Effective Time Management

in Ensemble Rehearsals
By Joseph Manfredo

~, &dquo; ~.One;:4£ .ihe most common problems for school music ensembles is the lack of rehearsal time to pre-
,P4~e for public performances. Many rehearsals cancelled shortened due to in-service and vacation
are or

;;~ys. I1;Í,:#~<;Bd.ition, because of illness, field trips, and athletic events, not all students attend any one
>:,:~l1-itar~å!i:JN1usic directors all too often feel they need to eliminate various parts of the rehearsal-such
’a~:próp~1:’ warm-up, tuning, sight-reading, or exercises for developing students’ musicianship-so that
more time be spent on rehearsing performance literature. This approach can be shortsighted, how-
can

ever, because it doesn’t necessarily help students improve their ensemble performance.
Many factors contribute to an effective rehearsal. The single greatest factor that affects rehearsal suc-
cess is pacing-the teacher’s ability to effectively manage time during the teaching period. Ensemble

directors should strive for a learning environment characterized by a consistent level of positive effort
and concentration from students, with a proper balance of time allocated for teacher actions (usually
verbal feedback) and for student actions (performance of music).
Directors must make subjective decisions when rehears-
ing an ensemble, but all directors can and should master
certain strategies and methods for effective ensemble pac-
....... , . -,..

ing. In this article I will share what I have learned from

With good planning and clear ~ my experiences as an ensemble conductor about man-
~ aging rehearsal time; I will focus on content, prepara-
11 ’11I ~· improve
your rehearsal pacing and make
f · ’1
can

time.
~
~ tion, verbal interaction, and error correction. Items in
~
the Suggested Reading list offer insights of other
educators.

Rehearsal Content
To effectively manage rehearsal time, ensemble direc-
should start by carefully considering the types of activ-
tors
ities, or content, commonly found in a rehearsal. A typical
rehearsal normally includes time for the following:
N Setup for teacher and students
N Tuning (for an instrumental ensemble)
0 Warm-up
0 Rehearsal of performance literature
N Sight-reading and other comprehensive musicianship activities
NAnnouncements
N Ending or teardown (putting away instruments, equipment, and folders).
The first step in creating good pacing during the rehearsal is to plan the
appropriate amount of time needed for each segment. Figure 1 summa-
rizes how much time is commonly spent on each type of rehearsal activi-
ty. Most important, the figure shows that ensemble directors may actually
have only thirty minutes out of a fifty-minute period to rehearse music for
performance, reinforcing the need for efficient use of rehearsal time.
With so little time for rehearsing music, the director’s first priority is to
choose literature that doesn’t exceed the students’ technical capabilities.
Directors must also be realistic about the amount of musical content to be
prepared for any single concert. It’s much easier to implement effective
rehearsal pacing techniques if there’s a reasonable amount of literature to be per-
formed, ensuring that the interpretation of each piece can be fully realized in time. In
addition, directors should choose pieces of various levels of difficulty so that all students in the ensem-
ble are challenged but still able to master the entire concert program.

42
 Charles R. Hoffer recommends the &dquo;Rule of Three&dquo; as an effective strategy for organizing daily
rehearsal content. This principle calls for three activities within the rehearsal. That may mean a
warm-up and work on two compositions or excerpts during the total of thirty-six minutes assigned
to warm-up plus rehearsing literature (see figure 1), or it may mean a warm-up of six minutes and
then rehearsal of three compositions or excerpts in the thirty minutes for rehearsing literature.
There are many variables that can influence the director’s planning the content of a rehearsal,
including the compositions’ length and difficulty, as well as the imminence of the performance.
Preparation and Planning
The next step is to be prepared! Each rehearsal must be planned meticulously. A director should
not simply list the order of music for that day but should identi-

fy specific objectives focusing on the most important musical

concepts to be addressed in the rehearsal, as well as activi-
ties necessary to attain those goals. A clear purpose for each
rehearsal involves focusing on no more than three musical
concepts during the rehearsal. Why no more than three
concepts? If students are to master any concept, they need
substantial time to experience in-depth learning. Limiting
the number of concepts within a single rehearsal allows
students to address and experience those concepts in a
variety of ways throughout the period.
Preparation is not only about developing broad goals
and objectives, but also about comprehending your topic-
that is, the music being rehearsed. Studying scores and
developing a true understanding of the music being taught
is crucial forwell-paced and sequenced instruction. The
ensemble director should understand the music’s composi-
tional techniques (form, harmony, and instrumentation);
expressive components (dynamic structure, style, and
color); and pedagogical issues (fingerings, bowings, diction,

