Summer Reading for Low Brass Players

First of all, my apologies for failing to publish anything here last week. With exams, grading, graduation ceremonies, and various other end-of-semester demands on my time, writing a new blog article just didn’t happen. (I’m sure hundreds of people were unbelievably disappointed; they just forgot to write to let me know. Right. That’s what happened.) I have a number of other pressing matters this week, so today’s post will be somewhat brief.

One of my failings as a teacher is that I sometimes take various concepts in brass history, pedagogy, and performance for granted as “common knowledge,” and am surprised when my students are unaware of them. I too easily forget that the reason I know so much about this field is because I have read and studied much of the relevant literature (I do have a doctorate in performance and pedagogy, after all!), and that my students have not had the opportunity to do this reading. Indeed, some don’t even know where to begin. As an attempt to rectify this, I would like to suggest seven books that are of particular benefit to low brass players. These vary in length and in cost, but all can be read over the course of a three-month break from regular studies. Some of these are perhaps a bit dated, but it can be helpful to read the pedagogical concepts of previous generations of musicians. (In other words, to my students: you should both purchase and read these!!!)

This is not intended to be a comprehensive listing of relevant literature. All of these books are listed (without annotation) in a previous post, as well as in a more comprehensive bibliography on my website at the University of Mississippi. Here I will provide more information about each of these volumes.

Anthony Baines, Brass Instruments: Their History and Development.     

Amazon lists a very recent publication for this book, but that is unintentionally deceptive, as this is a reprint of a book that first appeared in 1976. While some of this material has perhaps been supplanted by more recent research, this is still one of the better one-volume treatments of the history of brass instrument. The discussions of ancient lip-vibrated instruments and their uses are particularly interesting.

Clifford Bevan, The Tuba Family.     

This book was first released in 1978 and was greatly expanded for the 2000 edition. Bevan provides a detailed discussion of the development and use of the tuba, euphonium, baritone horn, and related instruments, including their ancestors such as the serpent, ophicleide, and bass horn. The photographs and drawings, especially those of older instruments, are alone almost worth the full price of the book.

Philip Farkas, The Art of Brass Playing.

First published in 1962, Farkas’s book is one of the early volumes presenting what one might call a “modern American” approach to brass playing, in contrast to that which prevailed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. As a longtime member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra brass section which was largely responsible for the development of the orchestral brass sound now prevalent in the United States, Farkas speaks with a voice of skill and experience. While developments in brass pedagogy during the past half-century should not be neglecting, this volume still provides a reliable, broad discussion of various concepts brass playing and teaching. The photographs of the early-60s CSO brass players’ embouchures are fascinating and instructive; they certainly should put to death any “one size fits all” approach to embouchure.

Brian Frederiksen, Arnold Jacobs:  Song and Wind.

Arnold Jacobs (1915-1998) was a member of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra brass section for over forty years. A sought-after pedagogue as well as tubist, Jacobs’s understanding of respiratory function as related to musical performance was unparalleled, and as a result he was sometimes consulted by woodwind players and vocalists, in addition to brass players. Fredericksen’s book provides a thoughtful introduction to Jacobs’s life, work, and teaching.

David Guion, A History of the Trombone.

Guion’s doctoral dissertation focusing on a particular period of the trombone’s history was and is one of the most sought after resources for those studying the development of the instrument. In this more recent volume, he treats the history of the trombone more broadly. This book is shorter than those of Bevan and Herbert, but is nevertheless reliable, and because of its brevity quite accessible.

Trevor Herbert, The Trombone.

As previously mentioned, Herbert’s volume on trombone history is longer than that of Guion. Unlike most writers on organological subjects, Herbert moves beyond discussing the development of the instrument itself and even its more prominent players, instead taking great pains to uncover material about what and how “regular trombonists” played. This feature is both unique and fascinating, and places Herbert’s book not in competition with that of Guion so much as it views the same material from a different perspective. I prefer to see the two volumes as companions to one another.  

David Vining, What Every Trombonist Needs to Know About the Body.

Vining writes as one who has recovered his playing and career “from the brink,” having suffered a devastating case of Focal Task-Specific Dystonia and spending years rebuilding his trombone playing. Having experienced firsthand the results of “doing it wrong,” Vining has produced a plethora of materials designed to help brass players to avoid suffering as he did. In this volume, he discusses how the body works and exactly “what we do” and “what we should do” when playing brass instruments, drawing heavily from the methodologies of F.M. Alexander (1869-1955) and Moshé Feldenkrais (1904–1984). Having myself suffered some devastating (and to some extent ongoing) physical setbacks in my own playing (though, happily, not nearly to the same extent as Mr. Vining), I find his materials to be extremely helpful.

That’s enough for one summer, I think. Happy reading!

Making Good Use of the Summer Months: Some Suggestions for Brass Players

Today is the last day of regular classes for the semester at Ole Miss. I am looking forward to moving to my usual summer schedule, with less time spent teaching and more time spent on my own reading, writing, practicing, and performing. My new home here in Mississippi has a large home office, so even my productive hours will be spent primarily away from campus and near my family. As I’m sure is the case with many faculty members, I anticipate ample measures of both productivity and rest…and when school resumes in August I will likely bemoan getting too little of both! Meanwhile, my students are busy practicing for juries (some of them practicing seriously for the first time all semester…), and looking forward to summer classes, summer jobs, or other activities.

While I plan to write in a few weeks about my own summer plans, today I want to give a few pieces of advice to my students (and others) about how to use the summer months in a way that is most beneficial to one’s brass playing. I should note before beginning that the students I have in mind here are primarily “non-performance” music majors and non-majors, since the majority of my students are pursuing careers as band directors or in other non-playing fields. Performance majors will see these suggestions as rather minimalist, and should expect to do at least this much…and more! Still, I hope everyone will find some useful suggestions here.

1. Plan some “time off.”

Perhaps this seems odd as a first suggestion, though I doubt anyone is surprised that it “made the list.” Brass playing can be both physically and psychologically exhausting, and periodic breaks to “recharge” body and mind are helpful and necessary. Since many of us have fewer performing obligations in the summer than in the regular school year, this is an ideal time to plan to spend a couple of weeks away from the instrument, and maybe even three in some circumstances.

The reason I suggest this first is that such breaks are most effective when they are planned in advance, and potential deleterious effects are avoided when they are scheduled so as to avoid having them occur too close to public performance obligations. After all, when returning to the instrument after time off one must “get back up to speed” over a period of several days in order to avoid straining or damaging the embouchure muscles. If the break occurs immediately before some performance obligation, the opportunity to “work back up” gradually is missed. Look at your calendar, see when your performing obligations occur, and plan for time off during a convenient period or periods.

2. At least play your complete daily routine every day.

I have often complained—including in an earlier blog post—that my students generally do not follow my advice regarding the daily completion of a comprehensive fundamentals routine. Yet, in my experience, this has been the most efficient way to both develop and maintain basic playing skills. The maintenance part is key here; my daily routines are designed so that, when completed each day, the player will at least be able to “tread water.” In other words, if you will at least commit to playing a complete daily routine every day (except during planned time off), you will return in August having lost little or none of the skills gained during the last school year. Any practicing that happens on top of that is “gravy.”

