Fundamentals of Rehearsing Music Ensembles

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Fundamentals of Rehearsing Music Ensembles

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About this course: Learn and practice the basic principles of running an effective music ensemble rehearsal. Techniques and strategies are applicable to a variety of ensembles, including bands, orchestras, choirs, and chamber groups.

Created by:  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Taught by:  Dr. Evan Feldman, Associate Professor & Wind Ensemble Conductor

    Music
Commitment 20-25 hours of lectures and exams Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.8 stars Average User Rating 4.8See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-re…

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When you enroll for courses through Coursera you get to choose for a paid plan or for a free plan

  • Free plan: No certicification and/or audit only. You will have access to all course materials except graded items.
  • Paid plan: Commit to earning a Certificate—it's a trusted, shareable way to showcase your new skills.

About this course: Learn and practice the basic principles of running an effective music ensemble rehearsal. Techniques and strategies are applicable to a variety of ensembles, including bands, orchestras, choirs, and chamber groups.

Created by:  The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Taught by:  Dr. Evan Feldman, Associate Professor & Wind Ensemble Conductor

    Music
Commitment 20-25 hours of lectures and exams Language English How To Pass Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. User Ratings 4.8 stars Average User Rating 4.8See what learners said Coursework

Each course is like an interactive textbook, featuring pre-recorded videos, quizzes and projects.

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The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is known around the world for innovative teaching and research. Regularly ranked as the nation’s best value for academic quality, UNC has produced the most Rhodes Scholars for the past 25 years among U.S. public research universities.

Syllabus


WEEK 1


An Introduction to Rehearsing



This week, Module 1, we’ll discuss basic philosophical issues such as: What we do in rehearsals, what skills are needed, and the idea of the conductor as “the composer’s advocate.” I will also introduce the concept of Macro-Micro-Macro, which serves as the overarching principle of rehearsals. Then we will move on to basic conducting technique.


21 videos expand


  1. Video: Introduction
  2. Video: What Do We Do in Rehearsals?
  3. Video: What Skills Do We Need?
  4. Video: Calibrating Your Ears
  5. Video: Serving as the Composer’s Advocate
  6. Video: A Choral Perspective: The Rehearsal Process
  7. Video: An Orchestral Perspective: Three Categories of Conducting
  8. Video: Introduction to Conducting
  9. Video: Basic Set-Up
  10. Video: Conducting without a Baton
  11. Video: Baton Grip
  12. Video: Basic Patterns
  13. Video: Active and Passive Beats
  14. Video: Starting Pieces
  15. Video: Ending Pieces
  16. Video: The Ensembles that Appear in this Course
  17. Video: Macro-Micro-Macro: The Basic Process
  18. Video: Examples of Macro-Micro-Macro: Breaking Things Down
  19. Video: A Choral Perspective: Teaching Notes
  20. Video: Rehearsal Demos: Macro-Micro-Macro
  21. Video: Conclusion

Graded: Module 1 Quiz

WEEK 2


Communicating with the Ensemble



Module 2 begins with a discussion about repertoire: how to define quality music and how to choose a balanced, musically nourishing program. Building on the topics of Module 1, this week’s conducting technique videos focus on the grammar for starting and stopping pieces. In the rehearsal technique videos, the overarching topic is how to communicate with the ensemble to convey musical intent. Essentially, the idea is to give musical instruction, but there are a range of strategies we must master to be effective in all situations.This week introduces those strategies and organizes them according to modes of instruction, including performance technique, adjectives, analogy, and modeling.


17 videos expand


  1. Video: Introduction
  2. Video: Finding Quality
  3. Video: Choosing Repertoire: The Musical Meal
  4. Video: A Choral and Orchestral Perspective: Repertoire
  5. Video: Count-offs: Additional Ways to Begin a Piece
  6. Video: Rehearsal Examples: Starting on Various Beats within a Measure
  7. Video: Stopping the Group
  8. Video: Changing the Size of the Pattern Based on the Music
  9. Video: Introduction to Rehearsal Segments
  10. Video: Directing People's Attention in Rehearsal
  11. Video: Who, Where, What / Measure Numbers / "Count with Me"
  12. Video: Using "I" and "We"
  13. Video: Insisting on What You Want
  14. Video: Strategies for Communicating Musical Ideas
  15. Video: Communicating with Various Modes of Instruction
  16. Video: A Choral and Orchestral Perspective (Multiple Topics)
  17. Video: Conclusion

