Scribd
Upload
21 views

Planning The Program: Programming 101 Essential Tips and Suggestions For Indoor Percussion

This document provides tips for planning a successful indoor percussion program, including designing an identity and personality for the ensemble, choosing an accessible musical program and visual concept, and ensuring the show can be understood by audiences. It emphasizes the importance of knowing the members, exploring music together, motivating students, and creating a defined look and attitude for the group's performance.

Uploaded by

Jillian Seitz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
21 views

Planning The Program: Programming 101 Essential Tips and Suggestions For Indoor Percussion

This document provides tips for planning a successful indoor percussion program, including designing an identity and personality for the ensemble, choosing an accessible musical program and visual concept, and ensuring the show can be understood by audiences. It emphasizes the importance of knowing the members, exploring music together, motivating students, and creating a defined look and attitude for the group's performance.

Uploaded by

Jillian Seitz
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

Programming 101

ESSENTIAL TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR INDOOR PERCUSSION

PLANNING THE PROGRAM


There are three components that are cornerstones to a successful indoor program. They are the
identity or personality of the ensemble, the concept and design of the show and the training and
excellence of the performer’s skills. This material is designed to assist ensembles to stand out and
be unique. There is a tendency to overlook aspects of personality within the percussion ensemble
and to pick music that lacks real staying power and interest. Often there just doesn’t seem to be the
time to go through all the steps we will discuss, but their importance really can’t be stressed enough.

Designing an Identity

Image-Personality-Style

There is an innate collective personality that exists with the members of your ensemble. This
personality or identity is influenced by their social and economic situation, their beliefs, attitudes,
values and goals. They bring to your percussion ensemble some built-in properties that can serve
you well in understanding your members, capitalizing on who they are and helping them to discover
the best of who they can be. The other component will be those same values, beliefs, attitudes and
goals of your staff. Unless the two are compatible, you could find yourself with a conflict you really
don’t need.

These two groups will combine to form the core personality of who you collectively are. This core
personality or identity will remain the base of your ensemble. It will evolve and grow, but will
essentially be the same. It is upon this base that you will develop the second aspect of what we call
identity. Each program you create will call for a particular sound, style, look, role, and character. This
secondary element becomes a part of the design of each show. Here is where the members act out
the exploration of the many varied options you will give them.

Most teens are in their search of who they are. You can provide them with a unique opportunity to
investigate many possibilities in the safety of the percussion family. You can give them the
confidence to discover who they are and who they can become. For this reason, the process
involved here is an important development for them and for you. You are encouraged to invest in
these steps.

Know Your Members


Discover their individual personalities, fears, circumstances, strengths, opinions and preferences.

Know Yourself and Your Staff

Understand your individual personalities, weaknesses, circumstances, strengths, and opinions.

Explore with Music

Music opens up lines of communication. See what the kids relate to, take them beyond the top 40 by
introducing a variety of sounds and watch their physical response to the music. Talk about what the
music feels like, what it looks like. A little improv shows you who is willing to get up and perform as
well as how motivating the music is to them and how they act it out. Observe the gestures, attitudes,
and responses you get from the students and begin to put together a sound and look for your show
based, at least somewhat, on their natural responses and their feedback to you and to one another
as they share in this process.

Motivate Your Members

Generate enthusiasm, build confidence, and be positive and honest. Set a standard for your group
— they will reflect you! You will become the energy source from which they will draw. Eventually
they will return that energy to you when you need it most. Find time to laugh at yourself and with
them.

Design a Look, and Attitude, and a Personality

Use the collective line’s personality as the basis for your program’s sound, role, and character.
Define the character or role of the program. Spend time directing how they should feel when they are
playing their part. Give them specific gestures and attitude for the role.

**Remember this is a process; don’t look for all of this to happen in one rehearsal. It is an ongoing
effort. The most memorable groups have a clearly defined look and attitude.**

THE PROGRAM AND ITS CONCEPT


Your program concept, musical choice and visual style contribute largely to set you apart from the
many others in your class. Strive to be remembered as you create your program.

Consider these Options

● Create a musical soundtrack that will showcase you and your best assets as you create your
musical and visual illustration.
● Don’t select music that demands a skill you don’t have. Be careful of music with more depth
than you can illustrate. Can you pull it off?
● Never create a program a piece at a time. Select music that can be designed to create a
whole show. Have the master plan in place before you begin.

Consider these Questions

● Does it have highs and lows?


● Does it have opportunity to develop ideas?
● Does it have impact and effect built in?
● Does it provide contrast?
● Will the students be able to relate to it?
● Will the audience understand it?
● Does it have a great ending? It Must!
● Can you produce a count sheet to it? Do you understand the count sheet?
● Will it show your ensemble off to their best advantage?
● Does it inspire creativity?
Know what is going on in the activity…Study lots of other percussion ensembles.

Create an accessible program. Be unique and proud of who you are.

Be very careful of going too high up the abstraction ladder. Young performers often have a hard time
with abstract interpretation.

Lastly, as your show is starting to come together, make sure that it can be completely understood by
audience members and judges alike, without any explanation from the design team. If you find your
program won’t translate without an explanation, head back to the drawing board.

Both Musically and Visually

● Pace your show


● Contour you show
● Provide visual and musical interest through contrast
● Remember the importance of staging, focus, continuity, coordination, layering, appeal, and
effect

You might also like