Proper Rehearsal Etiquette
For the musicians
Something that I wish was talked about a lot more is the standards for behavior when you’re in a rehearsal. One thing that caught me off guard as I got older is that there are A LOT of adult musicians who don’t know how to behave themselves all that well while in a rehearsal. On top of that, even though I would consider myself to have decent rehearsal etiquette, I’m still amazed at how often I’ll find myself acting inappropriately. This primarily happens when I’m in a rehearsal where the people around me aren’t putting forward their best foot forward etiquette-wise. It’s like the old saying: “Be careful of the company you keep.” That being said, there are also a few disagreements I have with some common rules that I’ve seen for many ensembles, but I’ll get to that a bit later.
Before I get to my list, here are links to a few lists that I found with a Google search. I wouldn’t consider these lists exhaustive, but they do contain a lot of good guidelines to follow:
https://uh.campuslabs.com/EnGAGE/news/106890
https://www.violinist.com/blog/lizzylambson/201212/14185/
I’m going to try and make this list as exhaustive as possible, so I will most likely update this in the future. Many of these points also warrant their own posts, so this will be an ongoing thing.
The List
Sit with good posture when you’re playing; I define “good posture” as not crossing your legs at the knees and sitting up relatively straight. I don’t agree with most brass players that good posture helps you play. I think you should sit with good posture just because it looks nice.
When the director is talking to you or your section, don’t talk. The “no talking” standard that a lot of ensembles say they try to uphold is unrealistic. Socialization is a natural part of being around other humans, but don’t talk when the director is saying something that is pertinent to you or the person(s) you’re talking to.
When you’re talking to someone else, WHISPER. I’m amazed at how many people never seem to learn to whisper in their entire life. If the people around you can’t hear you when you whisper, then don’t talk to them. They need to get hearing aids before you can hold conversations with them.
DON’T ASK THE DIRECTOR “WHERE ARE WE STARTING?” This is a HORRIBLE question to ask, because countless directors receive it all the time. If you’ve ever been in charge of a rehearsal/sectional before, you’ll know just how frustrating this question is. If you don’t know where the director wants you to start (our minds wander from time to time, so that’ll happen), ask the people around you. If no one else knows, then when the director is counting off, put your instrument up and play where you think they want you to. If you’re wrong, the director will repeat what they said, so if they’re just going to do that anyway, it’s better to not piss them off and refrain from asking that question.
Don’t make it obvious that you’re looking at the time. This can occur in many ways; whether it’s looking at a clock behind you, taking out your phone, or even looking at your watch, it’s not good etiquette to make it obvious. That being said, it’s completely understandable why you would want to check the time. A really simple solution to this that I started doing in college: buy yourself a portable clock, and put it on the floor next to your stand. You can check the time whenever you want and it won’t be obvious to anyone except the people behind you.
During the warm up period before the rehearsal begins, DON’T COPY WHAT SOMEONE ELSE IS PLAYING. I’m amazed at how many fully grown adults don’t understand what’s wrong with this. If you’ve ever had someone echo what you say (especially a young child), then you should understand why this is annoying. But this is also an ego thing; many people do this because they want to compare their skill set to someone else’s. If you hear the person next to you practicing triple tonguing, don’t start practicing it as well. Have some self control and don’t let what they decide to play influence what you decide to play.
Don’t make constant comments about someone else’s playing. Even if the comments are positive, this can get annoying really fast, but especially if they’re negative, don’t do this. If the person sitting next to you isn’t a good player, you’re just going to have to put up with it for the rehearsal. If their playing is so bad that it’s driving you crazy, then tell someone in charge of the ensemble about it, whether that be the director or a shared coach for the instrument, etc. Remember this old idiom: “Unsolicited advice is seldom heeded, and often resented.”
If someone is talking to you, don’t start playing your instrument. There are times where someone is running their mouth and you have to get your warm up time in; I’m not referring to that here. I’m referring to when someone is talking to you briefly during a break and you start playing your instrument while they’re doing so. I know some really good players that do this, and it’s incredibly infuriating. I’ve been guilty of this in the past, and this is a great way to leave a bad impression on somebody even if it’s the only bad thing you do.
If you have a question, RAISE YOUR HAND. Wait to be called on. So many people shout out their question, and that just causes chaos.
When the conductor stops the ensemble, STOP PLAYING. Don’t continue to play for 20 more measures. I understand that some directors will start and stop the ensemble an annoying amount of times - and there are many times where that’s not helping anything - but playing for a long period of time after they cut off the ensemble isn’t going to help anything.
If you need to tap your feet when playing, make sure it isn’t distracting. Another common disagreement I have with most ensemble directors are with those that tell players not to tap their feet. I think that tapping your feet is perfectly fine, but don’t make a lot of noise when doing it and don’t make a huge motion - such as moving your entire leg - with it, either.
Don’t yawn too loudly and openly. Yawning is a perfectly normal thing, and especially if you live without caffeine, it can be hard to force yourself not to do it. When you yawn, cover your mouth or bow your head so the director doesn’t see it. Even very humble directors will get offended by loud, highly visual yawns; just because they don’t show it on their face doesn’t mean offense isn’t being taken.
Don’t play when the director hasn’t asked you to. This should be really self explanatory, but this is a habit that you need to start cultivating as soon as possible. I see many adults that have this problem to an embarrassing degree.
Don’t turn your body/make it very obvious that you’re looking at someone else. This is true for many different contexts, but to name a few: when someone is playing really poorly, when someone is playing very well, when someone knocks a stand over, when someone enters the room. These are all instances where you shouldn’t divert your attention. Gain some self control over your impulses and learn to keep your attention facing forwards.
To be continued…
Let me know if I’ve forgotten anything, and I’ll add it to the list. The rules above are ones you should follow no matter what director you have. There are plenty of directors that awful at their job, but their behavior doesn’t change the efficacy of the above list.
