Ensemble Tone Quality
Quality tone must serve as the solid foundation for the development of further musical fundamentals and advanced musical skills. Although tone is influenced by several factors, the quality of tone produced by an ensemble is especially influenced by the conceptof good tone. If we do not have a tonal image of the sound we want to hear, then the danger is that any sound will suffice.
Instead, we must develop a strong “aural taste” of what constitutes good tone quality. The way we develop a discerning palette for various foods, we can also develop discernment for assessing tone quality. If we allow our ears to accept mediocre tone quality on a daily basis, then a refined taste for good sound eventually deteriorates. Some methods for refining your tonal palette include:
1)Describe characteristic tone to your students by means of aural recordings. A student cannot be expected to emulate a sound that they have never heard. Nor can a student be expected to produce good, characteristic tone unless the director can identify good, characteristic tone. Once an aural imprint has been made, only then can the director set expectations for the student to reproduce good tone. Each director must apply prudent selectiveness when choosing quality musical recordings to share with the students. Just as “a picture is worth 1000 words”; a quality recording is worth 1000 aural imprints.
2)Meet with your school librarian and principal and discuss the possibility of the library purchasing a few quality audio recordings each year. Be sure to supply the librarian with your recommendations.
3)Introduce students to good music by playing some of your own favorite recordings during a rehearsal. Build a collection of quality recordings of various artists and instruments, and select a different artist to be playing each day over the sound system as students enter the rehearsal room.
4)Devote a few minutes at the beginning of a rehearsal to active listening of a recording followed by an open discussion of the music. Assist students in developing a vocabulary of words that can help describe various tone qualities. You may be surprised how many students already own quality recordings. Invite them to share their favorites with you and the class.
5)Attend live performances. Symphony halls will usually offer discount rates to students and to groups. A band booster organization may further assist in the cost of purchasing group tickets to a live performance.
6)Consider bringing a live performance to the students. Many university ensembles are very willing to travel to schools to perform a concert program. Contact the director of an ensemble to arrange a possible performance date. Although a university ensemble always appreciates an honorarium of any amount to assist in travel costs and program funding, many have the resources to travel and perform gratuitously.
7)Perform musical selections for your students on any instrument you consider yourself to be a proficient player. Bring in colleagues that are able to proficiently perform on the other instruments. Invite some of your more advanced high school students to perform for the younger students. (This also serves as a great recruiting and retention tool.)
8)Compare recordings of the same piece as performed by different artists. It can be very enlightening to ask students to write down "color" words that best describe each artist's tone, and teaches students how to assess and evaluate different tone productions.
If players can lessen their physical effort to produce the quality of tone they desire, and become more interested in hearing the shapeof the sound, then they can often generate a more natural and successful tonal quality. How do you incorporate learning activities during a rehearsal that provide for development of tonal concept?
Dr. Shelley Jagow
Wright State University
Dayton, Ohio