Repetition of Rehearsal

I love rehearsal.  I love everything about it. 

As a conductor, I feel like my mind is in overdrive from the beginning to the end of every rehearsal.  There is so much to think about in every single minute: rhythm, melody, balance, phrasing, clarity, ensemble, voice, timbre, technique, articulation, and so much more!  Rehearsal is where the real work happens and where real ideas are shared.

I sometimes find that I am a little bit apologetic for simply repeating passages.  I will sometimes say, "Let's do that again, simply to get the reps."  But the fact is, repetition in rehearsal is vital.

The repetition of the rehearsal gives voice to the larger habits and truths of orchestral performance and participation.

Without the repetition of rehearsal, we would miss so much.  There are so many habits of orchestral performance that arise as a result of the repetition of rehearsal.  For, it is only in rehearsal that we truly learn what the other voices in the ensemble are doing.  In rehearsal we learn the vision of the conductor and the gesticulations that he or she will utilize to remind us of that vision during performance.  Through the repetition, the music becomes more than just notes.  It becomes phrases, ideas, pictures.  The repetition of rehearsal is the rigor that leads ultimately to the more natural, fluid creation of art.  The repetition permits the musician to graduate from the micro-picture of notes and rhythms to the macro-picture of the composition.  The repetition of rehearsal liberates the individual musicians from their personal rigor and allows them to get closer to the communal utopia of true ensemble performance.

My next rehearsal is Tuesday night. Can't wait.

Peace.

Scott

More Habits

A few weeks ago I published a post entitled Five Habits of Successful Musicians. A few days after that post was published, I was discussing it with my orchestra at Interlochen. The kids listened with great interest and really took the notes to heart. Following my remarks, the kids begin adding their own suggestions of habits that are important for successful orchestral musicians. I promised them that I would publish them as soon as I had some time to sit down and write the article. So, here it is. More Habits of Successful Orchestral Musicians as discussed by the Interlochen Intermediate Concert Orchestra in the summer of 2016.  The habit and the person that suggested it are in bold, followed by my commentary.

1. Stop playing immediately when the conductor stops conducting. ~Abigail. 

Nothing derails a rehearsal faster than students playing past the conductor's direction and wastes valuable time. It is such a good habit to stop immediately. Also, by playing beyond the conductor's direction, there really is a question as to whether the musician is truly mentally with the ensemble. Great advice!

2. Listen to each other at all times. ~Yael

It seems so simple. But, listening is key. So often, students get tied up in reading the notes and the part that they forget to listen. This habit must be developed very early in a young musician’s life.

3. Mark Your Parts independently without being prompted. ~Alma. 

Student who mark their parts independently are clearly demonstrating that they're thinking independently. Ultimately, that is the goal in any orchestra rehearsal. We want students to be independent musicians that are tied into the greater good of the group. And, we want them to mark their part so much that it will be impossible for them to make the same mistake the next time.

4. Ask questions when you are confused. ~Julietta.

This is such great advice. So often, if the student has a question, they worry about being the only one with that question. The fact is, if one student has a question, probably many are thinking the same thing. As hard as conductors try to be clear, sometimes it just doesn't happen. Ask questions when you're confused. More than likely, others need that answer as well.  We can handle it!

5. Practice the most difficult parts first outside of class. ~Charlie.

Human nature is funny. We want to practice the things that sound the best. The fact of the matter is that we don't need to practice the stuff we already can play. Go directly to the most difficult passages and practice them first when your attention is at its highest. Practice them slowly and accurately. Then go back and play the stuff that you can play well and like to play. Those passages are much better held until later in the practice session.

6. Make a plan for turning Pages. ~Katelyn.

So often, student musicians turn pages way too late. The inside player should always stop well in advance of the page turn and be prepared to get that page turned before the downbeat of the first measure of the new page. It is always the inside player's responsibility. Anytime the outside player feels compelled to turn the page, the inside player has dropped the ball. This is standard etiquette of orchestral playing and should be adhered to in every situation.

