THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2013

More about teaching your choir to sing musically

This is something I prepared for one of my choirs some time ago to help them think about phrasing and musicality. Even though I wrote this some time ago, it still represents much of what I think is important. I began with the quotes I gave in an earlier blog: Harpsichordist and Pianist Ralph Kirkpatrick: "The essential expressive quality of a melodic interval lies not in the notes themselves, but in the space between the notes, in the manner in which one gets from one note to another." Conductor Robert Fountain: "Not just the desire, but the passion to keep the line going." Composer Virgil Thompson: "Is this music just a piece of clockwork, or does it also tell time? . . . have I been moved or merely impressed?" When we speak of a person or ensemble being "musical," our impression often comes from the ability to sing or play with beautiful phrasing. While this is not the only thing that affects our perception of "musicality," it is hard to imagine a truly musical performance that is poorly phrased. Phrasing is the heart and soul of music-making, and without it our singing will be wooden and unmusical. This is then a primary concern for us, from the very first rehearsal. We can't spend lots of time getting pitches and rhythms right and then "tack on" phrasing at the end--we must begin to know and shape each phrase from the beginning. Decisions about diction, dynamics, articulation, etc. come from our understanding of the phrase, not the other way around. So, what do we mean by "phrasing?" All analogies are imperfect, but I'll start with an analogy to language: a phrase in a sentence is a unit that makes sense in and of itself (though it may be incomplete by itself), built of smaller building blocks (words). In the same way, a musical phrase is a group of smaller building blocks (notes) that are put together to make sense or cohere. Writers use punctuation to let you know where phrases begin and end, and composers use rests, slurs, breath marks, etc. to give hints about phrasing. We first have to know how long the phrase is to phrase well, make decisions about whether we have two-bar or four-bar phrases, decide where to breathe, etc. Next, just as a good public speaker or actor can speak in such a way to communicate the meaning of the words, we can sing in such a way to communicate the meaning behind the notes. Here my analogy breaks down somewhat, as the actor has more freedom than we do (the composer has already outlined rhythms, pitches, etc.). However, it's clear that any good speaker or singer doesn't give everything the same emphasis. Read that last sentence aloud giving each syl-la-ble e-qual em-pha-sis, if you're not sure what I mean. And this leads to perhaps the most important point: All notes are not equal in a phrase. We make our decisions about which notes are "more equal than others" in several ways: 1. sensitivity to melodic shape and contour (rise and fall of the musical line)

2. sensitivity to harmony (tension-release) 3. sensitivity to the natural word accents in the language (which syllables are stressed and which are unstressed) To give overall shape it may be helpful for you to think of a "goal" word or syllable that the phrase moves toward (more intensity, volume, etc.) and then away from. Only rarely will any two consecutive notes have exactly the same volume, intensity or emphasis. If we are to give phrases shape, we have to know where each phrase is going and how much intensity to give at the peak before we begin the phrase. You have to "hear" it already in your mind. And also remember that the end of the phrase must be as carefully shaped as the beginning. In addition, we need to have a sense of the character of each phrase (perhaps with emotional terms such as joyful, sad, or majestic) in order to communicate the composer's intention. We have a wide variety of articulations (legato, marcato, staccato and everything in between) to help create the character of the phrase. In addition, we can deal subtly with tempo--is a tempo rubatoimportant in a particular piece to give shape to the composer's music? Phrasing creates meaning in what we sing. Therefore we should never sing just collections of notes, but give shape to beautiful and expressive phrases. If you have ideas to add to this, please do!

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2013

Rehearsing well--Start with Musicality

For me, it's important to include musicality and expression, particularly that of phrase shape, from the very beginning of the learning/rehearsal process. The problem with ignoring the shaping of phrases (dynamic, agogic, stressed and unstressed syllables, etc.) is that the choir learns an unmusical shaping of the phrase which then has to be un-learned (and that can take much longer than learning it correctly to begin with).

Of course, we all isolate elements (pitches, rhythms, text, intonation, etc.) in rehearsal, and sometimes the writing is too difficult for our groups to do without some drill. But . . . while drilling pitches or rhythms (let's say text on rhythm only), one can still begin the process of shaping the phrases. Robert Shaw style count-singing can also have phrase shapes built in--this technique doesn't mean to sing without shape or sense of where each phrase is going (make sure you come to Pamela Elrod Huffman's session at ACDA in Dallas, where she'll focus on Shaw's rehearsal techniques).

