When a group of musicians performs a piece of music perfectly, it is a thing of artistic and scientific beauty. Chords resolve harmoniously. Refrains ebb and flow from pianissimo to fortissimo and back. And if the orchestration is well done, the notes can sound louder simply because the spacing of notes is just so.

But there is something to be said for the process of arriving at the finished product. Instead of resolving discordant tones over a matter of measures, singers take days to find the right pitch. And a tender melody only emerges after weeks of being drowned out by an overly boisterous baseline.

But to a high school music instructor, these early iterations can be even more beautiful. They are the sounds of learning.

It is this kind of music that has reverberated down the halls of Marshfield High School every morning since the beginning of September. Now in his 11th year as the school’s music director, Ken Graber has spent the fall preparing his students for their first concert, slated for next Thursday. It will feature a variety of Broadway tunes, pop numbers and classical pieces; sung by small ensembles, a woman’s group and a concert choir.

The groups feature freshmen who had never cracked open a choir book before the start of school, mixed with seniors who have sung in Coos Bay schools since sixth grade. While their talents may vary, Graber said they all have come to class with the same amount of desire to get better.

“They seem to enjoy the challenge of difficult literature,” he said. “I don’t have to pull energy from them. They make it themselves.”

This was evident on a recent morning as students began filing into the terraced classroom a good 10 minutes before the 8 o’clock bell for concert choir. It was a random, organized mixed-fashion seating day, Graber explained. That meant boys needed to sit next to girls, or, in Graber’s parlance, women next to gentlemen.

As soon as this was done, they all got to their feet and stretched.

“Reach forward like you are reaching for that last oatmeal cookie,” Graber remarked, as he bent forward with his arms raised forward, his students mimicking the motion.

“Right hand to the heavens, left hand to the earth,” he continued.

Then began the energetic part of the morning, as about 80 pairs of legs began to run in place, attempting to do so lightly, though generally not successfully. They started out with “regular oscillations” a guttural sound which rose to a series of woo-woos, accompanied by fingers pointed in the air, before finishing with some ahhs, as the students bent over and whacked their legs.

“Our focus has been to involve the body more, so the sound and the visual act together,” Graber explained the next day. “An exciting-sounding choir should also be exciting to watch.”

He reinforced this with his students by talking about the importance of standing straight. Leaning back takes away from a singer’s sound, while leaning forward makes a bad impression on an audience.

“You look a little more aggressive that way,” he said.

By the time they started singing, Graber’s students were practically chomping at the bit but remained quiet and attentive.

“He’s the reason people join the choir. He makes people want to be a part of it,” said Jared Bassett, a senior tenor. “Choir is already fun, but he turns it into something more fun. We all feel good about ourselves.”

Hillary Adamson agreed, noting that focusing on elements aside from singing makes the experience that much more enjoyable.

“He teaches us to feel the music, listen to the breathes we take and how we move,” said the senior, who sings both alto and soprano.

Both Jared and Hillary sing in the concert choir, as well as in New Horizons, a select group that practices every morning from 7 to 8. Started as a jazz group in the late 70s, the ensemble now sings an eclectic mish-mash of music.

“Anything that is written for a cappella and has what we call tight harmonies, we will consider it,” Graber said.

Next week’s concert will include Irving Berlin’s “Stepping Out With My Baby,” The Beatles’ “Back in the USSR,” George Michael’s “Faith” and “Irish Lullaby,” an a cappella number arranged by the King’s Singers. Graber encourages his students in New Horizons to pick out songs to perform; though they were unsuccessful in finding an arrangement for Queen’s “Under Pressure” for the upcoming show.

“I like it when they take ownership of their education,” he said. “Ultimately, to become a musician you need to make those decisions so you don’t become just an instrument.”

Bassett said such opportunities are one of the appeals of the smaller group.

“It’s not individualized but you get to express yourself more and show your personality,” he said. “It’s a different kind of music from concert choir.”

Unlike the other classes, New Horizons has a select number of spots, 12 or 13. This year, about 25 to 30 students tried out for the four spots vacated by last year’s graduating seniors. The rest were taken by students who joined the group in years past.

Anyone can participate in the other two classes, but Graber must make concessions because of the makeup of those who want to sing. Given that the majority of his students are girls, Graber has a class mostly of freshman and sophomore women, mixed with some upperclassman. The other class, concert choir, has all the men in the program.

The mixed group will sing “America the Beautiful,” “Abendlied,” a German song; “Consecrate the Place and Day;” and “Calling My Children Home,” a spiritual by Joseph Jennings. The women’s group, Chorale, has selections that include “For Good,” from the musical Wicked; and “Spring,” a piece by Mozart. There also will be a male quartet, Beach Combers, which practices independently.

“They are all really dedicated to working on difficult stuff,” Graber said. “And they have a lot of fun.”

It would be hard not to with a conductor like Graber. While conducting, his hands are in constant motion, snapping to the beat, tapping a pencil on his stand or jabbing a finger forward to emphasis a string of marcato notes. At other times, Graber looks like he is swimming through an ocean of music, expanding his arms to get a louder sound, swaying back and forth as he tries to keep his students’ attention and personifying the instructions he gives; walking backward to make them quiet, pretending to pull on a rope to draw out more sound. He also sings along in various ranges, often replacing lyrics with instructions.

When he takes off his conducting hat, he is an attentive teacher, asking if anyone has questions before moving on to the next section of music. He also takes pains to address his students as adults; such as when he explained why the sopranos had to sing louder and tenors softer:

“So women, don’t let the men dominate the sound. Gentleman, don’t stomp on the women.”

Like much at Marshfield, there is a great deal of tradition in the vocal department. Everyone is familiar with the Winter Concert, entering its 68th year, complete with candlelight procession and alumni sing-along at the end. Many siblings follow in one another’s footsteps as they parade through Room 111.

With more than a decade at the school, even some of Graber’s mannerisms have become part of the lore. As his former students well know, Graber encourages all his pupils to have a pencil at the ready, to make alterations to their music or jot down notes. It was his frequent use of pencils that led Alison Bassett, Jared’s sister, to give him a custom-made, 6-foot tall pencil as a present in 2005, the year she graduated. It now stands adjacent to the chalkboard, a constant reminder to students.

With that history comes respect; for Graber, and the program in general.

“The atmosphere” is the best part of choir, Hillary said. “Everyone cares about it.”