Easy+Rehearsal+techniques+article

Easy Rehearsal Techniques for New Teachers Author: Williams, David A Reference: Teaching Music 9:5 [April 2002] p. 28-32 IIMP Citation Number: 00239017 Full Citation Full Citation David A WilliamsAssistant professor of music education at the University of South Florida, Tampa photo credit: mark regan photography p.28 photo credit: comstock, inc.

An ensemble director is responsible for a wide variety of tasks every school day. These duties can range from taking attendance to managing fund-raising projects to organizing transportation for trips. The list of director responsibilities is almost endless, but the most important one is conducting daily rehearsals. After several years of teaching music methods classes and guiding student teachers, I've identified a group of basic rehearsal techniques that new teachers can implement with ease.

The transformation from performer to teacher that every music education student must make is challenging and time-consuming. Often, inexperienced teachers find it difficult to make the adjustment. When they were exclusively performers, they received most of the attention. As teachers, they find they must give their attention to many different stimulus sources. Running an ensemble rehearsal is very different and far more complex than performing as a member of an ensemble. By incorporating

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the following concepts, however, you will find that your ensemble rehearsals can be more productive and successful.

The Score

Good rehearsal technique starts with a thorough understanding of the music to be rehearsed. Conductor and teacher Larry Ratchleff suggests that knowing the score means that you don't have to look down at it. (For a better understanding of Ratchleff's score-study method, see the video A Fresh Viewpoint to Music Making described in the Improve Your Rehearsals sidebar.)

The score-study method I use and teach includes creating a time line of the piece, which becomes a formal analysis and an outline of the score. The time line is created using a whole/parts/whole method of study Take in the important overall issues, such as the large formal areas, or general dynamic structure. Then and only then, slowly work toward ever-increasing detail--aspects such as the smaller formal areas, or harmonic progressions--always relating these details back to the large form so that the overall sense of the piece is retained. During this process, write out and sing all the melodic and harmonic figures contained in the piece. Researching background material about the composer and the composition is a critical part of the process. To do it correctly, you'll need to devote some time and care; research cannot and should not be done the night before a rehearsal.

Thorough understanding of the score will help your rehearsal move more efficiently The more the director's eyes and attention are focused on the physical score, the less the director can attend to what the students are doing. It is a disservice to students not to know the score completely. The Plan

Study the scores to be rehearsed, and write down your rehearsal plan. As much as is possible, this planning needs to be done both long-term and short-term. I think it is important to make an overall plan for each performance first. That involves mapping out all the available rehearsal times that will occur before a given performance and planning which pieces will be rehearsed on which dates and for how much time. This will help you decide if there is enough rehearsal time to adequately work up the pieces you selected for the concert. This planning is one of the most overlooked criteria in the selection of literature.

A common problem of both new and experienced teachers is trying to prepare music with inadequate rehearsal time. It isn't wise to program grade IV music, for example, simply because it challenges your ensemble. While challenge may have merits, without adequate rehearsal time the result can be unsatisfying. While it may not always be possible to plan each rehearsal, simply going through the planning process will help make rehearsals more organized, and with experience, your skill at planning will increase.

You also need to plan for individual rehearsals in advance. You need to know what will be rehearsed, in what order, and for how much time. Young teachers will probably benefit from having this plan in writing. (See the sample Two-Week Rehearsal Plan sidebar.) The schedule should also be shared with the students at the beginning of rehearsal. Transitions during rehearsals can be shorter and valuable rehearsal time can be saved if students understand they are to have rehearsal materials ready While it is improbable that any given rehearsal will go exactly as planned, having a plan will certainly create a more organized and productive rehearsal. Rehearsal Techniques

You've studied the score. You have your written plans for both longrange and individual rehearsals. You are now ready to rehearse the music. Here are some basic techniques that will help you:



1. Whole/parts/whole. Perhaps you have heard the following line: The concert's tomorrow, and we haven't even played through this piece from beginning to end! The problem here is often one of poor planning. Just as with good score study, rehearsals should follow a whole/ parts/whole process. The first play-through should give students as much of a concept of the whole piece as possible. Don't start off working on small performance problems; instead, use the time to get a sense of the overall form. Next, begin to break down the piece slowly, rehearsing large major sections before progressing to the details. Then, as rehearsals concentrate on the basic issues of right notes and rhythms, correct dynamics, and so forth, you need to try to connect the details to larger sections of the form, so that a sense of the whole piece is always within reach.

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2. Keep transitions short. Behavior problems in rehearsals can often occur at the times when students are not making music. With this in mind, it makes sense to make this downtime as short as possible.

There are two types of transitions. The first is the time after the director cuts a group off to make corrections or comments. To keep this time as short as possible, directors must know what they want to say and do before they cut the group off. Then the director must immediately communicate the necessary information and get students actively involved again. The second type of transition is the time taken to get a new piece of music out and opened to the right page. Not only do students need to know the rehearsal order ahead of time; they also need to learn how to make the transition between pieces quickly If students are allowed to talk and take their time, then the transition will be longer than necessary and valuable rehearsal time will be lost.

