Mike Hannickel

Interval Builders for Developing Bands

Mike Hannickel, an educator and young band specialist, contributes INTERVAL BUILDERS For DEVELOPING BANDS. While groups at every level will find these important 'playable music theory lessons' excellent for the study of intervals and intonation, the music is composed within the range and rhythm guidelines of Grade 2 and lower bands. Organized in a sensible and cohesive way, several basic intervals are explored thoroughly. First, the band is asked to play a very short exercise introducing a specific interval. The director then has the option (highly recommended) of having the group SING the same exercise. As they say, 'If you can't sing it, you can't play it. ' Vocalizing the exercise helps to internalize each interval in its own 'up close and personal' way. The band then discovers what it sounds like if they make a 'stack' of those intervals exclusively. For instance, a 'stack' of Major thirds yields an augmented Major triad which, as you know, has a sound all its own. 'Memory Tunes' are introduced to help the musicians tie their intervals to familiar old melodies, allowing easier memorization of the characteristic sound of each one. Short original compositions help students recognize how composers may focus on certain intervals in order to capture a particular effect. Combine all this with playable interval recognition quizzes, duplicatable homework assignments, an introduction to interval inversions, the basics of consonance and dissonance, and suggested listening ideas, and you have a powerful educational tool. Help your band develop a more mature sound WHILE you teach them the fundamentals of music theory! How can you go wrong?