“Hai!”: Practical Applications of Japanese Band Methods in Urban

“Hai!”:PracticalApplicationsof

JapaneseBandMethodsinUrbanSchools

AMidwestClinicPresentation

Wednesday,December14th,201610:3011:30ConferenceRoomW184

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BenjaminDas,BandDirector,PritzkerCollegePrepChicago,IL

bdas@pritzkercollegeprep.org

BrianPavloff,ChoirDirector,JazzBandCoDirector,PritzkerCollegePrepChicago,IL

bpavloff@pritzkercollegeprep.org

Forward:

For decades, musicians have admired the high level of performance typical of the common Japanese              

school band. At the same time, many directors have dismissed their pedagogy as “too foreign” or “not                

practical” for the American band room. Mr. Das will share systems, techniques and strategies that are               

standard practice for many Japanese bands. These methods can be utilized by any band program              

regardless of size, previous experience, schedule constraints, or socioeconomic background. Students          

fromPritzkerCollegePrep,aTitleIschool,areonhandforlivedemonstrationofeachtopic.

Introduction:

TheCondit ion satPritzkerCollegePrep:

● Nonselectiveenrollmentpublic912highschool

● 94%freeorreducedlunch

● Totalenrollment=998

● Enrollmentinband=235

● Studentschoose1of5electivesatthebeginningoffreshmanyear

● Only144scheduledminutesaweek(two72minuteclassesaweek)

● Classesarenottrackedbyability,insteadtheyarescheduledbygradelevel

● Twofreshmansections,twosophomoresections,threejuniorseniorsections

● HonorsBandandJazzBandareafterschool“clubs”thatrehearse13timesaweek

● 95%playschoolownedinstruments

● Noprivatelessons

● 90%haveneverplayedaninstrumentbeforehighschool

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● Specifictothisschoolyear:OnSeptember12th,2016,KiranMichaelDaswasborn.

Ihavebeenonpartialpaternityleaveandhaveonlyattendedhalfoftheschooldaysthissemester.In

myabsence,studentleaders(Senpai)rantheclass.Therewasaninhousesubstituteteacherondays

thatIwasout,butthatteacherwasnotmusicallytrainedandwasspecificallyinstructednottodo

anythingotherthantakeattendance.Ourchoirinstructor,Mr.Pavloff,openedupthebandroomone

hourbeforeschooleverydaytomaintainthe“officehour”culturethatIhadalreadyestablished.During

thistime,studentswouldrunsectionals,peertutor,orprepareforupcomingauditions.

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The Conditions of the Typical Japanese School Band: Schools with great bands differ as to whether               

they are public, private, selective or nonselective. Let us begin by debunking common misconceptions             

American band directors might have about Japanese bands. I’ve put these misconceptions in quotes             

becausetheseareactualstatementsI’veheardfellowbanddirectorsandmusiciansmake.(SMH):

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● “They’reallaffluent.”False.Justlikehere,Japaniseconomicallydiverse.

● “The students all take private lessons.” False. Even within the most competitive school bands,             

veryfewstudentstakeprivatelessons.

● “They all start in ___ (fill in the blank) grade.” False. Two years ago, Saitama Sakae (featured                

Midwestgroup)hadabassoonistthathadonlybeenplayingforthreemonths.

● “Bands are run like dictatorships, with the director in front of the band the entire time barking                

orders.”False.Lessthanhalfofmostrehearsalsincludethedirectoratthepodium.

● “TheJapaneseareinherentlysmarterthanus.”False.Allpeoplearecreatedequal.☺

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Japanese bands do however have two critical advantages over American bands that are related to              

society and culture: The development of “the ear” before learning an instrument, and the amount of time                

dedicatedtoplayingoncetheystart.

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The Ear: As a country, Japan embraces the most essential music educational norm students sing early,               

sing often, and sing with the purpose of making a great product. Whether a Japanese student starts an                 

instrument in 5th grade or 9th grade, they most likely have hundreds of hours of choral singing under                 

their belt. By the time they start playing, a strong sense of tonality and musicality have already been                 

established.

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Dedication/Time: Band, sports and other clubs are not scheduled during the regular school day.             

Students are expected to pick one extracurricular and devote themselves to it. For the most competitive               

schools (the ones we watch with awe on YouTube), rehearsals are usually every day after school for 23                 

hours, and another 68 hours on Saturday. Last year, Shujitsu (featured Midwest group) said they only               

tookonedayoffthatyear.

