![]( "Indiana University Jacobs School of Music’s Dr. Demondrae Thurman guest lectures at Callahan Middle School Sept. 24. He taught the student musicians about the importance of proper air flow into instruments to create quality sound.")
Indiana University Jacobs School of Music’s Dr. Demondrae Thurman guest lectures at Callahan Middle School Sept. 24. He taught the student musicians about the importance of proper air flow into instruments to create quality sound.
Band students discovered they either “cool the soup” or “fog the window” when blowing into brass and woodwind instruments.
Euphonium player Dr. Demondrae Thurman highlighted the distinctions during a visit to Callahan Middle School as guest lecturer Sept. 24.
A composer and musical artist, Thurman was appointed to the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music faculty in August. He is also an adjunct professor at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala.
Former CMS student Baxley Roberts is a student in the Samford music program. Roberts contacted CMS Band Director Paul Arnold about Thurman and the two educators coordinated the recent visit.
The euphonist opened the lecture by playing, “Believe me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms” by Thomas Moore.
His demonstration emphasized the breathing techniques and tone that an accomplished musician conveys when the body is relaxed and proper breathing occurs.
With the “cool the soup” method, muscle tension is felt in the upper chest and neck, according to Thurman. When musicians breathe/blow as if to “fog the window” with cheeks extended – the body experiences zero tension in the shoulder and neck area, increasing and possibly improving the sound quality, according to Thurman.
Another way to improve sound is to properly apply the lips or embouchure when playing brass and woodwind instruments.
“My embouchure’s job is to channel the air that gets into my instrument,” Thurman said.
The band room was abuzz as students participated in a freestyle exercise with their top lips buzzing to focus and improve the sound they produce on their mouthpiece.
Having the proper air allows for strong facial support for soft and loud tones for the wind instruments, which are all part of the proper embouchure, according to Thurman.
Joash Wollitz plays trombone. He picked up a few lessons that he can use.
“I learned to keep my embouchure right and how it’s warm air instead of cold air,” the seventh-grader said.
Thurman also stressed the importance of learning the chromatic scale. With its 12 tones, he said it is possible to learn the 12 scales in three months. He suggested that students play one note each day to learn seven notes per week. Once this is accomplished, all styles of music may be learned.
He encouraged the students to learn their scales now rather than later.
“I missed out on a lot of stuff because I chose not to learn my scales,” Thurman said. “I didn’t make all-state until my junior year in Alabama, so go ahead and knock your scales out early.”
Brooke Steele plays the French horn. She agrees that tackling chromatic scales early is the way to go.
“Scales are the key thing to know,” the eighth-grader said. “They’re not that hard to know – just take your time and learn and always be dedicated.”
“If you have good embouchure, you have good sound and good tone quality,” said clarinetist Taylor Clayton. “Also scales, too – that’s the key to success with your music.”
Arnold appreciated Thur-
man’s visit. He also stopped at the University of North Florida and Douglas And-erson School of the Arts.
“We were honored to have him share his time and talent with our young musicians,” Arnold said. “And, hopefully, they were inspired to achieve even greater musical accomplishments in the future.”