3. Set some practice goals for the summer.

Of course, even though diligently playing the daily routine is helpful, I hope you will do more than that. Still, one reason that summer practice is difficult is that you aren’t practicing for concerts and recitals that are immediately pressing. Motivation is thus hard to come by, and since “extrinsic motivation” is lacking, you’ll need to set some goals to motivate yourself. Perhaps this could include mastering a fundamental skill that has given you difficulty in the past, or you might want to plan an early fall recital that will require intense summer practice. Another idea that I have employed during many summers is to use the time to work through method books that, while very good, are for reasons of time constraints not often used in my studio lessons. Here is a short list of books that are rarely formally used in my studio, but can make great summer practice material. This list includes materials for alto trombone, tenor trombone, bass trombone, euphonium, and tuba.

• Arnold (ed.) Masterworks for Trumpet
• Bitsch 15 Rhythmical Studies, 14 Rhythmical Studies
• Bozza 13 Capriccio Studies
• Charlier 32 Etudes
• Concone/Jacobs Complete Solfeggi
• Concone/Korak Complete Solfeggi
• Gates Odd-Meter Etudes
• Grigoriev 24 Studies, 50 Etudes
• Lafosse Complete Method Vol. I, Vol. II, Vol. III
• Maenz 20 Studies, 12 Special Studies
• Maxted 20 Studies
• Mantia The Trombone Virtuoso
• Müller Technical Studies for Trombone Vol. I, Vol. II, Vol. III; Technical Studies for Bass Trombone or Tuba
• Pederson Advanced Etudes for Tenor Trombone, Advanced Etudes for Bass Trombone
• Schroeder 170 Foundation Studies for Violoncello, Vol. I
• Slama 66 Etudes

This is by no means a comprehensive list—if you encounter something you find interesting, work through it! Add solos, duets, and excerpts to this list as desired. Additionally, while we cover the “Arban book” in my studio, we don’t even come close to covering it in its entirety. Yet, the whole book is great, so use the summer months to explore some of the sections that we are unable to cover during lessons.

4. Attend summer festivals and conferences.

There are a number of summer festivals to which aspiring musicians might audition and apply. While it is a little late for that this year, you might consider that in the future. Likewise, working as a staff member at summer music camps is a good way to make connections, hear great music, and gain valuable experience. 

Many professional organizations hold regional, national, and international conferences during the summer. These are great opportunities to attend concerts featuring new music played by the greatest players in the world, in addition to trying out instruments and equipment, purchasing music, and making friends and professional connections. A note to my trombone students in particular: the International Trombone Festival is in Columbus, Georgia, this year. That is amazingly close by (as a point of reference, last year’s ITF was in France), and you should make every effort to attend this year since the travel costs will be so minimal. (I might also mention that your humble professor will be leading one of the morning warm-up sessions.)

5. Remind yourself why you chose music in the first place.

Music students, particularly older undergraduate and graduate students, sometimes start to wear down under the weight of numerous responsibilities and obligations, and begin to wonder whether or not this is “worth it.” The summer can be a great time to remind yourself. Listen to some of the recordings that first got you “turned on” to music and to your instrument, and purchase new recordings by those artists and others. Find opportunities to play “just for fun.” Play in a summer community band, or perhaps form an informal chamber group—I’m sure your professors will be glad to provide you with some chamber music that you might work through with a few friends. Music school can be a depressing place sometimes; use the time away to rediscover what first drew you to this profession.

6. Explore other interests.

At the same time, if music is both your job and your only hobby, you’ll find yourself suffering burnout very soon. Everyone needs one or more hobbies outside of music, so be sure to make time, especially in the summer, to explore these. Regular readers of this blog have figured out that my hobby is studying theology, and the few that have seen my library of theology books at home know that it is almost as large as my collection of sheet music and books and journals about music. I also enjoy fishing, and hope to spend a good bit of time doing that this summer. Whatever hobby you pursue, make sure it is something challenging and enriching; sitting on the couch watching television and eating potato chips doesn’t count!

I could continue this list, but I hope these six suggestions will give you at least a “good start” to making your summer productive, restful, and edifying.

Book Review: Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Redemption by Shane E. Kastler

Kastler, Shane E. Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Redemption. Gretna, Louisiana: Pelican Publishing Company, 2010. Hardcover, 176pp.

During a recent visit with my wife to Square Books in Oxford, Mississippi, I noticed this little book while sipping coffee and perusing the shelves. Having had no intention of purchasing anything on this trip, I was nevertheless intrigued by the book’s subject. As I mentioned in a previous post, I have entertained an “on again-off again” interest in the War Between the States, and few figures from that conflict are as polarizing as that of Nathan Bedford Forrest (1821-1877). Having amassed a sizeable fortune as a slave trader in the prewar years, Forrest quickly rose through the ranks of the Confederate Army, entering as an inexperienced private yet ending the war with the rank of lieutenant general. A man of fiery temper and given to gambling and swearing, his career in the slave trade and brief—and overblown in popular history—association with the Ku Klux Klan have led to Forrest’s enduring reputation as an emblem of everything that was wrong with the antebellum South. While this reputation was undoubtedly earned, evidently it results from an incomplete picture of Forrest’s life and legacy.

Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Redemption by Shane E. Kastler

What intrigued me about this book was the word “Redemption” in the title. Is “that Devil Forrest,” as William Tecumseh Sherman (1820-1891) called him, a man that is in any way “redeemable?” (Is Sherman, for that matter?!?) Is there anything about Forrest’s life and character that should lead us to reevaluate him? According to author Shane Kastler, there is. In Nathan Bedford Forrest’s Redemption, Kastler takes a broad and largely sympathetic look at Forrest’s life, but without excusing his flaws, which were many. Forrest is rightly held up as a military genius (especially considering his lack of formal training), and is presented as a character with many admirable traits, including being a good provider and industrious worker, a chivalrous defender of women, and a respecter of the Christian faith. Still, for most of his life Forrest’s relationship to Christianity was distant and personally unbelieving, the religion of a man content to let his wife and mother to “do his praying for him.” In 1875, as a prematurely-aged and feeble Forrest had “hit rock-bottom,” this changed.

Though Forrest had amassed considerable wealth prior to the war, he spent practically all of it personally raising and supplying his cavalry units. After the war, his professional career was marked by a string of failures in agriculture, insurance, and the railroad industry. Far from being personally wealthy, Forrest was a relatively poor man in his declining years. By 1875, Forrest had begun to take stock of his life, and found what he saw wanting. In November of that year, he heard a sermon by Rev. George T. Stainback on the following text from Matthew 7:

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it. (Matthew 7:24-27)

Believing himself to be the man “which built his house upon the sand,” Forrest repented of his sin and confessed Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and joined the First Cumberland Presbyterian Church in Memphis. For the remainder of his life, the rough, tempestuous, foul-mouthed, gambling racist that was Nathan Bedford Forrest gradually gave way to a man of a gentler demeanor (though with occasional “lapses”). Perhaps most astounding was Forrest’s change in matters of race even in the months leading to his conversion, which is demonstrated in the following words spoken before a black civil rights group, the Independent Order of Pole-Bearers Association:

Ladies and Gentlemen, I accept the flowers as a memento of reconciliation between the white and colored races of the Southern states. I accept it more particularly as it comes from a colored lady, for if there is any one on God’s earth who loves the ladies I believe it is myself.

