Advice from beyond the recorder world

Every so often friends send me pieces of writing they think I might appreciate. Two of these struck a particular chord, and I thought I’d share sections of them with you. Chick Corea and Richard Strauss come from very different musical genres, neither of them with any connection to the recorder, but I think their words still have something to teach us.

Cheap but good advice for playing music in a group

This is the title of a list shared with me by Steve Marshall, himself a composer who most recorder players will have encountered at some point. Steve has spent a lot of his life playing jazz, so naturally he would have a greater knowledge of the work of Chick Corea (1941-2021), an American jazz musician, composer and band leader, than I do. Of course, not all of Corea’s advice is applicable to playing the recorder, but these items which particularly jumped out at me as being pertinent to our own music making…

• Play only what you hear.

• If you don’t hear anything, don’t play anything.

• Don’t let your fingers and limbs just wander – place them intentionally.

• Leave space – create space – intentionally create places where you don’t play.

• Make your sound blend. Listen to your sound and adjust it to the rest of the band and the room.

• Don’t make any of your music mechanically or just through patterns of habit. Create each sound, phrase, and piece with choice – deliberately.

• Guide your choice of what to play by what you like – not by what someone else will think.

• Use contrast and balance the elements: high/low, fast/slow, loud/soft, tense/relaxed, dense/sparse.

• Play to make the other musicians sound good. Play things that will make the overall music sound good.

• Play with a relaxed body. Always release whatever tension you create.

• Create space – begin, develop, and in for phrases with intention.

• Never beat or pound your instrument – play it easily and gracefully.

Advice from the conductor’s rostrum

Richard Strauss, painted by Max Liebermann, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Richard Strauss (1864-1949), whose life overlapped with Chick Corea by just eight years, occupies a very different musical style, but like Corea, he was a prolific composer and a musician whose words are still pertinent to the rest of us. This collection of musical advice was sent to me by another composer of recorder music, Michael Graham. Like myself, Michael spends a lot of his time conducting ensembles and orchestras, and he thought I might appreciate Strauss’s Ten Golden Rules for Young Conductors. While some of these comments may not be applicable to you as a recorder player, the humour is undeniable, and yet his words have a lot to teach about making music sympathetically with others.

• Remember that you are making music not to amuse yourself, but to delight your audience.

• You should not perspire when conducting. Only the audience should get warm.

• Conduct Salome and Elektra (two of Strauss’s most challenging operas) as if they were by Mendelssohn: Fairy music.

• Never look encouragingly at the brass, except with a brief glance to give an important cue.

• But never let the horns and woodwinds out of your sight. If you can hear them at all, they are still too strong.

• If you think that the brass is now blowing hard enough, tone it down another shade or two.

• It is not enough that you yourself should hear every word the soloist sings. You should know by heart anyway. The audience must be able to follow without effort. If they do not understand the words, they will go to sleep.

• Always accompany the singer in such a way that he can sing without effort.

• When you think you have reached the limits of prestissimo, double the pace.

• If you follow these rules carefully, you will, with your fine gifts and your great accomplishments, always be the darling of your listeners.

If you’d like to see Strauss’s conducting for yourself, this film from his 1944 recording of his own tone poem, Till Eulenspiegel, makes fascinating viewing. He’s a model of minimalism and economy of movement - something I know I could sometimes learn from!

With that I’ll leave you to ponder the advice of these masters, I’m off to figure out which section of a recorder orchestra is the equivalent of the brass, with whom Strauss evidently had something of a love/hate relationship! Many thanks to Steve and Michael for sharing these gems with me - if you’ve come across useful musical advice from an unlikely place which might help others why not leave a comment below so we can all enjoy it?

Recorder playing as a team sport

One of the greatest joys of playing any instrument is coming together with others to make music in an ensemble. Recorder players do this in many ways - teaming up with a duet partner, playing consorts in a small ensemble, becoming a member of a recorder orchestra, joining in the fun with your local branch of the Society of Recorder Players or revelling in the sound of massed recorders at a large-scale event. We’re lucky to have so many options open to us and I know many people who play in several ensembles of different types. 

One request I’ve received several times is for a blog about this topic, specifically aimed at those who play in or run recorder groups organised by individuals rather than large scale orchestras. Here in the UK, this often takes the form of a u3a group or a small ensemble which meets regularly in someone’s home. There are probably as many different types of ensemble as there are composers, so catering for every scenario is all but impossible. However, I have lots of practical advice to share, and I hope you’ll read through and make use of whichever points are helpful for your situation. 

While researching this topic I sought out the thoughts of several recorder playing friends who run amateur groups in their own homes and local village halls. I see a huge array of ensembles as I travel around the country, but a single person can’t foresee every possible challenge. As I anticipated, my friends had lots of advice to offer in the light of their own experiences. Much of it I already had on my ‘must include’ list, but their thoughtful emails contained points I hadn’t considered too. This just goes to show that five heads are better than one, so I’d like to say a huge thank you to the folks I contacted - you know who you are!

Starting an ensemble

If you’re still at the planning stage, there are some things to consider before you even hold your first rehearsal. I don’t think there’s any need to cover each of these points at length - it’s more a checklist of things to consider.

