 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Nzb2018
Date: 2015-11-06 04:06
Today in band class we had our sectional day. Since I'm first chair clarinet, I had the honor of leading sectional rehearsal today for the clarinets. It did not go as planned...I kept getting interrupted by the former first chair trying to take control, then some other clarinet decided she would like to take control and ended up rudely leading the sectional. I'm having a meeting with my band director tomorrow on how to avoid power struggles like this and make sectional time more efficient. First I would like to hear any advice on how to be a more effective leader in sectionals. Thank you in advance for the replies. I'm only in high scho if that helps.
Post Edited (2015-11-06 04:38)
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2015-11-06 06:13
It sounds from your description as if you won an audition that the "former first chair" player lost and he/she is angry and jealous. It's hard to tell whether the third player took over because she felt she could control "former" more easily (is she older?) and thought leaving things as they were risked getting nothing done.
I frankly don't understand why a band director would allow that kind of situation to develop and, now that it has, he needs to get "former" under control one way or the other. Students should not be put knowingly in a position of opposition with other students. The teacher is responsible for discipline, not his student leaders, who hold responsibility without any authority of their own. Assuming the girl who took over wasn't deliberately crossing you but was trying to impose some kind of order on a disrupted rehearsal, the band director needs to deal with "former" somewhat firmly - the seating placement was after all the director's decision, not yours. You're only doing what you've been asked to do.
Your responsibility as section leader should be to know the music well and be able to work cooperatively with the rest of your section. If "former" is the only obstacle and can't bring himself to accept your leadership gracefully (if perhaps grudgingly), he may need to be made a former band member by the director. But, again, that's not your job. You should expect some kind of support from him.
Karl
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Author: Nzb2018
Date: 2015-11-06 07:52
Thank you for this, I think the main reason he let it develop is that he doesn't know that this is going on... Which is going to change tomorrow because I'm going to talk with him about it
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2015-11-06 09:36
Maybe the band director needs to be at the next sectional and set up the guidelines. The director doesn't have to be there the whole time, but long enough to see where the problems fall.
A good sectional rehearsal is often the input of several chair members, the goal being to get the group to play the difficult parts of the assorted pieces well.
Often to play these hard parts you have to start really slowly, maybe half the speed and build up the speed very slowly. So get some advice from your director, it sounds like the whole section was kind of lost and frustrated because there wasn't any improvement taking place during this practice session. This is just a guess.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2015-11-06 19:58
I completely agree that the teacher needs to set the guidelines. It might also help if you ask the teacher to set those guidelines in a three-way meeting with you and "former" and nobody else. In an information-seeking way (rather than a confrontational way, at first), the teacher can begin by asking for "former's" point of view on what happened.
Having all three of you (and nobody else) present for this conversation is important. If other students are there, listening, then "former's" pride may be too much on the line, in front of an audience, for him/her to agree to respect you and then follow through.
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-11-06 21:20
The other side of it is that "leadership" is a quality that needs to be learned (it is not bestowed). With your "authority" as section leader you can calmly and firmly put matters under dispute at rest as the one who is responsible for the section. There are any number of 'correct' solutions buy YOU must pick it.
With that in mind, as long as you make it clear about where the decision will ultimately fall, there is no reason not to let other input come into the mix (you might like some of the suggestions).
............Paul Aviles
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2015-11-07 01:50
Paul, I agree that welcoming input from others who are involved in almost anything (other than a military operation) is useful, and hopefully in a school setting of this kind, the input is offered civilly and cooperatively. There should be collegiality in both directions between the rehearsal leader and the rest of the group.
We weren't there, but I'm willing to take Nicolas's description as accurate, because I've seen these situations before in almost 40 years of teaching in school programs. A student "leader" has no "authority" that hasn't been delegated by the teacher. The authority to maintain discipline when needed is not a responsibility that the teacher can or should try to delegate. The student is never "in charge" to the extent that defiance or deliberate noncompliance with the *process* of a school sectional rehearsal should be his responsibility to correct. The students involved are peers - there is no official hierarchy, no school-sanctioned subordination of one student to another in these situations. In a school music setting, music skill is the criterion for most assignments of responsibility.
