Hey future me,
It is important that you have your students actively listening to tone early. They must be able to tell if they are playing with good tone AS WELL AS if they are blending with other instruments. Woodwinds must be able to blend together. Brass must blend together. And these two sections must have blend with each other. Have students take turns listening to various sections for tone and have them describe the tone in 5 words or less. Then try and have them match that tone. Get your students listening early and often! It will save you some trouble later on.
Characteristic tone is incredibly important for any ensemble. As a
person, you have your personality to set you apart from everyone else,
and this is what tone does for your ensemble. You want people to be
able to hear recordings and say, "Oh that must be MSU!". Tone is also
very important because it is what makes a piece pleasant to listen to.
You could play one of the greatest pieces ever written, but without good
tone, it would be a disaster. Encourage your students to listen to recordings of the pieces you are playing that has musicians who play with good tone. It helps to hear an example!
Best wishes,
Sallie
You have a good concept of why tone is important, but you didn't isolate three specific reasons. Consider these:
ReplyDelete1-In festival tone receives a higher score than other areas because it relates to intonation and musicality
2-Good tone is generally a symptom of good playing technique (i.e. breathing, posture, embouchure, reed, equipment, etc.)
3-When composers write for an ensemble, they assume that the players are generating a characteristic sound--otherwise the music won't wound right.
.5/1 NS