Band Music as
Curriculum: Selecting
Repertoire with
Understanding
Dr. Koh Chee Kang 许志刚博士
Senior Specialist (Music)
Ministry of Education, Singapore
National Band Director Association of Malaysia (NBDAM) Webinar
Monday, 3 August 2020
Scope
Part I: Band Music as Curriculum
- Considerations when selecting band repertoire
Part II: An overview of Resources for Primary
School Bands
Part III: An overview of Resources for Secondary
School Bands
References based mainly on Teaching Music
through Performance in Band (TMTP),
Volumes 1 to 9
Scope
Part I: Band Music as Curriculum
- Considerations when selecting band
repertoire
Part II: An overview of Resources for Primary School Bands
Part III: An overview of Resources for Secondary School
Bands
What conductors do?
Ray Cramer: Flexibility: Bending is not breaking (V9, p21)
Choose music
Bring music to life
Make musical decisions that affect everyone
Inspire students to perform at their highest level
Keep up with current composers/compositions
Continually develop own conducting skills
Hone rehearsal techniques
Repertoire Searching Process
1. Listening and browsing scores on music publishers’
website
Survey:
2. Music streaming (eg YouTube, Spotify)
Indicate your
3. Talking with colleagues searching process
4. Talking with composers on ZOOM
5. Attending conferences & reading sessions
6. Going to concerts
7. Looking at concert programmes
8. Attending band festivals/competitions
9. Reading professional literature (eg research)
Consideration when Selecting Music (By Maiello)
Maiello: Conducting: A hands-on approach
1. Quality of the music
2. Technical & musical ability of performers in the ensemble
3. Goals/mission of the ensemble
Survey:
4. Instrumentation
Indicate your top
5. Amount of rehearsal/preparation time
3 considerations
6. Budget (eg purchasing music)
on ZOOM
7. Length of concert/performance
8. Audience
9. Purpose of the concert/performance
10. Place of performance
Considerations when Selecting Music (By Cramer)
Ray Cramer: Our GPS for success: It’s all about the
literature! (V1, p27)
Will students like the music?
Are my players competent enough to perform
it?
Do we have enough rehearsal time to learn the
music?
Will the parents and school personnel
appreciate the music?
What comprises music of artistic merit?
Budiansky & Tim Foley’s article in the Journal of the World
Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles (Vol. 12,
pp17-39, 2005)
“Much of the music composed specifically for school
band is formulaic, emotionally superficial,
monotonously alike, dull and didactic…it fails to
provide students with a true musical education…”
Several factors that have allowed poor quality music
to dominate the school music repertoire:
The relentless promotion of band music by music
publishers (eg, catalogue, sample CD, etc)”
Growing importance of non-music considerations (eg
festival needs) in driving repertoire selection
This is from Conductor's lens
From Composers’ Lens
Jack Stamp (composer and conductor)
“Is our job to create music that teaches both intellectually and
emotionally, or is our job to compose music that will sound good?”
Are they really mutually exclusive from each other? Your thoughts?
“Music of educational composers should retain the quality of
individuality, by continually bringing fresh ideas to an individualised
and identifiable style; and strive for the perfection achieved by the
masters.”
“As composers, it is our duty to both music and our students to
provide the very best we have to offer as musicians and composers.”
Robert W. Smith (composer and conductor)
“As a composer on the podium, I think like a composer and a
conductor. But as a composer/conductor on the podium, I also have to
think like an educator.”
From Music Publisher/Publishing Lens
Larry Blocher: Focus (V1) interviewed with Robert W. Smith, publisher
and composer
Publishing: “Publishers publish what consumers buy”
Composer’s task: writing pieces with Musical validity
[could be subjective] & Educational validity [to fit in
some kind of curricular sequence & framework, eg grade
level chart]
Production: The corporate mindset that composers in the
publishing company to submit a certain amount of band
pieces by a particular time
“When a band director considers the music out there for
curricular selection, it seems important to look through all
three parts of those blended “lenses” (ie teacher/conductor
lens, composer lens & publisher lens) to make clear,
informed, intelligent music choices”
Band Music as Curriculum
Larry Blocher: Teaching for moments that matter (V4)
“Your objectives and learning sequences should help you
select the band literature you will perform and/or study,
because many of the concepts you will teach will come from
the music.”
“The literature you choose will become textbooks for
band”.
“The literature you select will also provide a basis for
assessment tasks that will lead to evaluation.” (V4, p7)
Band Music as Curriculum
Larry Blocher: Focus (V1) [interviewed with Robert W.
Smith]
“I don’t believe band directors in general think in curricular
terms [vs does the band sound good?]…Band directors, by
their programming, are curriculum designers.”
“I think it’s very important for there to be a K-12 scope and
sequence…Learning music continue based on concepts that
have been introduced earlier in a student’s education.”
“Our goal is to broaden these concepts at every grade level
and with every step.”
