Aim Small, Miss Small, Move On!  Every year we, being students, staff, clinicians, etc, have plans on what we want the upcoming marching band season to be. Regardless of the past year's accomplishments, we want to play the best, look the best, march the best, and in some cases, sing the best. We want to create the most ingenious product of the year and want to be apart of the best product of the year. If that was not the case, why even bother spending hours upon hours planning and rehearsing, right?

So, after the planning stages, choosing the arrangements, selecting the drill writer, and finalizing the roster, rehearsals begin. The first week or so, everyone is getting used to carrying an instrument, while marching, playing, moving, dancing, breathing, and performing. At this stage of the "game," it's all about repetitions; building muscle memory.

After the first movement is on the field, maybe even the beginning of the second movement, we start to go beyond the marching and playing to add dancing, movement, and begin to detail the production. The detailing phase of the product, is by far the most important, yet improperly executed phase. Throughout my experience as a clinician/consultant, I have found that most groups that I have worked with believe detailing a show means starting from the beginning of the show at the beginning of the practice and working to the end of the show to conclude the practice, while fixing/tweaking things that come up throughout. There is no focused goal for that rehearsal. When there is a goal, it is usually, to play better; to march better; etc. That should be the goal of every repetition. Make the second better than the first; make the third better than the second, etc.

A better method, not necessarily the only one, is to focus on one part of the production per rehearsal. For example, let's look at perfecting the first big "moment" of the show. The common goal is to have that moment be the first taste the audience gets of the marching ensemble - the "first impression", if you will. We want it to be big and look good. So how do we practice to make it so? Rehearse it over and over and over until the music is big and the visual looks good. Right? Wrong.

What goes into music sounding good? Intonation, breathing, dynamics, color/warmth of the air, articulation, etc. We all know that's what makes a great sound, but that's not how we rehearse. We say, play big! And what happens? The volume increases, but now you still have all of the issues with intonation, inconsistent articulation, inconsistent dynamics, etc, amplified! How can we fix this?

First, can benefit by micro-managing each repetition. Start from the beginning of a phrase. In one or two repetitions, work on taking the initial breath, creating the articulation, and making the horn speak, even if it is just a simple 4 steps with the prep step to prepare for the movement. Next, work 1 or 2 repetitions from the beginning of the note/movement, through the phrase identifying the proper dynamics, air flow, and drill movement. Keep an eye out on the drill and try to find guide points to help create a consistent flow for the drill. Then, work 1 or 2 repetitions as to the conclusion of the phrase. Keeping in mind, the dynamics, articulation, release of the air, and conclusion of the drill movement.  Finally, work 1 or 2 repetitions on the entire chunk, then you're done.

If rehearsal etiquette is spot on, this process should take about 15 - 20 minutes. If done properly, you may never have to revisit this phrase again, except to make adjustments. Also, making this process consistent with the fundamental aspects of the music program, each time a phrase/chunk is worked, it improves upon the next phrase/chunk. Visa versa, after moving on from a phrase/chunk and improving upon the fundamentals of the current phrase/chunk, it improves what has already been worked on. It works.

If you work on small aspects, students who already have a few hundred things to think about will be able to concentrate on the task at hand, and improve upon it.  It will be easier than throwing 10 things at them and expecting them to carry it on. We all have our opinions on being micro managers, but when it comes to band practice, early micro-managing for effective practices produces long-term benefits.  Time cannot be wasted.

Best Wishes this Season!

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