SMTeColumne

TheRehearsalPlan: Threephasesforsuccess

It is no secret that today’s music educator is faced with more responsibilities than ever before. In addition to the more traditional curriculum that we were all trained in, today’s music educator is expected to prepare students in concepts, such as improvisation, composition, rhythmic notation, and musical analysis. As we all know, classroom time is at a premium, and incorporating these new expectations into our lessons is no small undertaking. As educators, it is imperative that we adapt to these new demands by becoming more efficient in rehearsal.

As a possible solution I would like to offer the following rehearsal strategy. The foundation for this plan may be found in an article written by Eugene Corporan of North Texas State University in Volume 1 of the Teaching Music through Performance in Band series published by GIA Publications. Several others before and since have utilized it with great success. I hope that my own personal rendition of this system might prove helpful.

Of rehearsal planning, Corporan said, “Beginning work on a composition is very much like turning over an hourglass. Consider that the sand in the container represents the process. When we flip it, the sand begins to flow, giving us a limited amount of time to complete our work.”

I have found that I view my own rehearsal planning similarly to Corporan. Once I flip my hourglass, I set in motion a series of three sequences, or phases, which will occur over a period of 6 to 7 weeks prior to the performance; however, before the sand even begins to fall, I strive to envision the entire rehearsal process from start to finish through score study. Of score study, Allan McMurray, Director of Bands at the University of Colorado Boulder, said, “ We are teach- ers and we are musicians. The rehearsal is where we teach; and the first rehearsal is our performance, so we must be totally prepared for it. We would never expect a chemistry teacher to say, well now, let’s see what happens when we pour this red liquid into the green mixture.” I study scores in an attempt to develop a clear understanding of the musical details that exist in the score and how they relate to the expressive potential of the entire composition. My aim is to develop a clear understanding of the work’s compositional and artistic elements. Once I gain this knowledge, I am ready to access the technical elements of the piece, and, thus, develop strategies in order to best facilitate the performers as they begin to explore the challenges at hand. After all these tasks are completed, then, and only then, should the hourglass be turned.

PhaseI

Phase I should serve as an opportunity to familiarize the performers with the entire piece