Development and implementation of pre-college wind curriculum

Abstract

The following study and resulting curriculum are the product of this author’s desire to contribute useful foundation-building tools for both teachers and students of wind instruments, specifically the flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, and horn. By using the woodwind quintet instrumentation as a vehicle, this curriculum strives to enrich experiences within the classical tradition of ensemble playing as well as to enhance future musical endeavors of students in high school band programs through concentrated study. This curriculum was formed as a result of numerous interviews, pedagogical research, surveys, and the author’s own experiences as a wind player and wind chamber music pedagogue. Interviews were used to evaluate and compare existing pedagogical practices within selected regions of the United States in both high school and freshman-level collegiate settings (studies of each within the same region, some concentrated on the arts and some not), with a goal of determining strengths and weaknesses of wind players as well as potential gaps between the two levels. An attempt to go beyond the band tradition by including classical and symphonic elements of wind instrumental performance practices was realized through the development of sound and technique on each instrument in the wind quintet as well as skills for practice, independent rehearsal, and performance. The end result is a self-contained, participant-guided woodwind chamber program, focusing on private and group instruction, performance issues, and repertoire education specific to each instrument, emphasizing the art of chamber music-making within the wind family, with an aim of achieving a higher understanding and appreciation of each instrument’s role within the woodwind family.