Ultimately this is much more efficient and the choir will begin to sing music, not just notes, from day one.

The other part of this is that your singers become involved with the music more. Since I work on musicality and expression all the time, sometimes it only takes a reminder from me ("sing more musically") and the choir will know what to do. It's important to teach the whys and hows of this as well (part of teaching them to be better, more expressive musicians). What are the clues to musical phrasing? They need to listen for harmonic dissonance and release, think about text stress, becomes aware of the important words in a phrase, to be aware of musical contour (the rise and fall of the musical line). They need to know what the overall shape of a phrase is (where does it begin and end? we can sometimes disagree about that!) and how to determine the "goal" of each phrase (where is it going? what's the most important syllable or beat towards which one phrases?). . ., and especially to remember that all notes are not equal in a phrase!

Some elements of expression may have to wait, but don't wait too long!

And finally, some of my favorite quotes about phrasing:

Harpsichordist and Pianist Ralph Kirkpatrick: "The essential expressive quality of a melodic interval lies not in the notes themselves, but in the space between the notes, in the manner in which one gets from one note to another."

Conductor Robert Fountain: "Not just the desire, but the passion to keep the line going."

Composer Virgil Thompson: "Is this music just a piece of clockwork, or does it also tells time? . . . Have I been moved or merely impressed?"

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 7, 2013

Rehearsal Pacing

We all recognize a well-paced rehearsal when we experience one. What does it mean to create a well-paced rehearsal?

I think one of the most important things is to plan in advance for variety: hard work on some individual pieces or sections of pieces, run-throughs of more familiar music, alternating faster with slower music (or music with a jubilant mood with something that is more restrained), music that is easier vocally with music that's more demanding. Vary how much time you spend on each piece as well: one piece might have a run-through, one might have just a short rehearsal on the chords that are still not secure, while others get extended rehearsal time. You get the idea.

What's best to start the rehearsal? Think about what will get the group focused. Do you open with vocalises? Do you connect vocalises with the first piece you'll rehearse? What music will get the choir involved?

Where should the hardest work of the rehearsal go? I'd suggest somewhere around the "golden mean" (meaning a bit more than half-way through the rehearsal), so the group is well-warmed up, they've already done some work to prepare them, and are ready for a challenge. Too early and they're worn out for the rest of the rehearsal. Too late and their focus or energy might not be as sharp. If you have a longer rehearsal and take a break, I'd suggest before the break--that gives them a chance to recuperate before the last half of the rehearsal (and when I say "half" I don't mean literally--the first "half" should be longer than the second!).

End with something the group will enjoy--it can be a favorite piece or simply the chance to run through some music without stopping. Send them out of the rehearsal feeling good about what they've done and wanting more.

Speaking of stopping, too much stopping is frustrating for the singers. Make sure that the kind of detailed work that requires lots of stops and starts doesn't go on too long and you give the singers the relief of being able to sing through a complete piece or section.

Your literal "pace" (how quick the instructions with little downtime for singers) is also important. Too quick a pace can be as enervating as too slow. Even that can be varied through the rehearsal. One piece can be rapid-fire and another give them time to breathe (your instructions can be at a slower pace). If I've been working them very hard (although ideally I don't want to talk too much--quick instructions, then back to singing), a short mental break for them to slump and listen can be helpful: talk logistics of your upcoming concert, or take the time to explain something about the music or composer (if it doesn't go on too long!) can be helpful--a mental and physical "mini-break" if you will.

Of course, different groups (age groups, experience level) will have different tolerances for hard, detailed work. Given your group (and you know them best), you want to push the boundaries of how long they can focus and concentrate, but not so much that they get frustrated. But improving their capacity for hard work is important.

But even the same group will have days of high energy and days when they can't seem to focus. Sometimes you can push, cajole, or charm them into working at their peak level after a slow start. At other times you may recognize that it's best that day to ease off a little, change your rehearsal plan, and spend more time on music that's easier, less time on detailed rehearsal and more time on run-throughs or favorite music for them to sing.