Joseph Manfredo is an assistant professor of

music at the University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign. He can be reached at
[email protected].
 dent attentiveness and time on-task is
to limit the director’s comments to
ten- to twenty-second intervals.
Keeping verbal directions as concise
as possible helps the director to focus
on that day’s specific goals, maintain-

ing the students’ requisite energy and

concentration. If students learn by
doing, remember that in an ensemble
rehearsal the &dquo;doing&dquo; is playing the
music, not listening to the director
talk.
Occasionally, however, a thirty-sec-
ond verbal episode is needed, espe-
cially for more complicated excerpts.
This extended period allows the direc-
tor to use teaching tools such as
Figure &dquo;

1. Rehearsal Content
,
During ’
a Fifty-Minute Class Period O
graphic organizers and other visual
aids that require more time for presen-
and so on). In addition to increasing teachers and concluded that experi- tation. It’s been my experience that the
knowledge, score
proper preparation enced teachers spend less time speak- complexity of the musical excerpt, as
allows the ensemble director to hear ing and use more time for student per- well as the depth of the solution,
more accurately on the podium, to formance than their inexperienced motivates students to stay on task.
4
rehearse more effectively and effi- counterparts. Compared to the director’s verbal
ciently, to demonstrate more self-con- The interaction between teacher feedback, student performance
fidence and the ability to handle any and students must be effective episodes must be significantly
deviation from expectations, and to be because students rely on clear, con- longer-twenty seconds to two min-
more expressive, thereby making the cise, and unambiguous information. utes-so that students become more

composition come to life for the stu- In addition, they thrive on specific active participants and learners. They
dents. feedback, rather than general com- need sufficient time to make musical
One of the more important out- ments-either positive or negative- decisions and even fix things on their
comes of effective preparation is that to develop a greater appreciation and own. Inaddition, longer time seg-
it allows the ensemble director to han- enjoyment of the music they’re play- ments allow students to put the details
dle the unexpected events that typical- ing. Strong eye contact and a person- presented into a broader musical con-
ly occur in rehearsals. The best plan- alized style help strengthen communi- text, providing them with a more in-
ning will never work 100 percent of cation. For example, directors might depth comprehension of the litera-
the time, for it’s virtually impossible to limit the number of times they address ture. Finally, students enjoy making

anticipate and control student ensemble sections by their instrument music and actively performing for
progress and achievement. The ability or part (clarinets, violas, or sopranos), extended periods of time.
to &dquo;read the group&dquo; and make split- and instead, use students’ first names. One final recommendation is to
second judgments that affect the Finally, an occasional humorous com- avoid a long series of short, consecu-
objectives are important skills that the ment to reinforce a particular point tive segments (ten to twenty seconds)
ensemble director must acquire. That helps keep rehearsals alive and stu- of teacher talk and student perform-
is, &dquo;in-flight&dquo; decisions must ultimate- dents on task. ance. That often results in poor pac-

ly determine the2 teacher’s response to It’s best not to stop conducting ing, student frustration, and an inef-
students’ needs.2 until you know what you’re going to fective rehearsal.

Verbal Feedback
say Curiously, many young ensemble
conductors tend to stop the ensemble Error Correction ~
Verbal feedback is a critical issue in if something sounds wrong, but then How much time should a director
rehearsal pacing. Effective teachers they pause while they search for spend rehearsing any single section of
must be able to judge the proper ratio something to say-with the result that music? This is a common struggle for
of teacher talk to student perform- they revert to the catch-all phrase, student and novice teachers. The
ance. Research on the effect of teacher &dquo;Let’s do that again.&dquo; When stopping teacher must determine the balance
verbal feedback on instructional pac- the ensemble, the director must know between too much time, which results
ing has resulted in significant and reli- what to say; must provide clear, con- in addressing too little musical con-
3
able recommendations.3 Numerous cise, and specific information; and tent, and too little time, which results
research projects have compared the should focus comments on the goals in lack of mastery of musical content.
amount of time for verbal feedback of that day’s rehearsal, so students can Hoffer’s principle of rehearsal organi-
between inexperienced (student and better understand their relevance. zation, the &dquo;Rule of Three,&dquo; will help
novice teachers) and experienced A general rule for maximizing stu- those directors who have yet to devel-
44 . , ., .. - . , .., m .
m , , , ,
op spontaneous decision-making
skills. Observing master teachers in s
Suggested Reading o 0