• Who are you intending to play with? Do you need to recruit players or perhaps you already have group of recorder buddies who are itching to get started? Word of mouth can be great way to find people, but your local music shop may know of other like-minded players too. If you’re a member of an SRP branch (or the equivalent in your country) don’t be afraid to ask if others would like to join you for some additional playing.

• Where will you play? For a small group, someone’s living room may be sufficient, but if you’re planning a larger ensemble you may need to consider booking a room in a local hall or community centre. You’ll need good lighting, adequate ventilation (and heating for the winter months) and suitable seating for playing. If you’re hiring somewhere, do remember to check the chairs don’t have arms as these get in the way when playing the recorder!

• How often do you intend to meet? You may prefer weekly, monthly or on a more spontaneous basis. Do discuss this with your members and agree whether everyone is expected to attend every session. You may prefer an informal arrangement where folk come along as and when they can. But this could be restrictive, especially if you wish to work on the same music for a period of time.

• What are your aspirations for the group? Are you after fun or education? Maybe your aim is to simply explore unfamiliar music, or perhaps you want to really work at pieces to improve your musical and technical skills? It might be you even want to work towards a performance. I’ll talk about this possibility again later. The most important thing is to talk to the other musicians and make sure you have the same aspirations.

• Do you have a good range of instruments? If you want to play a variety of music it’s helpful to have a mix of different sizes of recorder at your disposal. One of the pleasures of ensemble playing is being able to use different sizes of recorder, so it can be frustrating if one person gets stuck on the bass all the time. If your ensemble has lots of members who only play descant or treble this might present a good opportunity to convert some or all of them larger sizes of recorder. There are tutor books aimed at those who want to learn a new fingering but I’ve also written a blog about this topic which may be a useful starting point.

Sourcing music

One very important factor when running a recorder group of any kind is choosing the music you’ll play. Historically, printed sheet music was required - often bought from your local music shop. These days most small music shops are unlikely to stock a vast array of recorder consort music, but fortunately there are lots of other sources for music. Let’s look at the various options…

Printed music providers

The most comprehensive source of printed recorder music here in the UK is Recorder MusicMail. They stock a huge array of repertoire for any number of recorders, and if they don’t have what you’re after they can usually get hold of it. They stock publications from the big mainstream publishers (Schott, Universal Edition, Moeck, Faber etc) as well as pieces from the myriad of smaller publishing houses such as Hawthorns, May Hill Music and Willobie Press.

Recorder MusicMail offers an excellent mail order service, but this doesn’t allow you to browse the music and see what it actually looks like. For this it’s worth attending one of the large-scale recorder events (such as the SRP National Festival and some of the larger recorder courses) which take place annually where they often have a presence. Taking an hour to leaf through the boxes of music allows you to see the score and judge how hard the parts are. 

I’ve focused on the supplier I use most often here in the UK, but I’m sure there are similar shops in many other countries. Please do share your recommendations in the comments below.

Free online editions

There are many websites offering free or low-cost digital editions of music – especially repertoire which is now out of copyright. These are some of the ones I use most. Do leave a comment below to share other sites you use to source music. Click on the titles in red to visit these music providers.

• International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP) - a huge outlet for music which is out of copyright for every possible instrument. You can search by composer, instrument, ensemble, title, musical period and more. There are masses of original and arranged pieces for recorders, and a huge array of other music (instrumental and choral) which is ripe for arrangement. You have to be prepared to dig around to find things if you don’t know the exact title you’re searching for, but I’ve discovered a multitude of gems here. If you have a particular number of parts you’re looking for (quartets for instance) a good starting point is to type 4 recorders into the search box. This will bring up a choice of original pieces or arrangements and you can browse from there. The website is free to use, albeit with a delay of a few seconds in loading some of the pieces for free users. For a small annual subscription (currently $32 a year or $3.49 per month) this delay is removed and you’ll have the warm feeling that you’re helping keep this amazing site going.

• Choral Public Domain Library (CPDL) - a vast repository of vocal music, much of which will work very well on recorders as the human voice has a similar range to the recorder. There is a degree of overlap with IMSLP, but it’s worth exploring both sites. 

• Gardane.info - another large online library of music for recorders (some original and some arranged) run by Andrea Bornstein. To access this you need to register for a free account and you’re welcome to make a financial contribution to Andrea to help support the site if you wish.

• My own website - (apologies for the shameless plug!) I’m sure the vast majority of people reading this will already have rooted through my consort downloads page, but if you’re new here and haven’t yet discovered it, do take a look. I share a new piece every two weeks (many of them my own arrangements, made specially for you). All are available to use free of charge, but I’m grateful to anyone who makes contribution towards my professional time and helps me keep the site running.

Arranging your own music.

If you’re up for creating your own arrangements there are endless pieces on the sites I’ve listed above which could be purloined for recorders. Many choral and viol consort pieces work with just a simple transcription - transferring each voice straight to the appropriate clef for recorders. More complex arrangements are possible too, but this may require a greater knowledge of music writing than you’re comfortable with.

If you want to make your own arrangements there’s no reason why you shouldn’t use a pen/pencil and manuscript paper - there are even lots of websites where you can download manuscript paper to print at home. If you prefer properly typeset music you can spend a lot of money on software such as the full versions of Sibelius and Dorico, but there are free options available too, such as Musescore, Sibelius First and Dorico SE. There’s a bit of a learning curve when you first begin typesetting music, but it’s a skill worth acquiring if you find yourself making lots of arrangements.