I came here with the jeers of some white people, who think that I am doing wrong. I believe I can exert some influence, and do much to assist the people in strengthening fraternal relations, and shall do all in my power to elevate every man, to depress none.I want to elevate you to take positions in law offices, in stores, on farms, and wherever you are capable of going. I have not said anything about politics today. I don’t propose to say anything about politics. You have a right to elect whom you please; vote for the man you think best, and I think, when that is done, you and I are freemen. Do as you consider right and honest in electing men for office.

I did not come here to make you a long speech, although invited to do so by you. I am not much of a speaker, and my business prevented me from preparing myself. I came to meet you as friends, and welcome you to the white people. I want you to come nearer to us. When I can serve you I will do so. We have but one flag, one country; let us stand together. We may differ in color, but not in sentiment.

Many things have been said about me which are wrong, and which white and black persons here, who stood by me through the war, can contradict. Go to work, be industrious, live honestly and act truly, and when you are oppressed I’ll come to your relief. I thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for this opportunity you have afforded me to be with you, and to assure you that I am with you in heart and in hand. (145)

“That Devil Forrest,” the racist, slave-trader, and Klansman, ended his life with a far better view of racial equality and reconciliation than even most “respectable” white men had in his day. More importantly, he died reconciled to his Maker, having exercised saving faith in Christ.

To speak briefly about the book itself rather than just its subject matter, it is clear that Kastler is a pastor by training rather than an academic historian. The book contains fewer footnotes than one might want if checking of sources is desired. Additionally, the author has, from one perspective, some difficulty staying “on point.” Whenever relating an event from Forrest’s life that might be viewed as having redemptive significance from a Christian perspective Kastler indulges in a brief discussion of the theological implications of that event, bringing in examples from Scripture or from church history. Of course, one might argue that Kastler’s purpose in writing the book is as much evangelistic as it is historical, and in that regard these asides function as something of an extended “gospel tract.” Although this evaluation might sound a little confused, I found them to be simultaneously distracting and wonderful. Theologically Kastler is clearly Calvinistic; at times his writing bears the marks of the experience of Calvinistic Southern Baptist pastors and theologians that take special pains to demonstrate that their view of God’s sovereignty is both biblical and evangelistic.

This view of the absolute sovereignty and overruling providence of God permeates the book, with Kastler demonstrating to the reader how God moved slowly but surely in events and relationships to draw Nathan Bedford Forest to Himself. The book, like Forrest’s life itself, is a testimony to the power and mercy of our forgiving and redeeming God, the God whose grace, as wrote a more famous Baptist pastor, abounds even to the chief of sinners.

“Gadgets and Gizmos:” P.E.T.E.

(A short entry after a busy few weeks….)

We humans are great at devising new methods and new contraptions intended to make our lives better, our jobs easier, and our time spent doing those jobs more productive. And, thanks to good ol’ capitalism, if we can make a little money selling those methods and contraptions, so much the better. Of course, the desire for quick financial gain has led over the years to any number of “snake oil” products being proffered in addition to useful ones, and the brass playing community has been as subject to this phenomenon as any group. Thus, when a new idea or product comes on the market one is justified approaching it with a bit of skepticism, even when it is ultimately deemed “worth a try.”

P.E.T.E., available in silver, delrin, and gold.

I was first introduced to the Personal Embouchure Training Exerciser, or “P.E.T.E.,” a couple of years ago, and decided to purchase one this past fall. The idea behind this product is to enable the player to perform special exercises to “strengthen the support muscles of your embouchure.” The manufacturer is careful to note that this product is by no means intended to replace any amount of actual practice time, but only to supplement it. That said, some of the testimonials on the product’s website also indicate that using the P.E.T.E. regularly while one is unable to practice for short periods can help to mitigate the negative effects of a “layoff.”  

As I indicated earlier, I was skeptical when I first encountered the P.E.T.E. While I am still relatively young, I have been in this business long enough to see a number of supposedly dazzling inventions come and go. I am particularly wary of devices intended to somehow strengthen the embouchure outside of “normal” practice on the instrument and mouthpiece. I usually find myself thinking that many of these devices are mere useless “snake oil,” or that perhaps they are somehow dangerous—after all, didn’t the composer Robert Schumann destroy his career as a pianist because of some ill-conceived contraption intended to strengthen his hand? To their credit, the folks at Warburton (the P.E.T.E.’s manufacturer) caution users to not “overdo it,” as well as to allow ample resting time between using the P.E.T.E. and actual practicing. When used as directed, I do not think that the P.E.T.E. is at all dangerous.

Not only is it not dangerous, but I have found using the P.E.T.E. to be at least mildly beneficial. During several periods of regular use over the past few months I have noticed marginal gains in strength, endurance, and even tone quality. Under normal circumstances, I am confident recommending that players purchase and use this device if so inclined. My only real caveat is that players that suffer from Temporomandibular Dysfunction (as I do) might find that using the P.E.T.E. creates stresses on the jaw joint and surrounding musculature that can cause some discomfort. Thanks to excellent medical and dental care, my TMD is mostly asymptomatic, but I did notice some mild discomfort after a few days of using the P.E.T.E., and this led me to discontinue regular use. Because this issue is not present for most players, I am comfortable advising that they consider using the P.E.T.E. to supplement their regular practice routines.

The key word, again, is “supplement.” Those players looking for a “shortcut” that will somehow reduce the amount of hard work in needed to attain mastery of an instrument will not find that in the P.E.T.E………or anyplace else!

Preparing to teach “Low Brass” at the College/University Level: A Primer for Tuba and Euphonium Players, Part Two

Last Friday I gave a brief lecture with the above title at the South Central Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference, held at Louisiana State University. I was honored by the invitation, and the presentation was fairly well-attended and well-received. My blog entries for both last and this week consist of my notes from this lecture, with a bit of adaptation.

I tend to write my text “word-for-word” when preparing a lecture, and use a bit more conversational style than my usual writing in spite of organizing things with a number of “bullet points.” I do not read the text verbatim, and given last Friday’s time constraints doing so would have been impossible. Still, I tend to speak best when I have a complete, written text before me. While I have edited this material just slightly for use as a blog post, for the most part I have left these notes in their original format.

