tuners use a microproces-sor to measure the pitch waveform, which drives the needle or an array

of lights. For tuners that use LED dis-plays, the LED lights typically move left or right in response to pitch. The more lights available to display the pitch, the better. Some digital tuners use a virtual needle readout display, so when the note is in tune the needle pauses in a vertical position, with left or right deviations indicating flat or sharp. Tuners with a needle are often supplied with a backlight so the dis-play can be read on a dark stage.

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Speaking of displays, instru-mental teachers are experiencing success with tuning software that projects a tune onto a large screen or the wall. This focuses students’ attention visually and aurally. When intonation issues arise, students be-come a cheering squad identifying, fixing, and encouraging accuracy. The two applications I recommend for 28 to 60 inch wall projection are SmartMusic’s tuner displays and Peterson’s StroboSoft. For $99, StroboSoft can use linear, chordal, or match pitch tuning and provide helpful analysis with multiple dis-plays.

Tone-Generating Reference Capabilities

While a tuner’s visual display can be a proactive guide to better intona-tion, electronic tuners that also have chromatic tone-generating capabili-ties can guide the student’s intona-tion even further. Aurally matching out-of-tune notes to individual tuner generated-tones, the student is chal-lenged to adjust to the tuner’s visual display and more importantly elimi-nate beats to create a pure, in-tune tone. A combined use of the tuner together with its visual and aural assistance provides valuable tuning instruction. Amplifying the tuner’s generating tone through good speak-ers or a headset will further improve the student’s tuning capabilities, es-pecially if the tuner is just an entry-level portable unit with miniature speakers.

Students should be encouraged to go beyond matching unison pitches and play well tuned thirds, fifths, and sevenths on a given note generated by the tuner. For example, the tuner gen-erates a concert Bb and the student aurally tunes an interval performed above or below that pitch. Perfect intervals are easiest to tune followed by major and minor intervals. Over time, this process will build students’ confidence and sensitivity to the in-tonation of harmonic intervals, which leads directly to better tuning of chords in an ensemble.

External MicrophonesFirst, when practical, I suggest using

an external clip-on microphone con-nected to a tuner because it is more fo-cused on your playing and not that of your neighbor in an ensemble setting. The clip-on microphone also picks up the vibrations of the instrument itself and transfers it to the tuner very effi-ciently.

Second, have a long cord con-nected to the external microphone so the tuner doesn’t end up damaged on the floor when a student inadvertently moves around. Peterson’s external mi-crophone cords are all eight feet long.

Consider using a quality external microphone with the tuner, along with a lengthy cord in the rehearsal room for better isolation and versatil-ity. Also, when intonation problems arise during the rehearsal, it is helpful to have a tuner close at hand for quick assessment and ensemble awareness of accurate intonation.

Closing CommentsPurchasing the right tuner involves

matching strong features to specific needs and there are many models to choose from. In this article’s supple-mental website is a list of 60 tuners with detailed product descriptions, user feedback, and product photos. I would suggest that schools purchase tabletop tuners because they offer the most features, accuracy, and applica-tions. Students can purchase small portable tuners for effective practice at home. Pay close attention to the quality of each tuner’s visual dis-play for the best accuracy. Beware of tuners that do not provide real-time tuning and be sure to check for ac-curacy in cents. istening skills can be significantly improved when students become comfortable with a tuner in their practice making sure any out-of-tune notes are regularly monitored then immediately and confidently corrected.

Finally, not all tuners offer multi-temperaments (equal, just, etc.) and their visual displays vary in provid-ing accuracy. Nevertheless, a good electronic tuner is a valuable tool for teaching good intonation.

Dr. John Kuzmich Jr. is a veteran music educator, jazz educator and music tech-nologist with more than 41 years of public school teaching experience. He is a TI:ME-certified training instructor and has a Ph.D. in comprehen-sive musicianship. As a freelance author, Dr. Kuzmich has more than 400 articles and five text-books published. As a clinician, Dr. Kuzmich frequently participates in workshops throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia, and South America.

