Rehearsal Efficiencies (Part 1)

I had a conversation recently with a friend about music education in schools, where she made a really simple (yet profound) remark that equated to the idea that if you're having to spend too much time on correcting individual measures, then you're not really teaching "music" as much as you're creating a compliant workforce. In other words, what's good for one measure should translate to the rest of them (unless there's a good reason for it not to). Therefore, if you want more efficient rehearsals, teach the kinds of concepts that enable students to substantially scale their growth in your absence (making you virtually irrelevant).

Here are just a few benefits of doing so...

a) Fewer un-needed rehearsals.

b) Shorter rehearsals.

c) More productive rehearsals (i.e. the ability to focus on shaping the x-factor qualities of a performance vs the legalistic aspect of just playing all the right notes at the right time).

d) The re-allocation of time for the director to:

-Improve at their own instrument.

-Source more challenging music for their students.

-Stay on top of administrative matters and paperwork.

-Prioritize their health (i.e. more sleep, exercise, better nutrition).

e) Better cost-benefit for the director's time to earned income ratio.

f) A better self-perpetuating culture where the director won't be the only one responsible for everyone's growth; where the upper classmen also feel compelled to train the lower classmen to ensure that the flow of excellence within a program doesn't die on the vine after they graduate.

g) A developed reputation for developing students who are consistently awarded scholarships to help offset the rising cost of higher education.