The Elements of a
Musical Ensemble
Subsidiary Diploma in Music (Performing)
LO1- Understand the Elements of Musical
Ensembles
Anyone can form a band… but how good it is depends on
organisation and communication skills, along with a will to
want to play together.
Band members should be suited to one another in order to
achieve the best results.
Ideally the band should equally contribute to the bandhowever, there are numerous bands who were not equal but
achieved major success.
Band Members
Bands who were NOT equal:
The Beatles
Pink Floyd
Bands who were equal:
Abba
 Fleetwood Mac
Bands: does equality matter?
There are numerous ways in which to do this:
 Form one with friends who share similar
musical interests and capabilities
Join a musical club- there’s bound to be people
in there who have a similar ambition to you!
Check your local music shop, there are usually
loads of adverts on the door
Search the internet!- its surprising how many
sites that are dedicated to finding you other
local musicians to play with.
. . . Or make one
How to join a band?
Without organisation, a band
cannot survive.
Band members should come to
an agreement agree among one
another when organising
issues- e.g. dates for rehearsal,
repertoire and solos.
Band members need to be aware
of the decisions made by other
members so that they can
organise themselves . . . this all
depends on good band
communication!
Organisation
Communication is key:
-band discussions (listening skills + cooperation)
-musical interaction
-audience interaction
You need to be able to listen carefully to what
you and others are communicating and then
adjust to that!- may result in re-scheduling,
playing at a different dynamic level etc.
Communication
You need to get out and play to the public in as many
venues as possible- make a target for yourself like “I
will play in at least 5 venues this year” and stick to it!
Many famous bands and artists promote their music
on sites such as MySpace and Facebook- Lilly Allen and
Arctic Monkeys became famous to an extent because
of this!
How do you communicate your
music to as many as possible?
Without rehearsal, a band cannot
improve.
 Rehearsal is just like our solo
practice, yet if you’re in a band, you
need to do BOTH!
Issues arise that don’t normally occur
in solo practice- you need to make sure
that the sound you produce is
consistently together.
Rehearsal… is REALLY vital
A weekly rehearsal = ESSENTIAL
 Longer rehearsals may be necessary to polish the band in
time for a performance
My local choir always holds weekly rehearsals and when the
performance time draws nearer we are expected to attend
longer rehearsals (sometimes more than once in a week)similar to the ‘Joseph’ production!
Rehearsals are usually 2 hours in length- but it depends on
who you are catering for.
Examples
• Repertoire will depend on what music your
band plays and which areas you specialise
in.
• Repertoire should be chosen together- you
must consider everyone’s suggestions
(communication and listening skills)
• Its important that all the members of your
band like the repertoire that you have
chosen, otherwise they may not put in much
effort.
Repertoire
If you sign up to a school band, for instance for a
production, then you should have a knowledge of that
production to judge whether the music would engage
you.
 At my local choir, every year we are allowed to vote
what repertoire we wish to sing over the upcoming year,
every member of the choir is given a vote and we can
either agree with someone else’s findings or find other
repertoire to suggest- this will all be considered.
Examples
Of the band:
Strengths: organised, cooperative, imaginative +
inventive, equality, a strong will, best intentions for
the band, friendship, aims + ambitions,
determination.
 Weaknesses: unorganised, uninterested, very
mainstream, biased status of members,
uninspired, factions + alliances, dis- functional.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Of the rehearsals:
Strengths: set targets for the rehearsal are
achieved, each band member knows the music,
focussed session, members on time= Great music
Weaknesses: targets are not set previous to a
rehearsal and therefore nothing is achieved, band
members have not worked separately on the music,
discordant atmosphere, laid- back approach to the
rehearsal (lateness, distractions etc.)= Random
sound
Strengths & Weaknesses