Artimus on WREK 91.1FM→

This is last week's Facebook live of our Artimus show on WREK 91.1FM.  Check it out and I hope you enjoy what you hear.  If you do, follow the group here and here. Check out our instagram, twitter, bandcamp, and soon to be designed website (one website at a time...).

Care & Repair #1: Cork Grease

There are always things about practicing, equipment, playing a tune, etc. where you go "Ah! I wish I knew that sooner!"  I've been playing saxophone for 24 years now and I just found this out a couple years ago: Don't Use Petroleum Based Cork Grease.  

This is most "premium" or "special formula" cork grease that you find in the Chapstick-like tube.  The reason is that all of these are petroleum based.  Petroleum is fine for your cork (kind of); it lubricates and protects it from too much moisture.  Petroleum is NOT fine for the glue that keeps the cork on your neck.  Anyone who has ever had to have the cork on your neck replaced has, at one point, watched perfectly good cork just fall off the neck with little to no sign of wear.  The petroleum in the Chapstick-cork grease seeps into the cork and dissolves the glue.  

It's important to remember that cork is a natural product that comes from trees.  It needs some moisture to stay resilient, but not too much or it will break down.  These are the ones I have used so far that seem to work really well:

• Doctor Slick by Doctor's Products (in a tube)
• Hetman Cork Lubricant (in a liquid)

Note that everyone will have to replace their cork at one time or another.  I prefer using shellac to attach the cork vs rubber cement.  I like the sound and I believe the shellac holds up against moisture better than rubber cement.  I'd love to hear anyone's comments or experiences on this.

How to Survive Marching Band - For Your Equipment At Least...

It's that season again.  Kids all over America are putting their hard-earned instruments in LIT-RALLY the worst conditions possible.  Every week, one of my students comes in with a huge maintenance problem on their horn generated by some sort of crazy mishap on the marching band field.  Students have had their instruments stepped on, kicked, thrown, rained on, etc. and to my dismay, most of this can be avoided by spending a little bit of money in smart ways.  Here are the things you should be using to avoid hundreds of dollars of damage to your horn (if not more) - and all you really need to spend is about $50 on 3 items: a stand, a mouthpiece cap, and key clamps.

• A Saxophone Stand: I know some marching routines involve setting the instrument down on the field and even if your band isn't doing this, laying your instrument down on the bleachers is probably not helping either - especially if people are setting it down on the wrong side.... which usually they are*.  Look for an in-bell stand.  This is an instrument stand that goes from propping up your instrument to in a few short moves folds up in your bell.  You're welcome :-).
  • K&M Jazz Stands - my personal stands, but pricey
  • K&M Midge - not as streamlined, but affordable and durable
  • Hercules Travlite - Hercules is not my favorite brand.  I use their Travlite flute stand, but have retired most other stands I've used of theirs for different reasons.  That being said, this one does technically exist.

*You are suppose to lay your horn down on the side with key guards.  This means, in fact, it should be laid down on the side that has the majority of the keys.  People balk at this all the time.  The problem with laying it down on the side that doesn't contain many keys is this: those are some of the most delicate keys (especially pinky keys) and there ARE NO KEY GUARDS.  I don't know why people fight this as much as they do, but they do.  "I'm changing minds; I'm changing minds all over." - Emily Mortimer

