Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • September 2012
10
To met , or not to met , that is the quest ion
It is important to have rehearsals that place students
in realistic performance settings. As such, a metronome
should be used in rehearsals only as an appropriate
reminder of how it feels to move and play at a specific
tempo. We stress to the students continually to be
mindful of their pulse responsibilities, whether they
should listen to a specific pulse behind them (usually
the battery percussion), or watch the drum major to
acquire and maintain tempo.
Teaching students to play with an
audible pulse is relatively simple in
comparison with the alternative. Be sure
that when rehearsing, the metronome is
placed behind the performers, and the
volume is at an appropriate level so that
the students do not feel they need to
compete with it. Teaching students to
perform using a visual tempo source can
become significantly more challenging,
as it requires a higher level of focus
from each individual. Teach your students first to place
their feet in time with the conductor’s hands. Then
have the students play with the pulse that they have
established in their feet.
Beginworkingonthisconceptbyplayingfundamental
exercises without a metronome, continually stressing
to students to “put their feet with the hands, and play
with their feet.” Encourage students to understand
how what they are doing visually lines up with what
they are doing musically. For example, do they begin a
phrase on their left or right foot? Do they release a long
tone on their left or right foot?
Additionally, consider identifying the moments in
your production where students must perform using
a visual tempo source and practice those moments “on
the hands,” without a metronome. Students will initially
have a difficult time performing with a visual tempo
source only. With plenty of repetitions, and armed with
the strategy of “feet with the hands, play with the feet”,
your students will be able to achieve this skill set.
Using your fundamentals t ime to clean your
marching show
Rehearsal time allotted for fundamentals can also
be used to clean your marching show. Many directors
rehearse traditional visual and music fundamentals,
hoping that the students will apply
them to their marching show. Instead,
let the needs of your show help you
create additional exercises for your
band that are more directly applicable.
For example, if you have
choreography in your show, give
your students extra repetitions by
incorporating the movements into your
music fundamentals. Using unison
movement allows the director additional
opportunities to clean ensemble
movement. If you have several choreographed moments
in your show, allow your students to choose the
movements to perform during their fundamentals. The
director will not be able to visually clean during this
time, but students will have the opportunity to become
more comfortable dancing and playing at the same time.
Musically, create fundamental exercises that directly
apply to your marching show. For example, while
working on air use excerpts from your marching show
as exercises. Your marching show likely has a few major
impact moments where effect is generated through
the volume of the ensemble. Use these moments to
allow your students to work on moving a lot of air,
addressing embouchure, air speed, air quantity, and
tone quality in the process. When choosing tempos for
fundamentals, use tempos that occur in your show. For
example, if you have faster tempos in your show, then
Achieving Maximum Potent ial Wi th Minimal Time: Effect ive Strategies for Marching Band