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The First of a series of articles on rehearsal methods.

Here is an experiment that you can easily try with your ensemble, regardless of the size of the group. Although the effect should be most effective with larger groups where doubling happens in many sections.

Ask the players to miss out every tie written in the parts, carefully leaving the appropriate space. I suppose you should check the score to ensure that there are some ties otherwise they will just look at you in that quizzical, “what’s he on about?” sort of way.

In a dry room, the effect of the added rests could be quite pronounced but in general there should be a pleasing sense of space occurring, which allows the following notes to be properly articulated.

Once the group has grasped the concept, discuss the effect, negative or positive with the players. If the effect is too pronounced for the acoustic of the room, the players can be involved in the task of refining the note lengths to get the best effect. This type of group awareness is great for bringing ensemble issues to the forefront of the players’ minds. It focuses on listening and this will help every aspect of ensemble playing. It also passes on a bit of responsibility to the players to make some decisions about how they play.

The process of trying differing rest lengths to match the room will certainly help players to think about adjusting to concert venues. Ensemble playing is thinking playing, so anything that exercises the players in thoughtful use of their instruments can only be worth the time we spend on the task.

If you try this little technique, please email me through the site and let me know how it worked for you.

Finally, don’t worry if it seems a little against the spirit of the score to miss ties out. Orchestral players have to adjust this element every day. They do it sensibly, musically and they base it on the acoustic of the room, the tempo and style of the passage.

8th May 2006