A Practical Guide to Pedagogy and Performance on Multiple Low Brass Instruments
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A Practical Guide to Pedagogy and Performance on Multiple Low Brass Instruments
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2023-12
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In the Applied area at most small and medium-sized higher education institutions, there frequently is one or two faculty members teaching multiple instruments. While there are some notable exceptions, fundamentally these are the low brass faculty. In these roles, one is often expected to teach the four traditional low brass instruments: trombone, bass trombone, euphonium, and tuba. Programs that have more students and resources and can accommodate two instructors: one for trombone/bass trombone, and one for tuba/euphonium. In extremely rare instances will a university have an instructor on each instrument, which generally occurs at elite institutions. Additionally, there is continual pressure on all colleges and universities to cut costs and increase revenue and enrollment. With this pressure, as professors retire or leave an institution, departments are replacing them with part-time faculty, or in some cases hiring one person as a full-time tenure-track professor teaching all low brass instruments instead of multiple faculty. This is frequently a detriment to the students, some of whom will not be receiving as specialized of instruction.
Under the direction and supervision of Dr. John Tranter and Professor Thomas Ashworth, the University of Minnesota School of Music began a ‘Low Brass Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA)’ track several years ago, which was designed specifically to address this issue. Under this program, students are expected to declare a primary (trombone in the author’s case) and secondary (euphonium) instrument. Then, the student participates in lessons, ensembles,
studio classes, and recitals both on their primary and secondary instruments. The goal of this selective program is to prepare students for a job as a Low Brass Professor, and to give them a greater understanding of the multiple instruments they will need to teach to students looking for career success. Many professors start their careers at smaller institutions in such positions, so a program tailored to making students more competitive to be hired to the ‘first job’ helps kickstart their career more quickly than their peers. To date, other institutions (Arizona State and West Virginia Universities among others) have adopted similar DMA tracks at their institutions.
It became apparent while going through this program that the skills acquired through doubling on an auxiliary low brass instrument not only improves one’s musicianship and knowledge of said instrument, but when applied to students of that instrument it yields faster progress and a higher level of performance. Through research that included significant study given to the euphonium, teaching observations by industry professionals, and interviews with established performers and teachers, this document serves to outline a pedagogical and performing framework for those in positions where they are obliged to teach multiple low brass instruments, or those looking to perform on multiple low brass instruments more faithfully.
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King-Fournier, Carson A; King-Fournier, Carson. (2023). A Practical Guide to Pedagogy and Performance on Multiple Low Brass Instruments. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/259069.
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