45 minutes with one representative passage
A shared intention, three named decision areas, two recorded versions, and one documented ensemble choice.
Before you begin
Materials
- Two to eight OMAT profiles
- The Complementary Ensemble Planner
- One passage everyone can play
- A timer and recorder
01 Frame the boundary
0–5 min
State that profiles are exploratory and describe relative emphasis. No person owns a domain, and the group is not being graded.
- Invite anyone to decline sharing a score.
- Use names or role labels only with permission.
- Keep magnitude outside group coverage.
02 Hear a baseline
5–10 min
Play the passage once without intervention and capture a recording.
- What is already clear?
- Where does continuity break?
- What does the passage communicate now?
03 Map three decisions
10–20 min
Give each domain a concrete question. Invite a current strength to open the discussion, then ask another member to challenge or extend it.
- Tonal: What is the destination and how is it organized?
- Performative: What must become dependable under pressure?
- Expressive: What should a listener perceive or feel?
04 Run two controlled versions
20–35 min
Version A emphasizes the group’s most common leading zone. Version B protects a smaller relative domain or the declared project intention.
- Keep tempo and passage constant where possible.
- Name the one variable that differs.
- Do not vote until both versions are heard back.
05 Choose and document
35–45 min
Listen, compare, and state why the chosen version serves the music. Assign the next action as a task, not a personality role.
- What improved?
- What tradeoff appeared?
- Who will test the next iteration, and when?
Working record
Capture only what helps the next decision.
- 1Project intention
- 2Baseline observation
- 3T/P/E decisions
- 4Chosen version and reason
- 5Named next action and owner