Sometimes, when my ensemble is having trouble with a spot, I say, “and now…a pause for literacy.” Actually, I usually say music theory, but music literacy is s friendlier and more accurate term.
Sometimes a problem spot is a problem spot because there is some structural component that the ensemble members cannot intuitively understand. Take the time to break it down, so they understand it, and then they can process – and perform – the spot accurately.
Some complex sentences cannot be read aloud until you’ve at least semi-diagrammed it, so you know the structure and how the clauses fit together. In the same way, some music will never really work until each person understands how their part works.
A few of my students look at me like I have two heads when I pause singing for a 5-minute literacy lesson. But inevitably, if they don’t tune out, they are singing better at the end of the five minutes, even though they stopped singing.