CLASSICAL MUSIC ARCHIVES: Students Tip 3

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Students Tip 3
GREAT REHEARSALS ARE UP TO YOU!

Dear Friends,

If you love rehearsing - great! Here are some tips for having an even better time.

If not, don't blame your director! It's not his/her job to wake you up, get your attention, teach you the notes, make you sing or play the dynamics, or inspire you to make expressive music.

It's up to you. You and your friends are responsible for creating great experiences for yourselves - in rehearsals and in life. Here are some tips for doing it:

FIRST AND FOREMOST: PRACTICE YOUR PART

1. There'll be no more horrible, frustrating, and constant stopping to:

Fix note mistakes;
Fix rhythmic mistakes;
Get the right dynamics, accents, etc.

2. You'll be able to watch the conductor more, and:

Entrances will be better;
Ensemble will be tighter; ritards and accelerandi more together;
You'll make great dynamics, crescendi, and diminuendi;
Your director will feel freer to be more expressive; AND
You and your friends may experience the unforgettable feeling of playing as one - this is truly one of the greatest experiences you can ever have (and well worth practicing your part 10 minutes a day)!

At your next rehearsal, check out how often you're stopped for these basics. Guess how you and your friends can help? Yup. Practice your part.

SECOND: MARK YOUR MUSIC

You take notes in other classes? You write with a pen?
Marking your music is "taking notes" in band, chorus, or orchestra class.
You need a pencil. At every rehearsal. Always. So simple!

Smart as you are, there's just no way to remember everything your director says (pros in bands, choruses, and orchestras always mark everything the conductor says).

So:

Mark what the conductor says to you or your section - always!
Mark what the conductor says to other sections if - somewhere in the piece - you have similar music.
Mark a sharp or flat if you miss it (yes, actually stop playing or singing and mark your part - and don't worry about your director: s/he'll love it).
Circle a dynamic, accent, or ritard if you miss it.
Mark your music.

Almost everyone marks their music in a different way, but you might try these. The music is from "An American Town" by Allen Krantz, and is used with the kind permission of the composer.

These markings remind you to:

Maintain tempo - don't slow down:

Make sure your entrance isn't late:

Watch those pesky accidentals:

Listen to the violas for the tempo (you're a cellist):

Listen to the Cellos since you're in unison (you play bass now):

Take time going into the new section:

Make your markings dark; otherwise, you may not believe them.
Something coming up needs special attention? Put your marking a measure or two before - then you'll be ready.

LISTEN

As in life, it's not enough to do; we must also listen. Here are some of the most important things to listen for in rehearsal:

"Did I do it right?" Listen to yourself to make sure you sang or played what you intended. If you see forte on the page and think "This has to be loud!" - listen to make sure it was.

"Who has the melody?" If you can't hear it, you're playing or singing too loud.

"Who has the moving notes?" If you have whole or half notes, listen for the quarters or eighths in other parts. An ensemble can be truly together only if its members match their notes with the moving parts.

"Whom can I get the tempo from?" Before you come in after a rest, listen for those moving notes - they'll give you the right tempo. (By the way, rests shouldn't be called "rests." I think they should be called "listens!")

"Who's playing or singing the same part as me?" You have to listen to others with the same part to play together.

"Great! The conductor is talking to another section...I can space out." Wrong! Somewhere in the piece you're likely to have the same music. When you do, why should the conductor have to stop and say the same things to you?

If you and your friends prepare and rehearse with these things in mind, you are sure to create some extraordinary experiences.

If you don't, I, David Barg, hereby do solemnly swear never, EVER, to yell at another group for the rest of my life! Well, at least a whole month...

With All Best Wishes,

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

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