CLASSICAL MUSIC ARCHIVES: Conductors Tip 20

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Conductors Tip 20
Especially For New Teachers: Rehearse Like You Practice #2

Dear Colleagues,

Welcome back!

Here's the second in Classical Archives' series of four Tips written especially for music teachers at the beginning of their careers.

The series is based on: Rehearse Like You Practice. The practicing-rehearsing pairing suggests a familiar, easily applied, highly effective approach to rehearsing. And you can use it with your students tomorrow.

I'm sure the more you think about this, the more you'll realize you've been preparing to rehearse for as long as you've been practicing your instrument!

In a bit, we'll start moving through the list in Tip 19 (do re-visit Tip 19 if you need to re-acquaint yourself with that list. But right now, I'd like to recap Tip 19's theme:

When we practice, our instrument is our voice, bassoon, or tympani. When we rehearse, our instrument is the student. The voice, bassoon, or tympani is the instrument she plays.

A few years back, you were the student whom teachers had to "play". A generation or two later, it's now your turn to learn how to "play" all those "little yous" in front of you.

Leading happy, productive, inspiring rehearsals depends on being able to "play" the young musicians with the same proficiency as our instruments.

When we do, they're attentive and actively involved. They watch, mark their parts, observe expressive markings, and take responsibility for their work.

When we play them well, they'll play their instruments well.

Here are three more ways of relating playing instruments to playing students:

CONTACT with the Instrument

When We Practice:

We're in constant physical contact with our instrument. We have to be; we couldn't practice with our bass (or vocal cords) on the other side of the room!

When We Rehearse:

No matter how much we want to "get to the music", we first have to make contact with our instruments.

We can't be in physical contact, but we can get on "the same side of the room" by being real, open, enthusiastic, and interested in our students as individuals.

Make personal contact as soon as they come in; greet them at the door, walk through your group, ask how they're doin' today.

Then, go back to the podium, make a few musical comments to the first and second stand players, "I think we'll start with xxx today - what do you think"? "I'm going to make sure we play everything through - I know you're antsy after so much drilling yesterday".

Call out to the last stand players, "Yo! Hello! I know you're there...and I'll be watching you"!

Make Contact!

CONTROL of the Instrument

When We Practice:

We have basic control of our instrument through physical contact.

Only changes in temperature and humidity, mechanical problems, or illness (voice), make our instruments "misbehave".

When We Rehearse:

Physical control of our instrument must be replaced with sensitive and empathetic contact with our new instruments - the students.

Teens' powerful developmental needs determine their attention and compel their involvement. Among them are the need to grow and achieve, experience their potential, build self-image and confidence, and to be valued by themselves and their peers.

Harness this drive so your students regard working in your ensemble as a process that meets their deepest needs. When you do, you'll consistently create the involvement, concentration, and sense of ownership needed for great music making.

CONDITION of the Instrument

When We Practice:

We tune our instrument first thing; we can't practice until we do.

If we hear our instrument go out of tune, we stop immediately to re-tune.

When We Rehearse:

We must not start until our students are "in tune" - alert, attentive, all eyes on us.

We must stop and "re-tune" our ensemble if attention or energy wanes. Progress can't be made with an out-of-tune ensemble.

When students are "in-tune", they'll learn, grow, have fun, behave (!), make terrific music, and make you happy you became a music teacher!

Many teachers have created ensemble cultures where their young instruments have learned to tune themselves!

They'll come in, sit down, take out their pencils, look over their markings, tune their instruments, and play through over a few spots with their section leader.

If the Whole Ensemble is Out of Tune

Sometimes, the group won't settle down. Don't pretend that everything's fine. And you don't need to raise your voice. The success of your rehearsal (and your credibility) depends on finding out what's going on.

Why? Because what's making them jumpy has their attention. The b minor warmup scale in your lesson plan is no competition. They'll stay out of tune unless you address the issue right away.

