How To Create A Successful Music Ensemble

Here, for the first time, is the definitive practical guide to setting up a choral or instrumental ensemble and running it effectively. Aimed at experienced solo musicians, this book illustrates how to harness individual skills to build an exciting and creative group dynamic. Every aspect of performing together is covered, from choosing repertoire and arranging the music to devising innovative rehearsal techniques, all leading to that successful final performance. Both a step-by-step ‘how to’ book, and a comprehensive reference resource, How To Create a Successful Music Ensemble features the insights of several experienced musical directors and covers topics like practicalities, publicity and conducting techniques. Additional resources can be found on the book’s companion website, including audio files of the music in the book and an original arrangement.

A definite, practical guide to setting up a choral or instrumental ensemble and running it effectively. Both a step-by-step 'how to' book and a comprehensive reference resource, this guide covers the artistic, and practical aspects of creating and maintaining all kinds of music ensembles.

Coaching a Popular Music Ensemble is a comprehensive guide for the music teacher striving to meet the changing needs of their students, the university music educator examining our current music education paradigm, and the band director trying to expand their school’s music program. Using his experiences as an educator and Memphis musician, Holley details the approaches and methods he used to create this one-of-a-kind, award-winning, student-driven music program. Some of the concepts described include the roles of the musicians in a popular music ensemble, explanations of a variety of rehearsal techniques, and how to go about creating a learner-centered rehearsal environment. Whether you believe the goal of music education is to produce more professional musicians or nurture more musical professionals, this book will help you and your students achieve that aspiration.

This book explores the fundamentals of popular music performance for students in contemporary music institutions. Drawing on the insights of performance practice research, it discusses the unwritten rules of performances in popular music, what it takes to create a memorable performance, and live popular music as a creative industry. The authors offer a practical overview of topics ranging from rehearsals to stagecraft, and what to do when things go wrong. Chapters on promotion, recordings, and the music industry place performance in the context of building a career. Performing Popular Music introduces aspiring musicians to the elements of crafting compelling performances and succeeding in the world of today’s popular music.

"The most comprehensive guide on the rehearsal process for conducting instrumental music ensembles. This work breaks the multidimensional activity of working with an ensemble, orchestra, or band into its constituent components"--from publisher description.

""Improvisation is spontaneity in music. It can be beautiful, uplifting, and unnerving all at the same. It happens instantaneously, in a unique context, with ideas never to be performed the same way again. It can be the result of years of practice or an unexpected reaction to a collaborative musical moment. As Spolin so eloquently explains, it provides musicians with an opportunity to explore a musical situation where boundaries can be stretched and new ideas can be enacted. Out of these experiences comes a sense of freedom and agency that can inspire a young musician. We have seen the power of these experiences in our own students, and we hope to foster those same experiences for students through the teaching approaches and activities discussed in this book. Where do improvised musical moments live in the typical music curriculum? We know that it is a challenge to incorporate improvisation on a consistent basis. As new music teachers, we often incorporated improvisation as a culminating experience at the end of a unit, or we saved improvisation experiences until concerts were completed. Improvisation did not seem like something that we could address year-long when the demands of content or performance were so great. It changed our teaching when we realized that we could integrate music improvisation activities consistently into the ensemble or music classroom curriculum. Furthermore, we realized that we did not need to hit the ""pause"" button on concert preparation to work on an improvisation unit, both repertoire and improvisation could advance our students' performance abilities. A music teacher can do this in a group setting by tapping into students' diverse personalities and voices. Improvisation is often framed as an independent enterprise, but an eclectic group of students provides boundless opportunities for rich and varied musical collaboration. Moreover, the teacher can be essential in facilitating vibrant group improvisation experiences. There is something different that happens in musical development when we set up opportunities for students to make spontaneous musical choices for themselves. Students begin to listen differently, watch differently, feel differently, and perform differently if we give them the space to stretch musical boundaries and create their own musical ideas. How do we know that students change when they begin to improvise? By focusing on musical elements in improvised activities such as melody, harmony, rhythm, timbre/texture, articulation, and dynamics consistently over time-we have seen students transform. By grounding musical improvisation in these musical elements, students can begin to connect and produce music that reflects layered levels of musical understanding. Furthermore, when lessons are exploratory, interdisciplinary, or inspired by principles in various genres students will experience more fluid musical interactions, become more attuned to their neighbors, and more open and adaptive to musical ideas. This book is designed to provide an accessible approach to including musical improvisation in the large ensemble and classroom setting. It is largely based on the transformative musical experiences we have had with students when we began incorporating improvisation into our teaching. The spontaneous and unpredictable nature of musical improvisation can be challenging, but the rewards far outweigh any momentary trepidation that teachers and students might feel. The pedagogical suggestions and lesson plans presented will make the benefits of teaching and learning improvisation clear and provide an approach that is adaptable and manageable for music teachers working with large numbers of students. In doing so, teachers will learn more about students' musical thinking and will enhance musicianship skills for their entire ensembles. The 2014 National Music Standards call for music teachers to engage students in the musical process of creation and describes improvisation as an integral experience. Yet we know, many teachers, particularly in large ensembles and classroom settings, still struggle to find ways to make improvisation a reality (Bernhard, 2013; Bernhard & Stringham, 2016; Schopp, 2006). The book is framed around practical and flexible ideas for implementing improvisation activities. The lesson activities borrow broad principles from different musical styles and genres to provide a variety of improvisation settings and appeal to diverse student interests. Many activities are exploratory in nature allowing students to play and respond to each other while also focusing on core musical elements such as melody and rhythm. Interdisciplinary teaching approaches and resources are suggested throughout many of the lessons to enhance creative expression and build connections between the arts. Lessons include learning objectives, detailed procedures, assessments, benefits, recordings, and mp3 examples. ""--

The Teaching of Instrumental Music, Fifth Edition introduces music education majors to basic instrumental pedagogy for the instruments and ensembles commonly found in the elementary and secondary curricula. It focuses on the core competencies required for teacher certification in instrumental music, with the pervasive philosophy to assist teachers as they develop an instrumental music program based on understanding and respecting all types of music. Parts I and II focus on essential issues for a successful instrumental program, presenting first the history and foundations, followed by effective strategies in administrative tasks and classroom teaching. Parts III, IV, and V are devoted to the skills and techniques of woodwind, brass and percussion, and string instruments. In all, The Teaching of Instrumental Music is the complete reference for the beginning instrumental teacher, commonly retained in a student’s professional library for its unique and comprehensive coverage. NEW TO THIS EDITION: Revision and updating of curriculum developments, such as coordinating State Department of Education student learning objectives with the recent Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) New discussion of the NAfME National Standards as they relate to the teaching of instrumental music Revamping of rehearsing instrumental ensembles chapters, including new or expanded sections on programming, choosing quality music, and applying successful rehearsal techniques Updates on references, plus new discussion questions, and websites and internet links A chapter devoted to classroom guitar Updates on the use of technology for teaching and learning music More on healthy performance practice, marching band, and jazz band Online materials located in the eResources section on the Routledge website.

(Meredith Music Resource). Chock full of tips, suggestions and friendly advice from a highly successful band director, this book will inspire you to achieve your full potential and help to transform the everyday job of teaching into a series of rewarding and memorable moments. This book is a comprehensive manual to improve your band while developing yourself as an effective teacher and leader. The author shares hard-won lessons; highly creative solutions and moments of celebration during an illustrious 40-year career in which she was propelled to national prominence and received dozens of honors and awards.