Rehearsal Plans & Goals

The start of a new year usually leads to setting goals for oneself. A new year is a chance to re-engergize and refocus. I've never been one to make a list of of New Year's resolutions, but I have already begun to start a list in my head of things I'd like to focus on this year. Making more entries in this blog is one of them - lol. 

For Texas middle school band directors, January also marks the start of "UIL contest season." It is when we choose the pieces we will perform at UIL Concert & Sight-reading Contest and really start making preparations for teaching these complex pieces. UIL is in late spring, but it sneaks up so quickly. Preparation is key to a successful contest performance. It is best to plan way in advance and develop rehearsal plans. With solo and ensemble contest mixed in there too, it is important to have written out full band rehearsal plans accompanied with ample score study. 

I've created a rehearsal plan template that I will start to use each day. I can jot down specific exercises and skills that I want to apply focus. Following rehearsal each day, I can then evaluate the effectiveness of the plans by reading over what I had written down and then develop plans for the next day. This is in addition to the required district lesson plans that have to be submitted each week.

Click here to download the rehearsal plan template.

I also created a checklist of rehearsal goals based on the UIL Concert Contest Judges' Rubric (for a superior rating) to help keep me focused on the specific skills the students should produce. If there are skills not being checked often, I will develop exercises to address these areas.

Click here to download the daily rehearsal goals checklist.

I hope you are able to set your own personal and rehearsal goals this new year. If these templates help you, all the better! :)

Good luck in your planning!