[NEWSLETTER of DAVID E. SMITH PUBLICATIONS, LLC]

NEWSLETTER of DAVID E. SMITH PUBLICATIONS, LLC

VOL 5, NO 3, FALL/WINTER 2003

 NEWSLETTER of DAVID E. SMITH PUBLICATIONS, LLC
VOL 5, NO. 3, FALL/WINTER, 2003


© 2003 Copyright of David E. Smith Publications
All Rights Reserved. Made in U.S.A.

Table of Contents
The Publishers' Space
Meet Jay-Martin Pinner
The Lone Arranger
The Brass Space
Thinking...
The Woodwind Space
Christian Home School Band Programs-




David E. Smith Publications, LLC is pleased to announce that it is now the exclusive distributor for Light Of The World Music.

THE PUBLISHER'S SPACE
by David E. Smith


Light of the World Music has been in the publishing business for 15 years, beginning with choral and handbell music and gradually shifting to the publication of instrumental music. Headquartered in Peru, Indiana, the company has over 200 titles in its catalog from the pen of more than 25 talented composers and arrangers. Instrumentation of the publications includes orchestra, praise band, brass ensemble, woodwind ensemble, string ensemble and solo piano.

The goal continues to be, as it has always been, to provide quality music for church and school music ministries that glorifies God and ministers to performers and listeners alike.

The family of writers and arrangers is a wonderful group of people who are committed to ministry through their music. The new distributorship agreement with David E. Smith is a perfect match, and the growth in demand for instrumental music in the church confirms that the company has found its niche in the publishing world.

For a catalog of Light Of The World Music please call, write or email David E. Smith Publications; or go to www.churchmusic.biz for a search of the Light of the World Music product line.

As the exclusive distributor of Ken Bauer Productions, DESPub is pleased to announce its latest releases. These pieces are arranged by Ken Bauer and include: Silent Night for woodwind trio (KBP0192-$9.95); My Faith Looks Up To Thee trumpet solo (KBP0179-$4.95); Glorious Things Of Thee Are Spoken brass duet (KBP0187-$7.95); Away In A Manger for brass sextet (KBP0189-$14.95); and, O Come All Ye Faithful brass sextet (KBP0193-$14.95)

Other late releases, these from Washington Music Ministries have been arranged by Rich Heffler, clarinetist in the Marine Band, and for the most part are upper level solos and are priced at $5.95 each: Faith Is The Victory (W29122*); O The Deep, Deep Love Of Jesus (W29123*); We Three Kings (W29124**); The Church's One Foundation (W29125*); Deeper, Deeper (W29126**); Waltz (One Day/Glad Day (W29127**); No Other Plea (W29128**); He Hideth My Soul (W29129***); He Leadeth Me (W29130*); God Leads Us Along (W29131***); In The Garden (W29132*). Also new are mixed woodwind and/or string duets: He Hideth My Soul (W29211- $$7.95); He Leadeth Me (W29212- $7.95); In The Garden (W29213- $$7.95), and Mixed Trio, Hymn To Joy (W29306- $11.95).

You can find these at your favorite dealer's or on www.churchmusic. biz.

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Love Divine,
all loves excelling,
Joy of Heaven
to earth
come down
Thee we would be
always blessing,
serve thee
as thy hosts above,
pray, and praise thee
without ceasing,
glory in
Thy perfect Love.






MEET JAY-MARTIN PINNER


Jay-Martin Pinner has served for 20 years as Head of the String Department at Bob Jones University, in Greenville, South Carolina. As an infant he was adopted into a godly, Christian home and then adopted again into God's family when he trusted Christ as his Saviour at age nine. That same year family friends gave him a violin, and he began taking lessons from Ellis Chasens, then the concert-master of the Arlington(Virginia) Symphony.

 

After graduating from high school, Jay attended Bob Jones University where he earned a bachelor of arts degree in Church Music and a master of arts degree in Violin Performance, studying with Joan Mulfinger.

Additional studies have included string instrument repair at the University of New Hampshire, and master classes and workshops with such teachers as Joel Krosnick, Dorothy DeLay, David Becker, Jacqueline Dillon and Bob Gillespie.

In 1976, as a graduate assistant, he was given the responsibility of starting the Bob Jones Academy and Junior High Orchestras. This is his 27th year as founding director of the ninety-member Academy Symphony Orchestra. He coordinates the University's precollege orchestra program which includes three string orchestras and the symphony as well as elementary string classes and over 100 junior high and high school private string lessons.