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FromShujitsu’s2015MidwestClinichandout:

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“After school clubs, like band club, are done for the development of character, humanity, a sense of                

teamwork, etc., not to train future musicians or athletes. Though, company and community bands are              

very popular and offer a lifelong hobby. The Japanese work and social culture values loyalty, and               

accordingly, students belong to one club, and give it their all. Students are primary organizers of the                

club, handle most of the logistics, focus training and recruitment, and have a strong sense of ownership.                

Better band clubs have an extensive organizational structure, where everyone is given some sort of              

responsibility. Time spent with the club, like on weekends, depends upon the enthusiasm of the student               

staff or adult sponsor, or ambitions of the administration. Being voluntary, though, means the passion is               

real,nomatterwhattheart.” 

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Okay,we’veacknowledgedthedifferences,nomoretimeforexcuses.

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DisciplineandOwnership

● Thetwoshouldbeinbalance,anddirectorsshouldnotbedictators

● PerfectPosture,100%ofthetime

● Studentsorganizeroomforrehearsal

● Studentscleanbandroomandorganizemusic

● Everystudenthasasayinmakingthemusicbetter

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SenpaiandKohai:olderstudentsteachyoungerstudents

● “Eachone,teachone”

● Apprenticesystem

● Studentsleadsectionals,runwarmups,andpeertutor

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PendulumMetronome

● Loudspeaker and flashing strobe metronomes serve their purpose, but garner different          

results. More than just a timekeeper, a pendulum metronome heightens focus and helps            

give students a visual target to project their sound towards. Since students must look up              

to see it, better posture and breathing are implicitly encouraged. This practice is less             

about playing with “metronomic precision” and more about the sway and flow of the             

pendulum.

● WeusetheWittner5403whichcanbepurchasedforjustunder$60

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BreathingExercises

● Breathingtubes:costefficient,timeefficient,andeffective

● Toiletpaperroll,cutinhalf,wrappedinducttape

● Mostbreathingexercisesyoualreadydocanbemademoreefficientwithbreathingtubes

● Directlyrelatebreathingexercisestoplayingexercises(Thiscanbeanentire

presentationofit’sown)



IntrototheYamahaHar mo nyDirector(HD 200),aka“Japan’sSecretWeapon”

● Briefoverview(Thiscanbeanentirepresentationinitsownright)

● Tonematching,drones,pure/justtemperament,metronome

● Practicalusewillbedemonstratedthroughoutthepresentation.



Just/Pur eIntonation

● Requiredreading:BethBronk’sTexasBandmastersarticletitled“It’sJustIntonation”.

○ http://apps.texasbandmasters.org/archives/pdfs/bmr/201012bronk.pdf



Thefollowingchartexplainshowtoalterpitchestocreatepureharmony.Thesealterationsare

notfixed/setinthekeyofBb.Rather,theyrepresenthowtoalterchordtonesbasedonaBb

MajororBbminorchord.Forinstance,aBbmajortriadcanappearastheIVchordinthekeyof

F.Thebass/rootnoteisalwaysinequaltemperament.



MajorChordsScaleDegree:12345678

Adjustment(cents):0+3.913.72.0+2.015.611.70

BbCDEbFGABb



MinorChordsScaleDegree:12345678

Adjustment(cents):0+3.9+15.62.0+2.0+13.7+17.60

BbCDbEbFGbAbBb



● Overtoneexamplesadaptedfrom“SonorityforWinds”DVD,BravoMusic

● Havestudentshearandsingtheovertones.

● Theultimategoalisresonance.



SingingBrianPavloff,ChoirDirector,PritzkerCollegePrep

● Encouragechoraltone

● Startwithahum,createintenseresonanceinthehead,andlowerthejaw

● Singon“Ma”syllable,somewherebetween“mah”and“maw”

● Practicalusewillbedemonstratedthroughoutthepresentation.



Balance/UnisonTrainingFrom“BasicTrainingforConcertBand”DVD,BravoMusic

● Studentsenterinorderofvoice(SATB)fromlowtohigh.

● Thegoalistopaintonanotherlayerandenhancethesound,notcoveritup.

● Thispracticeallowsmentaltimeandspacetoevaluatethethreelevelsoflisteningwhile

playing:individual,section,ensemble.