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Continued from last week’s post…

V. Understanding the Differences between the Trombone and the Euphonium and Tuba

• So, now that we’ve talked a bit about how to prepare, let’s discuss actually teaching all of these instruments. After all, between the alto, tenor, and bass trombones, euphonium, and F, Eb, CC, and BBb tubas, the “low brass” teacher might be teaching students playing eight different instruments at any given time, and somehow we have to organize all that information in our heads just to keep up! How do we do that?
• Broadly speaking, when considering how to approach the low brass instruments it is relatively safe to group the trombones together as having one approach to blowing and tone quality and the euphonium and tuba as having another. This is not to minimize nuances in sound quality and approach between the tenor trombone and the bass trombone or even between bass and contrabass tubas. I mean only to say that there are certain similarities that all of the trombones share and that the conical low brasses (euphonium/tuba) share that can be considered broadly before “branching out” into the peculiarities of each instrument. Again, when you consider that a “low brass” teacher could potentially have to deal with eight or more different instruments (different types of trombones, all of the different tuba “keys”—I have had three of the four in my studio at any given time, including now), any “groupings” that can help the teacher to keep performance and pedagogical concepts “straight” are helpful.
• What the biggest difference is NOT.
  • The first thing that one must understand when beginning to work with both the trombone and the conical low brasses (and I hinted at this earlier) is that the biggest difference between these does not lie in the “slide versus valves” question. A middle school trombone player can figure out that there is a correlation between the slide positions on his instrument and the valve combinations on the euphonium and tuba, and on that basis experience some rudimentary success on one or both of those instruments. With perhaps a bit more effort, a euphonium or tuba player can do the same with the trombone. Why do I say that? Because I once was that middle school trombone player! At age 13, having never practiced the euphonium or tuba a day in my life, I could pick up either instrument, press the right “buttons,” and play a scale or maybe a couple of exercises. Did it sound good? Of course not—I had a lot to learn before I would be able to produce a characteristic sound, read music effectively, etc. on either instrument (and I’m still not that great at the tuba). Sadly, though, there are those players that declare themselves “doublers” ready for professional work simply because they understand how trombone slide positions and euphonium and tuba valve combinations are related. As you might imagine, the result is almost never good. Understanding this correlation is, of course, necessary, but it is a surface-level understanding that does not mean one is prepared for professional work as a “doubler,” either as a player or as a teacher.
• The desired tone quality.
  • So if the difference between the trombone slide and the valves on euphonium and tuba is not the most important difference between them, then what is? Let us consider two items that are very closely intertwined yet perhaps best discussed separately. The first has to do with the characteristic tone quality of each instrument. If you’ve ever heard a euphonium or tuba being played by a trombonist that doesn’t understand how a good euphonium or tuba sound differs from a good trombone sound, then you know that the sharp, too-focused, “laser beam” kind of sound that results is quite unpleasant. (Demonstration given, using the “Bydlo” excerpt from PICTURES AT AN EXHIBITION.) Likewise the “woofy,” uncentered sound that euphonium and tuba players sometimes produce on the trombone. (Demonstration given, using Bordogni Vocalise No. 3.) Avoiding these opposing pitfalls requires a solid mental concept of each instrument’s characteristic sound, and how the characteristic sounds of the trombone and of the conical low brasses differ.
  • I find it easiest and most immediately productive to explain these differences with reference to other instruments. When teaching euphonium or tuba players to double on trombone, I sometimes tell them to think of a trumpet sound. As a cylindrical brass instrument like the trumpet (as opposed to conical like the horn, euphonium, or tuba), the trombone should produce a sound that is brighter and more direct than what the euphonium or tuba player is accustomed to producing. A characteristic trombone sound is, of course, not as bright as a trumpet sound, but given “where they’re coming from” it is unlikely that a euphonium or tuba player will produce an excessively bright trombone sound when told to “think of a trumpet.” Instead, this comparison will help to “break” him of playing the trombone with a “woofy” sound and move him toward producing a characteristic trombone sound.
  • For trombone players approaching the euphonium for the first time, I work in the opposite direction, telling players to think of the instrument as a “small tuba” (which it is), with a “tuba-like” sound. This goes a long way toward banishing any “wannabe valve trombone” sounds from the student’s playing. Because the tuba is already at the extreme low end of the spectrum for conical low brass instruments, I don’t have a way to teach its sound quality by comparison to a related instrument “further down the line.” I can, however, teach the student how to “blow” correctly on the tuba, which brings me to my next point.
• Approach to blowing.
  • Besides the differences in tonal concept between our two groups of instruments, the way that one uses the airstream in order to achieve those tone qualities is also different. When trombone players begin to play the tuba or the euphonium for the first time they tend to play with an airstream that is much too focused and compact. In other words, they change nothing about their way of “blowing” when moving from one instrument group to the other, and the desired tone quality is not achieved. When playing the euphonium or tuba one should think of blowing a relaxed, warm stream of air through the instrument, an airstream that even seems to expand as the conical tubing of the instrument expands. This visualization doesn’t quite match what is actually physically happening, and of course there are times when tuba players especially need to “punch it.” Still, in practice, provided that the individual has a good sound concept as mentioned above, this approach yields pretty good results.
  • The tuba or euphonium player playing the trombone for the first time has the opposite tendency. The habit of blowing a relaxed, even diffuse stream of air through the instrument is difficult to overcome, and when a trombone is “blown” in this way the resulting sound might be superficially pleasing, but not at all characteristic. The trombone is essentially a “big trumpet,” and must be approached in that way, with a method of “blowing” which is free of excessive tension, of course, and yet is energetic, direct, and powerful. Although this is not as prevalent as it was a few years back, for a long time as bass trombonists especially kept moving to larger and larger equipment this “wannabe tuba” sound was common, which sounded neither tuba-like nor trombone-like, but was rather this non-descript unfocused mess of a sound. It has been refreshing to see bass trombonists rediscovering the fact that the bass trombone is indeed still a trombone!
• There are also differences in articulation between the instruments. To put it very briefly, the conical instruments must be tongued harder for a given articulation than the cylindrical ones. Tonguing on a trombone in the same manner as on the euphonium or tuba will yield a very harsh articulation. Conversely, a trombone-like articulation on the euphonium or tuba will lack definition. Learn and master this difference!
• Trombone mouthpieces versus euphonium mouthpieces
  • One additional area of difference between the two sets of instruments that deserves mention here is the differences between good trombone mouthpieces and good euphonium mouthpieces. One of the most common questions I receive from high school band directors has to do with a euphonium player that is working hard, practicing, has decent range and technique, but still isn’t producing a warm, full, characteristic sound. My first question for this person is always “what mouthpiece is the student playing?” Almost without fail, the answer is “6.5AL.” Now, for those not familiar with mouthpieces, the Bach 6.5AL (and its various clones) is a fine, “middle of the road” trombone mouthpiece but it is much too shallow to make for a very good euphonium mouthpiece. When speaking with these band directors I suggest a Schilke 51D or 52E2, or one of the Denis Wick SM series mouthpieces. Problem solved.
  • I have occasionally seen the opposite problem with tenor trombone players using excessively deep mouthpieces (like the 51D) and producing an unfocused, “tubby” sound as a result, but the opposite error is more common.
  • Good euphonium mouthpieces tend to be deeper and fuller than good tenor trombone mouthpieces, and vice versa. That the mouthpiece receivers are the same does not mean that the mouthpieces themselves should be!
  • Again, the concepts I have just discussed are in no way a comprehensive listing of the differences between all of these instruments, but hopefully this broad overview will provide a good starting point.

