Method Books

Method Books

Ed Dumas

When students start in a first-year band class, they are usually given a book from their teacher that they use for the first year or so. This book is usually referred to by the teacher as a Method Book because it teaches the method of playing the band instrument.

While that is true to some extent, these books have great limitations because of the very limited amount of knowledge that the first-year players already have about music and their instrument. Nonetheless, everyone pretty much needs to start there to just “get their feet wet” in concert band, as they say.

There are plenty of excellent first-year books published right now. Essential Elements, Standard of Excellence, and Yamaha Band Method are just a few of the excellent ones available.

Yet, I have never really considered these as a “Method Book,” but rather more like a classroom songbook. They are going to be deeply flawed because they cannot get into the intricacies of playing each instrument independently. For example, when clarinet players start playing over the break, I immediately want them to start thinking about the idea of keeping the right hand down in the throat tones when shifting between upper and lower registers to make the shift as smooth as possible.

I know that first-year clarinet players are certainly not going to master the topic of a smooth register shift. I just want them to know that it is doable and that they should start to think about working this way in the future. I also know that the first-year books just cannot devote great space to this concept, as they have many different instruments to work with and a limited amount of paper to do it in.

So, as good as they are in a classroom setting, I just never felt that the “Song Books” used in the first year moved along quick enough or covered enough instrumental material to use the same series in the second and third years. So, by the end of the first year, I then found it best to shift to another kind of book which is sometimes called a Technique Book, though sometimes teachers also call these a method book. As well as the technique book, second-year band students are generally directed to learn much more through reading concert band music.

Some of the great technique books that are popular today are I Recommend, Foundations for Superior Performance, and Superior Bands in Sixteen Weeks. These books provide more technical kinds of exercises for students to run through that are specific to their instrument, such as register leaps for clarinet players, octave leaps for sax players, lip slurs for brass players, and so on. These books also usually provide scales, arpeggios, chords, counting exercises, and chorales for harmony and tuning.

Today I love many of the different technique books, all for different reasons. I love the I Recommend book for the Mixed Meter section at the end which I think is just so much fun to play. Long ago I loved a book by a writer named Fussell who had organized the book for transposition in such a way that one book served all musicians in the band. Today I think that students would have a hard time with the transposition solution that he used.

By far and away my favourite technique book today is Foundations for Superior Performance by Richard Williams and Jeff King. I have used this book exclusively since it came out, and so have learned of many of its intricacies that other books just do not reach. As an example, the flute players use harmonics to learn about developing strength and projection, and I have not seen this anywhere else. Another example is the tuning section at the end that asks students to learn how to tune thirds and fifths in different keys. These studies no other books seem to use.

Yet, the concept in the book that immediately sold me on it was that of using tonic minors instead of relative minors when learning scales. I had the good fortune of sitting in on a session at BC Music Educators’ Association Convention years ago with Jeff King, who was flown up to demonstrate all the ins and outs of his technique book. When he got to explaining the section on scales, and why he chose to use tonic minor scales instead of relative minors, I could have gotten up and walked out right there on the spot.

Of course, it wasn’t because I thought he was wrong. It was because I understood why he was exactly right, and I would have gone to the Tapestry Music Booth and purchased a class set or two on the spot! As far as I know, every other technique book out there uses relative minors, and the students always seem to have trouble understanding the difference in sound between a major scale and a minor scale. I have loved the Foundations for Superior Performance books and used them ever since.

Now I will leave a further discussion about the Foundations for Superior Performance books for another blog entry and instead look at the third category of method books that you and your students should know about. These are the books that are written by world-class musicians and are intended to teach the method of only one instrument. They cannot be used in a class of mixed instruments, as there is no equivalent for other types of horns.

I think the most well-known example of a true method book is Arban’s Complete Conservatory Method for Trumpet (Cornet). Today most trumpet players just refer to it as “Arban’s.” This is a true method book that contains dedicated studies to learn everything there is to know about playing the trumpet. It contains lip slurs, scales, arpeggios, doubling tonguing, triple tonguing, trills, ornaments, and on and on.

Arban’s has been translated for trombone, euphonium and tuba, but there is no such thing as Arban’s for flute. Flute players have a completely different set of problems to overcome on their instrument, and so turn to a flute specialist such as Berbiguier for their method book. Clarinet players use the Klose book, and so on. Each instrument has a book dedicated to developing skills on that instrument. Each instrument type will have hundreds of books, but there are always a few standouts.

While I believe that it is important for music teachers to use a technique book after the first year of band, I also believe that it is worthwhile for students to invest in a true method book to practice on at home. The idea is that students should be encouraged to not just practice the band music. I have often told my students that “Don’t practice the band music at home! Instead, practice the instrument, and just come here and play the band music.”

