Teaching Low Brass

Reviewed by Scott Roeder, Professor of Tuba/Euphonium, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 3/1/24

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The book is a great overview of basic information for a school band director. The information is presented in an easy to read manner. I wish the book contained further detailed information. Could also use more information on the role of wind within the process of playing.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Everything seems accurate of accepted practices.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Information is very relevant as a quick resource for band directors and students that want to become band directors.

Clarity rating: 5

Easty to read and understand.

Consistency rating: 5

Very Consistent

Modularity rating: 5

Maxwell does a great job of organizing the topics in short easy to read sections.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

I didn't quite understand the progression from topic to topic at times.

Interface rating: 5

no problems

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

good

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Good

Comments

This is a great resource for a music education student or band director who needs a quick resource to understand the most basic elements of low brass playing and teaching. I think this book serves as a good starting point. I would recommend that further research is needed to become excellent at teaching these instruments.

Reviewed by RJ Miller, Director of Music Technology, Instructor of Scoring for Film & TV, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 4/19/23

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The topics covered are comprehensiveness. The text, however, occasionally lacks depth and at times relies upon direct quotes from outside sources. That being said, the text also contains ample original content and provides adequate references to resources for the music education student to locate additional salient materials.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The content of the text is currently accurate and presents an adequate guideline for music education students to understand a basic approach to playing/teaching low brass instruments. The lists of instrument brands and supplies referenced in text may need updated/purged from time to time. Links to web sites and blogs will continually need to be confirmed and updated/replaced as the need arises.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is relevant to the instruction of playing/teaching low brass instruments. The longevity of the text will depend upon continually updating the linked/referenced materials.

Clarity rating: 5

The content presented is clear and precise. The text is presented in an informal style. As such, students will likely find the content more accessible than if the text were written in a purely academic style.

Consistency rating: 5

The text is consistent in its approach. While virtually all sections are delineated, the concepts are consistent in presentation.

Modularity rating: 5

The individual chapters could be presented as separate modules. However, the chapters are presented in a logical order, so the modules should follow that sequence.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The organization, structure and flow of the text is logical, concise and effective. Additionally, the exercises/etudes presented in the appendices follow a logical sequence.

Interface rating: 3

Broken or orphaned links are always a potential hazard. Several of the embedded links in both the text and the citations yielded 404 errors. By relying upon links instead of incorporating the desired content into the text exposes one to possible functionality issues. Perhaps that could be a consideration for future editions.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Though informal in its presentation, the text contained no appreciable grammatical errors. There is the occasional spelling error, but nothing egregious.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The lack of cultural inclusion is not a detriment to focus of this text (playing/teaching low brass instruments). However, brass instruments are not exclusively a western European construct. The section on the history of brass instrument could have easily been expanded to include references to more culturally diverse brass instruments without distracting from the eventual focus of the text.

Comments

Dr. Maxwell has created what one could conceive of as a comprehensive outline to playing/teaching low brass. Though quite delineated, the content is accurate and presented in a logical manner. One could easily use this text as a guide to construct a customized, semester-long class on low brass, expanding content and adding depth as one sees fit. It is in that context that the book is recommended.

Reviewed by Bill Haugeberg, Assistant Professor of Low Brass, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 11/4/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text covers all basic topics for a low brass methods course, but still leaves room for the instructor to add their own material as well. It also covers all topics with enough clarity that a music education student could learn many basic techniques without consulting an experienced low brass performer.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The text accurately presents information on the basic understanding of low brass instruments for music education students. There are some materials (lists of professional trombone brands, for example) that could be updated or expanded, but all content presented is considered accurate by mainstream brass teachers and performers. As with most texts, there might be several semantic or trivial issues the instructor has with the material, but they could easily alter or edit the text for their course needs.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

All information is relevant to the topic - teaching music education students the basics of low brass instruments.

Clarity rating: 5

The subject matter is presented clearly throughout the text; however, the large sections of italicized text can be difficult to read in the current font. This is a small issue that might not even be noticed by most readers.

Consistency rating: 5

Text consistently represents materials and topics of study for low brass methods students, including a suggested daily routine and other playing materials.

Modularity rating: 5

The chapters from this text can be used in isolation without losing context.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is well organized and begins by covering the general characteristics for all low brass instruments before giving specific information about each of the individual instruments.

Interface rating: 4

The text is functional and can be used by many devices. Perhaps an ePub with links to the various chapters would be nice in future editions, but not necessary. It might also be prudent to include the linked materials in the actual text. Although this would increase the size of the file, it would also fix broken links.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text did not have any noticeable grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

No extra cultural information was included, and it is not necessary for the scope of the course - teaching low brass performance techniques. If the text were to include a section on famous players, styles, etc. - it would then be appropriate to include a broad cultural representation of low brass performers. Perhaps this material could be added to future editions of the text.

Comments

Dr. Maxwell created a great resource for low brass methods with this text. The information presented is concise and accurate, but provides enough information to fill a semester-length course studying these instruments. If a teacher would like to add additional information, it is easy enough to modify the text for their purposes. My only issue pertains to the use of links in the text. While the linked pages are informative and can help future educators, there are several links that do not lead to the source. Perhaps these supplemental materials could be embedded into any future editions of the text. Otherwise, this is a great text to use as a foundation for any low brass methods course.