• A Mouthpiece Cap: This is the easiest and most protective $1 you will ever spend.  People always go "Well, nothing's happened to my instrum..." and then that sentence is cut off by the sound of their saxophone flying down three stories across metal bleachers.  Most of the metal can be bent back into shape or replaced, but your mouthpiece is either plastic or hard rubber.  A mouthpiece cap keeps your hundred dollar mouthpiece from shattering when it impacts someone's foot or with any other hard surface that continues to baffle me that an instrument would ever come in contact.  Some ligatures require a special mouthpiece cap, some use a standard size available at most music stores.
• Pad Clamps:  Ok, this one is a little more complicated and if you google you'll see the debate 'rage' in the saxophone world, because ya know,  the internet.  You can decide for yourself if you want to use these all the time or not as long as you set them up properly.  This use is really more related to instances of rain.  If you get rained on, meaning you AND your horn, your pads are at risk (never mind pivot screws, rods, and rollers that can rust).  Any time moisture goes into the pads, they swell.  This happens during normal playing as well, but there's not nearly as much moisture compared to your instrument getting rained on.  When they dry out, they need to dry out evenly in order to not cause leaks.  This is where your pad clamps come in.  If you get rained on 1) question the importance of and enjoyment that you're getting out of this activity 2) Revisit question #1 3) Get to a dry place, swab your instrument, put on the key clamps, and leave it out on your instrument stand to dry overnight.  The clamps ensure that your pads dry evenly and without creating any raised portions that don't fit the tone hole.  I've used/use all of these - and yes, I use pad clamps everyday.  I set them up properly and notice no added wear or indentation on my pads
  • Horn Doctor
  • Hollywood Winds
  • MusicMedic/Saxgourmet

The stand will run you $20-$70.  The mouthpiece cap should've come provided with your mouthpiece or horn.  If not, it's $5-$15.  Clamps will run $30-$80.  SO, for a minimum of $55, your horn will be much more protected than it was before and this will hopefully save you from things like: a complete repad, a new mouthpiece, or trips to the repair shop.  And, what's more, you should have almost all of these things ANYWAY! 

I hope this helps.

Show Announcement - Last Chance at the Velvet Note

Hi Everyone! WHB has a show coming up at one of our favorite haunts, the Velvet Note in Alpharetta, Saturday, September 14th.  Playing this club is always a joy and we hope you can come out to see our LAST performance at this venue for the year (I know, now the pressure's on).  Details on the show and tickets can be found below, on the Calendar, on the Velvet Note site, or you can RSVP via Facebook.

A note that this is a more intimate venue and the last two times that we've performed here we've sold out or oversold both sets, so BOOK YOUR TICKETS ASAP.

• WHB @ the Velvet Note 4075 Old Milton Pkwy, Alpharetta, GA 30005
• Saturday, September 14th
• 7:30 & 9:30
• $20 Cover
• All Ages
• Click for Tickets

Featuring: Trey Wright, Keenan Meadows, Dave Worley, & Jared Lanham

New York Pt. 1

For those of you that didn't know, I took a trip to New York for 5 days last week.  While I'll go in depth as to the why's, who's, and how's in later posts, I wanted to quickly share one of my experiences that I had and won't forget.  Before going out, I contacted as many friends and colleagues as I could.  One of those is a great friend and guitarist with whom I did my undergrad.  One of the things that makes this so memorable for me is that it was fairly unexpected.  He called me up to say "Hey, some friends and I are going to see Bobby McFerrin in Central Park for FREE." Shwhat!?...  I replied, "Awesome, see you there," and got ready to meet him.  A little admission here: I have never liked Bobby McFerrin.  Gasp! I know, right.  How dare I?  A jazz musician NOT enjoy the work of another jazz musician?  A response to that question will be handled in a later post.  But, I figured it would be a great way to hang out and see some good music (I said I didn't like, not that he wasn't good). The event series is called the Summer Stage.  It presents free music on a first-come-first-serve basis in the middle of Central Park.  There's beer, wine, over-priced food, tourists, New York hipsters, what's not to love?  ONE catch: in order to get in, we got there about 2 and a half hours early, but we had our choice of seats and got to watch some Central Park LARPERS in the process.  Music started and I was really enjoying the concert, the company, and the overall hang.  Then, this happened:

This is a duet between Bobby and his daughter Madison titled "Mere Words", written by Bobby, and originally from his album Bang! Zoom (which I now own).  It was one of those moments in music where your brain just stops.  Everything stops.  All the people around me faded away, I forgot that my butt hurt so bad from sitting on metal bleachers; it was transcendent.

I have to say that I'm now a huge Bobby McFerrin fan and this will become a treasured memory of this trip.

