#303. Targeted Scatter

by | Mar 3, 2026 | Boonshaft's Blog

In my last blog, I wrote about the idea of using scatter seating in rehearsals. The virtues of this approach can’t be overstated. Another related idea is using what I call “targeted scattering.” So often I ask my alto saxes to sound like the horns when they are playing those incredibly-common doubled passage. Or asked my third clarinets to listen to, and tune to third clarinets. Or my first violins to listen to my second violins? And the faces I see looking back at me are confused stares, because awareness and distance often cause that to be difficult. Enter targeted scattering. That is where I instruct only the horns and alto saxes to scatter, meaning that the players of only those two sections will sit so that the horns and alto saxes are completely interwoven. So now, instead of having horns and saxes, I have “scorns!” Doing that with any sections that need extra attention integrating their parts will provide results that are truly amazing.

Peter Loel Boonshaft, Director of Education
KHS America

About the Author

Dr. Boonshaft, Director of Education for KHS America, is the author of the critically acclaimed best-selling books Teaching Music with Passion, Teaching Music with Purpose, and Teaching Music with Promise. 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.” Dr. Boonshaft was selected for the Center for Scholarly Research and Academic Excellence at Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY, where he is Professor Emeritus of Music.

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