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Writer's pictureRyan Reed

Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's holiday season! Regardless of what you celebrate, there are a number of holidays going on this time of year. I believe that is why people say this is the "most wonderful time of the year." However, I think there is another reason that this is the "most wonderful time of the year."


I think that because it is time we can really get back to fundamentals and training for a minute. We have 2 months until the first indoor show, or we are wrapping up our holiday concert prep. We also just finished marching band a few weeks ago. If you are like me, we still did fundamentals at the end of the season but not for training. It was more for warm-up and it was just what started our process. I would also imagine that we (instructors and performers) were all accepting something that was subpar because we didn't have the time left to make a long lasting change.


Well you got a little bit of time now to do that! Take advantage of this time. Yes, we have music to learn (or will shortly). However, the work you do now on your fundamental training will determine how far you can take that music throughout your season.


Students - Yes...you need more chops. Yes...you should know your scales better. Yes...you can have more control of your four mallets, flam rudiments, hybrids, whatever you want. And yes...you have time NOW to invest in those skills. No, it is not the most fun thing to work on. However, receiving compliments because of how well you play and not because you are "attempting" hard things feels really good.


Instructors - Yes...your students need more chops. Yes...they can be better at their scales. Yes...they can play better four mallets, rudiments, hybrids, etc. ONLY if we aim them in that direction with their time. If we make music the most important thing, they will make music the most important thing. If we make fundamental training the most important thing, they will at least spend a little bit of time on their fundamentals.


Most of my rehearsals are a little shorter (as a concert group) in the winter. So in a 2 hour rehearsal, I will spend upwards of 1.5 hours on fundamentals and chops. Do I want the group to be great...YES!!!!!!!! However, I don't care if they are "clean" on January 27. I want to go to that first show and see the fruits of the training. It might be dirty, but great playing is great playing. When I was in college I went to a concert that a big percussion professor was putting on in the area. He was a playing a piece with a colleague that he wrote for them. They cut the piece off only a few measures in to the piece. Did that make them less than great....ABSOLUTELY NOT! Did it mean they were poorly trained...ABSOLUTELY NOT!


This is live music and anything can happen. A group can have a clean performance at any time, or they can have a poor performance at any time. Great musicians can have bad performances. Young groups can play clean. In this vein, I have watched a lot of groups come out HOT in terms of score because they were clean in January but their training (or lack their of) put a cap on their achievement at the end of the season. I have also been a part of a number of groups that have been lackluster in January (some were downright bad), but were REALLY GOOD by the end. The biggest compliment (to me) in a January critique is "your kids are really well trained, you just need to be cleaner."


So I would advise you to re-invest in your fundaments regardless of if you are an instructor or a student. There are things we can all do better. Take advantage of the "most wonderful time of the year" and make that investment.

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