Selecting the right music for your group

Armed with knowledge about where you can source music, the next step is to find the right sort of music for your group - one size doesn’t fit all. If you have a well-matched ensemble, where everyone is pretty much at the same standard, this may be fairly straightforward. You might even be able to club together and ask the members to bring along their own music to share.

If you have a mix of abilities it can be trickier to keep everyone happy though…

When I find myself working with a mixed level group I aim for a standard that allows everyone to at least have a go at the music. I try to ensure less confident players have someone who’s more advanced alongside them to offer a helping hand and reassure them that perfection isn’t an absolute requirement.

With a larger group you may be able to work on repertoire which is slightly harder because the weaker players will be buoyed up by the stronger players around them. There’s a lot of satisfaction to be had from playing with musicians who are slightly more advanced than you as it helps you lift your own game. On the other hand, don’t be over-ambitious. Sometimes it pays to select something simple which you can play really well. This allows everyone more brain space to think about technique, good tone and tuning - not just survival!

 How many parts?

Some of your members will no doubt be confident holding a line on their own, while others may need support. Try to be sensitive to this and offer help where it’s needed. If all your members are confident readers you may be able to have the same number of parts as players, but it’s always wise to have some smaller scale pieces handy in case a piece doesn’t work. Whenever I work with an unfamiliar ensemble I take along far more music than I expect to use. That way I always have some back up music in case the group romps through things quicker than expected, or need something a little less challenging.

What style of music?

Many recorder players feel most at home with repertoire from the Renaissance and Baroque periods – after all, it’s the music we play most often. Don’t overlook pieces from the last 100 years or arrangements of repertoire from the Classical and Romantic periods though. It’s always good to expand your musical horizons. Exploring different styles will stretch you musically and technically and will no doubt help you play everything better.

Why not theme your sessions?

There’s no reason why you shouldn’t enjoy a variety of different music at your playing sessions – just as with food, a varied musical diet is no bad thing! However, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t theme your rehearsals too. You could do this by period (Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, jazz), musical form (dances, madrigals, fantasias) or by composer. This can help bring a focus to your sessions, allowing you to see the commonalities and differences between related pieces of music.

Ten more practical tips…

Get to know the music from the inside.

If you’re responsible for directing the group it pays to at least be able to play through the parts, so you know from personal experience where the danger spots occur. No one expects you to spend hours learning every part perfectly, but some practical experience will help you understand where the musicians are most likely to encounter difficulties.

Prepare the score

Click on the image to see it enlarged

Half the challenge of leading an ensemble is knowing what should be happening in the music beforehand. Before I lead a group (be it conducting or just as a coach) I will look through the score and get to know it. I’ll take a pencil and mark in places where parts come in so I can give a gesture if it’s needed. I’ll look for melodic themes which pop up in different parts and mark them so I can easily see the structure of the music. Very often I’ll do this initial preparation in silence – simply seeing what jumps off the page at me. Then I’ll take the next step…

Listen to recordings of the music

Years of experience and practice mean I can often get a sense of what a score will sound like in my head. However, there’s no shame in listening to recordings of the music if you can find them. I use two music streaming services (Apple Music Classical and Idagio) to listen to recordings. With arrangements of music composed for other instruments or voice I’ll often listen to the original version if I can’t find one played on recorders.

If you don’t already pay for a streaming service a huge number of recordings can be found on YouTube free of charge (as long as you don’t mind putting up with some adverts). Listening to different performances can help you decide on your preferred speed and guide you about the right musical style. This is especially helpful for early music, where the composer provides just the notes and rhythms. Listening carefully to good performances can help you judge where the articulation needs to be more legato or staccato, and will encourage you to listen more critically to your own playing too.

With a conductor or without?

Whether you or someone else conducts the ensemble may depend on the size of the group and how experienced the players are.

Don’t be afraid to have a go at conducting – it can be so rewarding and you’ll learn a lot, even if you never do it in front of an audience. I’ve written a blog about conducting which contains lots of information to get you started. Most players aren’t expecting you to be the recorder equivalent of Simon Rattle – a simple, clear beat and the occasional lead at difficult entries is enough to be helpful. Spend some time learning and practising the basic beat patterns in front of a mirror to start with. Doing this against a metronome beat will help you maintain a consistent pulse and you can always try conducting along to recordings for some variety.

Would you like to see a blog post about taking your first steps in conducting? If you would, do leave a comment below and I’ll add it to my list of topics!

Warming up

It pays to spend some time warming up before you launch into any challenging music. This could be as simple of playing through a hymn or simple folk song. The important thing is to pick something that’s well within everyone’s technical comfort zone so they can play the notes without worrying about difficult rhythms or complex key signatures. I have some lovely (and modestly priced!) hymn tunes and Bach chorales in my online shop which I often use with ensembles, but there are plenty of other such offerings available elsewhere online.

Allow the group to just play for a while before you leap in and offer any criticism. If the players have had a long journey they’ll need some time to wind down from their travel and they may be feeling nervous at first.

Stopping and starting

If someone is conducting, giving a bar in will probably be enough to get everyone started, but there’s no harm in warning the players of the likely speed first.

