Category: Music

Part 1 was on your personal rehearsal etiquette, Part 2 was on your sectional rehearsal etiquette, so naturally Part 3 is about your orchestral rehearsal etiquette. And if this organization system doesn’t make sense, too bad. This is my party.

Hierarchy

I’ve teased this a few times, so I’ll finally list it out. You’ll find that it is both predictable and straightforward.

1. Conductor
2. Concertmaster
3. Principals
4. Assistant Principals
5. Everyone Else

There’s also your personnel manager, whom you should respect and treasure no matter where in the hierarchy you are, as well as your union rep (if you have one). If there’s a guest soloist, they rank on par with the conductor.

This list is the direction of the flow of power and respect; if you’re familiar with the two types of each, I mean here the power over and respect of authority versions, respectively. You can hope for some respect for your person, but at the end of the day the orchestra is highly structured and stratified. This is to keep rehearsals from devolving into endless debates and arguments and amusing asides.

Im Lauf der Rehearsal

Orchestral rehearsal etiquette really isn’t that complicated, so let’s do this one as a quick journey through an orchestral rehearsal, looking at some of the more common and exciting pitfalls as they come up.

Tuning

Step one in a rehearsal, after you’ve sat down and unpacked (or vice versa), is tuning. You’ll know it’s time to tune, because the concertmaster will stand up and face the ensemble. This is your subtle clue to be quiet. Usually there will be three A’s given: first for the woodwinds, then the brass, then finally the strings. Sometimes the strings are split into low and high, each with their own tuning note.

When tuning, don’t come in right away. Give it a moment to settle, and to let it get into your ear. Then come in softly; don’t tune forte. I personally always wait to come in until after my principal (for me, the concertmaster), but this isn’t a universal rule. Once you have finished tuning, stop playing.

In Rehearsal

Your job now is to play with the rest of the ensemble. How do you do that, though? You follow the conductor. Sure, play with your section, but there’s a god in that room and they’re the one holding the baton. They stop conduction, you stop playing. They speak, you listen, even if they aren’t talking to you. (This is actually kind of important and often disregarded. But just because the information isn’t specifically addressed to you, doesn’t mean it doesn’t apply to you. Also, conductors will often bring in the rest of the ensemble on the part they were discussing, and if you weren’t listening to where that was…)

If you have a question, ask your principal. Don’t yell questions up from the back of the orchestra. Also, stop and ask yourself: does this question pertain to anyone besides me? How about anyone outside of my section? If the answer to either of those is no, then instead of stopping rehearsal, make a note for yourself (so you don’t forget it) and address the problem at break or after rehearsal.

When Playing

Listen to the rest of the ensemble. Weird thought for musicians, I know. Often musical phrases or ideas are repeated and echoed, or they develop, and you’ll need to listen to do any of that musically: either passing off phrases smoothly, or picking them up in the same style as you received them. You’ll also need to listen to know how to fit in dynamically (loud or soft), stylistically (articulations), and in time and tune. It’s also nice to listen to your colleagues, because they’re pretty good musicians too.

If someone has a solo, it’s appropriate to do a quiet clap/foot shuffle during the first run, assuming it doesn’t crash and burn I suppose. Otherwise, refrain from in any way critiquing other players if you’re not their principal. If you are their principal, try to be diplomatic.

I hate that I feel the need to say this, but don’t talk back to the conductor. Or your principal. I don’t care if you’re right, that’s not how orchestras work.

On Break and After Rehearsal

This is your chance to socialize, NOT during rehearsal. Do remember though that you’re still in a professional environment, so moderate your topics and gossip accordingly. I’m not saying don’t gossip, because I’m not sure that’s possible for musicians, but be aware of your audience at least.

The hierarchy can relax a bit off the podium, but it doesn’t break down entirely. How much it relaxes also depends on the orchestra: some groups are very casual, while others stay much more formal. As a general rule of thumb, maintain the respect you had in rehearsal.