For more information, visit www.kuzmich.com.

school teaching experience. He is a


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SBOStaff Selections

Over the past 15 years, the repertoire for percussion ensemble has increased exponentially.

The variety and diversity of current composers, themes, and instrumentation are truly

fantastic. It’s a wonderful time to play percussion music! With this expanded quantity of

choices, though, comes the question, “Where do I look to find what’s out there?” The clas-

sics are always quality selections to play, but how and where does one find the newer literature?

How do you know if it’s worth the effort to perform? The purpose of this article is to provide

educators with starting places and pieces to begin the journey into this newer repertoire world.

By Jeff Crowell

Fresh Worksfor Percussion Ensemble

Along with these recommenda-tions, I tried to take into consideration an array of ability levels, instruments used, and number of players. While not all of these works are brand new, they were selected because they are not played very often and might be “new” to you.

EASY“Thunder on the Bay”Scott HardingC. Alan PublicationsDifficulty: EasyDuration: 4:30

Players and instrumentation: 6-? – bass drum, shaker, metal clank, wood click, high drums played with hands, low drums played with sticks

StaffSelections.indd 48 11/7/11 4:36 PM


This piece is designed for the younger ensemble. The instrumenta-tion must have at least 6 players but can include as many as you want be-yond that by doubling parts. Instru-ment substitutions and flexibility with repeated sections mean you have lots of options with how you want to or-ganize the piece. While the work falls into the Easy category, Harding does a nice job of keeping it interesting and retaining lots of musical elements – just because it’s easier doesn’t mean it’s not good!Publisher link: tinyurl.com/6yldrap

“Barnstormer”Chris CockarellRow-Loff ProductionsDifficulty: EasyDuration: 2:58

Players and instrumentation: Three – concert snare drum, mounted cow-bell, 2 suspended cymbals, small con-cert bass drum, mounted tambou-rine, chimes, high pitched tom, 2 jam blocks or temple blocks (high and low pitched)

This piece is excellent for the younger trio. It’s got a cadence-type feel to it and has plenty of accents and dynamics to keep it challenging without being overly hard. I really like that composer chose to not “keep it simple” and composed quite a bit of variety and musical elements to make it wonderful to the ear yet enjoyable to play.Publisher link: www.rowloff.com/search/description.

html?item=02CS1

“Teamwork”Lynn GlassockC. Alan PublicationsDifficulty: Medium-EasyDuration: 6:00

Players and instrumentation: 7 – marimba (4.3 octaves), vibraphone, chimes, bells, timpani, 2 suspended cymbals, tambourine, triangle, temple blocks, woodblock, claves, 3 tom-toms, 2 snare drums, bongos

Lynn Glassock has been writing great percussion ensemble music for years and this piece is no exception. It represents his idiomatic writing for the genre and his ability to always get the ensemble to be the most musical they can be without their technique getting in the way.

The piece opens with a majestic sec-tion followed by a syncopated melody on the marimba which is supported by the other mallet instruments. The middle section features all the players on wooden then headed instruments. The end of the work brings everything together while building to the final climax. It’s a great concert opener or closer.Publisher link: tinyurl.com/6j73pbx

“Overture for Percussion Toys”Grant CambridgeHoney Rock PublishingDifficulty: Medium-EasyDuration: 5:00

Players and instrumentation: Ten – wind chimes, temple blocks, tambou-rine, ratchet, triangle, castanets, finger cymbals, maracas, guiro, vibra-slap, agogo bells

Finally, a piece just for the “toys” or accessory instruments of the percus-sion section. No longer are these just used for color, they are the main sub-stance for this composition with each one carrying an important role. The performers must give special attention to how their instrument contributes to the musical statement. Layering of

instruments, in addition to rhythmic motives that go between all the play-ers, makes up a majority of the work. Publisher link: www.honeyrock.net/ensm-911.

htm#overture

“Technology”Jim CasellaTapspace PublicationsDifficulty: Medium-EasyDuration: 4:00

Players and Instrumentation: Eight parts – glockenspiel, xylophone, 3 timpani, triangle, ride cymbal, hi-hat cymbals, temple blocks, snare drum, 4 tom toms, suspended cymbal, bass drum, small shaker, 2 additional toms

“Technology” is written for eight percussionists of intermediate to be-ginning skill levels. Based on a “tech-no” groove, this will appeal to both the players and the audience and it’s really fun to play. I like the piece be-cause it is accessible, yet it teaches the students to listen and still use a great deal of dynamic contrast.

