BRASS CLINICS THE PURPOSE OF THE THREE BRASS CLINICS HOSTED BY RICHARD OLIVERIO, CITY SOUND BRASS CAPTION HEAD AND ASSISTED BY CITY SOUND BRASS TECHNICIANS IS TO AID THE BAND DIRECTOR AND THE STUDENT IN IDENTIFYING THE MOST CORRECT TECHNIQUES TO SUCCESSFULLY BEGIN, DEVELOP, AND MAINTAIN A MUSICAL APPROACH TO BRASS PERFORMANCE. IN OTHER WORDS, THE STUDENT WILL BE GIVEN A BEGINNING FOR A COMPLETE AND COMPREHENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF THE BRASS TECHNIQUES NEEDED TO BETTER UNDERSTAND AND PERFORM THE WRITTEN MATERIAL ENCOUNTERED IN A BRASS ENVIRONMENT. SPECIAL CONSIDERATION WILL BE GIVEN TO ASSISTING ALL STUDENTS IN THEIR PRACTICE ROUTINES, SCHEDULES, AND ENVIRONMENTS, WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS PLACED ON TIME RESTRAINTS. Clinic 1. Areas identified and explained will include: Embouchure Breath development and control (Both impact and linear) Tone and intonation (Pitch) Practice routines and protocol will be discussed which will highlight the student’s time allotment required in all areas including, but not limited to: Breath development Embouchure stabilization Initial tone considerations/ self-evaluation (The sound of music) Introduction to tonal centers/partials/ pitch control Syllabic control and development. (The tongue) Chromatic importance and dexterity improvement Intervallic movement and muscle memory Range and range development Sight-reading All of the clinic techniques will be offered to the student on many levels thereby allowing the student to identify their personal brass goals. Do they want to be good? Do they want to be very Good? Or do they want to be that 1 in every 500 students that will settle for nothing less than greatness? There is a society for greatness! The psychology of brass will be discussed at length. This could be one of the most important discussions presented so that the student might better understand the organization required for any degree of success. Success is not random; it is planned for and approached with enthusiasm and hard work, and a positive attitude. Clinic #2 This clinic will be a continuation of clinic #1 in that it will revisit and expand upon all of the above items. The difference at this clinic is that it will be in a more advanced scenario for those that attended the first clinic and have returned. New students at Clinic #2 will be welcomed and then be introduced to clinic #1 protocol by City Sound staff. This will be conducted in a separate environment. The returning students will be allowed to perform their personal improvements for the past month. They will also be given input relative to their efforts. A question and answer session will be scheduled so that every student gets to ask that special question relative to their own personal obstacles. (Opportunities) The exercises and techniques introduced in Clinic #1 will be expanded on in clinic #2 that will extend the proficiency levels for each student. Some new technical studies will be introduced and studied at that time as well. For the student that wants to excel in brass this is the point of separation. Very good begins here. For the student with limited time for practice a practice routine will be identified for maintenance of that level of performance At the end of clinic #2, all students will be combined and be given an opportunity to perform some warm up exercises and music that displays the concept of beautiful music. Clinic #3 This clinic will be a continuation of #1 and #2 with the added benefit being that at the conclusion of this clinic brass members will also be introduced to City Sound brass members and all brass players will be combined to read and perform musical selections that demonstrate their acquired musical acumen. New brass members are still invited to attend this clinic, but as with clinic #2, these members will be instructed at the clinic #1 level while the balance of the members will continue their advancement. Those that wish to perform in the combined scenario at the end, and are capable of doing so, will be placed where they can best perform. | 