But if you play without a conductor you need to consider other ways to get going. You could verbally count a bar in but how often do you see this happening in concert? Being able to lead a group with your breath and body language is a really important skill and one that all players should at least try.

Before you do anything, look through the first few bars of the music and feel your chosen tempo. When you’re ready to lead off, move the end of your recorder at that speed – imagine you’re conducting with it instead of a baton or your hand. As you give the upbeat, breathe in at the speed of the pulse and the other players will hear and feel the beat with you. Don’t be afraid to move clearly – body language can be a very powerful tool, so throw off your inhibitions and talk eloquently with your movement! Eye contact is helpful too, so don’t bury yourself in the music and do encourage others to look up at you. Try to encourage everyone to have a go at this. Leading an ensemble in via your body language will bring you greater musical understand and confidence as you get it right.

In this video of the Woodpeckers playing a Vivaldi Concerto you’ll see how they use breath and movement to start and end the music cleanly. They also have lots of eye contact and body language throughout the performance, although you might find the choreography is a step further than you’re able to master in your ensembles!

When you come to the end of a piece, body language and eye contact are just as important. Nominate someone to bring the group off, using a small movement with the end of their recorder as they stop their final note. Share the task between you and then everyone learns this useful skill. Talking of body language - don’t be afraid to move a little as you play. I’m not suggesting everyone should nod incessantly like donkeys, but subtle visual cues can help you maintain better ensemble. Of course, if moving causes you to make more mistakes, playing the notes needs to take precedence!

Playing in tune

Unless you’re accompanied by a keyboard instrument, playing precisely at A440 concert pitch isn’t crucial, but you do need to listen to each other and play in tune with each other. I often hear musicians whose tuning doesn’t match, but they have difficulty knowing who is flat and who is sharp. To agree on a unison note, the best way to do this is by playing musical ping pong. Ask each musician to play a short note in turn, bouncing the note back and forth between them. You’ll find it much easier to hear which note is sharper or flatter than the others and often a small adjustment to the speed of breath will fix this. Do remind your players that tuning should always be done with the same breath pressure they’ll be using in the music. It’s no good going through this exercise, only to find that everyone tunes up with a gentle piano dynamic, and then plays the music at mezzo forte as the intonation will be completely different!

It’s also important to remember that recorders are manufactured and tuned with a particular breath pressure in mind. Uncertainty about tuning often leads to tentative playing, an undernourished tone and flat intonation. Under-blowing cause some notes to be flatter than others and distinctly sour chords are likely to be the end result. Instead, aim to play with a positive, confident breath pressure at all times and a lot of your tuning woes will ease immediately.

Setting and maintaining the tempo

Anyone who’s been to a playing session conducted by me will know that I usually make the players sight read the music at full speed, no matter how scrappy it may be initially. This might be counterintuitive, especially if this means lots of notes get dropped on the floor at first. It may seem more sensible to start slowly and build up the tempo, but I know from painful experience that this rarely works. The first tempo you play tends to be the one that sticks in your memory. No matter how hard you work to wind the tempo up, the players will often drift back down to the slower speed. It’s better to have a stab at full speed, even if it’s very rough round the edges at first. Having lodged the correct tempo in your players’ brains, you can then go back and work on sections more slowly before working back up to full speed.

If your music requires a rallentando or accelerando somewhere someone will need to lead this change. If you have conductor it’s part of their job, but if you play without one you need to decide who will use body language and recorder movement to indicate the increase or decrease in speed. Obviously, the rest of the group need to be watching them or it’s a waste of energy and effort!

Find a balance between criticism and encouragement.

My final tip is to enjoy yourselves and don’t overlook the fact that you’re there to have fun!

It’s important to remember amateur musicians are (by definition) playing for the love of it – as you may well be too. Yes, criticism is important if we want to improve our skills, but don’t forget that encouragement is just as crucial. The satisfaction gained from creating a good sense of ensemble and successfully playing music together can be immense, but sometimes it’s just as enjoyable to romp through some new music, warts and all. Aim to include constructive criticism, fun and positive encouragement into every session and everyone will be happy!

Going public – performing to an audience

Many smaller amateur recorder groups would run screaming from the thought of performing in public. They’re there to play for enjoyment and simply don’t want the pressure of preparing for a public performance. But don’t discount the idea out of hand, as performing can be an immensely rewarding experience. I conduct several concerts each year with my recorder orchestras, and I love seeing the buzz they get when it goes well and the audience applaud enthusiastically. Yes, mistakes happen (as they do in professional performances too!) but audiences rarely dwell on these (if they even notice them in the first place) and they’re always willing the performers on to play well.

Now I’m not suggesting you hire a concert hall and put on a full evening’s recital, although some amateur groups do exactly that. But performances come in many shapes and forms. Simply preparing for a performance focuses the mind more clearly and makes you think about how your music making sounds to others. Perhaps the village fete, coffee morning or bring and buy sale would like some informal background music? Or maybe you could play a piece in the local music festival, where you’ll receive a gentle critique and encouragement from the judge? Or perhaps there’s a local showcase you could join in where you’re one of a number of groups performing a short piece of music. You could even have an informal get together at the end of the term/year where you invite partners, spouses and friends along to listen to the music you’ve been working at. Offer some coffee and cake too and you’re bound to have a sympathetic and appreciative audience!

