The legacy of Arnold Jacobs teaching and the future of tuba pedagogy.

217 Pages·2013·1.06 MB·English

THE LEGACY OF ARNOLD JACOBS TEACHING
AND THE
FUTURE OF TUBA PEDAGOGY

by JOHN R. LEBLANC

Submitted to

The Manhattan School of Music

in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of

Doctor of Musical Arts

and approved by

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

______________________________

December 2000
1
ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS
The Legacy of Arnold Jacobs Teaching
and the
Future of Tuba Pedagogy
by JOHN R. LEBLANC
Thesis advisor: Jeffrey Langford

Arnold Jacobs is considered by many to be the greatest brass pedagogue of the
twentieth century. His investigations into the role of breathing as it relates to wind
instrument playing and the psychology of performance are unprecedented. We were all
saddened by his death on October 7, 1998. This thesis serves as an oral history of
Jacobs’s pedagogical approach by three of his most prominent tuba students--Toby
Hanks, Daniel Perantoni, and David Fedderly. The interview subjects were asked about
the following areas: breathing; embouchure; tone; articulation; mouthpiece buzzing; and
the psychology of playing as taught to them by Mr. Jacobs. In the concluding section of
each interview, I also asked each of the interview subjects what they believe the future of
tuba pedagogy will be. In addition to presenting Jacobs’s views on the most common
aspects of tuba performance, I have endeavored to point out those areas where I believe
there may be ambiguity, or disagreement about an approach that is taken.
The conclusions reached were that Arnold Jacobs was an incredible player and
teacher that demystified the way brass instruments are taught. He was able to
substantiate his teaching concepts with scientific evidence, such as telling you what will
2
happen if you don’t play on full volumes of air, and this was unprecedented. He also
emphasized concentrating on the “sound in your head,” as being most important to our
development as brass players, and that the way we sound is simply a mirror of our inner
concept. To sound great we need to improve our concept and not try to work the muscles
directly. In the case of breathing, this involved focusing on using “air as wind” and not
thinking of it as a push or pull from the abdomen which can create internal pressures that
hinder the correct response. “To develop the player one must develop the musician,”
according to Jacobs. In this regard, he emphasized imitation as being perhaps the best to
way to improve one’s playing.
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Chapter
1. Arnold Jacobs Biography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. Interview Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3. A Brief Biography of Toby Hanks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
4. Toby Hanks Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
5. A Brief Biography of David Fedderly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
6. David Fedderly Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
7. A Brief Biography of Daniel Perantoni . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
8. Daniel Perantoni Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
9. Summary and Evaluation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
10. The Future of Tuba Pedagogy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Vita . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209
4
PREFACE

Arnold Jacobs is considered by many to be the greatest brass pedagogue of the
twentieth century. His investigations into the role of breathing as it relates to wind
instrument playing and the psychology of performance are unprecedented. We were all
saddened by his death on October 7, 1998. This thesis serves as an oral history of
Jacobs’s pedagogical approach by three of his most prominent tuba students--Toby
Hanks, Daniel Perantoni, and David Fedderly. In addition to presenting Jacobs’s views
on the most common aspects of tuba performance, I have endeavored to point out those
areas where I believe there may be ambiguity, or disagreement about an approach that is
taken. In conducting this undertaking, I realized only someone with the depth of
knowledge Mr. Jacobs had in music, anatomy and physiology, and psychology could
begin to offer any definitive evaluation of his work and conclusions. Unfortunately, I
know of no such person at this time capable of conducting such a definitive study. I see
myself more as someone searching for truth among a large body of facts and ideas. The
truth I’m looking for is that gained from seeing many sides of a concept, not just the ones
most frequently presented and with which we are most comfortable. Ultimately, I hope
to be able to offer the insights I’ve gained to my students. I believe my desire to
investigate Mr. Jacobs further is my greatest measure of respect for him. I shall never
forget the experience of having three lessons with him and playing for him at his
masterclass at Northwestern University in the summer of 1987.
I would like to thank the interview subjects for their time and cooperation in this
project. Toby Hanks and Dan Perantoni are former teachers of mine--thanks guys, you
5
came through again for me. I also want to take personal responsibility for any misquotes
or inaccuracies that may be contained here. I have endeavored to be accurate, but some
may unfortunately exist. Any opinions expressed by me in this thesis are mine alone and
do not necessarily reflect the opinions of those interviewed. Finally, I’d like to thank my
family and friends whose sacrifices, patience, and understanding with me during the
pursuit of the doctorate have been immeasurable. I love you all.