In addition to his precollege teaching he supervises nine university string faculty members and a graduate teaching assistant, coordinates private lessons for over 100 university string students, teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in string literature and string pedagogy, supervises the University's full-service string repair shop, and performs in the University Symphony Orchestra.

Jay and his wife, Dianne, also a member of the string faculty at BJU, co-founded the University's Summer Music Camps in 1979. The camps have grown to include piano, string orchestra, handbells, choir, band, piano and organ, and offer opportunities to hundreds of campers over three weeks each July.

Jay has appeared as concertmaster, soloist and conductor with the University Symphony Orchestra and for five seasons played principal viola with the Greenville Symphony Orchestra.

He has conducted the University String Orchestra in concerts and tours and shares conducting responsibilities for the BJU High School Festival String Orchestra. He regularly conducts All-State, Honors and Regional Orchestras, and adjudicates at Orchestra Festivals.

As a composer/arranger Jay has written for woodwinds, brass, strings and voices. His composition for elementary strings, Downtown Suite for Strings, won the National School Orchestra Association Award. The South Carolina Unit of the American String Teachers Association commissioned him to write Fanfare & Allegro for Strings, which premiered at Junior All-State Orchestra. His compositions and arrangements appear in the catalogs of several publishers, including David E. Smith, SoundForth and Alfred.

Twelve years ago he and Dianne began publishing sacred string music for solo, duet, quartet and string orchestra. Pinner Publications has grown to include nearly 200 compositions and arrangements by more than 20 talented writers.

Jay and Dianne have two sons, Brian and Nathan, with whom they minister in concerts of sacred music, and perform as free-lance musicians for weddings and corporate events.

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What an arranger can learn from the great marches, Part 2

THE LONE ARRANGER
by Dana F. Everson


In a previous article we looked at how the form of the traditional march can be instructive and helpful to the writer.

In this installment of THE LONE ARRANGER, I would like to point out some simple observations concerning a few of the other elements of the march such as melody, harmony, color, and rhythm.

The traditional march form typically has four melodic ideas, plus several countermelodies and obligatos. The melody of the first section, part A, is designed to excite the listener and can often be rather ornamented, but it is always strongly tonal. There is no question about the key or the harmonic progression supporting the melody.

In contrast, the trio section melody is usually less active, more dignified or stately, and has less ornamentation. Remember that the trio melody is repeated after the break strain, but in a commanding, powerful tone bringing the march to its (usually) triumphant ending. It is usually very memorable and can be whistled or hummed by the listener. This is part of the great appeal of marches-short, singable tunes combined with an energetic pulse and crisp rhythms from the percussion.

In any section of the march, the composer may include a contrapuntal descant line soaring above the melody. Usually this line is used to give color and decoration but is not as prominent as the melody. In almost every part of the march are countermelodies played below the melody. (In the second section, the B section, the low instruments often are given the melodic line and the upper instruments play a countermelody to it.) These countermelodies are slightly less important than the melody, but add tremendous contrast, color, and interest.

Examining the countermelodies of Sousa's well-known marches The Stars and Stripes Forever, Semper Fidelis or Manhattan Beach would be a great exercise in the study of basic counterpoint. He was a master at making simple ideas sound great together, as if they had always existed but were simply “discovered” by the composer. Henry Fillmore and Karl King are two other names just to get you started. Each had his own style, yet worked within the standard march form.

What does all this mean? It means that within the confines of a four minute march there is practically every basic compositional device presented, at least briefly. Devices such as modulation, texture changes, dynamic changes, rhythmic patterns that drive music forward, melodic embellishment, changes of range and tessitura, counterpoint, basic melody writing, basic harmonic progression, plus a great deal of energy and excitement. March music is ACTION music and gets to the point quickly. The one compositional area which it does not explore is that of extensive variation and the development of one or two themes. Nevertheless, there are plenty of creative concepts to study and imitate in efforts to improve one's writing.

Much can be learned from the best of these models of compact composition. I hope you will now be a little more motivated to explore the world of the traditional march! It can give you some fresh ideas for your writing even if you don't intend to become the next “march king!”

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THE BRASS SPACE
by Phil Norris


On Playing Musically

I enjoy boiling (or filtering, crystallizing) art to its essential elements. Artistry is complex enough as it is that whenever we can “keep it simple” I think we do ourselves a favor. Like driving a car, there is a complex array of mechanical, electrical and computer components at work but SIMPLE controls for operation. Here are some of my “simple controls” for music-making.

1. Communicate the music's message or image. If I haven't thought about what image the music suggests to me, then there's no hope of playing it musically. I need to stop and smell the musical roses and decide what will motivate my performance-not just my performance but also my practicing!