rehearsal will provide a model to fol-

low. The effective director develops an The discuss classroom management for ensembles:
following resources
intuitive feeling, developed through
experience, that allows for adaptation &bullet; Bauer,William I. "Classroom Management for Ensembles." Music
of daily performance standards to the Educators Journal 87, no. 6 (2001): 27-32.
situation, whether it’s an initial read-
ing of the composition, a first or sec- &bullet; Brendell, Jenna K. "Time Use, Rehearsal Activity, and Student Off-Task
ond attempt to solve a problem, or Behavior during the Initial Minutes of High School Choral Rehearsals."
refinement of the passage. In addition,
Journal of Research in Music Education 44, no. I (1996):6-14.
the ensemble director must take into
account the number of rehearsals
&bul et; Copley, Edith, Diane Heaney, David Hoffecker, Michele McCall-
until the performance.
Naughton, Christa Opriessnig, and Lizabeth Wing. "Choral Music
The solution to this challenge Teacher Rehearsal Behaviors:An Essay on Knowing What We Do."
begins with teacher preparation, as Update:Applications of Research in Music Education 9, no. I (1990):23-30.
discussed earlier. The ensemble direc-
tor must first determine the objective &bullet; Duke, Robert A. Intelligent Music Teaching. Austin,TX: Learning and
of that rehearsal-that is, the level of Behavior Resources, 2005.
performance students should attain by
the end of the day. The key to the suc- &bul et; Moore, Marvelene C., with Angela L. Batey and David M. Royce.
cessful pacing of error correction Classroom
within the rehearsal is to determine
Management in General, Choral, and Instrumental Music
Programs. Reston, VA: MENC, 2002.
the objectives in relationship to the
entire unit of study-the number of &bul et; Parncutt, Richard, and Gary E. McPherson, eds. The Science and
weeks of rehearsal in preparation for a
Psychology of Music Performance. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
performance. More challenging per- 2002.
formance concepts, such as harmonic
intonation, uniformity of phrasing, &bul et; Snyder, David W."Classroom Management for Student Teachers." Music
and articulation, should not be Educators Journal 84, no. 4 (1998): 37-40.
addressed during initial weeks of
rehearsal. The director should also &bul et; Ybarra, Mary Ann. "A Look in the Mirror." American Music Teacher 44,
allow sufficient time to revisit each 18-21.
no. 4 (1995):
passage of music previously rehearsed ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~~ ~

to ensure retention of learning. students’ attention on what they accomplishment and satisfaction.
Finally, the director should focus played correctly, what errors occurred,
all drill and practice on a specific goal and what they need to do to improve Self-Analysis
when rehearsing an isolated excerpt, the performance of the passage. Duke To effectively pace rehearsals, all
so that the rehearsal is structured and calls this identifying the target. The ensemble conductors-young or
deliberate. The director should also director’s verbal feedback has now old-should regularly videotape
use a variety of teaching strategies and established a set of goals, or targets, themselves and analyze their behavior.
rehearsal techniques when practicing for the students to focus on during the Reflective self-analysis can be a very
the passage to prevent student bore- second playing. In addition, the direc- productive means of professional
dom due to the number of repetitions tor may wish to limit the number of development. One of the easiest and
needed for attaining the goal.55 players as well as isolate the passage most effective methods of self-analysis
So how can the ensemble director through slow practice, partial practice, is to tally the number of verbal com-
manage the necessary repetitions of an altered practice, or related practice, ments made in the following cate-

excerpt within a limited rehearsal followed again by verbal feedback. gories:

time? I recommend Robert A. Duke’s When the target has been achieved, N Specific versus general state-

strategy of rehearsal framing.6 In this the ensemble director then incorpo- ments.

