Characteristics of an Efficient Rehearsal

By Karel Butz

chieving musical success is an involved process that Rehearsal: Feel, Hear, See entails a mindful, repetitive, and trial-and-error style During rehearsals, it is imperative that we allow young musi- of practicing. A teacher who persists in guiding, model- cians the opportunity to feel how to practice, meaning how the A ing, and reviewing the steps toward achieving technical body functions when correctly executing a right- and left-hand and musical mastery will experience more student success, both in technique. They should hear how to practice through awareness of short- and long-term capacities. what constitutes accurate pitch, phrasing, dynamics, tone quality, During rehearsal, young musicians participate by trying the and more. They should see how to practice through bow unifor- concepts presented by their director several times to build proper mity, finger placement, physical gestures while performing, or technique. Just as a young child learns to ride a bicycle by doing eye contact across the ensemble. As always, it remains important (and failing) rather than simply talking about it, so too must we to introduce new materials and ideas by associating them with allow our students to experience the rigor of actively participating students’ previous musical knowledge. For example, students can in learning for musical success to occur. connect their learning of martelé with hooked staccato bowing because the feeling (the physical sensation of stopping the bow and Four Main Characteristics of an Effective Rehearsal continuing in the same direction), hearing (space between the bow Mindful and effective rehearsing encompasses four main strokes), and seeing (all bows are moving at the same speed and to characteristics: the same location) all share similar technical qualities. • a purpose for rehearsal. Directors approach every minute of Rehearsal Design: Environment, Structure, Skill Set rehearsal by focusing on concepts they would target if this were the one rehearsal they had to strengthen and positively When designing instructional time, I find it helpful to catego- transform students’ musical abilities. rize what each rehearsal will look like, considering the environ- ment, structure, and skill set covered during instructional time. • a main idea for students to take away from the lesson and to Environment: A well-organized and clean physical space improve on during their at-home practice. The main idea could (whether in person or that students see online) conveys that as be dynamics, fingering, pitch, blend, rhythmic clarity, shift- their director you desire at least the same amount of organization ing, or more. from your students with regard to practice, behavior, and meeting • practice strategies that will help students quickly improve. classroom expectations. Students can determine a practice method most beneficial to Structure: To provide a functional classroom structure, we establishing correct playing habits. must implement procedures that ensure effective rehearsals can • noticeable performance progress among the ensemble— occur. This stems from establishing high behavioral expectations audible and visual evidence of improved student performance among students as well as consistently enforcing classroom norms. skills. In addition, structure refers to the sequence of lesson activities that will serve as a model for how students should practice at home. As I write this article during the COVID-19 pandemic, I am 28 Southwestern Musician | November 2020 able to teach 25% of orchestra students in opportunity to make a positive impact on and mental readiness to dig more deeply person while the remaining 75% are learn- increasing students’ performance skills. into a piece and receive even more detailed ing remotely via asynchronous instruc- This segues into what I believe are three instruction at subsequent rehearsals. tion—I have not met with them in real essential components for an effective class- Lastly, rehearsals must develop musician- time (virtually or in person). Therefore, I room rehearsal. They must bemotivating , ship, which encompasses aspects of strong sequence my in-person and asynchronous inspiring, and developing the students’ string technique, aural skills, music theory assignments as follows, with the intention musical skills. and history, and ensemble skills—rhyth- of instilling positive, independent practice Motivating rehearsals ignite students’ mic alignment, cuing, body movement, habits in all students: desire to practice concepts at home because bow uniformity, and ensemble blend. 1. Tune. the rehearsal encourages and guides By reflecting on whether my rehears- them to want to achieve musical success. als are motivating, inspiring, and develop- 2. Long tones. Beautiful sounds result Inspiring rehearsals influence students’ ing musicianship, I am better able to gauge from correct physical and instrument interest to excel technically and musi- how the instructional strengths or deficien- setup. cally, as demonstrated by their technical cies in my teaching strategies are affecting 3. Scales. Practice with a drone and metronome, focusing on a core sound and centered pitch. THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO 4. Review at turtle speed. Practice the COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS most difficult passages at a deliberately DEPARTMENT OF MUSIC slow tempo. 