Where’s the beat? Teaching syncopation.

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coaching, music education, pedagogy, rehearsal, syncopation

A young boy plays with a toy drum that was given to him during Joint Task Force-Bravo’s visit to at the Sisters of Charity Orphanage in Comayagua, Honduras, Jan. 25, 2015. The Sisters of Charity Orphanage is one of seven different orphanages from around the Comayagua Valley that the U.S. military personnel assigned to JTF-Bravo have supported over the past 17 years. In addition to spending time with interacting with children, members have also collected and donated much-needed supplies and food, as well as helped in minor construction work on the buildings in which the children live. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Heather Redman). Source: Wikimedia. Public domain.

Isn’t this a wonderful photograph?

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Background

A high school flutist and I performed the piece excerpted below on a recital in April. She plays quite well, but this piece was full of syncopation. Keep in mind that she was looking at the flute part only (top line). Pianists usually play from the complete score (solo line plus piano part).

Excerpt from “Allegretto” from Suite de trois morceaux, Op.116 by Benjamin Godard

First Run-through

The soloist knew her part securely. But the rhythm in the piano part, not surprisingly, threw her off. She took the right hand part (off-beat) to be the beat. So, for example, in the 3rd bar of the 2nd system, her quarter note was one beat late, played after the last chord in the piano part.

Second Try

I played my part as printed, counting out loud. We would stop along the way to correct rhythmic mistakes. She would look at the score when the rhythm threw her off.

That approach resulted in about 50% improvement in our brief rehearsal.

Taking a Closer Look

I continued to think about her that evening. How could this be a better experience for the student, with the performance in front of an audience only a few days away? Was it sink or swim? Or could I do something to help?

In Her Shoes

After considerable thought, I realized that the student was relying primarily on what she had heard during our brief rehearsal. She didn’t have the piano score, and told me she had not listened to recordings.

Going by sound alone complicates things in this case.

Try it! When you sing one low note followed by two higher notes at the same pitch, listen to the way the higher pitch is easier to hear. It would take a lot to make the low note take over as the anchor. Hearing the pitches without looking at the score can easily sound like the low note is an upbeat.

A singer, by contrast, would have the score to refer to. Instrumental parts are published separately, so only the solo line is available unless they keep a copy of the score (or someone provides it).

To add to the challenge, I learned the next day that the student has a cochlear implant. That would make it more difficult to hear anything, possibly also causing a delay in the perception of sound.

The Next Day

Fortunately, there was more rehearsal time available. I checked with the teacher to ask whether it would be acceptable for me to call the student’s parents with the goal of finding another time to get together. We found a time for the following evening.

Recording the Piano Part

I realized that we had only rehearsed the piece one way; as printed.

Since the off-beat is so easy to hear as the beat, I wanted to try something. The student had her phone with her, so we recorded the piano part twice:  the first time on the beat; the second as written.

The “on the beat” version went very well! We practiced the piece that way again. This time, the student tapped (stomped, really) her foot on the beat.

Then we practiced the piece as written. She was much closer.

The Core Problem

The student had been attempting to understand the syncopation without knowing where the beat was.  You can’t have an off-beat without feeling the beat first.

I encouraged her to march around the room, stamp her feet, and sing, play, clap… whatever would get the rhythm into her body. I suggestion that she count, tap, stamp, clap, or whatever else she wanted to do, louder than the piano part.

Her First Response

“I can’t tap my foot in the performance.”

I agreed, and went on to say that it’s OK to tap your toe inside your shoe, especially the first time you’ve ever done this. And you can do whatever you need to do in rehearsal. The audience doesn’t see you rehearsing, nor does it know what you’re thinking in performance.

Solo Flute Practice

She did it! She had two days left to experiment, and addressed the problem at home without my being there.

Performance

Wonderful! She played out, sounded secure, and was not particularly nervous.

Followup

Two or three weeks later, I ran into her at school. After we said hello, I asked how she felt about the performance. Her response: “It went better than I thought it would. I felt very comfortable.”

And that, of course, makes it all worth it.

Contrasting Performances of “Our” Piece

As good as it gets. Enjoy!

This performance is closer to our tempo.

Purchase the score

What do you do when a student is thrown by something new? Comments welcome!

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Thoughts on music for Sunday, August 11th

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choosing music, Church service, coordinating organ music with hymns, Gerhard Krapf, Paul Manz

Last week’s post about choosing music that could do well either outdoors or in generated lots of traffic.  So I thought I’d post the music and thoughts about the process of choosing it for this week, too!

