Music On The Blog

A couple of years ago, I was working with one of my cello students who had become first chair in her school orchestra. The subject of “what it really means to be first chair” was something that we spoke about many times.

Chair Test Auditions

Many of the orchestra and band directors in my local area have weekly, or bi-weekly chair tests. These auditions encourage them to practice, since everyone wants to move up in seating position.

Playing The Solo Parts

The most important reason that students want to be first chair is that they want to be the soloist, should there be a solo part for their section. As these students grow older and get to be more experienced, they will start to find that there is more to being a first chair “principal” musician.

Responsibility For Others In The Section

As a student progresses into more advanced orchestras and bands, they’ll usually find that being first chair means that they are increasingly becoming responsible for how their section plays. It is normally understood that the conductor is the one that creates the overall sound for the orchestra, but a lot of the detailed information on how a part should be played is generally worked out through the principal instrumentalist. When sectionals are held, the principal instrumentalist (or section leader) is, many times, the one that will hold the session and work out issues that anyone in the section has.

Being A Leader

When students start out playing in beginning band and/or orchestra, they become familiar with the “am I right?” syndrome. They start to listen to one another and try to figure out what’s going on. If no-one sets an example as a leader, the section usually starts to get lost even when the conductor is focusing on that group. At times, one student will be playing in one place, another one will be somewhere completely different and others will just be sitting there having no idea where they are supposed to be. This is the time for the students that have the most confidence in themselves and their training shine, and usually end up becoming first chair.

Benefits Of Private Lessons

Usually, the students that take private lessons outside the school, are the ones that forge ahead, become the leaders and therefore first chair. The main reason for this is not that they normally play better than the surrounding students who don’t take any private lessons, but that they gain enormous amounts of confidence when working with a professional musician and therefore become the natural leader of the section. When everyone in a section is taking private lessons, than things really get competitive and the students try even harder! These are usually the students that get into the regional honor bands and orchestras, and then move on to the extremely competitive all-state groups.

About the Author

Jerry has taught music professionally for 17 years. He is also a concert piano tuner in Houston, Tx.

Aside from his music, Jerry enjoys working with websites designed to help consumers find what they are searching for online. His latest site will help you find a convection toaster oven.

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Happy Beat Making!

Will Connor Percussionist, Ethnomusicologist, and Music Ph.D. Candidate London, England and Honolulu, Hawai`i

About the Author

Connor grew up in S.C. watching kung fu & rubber monster movies & reading Gothic literature. After getting a degree in Acoustics/Music, he played drums w/ many goth, jazz, punk, art rock, & noise bands. He studied Tlignit drums in AK & played Asian percussion, studied Tibetan instruments, & got an Ethnomusicology MA in HI. Connor has travelled to over 25 countries to play/study music. He lives in London playing music & working on his music Ph.D.