Efficient Rehearsal Techniques, Part 2

by: William W. Gourley

This is the second in a series. Part 1 was in the May, 2003 issue.

Having assessed the ensemble’s abilities, selected appropriate literature and developed a curriculum for the ensemble it is time to create our “Road Map” for success, lesson plans. Carefully created lesson plans enable you to chart a course for the students’ musical growth and assist you in monitoring your instruction.

Before we go on we must consider what needs to be accomplished in the time we have with the students in rehearsal. If we think back to our college days and develop lesson plans similar to our practice sessions while in college we gain insight into how we became better musicians. Every practice session included time on tone development, technique, rhythm reading, tuning and practice on the literature for our ensembles and private lessons. We need to remember the bulk of our practice was spent on fundamentals, not practicing our band or orchestra music. We need to carry this principal, with some modification, over into our teaching.

Fundamentals

A laborer works with his hands. A craftsman works with his hands and his head. An artist works with his hands, his head and his heart. Or, in the words of Louis “Sachmo” Armstrong, “There ain’t no use havin’ music in your head if you can’t get it past your pucker.”

Fundamentals are the foundation upon which we build our musical palaces. This is where we give the students the tools for success by eliminating roadblocks . The basics: posture, proper bow position, breath support, tone production, technique, rhythm reading, pulse awareness and tuning must be taught and reinforced regularly. Generally, 30-40% of the rehearsal should be devoted to fundamentals.

Tone

Tone is the most important skill in musical performance. All the right notes, terrific technique and flawless rhythm are useless if the audience cannot stand the sound from the ensemble. Therefore, tone must be the first thing addressed every day. A series of exercises that reinforce breath control and embouchure or bow position, speed and pressure development need to anchor every rehearsal.

Begin with slurred long tones at a mezzo forte or mezzo piano dynamic staying in the mid and lower range of the instruments to reinforce an open and relaxed sound and refocus the breath support. These exercises can be equated with the stretching athletes use to begin their workout. It is important to incorporate rests into the initial warm up so the students’ embouchures do not start to fatigue. Generally, slur 12-16 seconds with 3-4 seconds rest between each slur. Strings need to concentrate on long bow exercises keeping the bow perpendicular to the string and halfway between the bridge and fingerboard.

Next, an exercise that incorporates lip slurs for the brasses and arpeggios for the strings and woodwinds should be incorporated, again in a mf or mp dynamic. These will enhance brass flexibility, woodwind finger coordination and strings will develop smooth string changes and finger placement on the fingerboard. Keeping the clarinets working around the break while playing arpeggios will help their fluidity in this part of the instrument. Lip slurs should stay in the lower and middle ranges of the brasses and gradually expand the range as the students gain proficiency. Strings need to master first through third position and gradually work higher on the fingerboard. It is important to play slowly and emphasize smooth transitions from note to note while playing the lip slurs and arpeggios so they don’t “pop”.

Long tones played with a crescendo and decrescendo can be used occasionally to build embouchure, breath control or bow speed The students need to be encouraged to listen carefully to avoid having the soprano voices dominate the tone quality as the ensemble crescendos and to maintain a steady pitch. Also, students have a tendency to decrescendo quicker than they crescendo. Encouraging them to match the length of the crescendo and decrescendo will create a greater awareness and control of the bow or air stream.

(For more information on tone you can visit the newsletter archives at our web site www.marshallmusic.com and read, “It doesn’t sound good because it doesn’t sound good” from the November, 2002 newsletter.)

Technique

A major roadblock musicians encounter is an inability to get around the notes. Fingers do not move evenly throughout scale patterns, blips occur when strings and woodwinds need to lift or place more than one finger at a time or articulation is inconsistent. I can’t tell you how many times I have heard the Eb Major eighth note run in Sleigh Ride garbled because the fingers just don’t lift evenly. Technical facility is another of those everyday activities that we are always seeking to improve.

As we all know, scales are the building blocks of music and before we can expect to realize the composer’s art, we must possess adequate technical facility. Fluidity is the result of long-term practice and cannot be adequately realized in the three or four weeks prior to a performance. The fingers need to have eyes and ears of their own. You know from your own practice that, over time, your ears developed the ability to identify a tonality and your fingers followed along creating a sort of musical intuition. We need to include the major, minor and chromatic scales and intervals every day to enable students to “automatically” play technical passages.

There are some considerations that need to be mentioned here. Be pragmatic in your teaching. For example: once you gain facility on the BbM/gm scale, move to the EbM/cm or FM/dm. When you do this you are just changing one fingering from the learned scale BbM/cm (adding or removing a flat) thereby creating fewer obstacles for the student. That’s a lot easier than going from BbM to CM. This method also allows you to familiarize the students with the circle of fifths. When you first introduce a scale play it slow enough that students can play each note evenly and in tune. Then, gradually increase the tempo throughout the year. Remember that once you learn BbM/gm you still need to keep it under their fingers, as you introduce new scales.

