How to Seat a Concert Band

Seat your band to best serve the music.

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Each conductor has his own preference when seating a concert band, and musicians must be prepared to acclimate frequently to new arrangements. As you decide how to seat your band, consider sound balance, visual interest and the particular demands of each piece. Don't be afraid to have your musicians move around between pieces -- seat the band to best display each piece of music. Traditionally, instruments are seated in sections, with all the flutes together, all the clarinets together and so forth; however, you can bend this rule if another system serves your ensemble.

Related Searches:Difficulty:Moderately ChallengingInstructions 1

Put quieter instruments in the front and louder instruments in the back. This ensures that the audience can hear the quieter voices. The exception to this rule is when a typically louder instrument is the solo voice; if your first trombone has an evocative solo, put him in front for that piece.

2

Experiment with varying the distance between players during rehearsal. Determine whether your ensemble functions better when they are seated close together and can hear each other better, or whether they need to be able to hear their own instruments more clearly.

3

Move your section leaders to the inside of the group, then to the outside. Test which configuration works best for your band. According to Paul Fergus of the National Association for Music Education, having them in the center encourages communication between band members, while having them on the outside encourages active listening.

4

Watch your ensemble and see which instruments are the most visually interesting to an audience. If it will not cause the sound to suffer, put those instruments in the front or on the outside, where the audience can see them more clearly. According to Kenneth Amis, assistant conductor of MIT's wind ensemble, audiences understand music better and respond to it more strongly when they can see it as well as hear it.

5

Seat instruments that can create an overwhelming amount of sound, such as the timpani or tuba, near the middle of the band. This helps prevent balance problems.

6

Adjust your seating arrangements until you find the ones that display your ensemble and its music to their finest. Experiment until you are fully satisfied.

Tips & Warnings

If you have instrumentalists move between pieces, make sure you know where your musicians are in each piece.

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ReferencesAmis Musical Circle: Musical ChairsNational Association for Music Education: Concert Band Set-UpPhoto Credit Ablestock.com/AbleStock.com/Getty ImagesRead Next:

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