2. When I take a trip, I need to know where I'm going and how I plan to get there. Musically, I need to do the same. If you care to know more about this, see my earlier Lines & Spaces article on phrase types and interpretation. There are different kinds of terrain, and we drive differently on each. There are different kinds of phrases, and each is maneuvered differently as well.

3. To effectively communicate a musical message, I need a sure control of tempo and rhythm. Timing is a vital element in interpreting music and expressing its meaning. For me, timing must be internalized. But, it must be more than just pulse and rhythm. It must connect to my emotions and the musical image I want to convey. The feel of the tempo and rhythm is more important than the tempo itself. Do the timing elements convey the feeling or image of the music's message?

4. Another vital element for communicating the message is dynamics. I must have a clear sense of dynamic proportion about each moment in the music. When composers hear their music, they usually are most sensitive to this element, particularly in building energy or tension. I once read a composer's account of hearing his work and most of his reactions dealt with loudness or intensity issues. Like timing, I try to think of dynamics not as loudnesses but more as feelings. Instead of a soft dynamic, I like to think of the music having a soft feeling, which may be played louder than you might think a piano marking might suggest. The character of dynamics is sometimes subtle, sometimes more exaggerated, but never static. Accents are sometimes more the “weight” of sound than mere volumes, and sometimes they are a release of joy or agony.

5. Music-making is always singing. On an instrument, the music must come from the mind and heart. Except for the source of the sound, it's the same as what I might sing if I had taken time to develop my voice as I have the trumpet.

6. Staccato is not an absolute thing. Staccato means lots of things in terms of length or the start and end of the note. One thing is certain, there is a limit to how short I can make a note and retain a beautiful sound. Each note has to have a minimum body of tone. There's only so thin one can become before the bones start to show. And looking like a prisoner from a concentration camp is no one's idea of beautiful. Sound is the same.

7. Low register sounds don't carry as well as higher ones. When the music is low and soft, I try not to play too softly unless I have a good reason for doing so. If I play a G below the staff at the same volume as the second-line G, the low G will sound softer. This fact influences how I treat dynamics in the low register.

8. I really have to work to maintain energy in descending lines. Instinctively (and wrongly) I liken musical descent to physical descent: I can just let up on the gas and coast, or like on a bicycle, I can stop pedaling. Not so in playing. Even if the descent is marked with a decrescendo, I still have to maintain the line, the flow and energy of the music. In scale exercises, we often see dynamic marks that follow the line shape. Sometimes, it's good to reverse this. I like soft high notes sometimes.

9. When I crescendo or diminuendo, I try to save more of the dynamic change for later in the change. My natural instinct is to get it done right away. But, musically it's more effective and communicates the message better if I pace the crescendo by getting louder later. The reverse if also true: I have to keep the present volume up a bit longer than I might naturally before I begin to let the energy subside.

As you can tell, much of what I find helpful in playing musically involves timing and dynamic issues. And though I've explained some of these points briefly, the rubber meets the road only when you get behind the wheel. The feel of the wheel in my hand, the sound and feel of the engine, the change of body weight as you accelerate, slow down or make turns is part of “getting there.” And just like driving, playing music has to be felt to be enjoyed. Happy driving!

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THINKING...
by Harlow E. Hopkins


The danger is that we may fail to perceive life's greatest meaning, fall short of its highest good, miss its deepest and most abiding happiness, be unable to render the most needed service, be unconscious of life ablaze with the light of the Presence of God-and be content to have it so-that is the danger.

That some day we may wake up and find that always we have been busy with the husks and trappings of life-and have really missed life itself. For life without God, to be one who has known the richness and joy of life with Him, is unthinkable, impossible. That is what one prays one's friends may be spared-satisfaction with a life that falls short of the best, that has in it no tingle and thrill which comes from a friendship with the Father.

(Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) author of the words to O Little Town of Bethlehem.)

 





The ensuing article was obtained several years ago at a convention. It is the work of Gino Cioffi, former principal clarinet of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

THE WOODWIND SPACE
by Harlow E. Hopkins


 

On Clarinet Playing

Throughout my professional life I have been asked what I considered to be the principles of the art of clarinet playing. I shall endeavor to outline them here as fully as possible.

The clarinet is merely the instrument through which the artist expresses his interpretation of music. The richer his imagination and the more skillful his craftsmanship, the greater the artist will be. The artist's craftsmanship must adequately express his thoughts; even more, it must stimulate them, for the two are inseparable. The artist on the clarinet must be able to command from his instrument many shades of color, expression, and volubility as rich as the music he performs. This is the goal.

