The articles are directed to band directors in the state of New Jersey and cover a number of relevant topics including both theoretical and practical subjects.
Band Festivals and Repertoire (William Berz)
To Warm Up or Not to Warm Up? That is the Question! (William Berz)
Defining Performance Standards (William Berz)
Considering H. Owen Reed (William Berz)
Conducting Improvement: Vocabulary And More (William Berz)
It's Not Too Early To Think About Concert Band Festival (William
Berz)
Observe The Speed Limit (William Berz)
Revisiting A Controversy: Vertical Curriculum For Band (William
Berz)
Band Music New And Old (William Berz)
Accountability:
A Two-Way Street (William Berz)
Ideas inspired from the Mid-West International Band and Orchestra Clinic of 2001 on giving responsibility to students. (March 2002)
Distinguished
Music for the Developing Band: Grade 2 (William Berz)
Discussion of specific grade 2 repertoire for band (January 2002)
Discussion of specific grade 1 repertoire for band (October 2001)
Choosing Music for the School Band (William Berz)
First in a series of articles on repertoire for the developing band. This article provides a rationale for selecting music for study and performance by school bands. (May 2001)
Practice Man, Practice (William Berz)
Ideas on developing technical expertise. (March 2001)
Ideas on Preparing for Concert Band Festival (William Berz)
Ideas on music selection and performing practices at concert band festivals. (January 2000)
Internet Resources for Band Conductors (William Berz)
Ideas and philosophical discussion of the Internet (October, 1999)
Keep the Wind Blowing (William Berz)
Discusses the effects of continuous air versus interrupted air on technical and musical aspects of playing. (May, 1999)
Band Tone: More on the Subject (William Berz)
Observations on band tone quality; a continuation of the McBeth article. (March, 1999)
It's Time to Re-visit McBeth (William Berz)
Discussion on the importance of Francis McBeth ideas on tonal balance. (January, 1999)
A Band Conductor's Resource Guide (William Berz)
Lists and reviews various books on band literature. (November, 1998)
Lists and discusses several grade 3-5 works for band. (May, 1998)
Rhythm Mastery: A Long Term Solution (William Berz)
Espouses pedagogical approaches for developing rhythmical independence in students. (March, 1998)
What's in a Name? (William Berz)
A discussion of the many different labels associated with differing kinds of wind bands. (November, 1997)
What's the Score? (William Berz)
A discussion on the need for score study based on ideas from a clinic given by James Curnow at the 1997 NJMEA conference. (May, 1997)
During the 1990s and early 2000s, a print version of this newsletter was mailed
to high school band and orchestra directors several times each year. Most issues
included at least one article on some pedagogical topic, normally by a Rutgers
faculty member. The links below provide these informational articles.
Recommended Summer
(Score) Reading (John Darling)
Band Sound: The Good, the Bad,
and the Ugly (William Berz)
Have you noticed
the performer in the back row? (Cecil Adderley)
Tuning - Intonation - Tone:
They’re Player Responsibilities (John Darling)
How to Tune
Your Out-of-Tune Bassoons (Brian Kershner)
Support the Arts at the Local Level.
Listen to your child PRACTICE! (Cecil Adderley)
A great teaching idea for music educators. (Spring, 2001)
Producing a Great Percussive Sound: Don't Forget the Sticks and Mallets! (Timothy G. Smith)
Ideas on improving the percussion section (Spring, 2001)
The British Are Coming (William Berz)
A brief discussion of British music for band, highlighting the music of Adam Gorb. (Spring, 2001)
Should We Talk About Concert
Etiquette? (Cecil Adderley)
Observations about the need for
appropriate student behavior at concerts. (Spring, 1999)
Beat It! Solving Some Percussion
Problems in the Concert Band (William
Berz)
Suggestions on conductor score study (May, 2002)
Discussion on improving ensemble sound (May, 2002)
Ideas on involving all students (January, 2002)
Discussion on intonation and tone quality development in bands.
(January, 2002)
Teaching techniques related to bassoon intonation. (October, 2001)
Ideas for improving some percussion practices in school concert bands. (Spring, 1999)
Inspiring Thoughts from David Holsinger (William Berz)
David Holsinger: commitment and enthusiasm. (Fall, 1998)
Revisiting Trauermusik (William Berz)
A short article on this masterwork by Wagner. (Fall, 1998)
An editorial on competition (Spring, 1995)
Giving Students Responsibility (William Berz)
Ideas gleaned from a presentation by John Whitwell. (Spring, 1995)
Is Teaching Rhythm Important? You Can Count On It! (Matthew J. Paterno)
Importance of developing basic skills. (Spring, 1993)
Suggestions for a More Effective Rehearsal (John Hendricks, III)
Practical ideas for improving the band rehearsal. (Winter, 1993)
Breathing Life Into Your Performance (Scott Mendoker)
Breathing techniques for improving performance: TLC. (Fall, 1992)
The Battell by William Byrd as freely transcribed by Gordon Jacob
Paper given at Eastern Division CBDNA