Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • December 2015
13
When I attend events such as honor
band or all state, I always make it
a practice to sit in on a rehearsal
block or two to observe the clinicians
in action. I’m not talking about the
obligatory “walk in the room, wave at
your students, shake hands with the
other band directors, listen for five
minutes and move on to the next room
thing”… I’m talking about really sitting
down and watching how the band and
the clinician are working together.
I’ve learned a lot during these
sessions. I’ve picked up great rehearsal
techniques, wonderful analogies,
and some solid ideas about pacing a
rehearsal. I’ve watched our students
react to different teaching techniques
(both positive and negative) and seen
how quickly they can learn or how
much they struggle with certain aspects
of performing. We all try to give our
kids advice on how to be better players.
We schedule extra rehearsal time, if
possible we bring in area professionals,
and sometimes have guest conductors
come in to help us refine the
performance material. We strive to
produce fantastic performances…and
we often achieve this goal.
Then there are the other things. As I
watch and listen, I realize that there is
more to it than just playing a particular
set of music. Am I teaching my KIDS
or am I teaching THE MATERIAL?
What have I forgotten? What else
do they need to know? How can I
better prepare them to deal with the
big picture of music making instead
of just getting through their parts?
How can they become better “music
citizens”? Here’s what I observed this
year and what I plan to teach my
students:
1) You are a part of an honors group
because you deserve to be there. You
worked hard, played
your instrument with
enough proficiency
to be selected and
deemed worthy of
attending the event.
There is no need to
try and “outplay”
your neighbor. There
is no need to posture
and strut or to speak
negatively
about
others in the group.
It isn’t important that
you placed ahead
or behind them at another honors
audition…also, it isn’t cool to label
others based on the school they
attend and its perceived success or
lack thereof. Boasting about all of the
various groups that you are a part of
doesn’t elevate you…it can actually
make you appear arrogant and might
turn others away.
2) When you have the opportunity
to meet other students who share your
interest in music, take advantage of
the opportunity. Try to develop new
friendships beyond those who attend
your school. Hang out with different
students during the weekend…you
will find that you have lots more in
common than you initially suspected.
Who knows, you might end up college
roommates or performing in the same
group there.
3) Meet your guest conductors/
clinicians. Introduce yourself. Thank
them for working with you. Music is
also about networking…you might
apply to their university. They might
sit on an audition
or a scholarship
panel and see your
name. If you simply
sit in the section
and play, you are
one of hundreds of
faces they will see
this year. If you go
up and say hello,
you stand out…in
a positive way!
4) Impress those
around you by
being a great
ensemble member and demonstrating
your desire to get the job done. While
we are all impressed that you can play
orchestral excerpts (or for goodness
sakes, a marching band cheer) very
loudly, that might not be appropriate
during break times—especially if you
can’t play all of the parts in front of
you for the imminent performance.
Take care of the business at hand
rather than trying to impress others.
When it’s so obvious that your guest
conductor calls you out on it, it’s really
too much!
5) We need to better understand
what the symbols on the page mean.
Increasingly, our bands struggle while
sight reading. Basic on-beat/off-beat
patterns are unrecognizable…even in
the most advanced groups. Once the
rhythm is sung or counted for the
Reflections on District Honor Band
Gary Gribble
Then there are the
other things.....
Am I teaching my KIDS
or am I teaching
THE MATERIAL?
How can I better
prepare them to deal
with the big picture of
music making instead
of just getting through
their parts?
