Student-centered learning plays a large role in the Brass for Beginners® curriculum. Lesson Six discusses the Egyptian Snb and the Nordic Bronze Lur, and examines what is considered to be one of the earliest examples of written music (written in cuneiform.) Students choose one of the instruments, learn about its construction, capabilities, and historical use, and then […]
BFB students from Lincoln Elementary School in Evanston, IL, and from the Music Institute of Chicago, are preparing for a presentation at the 2015 Chicago Brass Festival at Northeastern Illinois University on Saturday March 14th. Brass for Beginners® ‘Volume 1, Prehistory to Classical Antiquity’ utilizes a great deal of student centered learning to inspire students’ […]
Students from Lincoln Elementary are getting ready to present at the 2014 Chicago Brass Festival at North Eastern Illinois University on March 15th. We have been discussing the trumpets of ancient civilizations, including the Egyptian Snb (pictured right), which was used for war and ceremonial purposes. The Snb was made of silver or copper, approximately […]
We are busy preparing for our annual winter recital at the Music Institute of Chicago (MIC). A group of ten BFB students from Lincoln Elementary, a trio of young MIC students from ages 5-7, and four MIC trumpet ensembles from beginning to advanced levels will all be performing on BFB natural trumpet prototypes at Nichols […]
Part of the BFB curriculum is to use groove-based music (with syncopated rhythmic textures) to help develop a beginning student’s sense of inner pulse- something that can be extremely challenging to accomplish in the early stages of learning a brass instrument. Students at Walker Elementary School are learning a style of Brazilian Music called Samba […]
Enjoy students from Walker Elementary School singing and playing a short piece from Unit 5 in the Brass for Beginners method book. Sounds great kids! [wpvideo 34bXtqDD]
Students at Lincoln Elementary School are now playing music on the treble staff, focusing at first on Middle C and low G. They are learning to sing the notes using Solfege (“Do” and “Sol”) to develop a strong inner sense of pitch. There are no keys or valves on a natural trumpet to help students […]
BFB students from Lincoln Elementary School have been working on the Celtic battle call for this Saturday’s battle with the Romans at the Chicago Brass Festival. The Celts played a very unusual instrument called a Carnyx with the head of a Boar. Enjoy students from Lincoln Elementary practicing the Carnyx call. [wpvideo jNZ5cilu]
BFB students are getting ready for our presentation at the 2013 Chicago Brass Festival on March 9th at NEIU (click here for info). In the year 122 C.E., the Romans, in what is now Northern England, began to build a wall (known as Hadrian’s Wall) to keep the Celts away. The Romans were terrified by […]
These are the third and fourth portions of the Shofar call. The “Teru’ah” is said to signify a call to battle or alarm, and the “Tekiah Gedola” is said to signify hope and the ultimate triumph of goodness and joy. Trumpets have been used throughout human history to call people to worship and to wake […]