Mike Perez
Mastering the Young Band
Essential Foundations
Essential Foundations is intended to fill in the gaps left from band method books. Focus of this collection is on 1.Tone 2.Articualtion 3.Range building 4.Technique. This collection of exercises has been time tested and used by dozens of bands for many years and is intended to be used in conjunction with your favorite band method book.
Essential Foundations are warm-ups and technique exercises designed for beginning and intermediate band students (literature grades 1-2) in full band or like instrument classes.
Exercises are written for flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, saxophones (alto, tenor and bari), trumpet, horn, trombone, euphonium, tuba, mallets and percussion (snare or pad). Please note that percussion is not written for all exercises since some exercises are germane to winds and mallets (scales for instance).
The contents of Essential Foundations include:
3 First Warm-up Sheets
Concert Bb Exercises
Chromatic Warm-ups
3 Long Tone Sets (11 exercises total)
3 Slur Warm-Ups (11 exercises total)
3 Articulation Sheets
Mini Scales (12 major)
Major Scales (12 major)
Scale in Thirds (Concert G-Db in the circle of fourths)
Chromatic Scales (Concert Bb and Concert F)
3 Technique pages
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Essential Foundations is sold as a zip folder with pdf files. Files are organized by instrument and exercise for ease of printing and distribution.
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Essential Foundations is licensed for one individual, school, studio, or other institution. Once purchased, the individual, organization, or institution may copy these pdf files in perpetuity. Please contact the author for district licensing.
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Long Tones
Each long tone exercise is progressive and is designed to work on strengthening young musicians embouchures, breathing and air flow , sound consistency (straight line sound), and range. Percussion exercises are written for mallets and snare/pad and develop stick control, hand-to-hand evenness, rhythm stability and consistency.
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Slur Warm-ups
Slur Warm-ups are also progressive but focus on instrument specific techniques that will sound good harmonically in full band settings.
Instrument Specific Techniques Include:
Flute- head joint playing, octave studies, harmonics and slurs over different ranges
Oboe, Bassoon, Saxophone- octave studies and slurs over different ranges
Clarinet- register studies and slurs over different ranges
Brass- lip slurs over different ranges
Mallets- mini scales, hand-to-hand evenness, stick control, rhythm control between eighth and sixteenth notes
Snare/Pad- hand-to-hand evenness, stick control, rhythm control between eighth and sixteenth notes, diddles.
Mini Scales and Major Scales
Mini Scales and Major Scales use accidentals instead of key signatures to focus learning on new notes in scales and to acclimate students to seeing accidentals. A piano keyboard is included on student sheets to easily see and relate enharmonics with accidentals. Clarinet and saxophone alternate fingerings are marked in the score and student parts. Scales are numbered to ease finding scales and to facilitate horns playing up a fifth (mini scales only).
Scale in Thirds
Transition students to key signatures instead of accidentals.
Chromatic Scales
Chromatic Scales are scaffolded in multiple steps to help with student understanding. Clarinet and saxophone alternate fingerings are written in the score and student parts.
