Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • December 2012
23
Getting “That Sound”
It was the week after my very
first concert as a band director
when my quest for “that sound”
began. My middle school second
band had performed a piece called
“Christmas Collage”. It was a typical
one where many of the more famous
holiday tunes are wrapped into one
enjoyable package. Not too long for
the dads, yet just long and varied
enough for the distracted siblings
to look up from their doodling
on the program (Facebook and
smartphones were not around at
that time.) to crack a smile of
recognition before returning to
coloring in all of the “Os” in the
program and giving the Santa Claus
picture on the front a new and
improved beard.
But none of this happened at my
concert.
It started off fine since the first
eight measures or so were what we
had played the most in rehearsals.
You always start at the beginning,
right? As we continued to play,
the polite audience began to shift
in their seats as they sensed they
were about to witness one of those
uncomfortable events from which
there is no escape. It happened so
fast there was no time to excuse
themselves from the audience to
visit the restroom or step out to get
some fresh air. No, what occurred
on stage was wrapped up in a single
phrase a fellow colleague later
provided. A “Christmas Collision”
had taken place on stage. And I was
responsible. I went into mourning
for having made the very, very
bad choice of becoming a band
director as well as having wrecked
Christmas.
The following
week was when
the quest started.
That was the
week our sister
school performed
their December
concert. I sat in
the audience trying
to make myself as
small as possible
because I thought
everyone knew I
was the destroyer
of Christmas. As the concert
progressed I could not believe
what I was hearing. The second
and third bands from across the
same district were playing the most
unbelievable concert I had ever
heard! They not only knew their
notes and rhythms (I guess they
started some rehearsals working on
the middle and ends of their music)
but the sounds the bands made
were unbelievable to me! I had no
idea young bands were capable of
sounding so great! I decided then
and there that I had to figure this
thing out…or go sell insurance.
Twenty-four years later, and
although I’m still trying to figure
it out, I think I’ve been able to
consolidate the things I’ve learned
from all the people who have helped
me into a package my students
and I can quickly understand and
guide us in everything we do
in our rehearsals
to develop the
sounds we want
from our band.
Have sound
concepts clear
i n your own
head and the
vocabulary to
c o mm u n i c a t e
them to your
students.
Can you put
your finger on
what makes one
person sound better than another?
Most of us have a pretty clear
idea what constitutes a good tone
for each of the instruments, but
what are the elements that make
one individual or ensemble sound
better than another and how can
those elements be described so
students can easily understand
them and know when they are
achieving them?
I apply five basic hierarchical
concepts, or rules, to everything.
The first rule must be achieved
before the second, the second
before the third, etc. This provides a
fundamental and easily understood
structure to evaluate our playing.
The first three “rules” are the
David Brandon
What are the
elements that make
one individual or
ensemble sound
better than another
and how can those
elements be described
so students can
easi ly understand
them and know
when they are
achieving them?