VI. Teaching and Performance Issues Peculiar to the Tenor Trombone

• Trombonists tend to read in tenor and alto clefs as well as bass clef. The tenor clef is not terribly unusual anymore for euphonium and maybe occasionally tuba. It is also particularly useful for learning to read treble clef euphonium parts.
  • Suggested books for learning the clefs:
    • Brad Edwards: Introductory Studies in Tenor and Alto Clefs “Before Blazhevich”
    • Reginald Fink: Introducing the Tenor Clef, and Introducing the Alto Clef
    • Vladislav Blazhevich: School for Trombone in Clefs
• Different instruments for “jazz” and “classical” playing
  • It is usually best that tenor trombonists play a small or medium bore instrument for jazz, at least in big band settings. While large-bore instruments are common in bands and orchestras, these instruments don’t quite “cut through” enough in a big band. The smaller instruments also provide a little more flexibility when one is trying to use the rapid doodle-tonguing/slurring technique used by many jazz soloists.
• Alto trombone doubling
  • Advanced tenor trombonists—particularly performance majors—will need to learn to do some doubling on alto trombone.
  • As is the case with learning new tubas, music for alto trombone is still written in concert pitch, so players have to learn the new set of fingerings.
  • In addition to the clef study books mentioned above, Branimir Slokar’s Method for Alto Trombone is an effective book for learning developing basic facility on that instrument.

VII. Teaching and Performance Issues Peculiar to the Bass Trombone

• Different valve setups
  • While the first valve on both tenor and bass trombones is an F-attachment that functions in a way roughly analogous to the fourth valve on euphonium or tuba, the second valve can be placed in a  “dependent” setup (where the second valve is mounted on the first valve tubing), or an “independent” setup, where both valves are on the main body of the instrument, and can be used either separately or together.
  • Today the most common tuning of the second valve is G-flat when used alone (in an “independent” setup), and D when combined. A G/E-flat arrangement is sometimes seen, and some players have begun using a D/BBb arrangement of the second valve, with LOTS of extra tubing on the second valve slide.
• Extreme range requirements
  • Similar to the case with the tuba, bass trombonists are expected to have a great deal more low range and low range facility than tenor trombonists, yet the high range expectations are lessened just barely, if at all. That’s not fair, but that’s how it is.
• Weight and balance issues
  • Double-valve bass trombones—particularly those with axial-flow valves or F/D/BBb valve setups—are notoriously heavy and poorly-balanced. There are ways to mitigate this, such as using the ErgoBone, the Bullet Brace or similar products, or even a heavier slide. Still, a bit of muscle development for the left arm will be needed, whether gained through practicing only or with the help of some extra weight training.

VIII. Challenges for the Tuba or Euphonium Player as “Low Brass” Teacher

• Getting the job
  • Even though this is no longer state explicitly in most job announcements, there remains some preference for trombonists among employers over tuba and euphonium players for such jobs, if for no other reason than filling trombone positions in faculty brass ensembles.
  • Advice: Learn to play tenor and/or bass trombone as well as you can, even if only as a doubling instrument. Even better, include one or two tracks of trombone playing on your audition recording. (I give the contrary advice to trombonists—my audition recordings when applying for “low brass” jobs ALWAYS included a couple of tracks of euphonium playing.)
• Teaching one or more instruments that one does not play professionally
  • It is, of course, best to play as many of the instruments that you teach as you possibly can. Not only will this yield more performance opportunities and a greater variety of such opportunities for you, but you will always be more competent teaching an instrument that you can play well than one that you cannot.
  • Still, most of us lack the practice time, resources, and sheer physical or mental capacity to play all of the low brass instruments well. I perform regularly on alto trombone, tenor trombone, bass trombone, and euphonium, both as a soloist and in ensemble settings. I like to think that listeners can’t tell which of these is my “primary” instrument (sometimes I can hardly tell, myself!). I have on more than one occasions tried to add more tuba playing to the “mix,” but every time I do so it comes at the expense of one or more of the other instruments (particularly alto and tenor trombone).
  • So, I have more or less accepted that tuba playing—at least professionally—is not going to happen for me. This means that I have to take other measures to make sure my tuba teaching is “up to snuff.” Such measures include:
    • Developing my low range so that I can play along with my tuba students on the euphonium (they get pretty mad when I play the Snedecor Low Etudes and then tell them to practice more!).
    • Make sure that I maintain basic familiarity with fingerings and tuning tendencies on all of the tubas. While there are peculiarities of each individual instrument that might be hard to keep up with, knowing the overtone chart for each instrument—and thus in which “partial” a given note lies and the tuning tendencies of that partial—will go a long way toward helping you to keep this information straight.
    • Read books and journal articles, listen to concerts, attend clinics and master classes whenever possible.
    • Learning and performing tuba solo repertoire on the bass trombone.
    • Having tuba guest artists on campus whenever possible. (Of course, having guest artists that play all of the instruments is great, but it is perhaps especially helpful when you have some students that do not get to hear the example of a professional player on their instrument on a regular basis.)
  • These are the things that I do to help me in teaching the instrument that I do not play as well; these methods can and should be modified and adapted to help you with teaching perhaps one of the trombones with which you are less familiar.
• Repertoire selection
  • Learning repertoire is also a great challenge for the “low brass” teacher, as one has to keep up as well as possible with the ever-growing libraries of performance and instructional repertoire for so many different instruments.
  • Preparing for this hopefully begins before one’s teaching career even starts. As I mentioned, I started compiling graded literature lists for all of the low brass instruments well before I finished graduate school. While these lists have changed over the years (with some works being added and others removed), I was much better off having something “in hand” when I started than I would have had I had to build from scratch when I got my first full-time teaching job.
  • Happily, and as I hinted under the last point, there is a great deal of overlap between the repertoires for the low brass instruments. We tend to play transcriptions of many of the same pieces from the nineteenth century and earlier. The tenor trombone and euphonium share a fair amount of repertoire, as do the bass trombone and tuba. While there are certainly a number of pieces for each instrument that do not need to be played on one or more of the others, this overlap does prevent one from having to “reinvent the wheel” entirely.
  • “Be a sponge.” Listen to recitals at conferences, look at programs in the ITA and ITEA Journals, listen to CDs, read new materials reviews—learn as much as you can about what is available for you and your students. You will never learn everything for one instrument—let alone three or four—but this should never discourage you from growing your knowledge.
• Recruiting
  • Recruiting new students for the studio is a vital part of any applied music professor’s job, and for one that teaches all of the low brass, sometimes a difficult one, especially when one does not play all of the instruments. I have taken great pains to make sure that I am known to band directors and prospective students as “the trombone teacher” but rather as “the low brass teacher.” That might seem like a question of semantics, but I want my prospective students and their band directors to know that I take seriously the task of training musicians on all of the low brass instruments—that euphonium and tuba are not just an “afterthought” or something “tacked on” to my “real job” teaching trombone.
  • To that end, I try to make sure that I perform on all of my instruments for audiences of high school students. In fact, my first solo appearances with the wind ensembles at Ole Miss and at ULM were euphonium solos played largely for audiences of high school students. This has gone a long way to me developing some credibility with the euphonium and tuba players that I am trying to recruit.
  • Nevertheless, and using my own situation again as an example, the fact remains that I don’t play the tuba professionally, and in that respect I’ll always be at a disadvantage when it comes to recruiting tuba students compared to my colleagues at neighboring schools like Memphis, Southern Miss, or LSU. I have found it best to be frank and honest with these students about what I know about the tuba, how to perform on it, and its repertoire, as well as what I perceive my limitations to be. There is NEVER a good reason to lie about your qualifications and experience to prospective students, prospective employers, or anyone else! I tell prospective students what I know, I tell them about former tuba students that have done well, and I give them a “demo” lesson. They still don’t *all* come to Ole Miss, but those that do have a good idea of what they can expect from lessons with me.