Are there other questions you have about running an ensemble? Or maybe you have your own tips? Either way, do leave a comment below – we can all share our ideas to make our music making even more enjoyable.

Survival skills for ensemble playing

Photo by Andreas Wagner

When you first start playing in ensembles it can be overwhelming. We all sometimes experience imposter syndrome - the feeling that everyone else in the group is better than you and you really shouldn’t be there. Can I tell you a secret? You’re not alone! In any massed ensemble there will be others who are feeling exactly the same. What are they doing differently? It’s probably just that they’ve developed more survival skills over the years and have learnt how to cope when the music gets tough.

A student on one of my courses asked me about this earlier this year. She felt she needed to learn the art of ‘self rescue’ and that term struck a chord with me. Professional players are expected to be on top of every note we play; able to cope with whatever the music throws at us. But then we’ve spent decades honing our skills to do this. As an amateur musician you no doubt have equivalent skills in whatever you do for a living. For instance, a surgeon knows what to do if a patient unexpectedly goes into cardiac arrest, or a driving instructor can often predict when their student might need an intervention to prevent an accident. If you’re still developing your recorder playing skills there are bound to be moments when you feel overloaded and unable to cope. Don’t give yourself a hard time - instead, realise this is completely normal!

Over the years I’ve met many very intelligent musicians who feel they should be able to do things in music through the power of their intellect - the idea that if I can understand something I should be able to do it! It’s a painful realisation, but sometimes this just isn’t possible. Don’t give yourself a hard time if you fail to achieve perfection. Perfection is something that doesn’t come easily to any human being - even us professionals! Instead, use your intellect to be critical (in a positive way) of your mistakes and try to understand what you can do to improve your playing and make fewer errors further down the line.

My aim today is to share some tips with you which will help when you’re faced with these mental overload moments. Survival techniques which will help you keep afloat and ease your way. These will help you survive a challenging ensemble session unscathed, having learnt from the experience and with a better idea of what you need to practise to find it easier next time.

Before we look at survival skills, lets briefly consider some things you can do before you start playing. These will improve your chances of playing well and getting the most from your rehearsal.

Warm up yourself and your recorder

Doing a few simple stretches to limber up your muscles can be immensely helpful. If your muscles are warm and relaxed you’re much more likely to play well. Think about your overall posture, ensuring you sit well - this’ll help you breathe efficiently and prevent aches and pains caused by slouching. Don’t forget your hands and arms too - recorder playing makes many demands on the delicate structures in your hands, as well as the tendons and muscles in your forearms which control them. An athlete wouldn’t dream off going for a 5k run without warming up first, yet many recorder players think nothing of sitting down for a two hour rehearsal without so much as a single stretch!

The British Association of Performing Arts Medicine have an excellent sheet of warm up exercises which you can print out and keep in your recorder case. There’s a permanent link to these in my Members’ Area for Score Lines subscribers or you can download them from the BAPAM website.

Once you’re warmed up and ready to go, don’t neglect your recorder! Playing in cold churches and village halls often results in fogged up recorders, which sound like you’re playing through cotton wool. This is caused by a build up of condensation in the windway and, ultimately, the swelling of the recorder’s block. The best way to combat this is to get the head joint up to body temperature before you play a single note. Doing this ensures the moisture in your breath is the same temperature as the instrument, so the water doesn’t condense onto the block in droplets.

A simple way is to pop the head joint under your arm for a few minutes - you may have spotted me doing exactly this in some of my consort videos. Smaller instrument head joints can be put into pockets or tucked into your waistband for a similar result. With larger recorders this is less practical so I’ll sometimes use a warm (not hot!) wheat bag (heated gently in the microwave) or a hot water bottle against the head joint. I recently saw this tip shared by the Von Huene recorder workshop in the US which might offer an alternative (albeit somewhat unsightly!) solution.

However you do it, warming up your recorder before playing will avoid the need for perpetual clearing of condensation from the windway and keep your sound clear and beautiful.

Take regular breaks

If you have a long rehearsal to get through be sure to stop at least every hour or so. Get up and walk around to improve your circulation and do some more stretches to loosen the muscles you’ve been working so hard. Chat to a friend about something unrelated to the music, allowing yourself to switch off from the piece you’re studying. You’ll come back refreshed and with improved concentration.

~ ~ ~

Now let’s look at some practical tips to help you keep afloat in ensembles and, where necessary, perform some ‘self rescue’.

Hone your sight reading skills

Being able to read new music swiftly and accurately is an important skill. The ability to efficiently assess and implement musical notation is one that takes time to develop but it’s worth the effort. I wrote a post about this very topic recently so I won’t repeat everything here. If you click here you’ll find masses of tips to help you improve your sight reading and it’ll open in a new tab so you don’t need to lose your place here either!

You don’t need to play every note

It’s easy to get hung up on the need to play every single note. During an initial sight read perfection isn’t the priority. Instead your aim should be to sense of the lie of the land, form a basic understanding of how your part fits into the whole and hopefully spot the bits you need to come back to and practise. Remember too that occasional groups of fast notes (perhaps a couple of semiquavers here and there) are often the least important, musically speaking. They’re probably just the means of travelling between two larger notes but because they’re quick we instinctively feel they must be important. The result is often laboured and slows the music down. Instead, don’t be afraid to slur them together initially if that helps, or even drop a few of them on the floor! I often jokingly say to groups that we can sweep them up later and it’s not a disaster if you don’t play every note on the first reading.

