Abstract
Democracy seems to be on the decline in much of the world. In fact, “many democratic governments are increasingly adopting authoritarian tactics. . .while autocratic regimes are consolidating their power” (International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, 2021). You could probably replace “democratic governments” and “autocratic regimes” in this quotation with “ensemble directors” and the quote would still be applicable. And before you think this is going to be one of those large ensembles are terrible articles, you are only partially correct.
In addition to being the person who writes these insightful commentaries, I also serve as the Director of Bands at the University of Missouri. Over the years, I have been thoughtfully considering ways to include my students in the rehearsal process, something that was not at the forefront of my thinking as a public school band director or in the initial years of my college teaching. I refuse to blame myself entirely because I would feel really sad. Instead, I choose to blame professional conductors because “the teaching model most emulated in secondary ensembles is that of the autocratic, professional conductor of a large, classical ensemble” (Kratus, 2007, p. 45). This is particularly important for preservice and novice teachers because those individuals have little experience other than being taught by “get-in-there, fix-it-for-them, and move-on instructors” (Allsup & Benedict, 2008, p. 162). Although this is representative of the rehearsals that are experienced by many ensemble performers, there have been research findings indicating ensemble directors’ positivity toward incorporating democratic rehearsal procedures in their classrooms (McNamara, 2019; Scherer, 2021).
Now that the finger-wagging part of the commentary has concluded, here are three easy-to-implement democratic processes that all ensemble directors, including those teaching in PK-12 and collegiate settings, can use to increase student ownership, engagement, and growth.
Process 1: Select Music for Performance
This can be done outside or during ensemble rehearsal. Because of limited rehearsal time, I have students select music using the Discussion Board feature in our learning management system, Canvas. Rather than letting them pick from anything that exists (much of which is of dubious educational and musical value), I provide model recordings and scores to two or three selections that fit nicely with the rest of the already-selected program. I ask students to type a musical rationale for why their chosen piece should be included rather than the other selections. This assignment has many benefits including listening to high-quality ensembles, expanding knowledge of composers and diverse repertoire, and considering what musical characteristics make a particular piece suitable for programming, given the other selections on the concert. Students get rather animated and political behind the scenes to achieve the result they want. Make Lincolnshire Posy Great Again! (Disclaimer: I think it was already great.)
Process 2: Music Listening, Sectional Spot Identification, and Sectional Rehearsal
I have a suspicion that most professional musicians do not show up to the initial rehearsal of a concert cycle thinking “I don’t know how my part goes, but I can’t wait to hear how it fits in with everything else!” Instead, professional musicians know and already have practiced their music. During the first rehearsal of each concert cycle, I have students listen to model recordings of the music while either following their part or seeing how it fits in while viewing conductor scores. In their sections, they brainstorm what aspects of the music will be most challenging and identify problematic areas for sectional rehearsal. As a class, we discuss these sections of the music and how they might align with those identified by different sections. This process allows us to hear an outstanding performance of the music that we will play and gets students thinking critically about what they should be attending to as they sectionalize and begin rehearsals. Instead of the conductor making all of these decisions unilaterally and without input, a sense of community begins to emerge from the first rehearsal.
Process 3: Student-Led Rehearsals
Approximately 2 weeks prior to each concert, I audio record a complete run-through of our pieces, something that I call the Fake Concert. These recordings are posted online as the Rehearsal Recordings Discussion Board, and students write three strengths and three weaknesses regarding the performances. When designing the instructions for any listening assignment that involves student critique, be careful that students have clear parameters. For example, here are my instructions: “Please be diplomatic and professional when writing your comments. Use music terminology (e.g., balance, blend, intonation, articulation) and be specific.” Next, students bring their smart devices to the next rehearsal or two and I ask them to volunteer a strength first, followed by a weakness that we should address. I then rehearse that specific section until the student (and ensemble) is satisfied with our improvement. This develops students’ critical thinking and listening skills and transfers ownership about what and how to improve as an ensemble to someone other than the conductor.
To move large ensemble instruction forward, I believe that we must find ways to invigorate our music teaching and learning processes as teacher-conductors. (And please note the strategic placement of conductor after teacher.) The three democratic processes that I presented are just a sampling of strategies that can be employed in ensemble rehearsals. Having students only learn and refine their part for a concert and repeating that cycle over and over is outdated, insufficient, and insulting given the musicianship that many of our students already possess. It is no longer a question of if we should move past the shut up and play model, but rather “How long is it going to take ensemble directors in our profession to make these changes?”