Show Announcement: The Velvet Note - Part Deux

WHB at the Velvet Note..... again. If you haven't been to this club yet, you're missing one of the gems of Atlanta.  We loved playing there the first time and we hope you'll join us for our second show coming up August 4th.  If you missed us at all this summer, when you had all that free time ;-), then this is your last chance to catch us before school (kind of) begins.  As always, the information will be in a few different places (Calendar, Facebook, Twitter, ReverbNation, etc.), but here's the rundown.

8/4/12 - The Velvet Note, Set 1: 7:30, Set 2: 9:30 (Alpharetta)

• Cover: $10
• All Ages
• 4075 Old Milton Pkwy Alpharetta, GA
• At the corner of Old Milton & Alexander Dr., before Publix off of 400, next to Jersey Mike's
• (855) 583-5838
• RSVP on Facebook

Find the Velvet Note on Facebook

GMEA All-State Auditions 2012-2013

Here are links to the GMEA website resources for All-State Band audition material for Middle and High schools.  Chromatic scale ranges (required for all instruments) can be found by following the link to your age group and looking at the chart provided by GMEA.

• Rules & Regs
• **Score Sheet Example (this is what every judge uses in every district)

There are 3 things on this and almost every audition, 1) Scales, 2) Etudes (aka prepared piece), 3) Sight reading.  Scales and Etudes are listed below by grade then instrument.

All-State Middle School Band - 6th through 8th Grades:

• Alto Saxophone (Etudes/Scales)
• Tenor Saxophone (Etudes/Scales)
• Baritone Saxophone (Etudes/Scales)
• Clarinet (Bb Soprano) (Etudes/Scales)
• Bass Clarinet (Low Bb) (Etudes/Scales)
• Flute (Etudes/Scales)

All-State Concert Band - 9th & 10th Grades:

• Alto Saxophone (Etudes/Scales)
• Tenor Saxophone (Etudes/Scales)
• Baritone Saxophone (Etudes/Scales)
• Clarinet (Bb Soprano) (Etudes/Scales)
• Bass Clarinet (Low Bb) (Etudes/Scales)
• Flute (Etudes/Scales)

All-State Symphonic Band - 11th & 12th Grades:

• Alto Saxophone (Etudes/Scales)
• Tenor Saxophone (Etudes/Scales)
• Baritone Saxophone (Etudes/Scales)
• Clarinet (Bb Soprano) (Etudes/Scales)
• Bass Clarinet (Low Bb) (Etudes/Scales)
• Flute (Etudes/Scales)

All-State Jazz Band - 9th-12th Grades:

• Alto (Etude 1/Etude 2/Scales)
• Tenor (Etude 1/Etude 2/Scales)
• Bari (Etude 1/Etude 2/Scales)

Show Announcement - WHB in ALPHARETTA @ The Velvet Note

Mazel tov! There's a brand-spanking new jazz club in town called The Velvet Note.  WHB will be performing there this Saturday, June 30th! The Velvet is doing a jazz club the way it should be done. With Justin Varnes, renowned drummer and teacher, as their music manager, the great menu they provide, and the care they've taken in setting up the room, we are very excited to bring our brand of jazz to it's shiny new stage.  You can find the details below, or on the Calendar, or on the FB Event Page, OR at TheVelvetNote.com:

6/30/12 - The Velvet Note, Set 1: 7:30-8:30, Set 2: 9:30-10:30 (Alpharetta)

• Cover: $20
• All Ages
• 4075 Old Milton Pkwy Alpharetta, GA
• (855) 583-5838
• RSVP on Facebook

Hit It, Then Learn How to Aim -- The Misconception in Early Tone Development of New Saxophonists