This week our service will be held indoors.

My goal is always to enhance the service.  So I look for the “givens,” i.e. the scripture readings, hymns and prayers that are already in place.  The music should be compelling, add variety, and help shape the service into an integrated whole. While looking at this week’s parameters, I found some organ music directly related to the hymns.  That made an excellent starting point.

Prelude

How Firm a Foundation     Early American tune (1787), arr. Mark Thewes (b. 1954)

This is an alternate harmonization of our first hymn for today.

Mr. Thewes is Organist and Director of Music at Westbrook Park United Methodist Church in Ohio.

Offertory

Pastoral     Paul Manz (1919-2009)

I was introduced to the music of Paul Manz by Gerhard Krapf (1924-2008) at the University of Iowa during high school.  Manz’s music is both contemporary and accessible to listeners.  His writing feels like a breath of fresh air.

This link chronicles Mr. Krapf’s military service in Germany, his years of hard labor in a Russian camp, and his education.  As a teenager, I had not heard about his life, and he never talked about it.  Instead, he poured his energies into playing, teaching, and composition.

Closing Hymn

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise     Traditional Welsh Melody (1839)

I will introduce this hymn with excerpts from an alternative version arranged by Rebecca K. Owens.  When using hymn introductions from outside the hymnal, I always alert the choir first.  This Sunday, the heads-up will go to individual choir members who will be sitting among the congregation.  (The choir has the summer off.)

Clicking on the link above will take you to comments by Erik Routley (1917-1982), who was Chaplain of Westminster Choir College for several years, including my time there.

Ms. Owens is the Senior Organist at the Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Bethlehem, PA.

Postlude

Let Me Be Thine Forever     Chorale (1532)

This version of the tune changes energetically between 6/4 and 3/2 meters.  If someone is hearing the piece for the first time, the rhythm may come as a surprise.

How do you choose music for services?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

 

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Marsalis x2 + Licad Record Together

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Cecil Licad, classical, jazz, Marsalis, recording

Image via Wikipedia

This week’s New Yorker contains a wonderful article about music, “Two Beats.”  I urge you to read it!

In this article, Alec Wilkinson talks about a recording made by two jazz artists, their friends, and Cecil Licad, who is a stunning classical pianist.

She performs as a soloist, but only rarely in other situations.

As it happened, there was an ensemble problem while the group was recording, as the article’s title suggests.

As a collaborative pianist, I was intrigued by the way things worked out!

Enjoy!

While a fellowship student at Tanglewood, I had the great pleasure of hearing Cecile Licad at the Marlboro Music Festival in Vermont.  She was 16 years old, and performed the Franck Quintet with 4 string players.  All of them were more than twice her age.

Licad was completely stunning.  No one in the audience that day will ever forget that wonderful experience.  If you have an opportunity to hear her live, GO!  And if not, listen to a recording.

Follow the Thread

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audience expectations, follow-through, idea development, J.S. Bach, memorable performance, Rodrigo

Image by SToppin via Flickr

Nancy Curteman, mystery writer and world traveler, contributed this comment to last week’s post, “Sink or Spin?  Keeping Long Notes Alive:”

“Gretchen, This may sound like a bit of a stretch, but I think “keeping long notes alive” can be applied to writing as well. Too often we let an essential plot line flop when we could develop it fully.”

Many thanks to Nancy for this terrific post idea!  I’m excited to see her make a connection between music and writing.  And I feel gratified to have evidence that wonderful things can happen when people talk to each other, even when they work in different fields.

Follow-through

Where do you belong on the follow-through scale?

• happy to sightread a piece once, that’s it
  
• learn something well enough to play through it, leaving glitches intact and slowing down whenever I need to
  
• stick with my initial ideas ~ that’s good enough
• play the piece just like a recording I heard
• listen to recordings to hear other interpretations
• follow my ideas as far as they’ll take me
• remain flexible, knowing that I’ll find more and more depth

Why is follow-through important?

We have all been to many types of performances and listened to many recordings.  Some made a long-term impression.  Others were, for the most part, forgettable.

The performances that “stuck” had depth!  Superficiality is not memorable.  The preparation of a superficial performance is just that, superficial, without curiosity.

Isn’t the composer more important than that?

Of course there are times when sightreading is appropriate and expected.  But if that were the norm, where would our lasting impressions of great music and wonderful performances come from?

Integrity

I strongly believe that our integrity as musicians depends upon preparation in depth.

