The following article sample was reprinted from American String Teacher, vol 76, issue 1 with permission from ASTA and the author.
“When do these kids have time to practice?” It was a fair question from the guest clinician, and I stood there dumbfounded on a late Thursday evening. Our extra rehearsals had become spoon-feeding practice sessions, and I was inadvertently stripping away the creative autonomy, self-management, and overall intrinsic beauty of musicmaking from these amazing high school musicians. Something had to change.
The following ideas come from my experiences when I taught high school orchestra and from my current roles as a parent-chauffer to two school ensemble musicians and from what I observe in classrooms as a university recruiter and guest clinician. As a profession, we should think more judiciously about whether an extra rehearsal is necessary. Here are several points to consider when making this decision.
- Extra rehearsals should be well publicized in advance. There are no music emergencies. Scheduling last-minute rehearsals can potentially do more damage than good, causing students to panic instead of enjoying making music. In addition, without enough notice, several students may be absent due to work, sports, or other conflicts, defeating the purpose of an ensemble rehearsal. As educators, we must realize that in most music education settings, very little improves in a piece after five weeks as time has run out to change habits. Instead of leaning on extra rehearsals, we should prioritize active planning for the rehearsals we do have.
- Extra rehearsals do not make an ensemble “great.” While it is easy to assume another group achieves high musical success because they rehearse a lot outside of school, please consider their achievement is likely a result of myriad other factors (e.g., funding or school socioeconomic status, student to faculty ratio, or administrative support). It is possible the extra rehearsals might be more of a cultural phenomenon rather than an actual need. We should avoid scheduling extra rehearsals simply because another group (even the previous year’s ensemble) does it.
- Extra rehearsals may add to student stress. Adolescents experience intense days of academic, social, and emotional rigor, and a seemingly unnecessary or last-minute rehearsal may be too much socially, emotionally, or even physically (Edgar 2017). Also keep in mind the numerous competing events after school such as athletics, religious commitments, other performing arts, work, family commitments, and more. We need to make sure our students continue to see the worth of “electing” to make music together and they see our appreciation of their attendance. They may not have the stress-management skills most adults develop over time.
- Extra rehearsals should not substitute for lack of practice. “Practice as little as necessary” is a powerful mantra kids understand, and many believe they can get by without practice because the teacher is just going to schedule extra rehearsals. Prioritize time to create plans with specific benchmarks the students clearly know ahead of time (e.g., by Friday, we should be able to play the Coda at 132 bpm). Also consider the students might not know how to practice, so spend time teaching them, making sure to regularly follow up with strategies to practice specific assignments (Berg 2010).
- Extra rehearsals will not make challenging music easier. If the music is too challenging, extra rehearsals will likely feel like punishment or shame. While programming is a topic discussed in teacher preparation, textbooks, and professional articles (Hopkins 2013), one consideration is to cue up more advanced repertoire for the students to start the year, building toward the necessary technique and ability. If the piece turns out to be too tough, it is okay to admit (and an important lesson to teach students) that it is not appropriate for this group or event. As ability continues to grow throughout the year, consider keeping the great repertoire and hard work alive and program it on the spring concert.
- Extra rehearsals should not substitute for quality, well-planned class time. Apart from school cancelations, needing more time has few valid points because we are the adult in charge of lesson planning. Instead of rehearsing more, we should use our time to study the score and develop a multi-week rehearsal unit plan to teach and share with students. While we oversee planning, it is okay to put some of the onus on them, “If we all do our jobs—stay engaged, listen, and practice—then we can cancel extra rehearsals!”
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