View fullsize

The semiquavers in this piece by Schmelzer are mostly decorative and provide a means from getting one place to another so you can skate over them in sight reading rather than getting bogged down.

Conductors will often do a first read through of a new piece at full speed. This is because we know that taking the music slowly at first will set that slower tempo in the players’ minds and it’ll be all but impossible to speed things up later. Working on things slowly comes after the first read through, after you’ve got the ultimate tempo fixed in your mind. The ultimate tempo may be prove too much of a challenge at first, so try to focus on the main beats rather than every note, aiming to be with at least the first beat of each bar.

Learn to edit on the hoof

When I was studying for A level music we were all allocated another student to accompany. Our task was to attend their instrumental lessons and to play the piano accompaniments for them. I was allocated a baritone singer called Chris who had a penchant for Vaughan Williams. My pianistic skills were rather less developed than my recorder playing so I often felt out of my depth. But playing for Chris’s lessons taught me a vital skill - that of on the spot editing. Faced with a piece in five flats, I knew I couldn’t get to every note initially, so I learnt to leave some of them out! In piano terms this often meant keeping the bassline going at all costs, while thinning down what went on in the right hand (treble) part. By doing this I could provide Chris with some important harmonic support, while keeping the pulse consistent so he could focus on his singing. Over time I gradually added more of the detail back in to give a fuller picture of the music.

In recorder terms this might translate into cutting down some of the whizzy runs. If there’s a long run of semiquavers, perhaps aim initially to play the first of each beat. As you become more familiar with the music you can gradually complete the picture with more notes. The key benefit of developing this skill is the way it allows you to keep up with the pulse at all times - a vital skill for any ensemble player.

Use your conductor, if you have one

As Walter Bergmann was fond of saying, “Your conductor has been paid for. You waste your money if you don’t look at him.” Assuming you have someone standing in front of your group offering a regular beat, you would be wise to make use of them! At the most basic level, a conductor will show you the speed of the music and their beat patterns can be immensely helpful.

If you can ensure the first beat of each bar you play occurs when the conductor’s hand is heading downwards you can be sure you’re in the right place at least once in every bar! If the gestures given by conductors has ever puzzled you do take a look at my blog post, Do you speak the same language as our conductor? Here I explored the gestures we make with our hands, what they mean and much more. A good conductor will convey much more than just the pulse in their gestures so it’s worth learning what some of these mean.

Ensure you can see your conductor

As we get older our eyesight changes and it’s not uncommon to need different strength glasses or contact lenses for music reading. Reading the notes accurately is important, but if you neglect to ensure you can also see your conductor’s beat you’re missing out on some vital information. The most important thing is to be able to at least see the beat in your peripheral vision. It’s surprising how much awareness you can have of your surroundings even while you’re focusing on the music. Your conductor won’t mind if you’re seeing a somewhat fuzzy image of him or her but they will object if you completely ignore them and play out of time! Try adjusting your music stand to different heights until you find a combination that works for you. Many musicians end up buying single vision lenses which are set for the distance of their music stand. This allows you to set your stand at a height where you can easily see both the music and the conductor, even if their movements are a little blurry.

Understand your music

Before you play, glance through the music and look for significant moments, such as key and time signature changes or tempo changes. If you don’t know what the Italian (or maybe French or German) terms mean you could quickly look them up online. Alternatively, look at your conductor and you may well see some clues. I often ask groups what a given term means and there’s almost always a chorus of, “Watch the conductor!” in response. There’s no harm in making a point of learning the meaning of the most common terms and Wikipedia has a great online dictionary of them here.

Read ahead to avoid surprises

One of the most important skills to develop i your sight reading is the ability to read at least a few notes ahead. In slow music you may only need to know where the next couple of notes are leading, but in fast runs it’s helpful to be able to look a few beats ahead. This takes practice, but in time you’ll find it helps remove a lot of the surprises in the music you’re about to play.

Beware of line and page breaks

No matter how good you are at reading ahead, certain danger spots remain - usually points where you move to a new line or page. When you see a line break coming up try to read ahead a little more so you’re ready for what comes next. Such spots are governed by an unwritten law that the trickiest parts of any piece inevitably occur just after a line or page break - just when you’re least expecting them! In old manuscripts you’ll sometimes see a custos (or guard note) written at the end of each line - a warning of the first note you’ll encounter on the next line. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t write such symbols into your own music if that helps you prepare for the line ahead.

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The little squiggle at the end of each line in this Sammartini Duo is a custos, indicating the pitch of the first note on the next line.

Navigating your way around bar numbers

The quickest way to restart in the middle off a piece of music is to use bar numbers, or sometimes rehearsal letters. Bar numbers come in different formats - sometimes at the start of each line or perhaps every 5 or 10 bars. It often surprises me how hard musicians find it to navigate around a score so it’s worth having some handy tricks up your sleeve. Just as an air steward warns you the nearest emergency exit can be behind your seat rather than in front of you, sometimes it’s easier too count backwards from a higher bar number rather than on from an earlier one. For instance, bar 88 is closer to 90 than it is to 80.