The goal is to pace so as to get the maximum out of your singers in the time alotted--but to keep them motivated and loving to sing. I still remember a line from Brock McElheran's wonderful short book on conducting where he says (I don't have it in front of me, so this might not be exact), "It does no good to memorize long lists of baroque ornaments if no one wants to play them for you."

I try to remember that.

Happy rehearsing!

THURSDAY, MARCH 7, 2013

Rehearsal Techniques I
General thoughts and principles (adapted from what I give my section leaders) about running good rehearsals: Put your music stand low enough and flat enough that it doesnt interfere with your conducting pattern (and people can see it!) If you work from the piano, put the music desk down flat (for the same reason) Make sure your own posture is a good model for the choir More eye contact (which means knowing your score better!) Learn to hear more (especially parts not your own)

Make sure, when rehearsing one section of the music, to make the transition into the next section or phrase before stopping to go back

When repeating the same section or phrase several times, make sure you ask more or give specific feedbackdont simply mindlessly repeat

Remember to take away the piano as soon as possible, even in accompanied music (so that you know whether they can do it independently, and also so that you can more accurately hear what theyre doing)

Use modeling/demonstrationa powerful tool (but models must be correct! your singers will copy poor intonation or phrasing!)

You can also use choir members to model Think carefully about what parts belong together musically and rehearse them that way (you may choose parts that are in duet, or those that have dissonances against each otherthe musical structure will tell you what belongs together)

Have solutions already in mind to solve difficult note problems. Know why the problem might be there: is it hard to find the initial pitch? a difficult rhythm? difficult interval? tempo too fast?

Pacing is important: not too slow or too fast (psychologically, pace should vary) When you stop the choir, dont take too long before giving an instructionmake it concise and to the pointthen get them singing again

Dont leave one section sitting for too long a period of time If you sing on a neutral syllable, dont stay on the same one for too long, but vary them (its tiring to sing the same consonant/vowel for long periods). The same is true of count-singing

THURSDAY, JANUARY 31, 2013

Rehearsing well
How can you make your rehearsals more efficient and accomplish more? How can your rehearsals motivate and inspire your singers? That's the topic of my next series of blog posts. This is an area that I strongly believe is both craft and art. But what do I mean by that? There is a distinct element craft--"knowing one's craft"--in rehearsal. What are principles behind good sequencing in a rehearsal? Pacing? Techniques to solve problems? All of these are part of a craft that is learnable and can be refined and improved over time. What do I mean by "art," however? Mathematicians speak of certain proofs as being more "elegant" than another, equally correct proof. Just as we could all approach a particular rehearsal problem differently (and would!)--all of us getting to essentially the same place--some conductors might have a more "elegant" approach or solution. We can usually recognize the master teacher, the conductor whose rehearsals flow through the variety of works in a way that seems effortless, whose actions solve more than one problem at a time, and that speak to the expressive and musical elements in the music--we are often amazed by how quickly the ensemble improves. Those are elegant (and yes, artistic) rehearsals. Singers usually leave them inspired (not tired, although sometimes a "good" exhaustion from productive work) and wanting more.

Young conductors will mostly be concerned with the craft of rehearsal, learning how to efficiently get from A to B, to make sure that their rehearsals are well sequenced and paced, that little time is lost in unproductive activities, that they hear (and anticipate) problems and find ways to solve them quickly. As conductors gain experience, they can look to master teachers for ideas of how they can lift parts of their rehearsals from wonderful craft to (at least some of the time) art. I love the process of rehearsing--it is, after all, where we spend most of our time, not in performance. So that's what this series will be about. I recently saw this picture, from the theatre world, which elegantly explains this:

I re-posted this on Facebook and someone asked about where the conductors preparation was--my colleague Clay Couturiaux responded, "that's the ocean." Oh how true! Looking ahead to our national conference in Dallas (are you going?? you should!!), there are two sessions specifically about rehearsal technique: one by Pamela Elrod Huffman on the techniques of Robert Shaw and one by Graeme Langager on rehearsal techniques that come out of the music. Believe me, I'll be at both! And Dale Warland will have a session on his work which will certainly touch on important elements of rehearsal as well. Hope to see you there!