The presentation ended with me directing attendees to a list of resources that I provided on their handouts; the materials referenced there can be found in previous blog entries as well as at my website at Ole Miss. I also invited folks to approach me sometime afterward with questions, as our allotted time had come to an end.

Preparing to teach “Low Brass” at the College/University Level: A Primer for Tuba and Euphonium Players, Part One

Earlier today I gave a brief lecture with the above title at the South Central Regional Tuba-Euphonium Conference, held at Louisiana State University. I was honored by the invitation, and the presentation was fairly well-attended and well-received. My blog entries for both this week and next week will consist of my notes from this lecture.

I tend to write my text “word-for-word” when preparing a lecture, and use a more conversational style than my usual writing. At the same time, I make much more frequent use of “bullet points” for organization. I do not read the text verbatim, and given today’s time constraints doing so would have been impossible. Still, I tend to speak best when I have a complete, written text before me, even as I am modifying and reducing that text as I go. While I have edited this material just slightly for use as a blog post, for the most part I have left these notes in their original format.

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I. Introduction

• The title of this morning’s talk is “Preparing to teach ‘Low Brass’ at the College/University Level: A Primer for Tuba and Euphonium Players.” Essentially, we are going to talk about my job as an applied music professor responsible for teaching all of the low brass instruments. Broadly speaking, the topics I hope to cover today are:
  • How to prepare for this type of job.
  • How to get the job.
  • How to do—and keep!—the job.
• While I hope there will be “something for everyone” in this discussion, my primary intended audience is those that want to one day get a job as an applied teacher at the tertiary level.
• Before proceeding, I do need to point out that this entire talk is based upon my own opinions and experiences, not surveys of other teachers and certainly not “hard research.” I’m sure there are other teachers in the audience and that they might hear things that resonate with them, and things with which they disagree. That’s fine, and I hope we will have some time for questions and discussion at the end where any differences can be fleshed out.

II. Why Preparing to Teach All Low Brass Instruments is Important

• Musical/performance benefits of doubling.
  • Before really beginning to teach multiple instruments comes the desire and ability to play those instruments, and doubling does bring with it a number of benefits. As a trombone player, I first took up the euphonium because there were certain brass quintet parts that worked better on euphonium than trombone; the euphonium parts in band music—particularly in marches—are almost always more fun on euphonium, and one always enjoys the challenge of having more things to play.
  • Later, when I took up alto trombone and bass trombone, the considerations were almost entirely economic. When I moved to Greensboro I found a freelance market glutted with tenor trombonists and relatively few working bass trombonists. Taking up bass trombone enabled me to work regularly while I was there. Alto trombone is basically a requirement these days for orchestral first trombonists, and there is some neat eighteenth-century solo repertoire that just about demands it, as well.
  • For those that are into (or want to get into) theater and studio-type work, doubling is even more important. Many shows require doubling on tenor and bass trombone, or bass trombone and tuba, or sometimes even tuba and string bass.
  • Long story short, not only is doubling musically satisfying as a performer, but it can also “pay off.”
• The academic job market demands it!
  • When searching for academic jobs, there are a couple of primary job listing sources to which one can look: The Chronicle of Higher Education, and the College Music Society. Some schools will also advertise on higheredjobs.com, or perhaps with the ITA or ITEA, but most of the available jobs will be covered under those first two.
  • The College Music Society keeps archival copies of their Music Vacancy List for the past two years online and available for member perusal, so using that I was able to get a pretty good idea of the “landscape” for academic jobs for tuba and euphonium players at the present moment. In the past two years here is what I found in the way of full-time positions, both tenure-track and non-tenure-track:
    • Tuba or tuba/euphonium positions: 6
    • Low brass positions: 6
    •  “Other” (“brass coordinator,” low brass plus band, low brass plus “x”): 7
  • That’s it. Nineteen positions—and this has been a “good” couple of years compared to the last several. If that doesn’t give you pause, it should, as what this tells me is that there are FAR more qualified low brass players out there than there are academic jobs for them. The market isn’t as tough as, say, that for orchestral tubists, but it can be pretty close during some years.
  • I hope this also suggests to you that, if you want to work in academia, the more “hats” you can wear, the better. Fewer than a third of these positions are solely tuba/euphonium positions, and even those might require teaching a brass methods class or perhaps even a theory or history class “on the side.” Many of these jobs require teaching at least two if not all of the low brass instruments, and those jobs I listed under “other” require an even more diverse skill set. LEARN TO DO AS MANY THINGS AS POSSIBLE if you want to work.
  • Long story short, becoming as proficient as possible as a “low brass” teacher/performer rather than only a specialist on your instrument/instruments can greatly enhance your employment prospects.

