Dr. Dennis W. AsKew - Tuba and Euphonium

All entering tuba/euphonium students will need to own a tuner, metronome, recording device, breathing bag and initial music. Each student, if a personal instrument is not owned, will need to own a mouthpiece. The following items are required: Tuner, Korg DT-1; Metronome, Seiko, or Boss, Dr. Beat ; Recording device— a basic cassette recorder will be fine, such as you might find at Radio Shack, but many students discover the value of having a digital music recorder (like a Zoom H2) and some have microphones to go with their Mp3 players, while others use their laptops. (if a PC laptop, or mp3 player is used , a separate microphone will need to be purchased, as well. Most cassette recorders and Macintosh laptops have built in microphones) Breathing Bag, 5 liter, available from www.windsongpress.com; Mouthpieces, Tuba, Bach 7, Mike Finn 3 or Loud 5; Euphonium, Loud 20 or 25; Music: Tuba, AsKew/Bass, Concepts of Tuba Technique (Cimarron), Bordogni/Rochut, Melodious Etudes, Book 1(Fischer)( yes, a trombone book….), Tyrell, 40 Advanced Studies(Boosey), Blazhevich, 70 Studies, Book 1 (King); Euphonium, AsKew/Bass, Concepts of Euphonium Technique (Cimarron), Bordogni/Rochut, Melodious Etudes, Book 1(Fischer), New Concert Studies for Euphonium Vol.1 (deHaske), Tyrell, 40 Studies for Trombone(Boosey). Also, all students are strongly urged to purchase Characteristic Studies by H.L. Clarke (bass clef, edited by Gordon) and an Arban’s Complete Method (there are separate versions for euphonium/trombone, and for tuba available from Encore Music).

Instruments: If you are entering college with your own instrument, a locker will be available for you. If you need to check out a school instrument, they will be available the Friday before classes start in the fall, and will have a locker assigned to them. If you are planning to purchase an instrument before starting college, be sure to talk with me, or another professional before purchasing. There are many types/shapes/keys of instruments available, and cheaper isn’t always better!

Keep Practicing

I want you to do well in your course work, in your private lessons, and in ensembles. In order to get a good start at UNCG, you need to begin preparing now. After your audition for acceptance into the School of Music, it’s not the time to let down! You will need to continue practicing so that you will be prepared to perform at your best on the audition held shortly after you arrive on campus in August. The audition in the fall will be for ensemble placement and chair placement within the section. Music for that audition will be available at the SOAR session you attend during the summer, and in the UNCG Music Library.

Prepare for Success in Music Theory

Freshmen come to UNCG with differing levels of knowledge about music. Some will know the major and minor scales, key signatures, clefs, intervals, and chord types (major, minor, augmented and diminished) which they have learned through private lessons or music theory study in high school. Many others, however, possess only a rudimentary understanding of the subject. This range in knowledge about music theory presents a difficult challenge to both students and their teacher. To help you succeed in freshman music theory at UNCG, I am suggesting you do some preparatory work on the following websites: http://www.musictheory.halifax.ns.ca/lessons.html and http://www.dolmetsch.com/theoryintro.htm . These are free lessons that cover the basics of theory. There is no need to purchase the product, unless you want to. When you visit these web sites, you may be prompted to download QuickTime, if that application is not already on your computer, so that you can hear musical examples. (QuickTime is a free application.) You may already know many of the concepts in this web site, but it is important that you work your way through all of the exercises and the quizzes from the beginning to the end.

Develop Your Singing Voice

The functional use of your singing voice is important to your success as a music student at UNCG, and later as a music teacher in private lessons, ensemble rehearsal, or the classroom. Although those students who anticipate being a voice major usually spend several years singing in a choir during their adolescent years, many instrumentalists fail to develop their vocal skills. During the freshman and sophomore years, all music majors must enroll in courses designed to develop the skills of aural perception and sight singing. Prior singing experience will help you succeed in those courses. If you have not recently had experience singing, then you are urged to find a place in a school or community choir, church choir, or another musical venue where you can develop skill in singing with good pitch and rhythm and become comfortable in using your singing voice.

Develop Your Keyboard Skills

If you have limited performance skills on the piano, then I strongly urge you to find a piano teacher and begin keyboard study immediately. Piano study will contribute to your general musical knowledge in many ways, especially your functional knowledge of scales, chords, and clefs. All students, unless they have studied piano privately for a number of years, are required to enroll in piano proficiency classes to develop their keyboard skills, but having some knowledge of piano skills ahead of time will help you when you arrive on campus.

Helpful Websites

www.hickeys.com, www.windsongpress.com, www.encoremupub.com, www.rkingmusicsales.com, www.mikefinnmouthpieces.com, www.loudmouthpieces.com, www.mouthpieceexpress.com, www.wwandbw.com (for tuners and metronomes)