Richard Sparks - Music, Conducting, Choirs

Auditioning Singers II
Posted: 22 Aug 2013 05:35 AM PDT I should have mentioned that I blogged earlier about auditioning. You can find the links here: First post Second post Third post Fourth post I'll do some repetition, of course, but this series will be organized differently. We'll start with figuring out as much as possible about the vocal ability of the singer. As I mentioned in the last post, what you do will depend on the background and experience of your singers. My initial auditions have always begun with the singers singing something for me. This can range from a familiar song (hymn, Christmas carol, folk song, "My Country 'tis of Thee" -- although when you teach somewhere with lots of foreign students, that's not a given! And I'm not even sure all young people learn to sing it these days), or a piece which they've prepared in advance (if they study voice or have learned an art song of some kind). If singers are studying, then the next question (given level) is what to ask for. In most of my university situations we've requested just one piece, asking students to sing something that shows off the strengths of their voice--that they think they can sing well. In professional groups I ask for two pieces that contrast, often for one in English (surprising how much that can reveal about vowel and diction). When I came to Pro Coro Canada in 1999 they had a tradition of asking for a Bach aria and recitative in their auditions. I continued with that tradition and llked what it told me about both voice (Bach is not the easiest thing to sing) and musicianship (the recit was assigned for each voice part, not the singer's choice, and they got it about a week in advance). (By the way, I'd welcome comments or even a guest post from those who conduct children's choirs--what do you do to test the voice of a child who doesn't yet have a repertoire or where you can't ask a piece they know? What about middle school? What's your process? This isn't my area!) I have always begun with something the singer chooses because that gives them the chance to start (when they're nervous) with what's most familiar and comfortable to them. Knowing that the singer is anxious, I want to greet/welcome them when the come in the room, make a little small talk to set them at ease, introduce them to the accompanist (if they don't bring their own) and any other people listening to the audition. I'd then ask then what they'd like to start with and off we go. In most of my auditions I then follow with vocalises of some sort, although those vary, depending on what I hear in the music: if I don't hear the singer's high range, I may want to test that; possibly check on some vowels with an exercise to hear if they can sing pure vowels in tune; work through the passagio or break to see how they deal with it, etc. While I have a set of "go-to" vocalises, I don't use every one for every singer. So, what am I listening for and how do I judge what I hear (and how do I remember it, if I hear 150-200 singers)? Well, I DO listen for musicality (see my posts on teaching musicality from the beginning), but that isn't what this post is about! Vocally I want to listen for: the basic quality of the voice/vocal instrument

size of voice color technical skill any problem areas range and tessitura where I'd likely place the voice (S1/S2?) I'll assume you have an audition form and the singers fill out the top portion in advance (leaving the bottom portion of the form for me)--it should:

1.

give basic contact information

2.

