| 60 -90 mins | $185 – $255 |
This workshop emphasizes the importance of setting ambitious goals for a big band program, identifying and leveraging strengths, establishing a supportive program structure, ensuring student attendance and engagement, fostering a collaborative and inclusive environment, and supporting the development of individual players. The role of the director in communication, advocacy, and differentiation is crucial for the band’s success.
- Finding appropriate goals that are beyond what your current program achieves; dream big – it is amazing what students can achieve in the big band genre when they believe in the goal
- Identifying the true strengths in your program (rather than strengths of your current students)
- Importance of clear and fair program structure that will support the program’s goals
- Audition / selection procedures
- Rehearsal attendance
- Where the band director “draws the line” on acceptable attendance by students WILL determine the band’s ability to achieve, or not, their goals
- The role of the director in communicating and advocating that will enable student availability at rehearsals – and how to do this
- Ways to get your students ‘invested’ in the big band program
- Creating a rehearsal environment that is open, honest but also non-threatening
- Making rehearsals fun
- Creating an environment that ‘settles’ the band at the start of a rehearsal
- Consistent structure that is used at the beginning of all rehearsals
- The importance of having ALL members contribute to musical/interpretive suggestions and ideas, both with their words and their notes.
- Guiding students to be aware that there are unlimited ways to interpret, rehearse and perform as a big band. Never be frightened of having your band consider opinions that may not entirely align with yours (it’s enormously powerful when students make a positive choice to embrace the guidance you have given them). Expose your students to:
- Outside clinicians
- Opinions of other music staff (or even the principal if they’re walking past!)
- Sectionals (student or instructor lead)
- Listening activities (directed and personal)
- The importance of the TEAM in a big band.
- Sometimes an enormously individually talented music student may not be the best ‘fit’ for your band. Of course give them the opportunity should they wish, but if they are not a team player who works just as hard at making the band great as everyone else does, they will NEVER be a long term positive for your band. Don’t be afraid to make hard decisions that underpin the goals and expectations of your program. A director does no favours to a talented student by allowing them to remain ina band if they are disengaged or receiving preferential treatment as compared with other band members.
- The role of the director in differentiation
- EVERY player must contribute and understand what they are doing, or need to do, to improve the performance of the band
- There can be NO passengers in a big band
- The band director needs to honestly asses what is possible for each player and then ensure that appropriate repertoire is chosen that will highlight every players’ strengths.
- It is appropriate to remedy specific unachievable performance goals for individuals during your performance. There are many ways to do this that will result in the student feeling much better about what they contribute.
- Support for the development of improvising soloists
- “How? – What? – Why?” START with the WHY
*Price is for all workshops in metropolitan Melbourne. Extra costs may be required for workshops in other locations.