Sight-reading: Something it's hard to get students excited about. During my last decade-and-a-half of teaching, I implemented "Sight Reading Friday" (or SRF), which meant, unless there was a concert/contest immanent, Friday's rehearsal was to be devoted entirely to sight-reading literature. We managed to train the students to quickly and efficiently pass out and collect parts (unless we really liked a piece, in which case I'd say "put that one in your folders!") Believe it or not, SRF became something the kids actually looked forward to, and was a great way to end the week. Their sight-reading skills certainly improved over time, but there was still something lacking. Particularly at the beginning of the year, I found myself thinking "They retained NOTHING over the summer!", and worse "Didn't their middle-school directors teach them how to count?!?"
Well of course they did, and so did I. But there was still a vast disconnect between counting/reading rhythm patterns and actually sight-reading band literature. I needed something to fill that gap and help them make better connections. This gave birth to what (in all modesty) I believe to be my most brilliant idea: breaking up familiar melodies into two independent, and yet co-dependent parts. Pointillistic Duets were born. What started out as simple hand-outs eventually made their way into my first band method book Important Ingredients, and finally into a whole separate band method, including thirty-four progressive duets. Here's how it works:
As you can see, the first part of each duet is on the left page, and the second part is on the right. Each part played separately produces a somewhat disjunct, fragmented "non-melody". Students are challenged (even in these early seemingly easy duets) to not only precisely perform the melody fragments, but to also be deliberately silent during the rests (which for many of them is the more challenging aspect). When the two parts are then performed together, a familiar melody almost magically appears (and the rather cryptic title starts to make sense). Go ahead and try it on number 1. Specified Ancient Fellow (in this example with a B-flat instrument).
Using this method (with my younger groups in particular) was one of the most beneficial things I ever did. And the kids absolutely LOVED it! The flexibility of use is incredible, as it can be used in full band, groups lessons (even of heterogenous instruments), and private lessons. Some in the latter part of the book are even appropriate for solo & ensemble contest!
Now, in the age of Coronavirus and remote learning, this flexibility of use is even more essential. These duets can be collaboratively performed over any of the various remote-learning apps you may be using (with a lot fewer moving parts). This kind of collaboration is so essential for Social Emotion Learning! I've created play-along mp3s for every instrument (see below for details), so students can practice at home, or even be assessed (You SmartMusic users know what to do). Just assigning a duet a week provides enough content for an entire school year (or a page a week, if you want to get though it in a semester). The duets get progressively more challenging throughout the book, with each duet adding a new twist (rhythm, meter, harmony/counterpoint, etc.), until by the end they are performing:
Pretty cool. huh? Books are available for all band instruments, including String Bass, Keyboard Percussion (no drums. sorry.), and Conductor's Score (reduced). You can purchase traditional paper books or watermarked PDFs through jwpepper.com for $5.95 each, or if you prefer, you can purchase an entire set of PDFs direct from me for $100 (about what it would cost for you to buy a set from Pepper and then illegally photocopy them). I would Dropbox you the PDFs and mp3s to use as you wish (kind of like a site license). I would then trust you to honor a "Gentlepersons' Agreement" that you will not distribute them beyond the building in which you teach, but can copy as much as you want for your own students. Contact me at danielmooremusic251@gmail.com if interested in the site license idea. If you buy through Pepper (or have already purchased the books previously), email me anyway, and I'll send you the mp3s free-of-charge!