Cinematic Series - How did we get here?

First Thoughts

Today I want to write about one of my initiatives that I've been chipping away at for a while, but is definitely gaining momentum in these days of e-learning. Tracing back to my high school days, I've always found a huge benefit from practicing with an accompaniment track. When I was in high school, Michael Davis (trombonist) came out with the 15-Minute Warm-Up. I acquired this book and started practicing out of it. The best part was the CD that came with the book. I pop that cd in and suddenly, warming up was MUCH more engaging. In addition to the fantastic exercises he had written, I also worked on timing and pitch. I've never forgotten how useful his resources are and still use them today. Check them out here: (​https://hip-bonemusic.com)

Take One

So how do I apply this to MY teaching? Well, my first year at Spartanburg High School, we were learning Rampage by Todd Stalter with our youngest band. If you his music, you'll know that much of it has a lot of syncopated rhythmic lines...fun to play, hard to count (for younger players). Enter "Epic Counting." This is where my two worlds converged. I could use my film/media composing to get students excited about counting. I created an "epic" track that used similar rhythms to Stalter's Rampage. We used counting sheets to work our way up to the counting along with the finished track, as seen in Epic Counting - Dragon Battle (though the Youtube video didn't come until years later). 

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Beginning of the Cinematic Series

Using a track to reinforce counting gave me the idea to do other practice tracks. So.. what's something students should play every day, but don't always want to? LONG TONES! So I decided to harmonize (or cinematize??) a long tones sequence, hence "Cinematic Long Tones." See my first two videos exploring this realm: 

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Then came the idea to create an accompaniment track all aspects of daily playing. I had just gotten the Adobe Creative Suite and was figuring out After Effects, so I decided to make a fun way to practice scales. Because I do the royalty free sync-licensing thing for my music, I also get to see other creatives doing it for artwork, and video templates, and other media. I acquired a multitude of assets and put them together to create "Cinematic Scales," which I've recently updated to reduce the need for PDFs and paper. You can just read it off the screen!

So with the original video, you definitely have to have your scales memorized--which should be the goal! Memorize your scales and you can watch all the fun pictures (that I licensed... definitely didn't make). But to make it more accessible, I created the video with the actual notes. AND an easier one with three note patterns for younger players. 

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Onward

From here onwards, the goal is to create engaging videos and accompaniment tracks for the full range of development in a concert band setting. From the first notes to advanced concepts, addressing all the dimensions of playing an instrument. Below are more in the Cinematic Series with a little explanation of each. I've got a lot of holes to fill in, but these can definitely get students practicing. 

Foundation Warm-Ups - Step One!
This warm-up starts once students can play the first five notes on their instrument, the 20s to 30s in any given method book. Students will probably need help when first learning to play along with this track, which is why I included a little compass to help guide the eye as one is playing along. 

Young Ensemble Warm-Ups - Following the Foundation Warm-Up Series, this next set has been serving my bands for MANY years. I think the first version of these warm-ups started in 2011. I've made many adaptations and revisions. Now I've got a complete (cinematic) accompaniment for the whole set. My hope with this is to use sometimes use it for a full ensemble (with speakers turned up to 11), but also for students to go home and reinforce what we've practiced in rehearsal. 

More Long Tones - I've never underestimated the value of simply sustaining notes, practicing breathing, airflow, pitch control, attacks, releases, the works. You can never get enough of this... so, I created a video of sustaining notes within one octave (Bb). 

Side note: sometimes I have to get quite creative not to write the same chords/progressions over an over again. I try not to use to many colorful chords with lots of extensions because I want the listener to really be able to focus on pitch.

See also - long tones hero!

Floating Slurs - In completing the idea of the full warm-up, I made a video of lip slurs for the brass players. I also created the lines for woodwinds, though they're not as essential (woodwinds can still work on breathing, airflow, notes and fingerings, connecting through note changes, etc). I chose the imagery of "floating" to give the musician a good visual of how their air should be... smooth, steady, and even.

Articulation - And of course we need to practice articulation, so I made a video for that to. I may have gone overboard with the accompaniment, but I was having fun...

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In Closing

Using the practice track when I was a young trombonist helped me tremendously. I hope that these videos can provide similar experiences to the next generations. I love composing for all kinds of mediums, but at heart I'll always be a teacher. With the "Cinematic Series," I'm just glad that I get to mash my worlds together.