7. Be prepared for every entrance two bars early. ~Gloria.

I always instruct my ensembles to have instruments up and ready to play two bars before any entrance. This consistency helps everyone in the section know exactly when to enter. If someone has lost track of a long series of rests to be counted, they can jump back in if the entire section is bringing their instruments up exactly to bars early. Consistency is the key here.

8. Bring water to rehearsal. ~Eva. 

I am not sure that I would have included this in my list. But, at Interlochen where we were making the list, it is close to 100 degrees in many of the rehearsal spaces during the summer months. Hydration is absolutely key for these kids. And, as I think about it, having a bottle of water on the floor is actually a pretty good idea in any rehearsal setting. As long as it doesn't distract from the rehearsal, a sip of water can be quite refreshing in the middle of rehearsal and can actually provide a little bit of extra energy toward the end of a long rehearsal. 

9. Mark your mistakes so you can go back and practice them later. ~Eva.

It is always good to put a little note in the music on passages that need to be reviewed. This, again, demonstrates independent thinking and musicianship. Anything that makes practice more efficient is always welcomed by a conductor!

10. Look through the section not just at the conductor. ~Julietta. 

Musicians that get in the habit of looking not only at the conductor, but also at the front stand and those around them tend to be the most accomplished ensemble musicians. They should be paying attention to the bow placement of those around them, bow direction, style, articulation, and many other facets of the ensemble's work. This would include those in their own section and those in other sections around them.

11. Breathe into phrases. ~Yael

I always ask section players to breathe into every entrance, just as if they were playing in a string quartet. Every player is the conductor.  That breath and preparation into a phrase is vital to strong ensemble performances. And, it is a great habit to take to the chamber ensemble as well. (By the way, soloists need to develop this as well!)

12. Look the part.   Play the role.  ~Yael.

I always tell students that if they don't look like they know what they're doing, they probably don't. The first step is always to look good in an ensemble. That means sitting on the front edge of the chair, having feet firmly planted on the ground, and holding the instrument in a beautiful, perfect playing position. Other aspects of looking the part include bow hold, position relative to the conductor, general posture, and many others.

I hope that you find these helpful and encourage you to share them with your students.  What have we forgotten?  Please share your thoughts in the comments section.  

Best wishes for a successful 2016-2017 academic year!!

Peace.

Scott

5 Habits of Successful Musicians

Today is the penultimate day of rehearsals for my current group of musicians at Interlochen. Our concert is tomorrow and we are ready to give a great performance.

Yesterday, in rehearsal, I wanted to give the students something very concrete that they could take home  to their school orchestras and individual work as orchestral musicians. In response to some of our conversations this week, I decided to give them 5 concrete recommendations of habits that top level musicians should develop. Make no mistake about it, these habits will not make one a great musician. But, they are part of the expectations of any good musician and strong leader in all musical contexts. Thus, it is better to develop them early and have them in your lexicon as you continue to develop as a musician.  I often encourage my own children "move with purpose" These are my orchestral "move with purpose" encouragements. So, without further ado, here are the 5 vital habits of a successful orchestral musician that I offered to my students yesterday.

1. Always have a pencil at rehearsal. Now, I know that every orchestra director in the world requires their musicians to have a pencil. But, the number of students that I see scrambling during rehearsal to find a writing utensil is unbelievable to me. I told my students yesterday that not only should there be one pencil on every stand, but, there should be one pencil for every person in the room. Every player should have their instrument, music, and a pencil as they go into any practice or rehearsal setting. Passing one pencil between two stands is simply unacceptable. It wastes time and is distracting to the entire ensemble.

I find that writing in music is one of the most important skills that I have developed over the years, both as a violinist and as a conductor. I try in all my rehearsals to tell the students what a musician would write in any given circumstance. And I encourage students to always be thinking about what they might write in a part without my prompting. So, it is vital that each student get in the habit of picking up a pencil every time they pick up their instrument.

2. Arrive at every rehearsal a minimum of 10 minutes early. It is vital that young musicians get in the habit of arriving at rehearsals with plenty of time to settle into the rehearsal space before the downbeat of rehearsal. This allows for time to communicate with stand partners, effectively tune their instrument, warm up a little bit, and simply to mentally settle into the task that is at hand. So frequently, I see musicians running into rehearsal at the last minute and never fully settling into the mental space of the rehearsal. This is certainly not an efficient way to maximize the time that they are spending in rehearsal. And, at the very least, and early arrival shows great respect for colleagues and leaders in the rehearsal setting. I know that I notice it as a conductor and really appreciate and respect those who arrive early.

