Section rehearsals

tictactux

tictactux

Distinguished Member
Distinguished Member
Along with band rehearsals we have roughly two section rehearsals (clarinets/flutes, saxes, small brass, bass, etc) before concerts.

This is nice, being in a small group and all, but however bears the problem that cues across sections can't be practiced, we'd sometimes face 24 bars of rest etc etc.

Now our director wanted us to have a "super sectional", so to speak, and tonight all woodwinds were present. What an ear-opener. You get enough time to hone certain riffs, yet still get the "whole picture" in terms of cues, listening to each other and general ensemble playing, without boring half the band.

I won't say To Hell With Brass, but I'm seriously thinking about skipping (I organize them) sectionals in favour of bigger groups next season.

Any thoughts?
 
I think "group" sectionals for woodwinds in a band are fairly ridiculous, as most of the horns, aside from the clarinets and flutes, are doubling parts that aren't necessarily woodwinds: alto saxophones are probably doubling French Horns, bass clarinets are probably doubling bassoons and/or tuba, etc.

If there's a sectional for one type of instrument, I'm all for it: all Bb clarinets or all flutes or something. That'd make some sense.

An orchestra may be different, as there should be less doubling going on.
 
In most charts there are just a few places that need to be woodshedded. A smart sectional concentrates on those technically difficult passages to make the most of the allocated time. Ensemble practice is best done with the full group to get the intonation, timing, etc.

If for example, the clarinets were to practice with the saxes, there'd be many places where one section or the other were not playing. And if it's a clarinet passage that needs to be woodshedded, then the saxes sit on the their hands waiting for the clarinets to work it out. The more types of instruments you add the longer the down time for the various sections who are not playing.

That is not a very effect use of time if you ask me.
 
Gandalfe said:
And wind sections in orchestras are soooo small.
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They are more of a collection of soloists with a secondary group of players for harmonic support. They aren't always playing solo parts, but they have nobody to pickup their slack on an off day.
 
Carl H. said:
No string section, it's a band, regardless of its name.

Orchestral wind sections almost never double parts up. Occasionally octaves are doubled and wind sectionals in orchestras are terribly useful.
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+1.
 
Gandalfe said:
The more types of instruments you add the longer the down time for the various sections who are not playing.
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True.

However, we have one piece where there is a lot of syncopation where eg the clarinets play eighths on the beat and the saxes play quarters between beats (what would be the English term for this?) which requires precise timing as well as adjusted dynamics. (the brass plays pp whole notes there and more or less harmony during the whole piece). We've been working for two hours on that one piece which means we're either terribly bad or terribly perfectionist. :emoji_rolling_eyes:
 
Any sectional practice involving woodwinds alone without the brass and percussion is beneficial as it enables the players to hear their parts better. If space permits, forming a circle with all playing toward the center is a great way to practice.

If a particular section is having trouble with a difficult technical passage, that section alone should go off and woodshed the part. However, if the group is working on the "music" and not just finding the notes, forming a woodwind choir to rehearse is a wonderful technique.

(You might even invite the brass players in to listen and hear the inner parts they have been covering up and missing for so long.)
 
we've gone over a few rough spots after general rehearsal for say 15 minutes, maybe flutes & saxes or saxes & clarinets if we have the same part & it's not jive'n just right, but it's very, very seldom we have section rehearsal just by itself (unless we're really screwin up)....actually, I can't remember ever having one. I suppose they do happen though.
 
Gandalfe said:
I like to get my late bloomer sax section together to woodshed hard charts *before* we hand them out to the band. I know, it's cheating. But they made Suzy the band librarian. :emoji_rage:
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Next thing you know you'll have them practicing their parts at home too!

Oh where does it end....
 
Carl H. said:
Next thing you know you'll have them practicing their parts at home too! Oh where does it end....
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To get these guys to practice, I schedule gigs. There are way too many wannabe musicians who need the fear of an 'exam' to get them to practice. When I call sectionals they usually blow me off, so I had to think of a way to make it more appealing.

In the new big band I started up, there was almost a mutiny as many of the players thought the weren't ready for a gig. Heck, we sounded terrible. But the director had confidence and we came up to the highest standard we've achieved to date. I don't think that would have happened if we went merrily along our way, waiting to become better players before we gigged.

I got called out by the bari sax player in an email on our team site as pushing us too far too fast. This guy also didn't want to split the original big band with 12 saxes and 10 trumpets. I'm thinking now, everyone is glad we're doing it, even if it meant I had to lead the B band sax section.

Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to play with the A band. I did get to sub at a practice with them and they are excellent.
 
You remind me of directors and band leaders I play for. You not only want the right note at the right time for the right duration at the right dynamic, but also expect it to be in tune. Will the pressure never end? :emoji_astonished:
 
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retread said:
You remind me of directors and band leaders I play for. You not only want the right note at the right time for the right duration at the right dynamic, but also expect it to be in tune. Will the pressure never end? :emoji_astonished:
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Wait till they bring up personal hygiene.
:???:
 
I played in a community group many years ago that was big on inclusiveness, seeing as how it was supported by a grant from a major charity organization. As such, virtually anyone capable of playing was admitted without question. (That may have explained why I spent so much time there, come to think of it.)

String players were especially welcomed, as they are always in short supply. One of these, sitting the last desk in the orchestra, was an older gentleman who was not quite there in the mental department. While his string playing was pretty good (for a community organization), his physical appearance and standards of hygiene were (to put it mildly) less than desirable.

The breaking point finally came when he urinated whilst in the middle of a rehearsal. The combination of the warm moisture of the urine and the generally abysmal state of cleanliness of his clothing and body (the man was, to put it mildly, "ripe" even in a dry condition) were more than enough to clear out the people sitting around him, with one of the girls losing her supper in the process.

The executive board of the group met that evening and "persuaded" him not to participate. As he obviously enjoyed playing (and was as good as many others in the violin section), this was tragic in the extreme, for there was no other orchestra within seventy miles of the place.

Yesterday, I spent a good part of the afternoon calling bingo at my mother's assisted living facility, and there are many there who (despite the best efforts of the staff) have allowed themselves to get in the same condition. One of the sad consequences of living beyond the "threescore years and ten" figure of the Bible...
 
Regarding the original topic, which I find to my amazement that I have not addressed prior to this time, we use full rehearsal to bring vocalists in line with the instrumental music. I'm in the midst (about three quarters of the way done) of getting a new set of boy and girl singers up to speed, and they are the focus of the rehearsal schedule.

We have done sectionals on two or three occasions, these to address some obvious problem sections in specific tunes. However, most of the players are up to speed on their parts to the extent that the instrumental side moves along smoothly.

My biggest rehearsal issue is getting vocalists up to the point that they can work without a music stand in front of them. Right now, I have two boy singers who are excellent in this area, and have just (last week) started with a new girl singer who shows a lot of promise.

However, even working one person for a whole rehearsal, you can only work up five or six tunes in three hours with a vocalist who has spent some outside time "practicing". With sixteen to eighteen tunes a set and four to five hour gigs, it works out to something like twenty tunes per vocalist per gig. That's a lot of rehearsal time, no matter how prepared the vocalists are when they come in the door.

We feed breakfast and (on occasion) lunch at rehearsals as an incentive to get folks there.
 
The other side of Terry's story.

I (more than once) have had to send a professional section player home to shower because their perfume was making a principal - solo - player physically ill.

Some people don't get that ANY recognizable scent is a bad thing in a group performance environment.
 
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