6
CHAPTER 11

ARNOLD JACOBS BIOGRAPHY

Arnold Jacobs, former principal tuba of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was
born in Philadelphia on June 11, 1915 but raised in California. The product of a musical
family, he credits his mother, a keyboard artist, for his initial inspiration in music, and
spent a good part of his youth progressing from bugle to trumpet to trombone and finally
to tuba. He entered Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music as a fifteen-year-old on a
scholarship and continued to major in tuba.
After graduation from Curtis in 1936, he played two seasons in the Indianapolis
Symphony under Fabian Sevitzky. From 1939 until 1944 he was the tubist of the
Pittsburgh Symphony under Fritz Reiner. In 1941 Mr. Jacobs toured the country with
Leopold Stokowski and the All-American Youth Orchestra. He was a member of the
Chicago Symphony from 1944 until his retirement in 1988.
During his forty-four year tenure with the Chicago Symphony, he took temporary
leave in the spring of 1949 to tour England and Scotland with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
He was on the faculty of Western State College’s Music Camp at Gunnison, Colorado
during the early 1960’s. In June 1962, he had the honor of being the first tuba player
invited to play at the Casals Festival in Puerto Rico. Mr. Jacobs, along with colleagues
from the CSO were part of the famous 1968 recording of Gabrieli’s music with members

1This article is Copyright 1999 Windsong Press and was written by Brian Frederiksen. It is
reprinted here with the permission of Windsong Press.

7
of the Philadelphia and Cleveland Orchestras. He was also a founding member of the
Chicago Symphony Brass Quintet, appeared as a soloist with the CSO on several
occasions, and recorded the Vaughan Williams Concerto for Bass Tuba and Orchestra
with Daniel Barenboim conducting the Chicago Symphony.
Mr. Jacobs had the reputation as both the master performer and master teacher.
He taught tuba at the Northwestern University School of music and all wind instruments
in his private studio. He was one of the most sought teachers in the world, specializing in
respiratory and motivational applications for brass and woodwind instruments and voice.
His students include many in orchestras and university faculties around the world.
Mr. Jacobs gave lectures and clinics throughout the world. During the CSO’s
1977 and 1985 tours, Mr. Jacobs presented clinics in Tokyo. In January 1978, he
lectured at Chicago’s Michael Reese Hospital about playing wind instruments for the
treatment of asthma in children. He presented masterclasses at Northwestern University
a week each summer from 1980-1998. The Second International Brass Congress
presented its highest award to him prior to his lecture to them in 1984. In 1991 he
presented a clinic for the United States Marine Band in Washington D.C. Mr. Jacobs
presented masterclasses as part of the Hearst Scholar program at the University of
Northern Iowa and the Housewright Chair at Florida State University.
The Midwest Clinic presented Mr. Jacobs their highest award, the Medal of
Honor in 1985. In 1994, the Chicago Federation of Musicians awarded him for Lifetime
Achievement at the first Living Art of Music awards.
During his eightieth birthday celebration in 1995, he presented a lecture to the
International Brassfest at Indiana University and the International Tuba-Euphonium
8
Conference at Northwestern University. Northwestern’s School of Music presented him
the first Legends of Teaching award. Mayor Richard M. Daley proclaimed June 25, 1995
as Arnold Jacobs Day in the City of Chicago.
Mr. Jacobs was given honorary Doctor of Music degrees from the VanderCook
School of Music in 1986 and DePaul University in June of 1995.
Two books written by students about Mr. Jacobs are available, Arnold Jacobs,
The Legacy of a Master by M. Dee Stewart and Arnold Jacobs: Song and Wind by Brian
Frederiksen.
On October 7, 1998 Mr. Jacobs passed away but as a performer and teacher his
legacy will continue for generations.
9
CHAPTER 2

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS FOR THESIS ON
ARNOLD JACOBS

I. Introductory
A. Where, when, and how long did you study with Arnold Jacobs?
B. How would you evaluate his impact on you as a player?
II. Breathing
A. What did Arnold Jacobs (AJ) say should be the most important
consideration when breathing?
B. What exercises did he show you to develop efficient breathing?
C. How does a player develop a good, relaxed quick breath?
D. How does a large player learn to play with more air, to avoid the
common problem of playing with small quantities because he thinks
he has enough?
E. In your lessons, did AJ use any pneumatic devices to reinforce
breathing concepts? Which ones did he use? Breathing tube?
Breathing bag? Breath builder? Others?
F. Was there anything ambiguous or unclear about his thoughts in this
area? Does your approach differ from his in this area? In what ways?
III. Embouchure
A. What were his comments about embouchure?
B. He said “I don’t set rules for embouchure, I set rules for sound.” What
10