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Raise the stands! Seen it a zillion times. The music stands need to be set high enough that the conductor's upper body is visible just above the top edge of the music. That way they can read the music AND receive visual input from the conductor simultaneously. The problem with having to "look up" is then you get lost when you look down again.

A suggestion for an exercise: Select a short passage of music of say four bars that involve everyone and has room for some conducting work in terms of dynamic or tempo changes. Go through it until everyone can play it without looking at the music. Then have everyone look at you, while playing that passage over and over again. Each time you do something ...

The best way I've seen conductors solve this problem is by "changing it up" with their conducting. I've played in bands for a long time, and I've found nothing more effective. For example. In the middle of a piece, change the tempo. When a small percentage of the students actually catch what you're doing, they'll follow you. The others, when hearing that ...

I think that every piece of music deserves the best possible method of being prepared in a such a way that both the musicians and audience have a pleasing experience. Preparation includes time, rehearsal, and every member stepping up to meet the challenge including the conductor's interpretation so that the entire group is a part of the solution. If your ...

Ideally when warming up with a large ensemble, it shouldn't be your first warmup of the day - regardless of what instrument you play. Take a half-hour or so a few hours before your rehearsal and do a nice, solid warmup. When you meet the group for rehearsal, you'll just need a minute or so to get things moving again. For that, you could pat rudiments on ...

There is also an app for that: BandFriend. It's a free app for both iPhone (iOS) and Android phones for connecting local musicians. App Store: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id510681565?mt=8 Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.touchbee.bandfriend

It takes more time and effort, but seeing your potential future bandmates in action is the best way. It means that you may have to go to the venues that these folks play in, and I don't know if you're old enough to get into some of these places. If you are old enough, try not to get sucked in by the drink-your-face-off-at-the-open-mic scenario. You can see ...

In every area the best ways to find bandmates include: Adverts in music papers Adverts in music shops Sure, there are many more genres of music than just the one you want to play, so you have to filter out by either looking at wording in the adverts, or placing your own adverts describing exactly what you want to play. Hang out at music shops or ...

Excellent question. The problem is most likely that once looking up, the kids have trouble quickly finding the spot where they were. So they are afraid to get lost. As with most things in music: "practice makes perfect:". Suggestions: Go through the score with them. Put "look up" markers and "come back" markers into the score. These could maybe be a bar or ...

Chapeau to the directors you encountered. I can only speak for orchestras, but there I've seen more than once the over-ambitious director, frequently choosing pieces, which were (at least one level) too difficult. It's always a tight line to find, but the danger of musicians stumbling through a piece completely absorbing all concentration, so that none ...