HarmonyTrainingFrom“BasicTrainingforConcertBand”DVD,BravoMusic

● SimpleIIVVIprogression

● Studentsaretaughtwhichchordtonestheyareplaying,andsubsequentlyhowto

balanceandtunebasedontheirchordtone:

○ Thirds are lowered by 13.7 cents and in volume, fifths are played “fast” (2 cents              

higher) and “strong”, sevenths... etc. The HD200 displays all of these alterations,           

andtheycanalsobefoundinBethBronk’sarticlementionedearlier. 



TuningRitualFrom“BasicTrainingforConcertBand”DVD,BravoMusic

● AlltuningisdonebyearwiththeHD200,Cleartune(app)orTonalEnergy(app)

○ ItshouldbenotedthatmanyJapanesebandsusevisualtunersaswell.

However,theyarenotrelyingonthemtheearisfirstandforemost.Asstated

earlier,Japanesestudentscomeinwithafirmear.Sinceourstudentscomein

withlittletonopriortraining,wechoosetotunesolelybyear.

● Tuneaseriesofnotestoidentifytendencies,andavoidthe“ConcertBb”rut.

● Do↓Sol↑Re↓Ti↑DointhekeyofBb,exceptforEbinstrumentsinthekeyofEb,and

FrenchhorninthekeyofF



ChoraleTrainingInspiredbySaitamaSakae’s2014MidwestClinicpresentation

● “AmazingGrace”fromFrankErickson’s“66FestiveandFamousChorales”

● Playit,singit,playitagain.

● Studentshavealreadyidentifiedpitchalterationstostriveforpureintonation.

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Applyingtechniquesinrehearsal

● Don’ttrytoplay“darkandblended”,trytoplayfull,intuneandbalanced.Theresultwill

bearesonant,blended,and“organlike”sound.

● Studentsidentifychordtonesandtroublespots.

● Markmajor3rdswith“L3”indicatingtolowerit.

● PlaychordchangeslikeHarmonyTrainingtobetterhearchordchangesanddirection.

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SelectedWorksforToday’sP resentation

● “IntoMoonlight’sMist”byRichardSaucedo,HalLeonardCorporation,Grade4

● “TheStormchasers”byRobertSheldon,AlfredMusicPublishing,Grade4

○ AveryspecialthankyoutoRobertSheldonforworkingwithourstudents!



Pleasewritedownquestions,andaskattheendiftimeallows.Iftimedoesn’tallow,findme

overthenextthreedaysILOVEtalkingaboutthisstuff.Iamalsoresponsivewithemail

(bdas@pritzkercollegeprep.org),andwouldbehappytofollowupoverthephoneafterinitial

emailcontactismade. 



Resources

● WindsDVDSeriesfromBravoMusic

○ ThescoresandpartsfromtheaboveexercisescanbepurchasedfromBravoas

partoftheseries.

● SoundInnovations,AlfredMusicPublishing

○ “Book1”(bluebook):Beginning/FreshmenMethod

○ “EnsembleDevelopment”(greenandpurplebooks):additionalchorales,balance,

technicalandscaleexercises.



Acknowledgements

● PabloSierra,CarrieSpitz,andtheentireadministrationandfacultyatPritzkerCollege

Prepfortheircontinuedsupport.10yearsandcounting!



● JamesTroupis,MikeMilkie,EricThomas,TysonKaneandtheNobleNetworkof

CharterSchoolsfortheircontinuedsupportofmusicinChicago.Youhavehelpedplace

instrumentsinthehandsofliterallythousandsofstudentswhootherwisewouldnothave

hadtheopportunity.



● “Sensai”MarkHumpreysatBravoMusicforbeingawealthofknowledgeandalways

pickingupthephonewheneverIcalled.



● Dr.JeffreyMaleckifromtheUniversityofSanDiegoforworkingwithourstudentsover

theyearsandopeningupincredibleperformanceandclinicopportunitiesforthem.



● MaryEllenCavitt,SuzanneGlaserandBethBronkforconsultingandsharing

informationregardingtheirvisittoJapan.



● JeffreyDaeschlerandtheMidwestClinicforthislovelyopportunity.



● AspecialthankyoutoBru cePaynterandtheJohnP.PaynterF oundationforthe

continuedsupportovertheyears.



● Andmostimportantly,mywifeMeganforherunyieldinglove,andsupportofmy

endeavors.

