Can anyone help me help my Austrian student?

[Carroll]

I am a high school band director and I have an Austrian girl enrolled in my class. She is here as an exchange student and I want to make her experience as pleasant and fruitful as possible. Her host family says she plays the "tenor horn" and would like to participate in my band. She does not know what key her "tenor horn" is in and is not sure if she reads treble clef or not. If Austria follows the British Brass Band tradition, everyone reads treble clef so the "other" clef might never have been mentioned. From what I have seen, both Eb and Bb horns are called "tenor" in some circles. These are what we call "alto horns" (sometimes peckhorns) and "baritones". I am sure she is used to an oval shaped, rotary valve instrument. We can provide her with a piston valve, upright baritone and a bell front marching trombone or flugabone.

That brings me to the next issue. I am sure the concept of halftime marching band will come as a complete culture shock. She may have seen a football game, but it probably looked a lot like soccer. Is there a similar activity that I can cite to let her know what she is getting into?

This should prove to be very enlightening for me, her, and the rest of my students. She comes from a town with 2,000 residents and I teach in a town with 1,000.

[sungfw]

She does not know what key her "tenor horn" is in and is not sure if she reads treble clef or not.

I suspect she does know the clef, but not the English names for the clefs. Ask her whether she reads Dreifacher Clef or Baßschlüssel?

If Austria follows the British Brass Band tradition, everyone reads treble clef so the "other" clef might never have been mentioned.

It's more likely that Austria follows German nomenclature, in which a Tenorhorn is what we would call a "baritone" or "rotary euphonium," and are pitched in Bb.

Seems to me the most practical way of determining the clef would be to write out a C scale on two separate sheets of paper, one treble clef, one bass clef and have her pick the one she recognizes.

To determine the key, have her play the C on the sheet she just picked and check the pitch against a chromatic tuner.

I am sure the concept of halftime marching band will come as a complete culture shock. She may have seen a football game, but it probably looked a lot like soccer. Is there a similar activity that I can cite to let her know what she is getting into?

Show her a dozen or so videos of halftime show on YouTube. That ought to give her a pretty good idea of what she's up against. (Or just show her video of the trombone player getting blown up in the endzone in the Cal-Stanford game if you want to scare her off. )

[Carroll]

The student came to my classroom for the first time today. She did indeed play a baritone sized oval euphonium. I am in negotiations to get her one to use for the year, to make her feel more at home. She reads "Violinschlüssel" which I gather is G clef or Treble clef. This is probably one euphonium student I will not push too hard to learn Bass Clef. She seems to be excited about the whole football band/halftime show extravaganza.

As a side note, even though she is tri-lingual (as many if not most Europeans are) she has great difficulty understanding folks in this very rural Tennessee location.

[Nick Pierce]

As a side note, even though she is tri-lingual (as many if not most Europeans are) she has great difficulty understanding folks in this very rural Tennessee location.

I'm inclined to think that the fault doesn't necessarily lie with her there. If you take me meaning.

[sungfw]

As a side note, even though she is tri-lingual (as many if not most Europeans are) she has great difficulty understanding folks in this very rural Tennessee location.

Just think: 9 months from now, she'll be completely fluent in four MORE languages: Southern, redneck, hillbilly, and 'Murucun.

[imperialbari]

If not a very bad sample the oval Bb Tenorhorn is much more responsive than even good euphoniums. If euphs have an oval equivalent, which I doubt, then the Bariton. But ovals are much lighter instruments than the piston uprights as known from the British brass band. The piston instrument coming closest was a US made 3 top piston bell-up, which a player from a visiting US high school band let me try almost to the day 40 years ago. Neither a King, a Conn, a Getzen, an Olds, or a Bach as I knew these brands back then. Maybe a Reynolds.

My ovals are a 4 valve Bariton and an Eb alto horn (if a high quality Tenorhorn surfaces at the right price, I will buy it, but it shall have 4 valves). I play them with larger mouthpieces than the original ones, and I am experienced enough to lighten up my playing, so that I don't overblow them. In the reverse situation a young player of an oval Tenorhorn might find a piston instrument very stiff and un-responsive to play.

If your student intends to stay on Tenorhorn or Bariton in the school- and amateur bands of her native country, there is no reason to teach her bass clef. If she has professional plans, she will have to play the trombone also (and the piano). If so she can just as well learn the bass clef during her stay in the US. Letting her play a piston instrument in band (preferably her own, if she brought it) while giving her instructions on trombone at a private level actually may be a very useful option for her.

American style marching bands are not common here in Europe, even if I have seen a Polish youth band following American inspiration. However a former trumpet student of mine fitted well into his schools programme during his stay in the US.

Not on topic, but I am curious about, which language your student has as her third one. For an Austrian the more obvious ones would be Italian, French, or Latin.

Klaus Smedegaard Bjerre

[Tom Holtz]

Let her march the oval horn. Put her right up front for everyone to see. It's brilliant. Come concert season, well, who knows... Cross that bridge when you get to it. If it means writing out parts for her, so be it, but let her march with her own axe. It's as much an experience for the rest of your band as it is for her.

Does she have the same accent as Gov. Schwarzenegger??

[Carroll]

So here is my update:
Johanna is fluent in German, French, and English (you know... the standard kind).

Her instrument is in Austria.

She does, indeed, read treble clef, so will play treble clef (transposed) baritone music.

I bought her a bell front marching trombone and will put my bigger boys on the larger marching baritones.

I am in negotiations to borrow a 4 valve oval Miraphone baritone (some of you can guess from whom).

She has expresses some interest in lessons with me toward bass clef and trombone.

I think we can get her into jazz band on valve trombone. I will transpose the parts for her.

Thank you all for your suggestions.