Music Is Not for Insects

So I’ve given you my bias about the cover of this book…I think it’s goofy. I must have picked it up and put it down 3 or 4 times before I bought it and brought it with me to read at the beach on vacation…
But what’s inside is what you need to read before you start up with your ensembles this fall. Dr. Timothy Seelig former opera singer turned conductor and former Artistic Director of the Turtle Creek Chorale may look silly on this colorful cover, but everything he says about rehearsals is worth your time. Consider this from page 5:

“Some think the most important thing [we do as conductors] is the performances! Or contests!…We only hear (and talk) about the destination, not the journey…Have you ever read a review of a rehearsal in the local paper? Much has been written about choral performances…But who is writing about the rehearsals?…Our papers have endless coverage of training camps for every possible sport. They talk about the players who make up the team…They talk about the coach. How is he running things?…But the same thing does not happen in what we do. They only care about the performance. The reality is, most of the sports media has a good idea during training camp what the team is going to be like. So should we. Perhaps the music critics should somehow turn the clock back and become a fly on the wall at our ‘training camp.’ Most likely, they would be able to tell what the performance was going to be like by observing rehearsals.”

He goes on to say “Ponder how many hours are spent in rehearsals as compared to performance. Regardless of whether you conduct a choir in a school, church or community setting, the number of hours in rehearsal vs. performance is at least ten hours for every one hour of performance time. For most choruses, 40 hours is a more accurate number.” These stats got my attention. Rehearsals are the most important thing we do as conductors, but often I’m so obsessed with the performance, I don’t put the time into planning a great rehearsal each week.
He follows up this section with a Seelig Signpost of Significance (my goofy creation, not his…)

” Guarantee: Rehearsals will change the lives of our singers. No Guarantee: Performances will change the lives of the audience.”

I had to read this several times before it really sank in…maybe too much sun sitting on the beach. But the truth of these statements hit me square in my beach chair: “Dude! You suck at planning consistent rehearsals each week. How dare you when rehearsals are so important to your singers mindset and how they will actually perform at the concert.” True confession time; haven’t you felt this way at one time or another in your career?

There is so much practical wisdom in this book to help you plan great rehearsals. But beyond that, Seelig presents the information as a tour guide planning a trip (hence the “It’s a Trip” reference on the front cover…) and asks some very significant “why” questions before jumping into a lot of Do’s and Don’ts.

It’s a great read that will inspire you no matter what level of group you conduct and rehearse. And just like the guide book we keep picking up and putting down here on our vacation, you will dog- ear pages, underline sections and share the great insight with friends and colleagues from “The Perfect Rehearsal: It’s a Trip! Everything you wanted to Know About Rehearsals.” By Timothy Seelig. Published by Shawnee Press, Inc.
Now if hurricane Felicia doesn’t throw off our flight plans, I’ll be able to try these ideas with my ensembles soon enough…

I recently commented over on Steve’s blog with a recommendation on proper care and feeding of the

beginning percussionist. My advice was to read “Teaching Music with Purpose” by Petter Loel Boonshaft. I’m actually on vacation right now and made a promise to my family that I wouldn’t open the lap top and do any blogging….BUT this book is just too good not to share with the music ed community.  The percussion chapter alone was so full of practical advice, it could stand alone as it’s own book.

As I prepare to start at a new school this fall with a different grade level (more about that later…)

this book keeps giving me such great advice for the classroom and my conducting health. Here is an excerpt that hit home with me:

We need to protect ourselves from damage, especially from wear and tear caused by our conducting…now you may say to yourself, “I’m in great shape and I work out twelve hours a day; this can’t happen to me!” Or, “I am only twenty-three years old; that is only something that happens to older folks.” Wrong! I know many young conductors whose ailments began very early in their teaching careers, and many very athletic people whose exercise regimens, though wonderful for some aspects of life, do nothing to aid these specific problems.

I am in the midst of a much needed mid-winter break with my family, enjoying some time with old friends and catching up on some leisure reading (”Leisure? What does that mean?”) and being blown away by a piece of juvenile fiction that really touched my heart.

A parent at my school recommended a book to me that she and her family read over Winter break. “You have to read this book!” I gave a polite nod and filed it in the back of my mind and forgot to follow up with the school librarian. Big mistake. For the next three weeks, this persistent parent kept asking me, “Have you read the book? What did you think?” I kept coming up with excuses week after week until finally our school librarian walked into my room and gave me the book with an exasperated look on his face. This parent had been dogging him too.

I finally read the book last night on the plane when I had my first free moment. In spite of this book being a piece of fiction aimed at pre-teen readers, I was struck by the honest and accurate portrayal of the life of a music edcator.

The main character is a 6th grade boy named Hart; a very poplular and well meaning boy whose “coolness” and charm get him out of most jams when he misbehaves. But a misfired rubber band at the neck of Mr. Meinert, the chorus teacher, lands Hart into an unexpected situation. The usually forgiving Mr. Meinert has just been given notice that funding for his position has been cut and he will no longer have a job after the first of the year. This mid-year lay off, and the pressure to have a winter concert ready with a group of ungrateful 6th graders singers pushes Mr. Meinert over the edge.

Unaware of the music teacher’s budget cut depression, Hart is chosen to replace Mr. Meinert who has declared that the students can produce the winter concert on their own.

What follows is a cast of characters that you will identify with; from the dejected middle school chorus teacher who has aspirations to become the high school chorus director; to the spouse encouraging her husband to quit right now because he is deserving of a better school and is much too talented to teach in this ungrateful town; and the administrator whose hands are tied as he loses another great teacher from his school due to budget cuts.

So, along with that parent that wouldn’t leave me alone, I say “You must read this book!” It will take you less than two hours (only 176 pages) and as you watch the lives of Hart and Mr. Meinert change in unexpected ways, I think you will be touched by the not too sentimental story of many music educators that you know. The Last Holiday Concert by Andrew Clements.

When we double or halve a frequency, we end up with a note that sounds remarkably similar to the one we started out with. This relationship, a frequency ratio of 2:1 or 1:2, is called the octave. It is so important that, in spite of the large differences that exist between musical cultures- between Indian, Balinese, European, Middle Eastern, Chinese, and so on- every culture we know of has the octave as the basis for its music, even if little else in common with other musical traditions.

p. 31 from the book This is Your Brain on Music by Daniel J. Levitin

I get a lot of questions about a child’s music development. The best book I have found is “Your Musical Child: Inspiring Kids to Play and Sing for Keeps” by Jessica Baron Turner.

You can start anywhere in the book and it’s written with the right amount of theory and practical information for parents with children of all ages. It answers the following questions: “What makes a child fall in love with learning to play music? How does talent develop? When is the right time to start lessons? Which instrument is the best fit? Why is practice so challenging, and what can parents do to keep kids musically motivated? Where can a parent learn about music programs, camps, books, recordings, and other important resources?”