A final thought, all technical passages in music do not start on the root. Play scales beginning on all the scale degrees (every mode). Vary your articulations when you play scales. Slurring is a great way to continue to develop tone while you work on technique.

Tonguing and bowing styles are generally overlooked in the warm-up. Every rehearsal needs to incorporate a short exercise that continues to push the student to achieve faster and clearer tonguing or mastery of basic bowings. However, tonguing and bowing are more than developing quick articulation. Work on legato, staccato and basic bowing techniques as the students gain proficiency on scales. Be careful not to introduce a new articulation with a new scale. Try to attack one challenge at a time.

Rhythm and Sight Reading

Rhythm reading and sight reading go hand in hand. Rhythm reading can be done on alternating days with chorale work. It is important to go from simple reading to more complex. Always practice rhythms to a pulse. This does not have to be a metronome. Using an electric keyboard or putting on a tape or CD of Spyro Gyra, Santana, or whatever, and performing rhythms over these will build a feeling for pulse and proper note placement.

Concept then theory. Teach the rhythm first without symbols. Have the students echo you performing a rhythm, then show them the symbols and counting. How did you learn to read in first grade? You were taught the symbols for words with which you were familiar. Dog, cat, sit, sat; you get the idea. Gradually, you used the theories you learned in reading to figure out strange words. Apply this same concept to your rhythm reading development.

Just as it is necessary to continually review scales, we must continue to review the most basic of rhythms. And don’t forget to include note values that receive more than one pulse. Too often this gets neglected in the pursuit of eighth and sixteenth note patterns and students forget to hold half notes and whole notes long enough. Also, include rests in your rhythm exercises. Once the students are comfortable with a pattern substitute a rest for one of the values. Again, teachers wrongly assume that if a student understands playing a pattern without rests they can play the same pattern with rests.

Gradually expand your rhythm reading with unison studies and from there include simple music with independent parts.

Tuning

By now, having done tone studies, scales, tonguing/bowing and perhaps some rhythm exercises the instruments should be warmed up and embouchures set to efficiently tune. During the warm up, students should be encouraged to make adjustments to match pitch and only minor adjustments will be necessary when they tune. Unlike the winds strings should tune at the beginning of the rehearsal.

There are many theories on what notes to use while tuning and which instrument the ensemble should use as a reference. They all seem to work adequately. It just depends on your preference.

There is agreement on one factor of tuning, though, and that is the value of singing. Whether it is a middle school ensemble or a university marching band, the groups that incorporate singing are able to play better in tune. Singing the tuning note first, singing intervals to a fixed pitch, alternating playing and singing scales in intervals, singing chords, chorales or harmonic progressions are just a few of the variations I have witnessed over the years. Singing is the most efficient tool we can use in developing student musicianship.

(Additional articles on the value of singing can be found in the newsletter archives on our web site, “Steps to Musical Understanding: The Singing Instrumentalist,” by Dr. Max Plank and “Programming for the Standards,” by Dr. Mitchell Robinson)

Chorales

As mentioned, chorales can be alternated with rhythm studies. Ideally, chorales should be short, in comfortable ranges, with homophonic movement so students can concentrate on tone, intonation, breath support, bow control, ensemble unity and phrasing. As we did with scales, work through chorales in sequential keys. I liked to work on a chorale in EbM/cm first. Once that was perfected, when I moved to BbM/gm or AbM/fm I was only introducing one new note to tune. The students still have a majority of the tonalities from EbM/cm in their ears reinforcing the old tonalities along with introducing new ones.

Other Considerations

In your score study look for material to include in the fundamentals portion of the rehearsal. Look for problems that the students will encounter and teach these concepts before the students see them in the music. In other words, eliminate the roadblocks to success. Look for challenging technical spots (alternate woodwind fingering passages for example), rhythmic challenges, or potential bowing and articulation problems and include strategies to address these in the warm up. Select chorales that are in the same key as your music to enhance tone and intonation.

Percussionists need to be developed throughout the warm up procedure. While the ensemble is working on tone the percussionists can be going through a fundamental warm up of their own including single stroke dexterity exercises, rolls, flams, paradiddles etc. in time with the ensemble. Scales can be played on mallets, rhythm studies should be played on all of the basic instruments and chorales should be played on mallets. And, they should sing along with the ensemble. Eventually they will need to tune a timpani.

Finally, and most critically, demand performance expectations in the warm up. Attacks, releases, unity of movement, blend and balance need to be paramount in every aspect of the ensemble’s playing. Not addressing these issues while the students are warming up will create poor performance habits that will carry over to the literature. Remember, you are warming up the brain as well. While playing scales insist the principals of quality ensemble performance practices are followed. Balance, blend, precision and ensemble unity should not be sacrificed in the pursuit of technical fluency.

Part 3 will discuss lesson plans, rehearsal schedules and rehearsing.