Our best Practices Program was designed to guide each musician in every band through the proper behavior for every rehearsal. How we enter the room, how we set up our work station and how we flow through the space and each rehearsal (when done properly) will help us all collectively share the space.
Over 130 students use our band room, lockers, and equipment. The Best Practices Program is designed to ensure the rehearsal space and all the gear therein is in good working order and available for years to come.
Best Practices
Expectations and Guidelines for Every Rehearsal
Protocol at the beginning of each rehearsal
Musicians will arrive on time and ready to work with a properly functioning instrument
No working instrument = unprepared for rehearsal/performance
Musicians will be appropriately dressed in their CBA uniform
Musicians leave books and belongings in their band lockers.
Musicians should tuck their case under their seat. If you play a larger instrument and take it out of the case at your locker, don’t play your instrument in transit.
Musicians should carry the instrument safely to their seat before they begin warming up.
Percussionists: Leave all books and belongings in the hall neatly against the wall. Bring only your sticks and mallets to the rehearsal.
No Phones or devices in rehearsal AT ALL
Sit only in the assigned seat, NO MOVING CHAIRS!
Look for Warm Up Materials and Songs for the day to be posted on the board.
Winds- begin warming up quietly on band songs, scales, or warm-up music
Percussion - start by setting up all instruments and music for the songs posted. DON’T BANG ON THE DRUMS! When you are ready, stand quietly at your station and wait for instruction.
Protocol during rehearsal
Watch your conductor at all times. Eye contact between the conductor and each musician is critical.
Start playing with the conductor. They shouldn’t have to count you in. Watch for their upbeat.
Stop playing when the conductor stops.
Rehearsal time is NOT for practicing your part. This is the time you bring your practiced part to the group to work together. Don’t practice while your conductor is addressing the group. Look and Listen.
Don’t talk to your stand partner or the musicians around you. Focus on the work you are doing as a group.
Raise your hand if you are lost or have a question
Ask your conductor for photocopies of your parts to take home and practice
Protocol at the end of rehearsal
At the conductor’s discretion, musicians should begin by packing up their music and then their instruments.
Move quickly and quietly to and from the band lockers to retrieve belongings for the next class. Make sure your area is clear for the next band rehearsing.
Percussion - Return all mallets and auxiliary instruments to the percussion cabinet or the trap table. If you removed an instrument from a clamped tree, RETURN IT the way you found it for the next band.