The At/Over/Under Programming System

Ask any seasoned director about the piece they wish they didn’t program, and you’ll see them instantly relive one of the most stressful career moments of their lives. They might say something like:

• “Well, we started together and ended together. I’m just not sure what happened in between.”
• “Ah yes, that piece. Great piece. I just didn’t have the group for it.”
• “Why are you ruining my lunch? Please leave and never bring that piece up ever again.”

Programming for your ensemble is difficult. Ensembles change each year, and the music selections continue to grow. We consider additional variables such as strong and weak sections, rehearsal time and endurance. And that’s not even mentioning how the audience may react to our program!

Of course, we must speak about learning and growth. If you only select pieces at the grade level your kids are currently playing at, they may never get better. However, if you exclusively play music that’s too difficult, your ensemble will become frustrated, and they just won’t sound good. If the music’s too easy? Kids get bored and they get way too creative, and now you’re addressing behavioral issues you never dreamed about.

The next time you program, consider the At/Over/Under System. This is an approach that will meet your kids where they are, make them feel like pros and stretch their abilities just enough to make them feel accomplished.

The core of this system is you program one piece at their grade level, one piece above their current grade level and one piece under what they can handle. Here’s how it works. For our purposes, we will use a band that primarily plays at a grade 2 level.

Programming At Grade Level

This is exactly what it sounds like — if your band is playing at grade 2, find a grade 2 piece that fits them well. This could be the main feature of your program, or it could simply be just one of the pieces you program. Make sure it fits your ensemble well, the students react to it and you enjoy teaching it.

Programming Above Grade Level

Next, find a piece above their grade level. For younger bands, I would go up a half grade level — in this example, look for a grade 2.5 or a medium easy piece, depending on how the publisher categorizes them. With all grade levels, take special care to really research the piece. One publisher’s grade 2 may be another publisher’s grade 3.

Look for elements that will push your students a little bit but not shove them into a musical wall. For example, if your trumpet players have a range from low C to A, the piece should have them playing a few Bs and Cs — just not the whole time. Take a similar approach to rhythms and find a piece with a few more syncopated sections or challenging rhythms than the grade 2 piece.

Another thing to consider is how many aspects to work on with your students. It’s OK to select a piece that only pushes one musical element. Maybe it’s a new time signature but the range is the same. Or maybe the range is higher, but the rhythms are easier than the grade 2 piece. That’s OK! There is nothing wrong with taking things slowly (unless you program a march — kidding, kind of).

You’ll know you’ve selected a piece that hits when students begin playing this in their warm-ups or at the end of rehearsal.

Programming Below Grade Level

Now why would anyone program something easier than the kids can already play? Because this is how you can help bring students to the next level. Chances are, even if you have a grade 2 band, not all your students are at grade 2 individually. The grade 1 or 1.5 piece gives these students at least one piece in the concert cycle that they can play confidently. A band playing a piece at their grade level may be playing to their limit; they can sound great, but a few students may be in fight or flight mode just trying to get to the end of the piece.

Performing a grade or half grade below lets you dive into other musical concepts right away —you know, the fun ones like balance, intonation, and expression. You don’t have to fight as many notes and rhythms, and you can go right into working on that crescendo and phrase from rehearsal one. You can even go into some score study/harmonic analysis with the kids (sorry for causing PTSD for any director who thought they’d never have to hear those dreaded words again).

A below grade level piece can also provide other opportunities. Performing a solo can be nerve-wracking because all kids focus on is just getting through it! Why not make it more accessible for their first exposed musical performance? For my ensemble, we go another step up and have students conduct these pieces. This instantly brings the focus up. Many of my students become excited about the possibility of conducting the band someday. An easier piece presents an appropriate but comfortable approach to what could be a stressful situation.

Structuring Your Rehearsal Time

The added benefit of the At/Over/Under System is that you can adjust your rehearsal time based on the difficulty of the piece. When you program pieces that are at the same grade level, you may be tempted to give them equal amounts of rehearsal time. You can still do this by programming varying levels, but now you can focus on different aspects, such as intonation in the under-grade level piece as mentioned above.

You can also adjust. There are times where I used about 30% of our rehearsal time for the piece at-grade level, 40% on the above-grade level piece and 20% on the under-grade level piece. We spend the remaining 10% of rehearsal going over the concert dress code ad nauseam.

Post-Concert Reflection

The At/Over/Under System isn’t magic. It doesn’t require a doctorate in literature reviews or a six-hour score study session. It’s simply a structured way to make sure your kids learn, sound good and stay motivated across an entire concert cycle.

Most importantly, this approach gives your ensemble three different “wins.”

1. A win of identity: The at-level piece gives them confidence. They hear themselves sounding like a real band.
2. A win of growth: The above-level piece gives them a challenge that feels attainable. They get to step up without feeling set up.
3. A win of musicianship: The below-level piece lets them actually make music — balance, blend, phrasing, nuance — all the things that make the difference between pushing down some buttons and making music.

The At/Over/Under System gives you a reliable structure. Use it as a foundation and adapt it as needed. Your ensemble will change over time — sometimes dramatically — but a system built around identity, growth and musicianship will never steer you wrong.

So, the next time a colleague asks how you managed to get your group sounding so polished, you can smile and say: “We just programmed smart. And the kids did the rest.”