Rehearsal Efficiency and Score Analysis
(JCG Volume 2, No. 3, 1981)
By Alan Pearlmutter
The primary consideration is not who needs a
rehearsal but what use is being made of it.
Indeed, the fact that the conductor, while
working with the orchestra, still has to decide
on details of interpretation which are of vital
importance to the performance, should contribute
to making a rehearsal an exciting experience.
It is the happy combination of objectivity
and initiative, rationalization and feeling,
discernment and intuition that, in addition to
technical ability, is the decisive factor in leading
a successful rehearsal.1
Whether we are directing professional musicians or
young students, successful communication with
players depends upon the successful rehearsal.
Discipline problems encountered during rehearsal
result from boredom, a symptom of inefficient
rehearsal technique.
The best way to develop fluency in rehearsals is
to consider the needs of the orchestral player.
For example, every player wants to read clearly
marked parts. Thus, before the first rehearsal of a
composition, the conductor is responsible for
making clear markings on all parts, including
dynamics, bowings, and fast page turns. A great
deal of rehearsal time will be gained if parts are
clearly marked to begin with.
Considering the needs of the player means taking
into account the amount of time a section of the
orchestra has been idle. Granted, it is sometimes
difficult to negotiate string and woodwind rehearsal
time, especially if difficult string passages need
considerable practice. Nevertheless, a conductor
needs to develop an inner sense for knowing the
19 JCG Vol. 30
length of time that brasses and woodwinds have
been idle. This sense can be developed through
experience and will be enhanced if the conductor
himself has spent time playing in orchestras.
Additional efficiency can be gained by planning
what and how to rehearse. This assumes that the
orchestra has already read the composition and is
also dependent upon factors such as the level of the
players, the feasibility of holding a sectional
rehearsal, and the technical demands of the
composition being rehearsed. In general, it is
advisable to decide what to rehearse in advance of
the rehearsal, depending upon the results of the
previous reading. Of course, the crux of a rehearsal
is impromptu decision-making, totally dependent
upon the sounds emanating from the rehearsal.
Maximum rehearsal efficiency will be achieved with
a proper balance between pre-rehearsal planning and
appropriate extemporaneous decisions during its
course.
Aside from the aforementioned organizational
considerations, a significant factor that will develop
maximum interest and efficiency is theoretical,
relevant primarily to nonprofessional orchestras.
Working with students or community musicians can
be a very inspiring experience, since it provides the
conductor with an opportunity to familiarize his
players with the structure of a composition. For
example, fugal passages help players understand the
melodic development of the composition. Often,
rehearsal of a section for one orchestral group is
relevant to other groups. Educating our players
does not entail superfluous verbal commentary.
It involves utilizing the rehearsal in such a way as to
interest all players, even if they are not participants
at a given moment.
Smetana’s Bartered Bride Overture provides an
interesting study with regard to structural techniques
and how they can be used to optimize rehearsal
efficiency. Early in the overture is a fugue for
strings, which is begun at m.8 tutti, and is continued
with the second violins at m.14. At m.31, first
violins enter. Violas and outside celli state the
theme at m.52. Inside celli and basses enter with the
fugal theme at m.73. The head motive for the fugue
is quoted in Example 1.
In rehearsing this entire fugal section, the conductor
might consider using the second violins as a model
for the other string sections. The five bar head
motive needs to be played fortissimo, with accents
as written, followed by a subito piano. The piano
(or pianissimo) dynamic must continue throughout,
even after the next fugal entrance. Each section of
the strings should be rehearsed in this fashion, with
the second violins having provided the example.
Efficiency is gained during the rehearsal if the
conductor insists that the strings listen to the second
violins in the first place, in order to gain a proper
concept of dynamics, articulation, and phrasing.
Utilizing rehearsal time in this manner will help
develop string ensemble, and will add needed
interest to the many repeated scales that are being
performed. The entire string fugue should be
performed after each string section has been given
the opportunity to practice the head motive.
Sequences can provide an orchestra with insight into
compositional structure, and can serve to minimize
monotony, if rehearsed properly. At m.128, a four
bar pattern begins, which is repeated three
additional times, in keys which are a minor third
higher than the preceding key. Thus the cycle of
keys are C Major, E-Flat Major, G-Flat Major, A
Major, and C Major.2 These four four-bar phrases
must be performed and rehearsed at four different
dynamic levels: pp, p, mf, and f. During rehearsal,
the orchestra must be advised to make a gradual
crescendo, so that a true fortissimo is reached at
m.144, and not sooner. The orchestra needs to be
made aware of this sequential structure. Moreover,
the fourth bar of each phrase must have hairpins,
without exaggerating the dynamic of the following
sequential phrase. It is extremely difficult to
maintain a gradual crescendo throughout the entire
16 bars, particularly when the final bar of each
phrase contains an expressive swell. Rehearsal of
this 16-bar section based on the preceding
theoretical knowledge will enlighten the orchestra
and encourage a willingness to perform what is
indicated in the score.
Another interesting sequence begins at m.237. A
structure of six six-bar phrases includes motivic
counterpoint on offbeats. It is a fugal sequence
beginning with viola and bassoon. This entire
35-bar passage must emphasize the fugal entrances,
and the syncopated motivic imitation. In order to
successfully negotiate thematic balance, it would be
wise for the conductor to rehearse only what needs
to be audible (Example 2). If only these isolated
excerpts are played during initial rehearsal of this
passage, the orchestra will be informed about its
compositional structure. This in turn will enable the
player to understand that any scale passages during
the course of this section must not overshadow the
motivic elements illustrated. This kind of rehearsal
technique clearly delineates what must be audible,
makes the rehearsal interesting for all players, and
saves rehearsal time.
During rehearsals, conductors sometimes need to be
more attentive to inner voices than to melodic
passages. A case in point is the chromatic
modulation in the Smetana overture which begins at
m.378 (Example 3). Here the modulation is from
D-Flat Major to E-Major, with inner voices
supplying rising tones independent of each other.
Tension is built into the chromatic alterations simply
because the tones do not change simultaneously. In
rehearsal, the celli and violas should emphasize
individual note changes without creating artificial
accentuation. The patterned sequence of chromatic
change occurs instrumentally as follows: winds,
inside celli, outside celli, violas. The conductor’s
gesture should invite these instrumental entrances in
JCG Vol. 30 20
that order. The rehearsal of this passage should emphasize the importance of each individual note change, as
players would not ordinarily be familiar with the parts of other sections. Here again, theoretical knowledge
or analysis can lend insight into making a rehearsal efficient and worthwhile for all players.

