Dear Colleagues,

It came to me during a rehearsal a few months ago with a high school string ensemble I was conducting. The kids could really play and they knew the music. But they made the same mistakes over and over again--and then some different ones, too--until, halfway through the rehearsal, things started working.

BAM! The realization hit me hard. We weren't rehearsing the music.

We were rehearsing concentration! That's all the young musicians had to do--concentrate--and things started to get magical. You know just how that feels, I'm sure.

More and more now, the goal of just about everything I do is to get the kids' attention, deepen it, and create the state of intense, sustained concentration that's needed for the very best music making. Isn't that really true, when you get right down to it? If every member of our ensembles would concentrate 100%, there would be very little to stop for, right? And the music would be terrific, yes? I agree!

You might find, as I have, that it's very useful to ask your ensemble (especially when they're 'out to lunch,') "What are we really rehearsing?" They'll be wise, of course, to the fact that it's a trick question. But since they don't know the trick answer, those who respond will usually say, "We're rehearsing the music." Or they'll name the piece you're working on. Think about suggesting that the ensemble is really rehearsing "concentration." This has worked really well for me in getting the young musicians thinking…and concentrating much harder. For some more thinking about this, please look through Conductors' Tip #1.

Young musicians' taking responsibility for the quality of their musical experience is a powerful catalyst for increasing concentration.

When they do--when students listen to themselves and the other sections of the ensemble; when they observe all dynamic and expressive markings, and when they watch you--great music is likely to be made. And they may well realize that creating great results is actually in their control.

An important part of the process is, of course, choosing to exercise that control. If they do, they'll be meeting a strong developmental need--getting in touch with their inner strength. If we--their conductors--can lead young people to perceive ensemble participation as a process that meets their deepest needs, their concentration will be intense and sustained (we all know the quality of focus young people muster when it's all about them).

And, with intense and sustained concentration, there's virtually no limit to the level of singing and playing they can achieve.

As I've been thinking about this shift of responsibility from conductor to student as a way of increasing concentration, and also looking forward to upcoming residencies with middle and high school ensembles in Olathe, KS and Duluth, MN in March--I've come up with an idea that I want to share with you in this Tip. It's another way of shifting responsibility to the students by involving them as active participants in the learning process.

I've sent the following letter to conductors of the ensembles I'll be working with in Olathe and Duluth. They've agreed to copy and distribute the letter to their students, and to support their carrying through the assignment I've made.

Dear Friends, I'm looking forward to making music with you in just a few weeks! Many of you have worked with me for one year, two years or, in the case of some poor souls, even longer. I think now's the right time to take our collaboration to a different level: I ask YOU--the ensemble members--to design our upcoming rehearsal(s). Please meet to decide what we should rehearse; when we should rehearse it, and for how long. I ask you to create a very detailed schedule. Also, please consider issues such as: Will we want to play through entire pieces before rehearsing another piece in detail? Should we play pieces all the way through before rehearsing spots you'll identify? Will we rehearse spots (duh)? When we do, should everyone play--or do certain sections of the orchestra need special attention. Then, do we move on after we've worked with that section, or do we repeat the spot with everyone playing? Who will keep us on schedule? Can we change the schedule? If so, who will decide when the schedule should be changed? You get the idea. Applying your very best thinking to identifying the issues and creating the schedule will make our time together more valuable by a factor of 1,736,921…maybe more. I ask that you prepare the schedule this week, discuss it with your conductor, and e-mail it to me no later than [date]. That will give me enough time to prepare myself to rehearse the music according to your instructions. With your creative input, this should prove to be our best visit ever!

I'm looking forward to their responses--both in their e-mails and in person during my visit. Asking them to plan our rehearsals requires that they think about the music, its challenges, our approach to those challenges, etc. etc.

By shifting responsibility to the young musicians to design their own learning experience, I hope to be helping them develop a sense of control and empowerment; they'll own the rehearsal because they've created it. And they'll concentrate harder and want it to go better because it's theirs.

I'm not suggesting that you send a letter to members of your ensemble(s), but you might want to consider some variation of this approach.

With All Best Wishes,



David Barg, Learning Center Director
The Classical Archives, LLC
email: david@prs.net