As a conductor, you need to be quick on your feet to lead an effective elementary and middle school ensemble rehearsal. Standing in front of a room full of students waiting for direction, there’s one imperative: holding their attention and keeping them on task.
Issues can arise simply because of the traditional seating arrangements for bands, orchestras, and choirs. The physical set-up of most rehearsal rooms creates challenges to monitoring performance and behaviour, and to intervening and providing important feedback to the musicians. To cite just a few issues:
This leads to what I call Back-row Apathy: lost participation, opportunities and interest due to ensemble geography. What can you do to help students further from the teacher get a front-row experience?
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