Keeping the Percussionists Engaged
As a music educator, I know the struggle all too well – you’ve planned this incredible warm-up exercise to work on intonation, balance, and phrasing, but when you turn to the back of the ensemble, your percussionists are left twiddling their thumbs. “Winds, let’s do this tuning exercise. Percussionists, while we do that, please get ready for the first piece and then sit quietly.” Sound familiar?
I used to fall into that trap too, relegating my percussionists to mere bystanders during the ensemble’s warm-up. But I quickly realized that was a recipe for disaster. If we don’t actively involve our percussionists, we run the risk of the ensemble sounding like two separate groups – a wind band and a percussion ensemble – rather than one cohesive unit.
As Peter Boonshaft wisely advises, we need to make sure percussion parts, including snare, bass drum, auxiliary mallets, and timpani, are “integrated into the fabric of every exercise.” Whether you’re writing your own warm-ups or using a published resource, take the time to create meaningful parts for your percussionists. That way, they’ll stay engaged and the ensemble’s sound will be that much richer.
Isolating the Concepts
Another key principle I’ve learned over the years is the importance of isolating specific concepts in warm-up exercises. It’s tempting to try and address balance, blend, intonation, dynamics, and articulation all at once. But that’s a surefire way to overwhelm your ensemble.
Instead, Boonshaft recommends isolating the concept being addressed in each warm-up. That allows your students to really master one skill before moving on to the next. Think of it like building a house – you wouldn’t try to put up the walls, roof, and install the plumbing all at the same time. You tackle one step at a time, ensuring a solid foundation.
The same principle applies to your ensemble warm-ups. Maybe one day you focus solely on matching pitch and tuning. The next, you zero in on articulation and rhythmic precision. By isolating the concepts, you give your students the best chance of truly understanding and implementing what you’re teaching.
Avoiding Autopilot
Of course, the tricky part is finding that balance between repetition and keeping things fresh. We all know our students need multiple exposures to an exercise before they really start to reap the benefits. But the more they hear the same thing, day in and day out, the more likely they are to tune out and go into “autopilot” mode.
As Boonshaft puts it, “Familiarity breeds ignoring.” Even the best warm-up exercise can lose its power if students are just going through the motions without really thinking about what they’re doing.
The solution, Boonshaft suggests, is to have “several exercises of the same type with the same goals that are just different enough that the students can’t do it by rote.” That way, you’re reinforcing the concept without students slipping into mindless repetition.
It’s kind of like when you’re learning a new dance move. The first few times, you have to really focus and concentrate. But after a while, your body starts to remember the sequence, and you can execute it without conscious thought. The key is to keep introducing new variations so you stay engaged and alert.
The same principle applies to your ensemble’s warm-ups. Mix things up, keep your students on their toes, and you’ll ensure they’re actively participating rather than mindlessly going through the motions.
Empowering Students
As music educators, we often have a tendency to be control freaks. We know what’s best for our ensembles, and we want to make sure everything is done exactly the way we envision it. But as Anthony Susi points out, that approach can actually work against us when it comes to maximizing our precious rehearsal time.
Instead of trying to micromanage every aspect of the rehearsal, Susi suggests we need to start “relinquishing control and thinking outside the box.” By creating a more student-centered environment, we empower our musicians to take ownership of the process, which in turn frees us up to focus on the musical big picture.
One way to do this is by delegating specific tasks to capable students. Things like making announcements, setting up equipment, and even leading warm-ups can all be handled by your ensemble members. Not only does this save you time, but it also helps foster a sense of responsibility and investment in the group.
Susi suggests making these positions permanent for the school year, or rotating them to spread the ownership around. The key is to take the time upfront to train your students, because the long-term benefits will be well worth it.
By empowering your ensemble to take on more of the “behind-the-scenes” responsibilities, you free up valuable rehearsal time to focus on the music-making. And who knows, you might even discover some budding young leaders in the process!
Developing Aural Skills
Of course, as important as it is to create an engaged, student-driven rehearsal environment, at the end of the day, our primary goal as music educators is to help our students become better musicians. And that means developing their aural skills – their ability to listen, internalize, and respond to the music.
One of the best ways to do that, according to Susi, is to avoid always being the one to provide the answers. Instead, challenge your ensemble to identify problems and suggest solutions on their own.
For example, rather than immediately stopping the band to point out an issue with the ensemble’s articulation, ask your students, “Does anyone know why I stopped the rehearsal just now?” Give them a chance to diagnose the problem using proper musical terminology, and then ask for their recommendations on how to fix it.
This not only encourages your students to be more active listeners, but it also helps them develop the critical thinking skills they’ll need to become truly independent musicians. And the more you get in the habit of asking rather than telling, the more your ensemble will rise to the occasion.
Of course, you can’t expect your students to identify every issue on their own, especially when you’re working on a new piece. That’s where the power of modeling comes in. As Susi suggests, demonstrate how you want a passage to be played, then have a student model it for the ensemble. This allows you to provide the guidance they need while still keeping them engaged and actively listening.
And don’t forget the value of recordings! Playing professional demo tracks of the music you’re working on can be an incredibly effective way to help your students develop their aural imagery and raise their awareness of the nuances of interpretation.
Cultivating Independence
Ultimately, the goal of all these rehearsal techniques is to cultivate independent, self-sufficient musicians who can thrive both within the ensemble and on their own. And one of the best ways to do that is to gradually reduce your own cues and prompts, forcing your students to take a more active role in the music-making process.
As Susi explains, you can start by minimizing how much you cue in rehearsals, so your students have to rely on their own internal pulse and aural awareness to make their entrances. Take it a step further by creating “chamber ensembles” within the larger group, where you randomly call on specific students or sections to play a passage together.
And let’s not forget the classic “Scrambled Eggs” technique, where you have your musicians switch seats without the same instrument sitting on either side of them. Not only does this reveal how well they know their own part, but it also increases their awareness of how the different voices fit together to create the overall ensemble sound.
The ultimate goal, according to Susi, is to challenge your ensemble to internalize the music to the point where they can “hear it in their head” even when they’re not physically playing. He calls this the “Audiation Game,” where you randomly signal the band to stop playing, but continue tapping the internal pulse, only re-entering the music when you give the cue.
It may seem like a lot of work upfront, but trust me, the payoff is well worth it. By empowering your students to take ownership of the rehearsal process and developing their independent musicianship, you’re setting them up for long-term success, both within your ensemble and beyond.
So next time you’re planning your rehearsal, remember the wise words of the Facebook sage: “Though working on pieces in a rehearsal can be extraordinarily beneficial, time spent doing warm-up and ensemble development exercises at the beginning and scattered throughout a rehearsal can be equally, if not more, rewarding.” With the right techniques and a little creativity, you can transform your ensemble into a finely tuned, independent musical machine.
And who knows – you might even have some fun in the process! After all, as the saying goes, “The more you sweat in rehearsal, the less you bleed in performance.” So let’s get to work, my fellow music educators. The stage is ours, and the world is waiting to hear what your ensemble can do.