technique, students initially play rates all performers into a final N Positive or negative versus direc-

through an excerpt or section from rehearsal, of the excerpt. tive statements. A directive statement
start to finish, while the director This method of rehearsing provides lacks positive or negative reinforce-
a

makes mental notes of concepts to time for student performance as well ment but identifies an action; for
&dquo;
address afterward. The next step is to as effective verbal feedback directed example, &dquo;That needs to be louder.&dquo;
fix the part of the excerpt that needs toward specifically planned goals. It N Statements that address the
improvement; but before starting the also creates an energized classroom planned goals or musical concepts
section, the director must provide spe- environment in which students are versus statements that do not address
cific verbal feedback to guide the stu- actively involved in the learning those goals.
dents. Those comments should focus process, giving them a greater sense of An ensemble conductor can quick-

45
ly determine the effectiveness of his or ensemble rehearsal, beginning with Instruction," Journal of Research in Music
her communication with students by the proper attitude toward rehearsal Education 46, no. 1 (1998): 265-80; and

tallying and then comparing the ratios time-the realization that each Nancy A. Single, "An Exploratory Study of
among these types of verbal interac- minute of instruction is precious. Pacing in Instrumental Music Rehearsals,"
tions. Effective verbal feedback should Through proper preparation, verbal Contributions to Music Education, no. 17
be and directive. The vast
specific interaction, and error-correction tech- (1990):32-43.
majority of teacher comments must niques, the director can create a lively 4. Thomas W Goolsby, "Time Use in
address specific musical concepts in a and well-organized learning environ- Instrumental Rehearsals: A Comparison of
concise manner. An occasional ment. The director’s podium personal- Experienced, Novice, and Student
expression of general satisfaction ity must be energetic and focused so Teachers," Journal of Research in Music
(&dquo;Band, that was excellent&dquo;) is accept- that there is a sense of strong leader- Education 44, no. 4 (1995): 286-303;
able but should rarely be used. Do reg- ship for students to follow. The Goolsby, "Verbal Instruction in

ularly use positive comments, but ensemble conductor can develop Instrumental Rehearsals: A Comparison of
focus these toward individuals or these abilities through self-analysis Three Career Levels and Preservice
small groups; positive comments will and reflection exercises, which result Teachers," Journal of Research in Music
be more powerful when they reinforce in a greater understanding and aware- Education 45, no. 1 (1997): 21-40;
specific students. Negative comments, ness of pacing. Each of these tech- Goolsby, "A Comparison of Expert and
on the other hand, should rarely niques and attributes help with class- Novice Music Teachers Preparing Identical
address individual efforts or behav- room management, student morale, Band Compositions: An Operational
iors. In addition, eliminate any type of performance standards, and a greater Replication," Journal of Research in Music
emotional content in negative state- appreciation for music. Education 47, no. 2 (1999): 174-87.
ments. Figure 2 is a template that you 5. Nancy H. Barry and Susan Hallam,
can use for reflective self-analysis on Notes "Practice," in The Science and Psychology of
effective teacher verbal feedback. 1. Charles R. Hoffer, Teaching Music in Music Performance, ed. Richard Pamcutt
Another useful method of self- the Secondary Schools (Belmont, CA: and Gary E. McPherson (Oxford: Oxford
reflection focuses on the length of Wadsworth / Thompson Learning, 2001) , University Press, 2002), 152-53.
time for each verbal episode. Record a 56-60. 6. Robert A. Duke, "Bringing the Art of
typical rehearsal to examine the 2. Janet Robbins, "Getting Set and Rehearsal into Focus: The Rehearsal
amount of time spent on teacher talk Letting Go: Practicum Teachers’ In-Flight Frame as a Model for Prescriptive Analysis

compared to time for student per- Decision-Making," The Mountain Lake of Rehearsal Conducting," Journal of Band
formance. In effective rehearsals, a Reader, no. 1 (1999): 26-32. Research 30, no. 1 (1994): 78-95. &squf;
majority of instructional time should 3. Mary Ellen Cavitt, "A Descriptive
be given to student performance, with Analysis of Error Correction in
a smaller percentage to teacher talk. Instrumental Music Rehearsals," Journal of
Research in Music Education 51, no. 3
Putting It All Together (2003): 218-30; Robert A. Duke, Carol A.
Ensemble directors can develop Prickett, and Judith A. Jellison, "Empirical
effective instructional pacing in the To advertise in
Description of the Pace of Music
Teaching Music
/
journal,
contact James
onsetler, Advertising
Manager at
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.
Figure’

2. Verbal Feedback
«
Self-Analysis/Reflection Template &dquo;

46