Efficient Rehearsal Techniques, Part 3
by: William W. Gourley
Part 1–May 2003, Part 2–August, 2003
Having assessed the students’ abilities, created a sequential skills building curriculum and selected appropriate literature for the ensemble consistent with their skills, as well as enhance and expand their acquisition of skills and studied scores, you are ready to create lesson plans.
The amount of time devoted to warm-up varies according to the technical proficiency of the ensemble, the mood of the students that day, and proximity to the concert date. Younger, less experienced players need more time in the rehearsal to develop their skills and may need 50% or more of the rehearsal devoted to warm-up and skills building. Obviously, this will require creativity to prevent the process from becoming tedious and alienating the students. The use of synthesized accompaniment, CDs, “games” and quick pacing of instruction will be necessary to keep the students engaged. To avoid monotony you can scatter certain aspects of the skills development process throughout the rehearsal. Rhythm studies, scales in intervals, and new concepts can be placed in the middle or end of a rehearsal. More advanced ensembles will generally require less warm-up and skill building time depending on the concept(s) being learned that day. And, as the ensemble approaches the concert date, warm-up and skills reinforcement will occupy less time in the rehearsal.
Plan ahead to eliminate the “Roadblocks to Success”. Incorporate developmental material that will enhance the skills needed to perform the music you are playing. If a composition is in AbM with technical passages, find warm-up material that will work on this separate from the music. Look for challenging or new rhythmic figures in the music and isolate them in the warm-up. Play chorales in the key of the music you will be playing to help the students “tune” their ears. Try to place these into your warm-up a week before the students will encounter them in the music. Then they will already possess the technique to play these passages and gain a more positive attitude regarding their abilities and the ensemble. There is no motivator like success.
Remember to constantly review and refine the students’ skills. Keep the first scales, rhythms and musical concepts the students learned incorporated into the warm-up. The adage, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.” applies to music, too. In the beginning of the year the class may have played the BbM scale in eighth notes at mm=82. As the year progresses increase the tempo on previously learned scales like BbM, while introducing new scales at the slower tempos.
The warm-up has six objectives:
· We need to get a room full of students, each with their unique set of experiences, to focus their attentions on a single ensemble whose mission is to play music. We need to create a focus before we begin rehearsing the literature.
· The warm-up is like an athlete’s stretching exercises before competing. The student musician needs to carefully begin reacquainting his/her body with proper posture, hand position, bow placement, breath support, etc., through the warm-up process.
· During the warm-up ensemble members are reactivating the brain, ears and eyes to respond to the various aspects of music making. Watching the conductor for attacks, style, releases, listening for proper tone, blend and balance help to create a focus in the students for the rigors of performing the music.
· The warm-up is where students continue to refine acquired skills. We increase the tempos for learned scales, refine tone, tonguing, bowing, rhythms, ensemble precision, finesse tone in extreme ranges, etc.
· The warm-up is where students learn new skills. We teach a new bowing, note, alternate fingering, scale, style, rhythm or a concept that will appear in the concert music.
· The warm-up sets the stage, preparing the musician for the actual rehearsal of the concert music. All of the skills reviewed and learned in the warm-up should carry over to the performance of music. That is why every detail must be adhered to in the warm-up. Carelessness here will transfer to a sloppy performance of the concert literature. The more focused and exacting the warm-up the better the ensemble will play the concert material. They go hand-in-hand. The ensemble must labor intensely to acquire the craftsmanship necessary to artfully recreate the composer’s art.
Lesson Plans
Warm-ups A, C, D
Ensemble Drill
Sec. 2 DbM & bbm
Sec. 3 chromatics F-Bb
Sec. 8 3rds AbM, fm
FM & dm
Tonguing mm=96 CM & am
Tune
Choral 23
Warm-ups A, B, E
Ensemble Drill
Sec. 2 GM & em
Sec. 8 Nos. 5&6 EbM & cm
AbM & fm
Tonguing mm=96 FM & dm
Tune
Rhythm studies
Warm-ups A, C, F
Ensemble Drill
Sec. 2 DbM & bbm
Sec. 3 chromatics Bb-F
Sec. 8 3rds CM & am
FM & dm
Tonguing mm=96 EbM 7 cm
Tune
Choral 8
Warm-ups A, B, D
Ensemble Drill
Sec. 2 GM & em
Sec. 8 Nos. 5&6 BbM & gm
CM & am
Tonguing mm=96 AbM & fm
Tune
Site Read (Rhythm Studies)
Warm-ups A, C, E
Ensemble Drill
Sec. 2 DbM & bbm
GM & em
Sec. 3 chromatics Bb-F
Sec. 8 Thirds BbM & gm
CM & am
Tonguing mm=96 BbM & gm
Tune
See Warm-ups: page 4
Warm-ups
continued from page 3
Warm-ups A-F are a series of long tones and lip slurs I have written to build embouchure, breath support, flexibility, range and woodwind facility.
Ensemble Drill is the Fussell Ensemble Drill Studies. Section 2 is major and minor scales with arpeggios. Section 3 is octave chromatic scales. F-Bb means the ensemble plays one octave chromatic scales on each scale degree from F-Bb. Section 8 includes scales in thirds, and scale forms that begin on each degree of the scale. In this case #5 ascends and #6 descends so I combine them to maximize rehearsal time. This book includes chord progressions for tuning, scales in intervals, scales in various patterns and rhythm studies. As you study the lesson plans above, notice how concepts are reinforced throughout the lessons. The scales are rotated throughout the week in intervals, forms and tonguing to keep the various finger patterns “under their fingers”.
Tonguing exercises are two patterns I use to scales to enhance facility.
Rhythm studies include basic patterns and gradually expand into unison studies, etudes and simple sight reading music. As the students progress into the reading of unison studies and simple literature, apply your sight reading procedures and evaluate their performance and then have them play the exercise again incorporating your brief comments.
Tuning can be done in a variety of ways but should always include singing. It should include unison pitches and chords as well.
Chorales should be kept simple with homophonic movement in comfortable ranges and appropriate keys with which the students have become familiar as discussed in part 2 of the August 2003 newsletter.
Pulse awareness is enhanced when the warm-up is accompanied by a steady pulse. I utilized a metronome set at the division or subdivision of the pulse (mm=160 for scales played at mm=80) to help students properly place notes rhythmically. When hooked up to a PA system, the metronome can be turned down to allow the students to internalize the pulse and turned up as they begin to fluctuate from the pulse. I used this the entire warm-up through the tonguing exercises. The same pulse awareness can be developed through the use of the accompaniments on electronic keyboards or CDs. Teaching rhythms over Sanatana’s, Oye Como Va or John Denver’s, Thank God, I’m a Country Boy can be very effective and a lot of fun. And, a lot less annoying than a ticking metronome.
Performance quality playing must be the expectation throughout the warm-up procedure. The principals of ensemble excellence: tonal beauty, balance and blend, unity of movement, rhythmic precision, phrasing, attacks, releases and posture must be meticulously monitored. You are warming-up the brain as well during the warm-up through reinforcing the proper performance practices required to perform the literature.
A well designed warm-up that includes expanding and refining the fundamentals of music making is the most important aspect of a successful music program. With these skills students are able to master the music in the folders with relative ease. This encourages an attitude of success through achievement and music becomes a rewarding experience encouraging ongoing participation.
Part 4 will discuss the rehearsal schedule and the preparation of the literature.