Rehearsals with Progress, Not Perfection
While the pursuit of perfection in performance is a goal, progress is the barometer by which directors need to gauge their students and ensembles.
While the pursuit of perfection in performance is a goal, progress is the barometer by which directors need to gauge their students and ensembles.
Introduction The purpose of this post will be to share data that I collected last fall from junior high/middle school band directors to examine recruitment and retention of students in band programs in the age of Covid-19. I have already shared the data from the survey completed with Elementary Band Directors. Before presenting the questions, and data, I must stress […]
Through the pandemic, there have been stories of success as directors reinvested and reinvented their approach to maximize reaching students and successively starting them in band. It is vital that directors examine and share these victories with the profession at large.
Trophies at competitions, degree of difficulty in the repertoire performed, or the number of performances completed will not determine the success of instrumental ensembles in music education in the immediate future.
Conducting is but one aspect of successful teaching in instrumental music, and similar to discussion on rehearsal techniques or studio pedagogy, will only improve through sustained conversation and self-analysis of one’s own work.