Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • December 2012
25
Have an establ ished dai ly dri l l that al lows
your students to learn the rules and put
them into pract ice.
The Daily Drill is not “warm-up” and should
never be thought of as such. It is the portion of the
rehearsal designed to teach and apply the Rules of
Sound to exercises that address the fundamentals
of playing the individual instruments as well as
playing as an ensemble. The overall goal is to make
the tonal concepts second nature while at the same
time addressing the physical skills necessary for their
achievement.
Below is an outline of the important aspects of
a Daily Drill that should be covered everyday…
that is the “daily” in Daily Drill! Choose an exercise
for each of the main areas to work every day: Long
Tone, Flexibility, Articulation/Style and Interval Tuning
(including unison). The Chorale at the end is used to
apply the Rules of Sound skills to a simple harmonized
band arrangement. You can find specific exercises that
address your band’s level in many places although I’ve
used “Foundations for Superior Performance” by Jeff
King and Richard Williams for over sixteen years.
Dai ly dri l l structure:
• Long Tones
o Single Note Exercises
o Multiple Note Exercises: Chromatic, Diatonic
and Expanding Intervals
• Flexibility
o Brass Lip Slurs
o Woodwind Octaves, Harmonics and Register
Key Exercises
• Articulation and Style
• Interval Tuning
• Chorale
Every exercise you choose must have an understood
purpose and goal. As directors we must first understand
what those are and how to achieve them then be able
to communicate them to our students. We must keep
them engaged at all times through asking questions
as simple as: “What are we trying to achieve on this
exercise?” “Was that better or worse than yesterday?”
“Who knows how to make this better?” Keep them
engaged by applying more advanced concepts to an
exercise. For example, a simple 8 count note becomes
more interesting if you apply Rule 3: Listen to your
section. Then apply Rule 4: Balance to another section.
Then experiment with Rule 5 by listening for different
sections or individuals with the full ensemble playing.
It becomes easier to “sell” this process as they begin
to hear and recognize differences and improvement in
their playing.
It is not necessary to spend 45 minutes on your Daily
Drill every day! Find the one exercise that addresses
the level of long tone your band should be working on
based on their level of understanding of the Rules of
Sound as well as their physical skills readiness. Make
a little improvement on it from the previous rehearsal
then move on to the next fundamental skill or concept.
When they are ready for a more advanced long tone
add a new one and either keep the previous one or
drop it from your regular routine. (Be realistic in your
exercise choices. It makes no sense to work on a fast
moving lip slur if simpler ones cannot be played with
the correct fundamentals.)
Keep the developmental nature of this process
in mind. A little improvement each day adds up to
quite a bit by the end of the year. If we want real
learning, understanding and achievement from our
students we must take the time and effort to design
appropriate exercises, engage them mentally and give
them opportunities to be participants in the rehearsal
over the course of the entire year.
Gett ing “That Sound”