If you're bored in orchestra, it's your own fault.

Once near the end of the school year, I had a request from a parent for a meeting. Jacob, a 7th-grade student, was a hard worker, had a high level of ability, and was a violist to boot. He was also a gifted jazz guitarist, and I was worried the purpose of the meeting was to tell me that Jacob was going to drop orchestra in 8th-grade to focus on jazz guitar.
 
I was surprised and hopeful when Jacob and his mom explained how bored he was in the 7th-grade orchestra and wondered if there was any possibility that the following year's 8th-grade orchestra would be more worthwhile. That's when I explained, "If you're bored in orchestra, it's your own fault."
 
Don't tell my students, but I didn't practice much in middle and high school. (I later put in long, long hours in graduate school to make up for that mistake.) The one thing I did have going for me during my school years is that I spent my time in class wisely. I liked to come up with challenges for myself to provide motivation and to stave off boredom. There were times I challenged myself to play a whole section with first finger, and I spent an entire school year in orchestra focusing on finally, finally getting a vibrato on my skinny fourth finger.
 
Even as a professional, I had one of those light bulb moments playing waltzes. As a violist, I will forever have the "chuck-chucks," and at that moment I was drowning in boredom, frustration, and even physical pain. The light bulb flashed, and I realized I should be working on precise articulations. Once I started focusing on those articulations, it became a huge challenge to create perfect and matched articulations for every "chuck." I also focused on bow angle, sound point, bow placement and added an extra challenge of shifting a lot. This new mindset threw me into a different mental and physical space.
 
In my years before public school teaching, I had a full-time violin and viola studio. My students were typically much more advanced than their same-grade friends but were required to be in their school orchestra to participate in youth symphonies and honor orchestras. You may agree or disagree with this type of policy, but I found my private students benefited in many ways from being in their school orchestra. I loved that my private students were making lifetime friends with school students who also played a string instrument. Additionally, I know that the ensemble skills learned in a public school setting are difficult to reproduce consistently in small-group or private lessons. I noticed my students who didn't have a school orchestra had more challenges in ensembles than my students who did have a school orchestra. For my students who needed a challenge, I helped them find ways to self-challenge and made sure they never said they were bored in orchestra.
 
For my current school students, as I once did for my private students, I encourage them to multiple ways to self-challenge. If they are bored in orchestra, what can they think about or do to support their progress?
 
Here is one example. Let's focus on bow distribution and how different levels of students could approach self-challenge. A beginning student could concentrate on being in the right part of the bow with a good bow position. An intermediate student could practice using more bow when needed, matching the section leader, and noticing the contact point in relation to the dynamic. An advanced student could plan ahead with bow distribution making sure they were in the correct spot on the bow at the beginning and end of each note while focusing on tone production and articulation. Certainly, there are many more details regarding bow distribution that could be added on a student-by-student or class-by-class basis.
 

 
Copy permission download and use with your students.
if_youre_bored_in_orchestra_its_your_own_fault_chart.pdf
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Private teachers can give their students tools to self-challenge in school orchestra by helping students identify a technique in their solo literature and relate it to their school music. For example, if a student has a problematic string skip in a Vivaldi concerto, have the student identify all of the string skips in their school music and then review the appropriate technique. If they have orchestra class several times a week, they will practice that technique many more times and be less bored in orchestra.
 
Public school teachers can give the next steps to accelerated students to use in class. What is the next step for shifting? What is the next step for vibrato? Best of all, ask the student to make a shortlist of techniques and skills they can improve during rehearsal.

​Thinking through self-challenge can be a great classroom or private lesson exercise. Students can address topics through casual discussion or create more formal lists of targeted techniques. I have created a one-page chart that addresses various techniques and approaches for beginners through advanced students. You are welcome to download this chart.  Look above for "Download File". I encourage you and your students to create your own document to work with students' levels in your classroom or studio.
 
The great news is Jacob continued into 8th-grade orchestra and, while he still focused on jazz guitar, he was an enthusiastic orchestra member. Jacob was always ready to challenge himself, he became a leader, and he became a positive force in our classroom.
 
The benefits for the students are obvious. The benefits for the teachers are many: students are more engaged; students complain less; orchestra programs experience less attrition; self-challenge applies to all ability levels; and, finally, it gives you the ultimate comeback - "If you're bored in orchestra, it's your own fault."