The Yamaha HD-300 Harmony Director: A Powerful Tool Designed for Music Educators

The Yamaha HD-300 Harmony Director is a powerful tool. Designed specifically to help music educators more effectively instruct ensembles. The HD-300 helps educators teach intonation and rhythmic training using a variety of features and training tools including recording/playback, a hold button for hands-free resonant drones, and an improved user-friendly interface for an easier and more efficient experience.

Make Ensemble Practice Easier and More Efficient

While the HD-300 is an invaluable tool for music educators, it’s also packed with features that offer individuals resources for independent learning. Need to be able to listen to and match others’ performances? Want help recognizing areas that need improvement? Or maybe you need help listening to and matching pitch? Just looking for help developing your sense of rhythm and tempo?

HD-300 Harmony Director Features & Benefits

These problems and many more are addressed with the Sound Back function and the recording and playback features. And here are a few more of the HD-300 highlights:

• Develop the ability to match pitch by listening to the surrounding instruments instead of relying on a tuner.
• Training one’s ability to listen critically and identify areas that need improvement.
• Recording and sharing an entire performance for objective listening and critical discussion with peers.
• Practicing while being aware of challenges and areas that need improvement.
• Practicing and rehearsing with a goal in mind and measuring to apply corrections and improvements.
• Creating beautiful unisons and harmonies and imagining correct pitch.
• Keeping proper tempo and rhythm, demonstrating tempo and beat and confirming complex rhythms.

How A Texas Band Director Uses the Yamaha HD-300 Harmony Director To Warm-Up His Students

In the video below, Gerry Miller, Director of Bands at Coppell High School in Coppell, TX, demonstrates how he uses the Harmony Director as part of a 15-minute warm-up for his students. The warm-up focuses on developing listening skills as well as engagement of the instrument and air. Mr. Miller uses the Harmony Director, a metronome and an F major drone while students play an F Major scale descending. He also uses the Harmony Director to help students move efficiently from silence to sound and then back again to silence.

What Music Educators Are Saying About the HD-300

“The Yamaha Harmony Director is part of the DNA of the sound of Carmel’s ensembles. From the time they are beginners, and throughout their development, our wind players use drones created with the Harmony Director to learn how to tune and balance chords. The Harmony Director allows you to quickly change tonal centers to demonstrate how tempering chords can create true balance, a pure sound and accurate tuning. “

Michael Pote | Director of Bands | Carmel High School

“The new HD-300 has several added features that have greatly enhanced our daily rehearsals. The ability to instantly RECORD the ensemble with one touch, and then PLAY it back for immediate review and commentary, has been incredibly helpful. Additionally, the SOUNDBACK feature allows us to assess student performance when tuning down the line, allowing for timely remarks regarding breathing, hand position, and embouchure.”

Gerry Miller | Coordinator of Fine Arts | Coppell ISD

“The Harmony Director is an incredibly efficient tool to help my students improve their intonation. I’ve used it in clinics, honor bands, as a guest conductor, and with my own ensembles at Northern Illinois University. Every single time, the student’s level of intonation and sensitivity to pitch improves in seconds. The HD-300 is particularly easy to use and easy to start using right away. You will want this for your band room!”

Dr. Thomas Bough | Northern Illinois University

“The Harmony Director has transformed how I teach. Teaching tone is the most important component of ensemble pedagogy and the best way to do that is by modeling. Through singing, playing, air play, and buzzing combinations the HD-300 provides a clear, resonant sound for our students to emulate. We can now achieve a rich, symphonic tone color at all levels of music education. The HD was the missing piece of my rehearsal and I would never teach without it again! “

John Zastoupil, DMA | Director of Concert Bands | Associate Professor of Music | Missouri State University