Planning A Brass Band Rehearsal

I have a confession to make and that is the fact that I probably spend more time planning a rehearsal than I do leading a rehearsal. 

I usually plan rehearsals for The Avonbank (Evesham) Brass Band on a Tuesday evening and use a technique which I call double planning where I plan rehearsals up to a month in advance which not only includes planning what repertoire the band will rehearse on a rehearsal evening but how each individual rehearsal fits in with the overall musical plan of action which has been agreed by the band. 

Every member of the band has a rehearsal schedule which outlines what repertoire will be rehearsed on a given evening and it usually updated two months in advance of that rehearsal.  

With this in mind when I plan a brass band rehearsal, I always try to take the following factors into account:

1. The individuals who will be at the rehearsal (if a rehearsal is boring or too hard or not interesting enough then as a Musical Director you are essentially wasting individuals time) this also includes individual needs supporting those in the band who need supporting and challenging those in the band who want to be challenged and identifying support methods which ensure all needs within the band room are catered for. Linked to this is attendance at rehearsals so that focus can be placed onto individual players and sections who will be there. 

2. Upcoming band engagements - what gigs do the band have coming up and how much preparation time is realistically needed.

3. Upcoming competitions - what competitions are coming up and has the test piece been given out in plenty of time and the band allowed to develop a bigger picture of the geography of the test piece. 

4. What can realistically be achieved in that rehearsal and considerations for what will need further work in future rehearsals.   

5. Overall musical improvement goals and how that rehearsal supports taking one step forward towards that goal. 

I am a believer that rehearsals should not be taken in an individual context but form part of a journey that supports the overall striving for musical excellence. For example at the moment The Avonbank (Evesham) Brass Band are preparing for The National Brass Band Championships of Great Britain (Third Section) Final that will take place in September 2026 and a lot of our rehearsal time is aiming towards this competition but is always aiming at using this time to look specifically at improving our consistency in regards to tuning and intonation, increasing our dynamic range and improving our technical facility and so these specific topics are threaded through each of our rehearsals rather than being brought into a rehearsal and spoken about but then never mentioned again. 

I break rehearsals into a couple of different sections which includes a warm up usually using a variety of Hymn Tunes and creating miniature exercises using a hymn tune for example getting the band to explore phrasing by asking the band to play a hymn tune in four bar phrases or six bar phrases or getting the band to play more rhymically together by splitting the hymn tune into quaver, triplet and semiquaver beats. 

The second aspect of a rehearsal is a specific focus on an aspect of playing this can include subjects such a breathing or producing a clean note or exploring increasing our dynamic range or even playing scales or technical exercises to promote good individual practice habits. 

Once the initial warm up and skills focus aspect of the rehearsal is completed then it is time to work on pieces and I try to use the following three rules to drive a rehearsal forward. 

1. Always have a piece of music that you are working on and can break down into smaller sections to do some detailed work on.

2. Always have a piece of music that includes a bit of slow melody playing and also a bit of technique so that the band gets an opportunity to work over all their skills. 

3. Always have a piece of music that you can let the band play without stopping and starting.  

As an extra aspect to this it is important to consider the pace of a rehearsal for example if the rehearsal has a slower pace then this allows for individuals within the band to become distracted and for the focus and concentration to be lost in rehearsal and equally if a rehearsal is to fast paced then it may become too intense or for information that is being given to be lost or not retained by the band. 

A pacing of a rehearsal is quite an art and something which has musical directors we may not always get right and one which may be impacted by external factors outside of our control within the brass band environment. 

During a rehearsal, I often try to place myself into a reactive approach. My rehearsal planning has allowed me to get an idea of what I would like to achieve during that rehearsal and by being reactive to the band I am actively analysing and adapting my rehearsal approach to allow for the band to reach and achieve what I have planned for that rehearsal. If you do not listen actively to the band during the rehearsal it can provide you with a false set of data. Rehearsals can be planned to an extreme level of detail but that rehearsal will have no value if what you have planned cannot be accessed or achieved by the band. 

When I am actively listening to the band I am asking myself the following questions:

1. Am I taking into account the skills that I explored with the band at the start of rehearsal? Am I picking up and working on tuning within the band or am I supporting to build upon previous work with getting the band to play together?

2. Am I engaging supporting sections and individual players who may be struggling with certain rhythms or coming in the right place? Am I supporting those less confident players to feel a valued part of the band?

3. Am I engaging and challenging the principal players and soloists of the band and providing them with bespoke support to interest and push their abilities?

4. Am I supporting the promotion of personal practice, working as a section and building a team atmosphere? 

5. Am I putting the band into a positive physical and mental place for a performance?

6. At the end of the rehearsal does each member of the band feel as though the rehearsal has been productive and has the band been left in a positive space? 

At the end of a rehearsal, I always try to end with running a piece of music that we have rehearsed or a hymn tune if the rehearsal has been quite intense to try and settle everyone into a calmer state before going home following the conclusion of a rehearsal. It is always important to try and drive a rehearsal to a positive conclusion rather than finishing a rehearsal on a negative note which will impact individuals emotional states when entering the band room for the next rehearsal. 

I always like to review a rehearsal when I am driving home and I ask myself questions, what went well during the rehearsal?, what did not go well during the rehearsal?, what can I do differently during the next rehearsal to support the progression of the band?, what support do I need to give to individuals or sections within the band to support them?. 

There are quite a number of psychological aspects to a rehearsal and sometimes you may have a bad rehearsal leading up to a contest which is not down to any one factor but may be down to a number of factors for example individuals being late to rehearsal, pressure of a number of engagements taking place in a close timespan, disagreements within the band, physical and mental tiredness and numerous other reasons. When you feel a rehearsal has not been where you would have liked it to have been it is important to acknowledge this and to always reassure those within the band room that you really do care about how rehearsals are planned and how they go. 

No rehearsal plan will ever go according to plan but planning presents a blue print to work from!

I really hope some of the above thoughts provoke some points for thinking and some potential discussions for the future!