Graded: Module 2 Quiz

WEEK 3


Introducing the Rehearsal Toolkit



Week 3’s material begins with more left hand technique, expanding on the concepts introduced in Module 2 and continuing with gestures to show dynamics. The section on rehearsal technique begins with an explanation of the ‘Rehearsal Toolkit,” a collection of ideas, or “tools,” each designed to fix a musical issue. Rehearsal tools are meant to supplement the modes of instruction that were discussed last week. In other words, in addition to using direct vocabulary, modeling, and metaphor and analogy, these tools can elicit musical responses when gesture and words fail. A caveat: all of these approaches depend on the musicians having the technique required to perform the repertoire. This may seem obvious, but the fanciest baton twirl and colorful analogy are meaningless to help, say, a trumpeter, perform staccato if he does not tongue properly and employ good embouchure. Fundamentals must be taught, either in or out of the rehearsal, and the appropriate method depends on the level and age of the musician in the ensemble.Module 3 concludes with multi-purpose tools, including singing and “bopping.” These are the Swiss-Army knives of rehearsal technique, each useful for a variety of issues, from articulation to balance to rhythm. As you acquire the tools discussed in this module, also consider what else you can put in your toolbox. What techniques do you currently use? What tools can you borrow from other musicians? The more options we have in rehearsal the more likely we will be to solve a musical problem.


25 videos expand


  1. Video: Introduction
  2. Video: Introduction to Left Hand Technique: Statue and Mirroring
  3. Video: Left Hand Technique: Statue, Mirroring, and Independence
  4. Video: Demos of the Left Hand in Rehearsal
  5. Video: Showing Dynamics and Dynamic Changes
  6. Video: The Importance of Technique as a Foundation
  7. Video: The Rehearsal Toolkit: Rhythm
  8. Video: Teaching Subdivision: Filling in the Rests
  9. Video: Thinking in Rhythmic Subdivisions
  10. Video: “Playing” without Sound: Active Resting and Handoffs
  11. Video: Working with Contrasting Rhythmic Layers
  12. Video: Cleaning Up Sloppy Entrances
  13. Video: Rests as Elements of Expression
  14. Video: Rushing
  15. Video: Meter, Accents, and Perception
  16. Video: Rhythmic Compression
  17. Video: A Choral and Orchestral Perspective: Rhythm
  18. Video: Multi-Purpose Techniques
  19. Video: Rehearsal Demos: Bopping Part I
  20. Video: Rehearsal Demos: Bopping Part II
  21. Video: Rehearsal Demos: Using Singing
  22. Video: Rehearsal Demos: Slowing Down the Tempo for Rhythm and Accuracy
  23. Video: Rehearsal Demos: Slowing Down the Tempo for Intonation and Balance
  24. Video: Rehearsal Demos: Slowing Down the Tempo for Articulation and Style
  25. Video: Conclusion
  26. Peer Review: Peer Assessment

Graded: Module 3 Quiz

WEEK 4


Articulation, Balance, and Tone



Module 4 begins with perhaps the most crucial task a conductor undertakes: score study. Score study is the umbrella term for the process of thoroughly learning a score-- not just knowing how to sing the melody or memorizing phrases and meters--but learning every aspect of the music that may come to bear on our ability to interpret, conduct, rehearse, and perform it. Unlike many grammatical aspects of conducting, score study is a time-consuming, immersive activity for which it is normal to develop one’s own process, assuming the end result is a deep understanding of the work. After score study, Module 4 moves back to the grammar of conducting, particularly technique for conducting articulations. Please note that this week also contains a very brief introduction to the three types of fermatas. In Module 5 we’ll cover them in detail. These are topics for which regular practice and self-evaluation will be necessary to develop gestures that are clear to the ensemble and second-nature to the conductor. Finally, we will return to “The Rehearsal Toolkit” and explore strategies for rehearsing articulation, balance, and tone. This final topic includes a video on using the piano to demonstrate harmonies and other musical features to the ensemble. Particularly in educational settings, it is important for the conductor to do more than treat the ensemble as his personal musical instrument. Instead, find opportunities to lead ensembles to an understanding of the music it is performing, a goal that only score study makes possible.


28 videos expand


  1. Video: Introduction
  2. Video: Score Study
  3. Video: Applying Your Score Study
  4. Video: A Choral and Orchestral Perspective: Score Study
  5. Video: Applying Score Study to a Rehearsal
  6. Video: Cues
  7. Video: Conducting Articulations: Legato
  8. Video: Conducting Articulations: Two Variations on Legato
  9. Video: Conducting Articulations: Staccato and Accents
  10. Video: Conducting Fermatas and Rubato
  11. Video: Specific Choral Conducting Techniques
  12. Video: Specific String Conducting Techniques
  13. Video: Review: Two Themes of the Course
  14. Video: Exaggerating Style and Expressive Details
  15. Video: The Vocabulary of Articulation
  16. Video: Articulation: Accentuation through Emphasis and De-Emphasis
  17. Video: Bopping for Articulation
  18. Video: Developing a Legato Style
  19. Video: 19th-Century Style with 21st-Century Ensembles
  20. Video: Additional Articulation Techniques
  21. Video: A Choral Perspective: Articulation and Diction
  22. Video: An Orchestral Perspective: String Articulation and Bowing
  23. Video: Balance and Tone
  24. Video: A Choral & Orchestral Perspective: Balance and Tone
  25. Video: Working with Dissonance
  26. Video: Using the Piano to Demonstrate Complex Harmonies
  27. Video: Where to Begin When You Don’t Know Where to Begin
  28. Video: Conclusion