After the first few lessons with a new student, inevitably they come in frustrated saying that their band director told them that they (and the entire sax section) are playing too loud.  I tell them to calm down and do what their band director tells them.  Then we talk about the “Why” and “How” of dynamics. And, in my opinion, band directors often seem to get it wrong when it comes to tone and dynamics with their saxophone section more than any other.  I admit that I have, and I like, a louder sound.  This doesn’t mean I can’t or don’t want to play soft, but I prefer to have, and believe musicians need, a sound that projects.  I recently attended a master class with Jeff Coffin here in Atlanta and heard him talk about this very thing. (Disclaimer: I’m certainly not comparing myself to Jeff Coffin). Think about any time you’ve been to watch young kids play instruments in a group.  Cousins’, brother’s, sister’s, niece’s, nephew’s concerts in their school gym.  It wasn’t very loud was it?  When you have new musicians on Flutes, Clarinets, Trumpets, Trombones, Bassoons, basically any instrument that’s not Saxophone, these instruments are not naturally loud for a beginning musician.  While air production is consistent from instrument to instrument, it takes a lot of training of embouchure muscles to get a sound that projects on many of these instruments.  The exact opposite is true of Saxophone.

Saxophone doesn’t require a muscular embouchure, at least if you follow the teachings of Joe Allard or possibly even Larry Teal.  After embouchure, the only thing left is air production.  This is where band directors fall into a trap without knowing it:  Saxophonists have to first learn how to control their air and support their sound.  This usually means putting LOTS of air into the horn.  I equate it with the first time I hit a correct backhand in tennis.  The instructor showed us how you have to hit through the swing.  The first time anyone hits the tennis ball with the correct form, the ball goes over the fence and into the parking lot.  We then were told to keep the form but to try and aim more accurately.  THAT’S WHAT HAS TO HAPPEN WITH SAXOPHONE!!  So many directors are interested in immediate balance and huge volume changes that young saxophonists do not have the capability to do well.  Instead, everyone in the section bites down and backs off on air. This results in pitch and tone quality issues which is why their saxes sound so ‘bright’ or ‘tinny’, why they can’t articulate with speed and accuracy, and why they can’t play in the upper register or lower register, let alone play these registers in tune.  Worst of all, the students learning the instrument are developing terrible habits and having a lousy time since they can’t play what’s on the page.  It’s like giving a pointillist painter a roller to use and then telling them just to paint lighter.  If you don’t have the proper base, in this case air control, you can’t start practicing subtlety.

My Advice: To get a great sounding sax section, students should start by doing overtones (the saxophone version of the brass section’s ‘lip trills’, although a very a different exercise).  Then introduce dynamic long tones.  And, directors and teachers, don’t worry about getting the right balance the first couple of months.  Let the students build the warm, lush sound that the saxophone has, then teach them ‘how to aim’.

New Tune - "Finally" Live

Well it's been a little while since you've heard some new music on this site... yes I blame: me. But, with my group doing a series of recording sessions today and in the coming weeks I thought I'd put a little teaser of the 6 completely new tunes that we'll be recording and posting here. This tune is very aptly named "Finally (I Can Dance This Thing Out)" as in, there's FINALLY some new music on here...

[wpaudio url="http://williamhollifield.com/wp-content/uploads/02 Finally (I Can Dance This Thing Out) - Live.mp3" text="Finally (I Can Dance This Thing Out) - Live" dl="0"]

I will also be putting part of the session LIVE on UStream at 5 pm EST.

Check out this track and my other music on the Music Page under Media.

Students' Accomplishments - 2011

Before we get too far into 2012, I want to take a minute to recognize the hard work that my students put forth in 2011. This is by no means a full list of all of the amazing things they've done. However, I do want to let everyone know how proud of them I am. Great Job Guys! Let's get ready for another great year.

2012 All-State Winners:

Stephanie Lopez Instrument: Alto Saxophone District: 13 School: Glen C. Jones Middle Director: Dr. Tonya Millsap Grade: 8th Chair: 3rd

Rishi Rao Instrument: Alto Saxophone District: 5 School: Rivertrail Middle School Director: Angela Reynolds/Jennifer Compton Grade: 8th Chair: 8th

Jason Herrera Instrument: Alto Saxophone District: 13 School: North Gwinnett Middle School Director: Mary Wilson Grade: 8th Chair: 2nd Alternate

2011 Encore! Camp

*These two students scored within a half point of one another and twenty points above the rest of their section.

