jL | In Practice - But WHY?!?
In the classroom: As our group dives deeper into ensemble skills (esp as we remember what we sound like after taking 4 days off last week for a significant ice storm in our area!!), I find it helpful to remind the kids why we ‘warm up’ together. FWIW, I prefer the term Ensemble Skills over ‘Warm-ups’ or Daily Drill. It reminds all of us that there is a purpose to doing this practice together. (My favorite definition of ensemble is ‘together we’ - more on that another time).
But really, WHY do we focus on Ensemble Skills with such frequency and intensity? In our ensemble, we teach are three main focal points for Ensemble Skills.
In priority order, we’re striving for the individuals and the ensemble to be:
Clear
Is it obvious to the listener what the intent of the exercise is?
Cohesive
As a performer, are we matching ourselves, our section, and the octave below our octave (for balance or above for articulation)
Consistent
How frequently are we demonstrating mastery of #1 & 2?
While I don’t expect to be satisfied with the performance (every achievement unlocks the opportunity to focus on something else), I am challenging the students to find growth on the ‘3 Cs’ in every rehearsal.
Behind the scenes - Get OUT of the INbox: While email is a critical responsibility, I can get sucked in. As I reflect on days when I go home frustrated that I didn’t make any progress, the majority of the time, it feels like all I did was look at my inbox. 🙁 My need to feel successful (at something!) and connected will allow me to get stuck in the ‘urgent’ and miss the important. (Stephen Covey)
To avoid spinning my wheels and force myself to focus on the important, I use rules in my inbox to filter for priorities (see attached pic of my CDO plan).
Emails route based on:
Internal emails (any address ending in the school district domain)
External emails
Staff Members (Band staff & Principal)
Music Supervisor
Design Team (some days I think I’m a project manager for marching band more than a teacher, but that’s another rambing for another day!) 😛
External Priority senders (Booster Board members, committee leads, etc)
Students
Studio Faculty
Calendar Invites (anything from our scheduling software or google auto-sends)
Marketing (anything that has the text “unsubscribe” in the body ;))
I set specific points in the day and amounts of time to check. Additionally, I hide several of the inboxes (under the ZZ AM_PM) tab, so I can't even see their count (I have absolutely no self-control 😂). I force myself to avoid checking right before bed (can get sucked into stuff that can wait or can lose sleep over a frustrated parent, etc). I also try NOT to check first thing in the morning. I typically only arrive on campus about 20 minutes before my first teaching responsibility. This is a great time to map out my day and review content for the rehearsal BUT if I open the inbox, I’ll miss all of that important time focusing on ‘urgent’ stuff that can wait.
What I’m reading/thinking about: Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. Guidara was the FOH lead for Eleven Madison Park in NYC. He and his partner brought a good restaurant to a space of three Michelin Stars & #1 in the world. Get the audiobook IMO - he reads it, and it really brought it to life for me. I had no idea about half the foods or techniques he talked about (because the last time I checked, they weren’t on the menu at Cane’s 😛), but we are in the hospitality business, and I know what it feels like to be ‘wowed.’ Don’t even get me started on The Bear ♥️
Remember: The only people we miss are those who bring value to other people’s work. ~ Coach Lou Holtz - where did you bring value to someone else today?