Klarinet Archive - Posting 000084.txt from 2009/03
From: "Gary/Jan Truesdail" <gir@-----.net>
Subj: [kl] Getting lost during rehearsal
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2009 02:47:42 -0400
Hoping someone could help out here.
I am now a director of a community band and was presented with the email
below.
I have already responded, but It required quite a bit of thought - how to
explain this matter to amateurs - and was hoping someone could give me
better answers.
I have never been presented with this problem in just this way before.
Gary Truesdail
This was the email:
Hi, Gary,
I was wondering if maybe you would address the issue to the band about
getting lost.
Personally, I have the good sense and musicality to know when I am lost and
I stop playing!! (I'm certainly not the only one). Of course I keep my
eyes on the music and do my best to try to find where we are.
However, (someone) tells me that (someone) frequently gets lost (his
counting is very weak) and has no clue and apparently does not give a darn
and just keeps playing. I noticed on Wed. that (I think it was during
Jubilus) where the counting is a little bit tricky, (someone else) got off
but just kept playing. Then this threw me off (I shouldn't be listening)
because of course I doubted myself (I ain't so perfect) and then it was all
over for me (but at least I quit playing :^).
After rehearsal (someone else) said to me that he got lost and I thought "So
why did you keep playing when you knew you were in the wrong place?"
Anyway, I was wondering if there was some good advice you could give to us
this week.
Thanks,
My original response was:
Good awareness, Mary. As you said, "Some people don't notice or know when
they are lost"
However, I always address the issue unless there is a more important
immediate objective we are working on. I always try to allow the immediate
objective to be accomplished before addressing a secondary problem. One
thing at a time.
1. The ability to recognize when someone else is lost is important as they
can help the lost person get back on track. This is why bari sax and bass
clarinet are together, 1st clarinet and 1st flute are near each other, 1st
trumpet and 1st alto are near each other, Trombones and Euph and horns are
near each other.
2. The ability to recover from getting lost does not come from the
conductor always stopping to correct it. I stop for this problem if several
people are lost and it produces a situation that is unrecoverable. At that
point, to let it go on is counterproductive to the development of a band.
The reason for being lost can come from several places: A. following some
else that is lost, B. bad conductor cue, C. a player being so engrossed in
the page that he/she does not notice they are lost or the conductor beat, D.
an entire sections gets lost together because someone in the section gives a
"movement cue" that indicates "now is the time to play" after a rest and
everyone in the section is listening to each other for other purposes and
are not aware that they are lost or came in late or early.
Generally it is helpful, for developmental purposes, to allow a player to
try to recover. This is the one of the objectives of sight reading. There is
a limit in how far into the rehearsal sequence that this can be allowed as
it can throw some other insecure players off the track. A strong player
knows when to abandon listening to the lost player and continue playing
correctly with another aural source, or maybe the conductor. (Maybe, if the
wrong player is listening, he/she will recover). Realizing when you are lost
and listening for cues for a recovery is an important skill to learn.
If two mountain climbers are going up a cliff and the guy at the bottom of
the rope slips and lets go the person at the top does not automatically give
up. Same in music.
3. Players of like instruments that are not sitting together are not
helping each other in times of insecurity (or getting lost, weather it is
their fault or not), nor can they create a collective balance for their
section. We currently have that situation on the Euphonium section. I sure
wish you guys would sit together.
4. Not getting lost is dependent upon several things; 1. Counting rests
correctly, 2. Experience, and not being drawn in to follow another wrong
person. (Playing the part correctly is far better than to stop playing).
Gary
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