III. Performance Preparation: Doubling

• Choosing a doubling instrument (or instruments)
  • Very rarely does a person choose a doubling instrument—if he does so as a young student, anyway—because of its helpfulness in finding a teaching job. That said, one of my early motivations for taking up the euphonium was because I had planned on becoming a high school band director, and I figured that knowing my way around on both slides and valves would be useful.
  • A more frequent concern is economic—as I mentioned earlier, this is why I took up the alto trombone and the bass trombone. The more instruments you can play and play well, the more you can say “yes” when contractors call. Make wise choices and doubling can be very lucrative for you, indeed.
  • I highly recommend that all low brass players learn to double, and that they do so “on the other side of the fence.” In other words, I want my euphonium and tuba majors to take up tenor or bass trombone, and I want my trombonists to take up euphonium or tuba. Why? For all the reasons I just said. They will be better teachers for it, and will be able to take more freelancing calls. This is especially true for the tuba and euphonium players—like it or not, in many areas the trombonist is simply going to get more gigs. Also, the opportunities for tuba/bass trombone doubling, for example, on a single gig are fairly numerous.
    • All of that said, I am also a big fan of the tuba/string or electric bass double, but that is outside of our discussion for today.
• Taking lessons
  • One of the most annoying things in the music business is someone that claims to double on a certain instrument and when you get to the gig it is obvious that the person has only a rudimentary idea of notes and fingerings (if that) and has not actually practiced—much less performed—on that doubling instrument to any significant extent. DON’T BE “THAT GUY!”
  • At many/most universities lessons are “free” (i.e. included with tuition) for those that register, or perhaps carry a nominal fee. In any case, it is cheaper than paying weekly for a good teacher. Do yourself a favor and TAKE LESSONS on your doubling instrument(s). Whether your school has a single “low brass” teacher or two or more teachers for the different instruments, you will benefit from your teachers’ expertise as you navigate the challenges of a new instrument.
• Developing a sound concept
  • As a trombonist that takes doubling on euphonium very seriously, one of my greatest annoyances is when a trombone player says “I can play euphonium” and what he really means is “I know which valve combinations go with which slide positions.” What kind of sound does he produce? A bad one! Ditto for players moving in the other direction. You will notice that I am going to talk very, very little about slide and valve technique this morning. Why is that? BECAUSE THAT’S THE EASY PART! Developing technical facility on doubling instruments is difficult, but it is also simple. Put in the time, and you will be able to do that. What is more important—and harder to grasp—is learning how to produce the desired sound for each instrument.
  • How does one learn that sound concept? Listening to one’s colleagues at school is good, and hopefully as you play in ensembles on your doubling instrument(s) you will begin to strive for a uniform tone quality with your section-mates, and develop a sound concept that way.
  • Perhaps even more important is listening to recordings. From the moment I became a “serious” euphonium player I listened to Steven Mead, Brian Bowman, etc. constantly. I assumed that this was the characteristic sound, and set about trying to achieve it. Likewise with trombone recordings.
  • Even better, listen to professional players live. Listen to your teacher as well as any and all guest artists that come to your school. Take lessons if offered. AND, go to conferences. Interestingly, the first “major” brass conference I attended was not a trombone conference at all, but one of the regional tuba-euphonium conferences (the trombonists have not done nearly as well at having an organized system of regional conferences). What an eye-opening experience! Once again, sound concepts of tone quality were being created and reinforced, and I had goals for which I was practicing.
  • In any case, developing basic technical skills on a new instrument is simple. Even developing advanced technical skills is, while difficult to execute, simple in concept. But none of that matters if you don’t know how your chosen doubling instrument should *sound*. Keep your ears open!
• Taking advantage of (and creating) performance opportunities
  • While in the university setting especially, take as many opportunities as possible to exercise your “doubling chops.” Trombone ensembles and tuba-euphonium ensembles are great places for doubling low brass players to “switch-hit,” and during any given semester I have at least 2-3 students that play in both of my ensembles.
  • The “second bands” and “third bands” at many schools are frequently looking for low brass players, and would be another good chance to work on the doubling instrument while at the same time perhaps learning some lower-level band literature that might be good to know should you ever find yourself working as a band director.
  • Student brass quintets are also a good forum for this. My personal opinion is that the ideal “trombone chair” player in a quintet is a trombone/euphonium doubler, and the ideal “tuba chair” player is a tuba/bass trombone doubler. Why? Some quintets, like the Ewazen quintets, clearly work better on bass trombone than tuba on the bottom part. Or, consider the Ewald quintets, which to me work much better with a euphonium than a trombone on that part. In fact, one of my first and formative experiences with the euphonium was playing the Ewald Quintet No. 3 in a quintet my freshman year—after the concert, my teacher came up to me and said “If you’re going to do both, you’re going to do it right.” From that day forward, I was essentially a double major.
  • If a “ready-made” opportunity doesn’t exist for you, CREATE ONE! I can’t think of a school or teacher that would frown on students taking some initiative to create performing opportunities for themselves. After all, entrepreneurship is an extremely valuable skill in the music business!
  • And, once you’re ready (or even close), jump in with taking freelance performing opportunities on your secondary instrument(s). There’s nothing that spurs improvement quite like being in the “hot seat!”

IV. Academic Preparation

• “Methods” classes at the undergraduate level are inadequate to prepare for university-level applied teaching
  •  The first thing to mention about “academic” preparation for “low brass” teaching is the inadequacy of undergraduate “methods” classes for this purpose. (Of course, that’s assuming that you take such methods classes at all—they are required for music education students but not for others.)
  • The “methods” class is a “creature of necessity,” created by the competing priorities of teaching future band directors how to teach every instrument on the one hand, and the desires of state legislators and accreditors to minimize the number of credit hours required on the other. In the best of situations, one spends 6-8 weeks on each instrument in such classes, and even then the focus is largely upon preparing students to teach beginning and intermediate band, rather than university-level instruction.
  • This might be a good place to start, but it is not enough!
• Graduate-level brass pedagogy/literature courses are better
  • At many schools, graduate performance majors are required to take courses in brass pedagogy and/or literature.
  • These courses tend to focus upon the needs of those teaching more advanced students, and are thus much better at preparing students for college-level teaching than do the undergraduate methods courses.
  • Well-designed courses will leave students not only with a beginning knowledge base of solo and instructional literature for all brass instruments, but also with ideas with regard to curriculum development for the applied studio.
  • Still, the generalized nature of such courses makes them useful as little more than a starting point for developing a comprehensive approach to low brass pedagogy and curriculum.
• In-depth study of trombone, euphonium, and tuba performance and pedagogy, in addition to more general pedagogy courses, is best
  • I was very fortunate in the course of my doctoral studies to find myself needing six hours of brass pedagogy and literature courses, yet having already taken the courses UNCG offered for those purposes while working toward my master’s degree. I therefore approached my trombone teacher, Dr. Randy Kohlenberg, and my euphonium teacher, Dr. Dennis AsKew, about the possibility of doing three credit hours’ worth of independent studies with each of them, one for trombone, and one for euphonium and tuba. The final result of these would be complete undergraduate and graduate curricula for alto/tenor trombone, bass trombone, euphonium, and tuba, and contain fundamental exercises, fingering and overtone series charts for all of the instruments, literature lists, syllabi, bibliography—pretty much everything one might want or need to begin studio instruction on these instruments.
  • The end result of these projects was over 500 pages of material, and while much of this has been streamlined over the years, these projects still form the core of my studio curricula nearly ten years later; the present form of these materials can be found at www.olemiss.edu/lowbrass.
  • The amount of material that is “out there” for one to study, know, and master if he wants to teach all of the low brass instruments successfully is quite astounding. The more instruction and direction one can receive regarding materials and curriculum development while still in school, the better!

To be continued next week…

An Unexpected Metaphor for the Christian Life

March 19, 2010, was undoubtedly the worst day of my professional career as a music professor. Having secured an invitation to perform at one of the largest and most prestigious trombone conferences in the world, I was looking forward to renewing acquaintances with colleagues and to presenting a piece of music that, while not exceptionally difficult, is very interesting and was at that time relatively unknown. I had performed at this conference in the past and in my student days had even won a competition hosted there, so I was no stranger to the audience, the staff, or the venue. I had every reason to expect to give another successful and well-received performance there, but that is not what happened. To use a colloquial expression, I “bombed.”

You see, a few days prior to the performance I began to develop some new symptoms that I would later learn were related to spinal injuries I had suffered previously. I was experiencing periods of numbness, weakness, and pain, and I was unsure of the cause of these. I was concerned that I might have a serious illness, and even that my career might be over. My doctor suggested that some of my symptoms may be caused (or at least worsened) by stress, and in hindsight, I think he was right. In any case, I dragged myself to the conference a physical and emotional wreck, and instead of the great performance I had anticipated for months, I gave one that I hoped my colleagues would quickly forget.

Over three years of reflection and analysis of this event have provided a certain amount of perspective. I have identified developments in my approach to my work in the months preceding that unhappy episode that made a poor performance practically inevitable, and have worked to foster recovery in my professional career in light of this understanding. More importantly, I have noticed some striking parallels between these developments and the steps which often lead to decline and even backsliding in our Christian walk, as well as restoration therein. While some of the “particulars” of my vocation as a performing musician and teacher will be foreign to many readers, I’m sure you will be able to see well enough the comparison that I am making.