Some parts are written to feature more advanced players (snare, toms, timpani), while other parts are more elementary for less experienced play-ers. This works well for any group since there is always an array of ability levels to any given ensemble.Publisher link: www.tapspace.com/Technology-pr-45.

html

MEDIUM/ADVANCED“Ballet for Bouncing Balls”Montgomery HatchTapspace PublicationsDifficulty: MediumDuration: 3:00 (or longer)

Players and instrumentation: 5 – 3 large basketballs, 2 small basketballs, 4 handballs



This one deviates from “normal” instrumentation. The idea of utiliz-ing basketballs as instruments with some theatrics came to the fore-front with the group “Stomp” and has continued since that time. But, Montgomery Hatch does a fantastic job of writing a quality piece that doesn’t copy those ideas but presents this entertaining and engaging con-cept in a fresh way.

There is room to explore the the-atrical element and the score contains suggestions for staging. “Ballet for Bouncing Balls” is an all-around won-derful piece and well worth looking into for concert performance.Publisher link: www.tapspace.com/Ballet-for-Bouncing-

Balls-pr-151.html

“Bombasticus Cachophonosaurus”Axel ClarkeBachovich PublicationsDifficulty: Medium/Medium-AdvancedDuration: 8:00

Players and instrumentation: 10 – high snare drum, medium snare drum, 8 tom-toms varying from small to large, high and low surdos (or smaller bass drums), medium and large bass drums

This higher-end intermediate level work incorporates a large number of players and a common instrument set-up. It’s in an A-B-A form and includes sections of melody driven develop-ment with variations and antiphonal accompaniment. What’s great about this piece is that it’s fresh, creative, and written well while still being a good challenge for the percussionists to play.Publisher link: www.bachovich.com/percussion.php

Akadinda TrioEmanuel SejourneHoney Rock PublishingDifficulty: Medium-AdvancedDuration: 3:00

Players and instrumentation: 3 – 1 marimba (all 3 players play the same instrument)

Sejourne’s work is inspired by the mallet music of Uganda and is acces-sible to both performers and audiences alike. The piece has lots of polyrhythm and though no one part is extremely hard, concentration is required of each player to make sure that the parts line up correctly. In spite of this poly-rhythmic theme, “Akadinda Trio” still grooves!Publisher link: www.honeyrock.net/ensm-3.

htm#akadinda

“Crosswalk”David ReevesTapspace PublicationsDifficulty: Medium-AdvancedDuration: 3:45

Players and instrumentation: Eight parts – glockenspiel, chimes, xylo-phone, 2 vibraphones, 2 marimbas (low A), 4 timpani, 2 bongos, 2 con-gas, 4 log drums, 4 cowbells, 4 brake drums, temple blocks, 4 concert toms, 3 double-headed toms, concert bass drum, 4 cymbals (splash, china, sizzle, 18” suspended)

I love the sounds and contrast in this work. The instrumentation con-tains fairly standard “western” percus-sion instruments found in the typical high school band room. Each player has a pitched instrument and four non-pitched surfaces.

Though the piece is not intention-ally programmatic, the title does im-ply somewhat of an unusual gait to the overall rhythmic structure of the music. It has lots of dynamic contrast as well as timbre possibilities from the ensemble so it’s a great piece to work on these characteristics with your stu-dents – traits they need whenever they play. “Crosswalk” has a great energy and drive while maintaining a slight minimalist feeling that helps the con-trast really stand out. It’s one that keeps you guessing what comes next.Publisher link: www.tapspace.com/Crosswalk-pr-149.

html

“County Clare”Bela Fleck/arr. David SteinquestRow-Loff ProductionsDifficulty: AdvancedDuration: 3:16

Players and instrumentation: Six parts: xylophone, 2 marimbas (3 play-ers), vibraphone, bass guitar

Steinquest’s mallet ensemble ar-rangement of Bela Fleck’s piece is exciting, up tempo, and engaging to listen to. Each part has it’s own chal-lenges and the addition of the bass gui-tar fills out the ensemble nicely.