There is no doubt in my mind that the key to advanced clarinet playing lies in the ability of the player to relax his muscles when playing.

It seems almost foolish to repeat a statement made so many times. Furthermore every clarinet player will agree with this point. I have yet to meet one who advocates tenseness in playing; some will even leap at the opportunity to preach about the pitfalls of “tightening up.”

Nevertheless, when a clarinet player who has played professionally for ten years has difficulty with the opening of “Daphnis and Chloe” or the cadenza in Coq d'or, ten to one the root of his difficulties is tenseness-his muscles are frozen.

Generally speaking, the better schools of singing, string playing and piano playing all treat relaxation as an elementary step in learning. If pianists were to tighten their fingers, wrists and arms as much as the average clarinet player, we would have no Horowitz or Rubinstein, and we would hear very few performances of the Tchaikowsky or Brahms concertos for the simple reason that few pianists would have sufficient command of their instruments to play such works.

I am making no special plea for fast as against slow playing. There is no contradiction; one should be able to play fast and slowly well. Because a man can run fast does not mean that he should not or cannot walk well.

How does one learn to play with complete relaxation? By practicing slowly.

The entire body should be relaxed; sit or stand properly, don't slouch in your seat or cross your legs. Allow all your muscles to be free, not cramped. Be sure the arms swing freely from the shoulders, that the elbows are free; the wrists are so relaxed that the hands droop when arms are raised. If the wrists and forearms are relaxed the fingers will follow suit.

The fingers should not be held out straight but curved, as though holding a tennis ball in the hand, so that the balls of the fingers rest on the instrument. Holding the fingers straight across the holes causes tenseness and overshooting of the holes. Some players use parts of the fingers as far up as the joint. The wasted motion involved in this position is terrific. Fingers should be raised only 3/4 of an inch.

The greatest benefit, under most circumstances, is to practice slowly. A good instrument, reed and mouthpiece are essential to a good tone. The practice of long tones is necessary so that the player can develop breath control and train his ear. After that has been achieved to some degree, crescendos, diminuendos and other tonal shadings may be introduced.

If the player is not relaxed, he will invariably pinch and his breathing will also be affected. The pinching of the reed destroys the tone and destroys evenness of tone throughout the registers so that a good legato becomes an impossibility. The clarinet should and can be played from its lowest to highest notes with an even quality of tone much the same as the piano. When all this is accomplished, all the shadings of phrasing-legatos, crescendos, diminuendos-can be executed with great ease.

Now we turn our attention to the type of technical facility required by music where the composer has painted in bold and daring strokes.

The main difficulty when beginning this phase of clarinet study is to develop evenness. The professional who has been playing with tensed muscles, although evenly, will find that the fingers will momentarily jump out of control, but even this difficulty is quickly overcome. Above all, evenness can only be developed by slow practice. After the player has learned to play evenly and relaxed, then and only then should he attempt to develop speed. In most cases practice for speed should not be attempted until the first hour of practice. Then one should take suitable and familiar studies and practice them at the fastest possible speed while still playing evenly. Speed does not come of itself-it must be achieved. Slow practice only lays the basis for speed by developing evenness and allowing the player to concentrate on relaxation.

As suitable studies for this method of practicing, I can recommend with the greatest confidence the Labanchi Clarinet Method, because it has a great variety of studies to develop beautiful phrasing. It has all the material needed to develop a prodigious technique.

In addition to these rules, a good teacher cultivates in a young player a feeling of confidence and poise, the value of which cannot be over-emphasized. How many times orchestra players freeze and become panicky because of a lack of confidence that began in childhood and early years of study! To remedy and guard against this situation is as important a task as there is for the teacher.

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The group did organize, but the director they hired to work with the band students moved to Iowa in the middle of the year. I was then asked to take over the fledging band program, and since I knew some of the students from the previous year, I agreed to step in. I also had to teach a beginning recorder class (new to me at the time), and at their request I also taught three levels of music theory. To my amazement I found these students very eager to learn! I was able to accomplish in one rehearsal per week what probably would have taken three or more rehearsals in a formal school. Discipline was wonderful, especially with the mothers sitting in the back of the room, hearing everything the students were supposed to practice!

A CHRISTIAN HOME SCHOOL BAND PROGRAMS-
A GROWING PHENOMENON!
by George E. Strombeck


Furthermore, how can these children attain a "well-rounded" experience of learning in areas such as music, drama and physical education, when such opportunities are only possible in a group setting, as provided by the traditional school? Will these homeschooled students ever be socially able to fit into today's society, or will they be total misfits?