Rehearsal letters are handy if the music has them, and conductors will often shout them out if they know some of the players have come adrift. These letters (or occasionally numbers) tend to be placed at points in the music where something significant happens - perhaps a double bar line, key change or a moment where the mood or character of the music changes. These can be handy landmarks to check you’re still in the right place.

Learn to count rests efficiently

Apologies if this sounds like teaching grandma to suck eggs, but if this helps one person it’s been worth it! With blocks of rests, count the beats in the bar but with each successive bar replace the number 1 with the number of bars you’ve counted. So, four bars in 3/4 time are counted 123, 223, 323, 423. Counting this way will help you easily keep track of how many bars have passed.

Do you get flummoxed by large blocks of rest? When you pass ten or twenty bars it can be easy to miscount. Don’t be afraid to use your fingers as an aid! Lots of professional musicians do exactly this so you’ll be in good company. You can do so in a subtle way, with your fingers on your lap or your recorder. You can even use a two hand approach, counting each successive ten on one hand and the intervening bars on the other hand.

Finding your spot amid blocks of rests

Blocks of rests can also be problematic if your restarting point occurs in the middle of one, especially when the conductor is keen to get going again. A useful trick is to identify the bar number of when your part resumes (say, bar 72). Once you know this simply count on from the bar number where you’re restarting (say, bar 68) until you get to the point where you need to play again. Using the examples I’ve give you’d count bars 68, 69, 70 and 71 then play in 72. Much simpler and quicker than figuring out how many bars are left to count, especially if you’re faced with a long block of rests.

Don’t play in ‘bingo mode’

This is the term I use for musicians who bury their heads in the music (eyes down, as you would at bingo!) and ignore everything that’s going on around them. When you first start playing in ensembles listening to the other players can be a distraction. Conductors will often implore musicians to listen more carefully but there may well be a small voice in your head saying, “In your dreams, matey!” If this sounds familiar, try instead to listen in a general way rather than focusing on the detail. Especially when playing older music, which is in a style we’re familiar with as listeners, having an overall awareness of the sound can tell you whether you’re in the right place. Violent clashes or completely contradictory rhythms in a piece of Baroque music may well be a sign that you‘ve come adrift from the rest of the ensemble. Yes, it could be that you’re right and everyone else is wrong, but in all likelihood you’re the one who’s out place!

“If all the others are wrong and you alone are right, follow the wrong.”

Walter Bergmann

Don’t always trust your hearing…

Having implored you to listen, there will be times when your hearing won’t be entirely trustworthy. The acoustic qualities of a building can be misleading, especially if it’s a boomy church. By the time a note reaches you from the other side of the room it’s bounced off several walls and the ceiling and this takes time. A half second delay can be catastrophic for coordination, so in this situation be careful to play with your conductor’s beat rather than simply trusting your ears. If everyone does the same, the combined sound reaching your audience will be in time. The same applies if you play multichoir music, where you’ll often be geographically spread around the room.

Take the best seat in the house if you can

When you have the opportunity to play with large groups of players (perhaps a massed playing session at a course or festival) don’t underestimate the effect of where you sit. So often I’ll see the musicians with the least confidence or the poorest hearing sitting right at the back, usually struggling to keep up and hear what’s going on. Instead, grab yourself a seat in the front couple of rows. You’ll find it much easier to hear and see the conductor, keep in touch with the music and you’ll have the support (musical and technical) of those around you. Conductors very rarely bite so you needn’t fear us and, even better, you’ll hear the full tonal range of sound from those behind you!

Listen to the conductor’s advice

My job as a conductor isn’t just to keep everyone in time - I’m responsible for shaping the music too. Along the way conductors will often sneak in snippets of technical advice too - tips about fingerings or perhaps the best articulation to use. Don’t underestimate the power of these tips - listen carefully and you might pick up something that’ll benefit your playing beyond the current rehearsal.

Don’t chat

If your rehearsal is also a chance to see friends try to save your chitchat for the breaks. At the very moment you’re nattering with each other mid-rehearsal you might miss out in a crucial piece of information from the conductor! Likewise, don’t tootle in the rests or when the conductor is talking - it’s very distracting for others.

Always carry a pencil and don’t be afraid to use it!

A pencil can be a very powerful tool for a musician. Jotting in accidentals or highlighting repeats ensures you get those details right next time and frees you up to concentrate on other things. Don’t be precious about writing on music (always in pencil, never pen) - professionals do it all the time and needing to annotate reminders doesn’t make you less of a musician. Remember too to write in your music in such a way that you’ll understand what it means later. It’s no good writing something cryptic in the music which you can’t translate next week - it’s always better to call a spade a spade!

Add some cues to your music

In orchestral music parts often include cue notes - small notes which show what’s going in in other parts of the score. These can be immensely helpful. For instance, during a long block of rests, you’ll hear another line playing a melody at the moment it’s marked in your score, confirming you’re in the right place. Sadly such markings are rarely used in recorder music, but there’s no reason why you can’t add your own. You could take a look at the score and pencil in a snippet of the melody from another part, but even having the words ‘tenor melody’ or ‘dotted rhythm in basses’ jotted in can be reassuring.