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-11-07 13:09
Ok....... I am referring to a civilian, school setting and perhaps something more subtle. As long as one does not become combative, you can "take control" by guiding the discussion. If the title of "section LEADER" is anything more than just a title, it should be understood that the section needs to "blend" and listen UP (toward the section leader).
All I propose is being more psychologically savvy, or business savvy. These are precious life skills in any endeavor.
..............Paul Aviles
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Author: Bennett ★2017
Date: 2015-11-07 20:22
Perhaps the problem the OP posed was not one of hierarchical authority or personality 'disorders'. Instead, maybe it simply was not clear to those involved what they were doing there.
It could be that what was needed was a brief discussion, before a note was played, about what the sectional hoped to accomplish. The discussion might have involved the band director beforehand. But it also should have involved the members of the section - what did they wish to work on. Were there problem passages that needed work, was it articulation or dynamics issues? Was every piece in the repertoire to be reviewed or just those that appeared to have problems?
Also unstated was how big the section was - 3,6, 9 etc. players. The bigger the group the more important (and perhaps more difficult) it is to define what's to be done.
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2015-11-07 23:29
Apparently it did become combative. My point is that too often the advice given here to the "section leader" in these situations (this isn't the first similar thread) is to work on his/her "leadership skills." Valuable as those are, and important as cooperative, two-way communication in peer-to-peer relationships is (I'm not disagreeing with you about it), they don't replace the in loco parentis authority of the teacher, in whose hands class discipline ultimately rests. The audition didn't probably include "leadership" skills, and IMO it would be a sorry state of music education if those skills were a required qualification for being awarded top chairs.
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-11-08 00:54
Clearly the "loco parentis" abdicated his role in the matter. I have found very few grade school and high school directors who are able to clearly define musical objectives well, let alone defining the roles of the participants.
I only advocate for students to ply as many different skill sets as possible. It makes you a more marketable musician.
The players awarded top chairs should by extension be the most knowledgable musically. It is therefore a good idea that the best musicians learn to pass on their knowledge to others, either as "coaches" or section leaders.
It's the natural progression of things.
................Paul Aviles
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Author: kdk ★2017
Date: 2015-11-08 05:47
You're right about all of this. I still don't want to imply any approval of the band director if, in fact, he has already "abdicated his role" in this. It isn't clear that he had done so before the sectional, apparently, ended up going badly. So the next step in establishing ground rules, expectations and structure is his. Hopefully, he will follow up as needed.
Leadership skills are always valuable. So are the skills of working cooperatively and collaboratively when not in an authoritarian structure. It just shouldn't take a cat fight or a round of "King of the Hill" in a sectional to establish a conducive atmosphere.
No argument, Paul, with your comments about the value of developing leadership skills or with anything else you've said in the general case.
" It is therefore a good idea that the best musicians learn to pass on their knowledge to others, either as "coaches" or section leaders. "
Yes, and it's also a good idea that good musicians learn to accept leadership from others without reacting defensively, maliciously, destructively. Any of us can find ourselves in either position as working musicians or in any other life pursuit. Leading needn't be obnoxious and following needn't be obsequious. Ideally, they're two sides of the same coin, which gets its value from cooperation toward the same goal.
Hopefully, the band director can put Humpty-Dumpty back together.
Karl
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2015-11-08 17:28
Dear "Nzb2018,"
and this is what it looks like when musicians talk about how short a staccato should be. :-)
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: James Langdell
Date: 2015-11-09 22:21
However this conflict within the clarinet section is resolved, I have a piece of advice. Talk with the section leaders for other instruments in your band, especially if they've been in the position of leading sectionals effectively for more time. Most effective techniques to use in leading a sectional will be common across instruments.
--James Langdell
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