Breathing instruction of successful high school marching band directors.

The breath is considered one of the most important factors of playing a wind instrument because it affects nearly every aspect of playing. The purpose of this study was to examine the breathing instruction of successful high school marching band directors. The researcher sought to learn about how often proper breathing is taught, what methods are most commonly used, perceived benefits for the marching members, and potential negative aspects or consequences of breathing instruction. Two-hundred-and-thirteen successful marching band directors were invited to complete a survey consisting of multiple choice, Likert scale, and open-ended questions. Seventy-six directors completed the survey. It was found that at least a quarter of the qualifying directors teach about proper breathing in every marching band rehearsal, usually in small increments of time (5-10 minutes). The Breathing Gym is by far the most popular resource for instructional techniques. Directors that utilize breathing instruction do so because they see a large variety of potential benefits for their students, and there seem to be few challenges/drawbacks commonly recognized among the surveyed directors

The Effect Of A Researcher Composed Mouthpiece Buzzing Routine On The Intonation And Tone Quality Of Beginning Band Brass Students

The present study is an investigation of the effect of an author composed mouthpiece buzzing routine modeled by the teacher on beginning band brass students’ intonation and tone quality. The subjects (N = 43) were sixth grade beginning band brass students from a large band program in the northeast region of Mississippi. The experimental group (n = 27) buzzed a daily routine modeled by their instructor at the beginning of each class period. The control group (n = 16) received no treatment and proceeded through normal classroom activities. The duration of the instructional period was ten weeks. This study utilized a posttest only design. An independent-samples t-test was conducted to analyze the data. Taken as a whole, there were no statistically significant difference in the scores for treatment and control conditions. Results suggest the inclusion of a daily mouthpiece buzzing routine does not have a significant effect on beginning band brass students’ intonation or tone quality. Although not statistically significant, the measures lean toward improved intonation and tone quality. Results of the t-tests may have found no significant differences between means due to the wide ranges of variance in the two sets of scores