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Band Sectionals: you can make them work for you!
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I have known many band directors that struggle with the issue of rehearsal and practice time with their beginning and Junior High students. Cramped and cut back schedules exacerbate the problem by taking time away from both the student and the director. Note, this is not just a Band director problem, Choir directors can also have this problem.
I have witnessed and experienced several different ways to combat these problems. One solution that I fancy the most is referred to as the Rotating Sectional Schedule.
ALL the school districts I have seen use this model come out victorious in just a few years time. The one catch is that your administration needs to be supportive of the students being pulled out of class to go to band sectionals. The plus side of the rotating schedule is that they only get pulled out of the same class once every month or so. It all depends on how many hours you pull out for sectionals. If you have four hours a day of sectionals, then the students will get pulled out of the same class once every four weeks.
Below is a model of the rotating sectional schedule.
- This school district had the High school band director at the High school in the morning and then traveled to the Junior High after rehearsal (during plan period) for the 7th and 8th grade sectionals and band rehearsal.
- The High School Choir Director started the day at the Junior High and then traveled to the High school (during plan period) for the rest of the day.
- The Sixth grade choir director and the 6th grade band director is the same person. The Sixth grade director starts at the Junior High in the morning, then travels (during plan period) to an Elementary school each day to do sectionals for beginning band, then travels back ( at 1:45) to the Junior High for 6th grade band rehearsal. Every Friday she stays at the Junior High all day for 6th grade band sectionals.
I wrote the daily actions once in bold on Monday so you could see what they do on a daily basis. I did not write them everyday. This schedule is used to show the rotating sectional schedule.
Monday
7:40am-9:05am: High school Band rehearsal (daily)
8:30-9:15: 7th and 8th grade chorus rehearsal (daily)
8:30-9:15: 6th grade chorus (daily)
9:15-10:30: plan (daily)
10:33-11:15: 8th grade flutes and oboe (group 8A)
11:18-12:00: 8th grade clarinets (group 8B)
12:03- 12:45: Lunch
12:48-1:30: 8th grade Alto Sax and F Horn (group 8C)
1:33-2:15: 8th grade trumpets (group 8D)
2:18-3:00: 7th and 8th grade band rehearsal (daily)
2:18-3:00: 6th grade band rehearsal (daily)
Tuesday
10:33-11:15: 8th grade low brass/low woodwind (tuba, trombone, tenor sax, bari sax, baritone) (group 8E)
11:18-12:00: 8th grade percussion (group 8F)
12:03- 12:45: Lunch
12:48-1:30: 7th grade Flutes and oboe (group 7A)
1:33-2:15: 7th grade clarinets (group 7B)
Wednesday
10:33-11:15: 7th grade alto sax and f horn (group 7C)
11:18-12:00: 7th grade trumpets (group 7D)
12:03- 12:45: Lunch
12:48-1:30: 7th grade low brass/ low wood wind(tuba, trombone, tenor sax, bari sax, baritone) (group 7E)
1:33-2:15: 7th grade percussion (group 7F)
Thursday
10:33-11:15: 6th grade flutes (group 6A)
11:18-12:00: 6th grade clarinets (group 6B)
12:03- 12:45: Lunch
12:48-1:30: 6th grade alto sax (group 6C)
1:33-2:15: 6th grade trumpet and f horn (group 6D)
Friday
10:33-11:15: 6th grade low brass (baritone, trombone) (group 6E)
11:18-12:00: 6th grade percussion (group 6F)
12:03- 12:45: Lunch
12:48-1:30: make-up sectionals
1:33-2:15: make-up sectionals
Every group of instruments, or time slot, is given a grade level and a letter to categorize them (7D, for example, is the 7th grade trumpet time slot). It is easier to rewrite the schedule for the rotation this way. Once you have the first week, you start the rotation. The next week everything will shift down one period WITHIN THAT DAY:
Monday
8B
8C
lunch
8D
8A
Tuesday
8F
7A
lunch
7B
8E
Wednesday
7D
7E
lunch
7F
7C
Thursday
6B
6C
lunch
6D
6A
Friday
6F
make-up
lunch
make-up
6E
Keep rotating the sectionals within their day. Only every four weeks will the students get pulled out of the same class. However many periods of sectionals you have a day will dictate how many weeks it will take to make a full rotation through the sectionals.
Students will remember when they have sectionals since they will ALWAYS have sectionals on the same day of the week, they just have it on a different hour.
To remind the students of what hour their sectionals are, post a schedule at the beginning of the week (or end of the prior week) in places they will see on a regular basis: near lockers, next to stair wells, next to the lunch menu, on the band room door, on the school website, etc... The teachers can receive a copy to help them remember who will be leaving their class and when.
If you wanted, you could also add a fifth hour of sectionals a day and make more room for make-up sectionals.
The make-up sectionals can also be used for extra/special rehearsals with a specific group of students. For instance: percussion ensemble, hand bell choir, smaller wind ensemble groups, solo and ensemble rehearsals, jazz band rehearsals, etc...The sky’s the limit!
Every school I see that uses a schedule like this is able to establish an organized music department with strong fundamentals. The students understand more about what they are doing and they feel more confident about playing during rehearsals. Rehearsals are more focused since students get a chance to ask all the questions necessary during sectionals. This, in the long run, will encourage students to stay in band and the music department will grow and thrive!
STAY TUNED!
Next article: How to grade band students using the rotating sectionals and how to adapt and enrich their music education during sectionals. This article will give you insight into how you can make a band grade worth while to the students and show your administration how you are teaching the state standards and reaching each student individually!
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