Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • December 2013
20
Continue to present questions to your students
and instruct them to listen within rehearsals with
the following questions in mind in order to increase
productivity and independence.
DIRECTED LISTENING QUESTIONS :
• Who has the pulse?
• Who can you listen to in order to find pitch?
• Who has the melody?
• What should your dynamic be in relation to the
melody (balance)?
• Is your dynamic indication part of an ensemble
dynamic, an accompaniment dynamic or a melodic
dynamic?
• How does your sound fit in (blend) with the other
melodic or accompaniment voices?
• What is the shape and length of the phrase?
• What is the style and are you matching articulation,
length, weight and shape of notes?
Monitor the effectiveness of the rehearsal
Following a well-designed lesson plan will help
keep a rehearsal on track; just as important is that
you monitor what is actually transpiring during
the rehearsal. Just as a good quarterback has the
ability to change the play at the line of scrimmage,
directors have the ability to move the rehearsal in a
new direction if it is not going according to plan. Ask
yourself questions during the rehearsal:
What is really
transpiring? Are the students engaged? Is the pace of the
rehearsal as expected?
Be mindful of the students’ level
of engagement, and if it is not as high as you’d like, be
prepared to move to plan B or C or D to help re-engage
them. Recording and studying your rehearsals can
help you take note of the pace and help you see
when students are most and least engaged, enabling
adjustments for subsequent rehearsals.
By increasing the effectiveness of preparation
and planning efforts as well as the efficiency of
teaching methods and strategies, you can provide
students with a more structured and concept-centered
environment where learning will be more efficient,
and therefore more productive and enjoyable. The
time spent increasing your knowledge of instrument
pedagogy and refining your teaching techniques will
pay dividends for years to come and hopefully leave
you feeling as though you don’t need that extra
rehearsal after all.
Phillip L. Clements is the Director of Bands and Instrumental Activities at Texas A&M University in Commerce, Texas. Prior to his
appointment in 2008, Mr. Clements served on the faculties of the University of Miami, University of Texas at Arlington, the University of
North Texas and taught in the public schools at Lake Highlands HS in Dallas. A proponent of new quality music for wind band, he has been
involved in commissions and premieres by prominent composers such as David Maslanka, Libby Larson, Bob Mintzer, Bradley Bodine and
David Sampson as well as regional premieres of works by Michael Colgrass and Donald Grantham. He has collaborated with numerous guest
artists and is in continuous demand as a guest conductor, clinician and adjudicator for ensembles across the United States. Mr. Clements has
authored articles for the
Instrumentalist, Southwestern Musician
and
Fanfare
magazines and lectured at TMEA and TBA conventions. He
has also contributed to the GIA series,
Teaching Music Through Performance in Band
.
Mr. Clement’s ensembles have performed at the TMEA Conference, the College Band Directors National Association Southwest Division
Conference and in New York’s Carnegie Hall. Mr. Clements holds both a Bachelor and Masters degree from the University of North Texas. He
is a member of the TMEA, TBA, College Band Director’s National Association and an elected member of Phi Beta Mu.
I f I Only Had One More Rehearsal !