GREAT WARM-UPS FOR ADVANCING BANDS - Parts & Score

Grade 2.5
 
The warm-up is one of the most important components of a good rehearsal for it sets the rehearsal atmosphere for the day and warms up the musician's muscles, mind, instrument, and ears. Great Warm-Ups for Advancing Bands, written for grades 2-3, includes: chop builders, ear trainers, articulation and rhythm studies, and technical exercises. The technical exercises include scales, technique builders, balance builders, tuning exercises, and chorales. The following steps, in score order, provide a suggested rehearsal format for warming-up your ensemble.
 
Step #1: Start the rehearsal with a "Chop Builder." These exercises are designed to warm-up the embouchure muscles for wind players and wrists for percussionists. Be creative and vary the way you use the "Chop Builders." For example, have all the wind players (on their instruments and/or mouthpieces only) play line A in unison, or have either the brass or woodwinds play line A while the other section plays line B.
 
Step #2: Following the "Chop Builders," the band members are now ready to warm up their ears. "Match and Pass That Note" was written to help students develop their listening skills by matching the preceding groups' pitch, duration, and intensity. The next warm-up is "Dynamic Control." To achieve good balance while playing this exercise inform your students that they must always listen to the instruments that are immediately lower pitched than their instrument. They must play with less volume than those lower pitched instruments. Also, remind your students that the air speed remains constant whether they are playing at a soft or loud volume. Loud volumes use more quantity of air than soft volumes but the air speed and breath support remains the same. Directors may vary the articulation patterns for both of these exercises. Articulation patterns are provided in the score and student parts for your convenience.
 
Step #3: It is critical that all instrumentalists develop good articulation skills for it helps provide musical clarity. Most tonguing and articulation problems are, in fact, air speed problems and can be corrected with better use of air. It is often helpful to have students "sizzle" rhythm patterns before executing them on their instruments.
 
Step #4: Now that the wind player's embouchures and percussionist's wrists are warmed up, move on to the various exercises that are written in the keys of Concert Bb Major, Concert El Major, Concert F Major, Concert Al Major, and Concert C Major. Each specific key consists of a scale and arpeggio, a technique builder, a balance builder and tuning skill builder, and chorale.
 
Play the exercises utilizing the key of the first piece or primary rehearsal selection for the day. This will help the band members start training their ears in that specific tonality. Remind students that practicing scales, arpeggios, and technique builders is the foundation for developing good technical skills and facility. When rehearsing the "Balance Builders and Tuning Skill Builders," do not rely entirely on electronic tuners. Students need to learn to tune using their ears, not their eyes. Conclude your warm-up session by playing the chorale in that key. This will help to validate the students tuning. Make certain that the students are playing the chorales in a tenuto style and remind them to make the chorales sound musical by shaping each phrase.
 
Great Warm-Ups for Advancing Bands will have tremendous value in helping to establish the foundation for a successful and productive musical rehearsal and/or performance. Your band's musicianship will improve immensely with these thorough and well-constructed warm-ups.
 
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