Orchestral Rehearsal Etiquette

Orchestral rehearsal etiquette boils down to respect. Respect authority, and respect conventions. If there are any specific situations that I forgot, ask yourself what’s the respectful way to do this? and you should be golden. If there isn’t an obvious more respectful answer, then you’re probably safe going with your gut (but chose wisely to avoid purgatory).

If you haven’t already read Part 1 or Part 2, go check those out now! And if you’ve thought of something that I have forgotten, be sure to let me know in the comments (especially now that the series is wrapped up). In the meantime, check out some other blog posts for quality entertainment!

This is a continuation from Part 1, which looked at personal etiquette. Part 2 examines sectional rehearsal etiquette, or how you should behave in regards to the rest of your section.

Hey so you know when you’re in rehearsal and your principal turns to you and says, “Let’s play this part a little more piano and legato,” and you’re like SURE WHATEVER LOSER –S T A C C A T O– and then suddenly everything goes dark and you smell smoke and a crackly voice says “Welcome to Hell!” And you’re like, “Wait a minute, there must be some mistake, I was expecting St. Peter!” Don’t worry! That wasn’t a mistake.

Sectional Rules: Non-principals

Hopefully you have learned how to comport yourself as an individual, because now it’s time to learn how to behave as part of a group. Orchestras are composed of different sections, which are grouped by instrument: cello section, trumpet section, percussion section, etc; violins are split into first and second violin sections. Each of these sections has a principal player. There are also “sections” based on instrument family: the string section, the woodwind section, and the brass section.

Each section of the orchestra has slightly different internal rules, and obviously I am most familiar with the those of the string sections. I’ll toss in what I know of other sections though, and you can tell me in the comments how I’m wrong! In general, though, as a section player, listen to your principal and try your best to blend into your section.

String Players:

You’re probably going to have a stand partner, so a lot of these rules deal with that (sorry, bass players). Position yourself so that you can see the music and the conductor without blocking your stand partner. Stands have an inside and an outside: outside is on the audience side, inside is not. If you’re unpacking at your desk, cases and personal items go under your chair or on the outside of your stand. We’ll get to hierarchy in Part 3, but right now you need to know that the outside player is a step above the inside player on the ladder.

In divisi, outside plays the upper line, inside plays the lower. When marking in fingerings, outside marks above the staff, inside marks below. Make sure that, while you do mark essentials, you don’t over-mark. If everything is circled, nothing is circled. Inside players turn pages, and you need to do so as non-disruptively as possible: that means quickly, quietly, and on time. If you have to stop playing early to get the page over in time, you stop playing early. Your stand partner is going to get annoyed if they keep having to wait on you to turn the page; they don’t have x-ray vision to see what’s on the next page.

Get the correct bowings. If they’re not in the part already, look at the stand in front of you, or get them from the principal’s part during break. When your principal makes a change during rehearsal, make sure that gets passed back through the section. Don’t be that stand that kills the information train, unless you like having daggers stared into the back of your head.

Non-String Players:

Match your principal’s articulation. String players get a head start on this with being able to see bowings, you get to rely on your ears (oh my!). Match your principal’s intonation (hopefully they’ve practiced with a tuner). If you have rests and you’re sitting there, maybe a little bored, watching your principal’s solo line going by, let it go by. Do not try to finger along. Would you like to see that out of the corner of your eye if you were playing the solo? Of course not! That’s hella distracting!

Sectional Rules: Principals

Alright now I need to talk to you, principals, because I don’t know if you noticed or not but a lot of those above sectional rehearsal etiquette rules hinged on you. You don’t get to be special lawless fairy tale princes and princesses, you get to be special law abiding actual princes and princesses who have actual governing work to do.

Be prepared. Know what the part is like, know what the style should be, know what the bowings are.

Don’t suck. No pressure. Practice before (weird concept I know) with a metronome and a tuner or drones.

Lead. You can do so much non-verbally, but not if you sit there like a bump on a log. Cue entrances, breaths, gestures, whatever you feel your section could use. Don’t go overboard, but trust me: the deck is a lot bigger than you think it is.