It's also a great opportunity for you and the students to get to know each other better. Here's one way to do it:

Put your score or attendance sheet down. Go to their side of the podium. Wait for quiet. They'll see that something is different...more personal...and they may start to quiet down. Wait until they do - this won't work unless you wait them out (with a patient smile, as if you have all the time in the world).
Share your concern: "We're really agitated this morning - What's up? Somebody get hurt"? When the beehive's buzzing, something is up: somebody did get hurt, a team lost a big game, there was a fight in the yard, etc.
After you ask what's going on: wait - please wait! - until someone answers. You must wait them out! Your waiting and silence is speaking to them, and they'll get the message: you care. When they see you're serious - that you won't do anything until somebody answers - someone eventually will.

Those moments of silence can be tough to wait out, especially for newer teachers.

But they can also be the most important part of your rehearsal. That's when you show who you are, and that's how you build their trust. A few moments of waiting - no matter how uncomfortable - can create a real miracle.

When your students sense your interest in them as people; when they recognize you actually care about their reality - they'll tell you what happened. Listen with quiet concern. Nod your head sympathetically.

Then, instead of judging or criticizing, you might say - as appropriate - "That must be very upsetting". "Is there anything we can do to help"? "Who else in the class can tell me more"? "Does anyone see it differently"? "Should I do something"?
The energy will begin to dissipate. As it does, you might ask quietly if "we need to talk about it some more...or...can we try making a little music"?

When they tell you "it's ok," just nod, tell them to "Take it easy", begin calmly, and prepare yourself to be astonished by their intensity of focus. They'll feel it, too. Afterwards, no need for words. Stop. Stand there and look at them - they'll all be looking at you. Smile. Nod. Magic.

Instead of trying to play on instruments in bad condition, you'll have brought those instruments into fine playing condition.

Maybe you had to venture out of your comfort zone, but your students will never forget what happened, and neither will you

Dr. Shinichi Suzuki's words close this section: "The person is more important than the music". He didn't only mean that a friend should be rescued from a blaze before her oboe! He surely also meant that focusing on the person is the surest way to create the very best music.

Let's move on to the second item on Tip 19's list of what practicing and rehearsing have in common: LISTENING CAREFULLY.

When We Practice:

We listen in order to: identify what needs work, hear when we get it right, and monitor our progress as we drill the right way into our muscle memory.

When we were much younger, our teachers helped us hear what they heard. They taught us what to listen for and refined our listening through their comments so we could become our own teachers.

If we never listened to ourselves and relied on our teachers to be our ears and brain, then: 1) We wouldn't use our own (why should we with someone else willing to do the work?); 2) We wouldn't experience the growth that comes from taking responsibility for our actions, and; 3) We'd limit ourselves in life by choosing dependence on others.

When We Rehearse:

We make it a high priority for our instruments to listen to themselves and to others. Getting them to act in response to what they hear is an even higher one.

Here's an effective way to bring this about. When you to stop because something's not right, ask them "Why did I stop"? - rather than telling them, "Trumpets, you're too loud"!

If they don't answer, start again, stop again, and ask again;
If someone answers, ask the rest "Did you hear it, too"?
If not, repeat the first step.
Repeat the process and keep asking until they've all heard the issue, then wait until everyone - Everyone! - marks it.
Play it again and it's highly like they'll correct themselves by themselves!

When students don't listen to themselves, the same mistakes pop up rehearsal after rehearsal. Let's make sure we don't train them not to listen by always telling them what to do.

Instead, train your students to listen to themselves by asking questions about what they're hearing. Make sure you wait for them to answer.

Telling them what was wrong doesn't show your knowledge; it undermines their learning.

Work on this with patience and perseverance and, in a year or two, some of your ensembles will become almost completely self-correcting.

Then, when you hear something needing attention, simply stop and smile.

If you've trained your students it's their responsibility to listen, correct it, mark it, and do it right the next time...you can wait for them to do their work, then move on!

This is not a fairy tale! This can actually happen if you will transfer responsibility to them by asking instead of telling, and waiting them out. It's really not all that hard.

Check out Tip for Conductors #2 for a sample script for this process; it's an approach that can make a dramatic, lasting difference in your rehearsals the very first few times you do it.
With All Best Wishes,

David Barg, Learning Center Director
The Classical Archives, LLC
email: david@prs.net

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