Don’t get hung up on trills

Trills often reduce recorder players to quivering wrecks. But in an ensemble situation don’t get too hung up on them, at least at first. If you have the spare mental capacity to put some of them in that’s great, but the main notes are more important, especially when sight reading. When you’re comfortable with the music perhaps start adding the simpler trills, which don’t require complex alternative fingerings. As you gain control of them you can gradually add in the others. If trills make you tremble why not take a look at my recent blog about these decorative delights?

Take the music home to practise if you can

If you know you’re going to be working on a piece over several sessions don’t be afraid to ask to borrow your part between rehearsals. Practising ensemble or orchestra parts can feel unrewarding, especially when faced with a passage of long notes or off beats. However, spending five minutes each day practising that tricky semiquaver run will undoubtedly give you more confidence at the next session.

Don’t worry about nerves and don’t look back!

Playing with a new ensemble or orchestra can be nerve wracking and there’s no shame in having a few butterflies. A little nervous energy will make you concentrate harder and you’ll soon find your feet.

Inevitably you’ll make mistakes (we all do) but when you’re in the middle of a run-through don’t look back at errors and berate yourself for them. Doing so will almost certainly distract you from what’s coming next and cause you to make more mistakes. Instead, try to remember where you went wrong so you can come back and fix it later. I’ll often mark trouble spots with a pencil mark in the margin to remind me to practise those bars at home.

Fake it until you make it

You often hear this phrase used to encourage people to blag their way through a situation, with the idea that if you have enough conviction everyone else will believe you. While this is frequently an oversimplification of what’s required to be successful, there is an element of truth in the saying.

I often hear recorder players being tentative in ensembles, assuming that if they try and hide no one will notice their mistakes. I can understand the logic, but in reality that strategy doesn’t often work! Tentative recorder playing tends to result in weak tone quality, poor intonation because you’re under blowing, and the rhythm often becomes mushy too.

A better approach is to ignore that scared voice in the back if your head and instead play with conviction and positivity. As a result you’re more likely to produce a good tone, be better in tune with others, and play more rhythmically. This positive experience will probably boost your confidence and help you to keep doing the same again. Yes, you’ll still make mistakes, but no one will die as a result and you can easily fix those later!

Don’t forget to breathe

Breathing in is a good thing to do, whether in music or everyday life. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment while wrestling with a difficult passage, only to run out of breath. There’s always somewhere to breathe (even in Bach!) and if the place isn’t obvious just take a breath anyway - the extra oxygen will help you think clearly as well as improving your tone quality.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help

If you lose your place while playing don’t be afraid to make eye contact with your conductor to seek help. If I see someone doggedly look down at their music, wiggling their fingers while I’m conducting I have to assume they’re ok. On the other hand, if a player looks up at me pleadingly I’ll do my best to get them back in, perhaps at their next entry after some rests or by shouting out a rehearsal letter. If I don’t know you’re lost I can’t help you!

Remember, you’re doing this for fun!

Ultimately an amateur musician (by definition) plays for the love of music. Whether you play every note perfectly, or with lots of errors, you should aim to enjoy yourself. Your life doesn’t depend on your playing so don’t let mistakes distract you from the enjoyment your hobby brings.

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Improving between rehearsals

I’ll finish off with a few quick ideas to help you get more from your ensemble playing.

Pick your level carefully

If you have a choice of different standard ensembles (perhaps at a festival or on a course) don’t be afraid to experiment. Sometimes selecting a session which is well within the boundaries of your technique will help boost your confidence. Equally, a level which stretches you just beyond your comfort zone can be a useful way to improve your survival skills.

Don’t forget that courses and festivals can be a great opportunity to find your feet with a new size of recorder too. For instance if you’ve just started learning the bass recorder you could give it a first outing in a large massed playing session (where there’s safety in numbers) or in an easier session which won’t stretch you beyond your abilities.

Take some recorder lessons

If playing in an ensemble highlights particular weaknesses in your playing don’t be afraid to seek out some lessons. A few sessions with an experienced teacher can be useful to help you understand what you need to work on to improve.

Practise regularly and strategically

It’s not necessary to practise for hours every day, but a few minutes spent on a few technical exercises can pay dividends for your ensemble playing. Maybe some long notes to work on your breathing and tone, and a handful of scales and arpeggios to build your finger technique - all of these will help you cope better in an ensemble situation.

Use ‘virtual’ ensembles to improve your ability to keep up

My playalong consort videos (and there are plenty of others out there too) allow you the opportunity to play ensemble music and they offer the same pressure to keep up as a real ensemble. Even better, you can rewind and repeat them as often as you like without the feeling you’re holding others up!

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The most important thing you can do to become a better ensemble musician is simply to get out there and play with others. If you wait until you feel you’re ‘good enough’ there’s a danger you’ll perpetually live in fear. Remember, in every ensemble there will be others who are equally worried about getting it wrong. We learn from our mistakes so go ahead and play, safe in the knowledge that every ensemble experience is going to help you develop as a musician.

Do you have ‘self rescue’ strategies I haven’t mentioned?

If there are things you do in rehearsals to help you keep going which I haven’t covered I’d love to hear about them. Strategies which seem obvious to one person may not be instinctive to others and I’d love it if we can all learn from each other. Please do leave a comment below with your favourite musical survival techniques.