In our distracted age, an intense music rehearsal is a perfect cure.
Children…teenagers…adults: we all need practice at ignoring distractions and being fully present. Meditation is one solution often offered.
To be effective in rehearsal, you must be fiercely in the present, focused on what is immediately ahead of you. Giving it 50% or even 75% will lead to errors, every time. Even when you aren’t singing or playing, there are responsibilities and your focus in those moments can have profound impacts. When students begin a year, their focus muscles are weak and they are so easily distracted. It is a skill in need of attention.
As a conductor, you are the leader of this focus. Beyond the actual notes of music, the skill you are most consistently teaching is focus. Think of yourself as a guru, guiding meditation students. Think of your rehearsal as a sensory-deprivation tank. Think of the music as the elusive present that you can guide your students into.
Our students should leave a year of music class with new musical skills, of course. But beyond them, they should leave with new skills of mental focus. New muscles to flex that equip them to be fully present more often in their lives.