I begin advanced classes with a review of the fundamentals and exercises in Units 1 and 2. Depending on the time allotted to the class, I may revisit some of the pieces from the first semester by way of review.
If pickups and fermatas were not covered in the beginning class, I work on this unit immediately following the review round. See the paragraph in the beginning section for details.
My next unit is subdivision. I follow the procedures outlined in Unit 4, Divided and Changing Meters, spending time on the exercises in the unit followed by the Mozart “Romanze” (taken in 6), “Banks O’ Doon” (in 6), and the Jacob “Pavane” (in 8). Subdividing 3 and 4 symmetrically into 6 and 8 respectively then leads to conducting in slow 5’s and 6’s. After a round of subdivision then, we go directly into a round of 5’s and 6’s using “Horkstow Grange” and “Promendade” from Pictures. Time permitting, I may add a round of 5’s alone, using “Mars” and “Symphonic Dance No. 3.”
Unit 5, Asymmetrical Meters, follows. I try to spend as much time as I can working on the exercises at the beginning of Unit 4 before working on the excerpts. I like to use “Aegean Festival” and “Sinfonia India.” If the lab ensemble is a good one, I add “Rufford Park” to the list of choices. Important—if I have not introduced conducting “in one” before this time, I work on that BEFORE fast 5’s and 7’s. The skills learned in conducting fast 3-4 are very helpful when learning how to “stay away from the beat” in the “long” beats of 5/8 and 7/8.
I spend time in the advanced classes working on score study and analysis using Unit 8. I also use parts of Bob Garofalo’s “Guide to Score Study for the Wind Band Conductor.” Students have several “flow chart” and analysis projects due throughout the semester.
I close the advanced semester just as I do the beginning class, by giving the students a variety of choices of pieces to work on expressive technique, left hand independence and to some extent, rehearsal techniques. It is at this time that I address the topics in Unit 7, Changing Dynamics and Tempo. Depending on how much time I allot to each student, I may include the longer “full version” pieces among their choices: movements from the Holst Suites, Original Suite, Candide (for advanced conductors and better playing lab ensembles), and “Seventeen Come Sunday.” If time only permits shorter pieces or I want to stay away from harder to play pieces, then I let students choose from “Sussex Mummers,” “Enigma Variations,” “Rhosymedre,” “Sea Songs,” and “Trauersinfonie.”