3. Look at the conductor when you don't really have to. I tell musicians all the time that there are numerous opportunities for making visual contact with a conductor in the context of a piece of music. Of course, one must make visual contact with the conductor during important changes in a piece of music. These include tempo changes, style changes, and important articulations. However, I think it is also important that young musicians understand that it is important to make visual contact with a conductor during the more static passages as well. I encourage students to be cognizant of opportunities such as whole notes, repeated notes, and rests. These are times when an ensemble musician can let the conductor know that they are fully engaged in and on the same page as the other musicians in the room. This visual affirmation also gives the conductor full confidence to maintain the highest expectations of musicianship and expression for the ensemble. Thus, developing the habit of visual contact during static passages, while sometimes overlooked, is of the utmost importance.

4. Actually listen to the tuning note.  So frequently, when I arrive in a new orchestral setting, a tuning note is sounded and musicians begin loudly tuning their own instrument without fully listening to the pitch of the tuning note. Years ago, I became aware of some research that indicates that there is a significantly higher rate of memorizing a pitch with a minimum of 5 seconds of listening time. I always encourage my young musicians to listen to a tuning note for 5 seconds before beginning their own tuning process. Additionally, it is so vital that the tuning be done at a piano (quiet) volume level. The vast majority of young students that I encounter tune significantly too loudly. It distorts the pitch of the strings and does not lead to an exceptional sounding ensemble.

5. Prepare your own part outside of rehearsal. I recently saw a post on Facebook that simply said "rehearsal is not for learning your own part, it's for learning everyone else's part." This really resonated with me. It is vital that musicians get in the habit of practicing their ensemble music in the practice room and understanding that rehearsal is for just that: rehearsing. The art of rehearsal and the art of practice are definitely mutually exclusive. All too often, students play in ensembles where the expectation is that they do both simultaneously. This is inefficient at least and rude at best. Nothing drives me more crazy than hearing a student workout a passage while I am in the middle of rehearsal. That is work for another time. Much of this, again, goes to the concept of respect for peers and for leadership. If a young musician really respects those around him for her, he will take the time necessary outside of rehearsal to prepare the passages for performance. I never expect things to be perfect from the beginning. But, I do expect that there is an understanding of the difference between the two activities. Practice involves slow thoughtful repetition. Rehearsal involves broader concepts and developing an understanding of all of the pieces of the puzzle. It is a much more "macro" activity. I simply think it's important that students grow to understand the distinction between practice and rehearsal.

These are my thoughts for today. I hope that you have found them to be interesting and applicable. If you feel that your students might benefit from these from this list, please feel free to share it. I know that I will keep working to develop these habits in my students. I hope that you will as well.

Best wishes for rehearsal rooms full of students with exceptional habits of orchestral musicians!

Peace.

Scott

Self Control and Changing Habits

 I have been thinking a great deal lately about self control and decision making.  It is so very difficult to consistently make good decisions for ourselves and others.  There are so many temptations out there, and self control can be really tricky.  I know that I WANT to exhibit self control, but actually doing it is really hard. I always have believed that if we have a strong core philosophy on important issues, we will make strong decisions in critical times.  The key is to know where you stand before that decision needs to be made. I know, it seems like an odd line of thought for the early summer.  But, for me, a couple of things are going on that have led me in this direction. 

First, Dan Airly, the commencement speaker at NCSSM spent some quality time on this subject.  He made some great points in his remarks. (Find them at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CT9j-hLgzFY&feature=youtu.be) The things that particularly stuck with me were that we are faced with temptation and difficult decisions all the time.   Temptations like texting while driving, spending just a little more time on Facebook, looking at just one more you-tube video, and other fun and interesting technologies provide temptations for us and as technology grows, those temptations will get stronger.  (I remember hearing that we get a little dopamine hit in our brain whenever our phone lets us know we have received a text.  So, subconsciously, we all want that hit of ecstasy.)   And, that we are most likely to make good decisions when there is both a positive reinforcement to that action AND a negative reinforcement.  In other words, just knowing that we shouldn't text and drive isn't enough for most folks.  We need something more to actually show self control and make the best call for ourselves and others.  (There is much more in the speech, but these are the things that I have been thinking about.)

