In a band rehearsal setting, there are some skills that need to be taught and
reinforced during the warm-up. This composition includes technical, rhythmical and
melodic exercises designed to develop these skills and introduce the piece to the students.
The goal is to slowly introduce the composition to the students - a break from the
traditional “sight read the piece straight through” – over many rehearsals. This keeps the
material fresh for the students while training them. Even after rehearsing the
composition, these exercises can be employed to fix and/or reinforce performance
problems.
The band director should begin introducing the warm-ups into the daily rehearsal
routine over a period of several weeks. Once the warm-ups are played in a satisfactory
manner, the ensemble is ready for the full band arrangement. By introducing all of the
thematic material before rehearsing the piece itself, the students will be able to perform
the arrangement with minimal rehearsal time. Instead of sight-reading a composition and
then fixing the problems, the exercises are designed to fix the problems before the
arrangement is rehearsed - benefiting all, especially the weaker players. For example, a
band’s instrumentation lacks a bassoon player, or the student on baritone saxophone is an
immature player and is having problems with Grandpa’s Theme. With other
compositions, the director would have to spend time outside of rehearsal, or have the rest
of the ensemble wait to work with the baritone saxophone player during the rehearsal.
With this composition, you could refer to the warm-up melodies and work with the whole
band on any theme - engaging more students in the learning process.