I said in rehearsal, “I want to sight read just the first four bars today.”
We ended up getting through the first 16 bars, and everyone left pleased with their effectiveness. I can’t say that was my plan, but I will say that setting goals that you can beat can be a great morale booster.
There’s a risk in going too far in this direction – setting a goal so small that the ensemble thinks that the piece is impossibly difficult, resulting in them deciding they can’t do it before they tried.
But as an overall strategy, giving your ensemble a goal you know they can reach, especially when they don’t know that, is an effective way to encourage growth and achievement.