Five tips for a successful chamber music rehearsal

You’ve put your chamber music group together. You’ve scheduled your first rehearsal and found a place to have it. Everyone has been practicing their parts, and everyone is excited to get started. What else do you need to think about? What goes into making a successful chamber music rehearsal?

If you’re used to playing in a large ensemble that’s led by a conductor, you know your role. To be a good citizen of a band or orchestra, keeping your playing in good shape with scales, arpeggios, and exercises is tremendously important. It’s also necessary to keep your instrument in good working order. As a member of a large group, you need to keep your calendar up to date to know when and where you are supposed to be and what is being rehearsed.

But when you are in any small group, your responsibilities expand greatly. You—and in using the word “you” I mean everyone in the group— have to lead your own rehearsal. It’s not enough to show up and say to your colleagues, in essence, “OK, we’re here. Now what do we do?”

Know the score

Before your first rehearsal, plan to get to know the whole piece as well as you can. The best way to do this is to get a score and spend plenty of time studying it. Find out the composer’s intentions about tempo and dynamics. Learn about the piece’s structure. Study how your part interacts with the other parts. Make notations into your part so you can see what rhythm, articulation, and dynamic your colleague is playing. Get some ideas for interpretation by listening to recordings of the piece if they are available.

Learn your roles

Since a composer may pass the melody around to different instruments, your role in a piece of music may not stay the same for an entire piece. Depending on what is in the music at any given moment, any member of the group may need to accept a leadership role. If you are a violist only expecting to play an accompanying part in a string quartet, you will not be truly prepared for a viola solo in the piece. If, for example, your viola solo includes a ritardando or accelerando, you may need to lead the tempo change. On the other hand, a first violinist may need to set aside their traditional leadership role to follow the violist’s lead in her solo. Good chamber musicians are both good leaders and good followers. Make learning about your own ever-changing role in your piece a focus of your preparation and mark your part accordingly. 

The SAKURA Cello Quintet is a great example of an ensemble that understands that every member of a chamber music group must both lead and follow. SAKURA, an ensemble of five cellos, has created much of its own repertoire by arranging other composer’s compositions. In their arrangements, they consciously choose to pass the melodies around to every member of the group. This means that every member of the group accepts that everyone is both a leader and a follower. 

Don’t forget that music is also a business

In a chamber music group, musical roles are not the only considerations. Like any organization, someone needs to take care of the many details that have to happen before your group’s performance. Some tasks are mundane, some are creative and complex, but all are important to your performance’s success. Your first rehearsal will be a good time to clarify your expectations of each other as to who will handle reserving rehearsal space, who will communicate with the group about any last minute changes, who will create the printed program and make the QR code for the online program, and who will manage announcements to the public through social media. Like any group of human beings, each member will have strengths and weaknesses. Now is a good time to begin thinking about who will be the best fit for certain roles.

Manage your expectations

As you approach your first rehearsal, take a minute to be real with yourself about how much a first rehearsal can accomplish. If you are a new group rehearsing a new piece, give yourself and your group the space to make mistakes. You might not get through the entire piece at the first rehearsal. It’s OK! It’s exciting and fun to learn together.

Adjust your attitude

Sometimes, it may seem that there is a mismatch within a group. Perhaps a member of a group feels inferior to the other members. They might be afraid to offer an opinion. Or worse, perhaps one member thinks they are superior to everyone else. This person might try to dominate the discussion about musical issues. The tension in such a group will make rehearsing and performing together feel like a chore.

I believe that the key to having a successful chamber music rehearsal is for everyone, from the beginning, to commit to contributing ideas and opinions in rehearsals without fear and to accept all ideas from all members, trying them out and working toward consensus. While real mismatches are possible, most musicians of good will can work together toward a positive performance experience. The common thread among all successful chamber music groups is that they have learned ways to trust each other. The most important thing to remember is that every one of us is a human being with needs, stresses, strengths and weaknesses, and good and bad days. Accepting that no one is perfect is the first step to being a good colleague. The only rule to follow is the Golden Rule: treat others like you want to be treated.