3. Keep the pace quick. Keep the rehearsal moving. Simply being aware of the amount of time any given activity is taking and gauging the attitude of the students will go a long way in keeping a rehearsal paced well. You need to be able to sense when an activity's length is dragging the rehearsal down and then move on to something different. This is especially important when small groups within a larger ensemble are being rehearsed. While it certainly is possible to move, act, and talk too quickly in a rehearsal, I have found that young teachers usually pace a lesson too slowly Most often young directors will benefit from keeping the pace of a rehearsal brisk. Be aware of the mood and attitude of the ensemble as a whole, and pace the rehearsal accordingly.

4. Isolate the problem. If there is a musical issue you want corrected, work directly on the problem itself first. If the clarinets are playing the wrong rhythm on the third and fourth beats of measure eight, rehearse the third and fourth beats! After stopping the ensemble and telling the clarinets what's wrong, don't say, Ok, everybody at the beginning. Instead, it makes sense to put that passage into a larger musical context; for example, to have the entire ensemble play the section leading up to the difficult spot.

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5. Slow down difficult passages. If students are having difficulty playing a technically challenging passage up to tempo, give them an opportunity to try it slower. This will accomplish two things. First, they will have a better chance of playing the passage correctly before working back up to speed; second, you will be helping them understand how to practice difficult material on their own.

6. Don't always start at the beginning. Starting at measure 1 of every piece of music seems to be natural of teachers, but it can result in performances that start out fine but end up weak. Try beginning at different sections of a piece of music. The first time you read a piece, it makes sense to start at the beginning. Next time you rehearse the same piece, begin at the start of a major section in the form. The following time, begin at another important point in the structure, and so on. Doing this not only gives you a better chance of getting the ending to sound as good as the beginning, but it can also help your students develop a better sense of form within the piece. It would even be useful to have students mark sections (A, B, C, etc.) in their music.

7. Work backward. When you are rehearsing long sections (perhaps four measures or more) it is often helpful to begin at a logical point near the end of the section first. After success with the end, slowly work toward the beginning of the section before attempting the whole passage.

To lead a first-rate rehearsal, you need many skills. Knowing how to handle warm-ups, how to tune an ensemble, and how to keep students engaged are all critical for efficient time use. The basic techniques listed in this article form a useful point of departure for new teachers and a good review for all of us who direct musical groups.

Running an ensemble rehearsal is a complex endeavor. If you are new on the job, you may sometimes feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information presented to you. However, with proper score study, a developed rehearsal plan, and attention to some basic rehearsal techniques, you will be able to achieve more in less time. Improve Your Rehearsals

Larry Ratchleff's approach to score study: Ratchleft Larry. A Fresh Viewpoint to Music Making. (VHS videotape). Master Teacher Seminars Series (Palatine, IL: Sharper Video Productions, 1992, 800-519-8000).

MENC's Getting Started series with tips concerning all aspects of rehearsal management:


 * 1) Freer, Patrick. Getting Started with Middle-Level Choir (1998).


 * 1) Lehr, Marjorie. Getting Started with Elementary-Level Band (1998).


 * 1) Michelson, Steven. Getting Started with High School Choir (1994).


 * 1) Reul, David, Getting Started with Middle-Level Band (1994).


 * 1) Zerull, David. Getting Started with High School Band (1994).


 * 1) Musical problem-solving with applications to the music rehearsal:


 * 1) Wiggins, Jackie. Teaching for Musical Understanding (New York, McGraw-Hill, 2000).

Two-Week Rehearsal Plan

This is two weeks of a sample rehearsal plan. The director makes estimates as to the percentage of available rehearsal time that will be necessary for each piece. This can often help the director decide if there is enough rehearsal time to adequately prepare the programmed music.


 * __ February 25 __**

Warm-up

10 minutes

Grainger

12 minutes

King

12 minutes

Williams

16 minutes


 * __ February 26 __**

Warm-up

10 minutes

Grainger

20 minutes

Margolis

15 minutes

King

5 minutes


 * __ February 27 __**

Listening Experiences

12 minutes

Warm-up

12 minutes

Williams

20 minutes

King

6 minutes


 * __ February 28 __**

Warm-up

12 minutes

Sight-reading

10 minutes

Williams

20 minutes

Margolis

8 minutes


 * __ March 1 __**

Composing Experiences

15 minutes

Warm-up

10 minutes

Margolis

25 minutes


 * __ March 4 __**

Warm-up

10 minutes

Grainger

20 minutes

Margolis

15 minutes

King

5 minutes


 * __ March 5 __**

Warm-up

12 minutes

King

10 minutes

Margolis

18 minutes

Grainger

10 minutes


 * __ March 6 __**

Listening Assessment

12 minutes

Warm-up

12 minutes

Williams

20 minutes

King

6 minutes


 * __ March 7 __**

Warm-up

15 minutes

Sight-reading

10 minutes

Grainger

10 minutes

Margolis

15 minutes


 * March 8 **

Warm-up

15 minutes

Composing Project Playing

25 minutes

Margolis

10 minutes

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