Question of the Week for the Holiday Break 2010

Read the following text. Let me know if you agree with me. If not, what do you disagree with?

Although they compliment each other very nicely, practice is not rehearsal and reheasal is not practice. They are two distinctly different concepts and must be treated as such. Many times young musicians do not understand these differences. Unless the difference is recongized and acted upon, much time can be wasted by the individual and the ensemble.
So what is the difference between the two? How is it that the time spent in preparation for an ensemble’s concert performance can be so different that a lengthy written explaination is required? The answer lies in that word “ensemble.” Whenever two or more musicians perform in consort, we consider the musicians to be members of the same ensemble. This means the University of Wisconsin Marching Band, over 270 members strong is an ensemble in the very same way a clarinet duet at Riverview School in Silver Lake, Wisconsin is an ensemble.
When musicians of an ensemble gather to prepare for a performance, they are rehearsing. The time these musicians spend togther is called rehearsal. There are several concepts that find their way into the rehearsal hall, but can only be accomplished when the individual musicians understand the concept of rehearsal. These concepts are: comparitive intonation, balance, blend, phrasing and style. Notice that the concepts of: individual intonation, timbre, pitch identification, rhythm reading, articulation recognition, reed choice, equipment repair and instrumental pedagogy are not part of rehearsal.
When a musician enters the “rehearsal hall” he or she should be prepared for what is planned in the rehearsal. Most important is to have the correct pitches and rhythms mastered. This way the musician may participate in the rehearsal. If a musician comes to a rehearsal without the ability to at least reproduce the correct pitches and rhythms, the rest of the members of the ensemble will have to wait for him. Correct pitches and rhythms are required at rehearsals.
Rehearsal time should be spent on ensemble concepts. How do I sound compared to the other members of the group? Am I in tune? Is my concept of articulation the same as the rest of the members of the group? Do I have melody or harmony? If I have harmony, is it a counterpoint, ostinato, choral background? Am I adding to a correct balance within the group or am I out of balance? If every member of the ensemble comes to rehearsal with mastery of their correct pitches and rhythms, these other 6 questions can be addressed during the rehearsal.
So how about “practice;” what should I be accomplishing during my practice time? Great question, because practicing is the equivilent of homework. If you don’t understand your homework, you will not be able to move forward on your own. Here is a short list of things to concentrate on while you are practicing. They are in order of importance.
1. Correct rhythms: practice tricky rhythms on one pitch. When you have mastered the rhythm, begin adding the correct pitches back in.
2. Correct pitches: learning how one pitch sounds in relation to another is very important. An outstanding tool possess is playing a musical line in a different octave. This way, the high or low range of your instrument will not be a problem while working through steps 1 and 2.
3. Intonation: every instrument has some pitches that are a bit out of tune. Learn these and the compensations required to put the pitches in tune. Digital tuners are great for this in the practice room, but during rehearsals they may get in the way.
4. Constant tempo: you would be surprised to learn that most of us have trouble maintaining a constant tempo. Use a metronome to test yourself. You may find it interesting that sometimes you slow down and other times you speed up.
5. All the musical elements above and below the written notes. Dynamics, articulations, style markings, breath markings…these all must be taken into consideration. The music played in today’s concert groups have been edited very well. If a dynamic marking is written in your part, you can be sure that it is correct and can be found in other ensemble members’ parts.
6. Endurance: once you are able to play your music it is important to find out if you have the endurance to play all the music on the concert. Run your parts from top to bottom, counting rests, taking a minute or two between selections. Wouldn’t it be terrible if the band director programmed your big solo to be the last song on the program and you were out of gas when it came up?
7. Memorization: This doesn’t mean that you must memorize your part. But you should be comfortable enough with the music that you can look up at the conductor. You should be confortable enough with your part that your mind can wander from what you are doing to hear if it fits with what others are doing. You should also be able to mark your music so you know when key instruments enter. This allows you to listen to the music and not have to count measures rest.
8. The rest of your practice time should be spent getting better on your instrument. If you are a third chair freshman, you should work on techniques that will advance you to becoming a second chair sophomore. Just think, wouldn’t it be great if all freshmen were third chair, all sophomores were second chair and all, ALL juniors and seniors were fighting for first chair? Can you imagine the level of musicianship the ENSEMBLE could attain?
So that’s it. The difference between practicing and rehearsing can be as simple as being prepared. Prepare your part so that when you ask others to join with you, you are not a detriment to what is happening in the ensemble.
See you in 2011.