 
Practicing band music at home is dull because concert band is all about the fantastic harmonies and tones developed in blending the instrument sounds. None of that is possible at home alone. But if students will develop the intricacies of the instrument at home, such as smooth register transitions on clarinet, articulations on trumpet, projection on the flute, the band music becomes so much more fun at school!

Encourage your band students to get themselves a method book or two for their instrument. Develop your list of favourite books for each instrument that you would recommend. Ask your favourite instrumental pro about suggestions for method books for their instrument. Talk about the method books in class, and encourage your students to order one for themselves to try. Just placing that material in their hands does not guarantee their success, but you can pretty much guarantee that they will develop slower if they never use one.

Some of my best memories of my own high school band class were in playing the trumpet duets found in the back of Arban’s book with other trumpet players during lunchtime. I would hate to think that others might miss that chance if I did not tell them about real method books.

If you as a band teacher use a technique book in class, and your students are using a method book at home, they will surely be more able to just read and play demanding concert band music at school. That will be the most fun approach for you and your students!

The Rubank Series

The Rubank series of method books are a fantastic resource for all band students as a place to begin. This is a series of dedicated method books for all band instruments and provides a huge resource of studies in all instruments. Note that these books cannot be used in a classroom setting, as the various instrumental books do not line up with each other. Even though there are books for all instruments, each book is dedicated in its studies to just one instrument, which means they cannot be played together as a class set. This makes the Rubank Series true method books.

Also note that the Rubank series comes in different levels, for example usually called “Beginning Method for Flute.” “Intermediate Method for Flute,” and “Advanced Method for Flute.” Each instrument series will have similar names per the instrument. Students should note that even though the title states “Beginning Method” these books are not really for beginners in their very first days of playing. Many secondary school players will be challenged by just the “Beginning” level books and should start there before going on to the harder ones.

There are also supplemental studies provided for many of the instruments, and students that use this series can explore what other books are published in this series for their instrument.

One final note on the Rubank Series. Since these are fairly old publications with many re-issues over time, this series has become one of the best bargains available in method books for students. The material required to learn the method of playing a specific instrument has not changed dramatically over the decades or centuries unless the instruments suddenly change with a new invention or keying system. Therefore, the Rubank series that has been in existence for decades is still relevant and is extremely affordable for single books. It is a series that is certainly one of the best places to start for all instruments.

Creating a List of Method Books

I have asked some specialists that I know to provide some information to me about their favourite true method books for high school band students. Below you will see some of those recommendations, a short explanation as to why they were recommended and the person who recommended them to me. Note that I have asked them to keep their recommendations to only one or two books, but if you have others you would recommend, please feel free to send me an email.

Flute Method Books Recommended by Laurie Dumas, Tapestry Music, Flutist

The Art of Flute Playing by Edwin Putnik
This is a great book in a great series. Like the Rubank series mentioned above, this series has a book available for most wind instruments. Laurie recommended this book because it is more reachable for the typical secondary school player. There are also good descriptions and explanations for students to read and understand, especially for those students who do not have a private teacher.

35 Exercises for Flute Op. 33 by Ernesto Koehler
- Book 1 Fifteen Easy Exercises
 - Book 2 Twelve Medium Difficult Exercises
- Book 3 Eight Difficult Exercises

This is a series of studies, as opposed to exercises, that are designed to help flute players develop some mastery of technique on their instrument. The 35 exercises are split between 3 books, and students should not be fooled by the “easy” label on the first book. This is the place for secondary students to start!

Clarinet Method Books Recommended by Kevin Woo, General Manager, Theatre Under the Stars, Clarinetist

Galper Clarinet Method Book 1 & 2 by Avrahm Galper & Rob Carli
Kevin recommends this book for secondary students as he feels it is a little more approachable for younger secondary school players. Book 1 develops the lower register well, as well as learning the use of the pinky keys, both of which have seemed to me to be a not well-learned skill of many secondary players. Book 2 has Etudes and Studies which are both challenging and melodic, and there is even a Galper Scales and Arpeggios book that can supplement the series.

Melodious and Progressive Studies Book 1 by David Hite
These challenging but melodic studies will keep your students interested in
the material being learned. David Hite also has a similar book for sax.

40 Studies for Clarinet Book 1 by Cyrille Rose
Another of Kevin’s favourites that will be enjoyable to secondary players.

Saxophone Method Books Recommended by Franz Weisinger, Band Teacher, Saxophonist

The Art of Saxophone Playing by Larry Teal
This is another in the excellent “The Art of” series. Look for others in the
same series that are also highly recommended.

Scales and Arpeggios Part 1 by John Harle
Helps with saxophone-specific technique on scales and studies.

Trumpet Method Books Recommended by Ed Dumas, Retired Band Director, Tapestry Music, Trumpeter

Trombone/Euphonium Method Books Recommended by Drew Dumas, Tapestry Music Wind & Brass Repair Shop Manager, Trombonist, Tubist.

Ed Dumas, B.Ed., M.A.Ed.