*Connor McClelland Instrument: Alto Saxophone School: North Gwinnett Middle School Director: Mary Wilson Grade: 8th Chair: 1st Chair Recipient of the Junior Director Award

*Stephanie Lopez Instrument: Alto Saxophone District: 13 School: Glen C. Jones Middle Director: Dr. Tonya Millsap Grade: 8th Chair: 2nd

Kristyn Nowak Instrument: Bass Clarinet District: 13 School: North Gwinnett High School Director: Brian Lambeth/Marion English/Rudy Gilber/Hunter McRae Grade: 9th Chair: Principal Encore! Honor Band

2012 All-State & District Honor Band Finalists:

The following students made their District Honor Bands. If they are noted as an All-State Finalist then they also passed on to the second round of All-State auditions.

Brendon Ayestaran Instrument: Tenor Saxophone/Clarinet District: 13 School: N/A Director: Grade: 10th Chair: N/A All-State Finalist – Scored 4th out of 50 at State

Jeremy Heit Instrument: Alto Saxophone District: 13 School: Northwestern Middle School Director: Christy Naughton Grade: 8th Chair: N/A

Jason Herrera Instrument: Alto Saxophone District: 13 School: North Gwinnett Middle School Director: Mary Wilson Grade: 8th Chair: 3rd All-State Finalist

Kaitlyn Lopez Instrument: Clarinet District: 13 School: Mill Creek High School Director: Erik Mason Grade: 10th Chair: N/A

Stephanie Lopez Instrument: Alto Saxophone District: 13 School: Glen C. Jones Middle School Director: Dr. Tonya Millsap Grade: 8th Chair: 1st All-State Finalist

Connor McClelland Instrument: Alto Saxophone District: 13 School: North Gwinnett Middle School Director: Mary Wilson Grade: 8th Chair: 2nd District Concert Band All-State Finalist

Kristyn Nowak Instrument: Bass Clarinet District: 13 School: North Gwinnett High School Director: Brian Lambeth/Marion English/Rudy Gilbert/Hunter McRae Grade: 9th Chair: N/A All-State Finalist

Jamie Park Instrument: Clarinet District: 13 School: North Gwinnett Middle School Director: Mary Wilson Grade: 8th Chair: 6th All-State Finalist

Mandy Peskin Instrument: Tenor Saxophone District: 3 School: Ridgeview Middle School Director: Michael Gibson Grade: 8th Chair: N/A All-State Finalist

Stephen Thomas Instrument: Alto Saxophone District: 13 School: N/A Director: N/A Grade: 7th Chair: N/A All-State Finalist

Tito Tomei Instrument: Baritone Saxophone District: 13 School: N/A Director: N/A Grade: 8th Chair: Principal District Concert Band All-State Finalist

Rebekah Warnstrom Instrument: Alto Saxophone District: 13 School: N/A Director: N/A Grade: 8th Chair: N/A All-State Finalist

Special Recognition:

Despite some observed oddities for the high school district auditions for students in District 13 this year, many students did well on their audition in that district.  Their names are listed below.

John Brocksmith Zach Compton Joon Kim Kaitlyn Lopez Jessica Morton Alex Wise

Clarinet Tone Exercises

I get questioned all the time by my students about how to get a better sound.  It's a great question and an important one at that.  However, the worst thing that can happen is if someone has never even asked themselves "how do I work on tone?"  If someone new to an instrument is using their ear when they play, really listening to themselves, they usually have a pretty good sound.  This allows them to do all sorts of new music, new concepts, extended range and techniques, even if their embouchure and air stream aren't perfect.  The flip side is when someone is fighting a 'bad' sound.  They'll find that it holds them back from doing so much more on their instrument. Tone work should usually start off your practice session.  It allows you to warm up, use air correctly before working on technical or musical aspects, and get mentally prepared for your practice session.  Here's a list of Clarinet tone exercises that I've picked up over the years and a Saxophone version will follow shortly (but, feel free to reference "Ramon Ricker Overtone Exercises" in the meantime).

