Part 3 – Working the Plan. How to Listen, and What to Listen For A couple of hypothetical rehearsal scenarios: A. Director leads the group through each piece, beginning to end with no stops. For pieces where there were problems, the director says that they should work on it. B. A group plays several measures […]
Have a Plan A large portion of confidence when leading a rehearsal is knowing what you need to accomplish, and having techniques prepared to help you get there (covered throughout the blog series). Orchestra seating/set-up A vital principle should be utilized in orchestra set-up. Louder/lower instruments should be in back, and softer/higher instruments in front. […]
Whatever else we do as church musicians, directors must know how to solve musical problems during rehearsals and help get our players ready for service music every 7 days or so. Over a series of several blogs, We will unpack the subject of leading rehearsals and deal with it in detail. Confident and Productive Rehearsals […]
Places to Go, People to See Or How to Get Your People to Come to Rehearsal – MUSICIANS INSTITUTE The case (As if you didn’t already know) Think back over the last week, then the last month. How crowded was your day, your week? How busy were you? The members of our groups – our […]
Playing Difficult Orchestrations One of the greatest challenges facing church instrumental groups today is learning and playing difficult or poorly written music. In particular, accompaniments to some choir pieces may be beyond the abilty of some of our players. Some charts are written for professional players to record, not for volunteers players to play in […]
EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT INSTRUMENTAL REHEARSALS. Part 1 – Preparation Skillful Playing is Biblical! Sing to Him a new song Play skillfully with a shout of joy. Psalm 33:3 Clearly, we all have our limitations as musicians. We also know that our God deserves better than the best we could ever present to Him. As we […]
EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT INSTRUMENTAL REHEARSALS. Part 2 Conducting This is a most comprehensive subject. Books have been written and cannot cover every aspect. This discussion will just target some essentials of clear conducting. For effective large ensemble performance, players must watch the conductor – every few measures, and at key moments. The conductor must be […]
