The Music Ensemble/Sports Team analogy

I have two sons who are active Little League players - actually only one now, since my older son has aged out of the league. Both are also very active musicians. Sometimes I'll talk with parents who will make comparisons between team sports and music ensemble experiences. I'll often hear a music rehearsal (or class) compared to a sports team practice, an analogy that doesn't hold up for me. I think of it a little differently. Here are some comparisons, with the sports team concept first, followed by the music ensemble concept.

manager/coach=conductor/instructor (easy enough)

player (athlete)=player (musician) (as easy as it gets)

team practice=practicing instrument/music at home (I'll explain some of these more at the end)

regular season game=music ensemble rehearsal/class

playoff game=performance/concert

You may be asking: "Why isn't a rehearsal analogous to a practice and a performance analogous to a game?" Well, in most youth sports programs there are many games that lead up to some form of championship series. In most leagues, such a Little League, regular season games are all about equal playing time (as much as is possible) and learning the game. Team records in Little League are cleared at the beginning of the playoffs - all teams begin the post-season on equal footing. Only in the playoffs do wins and losses determine rank in the league.

In a music ensemble, there tend to be far fewer performances than games in a sports season. In fact, in most American educational ensembles (not just PMAC, but public schools and other music opportunities) there tends to be only one or two performances at the end of a long series of rehearsals. The same weight is put on such performances as is put on sports playoff games. Performances, like playoff games, are taken very seriously, even though the point (like in sports) is to experience the thrill and joy of participation in such an event. Good Little League programs are able to balance fun with the gravity of a playoff game, and good music programs are able to balance fun with the gravity of live performance in front of an audience.

Regular season games are very important. Each season I see my sons' teams improve vastly, especially in the area of defense (which is the aspect of baseball that requires the most team interaction), over the course of the regular season. It is the regular season games that provide the educational atmosphere that make compelling and well-played playoff games possible.

A baseball game can't be played without all 9 fielders, and some pitching and fielding relief in the dugout. Basically, a team plays at its best when everyone is present. The same holds true for music ensembles. Whether an orchestra, rock band or sax quartet, all ensembles play their best when everyone is present. In a music ensemble, the need for all members to be present and playing is analogous to a team's need for all players at a regular season game.

In sports teams, practices are opportunities isolate fundamentals and work on drills. I see this as analogous to practicing one's part at home or in private lessons with a teacher. Just as a sports team can't run onto the field and play a game without practicing drills and learning rules in practice, a music ensemble can't play pieces of music in a rehearsal without the players practicing and learning their parts independently. Just as baseball players will practice fielding ground balls during drills at their team practice, music students should be practicing isolated passages from their music in independent practice sessions and lessons. Yes, the first several rehearsals are spent putting isolated parts of music together, but in most music ensembles entire pieces are being played after the first couple rehearsals (if not from the very first rehearsal). And once the musical group starts playing full pieces in rehearsal, independent practice does not stop, but rather continues to be an important part of the preparation cycle.

As with all analogies, these comparisons are not iron-clad definitions. I present them purely to demonstrate expectation similarities. Similar to sports, each player in a music ensemble plays a specific, unique role. And as such, each player is as indispensable to their ensemble as a player is to his team.

In rehearsals, much like sports games, the absence of players creates challenges that are sometimes impossible to overcome. When there aren't enough players to field, games are forfeited, and teams miss the opportunity to prepare for the playoffs. When playing in an ensemble, the same level of commitment is expected of a musician as is expected of an athlete on a sports team. And when student musicians rise to the occasion, remarkable things happen. That is why a spectacular music performance can often give audiences the same feelings of excitement and joy that sports fans experience during a playoff win.