PDF of Clarinet Tone Exercises

Practice Logs/Journals

I know, everyone's wretched band director had them bring their instrument home everyday, not practice, then convince their parents to lie at the end of the week and sign this arbitrary sheet called a 'practice log' saying you had practiced an hour a day. This is truly unfortunate because this is the exact opposite of what a practice log should be. A practice log is an objective recounting of how much time you spent doing what in your practice time: no more, no less. Some people get really fancy with them, writing down detail after detail. That's not what I'm doing here. Above is a very simple practice log that I thought would be helpful for anyone looking to improve their practice routine, either by practicing more efficient, or by keeping better track of their own progress, or both. While you don't want the log to go on for pages, it is helpful to keep small notes as you progress (e.g. faster tempo markings, new exercises, etc.). Write down the individual times per exercise or concept and then add them up at the end to see how much you practiced in a day. It's pretty self explanatory, but I'll take you through it. The first field listed is "Instrument", that's mainly for anyone who is a multi-instrumentalist and is juggling multiple practice schedules, in which case, a practice log is almost necessary to track of everything. The next is the date for the beginning of that week. Below that field are the goals for that week. This will help you keep track of your progress from week to week. You write down what you and your teacher have decided you'll work on for the week. The table is a breakdown of time spent on each category and total time per day. That's it.

This table is simple on purpose. You want to spend as little time as possible 'book-keeping' and as much time as you can practicing. Remember, this is for you, not for someone else (so no need to lie). It's a way for you to objectively evaluate where you're at, how to set goals, how to proceed with your practice routine, and the results of those efforts.

I've included a link to Word document so that people can open it on their machine and edit it as need be:

Practice Log in a Word Document (.doc)

Who Died and Made You King?

One of the more troubling things I’ve seen in the music world lately manifests out of nowhere.  It happens whenever I talk to one of my students about reed choices.  Now, if the student is on a decent to good set up I rarely bring up the idea of new equipment (or at least I try to).  But, if the student feels that they’re at an impasse and is interested in trying something new I like to give them all of their options.  I say, “Well there’s these types of Vandoren’s, these types of more boutique reed choices, these types of Rico’s…..” and right there, the student inevitably goes “Rico’s SUCK!!” or “My band director said Rico’s are bad”.  And, inevitably, I start to suffer an aneurism.  More than likely, the student has never tried Rico reeds, ANY Rico reeds.  What is also unfortunate is that a lot of times the person (usually the band director) that gave this student this well-intentioned, but wayward advice ALSO hasn’t tried Rico.  A lot of times, but not always, this is because they were originally a brass player and don’t actually have years of experience playing woodwind instruments.  So, I’m asking the question, who died and made Vandoren the king of all reeds, mouthpieces, and other related music products? Is it because of the number of reed options?

Rico Has:	Vandoren Has:
Rico Reeds Rico Royal Reserve Reserve Classic La Voz Grand Concert Select Grand Concert Select Evolution Mitchell Lurie Mitchell Premium Rico Select Jazz (which for years have been known as Rico Jazz Select, but whatever) Plasticover	Traditional V12 V16 ZZ Java Java Red (A very recent addition versus Rico’s RSJ which always had the filed or unfiled option) 56 Rue Lepic (Specifically Clarinet)

Is it because of artist endorsements?  To boil it down, Rico seems to have more jazz and a fair amount of Bass Clarinetists while Vandoren more classical and definitely more Clarinetists.

Is it because of reed consistency?  Ask anyone that plays Vandoren and they’ll probably tell you that their reeds aren’t the exact same from reed to reed.  In fact, reeds are inconsistent in every brand.  Some vary more than others, but the brand and sizing are estimates; you’re going to find pure consistency issues with just about any brand.  And, if musicians work on their reeds, does that mean the reed manufacturer is good or does it mean that the musician is a good “reed-tweeker”?

