MENC: The National Association for Music Education

Concert Programming: Tips from the Broadcast Industry

Author(s): Guy Kinney
Source: Music Educators Journal, Vol. 65, No. 4 (Dec., 1978), pp. 44-46
Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of MENC: The National Association for
Music Education
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/3395548
Accessed: 10-04-2020 21:48 UTC

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 Guy Kinney

Music directors put much time and careful

thought into organizing a concert: rehearsing,
working out difficulties in the music, and
making sure students will be at the dress re-
hearsals and will not become sick on the day
of the concert. Just as the pace gets hectic, the
request arrives for the program copy to be pre-
pared. The director quickly jots down an or-
der of programming and then goes back to the
details of the music. He promptly forgets the
thoughts that went into the order of the music.
One of the most important things a con-
ductor can do to help make sure the audience
will receive his music as he envisions it is to
give more than a thought or two to program
order. If a conductor would stop and think a
little about the order of each piece, many con-
cert audiences would be more appreciative of
the hard work put into the performances.

How broadcasters hold listeners' interest

The television and radio industries spend
an untold and certainly tremendous amount
of money on each minute of air time, making
sure that their audiences will exhibit a maxi-
mum response to the programming and adver-
tisements. Psychological research, screening,
and feedback studies are a regular part of pro-
ducing programs intended to reap maximum
benefits and capture the attention of the au-
dience. The tempo, mood, and expected im-
pact of a message or advertisement are bal-
anced with the programming directly before
and after it. Nothing is left to chance.
In educational performance, we are not con-
cerned with profits, but we should be inter-
ested in the impact our concerts make on our
audiences. We should be searching and think-
ing about ways in which the music will enter-
tain and educate those who come to listen.
Perhaps we can learn a few points from the
broadcasting industry.
One procedure radio stations that broadcast
continuous music follow to keep their au-
diences tuned in is to codify different types of
music according to mood, tempo, and instru-
mentation. Codified selections then are in-
serted in half-hour slots in combinations de-
signed to maintain audience interest with a
variety of listening experiences. There are spe-
cial codifications, for example, for selections

The author is chairman of the music department and

band director at Candor Central High School, Candor,
New York.
Radio courtesy of Herndon Curio Shop, Herndon, Virginia.

mej/dec '78 45

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 that begin on the hour arid for those that con- NEWS
clude a time slot. A1 A1
Whether the concert is classical, pop, or
jazz, this broadcasting procedure of codi-
fication can be used by music educators to
plan school choral and instrumental programs
that will reach the audience and hold its at-
tention. When music selections are poorly or-
dered, the listener is faced with a program that
tends to dull the senses and causes the mind
X
to wander off to more stimulating thoughts.

Codification symbols
To attract the audience's attention, the
broadcaster starts a half-hour slot with a live-
ly, up-tempo work with full instrumentation
and a large ensemble. He labels this type of
music A1. The next selection is less lively and
slower, but still uses a large ensemble sound. NEWS
This is A2. A slow, soft, ballad-like number
featuring all of the group or a smaller section,
A3, would follow. The next number is the spe- Figure 1. Broadcasting music codification clock
cial, odd, or new selection, sometimes a dis-
sonant or avant-garde work, called X. B1, or
the solo, small group selection, or solo with of an intermission. Many soloists also prefer
accompaniment, should follow. Then the to perform in the first half of a program rather
broadcaster would play another A2 and finish than the second. But basically the symbols
the program with an exciting Al. should be arranged as follows.
The codification programming elements
thus are arranged in the following order. A1
A2
A1 A3
A2 X
A3 A1
X
B1 -Intermission-
A2
A1 A2
B1
In a broadcasting studio, these symbols are A3
sometimes placed around the edge of the A1
clock so that the announcer can keep track of
the time and the selection coming up (see Fig- There may be legitimate reasons to alter
ure 1). The five-minute, on-the-hour news spot parts of this codification system or to reject
is preceded by and followed with an A1 selec-sections because of the type of concert
planned. In a concert of all avant-garde music
tion. The psychological goal of this ordering is
to show listeners who tuned in just before the or one featuring twelve-tone music exclusive-
hour to hear the news that the station's music ly, it might not be as suitable to use the system
is catching and beautiful. Immediately after intact. Yet even with a highly specialized con-
the news, A1 kicks off the next hour in order to cert, much thought should be given to pro-
convince listeners that they should leave the
gram order.
radio on. The audience will be able to stay with your
concert and will remain more interested. Your
College and high school concerts concert will communicate the music in the
Most high school and college band concert most advantageous order for immediate ac-
music can be arranged according to this sys- ceptance and understanding. Also, you will
tem. Most choral and orchestral literature also be establishing a consonant beginning and
could be ordered along these programming ending to the concert. There will be a certain
codification lines. symmetry in the overall program. New or un-
When there is an intermission, it may be tried selections will be able to convey their
beneficial to switch the X and B selections. A meaning and strengths at a point in the pro-
lengthy contemporary work may stand a bet- gram in which the audience will be the most
ter chance of a good reception after the break receptive. 1

46 mej/dec'78
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