Muhamad Yusri

Nothing is more irritable to an ensemble when reading a new piece of music than a conductor who stops after just a few bars of reading and starts working on those few bars before continuing, repeating the same methodology throughout the score. The key word is Reading! Reading through the piece from beginning to end would give the ensemble an idea of how the piece flows and for the conductor, which areas need working.

3M (Macro-Micro-Macro)

A recommended start to the rehearsal of a new score is to read through that score from beginning to end to identify sections that need to be worked on after. Once the sections or parts have been identified, the conductor can work on each of them to rectify any errors are difficult passages. However, rehearsing an instrumental section on a difficult passage would cause the other sections to feel bored and unfocused. I would recommend telling instrumental sections that have parts that needed to be worked on to find some time to rehearse them out of combine rehearsal. Once most of the difficult passages have been worked on, the conductor can run through the piece once again from beginning to end. I assure you the ensemble will play better as compared to the first reading. 3M saves rehearsal time and the ensemble will not feel irritated. Isn’t that a win-win situation?

Recommended rehearsal strategy

When I was in the Singapore Youth Orchestra (SYO) a long time ago, if I am not wrong, we had the following rehearsal pattern each term before concerts:

Sectionals (with Tutor) – Group Sectionals (with Tutor) – Full Orchestra (with Conductor)

I find the above strategy quite sound and it worked for us. The sectionals with tutors from the Singapore Symphony Orchestra (SSO) enabled each of us to work on difficult passages through the repertoire for the concert. Having worked on that individually, we then combine the sections to rehearse together. I remember having a sense of “Ah.. so that was what it sounded like”. After that, we had full orchestra rehearsals with Ms Vivien Goh until concert day.

When I was in Asian Youth Orchestra (AYO) in 1996, after the official opening (a run through of Nimrod from Enigma Variations, which sounded quite bad actually), we broke up for sectionals and ensemble rehearsals. We had lessons on basics and ensemble playing with tutors. We also worked on the repertoire for the tour. Prof Edmund Cord from the Indiana University taught the Trumpet Section and what I learnt from him stuck till today. Amazing Trumpeter and Teacher! We had ensemble performances too, both in house and in public venues. Working in full orchestra with the late Maestro Sergiu Comissiona was amazing. He made the orchestra sound so AMAZING. Each concert we did in each City we visited was amazing and our music touched so many lives. We played Nimrod again as a closing during the last concert in Manila and I could not hold back the tears. I am sure all AYO Alumni know what I am talking about. The emotions and memories are what kept all of us in Music today.

3M

So to bring back the idea of 3M, always remember that whatever strategy you choose to deploy during rehearsals, always have a clear process in mind. 3M may not work in all situations but 3M has worked wonders for me during my rehearsals.

Thank you for reading and have a great musical day!