Brass Clinic Basi fhe euphonium parts in band ‘music cover a range of styles, from glorious solos that rise above the accompanying to supporting harmonies an octave above the tubas and fast passages with woodwinds. In troublesome passages many students have problems, especially with intona- tion, in projecting a resonant sound, and playing wide leaps. The musical excerpts cited here are from The Band Prescribed Music List of the University Interscholastic League or from Teach ing Music through Performance in Band, cdited by Richard Miles, Te is typical for young euphonium lit players to use much tongue and tle air. On the accented, d line in Variations of Scarborough Fa Calvin Custer (Hal Leonard) there isa tendency t0 tongue harder to project the accented note, but often it helps if each note is longer and richer and not played with harder tonguing. The Tongue should merely clarify each note with a bit more volume, which is pro: duced by using larger quantities of ait. Although a shorter note is harder to project, even the 16th note should res nate. What the audience hears is dif ferent from what the player hears. segr aE Fora full ffon eighth no even mote air to produce the res0- ie cakes nance, not harder tonguing. =e In the first movement of the Second Suite in F by Gustav Holst (Boosey and Hawkes) there s one of the most famous and trickiest ofthe euphonium solos. This middle register solo has to pro ject over the trombone and tuba accompaniment. Natural and resonat ing sound projection with plenty of air isessential. An exercise to increase the air capacity isto inbale fully and to let by Masahito Kuroda the air go without any body tension while exhaling. The key isto keep the process mentally simple. Ifthe arms are faised overhead from the sides while inhaling, students can feel the body expanding. With the index finger on. the lips exhale by blowing and feel the air moving past the finger. This focus he tension the to blow hard. on how it fels reduc often results from tryi There should be mo pause between lation and exhalation and the next. Another exercise is for the student to blow without an instrument for mouthpiece while pretending to play the melody Another step is t Blow and finger the notes on thi instrument without produ jound of using the mouthpie final step is to play the passage on the trument with full resonance; at this stage students should not lip notes up or down to fine tune this is to become accustomed to play ng with a resonant sound dynamic level without body ten Fast Runs, High Notes, and Mutes, Fare for Euphonium Parts A second problem with this excerp is the intonation. The 6th partial (F4, 4, and Eb4) on the euphonium tends to be noticeably sharp, which is a problem because the first phrase ends On F Unfortunately F and B are the most common Keys in band repertoire and the euphonium contends with fre {quent intonation problems. One solu- ion isto slightly open the jaw to lower the pitch. Tr helps to practice jaw vibrato and get the feel for bending pitch, but this entails playing the noce slightly off the most efficient center of resonance. To compensate for the drop {n volume and sound quality, use more air and practice with a tuner to avoid weradjusting Another way to correc with an aleernative fingering, a8 when he fourth valve i used to play high F which is normally played open. Young pitches is players often comment that an alte players ofte pate fingering seems awkward or doe not feel right, and part of this is eh Masahito K western State University. ‘masical excerpts in this article ar selected from the Band Preseibed List (University Interscholastic and Teaching Music Through mance in Band, editedCrees USO a ey AND MOUTHPIECES TRUMPETS Ro ear ces nn oe PICCOLO TRUMPETS Dias UN Neca} Pec Ce Eliminates the tuning slide improving intonation and Pee onary Pree keen maces A NPC Ren UL eee sara oa a aoe pene nen a sy Call or write oe aR era sem ne 4520 James Place ona ac) amr et) PLEASE SEND: © Instrument Catalog 5 Mouthpiece Catalog Nome 858 tae smamnerauist snc 200) crates a slightly stuffy sound. Again he solu ' so the m auty the end of the phrase In Toccata for Band by Frank Erickson (Bourne) there are inton. ion problems associated with valve combinations. Generally the more essed simultancously, the sharpe he intonation becomes. The B2 in his excerpt is easly played in tune on a four-valve horn, while on a three valve model the thitd-valve side will ave to be adjusted. Normally the tuning slide is out about Y4 inch the first and second valve combina: ion to be in tune and with the third valve slide extended approximately inch, the second and third valve com- bination is in tune. Here the second and third valves are used in combina- tion only in one note in measure 85, walve tuning slide can fe than normal to make the B usin and third valves more in tune (pushing it back during the next long rest). This tech: the thir first, second nique can be used for many grade two pree pieces that are written in B> or E> to make a three-valve dificult and. rep eighth note runs in Caccia and Chor by Clifton Williams (Barmhouse) ment play mo There a susie Epes This excerpt is especially tricky on the parallel fourvalve in that is common in schi bands because the presses the inky fing fourth valve. A common problem on a fast run like this is failing to press each valve completely. The best way to work on a run like this is to break into manageable pieces and gradually pt them together. If the entire run is practiced as a unit, it will be difficule to eliminate mistakes. Start practic ing five eighth notes ata time and use the fifth note as a bridge to the next group of eighth notes. Feel the valves touch the bottom and move on to the next five notes only when the flow is even. Then put these together as a hhine-note run. Repeat this process wih perfect clarity The fourth movement The Brisk Youmg Sailor from Lincolnshire Posy by Percy Grainger/Fennell (Ludwig Music) includes 1 the middle register a thick ac- playiny that has 10 project 0 ccompaniment of woodwin sexcuplet runs Here the euphonium the excitement of a sailor whi joyed to see his fiancée aft all g making a good performance be whae the com Dyage, and as with with understandiny poser wants to express in the written notes. The discussion of sound proje tion in the Holst suite he high Eb is sixth partial lipped doven by dropping the jaw or hind valve combi also applie here measure 22 is using the first and nation to lower the pitch. Unless the tune is kept in mind while playing, itis ‘easy t0 overshoot the Eb and hit an F using the same fingering h partials are particularly df caile when approached from below or if a phrase begins on the 6¢h partial noteIn the opening of Four Scottish Dances by Malcolm Arc Fischer) the euphonium approaches the E4 from A3 with a lip slur in fore The lip slur will take increased air speed, but the E, which has a strony ndeney to be sharp, wn and becomes even. sharper. lem is compounded bec fect uni e pr the passage is played i son with the French horn. The French horn plays in the comfortable niddle register and d neatly sealalanreap The solution for this problem is « uuse more air to play the A, which is leftover air to hit the E inste increasing the airspeed to the E. Play the passage and hold the E and checking the intonation with a tuner. wa? 3 ga a LT me In Symphony in Bbby Hindemith the Dé4 in the euphonium part is ever more exposed because it begins the hrase. One guide to finding thi rect pitch is the first cla tentrance on beat one of the measure which is also Df. If the euphonium player listens to and sings this clarinet ote in his head and uses the alter first and third valve, intonation will Recent band compesitions include ‘more muted euphonium passages. Dan Welcher uses a muted euphonium effectively in his 1994 work, Zion on ae ally a mute will cause the pitch to be sharp, and this is com: pounded if the school mute is missing ny cork, which results in the mute bell and raising rts should check the pitch more. s pitch with and with the euner and a slide when playin ing on the music where to pull the tun- muted parts, mark ing slide and push back in Playing wide intervals is often diff colt, and the beautiful countermelo« in the middle section of Colonial Song Feature Your Outstanding Soloists CARLA Aadds Meciaedli AS Go to our website, listen to MP3 music files and then. 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