Graded: Module 4 Quiz

WEEK 5


Phrasing



Module 5 begins with a discussion about score marking, a topic that is controversial by some ways of thinking. One school of thought suggests that scores should never be marked with cues and other information, since doing so reflects a deficit in score study on the piece. Another school believes that judicious marking enhances our efficiency in rehearsal and allows for better connection with the ensemble. This module also includes detailed explanations of the three types of fermatas that were introduced in Module 4: caesura, release-in-tempo, and continuation. It is worth spending extra time on these techniques, as the skills involved in preparing, sustaining, and releasing each one apply to a variety of conducting situations, including cues, rubato, and accompanimental conducting. For rehearsal strategies and the rehearsal toolkit our topics are phrasing and dynamics. As with many other topics in this class we can only touch the surface in terms of depth, but I hope there will be a few ideas to begin filling your rehearsal toolkit.


26 videos expand


  1. Video: Introduction
  2. Video: Score Marking
  3. Video: An Orchestral Perspective: Score Marking
  4. Video: Caesura Fermatas
  5. Video: Release-in-Tempo Fermatas
  6. Video: Continuation Fermatas
  7. Video: Introduction to Phrasing
  8. Video: Conducting Phrases
  9. Video: Phrasing: Shaping a Melody
  10. Video: Shaping an Accompaniment
  11. Video: Four-Measure Phrases
  12. Video: Phrasing and Accentuating Rhythmic Accompaniment Lines
  13. Video: Trade-offs: Matching Style and Musicianship
  14. Video: Smoothing Melodic Leaps and Developing a Legato Sound
  15. Video: Phrasing Ideas
  16. Video: Chamber Group Mentality within the Large Ensemble
  17. Video: Orchestral Perspective: Phrasing
  18. Video: Working on Dynamic Contrasts
  19. Video: Emphasizing Style and Dynamic Changes
  20. Video: Dynamics vs. Orchestration
  21. Video: Conservation of Dynamics: Creating the Illusion of a Longer Crescendo Through Micro Crescendos
  22. Video: Bringing Out Melodic Details: Contrapuntal Dynamics
  23. Video: Improving Crescendos and the Subito Piano
  24. Video: Refining the Fortepiano
  25. Video: A Choral and Orchestral Perspective: Dynamics
  26. Video: Conclusion

Graded: Module 5 Quiz

WEEK 6


Accompanimental Conducting and Intonation



Module 6 (our final week!) begins with a brief discussion about planning rehearsals, moves to techniques for accompanimental conducting, and then dips into the Rehearsal Toolkit for intonation strategies. The intonation section includes an introduction to overtones, harmonics, and temperaments. These are acoustic concepts for which at least a basic understanding is useful for knowing how to achieve good pitch. It’s a fascinating topic, and a great example of how we can apply science to art. The final few videos cover a miscellanea of rehearsal topics, including protecting one’s ears, the use of a podium, and set-up issues.


21 videos, 2 readings expand


  1. Video: Introduction
  2. Video: Planning Rehearsals
  3. Video: Communicating the Rehearsal Plan to the Group
  4. Video: Using Recordings in Rehearsal
  5. Video: Accompanimental Conducting
  6. Video: An Orchestral Perspective: Accompanimental Conducting Issues
  7. Video: Additional Issues for Conducting Soloists: Float & Drop, Over-conducting!
  8. Video: Working with an Accompanist
  9. Video: Overtones, Temperaments, and Drones
  10. Video: General Tips for Improving Intonation
  11. Video: Addressing Intonation Issues
  12. Video: Additional Rehearsal Techniques for Improving Intonation: Part I
  13. Video: Additional Rehearsal Techniques for Improving Intonation: Part II
  14. Video: Additional Thoughts About Intonation
  15. Video: A Choral Perspective: Intonation
  16. Video: An Orchestral Perspective: Intonation
  17. Video: Set-up Strategies
  18. Video: Using Your Voice in Rehearsal
  19. Video: Health issues: Protecting Your Ears
  20. Video: Podium Talk
  21. Video: Conclusion
  22. Reading: Biographies
  23. Reading: Additional Resources

Graded: Module 6 Quiz
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