Developing Musical Expression in Instrumental Ensembles

Musical expression is often not explicitly addressed in secondary instrumental rehearsals due to the perception of expression as an obscure concept and the instructional time constraints on music educators. Secondary music educators, however, are encouraged to discuss expressive performance goals with instrumental students from the beginning of formal instruction. The three most common methods of teaching expression in music include metaphor, aural modeling, and explicit instruction regarding instrumental techniques. With the use of plainly stated performance goals, music educators can help clarify the concept of and expectations for expressivity for instrumental students.