I like a fast-paced rehearsal. No, I love a fast-paced rehearsal. I think I can keep my students awake and energized better, and get more done in less time. But that’s me. I also know that a moderately-paced rehearsal can no doubt be wonderfully effective, and that a varied-paced rehearsal might be fantastic and the best of all possibilities. But, I dread watching a slow-paced rehearsal. When I say “slow,” I don’t mean a reserved, soft-voiced, sincere, methodical, dignified, intense rehearsal which can be amazingly powerful. I mean a slow, boring, uninspired, dull and lifeless rehearsal. Does anyone set out to rehearse that way? No. But often, I fear our fatigue, worries in life, personal concerns, or the like, creep into our rehearsals, and our pace is the casualty.

Peter Loel Boonshaft, Director of Education
KHS America

About the Author

Dr. Boonshaft is the author of the critically acclaimed best-selling books Teaching Music with Passion, Teaching Music with Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise. Dr. Boonshaft is currently on the faculty of Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, where he is Professor of Music and Director of Bands. He has also been named Director of Education for KHS America. He was honored by the National Association for Music Education and Music For All as the first recipient of the “George M. Parks Award for Leadership in Music Education.”

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