My oboe teacher had this pinned up in the classroom today (I have freely translated from the French)

Ten Golden Rules for Ensemble Playing

1) Make sure everyone is playing the same piece of music before you start.

2) Tune carefully before you start. (Then you can play out of tune throughout the rehearsal with a clear conscience).

3) If you realise you have played a wrong note, immediately give your neighbour a filthy stare.

4) A wrong note played timidly is a wrong note. A wrong note played with conviction is a personal interpretation.

5) Remember to speed up in the easy parts and to slow down in the difficult parts. (All your friends will be doing the same).

6) Don't waste your energy counting rests. Wait for your neighbour to come in and do what he does. (It logically follows from this that any mistakes must always be his fault. Don't be afraid to blame him loudly).

7) If the conductor stops everyone because you have played a wrong note, immediately complain loudly about the awful playing of another section. (The conductor will have to put all his energy into silencing their denials and by the time he has restored order, he will have forgotten why he stopped).

8) When everybody else stops playing at the end of a piece, don't waste your energy playing the remainaing notes.

9) When you have managed to play every note differently from those on the page, you can be proud of yourself - you have created an original work.

10) Remember at all times that rehearsals should be the highlight of your social week. Use the time when you are not playing to talk to your friends and to catch up on all their news. (Always bear in mind that the longer people take to find the right place to start and the more often the conductor has to stop because of wrong notes, the more time you will have to talk).

Hmm, yeah, I think I follow those rules in general. Especially about not counting rests! And talking to my friends. And the "give your neighbour a filthy stare when you play a wrong note" one...

Yeah me too he he

Brilliant!

I've heard rule 1 broken before on more than one occasion....

Great post, kerioboe!

Our school band summed up perfectly

Love it!

hmmm... does number 6 remind you of anything CE?

I follow all those rules - my teacher told me the one about giving your neighbour a dirty look when you play a wrong note!

Oh, when get to a repeat stop and discuss with your ensemble whether to take it or not - the audience will love this!

Heehee, i've seen these before. There's a website containing these, and rules for brass players and flautists. We managed to put as many of them into action as possible at our last school concert (me and one mate play flute, and another mate plays french horn). The best one was something along the lines of: "Put a jellybean into your flute, close all the keys, and BLOW!!" That was funny. There was also the one that my music teacher decided to try and ended up getting a piccolo stuck to her tongue. Hehe!!

Stopping when you get to a repeat (especially on a page turn) is great We did it in a concert couple of weeks ago...

that's great!!!!

Very good!

Car Expert

These are awsome!!!! If you realise you have played a wrong note, immediately give your neighbour a filthy stare. I love that one. My clarinet teacher told me that before, I use to do it all the times but now I don't do it anymore coz now my neighbour's a hot German guy.