Moving from Concept to Rehearsal

1. Moving from Concept to Rehearsal What the Successful Teachers are Doing Dory Musselwhite October 30, 2014

2. High School A: • Your lesson should always have a target • Write the essential question on the board • Should always relate to the unit plan • These concepts are different than your concepts • Every rehearsal is planned out in detail, by minute (kept from year to year to compare) • Basically devised a week at a time Lesson v. Rehearsal Plan

3. High School B: • Not teaching with an underlying concept • Music is chosen based on what the audience is going to enjoy and what the ensemble can play • Rehearsals are not planned minute by minute • Plans are not written down anymore, but as a seasoned teacher, this isn’t as big of a deal • Used to write down everything • Rehearsals planned as a cycle Lesson v. Rehearsal Plan

4. High School A: • 30 minutes NO MATTER WHAT per 52 minute class • Includes technique and tone, Remington on low, middle and high ranges, articulation exercises, Harrison harmony chorales • ALL taken straight from music, MUST relate back to music • Singing everyday The Warm-up

5. High School B: • Top Group: 5-10 minutes on their own • First 3 weeks of school spent in Bach Chorales • 2nd Group: 20 minutes per day (different director) • Everything they do is listed on the board, they get through every exercise, all timing is planned out • A lot of long tones/chorales, eventually move to technique later in semester • 3rd Group: sometimes never get out of method book • Rarely plays scales (wonders if that holds them back) The Warm-up

6. High School C: • Uses completely different method books for each class • Spends ¾ of class on warm-up at beginning of semester • Over-arching ideas: • Target concepts from the literature in the warm-ups • Match keys in exercises with lit • TONS of long tones • Uses a lot of piano, matching to drones • Brass all use berps- for pitch recognition, helps with pitch center as well, resistance still there • Singing everyday The Warm-up

7. High School A: • All classes do some everyday, now included in the middle school • Lower groups resist the most • High School C: • Sees similar characteristics • Sing everyday, F-down chromatically or Remington • Chorales always played then sung (not the whole thing, small chunks) Singing!

8. Used by High Schools B and C • Macro-Micro-Macro Approach • Focus on Big picture, big chunks • Movement at a time • Sections at a time • All found in Teaching Music Through Performance books Corporon rehearsal technique

9. High School A: • Foundations for Wind Band Clarity DVD- Vandewalker ($45) • Basic Training for Concert Band • High School B: • Bach Chorales • Carol M. Butts method book (out of print) • High School C: • 3rd group: Standard of Excellence Blue & Foundations of Excellence • 2nd group: Habits of a Successful Musician, Cichowicz studies and Clarke studies • Top group: Habits (for SR, lip slurs, scales, chorales), Clarke & Cichowicz studies and Carol M. Butts Method book (has originals) Methods Books?

10. High School B: • It’s important that they PLAY as much as possible • Top groups can fix things without you saying anything, just let them run the section a few times • Even younger groups- play until their faces give out • Key words: “More,” “Less,” “Yes,” “No” During the Rehearsal

11. High School C: • Try not to say more than a sentence in between playing • Repetition is extremely important • There’s no sense in bothering with the other stuff if they can’t play notes and rhythms *get this first* • Don’t play up to tempo until the technique is correct • Play it painstakingly slow forever, but then it’ll be right • End class with something fun or something that sounds good • They should leave thinking this is the greatest class of the day During the Rehearsal

12. High School C (because they’re the only ones I asked) • Listen to groups, write down who can’t perform up to standard • Every note/rhythm should be correct by a certain date • Record themselves at any tempo as long as it’s correct • Pass/Fail, come back when you can do it right • If they can do it slow perfectly, they can get it faster • Comes down to programming as well • Written/listening tests on intervals • Alfred Music Theory- 1 day every 2 weeks in lab • 18 levels must be completed by graduation Assessment

13. Get a better grasp on warm-ups (all said this) • Know your vocabulary • Get in front of large groups more, be comfortable • How to pace a rehearsal • How to get your point across without talking so much • Be able to say why something is wrong and HOW to fix it • KNOW YOUR BAND LIT (more on this…) What do they wish you knew?

14. This is the key to programming and building a successful program • Choosing a score: • Know your composers (not just the Grade 6 ones) • What do they typically write? • What makes a piece that specific Grade? • Know why it works for one group and not another • How will you assign percussion parts? Understanding Band Lit

15. How much time? • 1 hour class? 50-70 min • Brief overview if just sight-reading, more in-depth if playing the piece • What do you do? • Overview • Section breakdown, ID hard parts • Listen to recordings (Yes, multiple) • Make your own decisions on interpretation • Sing the lines • Be able to count ALL rhythms out loud • Know all vocabulary- keep on post-its in your score • History- YOU BETTER KNOW • Teachers said they spent at most 1 min per piece IF that… Score Study