Are you happy with your product when you sightread all the time?

What about having respect for your audience?  They are paying to hear you!  Just the fact of their physical presence means that they deserve your best.  They are supporting the arts!  It is our job to care for that.

Flexibility

Making an effort to remain flexible while preparing a program is, in my view, an asset.

Examples:

In a Rodrigo song, the right and left hands had different rhythmic pulses.  One hand was in 2, the other in 3.  During practice sessions, I had played the piece with a more prominent left hand.  That felt comfortable, but after a few days it also felt boring.

The night before the recital, on a whim, I switched to playing the right hand more prominently than the left.  The result was amazing!  The song had new energy!  It “clicked!”

The singer, a true pro, adapted to the new sound instantly.

In another program, a Bach prelude was giving me fits.  There were many possible interpretations, each with a different tempo.  I had heard various recordings along the way, none of which convinced me completely.

So I decided to listen to Glenn Gould.  His tempo was interesting, but so slow, it shocked me.  It was as if he had been listening to Richard Wagner for a year and nothing else.

After that I had the confidence to find my tempo.

British pianist and writer Susan Tomes* has posted an interesting observation concerning her experience listening to recordings.

And, by the way, I have great respect for Wagner’s music and Glenn Gould’s playing!

So What Do You Think?

How do you feel about following up on your ideas?  Do you think it’s worth the time and effort to do so, or are we just wasting our time?

Please leave a comment below, and tell me what you think.

Cheers!

*Susan Tomes’ new book, “Out of Silence,” is quoted by music critic Alex Ross in this week’s New Yorker.  (See the 2nd paragraph.)

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Your metronome: tool or tyrant?

Image via Wikipedia

Many thanks to Dan Inglis for this great blog idea!

How is your relationship w/your metronome? Helpful, or could it use some improvement?

Something is wrong if you feel tied to it, if you can’t depart from its beat. Or you may feel that it’s telling you you’re wrong or late. (Or bad? Bad musician? Bad person?)

Maybe your metronome is too loud! Try setting it on a soft surface, placing it farther away, or adjusting the volume.

Of course you won’t want/need to use a metronome at all times. But ignoring the tempo in order to impose yourself on the music is most likely against the composer’s wishes, & is not an option. Music, after all, has structure.

Another “no no” is throwing in a ritard to avoid a technical problem. Remember when you were a kid & slowed down when it got too hard? You’re not a kid any more.

I have found that having a metronome marking at the beginning of a movement helps during performance. That gives you something you can concentrate on besides how nervous you are, or that ugly shirt in the front row.

The metronome used as a tool can inform you of the beat. It can also let you know where you’re playing unevenly, or adding an unwanted rit. or accel.

Whether it’s a tool or a tyrant? Well, “it’s all in how you look at things.” (That’s from a kids’ song about the ugly duckling!) You can let your metronome help you w/o allowing it to inhabit your musicality in a stifling way.

When you’re learning something new, particularly if there’s a short window of time in which to learn it, using the metronome can help you reach the tempo sooner. (See “Increasing the tempo.”)  Try starting slowly, then as soon as you can handle that comfortably, increase the tempo by a couple of notches. You’ll be surprised at the results a few days later!

You can practice with the metronome, then go w/o it for a few days, after which you can return to it to see how you’re doing. Informational, not tyrannical.

It is also valuable to change the tempo to something slower for practice purposes, using the metronome for the relative change you’re looking for. More reliable than guessing.

And you can use rubato with the metronome on! The basic beat is there, & you’re working around it.

So, in the “tool” category, the metronome is a reference point, a guide.

BTW, if I were shopping for a metronome, I would look for the type w/a dial. When you’re doing music w/tempo changes, metronome markings included in the score, the dial is much faster than the digital type. I have digital now, & have to run through all the numbers along the way.

And now the story for the day: Following an open rehearsal @ Aspen w/the Juilliard Quartet, there were Q & A sessions. A student said, “A member of my chamber group keeps changing tempo, & we don’t know what to do.” The response, from Sam Rhodes, the violist, was, “Get a metronome, & set it on a tin can!” There was laughter all around, but he meant what he said. You get the point…

OK, Dan, does this answer your question? : )

Today I practiced 2 Bach preludes & fugues, 2 Messiaen preludes, & read 12 Preludes by Charles Turner, a former classmate. Nice pieces! Total time: 2 hrs.

Happy practicing! I’ll use my metronome tomorrow if you will!

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