Posted by anon on April 07, 2008 at 13:09:22:
I am a flute player and my low brass section is the weakest in my middle school band. They have flat, weak, and unsupported sounds. I have difficulty getting them to play any louder than mezzo forte and our band is very unbalanced. Unfortunitely, most of them are the weakest musicians (in terms of reading, counting, etc.)in the band. We do long tones, lip slurs, and chorales as a part of our daily warm up. I think I'm telling the right things about breathing, air speed, support, etc. but maybe there is a different way to explain or other things I should be working on with them. What can I do to help them? Also, my tuba player just switched from trumpet and is having trouble sustaining pitches and playing in the low register. What should I be working on with her?