Scope
Part I: Band Music as Curriculum
- Considerations when selecting band repertoire
Part II: An overview of Resources
for Primary School Bands
Part III: An overview of Resources for Secondary School
Bands
An overview of Resources for Primary School
Bands
Thomas Dvorak & Richard Floyd: Best music for
beginning band: A selective repertoire guide to music
and methods for beginning band
Offer an immediate level of attractiveness to young student
musician
Offer a balance of security and challenge
Limited to technical and musical expectations that are
commensurate with the performance skills
Introduce elements of musicianship, style and form
Examples of Band repertoire used in USA, Singapore and Japan
Music Grading Chart (Technical requirements & concepts)
USA - Example of Band Festival List: UIL Texas Band List 2019-20
(Grade 1 -163 titles total)
Examples in the
Grade 1 list
James Swearingen • Reflections
• A Song of Hope
Robert W Smith • Chorale
Prelude: All
Things Bright
and Beautiful
• Dance
Celebration
• Serengeti
Dreams
USA - Suggested Grade 2 pieces from TMTP
(online resources)
Examples in the
Grade 1/2 list
Robert W • All is Calm
Smith • Ash Lawn Echoes
• Glorioso
• Liturgical Fanfare
• Rites of Tamburo
• Seregenti Dreams
• The Tempest
James • A Song of Hope
Swearingen
Music
Grading
Chart
Concepts
that can be
taught
from
Grades 1 &
2 pieces
EXAMPLE: BELWIN CONCERT BAND SERIES GUIDELINES
Concepts that can
be taught from
Grades 1 & 2
pieces
Japan: Round
1 of All-Japan
Band Contest
@ Saitama
(Pri) in 2018
Scope
Part I: Band Music as Curriculum
- Considerations when selecting band repertoire
Part II: An overview of Resources for Primary School Bands
Part III: An overview of Resources for
Secondary School Bands
An overview of Resources for Secondary
School Bands
Joseph Labuta: Teaching musicianship in the high school
band
Does the music have:
- A well-conceived formal structure
- Creative melodies & counterlines
- Harmonic imagination
- Rhythmic vitality
- Contrast in all musical elements
- Scoring that best represents the full potential for beautiful tone and
timbre
Examples of Band repertoire used in USA, Singapore and
Japan
Music Grading Chart (Technical requirements & Concepts)
USA: Example of Band Festival List: UIL Texas Band List 2019-
20 (Grade 2 - 212 titles total)
Examples in the
Grade 2 list
James • Blue Ridge Saga
Swearingen
James • Westridge Overture
Barnes • Yorkshire Ballad
Robert • A Longford Legend
Sheldon • As Twilight Falls
• Black Is the Color...
• Crest of Nobility
• West Highlands Sojourn
USA: Example of Band Festival List: UIL Texas Band List 2019-
20 (Grade 3 - 285 titles total)
Examples in the
Grade 3 list
James • A Solemn Prelude
Barnes • Brookshire Suite
Robert • Appalachian Morning
Sheldon • Chanteys
• Choreography
• Fantasy on an Early
American Marching Tune
• Ghost Fleet
• In The Shining Of The Stars
• West Highlands Sojourn
USA - Suggested Grade 3/4 pieces from TMTP
(online resources)
Examples in the
Grade 3/4 list
James • Dream Journey
Barnes • Trial of Tears
• Yorkshire Ballad
Robert • A Longford Legend
Sheldon • Choreography
• Metroplex
Concepts
that can be
taught
from
Grades 2 &
3 pieces
EXAMPLE: BELWIN CONCERT BAND SERIES GUIDELINES
Concepts that can
be taught from
Grades 2 to 3
pieces
Japan:
Example of
Round 1 of the
All-Japan Band
Contest @
Saitama
(Junior High)
in 2018
Conclusion
Band Music as Curriculum
“The literature you choose will become textbooks for
band.”
Considerations when selecting music
Musical and non-musical factors
Looking through from 3 blended “lenses”
(teacher/conductor, composer & publisher)
Music Grading Chart for progressive teaching of concepts &
techniques
Other band sources, eg American Festival Band List, TMTP,
SYF, Japan band contest
Bands with higher competency could stretch their
potential by selecting higher grade level pieces
Final words…
Edward Lisk: The rehearsal – Mastery of music fundamentals
(V2)
“A successful band program provides students with opportunities to
become active participants in this life-long learning experience through
musical performance, communication, and appreciation. To be future
consumers of wind literature, students first must experience the
masterworks of wind literature.” (p28)
Ray Cramer: Performing music of multicultural diversity (V2)
“It is the music which brings goals into focus, is inspirational, and brings
discipline and personal growth to our students.” (p36)
Ray Cramer: Flexibility – Bending is not breaking (V9)
“Focus on making the performance the most musical & exciting as
possible for listeners, including adjudicators…A musical and stimulating
performance of excellent music, motivated by the desire to achieve, far
surpasses the desire to just beat others.” (p24)