Communicate. Talk to your section. Non-verbal cues are cool and all, but some things need words. Also, talk with other section leaders. An orchestra isn’t made up of little instrument islands.

The Sectional Rehearsal Etiquette Basics

Basically all this boils down to two points: play nice with the other kids, and the kid with the biggest stick makes the rules. Remember, rehearsal etiquette is all about avoiding getting stabbed by your fellow musicians. (You laugh, but don’t forget what your double reed friends are packing.) So make sure you check out Part 1 on your personal conduct, and check back for Part 3: This Time It’s Orchestral.

So now that you’re a professional musician, it’s time to go to your first professional rehearsal! Professional orchestral musicians have some fun rehearsal etiquette rules that you should probably definitely know and follow if you want to be successful and be asked back to play with that ensemble again – and escape with your life!

Why do we have rehearsal etiquette?

Humans love to make rules. It’s how we impose order on life, how we glean meaning out of chaos. Some rules exist to structure society; we call these laws. Some rules exist just so that some people can feel like they belong to a group, so when we can shun Lord Stanley when he doesn’t know which fork to use to eat his soufflé (that’s why you go to the club regularly, Stan old boy – keep up!). And some rules exist to keep people from murdering each other; this is where rehearsal etiquette falls.

All places of work have etiquette rules, spoken and unspoken. Famously, don’t microwave your fish in the break room, or listen to your music without headphones. Rehearsal etiquette cuts a little deeper than many workplace environment rules, however. This is because an orchestra takes 40 – 70 highly educated musicians, who have been training for years on how to play music, form their own interpretations, and be as precise as possible, and says, “Ok everyone, follow the leader.” If not for some highly structured rules, this would be an exercise in herding anal retentive cats (see academic meetings on what happens with highly educated gatherings without strict rules).

What are these rules?

So, let’s try to make it through rehearsal unscathed. We’ll group the rules into three branches: personal rules, sectional rules, and ensemble rules. Personal rules are controlled entirely by you, relating to your specific conduct and performance. Sectional rules are how you should behave in respect to the other people of your instrument/family. Ensemble rules are the big, global, really noticeable behaviors that can get you blacklisted the fastest if you ignore them. This post will discuss personal rules – stay tuned for sectional and ensemble rehearsal etiquette, because you will not want to miss those!

Personal Rules

The basics: be prepared for rehearsal. Know your part, and know how your part fits into the music. Have all of the things you need: music, instruments, shoulder rest, mutes, mallets, mouthpieces, whatever you need to make the sounds you need to make; also, always have a pencil or three with you, because you will have things to mark in your music. I personally prefer old-school wood pencils (Ticonderogas or bust!). Otherwise, use your discretion. Have water or coffee or tea in a sealable container. If you like to use stickies or something to flag parts to practice later have those with easy reach. Bring a tuner if you want. The extras are up to you!

Be on time to rehearsal. As my youth orchestra director loved to say, “Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable.” You need time before rehearsal starts to unpack, tune, warm up, and settle in. Be respectful of your colleagues’ time and don’t roll in at the last second. This isn’t a party where the last person to show up is the coolest. (I’m not 100% sure how parties work, but that’s what the media has taught me.)

Be professional. Specifically, don’t show off by playing Paganini or your concerto or whatever, like the person who was inevitably in the practice room next to you at summer festivals. You aren’t there to play Paganini, you haven’t been hired to play Paganini, leave that at home. Warm up on scales, arpeggios, whatever exercises you need to get yourself ready for the music on your stand, and of course the music on your stand, but remember that this is not your personal practice time. Don’t use it as such. And last but not least, if there’s a solo in the music that isn’t yours, don’t play it. It’s not yours to play with. Just like you learned in preschool.

Now go to Part 2, and check back later for Part 3. In the meantime, bring your blood pressure back down with some plants and a cat!

Have you ever thought about being a professional musician? Do you think you have what it takes? Follow my 15 easy steps and you can slide down the slippery slope just like me in no time!

1. Play an instrument

Find some instrument you like and play it. Or I guess you can sing. Just somehow make music.