Is it innovation?  Rico has just come out with a huge series of products trying to regain their name.  For example: the Rico Ligature, the Rico Cap (almost a Brilhart mouthpiece cap reissue), the H-Ligature (a throw back of the old Harrison ligatures), and the ReedVitalizer humidity packs.  Even if someone uses Vandoren reeds, a lot of times they’re using a Rico ReedVitalizer along with their reed regiment, NOT a blue Vandoren reed holder with a “humidity control” that makes your reeds moldy.

Is it quality of cane?  I can name at least 5 brands that age their cane longer, use more choice cane, and have higher quality control than Rico or Vandoren (Gonzales, Riggotti, Roberto’s, Alexander, Daniel’s).

Is it because Rico (kind of) doesn’t make mouthpieces?  Well, they certainly have not delved into the world of mouthpieces yet.  However, they do have a neck strap that people tend to like.

I guess my big point here is that I find this debate ridiculous (which is why I ironically continued it on this blog).  You use what works.  If a Rico Grand Concert gets you a better sound than a Vandoren 56 Rue Lepic, fine.  Yes, you can take facts about the reed manufacturing process to help in the selection, but the second that someone uses brand recognition to make that decision for them, they’re not thinking about sound.  And, isn’t sound really all we should care about?

Rhythm Exercises: #1 Rhythmic Subdivisons

This is the first in a set of rhythmic exercises that I'll be posting to this site. So many times we overlook the importance of having Really. Good. Time. This is something that will help in every aspect of playing, e.g. improvising, playing etudes and solo pieces, playing in an ensemble, playing pieces with no definable time, and even sight reading (yes, I said sight reading). This was first shown to me by Mr. Kim, one of the teachers that I met at Georgia Governor's Honors Program when I was in high school. He said then, and I've found in my own teaching, that students working on their sight-reading always think that the thing holding them back is their ability to read notes when, in actuality, it's their sense of rhythm that keeps them from reading something fluidly. This is an exercise that he gave us to help with that: It looks simple, but let me explain how to play this. You can't just set a metronome and count. If you're going to internalize these subdivisions, you have to keep time and rhythm in two different ways - you can't just use your foot. First, set your metronome on quarter note equals 40. Now, clap along with the metronome; your hands are now keeping the time. Then, you're going to say the rhythm (the part that's written on the staff) while you continue to clap the time along with the metronome. Repeat this for at least a couple of minutes checking that you're not rushing or dragging and get use to going from groups of nines all the way back to quarter notes to notice how changing the subdivision feels. To solidify this, switch the time and rhythm. Keep the time with your mouth by saying "1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, etc..." and clap the rhythm. For some of you the first way will be more difficult, for others, the second will. Here's an audio clip of this being played with wood block keeping the quarter note pulse and snare drum keeping the rhythm:

[wpaudio url="http://williamhollifield.com/wp-content/uploads/RhythmicSubdivisionsWithAccentsAndWoodBlock.mp3" text="Rhythmic Subdivisions (Snare & Wood Block)" dl="0"]

Above & Beyond: To make this more interesting you can use drumsticks and a drum pad. Time in one hand, rhythm in the other, then switch. This will show you two things 1) how truly accurate you have to be with rhythm to keep time well and 2) how keeping accurate rhythm will later help you keep time well.

Show Announcement! July 2nd @ Smith's Olde Bar

Did you miss us?  Because we're back, and back in style.  WHB will be doing their next performance in the Atlanta Room at Smith's Olde Bar.  This club is a staple of the southeast that hosts both local, national, and international acts with a laundry list of past performers that rivals most arenas.  Details for the show are listed below, or as always on the "Calendar" page,  OR on the FB Event Page.  While you're up on facebook, don't forget to "like" the Will Hollifield Music page and keep checking back for more videos, show announcements, and posts.

7/2/11 - Smith's Olde Bar (Atlanta), music starts at 8 PM

• Cover: $8
• 21+
• 1578 Piedmont Road Northeast Atlanta, GA 30324-5232
• (404) 875-1522
• RSVP on facebook