Notes from the Cougar Band Room

So...what did students think of our Student-Led Rehearsals? Wind Ensemble (1st hour; Audition-Only Group) Generally speaking, Student-Led Rehearsals well-received in this ensemble. Many students expressed appreciation at building teamwork, and felt the topics they rehearsed "stuck" more quickly when they were able to direct their own learning. They also expressed a heightened accountability to self and one another, deeper engagement, and enjoyed giving/receiving constructive feedback to one another in respectful ways. Frustrations included lack of organization/unclear goals, time management concerns, starting/establishing procedures, and wanting more rehearsal time. Question: Where did you hear our efforts pay off? Question: Was there a difference between Student-Led and Director-Led Rehearsals? If so, what? Question: Was there anything challenging about Student-Led Rehearsals? Question: What are some of the ways we can improve rehearsals, no matter who is leadin...

Below are the resulting performances after our 6 weeks of Student-Led Rehearsals. Each ensemble selected their pieces from a short list of appropriate level music literature. Once selected, students needed to navigate how rehearsals would be run and make collective musical decisions in order to be ready to perform each piece for our Winter Band Concert on December 12, 2018.  Although the list of challenges has been great, my band director heart is so full from hearing the musical progress these students made on these pieces. A full write-up based on our experiences both from the student and director perspectives are forthcoming.  SCHS Concert Band- Beyond the Highlands, Benjamin Yeo SCHS Symphony Band- Albanian Dance, Shelley Hanson SCHS Wind Ensemble- Queen City March, W. H. Boorn/arr. Lafferty

See that big gray cloud? The one that feels like falling into a pit of question marks? You don’t need to know what’s in there. All you need is the vision you’re holding, the clarity it takes to find the next spot to step in, & the willingness to keep walking. #emilyonlife pic.twitter.com/H39LBNM3AW — Emily McDowell (@emilymcdowell_) November 16, 2018 Although our student-led rehearsal experiment started out feeling a bit like that, I must admit, it is exciting watching and listening to these students as we head into the final stretch! Working hard in our final rehearsals before Wednesday’s big concert! 7pm, right here in the SCHS auditorium- join us for an evening filled with festive music and great aural feats! #RCSArts #RCSPride #WeAreSC pic.twitter.com/NDaRFOCC8Y — SCHS Bands (@SCHSBands) December 10, 2018 Our Winter Concert is tomorrow and all three ensembles have not only some great music to perform, but have made some really remarkable progress.  Musi...

One of my biggest frustrations as a band director is students playing their instruments but not actually listening. "Band Hero". Once I push a button/make the sound, I'm no longer responsible.  Listening to each other, listening to feedback, LISTENING to the information around you to derive the information we need to really learn, adapt, and be highly sensitive in our music making. This simple level of awareness is at the root of so many ensemble problems: Balance. Intonation. Matching styles. The list could go on and on. I noticed something while observing one of the student led rehearsals and taking notes on their rehearsal process: [Scene: Student-Led Rehearsal] Ensemble plays through excerpt/piece. Ensemble stops playing. Ensemble members raise hands as moderator asks "what did you think?" [/Scene] WAIT. STOP. There was no turn and talk. There was no checking phone notifications. there was no sneaking of homework being completed whi...