2. Get decent at it

I’m not saying you have to be Yo-Yo Ma or anything at this point, but you have to at least know how to hold the thing (or if you’re a singer, breathe maybe? I don’t know).

3. Decide to be a professional musician

This is important. You’re never going to be a professional musician if you never think, I want to be a professional musician! Instead you’ll be a construction worker or a dinosaur or whatever it was that your 3-year-old self thought was the coolest thing in the world.

4. Have people dissuade you

Look, this happens to everyone. Your parents, your grandparents, your guidance counsellor, someone is going to pull you aside and say, “Hey, have you considered doing literally anything else? I hear even philosophy majors at least have cool parties!”

5. DON’T BE DISSUADED

You ain’t no pushover. You’re a MUSICIAN. Philosophy parties are boring anyway, and besides, what is money compared with passion?

6. Practice your pants off

Now you’ve done it, you’re on your way for real now. That means you get to spend the rest of your life practicing madly. (Interpret that how you will.) At this point, being decent at your instrument (or, yes, at singing, please feel free to infer that from now on, you vocalist you) is no longer enough: you have to be good.

7. Go to school for music

How do you get good? Why, you have to study with someone good of course! And naturally that means going to school and getting a degree in music. Sure, there are some top players who don’t have degrees, but they were like child prodigies or something and therefore don’t count. You, a normal human being, need a degree.

8. Go to summer festivals

You know that fun saying, it’s not what you know, it’s who you know? You need to know more musicians now. Sure you’ve probably met everyone at your school by now, but you need more. Musicians grow their webs of contacts by going to conferences and summer festivals. Conferences are for nerds though, so you go to summer festivals. Make sure after you come back from them that you talk exclusively about your awesome experiences there for at least a month and a half.

9. Graduate! … decide to go to school more

You did it! You got your shiny BM! Now what? Get a job? Oh. Um. Well, maybe. But are you really ready for that? You still haven’t learned all of the repertoire that was on that one pedagogue’s list of essentials, and you’re still not sure you’re as good as your frenemy Sara from Summer Festival. What you clearly need now is another degree or so. Back to school you go!

10. Take an audition!

It’s time! You have degreeS! You feel ready to take on the Wonderful World of Orchestral Auditions. Local big orchestra is holding some, so it’s time to send in your resume and deposit check, and hit the practice room. See you in round 1!

11. You don’t win

The Wonderful World of Orchestral Auditions has now introduced itself to you properly by hitting you with a steam roller. There were 70 other people there for that audition and you didn’t make it out of the first round. Better luck next time!

12. Repeat steps 10 and 11 ad nauseam

This is the part where you really start questioning life. You think back to step 4 and wonder if maybe Mrs. Rice had a point in trying to steer you towards engineering. You look at your non musician friends progressing with life and think, maybe an 8-5 would be nice. But YOU’RE A MUSICIAN, you silly head, and you can’t stop now.

13. Branch out

Ok but you really do need money. Probably by now you’ve broken into the local gig scene, but that isn’t going to be enough. You get side gigs: you work at a coffee shop, you teach urchins, you start a blog, but you don’t get a full time job, oh no. You need that time to practice, because one day, one heavenly day, you’re going to reach step 14.

14. Win a job!

You’ve done it! You’re a professional musician now for real! You’ve finally won an audition! Of course, unless it’s full-time orchestra, you’re still back on step 12, and there’s a good chance you’re on step 12 even if it is a full-time orchestra. Because now that you’re in one orchestra, what’s to stop you from getting into a better orchestra?!

15. Decide that you’ve made it

A highly scientific study conducted recently that I would link to but can’t for totally legit reasons and definitely not because I made it up concluded that .005% of musicians know that they’ve made it to this step. Maybe you’re in the Berlin Philharmonic, but wouldn’t it be better to be a section leader? Wouldn’t it be better to be the concertmaster? Could you be a soloist? What about a conductor? … Musicians train constantly for years be better and to improve. Good luck turning that off, you Professional Musician.