Rehearsal Notes March 19th, 2025
We have to have discipline, Choral Evolutioneers,
The most common complaint/request that I get is to do something about talking during rehearsals. Many members of the choir find the talking so troubling they consider leaving the choir. Our last few rehearsals have been particularly bad from this standpoint, Wednesday pretty much dissolved into chaos towards the end.. It falls to me as director to try and fix this situation.
There is a well understood and time-tested process for making music as a group. The members of the orchestra, band or choir learn and practice their individual parts. Then we come together under the musical leadership of the conductor and pianist to rehearse and blend the parts into a whole piece of music. From your first days in music, respect for this process is taught and encouraged as the only way to achieve excellence in performance, thus delighting your audience.
In any musical arts organization, the conductor is respected as the representative and embodiment of that process. It’s understood that only one person at a time can speak at rehearsal otherwise chaos erupts, and the conductor usually has the most to say. I spend hours preparing for our rehearsals so that we make the best use of our short time together and there is little dead air or wasted effort. I make it a point to call on every raised hand and answer every question as best I can.
I do my best to foster a relaxed atmosphere that encourages fun, reflecting the spirit of our group. Sadly, some members of the choir are taking advantage of this approach and spending our precious rehearsal time talking and laughing inappropriately. These disruptions are disturbing to those of us who come to rehearsal for the right reasons and who are trying to listen and participate.
I had the misfortune of attending a rehearsal this week where chaos reigned. A smallish group, where everyone had their own opinion, talked all at once and little got done. We wasted 3 hours getting through 2 pieces of music, and no one learned or will remember anything. It was a stark reminder that good rehearsal etiquette is very important to achieving our goals. Please keep the talking to a minimum and be considerate of the other singers and our process. If not, you will be asked to leave the rehearsal.
This week we will work on:
All The Diamonds
Texas Hold ‘Em
Vincent
You Learn
Golden Slumbers
I will see you all Wednesday, March 19th at Christian Life Assembly, 6851 West Coast Rd, Sooke BC at 7 pm
See you then!
André ♪
Reminders
Be respectful of the process and your fellow singers by maintaining silence during rehearsals, put up your hand if you have a question and I will do my best to call on you.
· Come prepared to all rehearsals and commit to singing all the concerts. We count on you being there for us every week and we miss you when you are away.
· Learn your music, practice at home, use the practice tracks, attend sectionals.
· Don’t be selective: you have to learn, practice and commit to every tune even if they aren’t your favourite. We all have to sing the whole show.
· Bring your music, a pencil and your water bottle to each rehearsal. Mark your parts lightly in pencil only.
· Keep track of the tunes we’ve rehearsed, make sure you keep running them regularly, so we don’t lose all the work we have done. I encourage you to try to sing your parts out loud regularly, in as big a room as you can find
· Be a beginner when you practice. Go slow, pay attention, check your pitch constantly, think about your breath, take nothing for granted, start to memorize lines so you can look up.
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musictheory.net is a free resource that will teach you all about how written music works. There are theory lessons and ear training for every level of musician. Click on the word “lessons” at the top left and do at least one lesson a day. Each lesson takes just a few minutes to complete. Click on the sentences at the bottom of the page to advance through the lesson. Spending a few minutes a day here will help you become more comfortable with written music.