Not only will each performer need to intricately learn his or her part, but the piece really comes together when all the parts work together with good timing, balance, and blend. Smooth phrasing is the key and that’s always a paramount challenge for us percus-sionists, so this piece will not only be great to play but it will enhance your students’ abilities to make music. Publisher link: www.rowloff.com/search/description.

html?item=97CS11

This list represents a starting point to see what’s available in the ever-growing world of percussion ensemble literature. Please continue to explore and see what might fit your needs for repertoire; you never know what you might find!

Dr. Jeffery Crowell is an associate profes-sor of Music and coordinator of the Wind and Percus-sion Division at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he is the director of Percussion Studies, as well part of the award-winning Jazz Studies area. He is active throughout the United States as a performer, clinician, adjudicator, and educator with recent performances in South Africa, Argentina, Uruguay, and at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.


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PUBLISHER’S STATEMENT1. Publication Title: School Band and Orchestra. 2. Publication No.: 0019-072. 3. Filing Date 10/3/11. 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly. 5. No. of Issues Published Annually: 12. 6. Annual Subscription Price: $24. 7. Complete Mail-ing Address of Known Office of Publication: School Band and Orchestra, 21 Highland Circle, Ste. 1, Needham, Norfolk, MA 02494. 8. Com-plete Mailing Address of the Headquarters or General Business Office of the Publisher: (Same as #7). 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Manag-ing Editor: Publisher: Richard E. Kessel, 21 Highland Circle, Ste. 1, Needham, MA 02494; Editor: Eliahu Sussman, 21 Highland Circle, Ste. 1, Needham, MA 02494; Managing Editor: None. 10. Owner (If owned by a corporation, its name and address must be stated and also immediately thereafter the names and addresses of stockholders owning or holding 1 percent or more of total amount of stock): Zapis Capital Group, LLC; Leon Zapis, 26202 Detroit Rd. Ste. 300, Westlake, OH 44145; Richard Bon-gorno, 26202 Detroit Rd. Ste. 300, Westlake, OH 44145; Maria Wymer, 26202 Detroit Rd. Ste. 300, Westlake, OH 44145; Donna Thomas, 26202 Detroit Rd. Ste. 300, Westlake, OH 44145; Renee Seybert, 26202 Detroit Rd. Ste. 300, Westlake, OH 44145.. 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgages, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages, or Other Securities: None. 12. (For Nonprofit Organizations - Does Not Apply) 13. Publication Name: School Band and Orchestra. 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: October 2011. 15. Extent and Nature of Circula-tion. Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months/Actual No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date: a. Total No. Copies : 14,501/14,333b. Legitimate paid and/or requested distribution:(1) Paid/ Requested Outside-County Mail Sub-scriptions:. 9,524/9,876(2) Paid/Requested In-County Subscriptions:.0/0(3) Sales through dealers and carriers, street vendors, and counter sales:.0/0(4) Requested copies distributed by other USPS mail classes:.0/0c. Total Paid and/or Requested Circulation:. 9,524/9,876d. Nonrequested distribution:(1). Outside county nonrequested cop-ies:.4,690/4,297(2) In County nonrequested copies:. 0/0(3) Nonrequested copies distributed through other USPS mail classes:0/0(4). Nonrequested copies distributed outside the mail: 125/0e. Total nonrequested distribution:. 4,815/4,297f. Total Distribution:14,339/14,173g. Copies not distributed:162/160h. Total: 14,501/14,333i: Percent Paid and/or Requested Circulation: 66%/69%16. This Statement of Ownership will be printed in the November 2011 issue of this publication.17. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions and/or civil sanc-tions. Richard E. Kessel, Publisher


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