The Impact of Band Directors' Teaching Experience Level on the Use of Selected Rehearsal Behaviors

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine whether differences exist between expert and novice band directors on the frequencies of selected rehearsal behaviors used to address identified performance targets, those musical elements and other aspects of performance in need of change. Participants included 12 high school and middle school band directors; three directors at each teaching level were expert and three were novice teachers. Rehearsals were video recorded and rehearsal frames with multiple performance trials were analyzed for performance targets and rehearsal behaviors. Results indicated that a difference did exist between expert and novice teachers on the performance targets identified and the rehearsal behaviors used to address those targets. Specifically, expert teachers were found to identify intonation/tone targets more and ask fewer questions than novice teachers.