I confess I had my doubts back in 1992, when I was asked to help with a homeschool music program, meeting at a local church for one afternoon each week. My first impression was that these people, although very nice and friendly, probably had their "head in the sand," not wanting to face the real world. It seemed they were more interested in maintaining a strict dress code, than developing fully the student's God-given talent, and it was made clear to me that certain styles of music (jazz and rock) would not be tolerated!

But please let me explain my very first encounter with the homeschool families. In 1991 I had accepted a one year position at a local Christian school (grades K-12) north of Chicago, directing the band program, filling in for a female teacher on maternity leave. In addition to the regular students of the school, they had arranged for home-schooled families in the area to participate in their beginning band program. To my surprise, I soon observed that the serious students (and certainly the ones who practiced the most) were the home schooled students! They were by far the most stable students of the beginning band! At the end of the school year I was told the homeschool families had decided to form their own music program for the following year.

 

But my biggest surprise was in the theory classes, where I enjoyed developing creative ways of teaching the concepts of writing for instruments. For the lower levels we used the theory books coordinated with the band method books. The "Advanced" theory class focused on concepts of writing for the instruments, including transpositions for each instrument, full score writing, balancing of brass vs. woodwinds, and creative ideas for doing obligatos and countermelodies. Yes-young people can do it! Students who were only 14 to 16 years old wrote arrangements that were comparable to college level writing! Many of these arrangements were performed at our band concerts. Several of these advanced theory students have gone on to major in music at college, and passed out of the first year theory class!

When I began working with these homeschooled students, I found that all my fears about their education were unfounded. Many of the parents had majored in education in college, and were experienced teachers before homeschooling their own children. They were also very involved in the real world, supporting such things as "Right To Life" fundraising walks, many actively supporting politicians with conservative views. They also had support group meetings once a week, with professional educators guiding the parents to best prepare their children. The homeschool group I worked in, eventually called CHAMPS (Christian Homeschool Arts and Music ProgramS) grew to involve several experiences of social development, with groups at all levels, including band, orchestra, choir, drama art and language (German, French, Spanish and sign language). The support group of over 150 families rented a church for the entire day on Monday, where these classes could be held. The 12 teachers signed contracts, and were also interviewed for their Christian commitment. It was interesting to me that while the families were homeschooling to avoid the "problems" of conventional schools, they actually ran their own schedule of classes for one day in the same manner as any public school! The only difference is the control the families exercised in what was taught, and who taught their children.

My schedule changed over the years. For example one year I started an orchestra program, in addition to the band program, but when it grew to where the string students needed more help than I could render, a string specialist was hired to take over. In addition to the three band classes (beginning, junior and senior), I also held section rehearsals for each band at all levels, and the three theory classes were also mixed into the schedule. My teaching technique was the same as if I were teaching in a public school, but what I enjoyed was the freedom to be flexible, and give more time to help where most needed. All told, this made for a long day (8:30 am to 4:30 pm with a 20 minute lunch break), but since it was only one day a week I made it work.

We had performance opportunities that were not always available to school bands, such as shopping malls, nursing homes, and churches. Once we were invited to perform in the State Capitol auditorium in Springfield, Illinois, when the homeschool state association made a special presentation to the legislature about their concerns for educational recognition. Our performance was very well received!

I very much enjoyed my 11 years of working with the homeschool families and found these students to be very disciplined, talented, willing to work hard, and capable of doing exciting performances! Volunteer mothers (especially Karen and Janet!) were also a great help in the room, as well as doing all the "behind the scenes" activities needed for a successful band program! In fact everything about it was the kind of experience most directors only dream about, but I had the opportunity to actually live it! If your community does not already have a homeschool band program, I would highly recommend that you take the initiative to start one. Best of all, I found that the band students and their parents really enjoyed the same kind of band music I most enjoyed to rehearse and perform-the great classical sacred band arrangements published and distributed by David E. Smith Publications!

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Preach Christ Always
And As A Last Resort
Use Words.
St. Francis of Assisi
For the serious educator, the growth of the homeschool movement has been an issue of major concern. After all, how can parents who have had no formal training in the field of Education actually teach their own children, free from their own prejudice, to be prepared to live in today's fast changing world?
The great danger facing all of us-for one feels it tremendously-is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all-not these things.
(Since the inception of Lines and Spaces Professor Pinner has very ably edited “The String Space”.)

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