Pencil Marks on Band Music

Ed Dumas

Any experienced music teacher will tell you that one of the pet peeves we all share is how pencil marks are made on band music. They are often large, messy, useless, too dark, and rarely removed when the music comes back in. When I first saw the state of old pencil marks on previously used band music, I knew that I had to teach how to write effective pencil marks on music.

The object for the student should be to write the minimum that is required to make a change in the performance of the music. Anything more than that threatens to be useless because it cannot be read effectively while running through the piece of music at speed. For example, I have often seen students write on the page “1e+a2e+a3e+a4e+a” underneath the music to work out the counting in a complex measure. 

This system of counting is very effective at figuring out where each note/articulation should be placed but is very ineffective at being readable while trying to perform the complex part at speed. The students’ eyes just cannot see both complex things quickly at the same time, and will likely have to default to not seeing the pencil marks to focus on the musical notation. Since the pencil marks do not contain pitch or duration information, they will be abandoned before the notes themselves. This leaves the students open to making the same error once again, and therefore the pencil marks are ineffective.

Now using the system of counting outlined above IS effective in different circumstances. Students can and should use this system when they are trying to intellectually understand what the complex measure is asking them to do. A better method, though, is to put another piece of blank paper just underneath the complex measure and then write the counting system on that second piece of paper. Remove the paper, and now that you understand how that measure should be played, make the minimum pencil marks required to remind yourself of the counting.

Ideally, this pencil mark would be only one pulse indication, or maybe as much as all of the pulse indications in the measure. For example, if the most common error is that of an early entrance when the student should enter after count 2, then the minimum to put down would be a “2” under the music just where count 2 is found. This would remind the student that she should enter after count 2.

The student, though, still had to go through the written subdivision process shown above to understand the measure and then come to realize that “after 2” is the issue. That process of written subdivision (1e+a….) just should not be written on the performance music because it cannot be seen or used on the fly.

My post-secondary trumpet teacher taught me to use even more basic pencil markings than that. His system was to write a simple “I” where the pulse was located in the difficult passage, and only use enough of them to fix the error. Note that the “I” is a small vertical slash marking, and not meant to be a letter or number. It is just an indication of “Here is the pulse.” When you are performing you are more likely concerned with where the pulse is, and not which pulse it is.

The other symbol that I often see on the page is that of circling the key signature, especially at times of key changes. On used band music I have often seen key changes circled so many times that the actual key signature has been completed obliterated, and the actual reading of the new key is now impossible!

This circling should be done ONCE only, if at all, and certainly not so many times as to completely cover up the key signature that needs to be observed! If the student still misses this key change, it is an issue of not knowing the scale that goes with this key signature. Putting another circle over it will not solve the problem. Instead, students should be taught to look over their band music at home to see which key changes have circles on them and then practice the scale that accompanies that key. Then the students should be told to remove the circle, as it is no longer necessary since they now have that scale memorized.

Circling a missed key change is akin to putting a star over a difficult passage that needs working out. Students should be reviewing their band music at home, but not allowing it to be the sole playing material at home as this leads to boredom. They should find their pencil markings at home to practice and fix any problems they have identified in rehearsal. Then they should remove the pencil markings that are no longer necessary.

Here are a few other types of pencil markings that can be added to help your students perform their best. Students that miss a specific accidental on the page can add a small flat or sharp marking above the note head to remind them how this note should be altered. Avoid writing this to the left of the note head where it is supposed to be played, as this is a reminder marking only that should be removed once the passage is memorized.

If the conductor, though, needs to change a pitch because of a typographical error or omission, these flat and sharp markings should be placed to the left of the note head and in the same line or space as the note head where that accidental would normally be found. This will become a permanent marking and not be removed later. Here students must understand to put accidentals that are score changes correctly on the same line or space, as they will not be read properly at speed if they are placed in a wrong position. The accidentals placed above a note are a reminder to the student for practicing purposes only and should be removed later.

Students can also make small markings for alternate fingerings used for specific passages. For example, trumpet players playing F-E-F at the top of the treble staff could put a “12” above the “E” to indicate first and second valves for this note. This is often used on faster passages as the “E” note then does not change harmonics and is less likely to miss-pitch. The use of a normally open “E” there can sometimes allow trumpet players to drop to an open “C” on the lower harmonic. Using the “12” above is a reminder that this is a place where you should use the alternate. 

Trombone players can also add some small numbers above or below their notes to indicate slide positions. None of the players, though, should do these markings on every note on the page. Putting down note names or slide positions for every note means that the student is no longer looking at the note heads, but rather the markings they wrote down. If students are exclusively looking at only their slide position numbers for every note on the page, they will never memorize their slide positions because they are not associating the slide position with a specific note head. This works contrary to what they should be achieving. This is where you can use the “Another piece of paper” trick.

Now, going back to minimum markings, trombone players can use pencil markings more like the trumpet example above. If there is a specific alternate slide position that would work better in that placement, then that could be marked on the page for just this one note. This is the minimum concept once again.

Other instruments will have similar kinds of small markings they can use to remind themselves of useful alternate fingerings. Flute players can write a small marking on a note if the double Bb thumb key or other alternate fingering is best used. Same for saxes and clarinets which have plenty of alternate fingerings available. Advanced bands often ask the section to use the same alternate fingerings to stabilize tuning, so a mark on the music where necessary is important.

Advanced clarinet players also often use a small two-sided 90-degree angle marking to indicate either right hand down or right hand up in the throat tones of the clarinet. The vertical arm of this marking would aim towards the music from either above or below. The second arm would aim forward to include what comes next, and backward to end the included part. At the inclusion marking, clarinet players would enter “RHU” for “Right Hand Up” and “RHD” for “Right Hand Down.”

Alternatively, clarinet players could just simply use the letters above without the bracket markings. Sometimes clarinet players also indicate “RH” or “LH” for either “Right Hand” or “Left Hand” on specific notes over the break which can be played in either the left hand or right hand “pinky keys.” The general principle is that the player should alternate right-hand and left-hand keying when possible, with some of the notes available in only one hand. It is important, then, that clarinet players indicate which hand to enter into such a passage to make it playable. It is best to see this visually, so if you are unclear how this is done, consult a clarinet specialist. Nonetheless, students should know that the principle here is to keep the pencil markings neat and simple for best results.

I have often recommended to students to draw an arrow above a note to make a pitch correction. This would be a small arrow pointing either straight up or straight down and placed exactly above the note head. Pointing up indicates to raise the pitch slightly using embouchure or slide, and arrow down indicates the opposite. Sometimes these slight changes are necessary to put a chord better in tune. 

Another common symbol that I have asked students to use is a small hand-drawn pair of glasses. I learned this symbol from my secondary band teacher when I was a student, and it indicates to watch the conductor closely at this section as there is something different happening here. Use this symbol sparingly as too much use can make the students blind to it, ironically enough!

Sometimes I have asked students to “number off the measures” when the rehearsal markings are not clear and the counting is challenging. If doing this, remind the students to keep their numbers small, neat and directly above or below the bar lines to not make a mess of the staff which makes reading the page harder.

Finally, any additional markings such as articulation changes or emphasis should be done sparingly enough to get the job done and not so much to make a mess of the page. Words written down should also be used very sparingly to not clutter up the music.

I am sure that you will find numerous other examples of pencil markings on the musical page that can be useful. I would encourage you to develop your own marking expectations for your students, but keep the pencil marks small, light, neat and the minimum required to get the task done. Then, teach your students how and when to use an eraser. 

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