give information about the singer (his/her experience/training, if they've studied voice and with whom, if they play other instruments). This will vary greatly depending on the level of your choir. At my university positions, I've always wanted to know where they went to HS, for example, since this tells me a lot. There's a place for the singer to note what voice part they usually sing in choir (although I'll make my own judgements about what will work best!). You need to know the information that's helpful for you. 3. gives room and possibly some pre-cast areas for writing/scoring what you hear Below I'll say something about what kinds of things I write and how I score the audition. Some conductors I know do almost all of this with a point system, perhaps even putting points into a spreadsheet on a computer for quick averaging. That isn't how I've worked, but you have to find what works for you to both evaluate (and more importantly!) remember how singers did so when you go back you have a good idea of what you heard once it's time to make decisions. There are a wide range of gifts in terms of vocal quality, beauty, etc. One judgement (and we might not all agree--this is in the realm of personal taste, as is all of this!) is about the basic instrument and it's sound. Is it (in my mind) a beautiful sound? How will it fit into the tonal concepts of sound I want for my choir? I usually use a numerical system (1-low--to 5-high) for quality of sound. Size of voice is also largely a given characteristic (although all things can be improved--to a point) and I want to note if it's a big voice, small voice, or in between. I just note if the voice is small or large, assuming the rest are whatever's "normal" size. Vocal color is another characteristic on a spectrum from bright to dark. Singers can be flexible, of course, but any singer will have natural characteristics that I'll want to note. If I hear a very bright or dark voice, I may do a vocalise or have them sing a portion of their piece later and ask the singer to modify color (in one direction or another) just to see what they can change and how easily. No notation on my audition sheet unless I hear a particularly bright or dark vocal production. Connected to this are instrumental concepts that many conductors find incredibly useful for color: flute, reed, etc. Easy to write these kinds of terms down quickly. Technical skill means vocal technique. Is the sound consistent throughout the range? Are vowels clear and beautifully formed (I know this is subjective and it's hard to describe sound in words)? Does the singer have skill getting through the passaggio/break? What about vibrato? Is it even? Narrow? Wide? Fast? Slow? Again, your taste and desired sound will affect what you hear and how you judge it. I will likely do a senza vibrato exercise to see if it's easy or difficult for the singer (and give hints if they aren't experienced with it to do this more healthily and easily). For some ensembles, I may wish to know how good the coloratura is (in one of my earlier personal blog posts, I mention some conductors who use melismatic passages in Handel or Bach to see how well singers can negotiate runs). In terms of techique I usually note deficits rather than strengths (i.e. my opening assumption is good technique--I'd note things like uneven production or a voice that doesn't move easily, a vibrato that's wide and slow, etc. Any problem areas will be noted. Sometimes this is connected to the things above: taste again--one person's bright is another's shrill! But whatever I hear that might cause difficulties in the choir will be noted. Intonation will also be noted here: sings under pitch, sings sharp.

Range and tessitura: this is easiest if you have a staff printed on the audition form--that allows you to write the high and low pitch for what I'd consider the comfortable range for the singer, and then in parentheses the pitch that's possible, but not where the singer will live. I also note what part the singer will likely sing. If I feel confident that this is a Soprano 1 or Bass 2 I simply note that. If a likely Soprano 1, but can easily sing second as well, I'd put: S1 (2). For the opposite: S2 (1). This helps as I'm making final decisions and might really need a fluty S1 to make my soprano section (or a bigger soprano voice with more color). I may also ask the singer a question about this--"would you be comfortable singing alto 1 instead of soprano 2?" "Where does your voice teacher think your voice is going?" (In another post I'll write about who I consult after the audition about the singer-their voice teacher is certainly one of those people.) In university situations with multiple choirs I often note in what choir I think the singer will be placed. For example, at UNT, the hierarchy of choirs runs from A Cappella to University Singers to Concert Choir (our three mixed choirs) to our Men's and Women's choruses. I'll note with the following options: AC, AC?, US, US?, CC, CC/MC or CC/WC, MC or WC. This is helpful for me, but also in particular for the Concert Choir conductor, who's a grad student and doesn't have as much perspective on where singers will likely end up. It's always more complicated when you know no or few singers. My first year at UNT was overwhelming, since there were so many students to hear (and remember!), I knew none of them, and I had no idea of the standards--what the level of students was and who'd normally make which choir. Last year, when we switched my choir from a chamber choir of 32 to a larger choir of 65 or so, it meant I had to recalibrate what I was listening for as well. Of course, the things I'm saying above are what I've done at the college/university/advanced civic/professional choir. The things you'll look for in a children's choir, middle school singer, etc. could be very different. But I think that you can still imagine how you can modify these ideas for your own situation. This is going long (don't all of my posts?!), so I'll end shortly, but first a link to an upcoming post on ChoralNet's ChoralBlog (you have to be registered and can't read it for another two days) by Joshua Bronfman called Auditions/Sidebar with a link to a fabulous interview with Dale Warland. In it, Dale talks about his audition procedure and Joshua asks about the effect ofexpectations on our hearing and whether we've ever done blind auditions. Just to answer briefly, yes I have, and the last 10 years or so I was at PLU had a part of the audition process where I didn't know what singer was singing. That can be seen as a tease, or you can "read ahead" and check out my 3rd post referenced at the top. I found it a very valuable part of my process and very likely stole it from Dale, since in the early 90s I made a trip to Minneapolis/St. Paul to sit in on several days of Dale's auditions for the DWS. An incredibly fun process to watch and talk with Dale about his decisions! Next time: testing ear/musicianship/sightreading. Feel free to comment, ask questions, add to the discussion!