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Ely, Mark, and Amy Rashkin. "Warm-Ups That Work: An Overview of the Latest Publications." The Instrumentalist (1999): 12-16. Print.

This article discusses various warm-up books for the band that were recently published when it came out in 1999. The authors summarize eight books that they recommend for use and discuss their unique strengths and differences from each other. The intent of the article is to simplify the task of finding appropriate warm-ups for band. The article should be used as a resource by any band director.

I'm glad that a resource like this exists for band directors.  I wonder if there is an updated version of this list and if so, how often the list gets updated. I greatly appreciate the amount of detail included in each summary. It is easy to pick out a book that works well for the classroom just by reading the summary.

1. Do updated versions of this list exist?
2. How relevant are these books today?
3. Can warm-up techniques become outdated in only fifteen years? Shouldn't most techniques be constant?


Phillips, Joseph. "Intonation Exercises for Middle School Bands." The Instrumentalist (1999): 15-17. Print.

Phillips suggests many common ways of teaching intonation and blend in a band setting. He includes methods for several specific instruments as well as techniques that could be applicable to the entire ensemble. Some of these methods allow the teacher to employ peer teaching and collaborative learning within an ensemble setting. The latter half of the article is used to show how the teacher can address intonation and blend in specific pieces.

I really enjoyed reading this article! It was very helpful to me as a percussionist who understands blend and intonation but does not have to consciously utilize it most of the time (intonation, that is). I learned several techniques that can be applied to both younger and more experienced bands, as well as individual students and small groups.

1. How early should I be teaching the harmonic series to assist with intonation?
2. Should knowledge of the harmonic series be more extensively explained to brass players outside of rehearsal or should the entirety of the instruction take place in front of the whole group?
3. How can one find a balance between rehearsing music and focusing on other aspects of music making like intonation?


Hopkins, Michael. "The Six Stages of Tuning Stringed Instruments." American String Teacher (2002): 64-69. Print.

Hopkins describes his six stages of tuning string instruments in this article and includes short blurbs about the usefulness of following these steps with beginning string players. Stage 1 involves the teacher tuning the students' instruments while also teaching the cellos and basses to tune using harmonics. Stage 2 is called Tuning Individually, One String at a Time. This implies the creation of a process used to assist students in tuning on their own. Stage 3 is similar, but this time the orchestra tunes in their own sections. Stage 4 introduces the utilization of double stops and harmonics while still tuning in sections. In stage 5 the students begin tuning cellos and basses before violins and violas. Finally in stage 6 the entire orchestra tunes at once.

I have played in orchestras fairly consistently since my sophomore year of high school, but I have never been closely involved in the process of rehearsing the ensemble. This article is extremely helpful for me in this regard. I have one criticism that may be false, but I do not understand why the low strings are not tuned before the high strings until stage 5.

1. Should all strings listen to basses whenever tuning?
2. Why do cellos and basses learn about harmonic tones before violins and violas?
3. How much of this tuning process can relate to a band setting?


Fonder, Mark. "Defining and Realizing Your Band's Ideal Tone." Music Educators Journal 85.3 (1998): 22. Web.

Fonder states that your band's ideal tone must be a combination of personal preference and convention, but must begin with personal preference. Achieving a consistent sound from the ensemble requires establishing goals, teaching the principles of tone, listening to examples, consistently practicing good tone, controlling instrumentation, evaluating seating arrangements, and choosing music to optimize tone quality. It is important to communicate your concept of tone to the ensemble.

This article grabbed me very quickly as something that I wholeheartedly agree with. The genesis of great tone begins with personal preference. Personally, I believe that picking repertoire is one of the most important aspects of developing great tone. A diverse selection of music with varying harmonic concepts will assist greatly in developing tone.

1. What kind of time frame can a teacher expect to establish to work on developing great time? Can a timeline even exist?
2. Does great tone need to begin on an individual level? This article doesn't seem to discuss that much.
3. Can great tone be taught in a way similar to the Hopkins article about string tuning?