Topic: Pedagogy - Instrumental Parts
Band method books introduced part playing very soon after students had learned a few notes. It would have been obvious to even the least musically astute that if an assemblage of flutes, clarinets, trumpets, and trombones were playing together, they were not in unison. Young musicians needed to develop selective listening skills before they could concentrate on what was on the page in front of them.
Most contemporary editors began by having sections take turns playing a measure alone, then introduced parallel thirds as a simplified form of chordal harmony. [1] Jim Evans included the standard parallel third version of "Kumbaya" in section 17 of his Band Folio. Instead of different instruments playing separate lines, each section played both parts. [2]
Essential Elements 2000 began with one group sustaining a note while the others played, then had an exercise where each section played the same motif sequentially. [3] On the next page, Tim Lautzenheiser’s team used "London Bridge" to alternate measures of parallel thirds with measures of rests while others played. The other books introduced this form of homophony, without using that term, several pages later. [4]
Few [5] introduced the melodic complexity of rounds until youngsters had mastered playing one line while others were playing another. Then, most editors used the best known, "Are You Sleeping." [6]
Donna Metler felt the ability to play parts was so important, she required students in Memphis play Evans’ version of "Kumbaya" before they could move "from the beginner’s class to the full band class." [7] George Southwell warned men directing town bands in 1897 that, until adult novices had reached that level, it was best if
"The band-room should be located at some distance from the main part of the town, if possible. By so doing you will avoid hearing a great many uncomplimentary remarks, especially if the band be a new one and many, if not all, of the players are beginners; very few people will hear you, and when you do come out on the streets to play for the first time, the people will be astonished and nothing but good words will be heard." [8]
Elementary-school band directors rarely were allowed the luxury of waiting until they charges were ready to perform in public. Parents wanted to see progress, and concerts typically were scheduled at the ends of semester. As a result, most beginning band versions of "Kumbaya" uploaded to YouTube were dissonant: either some reed player used the wrong fingering, or a brass player didn’t quite hit or maintain a note, or someone began or ended a tone after the others. Since these problems were compounded when groups tried to play parts, most bands used unison arrangements.
A few teachers found more innovative ways to display their students. In Bemus Point, New York, Kasey Way had the full group play four pieces. Between each band song, she scheduled two solos by sections. This not only meant her fifth grade students didn’t have to prepare an entire concert, but also allowed her to select works within the skills of each of her sections. The clarinets played "Kumbaya" through twice, once in unison, and once in simple harmony.
The woman directing the Llewellyn Elementary School band in Portland, Oregon, had one section at a time play the melody: first the flutes, then the clarinets, then the brass. They ended playing it through once in unison.
Another woman went further with the Jefferson sixth-grade band in Madison, Wisconsin. She divided the band into groups of three, and each trio played "Kumbaya" through once in harmony. This had the effect of using peer pressure to motivate each trio to practice its parts. They weren’t fully in the spot light, but they also weren’t completely anonymous.
The use of small groups or sections had another advantage. Beginning bands don’t just vary from year to year in the skills of their members, but also in the instruments they choose to play. Queenwood told directors its arrangements, including one of "Kum Ba Yah" by Anne McGinty, [9] required only one flute, two clarinets, one alto saxophone, two cornets or trumpets, and percussion to produce a "full complete sound, even without bass clef instruments" [10] like trombones and tubas that played parallel octaves.
Performers
Bemus Point Elementary School
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Soloists: B-flat clarinet section
Instrumental Accompaniment: none
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Conductor: Kasey Way
Llewellyn Elementary School
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Soloists: flutes, B-flat clarinets, brass
Instrumental Group: flutes, B-flat clarinets, brass
Rhythm Accompaniment: none
Conductor: unidentified woman
Thomas Jefferson Middle School
Vocal Soloist: none
Vocal Group: none
Instrumental Soloists: trios (3 clarinets, 2 saxophones and 1 trumpet;1 trumpet and 2 clarinets; 1 trombone, 1 saxophone, and 1 French horn; 2 trumpets and 1 trombone; 1 trombone, 1 saxophone, and 1 bassoon; 2 clarinets and 1 trombone; 2 flutes and 1 clarinet; 2 saxophones and something not seen; 3 flutes; 3 flutes)
Instrumental Group: tubas and all the trio instruments
Rhythm Accompaniment: bass drum, snare drum
Conductor: unidentified woman
Credits
None given
Notes on Lyrics
There were none
Notes on Music
Opening Phrase: 1-3-5
Tempo: Bemus Point and Llewellyn Elementary schools tempos were slow; Jefferson sixth grade was moderate.