My Story

The story of my early career is one of almost unmitigated success. After finishing my undergraduate degree with a 4.0 GPA, I was offered a teaching assistantship at a fairly large urban university with a music department more than six times larger than the one I had attended as an undergraduate. I won solo competitions at the local and national levels, and after completing my doctoral coursework was appointed to my first full-time university teaching position at age twenty-five. I was working very hard, and our Lord had clearly and graciously blessed my work. While I was quick to acknowledge His blessings, I did nonetheless revel in this early success.

Sadly, in time this early success began to breed a sense of complacency. The hard work of the early years of my career gave way to a certain “going through the motions,” and the hours spent in disciplined practice slowly decreased. This is not to say that I played badly, or that I did not spend the hours that I should have been practicing pursuing edifying activities. But, I had somehow come to believe (not entirely consciously) that I had earned a respite from the unmitigated hard work of previous years, and that I was accomplished enough as a musician and teacher to enjoy the same level of success as previously with somewhat less effort. And yet, as the Scripture says, “Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18)

For a time, my diminished devotion to individual practice seemed to have little effect upon my professional work. I continued to give relatively successful performances, with no apparent deficiencies in my playing. And yet, simmering just below the surface was a real problem. Months and years of less practice time had led to some sloppiness in my approach to what we call “playing fundamentals.” The strength of the physical structures used in playing my instruments had lessened, as had my efficiency in using those structures. This was almost imperceptible at first, but when the crisis moment came, when I was physically sick and emotionally strapped and yet on stage giving a big performance, those problems that had been lurking just beneath the surface came rushing to the top.  The inefficient approach to playing that I had developed simply would not work when I was in that condition. And there, in front of hundreds of colleagues and some of the greatest musicians in the world, I failed.

As you might imagine, a public failure of that magnitude would cause a person in any profession to engage in some serious self-examination. At first, I was reluctant to blame this occurrence upon my own lack of diligence. I really was quite ill, and I was relieved to receive a diagnosis and treatment for the pain and other issues which were at least partly to blame for my poor performance. And yet, even after treatment the underlying playing issues were not addressed. Next, I blamed performance anxiety, whether brought on by the pressures of performing for a particularly important audience or by my own physical issues. That also was a factor, but I have always suffered from performance anxiety to a certain extent (as do most musicians), and in the past have been able to manage. Finally, after weeks and months of reflection and “dead-end” thinking, I was forced to acknowledge that the main reason for my failure that day was that I was no longer putting in the diligent work that performing at a high level demanded. If I might be permitted to use this word in this context, I was forced to repent, not only before God for the lack of diligence in my work as demanded by Colossians 3 and elsewhere, but simply to turn away from the slothful habits I had developed and to return to a life of industrious, hard work.

Unsurprisingly, I found once again that hard work, well, works! By returning to the practice habits that brought about the early successes in my career, I was slowly able to regain the proficiency that I had before. Our Lord also has blessed me with a new teaching position at a larger university than the one where I taught previously, with all of the resources that accompany a job at a bigger school. The pain issues remain, but I am grateful to have been able to manage and even thrive in spite of them, the Lord graciously blessing my efforts as well as increasing my faith through these trials. Indeed, I have come to view this entire sequence of events in light of my Christian walk, and if I have not yet lost you, dear reader, I would like to present the following reflections that I hope you will find helpful.

This Story as a Christian Metaphor

The beginning of the Christian life is, for many of us, very much like my early career. After coming under conviction of our sin and misery and the mercy of God offered through Jesus Christ, and receiving salvation through faith in Him, do not many of us experience something of a “high?” We are excited, eager to serve, and diligent in the use of the means of grace, marveling at the free gift of salvation by grace through faith alone, and yet demonstrating in thought, word, and action that saving faith is “never alone.” We revel in the company and in the service of the people of God, as well as in communion with our Lord in the prayer closet. Ever growing in grace, our eyes are truly fixed upon Christ, even as the apostle exhorted us. (Hebrews 12:1-3)

Sadly, from time to time that devotion wavers. As we begin to pursue lives marked by personal holiness, service to the church, devotion to Christ, His Word, and His people, our good and faithful beginnings too often give way to slothfulness. At first, this is almost imperceptible, even to ourselves. We continue to “go through the motions” of Christianity, putting on an outward show of zeal and feigned holiness, when in reality our hearts have wandered far from the Lord. And just as my façade of conscientious musicianship collapsed when the crisis moment came, likewise when we are faced with life’s crises such as illness, financial hardships, or even death, we see the utter inadequacy of a mere outward show of religiosity.

Happily, our Lord will never abandon His own, even when we turn away from Him. Christ promised that no one would be able to pluck His sheep from His hand (John 10:27-30), and Paul promised further that nothing would separate Christians from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:38-39). And in this context, what a great comfort it is to know that when we turn from our sins unto God in repentance and faith, we find Him always ready and willing to forgive and to restore us! (2 Chronicles 30:9, 1 John 1:9)

This is not to say that restoration is easy. Regaining my previous level of musical skill began with determining that I would leave behind slothfulness and return to a life of diligent work, but months of such work passed before I was fully “up to speed” again. Thankfully, my comparison fails somewhat at this point, as we know that we are saved even as the merits of Christ’s finished work are applied to us. (John 19:30, Hebrews 10:12-14) Still, the work of sanctification is ongoing, and after a period of spiritual decline restoration to the full enjoyment of “assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end” (Westminster Shorter Catechism 36) is difficult and often painful. How hard it must have been for Peter when he was confronted by our Lord following his tragic denials, and yet how joyous he must have been to experience renewed fellowship with his Saviour, Lord, and Friend!

Professionally, my return to “due diligence” has been rewarding. I am doing better work, have restored confidence, am experiencing greater success, and am enjoying myself better generally as I fulfill my earthly calling. How much greater is the reward when we turn again unto a whole-souled devotion to Christ! How wonderful it is to enjoy sweet communion with the triune God! How comforting it is to know that even when we sin we have a faithful and compassionate High Priest who is our Advocate before the very throne of God! (Hebrews 2:17-18, 1 John 2:1) How marvelous it is to have the Spirit helping us in our infirmities! (Romans 8:26) What a wonderful and merciful God we serve!

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In the midst of writing this short piece, I have noticed that my own story bears a passing resemblance to another, much more famous metaphor. Just as I had grown weary of hard work and had begun to seek greater ease, and just as we as believers too often forsake the way of faith for the easier life of a mere outward show, so our friends Christian and Hopeful grew weary of the difficulty of the path and turned aside to the easier way found across By-Path Meadow. Having no intention of straying from the Way, we nevertheless yearn for and eventually find an easier path, and choosing that path, we continue only vaguely aware that we are marching not toward holiness, joy, and fulfillment in Christ, but rather toward despair, and if we do not repent, death. Thankfully, our merciful God will not suffer His own to finally fall away, but will restore us, though often with great difficulty, just as was the case with our pilgrim friends in Bunyan’s story.

How often we must be reminded that while our salvation is free it is not easy. Do not forsake the narrow path, and if you have done so, repent and return before it is too late! It is a life often fraught with toil and difficulty, and many will mock us for our efforts while they take their ease and perhaps enjoy a fleeting prosperity. And yet, what joy there is in knowing that they that endure to the end (Matthew 10:22) can say with the Apostle, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)