Implied in the above study is a simple but important distinction between theoretical analysis for its own sake
and theoretical analysis for the sake of an efficient rehearsal. After learning a score a conductor should
clarify, in his own thought, the important theoretical and/or structural devices used in the composition. The
only theory that need concern him is the theory that will (a) help his orchestra understand the music; (b) save
rehearsal time; (c) help support his own interpretation and, therefore, his reasoning for making musical
decisions prior to and during the course of the rehearsal. Such meaningful and practical score analysis will
serve the best interests of the composer, the players and, of course, the audience. It should also insure the
interesting and effective use of valuable rehearsal time.

*****

Alan Pearlmutter is a conductor and music professor. He currently teaches at Bristol Community College in
Fall River, Massachusetts. He also has served Boston University’s online graduate music education program
and the Department of Fine Arts of Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts. Alan is Music
Director of Boston’s Kammerwerke Orchestra which he established in 2006.

Alan Pearlmutter earned his D.M.A. at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. Alan has had
several articles published in the Journal of the Conductor Guild, an organization which he served as
secretary in its earliest years.

ENDNOTES

1 Max Rudolf. The Grammar of Conducting: A Practical Study of Modern Baton Technique.
(New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, Inc., 1950), p. 329.

2It is surely no coincidence that the keys are a minor third apart, since the critical melodic interval of the
overture is a minor third.

23 JCG Vol. 30