5. Etudes and repertoire. Isolate the difficulties. Scholarship Auditions 6. Play through the piece. How you prac- tice is how you perform. Play through a piece or large chunk to develop the mental and physical stamina neces- sary for a fluent performance. 7. Play something fun! Play a piece or song by ear, improvise, compose, or play chamber music with friends (if remote, they could use an app to record individually and create a small ensemble recording). 8. Cool down. Stretch to prevent injury. 9. Reflect. Did you accomplish your goals? How can you improve in your LIVE AUDITIONS AT UNM next practice session? FEBRUARY 15 AND FEBRUARY 20, 2021 10. Clean and protect your instrument. LIVE STREAM AND VIDEO AUDITIONS Skill Set: Choosing a main idea for each ALSO ACCEPTED! rehearsal can be a valuable way to help stu- dents organize their daily practice routine. TO SCHEDULE AN AUDITION OR VIRTUAL AUDITION PLEASE A skill set requires students to critically CONTACT MICHELLE MORRISON think about what technical performance [email protected] 505-277-8998 aspects are necessary for achieving a musical result. I incorporate the Gestalt For general scholarship questions approach, which simply means to start please contact: with the main idea (the what) that I want Dr. Michael Hix, Associate Chair my students to be able to do before break- Department of Music ing down the sum of the parts (the how) to [email protected] reach the main goal. Additional scholarships are available in Rehearsals: Motivating, Jazz Studies: Glenn Kostur Inspiring, and Developing? [email protected] Music Education: George Nicholson I approach each rehearsal by ask- [email protected] MUSIC.UNM.EDU ing myself what musical aspect I would concentrate on most if I had only one Southwestern Musician | November 2020 29 the rehearsal atmosphere. For example, if I Is any shifting involved? Are there any What does the ensemble need to notice lack of motivation to practice among accidentals or unusual extensions? accomplish to perform the piece better students, perhaps I am not challenging • Form. What is the overall form technically and at a higher musical them enough musically or perhaps I need of the piece? ABA? Ternary? level? to improve on my ability to communicate Through-composed? 2. What do students already know that pedagogical information in a clearer and • Practice. This refers to the isolation will allow them to arrive with an more succinct fashion that resonates well of difficulties. What passages deserve answer to the inquiry? Do students with students. In short, musical achieve- more mindful awareness and better possess the background knowledge ment in the orchestra correlates with the detailed practice? and technical skills necessary to com- type of classroom environment, support, municate, discuss, and perform the and instructional strategies that strengthen desired result with musical success? individual and ensemble performance. Deeper-Level Questioning 3. How will students fix the problem? We should take every opportunity to What are the procedures and techni- Four Pillars of Practice ask students questions that require them cal exercises that will be necessary Influenced by my Indiana University to critically think about a performance for the students to achieve musical violin professor Mimi Zweig (author of skill. Instead of asking “Are we going to success? StringPedagogy.com), the “Four Pillars play well today?” we could go deeper by of Practice” serve as a useful method for asking “What are three specific ways we By asking deeper-level questions, we determining how best to approach any can create a beautiful tone on our instru- can help students develop the thought pro- new piece of music by isolating one aspect ments?” Now students must think about cesses necessary for independently solv- of string playing at a time. Focusing on the procedures involved with producing ing musical problems—a critical skill that these four can create stronger sightreading a beautiful tone quality relative to their will be part of their foundation for lifelong musicians and better ensemble accuracy: physical posture, instrument position, left- musicianship. 0 • Bow. What type of bowing articula- hand movement, and bow distribution. Karel Butz is the Orchestra Director at tions will be used? Are there any bow The following three questions can be Jordan HS and the author of Achieving lifts? What are the dynamics? helpful when incorporating deeper-level questioning into the rehearsal: Musical Success in the String • Fingers. What is the key signature Classroom (Oxford University Press, 1. What is the result I want for students? TMEA produced eight compelling videos that offer personal and corresponding fingering patterns? 2019). accounts about the power of music education in our lives.

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30 Southwestern Musician | November 2020