Notes on Performance
Bemus Point Elementary School
Occasion: concert, May 2014
Location: gymnasium floor, with a temporary curtain behind the players
Microphones: none
Clothing: school clothes
Llewellyn Elementary School
Occasion: annual talent show, 7 March 2014
Location: stage in the cafetorium
Microphones: none
Clothing: school clothes
Thomas Jefferson Middle School
Occasion: concert
Location: gymnasium floor
Microphones: none
Clothing: black slacks and white tops
Notes on Movement
Bemus Point Elementary School
Band members were seated on folding metal chairs with music stands. After the flautists played their solo, they walked away so the clarinet players could be seen. The director was off to the side while they played.
Llewellyn Elementary School
Members of the band huddled on stage, with the flutes to stage right, the clarinets in the middle, and the brass players in back. The director stood on the floor below the stage and used her arms to direct. They did not have music stands, so must have memorized the music.
Thomas Jefferson Middle School
Band members stood in a line, with each trio grouped around a music stand. The director stood behind the group, and directed the other musicians with her hands. The audience was seated on folding metal chairs.
Notes on Audience
The audiences for all three school concerts applauded at the end. They did not applaud individual groups.
Notes on Performers
Kasey Way had taught at Bemus Point for eight years when the video of "Kumbaya" was uploaded. She played bassoon with a woodwind quintet, Quintessential, composed of women who taught music in public schools in Cattaraugus and Chautauqua counties in southwestern New York. [11]
I could not confirm the identifies of the women in the videos for Llewellyn elementary and Jefferson middle schools.
Availability
Bemus Point Elementary School, Bemus Point, New York
YouTube: "Kumbaya." Uploaded by BemusPointElementaryMusic on 17 June 2014.
Llewellyn Elementary School, Portland, Oregon
You Tube: "Kumbaya." Uploaded by John Hill on 7 March 2014.
Thomas Jefferson Middle School, Madison, Wisconsin
YouTube: "Kum Bah Yah." Uploaded by Carol Roan on 26 May 2011.
End Notes
1. Essential Elements, Accents on Achievement, and Yamaha Advantage had "listen to the sections" exercises on page 7, and parallel harmony on either page 7 or 8. Standard of Excellence began with chordal harmony on page 7. Publishing details for band books containing "Kumbaya" were provided in the post for 27 June 2018.
2. "Kum Bah Yah." 17-4 to 17-5 in Band Folio. Band Method. Book 1. Edited and published by Jim Evans, 2000.
3. Essential Elements. 7.
4. Yamaha introduced homophony on page 8, Accent on page 10 as an exercise in tied notes, Standard on page 10, and Elements on page 11.
5. More recent books have introduced rounds sooner, perhaps influenced by trends in vocal music education. In older books they didn’t usually appear until after the half-way point.
6. "Are You Sleeping" or "Frère Jacques" was the first round in eight band books, "Oh, How Lovely Is the Evening" in three, and "Kookaburra," "Row Your Book," and "Sweetly Sings the Donkey" in two books. Some editors included rounds like "Donkey" and "Kookaburra" as simple songs.
7. Donna Metler. "Band Karate - Color Challenge Levels." Musick8 website. 17 July 2002. She taught music at Lester Elementary School in Memphis. (Michele M. Melendez. "It’s Not Just Students in Uniforms." Newhouse News Service. 10 November 2002.)
8. George Southwell. Guiding Star. Kansas City, Missouri: Geo. Southwell, 1897. 44. Quoted by Merry Elizabeth Texter. "A Historical and Analytical Investigation of the Beginning Band Method Book." PhD dissertation. The Ohio State University, 1975. 65.
9. Anne McGinty. "Kum Ba Yah." 8 in Beginning Band Book No. 6. 1st Bb Cornet/Trumpet . Edited by John Edmonson and Anne McGinty. San Diego: Queenwood/Kjos, 2005.
10. Edmonson. Back cover.
11. "Wind Quintet To Perform ‘Night of Dances’ at Marilyn Horne Museum." University of Pittsburgh at Bradford website. 3 January 2018.
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