These ideas are particularly hitting me because I am in the midst of trying to lose some weight.  I know it is hard to believe that a 48 year old man has put on a few extra pounds in recent years.  But, alas, it is true.  And, my doctor has advised me to make a few changes and lose a few pounds. 

This has provided me a great deal of opportunity to think about decision-making and ideas surrounding self-control.  It is so doggone hard to exhibit self control for me when it comes to food and eating.  I have become very aware that that I have developed the HABIT of eating my stress away.  I have the HABIT of eating snacks after dinner.  I have the HABIT of thinking that just one extra piece of cake won’t hurt me.  You get the idea. 

So, here in the early part of the summer, I am trying to retrain myself to make good decisions.  I am trying to develop better habits.  I am trying to develop a new core philosophy about eating and weight. My journey has been interesting to date and I still have a ways to go.  A few months ago, I joined a “pedometer challenge” at my school.  Teachers and students were encouraged to wear a pedometer, join a team, and compete for the greatest number of steps over a 6 week period.  I joined and found that a 10,000 step daily goal was really good for me.  I could look at the pedometer and see just how active or non-active I had been in a normal day.  The results were really interesting.  I could swing anywhere from 17 or 18 thousand steps on an active day, to under 5000 steps on an office-heavy day.  Many evenings included a walk at the end of the day, just to get to a more respectable 8 or 9 thousand steps for my team.  In the end, our team won the challenge and I have continued to wear the pedometer every day.  I get a huge positive reinforcement from a high number at the end of the day and certainly get a negative hit from a low number.

Last weekend, I was visiting friends from high school and one of my buddies is also trying to drop a few pounds.  We decided to hold each other accountable through the summer and try together to get below 200 pounds.  (That will be almost a 20 pound drop for both of us and I haven’t seen the 190’s since college.)  He texted me a few days ago with some encouraging words and an update on his progress.  This has been an incredible motivator for me to make good decisions surrounding my eating. I want to hang with my old friend on this and see it through to success.  In essence, I don’t want to lose the “competition.”

So, to lose the weight, I am changing habits.  I am attempting to exhibit self control. I am avoiding sweets and carbs.  I am really cutting down on the pasta and bread.  I am trying to eat vegetables, fruit, and lean meats.  But, the big one for me is not eating after dinner.  I really like those evening snacks.  There is nothing quite like Trisquits and cheddar cheese while watching a game on tv.  I also love the ice cream at night.  I could keep naming stuff, but it is making me hungry!  You get the idea.  So far, so good. I haven’t had any after dinner food for a week and I have survived.  I am trying to change my habits.

Of course, exercise is part of it too.  But, that is easy for me as I love to exercise. I love to get on the bike, walk, hike, etc. And, now that school is out, I have some more time for this.  I am hoping that I can be really consistent throughout the summer.  I am pretty sure that I can.

The bottom line for me is that losing weight now is a representation, for me, of the ability to make good decisions.  It represents self control and good habits.  I have developed a core philosophy and now, I need to lean on that philosophy when the going gets tough.  I hope that I can finish this race.

For my students and my own kids, I realize that losing weight might not resonate with you.  Many of you don’t struggle with weight loss and eating habits.  But there are plenty of other decisions and temptations that face you now or will face you in the near future.  The question is whether you have taken the time to develop a core philosophy on important issues.  Where will you stand when you are faced decisions regarding drinking, relationships, speeding in a car, texting and driving, drugs, studying, time management, and others as you get older and have more freedom and choice?  Remember, the short term pleasure, isn’t always worth the long term consequences.  I have definitely learned this from a weight gain and weight loss perspective.  Actually, I have learned this from lots of different perspectives.  And of this I am certain: the best decisions are made when a core philosophy has been developed long ahead of time.

Peace.

Scott