Four Common Problems When Preparing an Ensemble for Contest

balance blend concerts contest rehearsal tips tuning volume Feb 01, 2025

Estimated Read Time: 5-7 minutes

By Rob Chilton

Many ensembles are gearing up for concerts and contests–many including adjudication. The added pressure of judges and ratings can increase stress as we strive for musical precision. Sometimes, things just don’t sound right, even when the notes and rhythms are correct. In these moments, it can be hard to know what to say that will produce the best results. In both my own ensembles and those I’ve worked with, I’ve identified a handful of broad problems, four of which I’ll discuss, along with some quick fixes that often yield remarkable improvements!

#1: Volume

When volume is an issue, it’s rarely that an ensemble is too soft. It’s almost always that they’re too loud. There are many potential reasons for this, but I believe two common ones are (1) our students are trying to hear themselves and end up competing with their neighbors to be heard, or (2) as directors, we encourage our students to play more confidently in the early stages of learning literature, which inadvertently leads to loudness.

Whatever the cause, we can easily miss when our students have begun overplaying because either (a) the ensemble has always been loud or (b) the increase in volume was so gradual that our ears adjusted without us realizing it. So here’s a simple suggestion: try asking your ensemble to play everything one dynamic level softer and see how it affects their overall sound. Or, if they respond better to numbers, ask them to play 20% softer. While this won’t fix everything, I have found it consistently helpful in creating a calmer sound.

Bonus Tip: For concert bands and full orchestras, check your percussion. Bass drum, timpani, and low toms are often overplayed, and their low frequencies make it hard to detect when they’re the source of excess noise.

#2: Balance

Another issue is the balance of musical lines. Specifically, melody versus non-melody. Students struggle with this for many reasons, a few of which are worth considering:

The melody is often written for a small number of players. For example, in a 60-piece concert band, the melody in a passage might be written for just the clarinet and horn–a total of approximately 15 players, or 25% of the ensemble. The remaining 45 players, or 75% of the ensemble, have non-melodic lines that, given their numbers, easily drown out the melody.
Another challenge lies in the written dynamics. It’s common for the same marking to be given to all instruments in a passage, regardless of their role, because dynamics are not written for the player, but for the desired volume to be experienced by the audience. For example, consider a forte written for all in the first strain of a march. The intent is an overall forte to the audience, but if all players follow this marking equally—especially when only 15 have the melody and 45 have non-melodic parts—the melody is easily overpowered, leading to excessive volume and noise. To achieve balance, non-melodic lines often need to play softer than their written dynamic, which can confuse young players who interpret dynamics literally.
Also consider that there are rarely markings in the music indicating who carries the melody, and young students often lack the experience to determine who has it and need guidance recognizing it and adjusting accordingly.

So, what can we do?

Pick a passage of music and identify the melody for the students.
Ask the melody to play by themselves at the desired dynamic. Then, layer in the non-melodic lines at a volume that is softer than the melody.
Adjust the volume of the various non-melodic lines until you find your optimal balance.
Once balance is achieved, ask your students to record a new dynamic next to the written dynamic indicating what volume they should actually play.

Bonus Tip: Instead of increasing the melody, try reducing the non-melodic lines. I discovered years ago that by constantly asking my students to bring out various lines and motifs, I was inadvertently making my ensemble noisier.

#3: Blend

The type of blending I find most effective for quick results is player-to-player blending. I achieve this by asking my students to “match their trio.” Their "trio" is composed of themselves and the persons sitting on their immediate left and right. For those on the end of the row, I often tell them they are either (a) just a duo or (b) that they can listen to the person on the end of the row behind them to form a trio.

Once this concept of the trio is established, ask the ensemble to play a passage while focusing on playing the exact same volume as the person on their left and right. This strategy is effective because it simplifies blending. Rather than trying to match dozens of players, they focus on just two; and if everyone does this, then the entire ensemble will be evenly matched.

Bonus Tip: In addition to volume, we can ask students to match tone, articulation, and pitch as their skills develop.

Check out our music literacy method!

#4: Tuning

Consider this: A half step is equal to 100 cents. In an ensemble where the flattest player averages -15 cents and the sharpest player is +35 cents, the pitch spread is 50 cents. In effect, that ensemble is playing in quarter tones. This can make even the most prepared ensembles sound off.

You might be wondering: How could anyone tolerate listening to quarter tones–or worse? Just as we can grow accustomed to increased volume, our ears also adjust to consistent and growing pitch spread. Anyone who has taught beginners can attest to this! To address this issue, regularly check instrument lengths. I’m often shocked by how much difference pushing or pulling a few slides can make!

Bonus Tip: While students can learn to tune their instruments themselves, I recommend teachers still perform regular checks. An easy way to do this is with a rotation like the one below:

Heads Up: Sometimes Things Sound Worse Before They Sound Better

With all of these, sometimes things sound worse before they sound better. This is especially true when adjusting melodic balance. Here are a few reasons for this:

Reducing noise by adjusting volume, balance, and blend will often reveal errors that were always present but previously difficult to hear.
Or, the students are diverting mental bandwidth to the new task, reducing the amount used on learned execution and leading to new errors.
Or, the students are often out of their comfort zone, reducing confidence and resulting in insufficient effort.
And finally, our ears, as directors, have acclimated to the way things were and we’ve grown comfortable, or even begun to prefer, the way it previously sounded.

Whenever trying something new, give it time (and reps!) before determining if it’s working or not.

Best wishes for a wonderful performance at your upcoming concert or contest!

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About the author:

Rob Chilton is the creator and owner of Readymade Music, LLC and its content. Previously, Chilton was a middle school band director from 2007-2021. His most recent teaching position was the Head Band Director at Killian Middle School in Lewisville, Texas from 2014-2021.

Under his direction, the Killian Honors Band was named the 2018 Texas Music Educators Association CC Honor Band and performed at the annual 2018 TMEA Clinic/Convention. In 2019, the Killian Honors Band was invited to and performed at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago. Additionally, the Killian Honors Band was named a National Winner in the Mark of Excellence National Wind Band Honors Project in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

Chilton is a graduate of Southern Methodist University where he had the opportunity to study music education under the tutelage of Lynne Jackson and Brian Merrill. During his years as a middle school band director, Chilton continued his professional growth under the guidance of his primary clinicians, John Benzer and Brian Merrill.