Too good!

Tags

Class

Bravo in Barcelona.
Shutterstock image. Source: Pixabay.

A new blog post!  Surprising, I know.  Having a few days’ vacation time gives me an opportunity to catch up a little.

A most amazing thing happened in musical theater class a couple of weeks ago.  I’m so excited to have a chance to tell you all about it!

A student took her turn a few minutes into the class, singing “Almost There” by Randy Newman.

She had nailed “All That Jazz” by John Kander just the week before, so I was anticipating that this would also be wonderful.

As it happened, she was anxious about something. When she began to sing, I could barely hear her. I wanted to get into it and play, but my sound would have covered her voice.

Why was she nervous?

It could have been anything.

• Was she coming down with something?
• Was she unprepared?
• Was she working on one aspect of vocal production rather than performing the song?

What was going on?

She was worried about the high note at the end of the first phrase, so she held back out of fear that her voice might crack. This is a freshman class. The students are shy about making a fool of themselves in front of other people, even in class. (I’ve been there myself so many times! As a freshman, I was so nervous in my first voice jury that I forgot every word after the title of a slow song in English! I changed my major immediately.)

The professor, who is also her voice teacher, identified the problem and found a way to deal with it.  Among other things, she vocalized the student to a top note a third above the one she was concerned about.

And THEN…

On the fourth or fifth try, she knocked everyone out of their chair!  She was SO GOOD!!!  It was perfect.

Next:

The professor talked about how well the student had just performed, giving her kudos for her substantial progress this semester.  She talked about how gratifying it was to witness this as a teacher, saying, “If I had my shoes, I’d throw them!” ++

Huh?

She elaborated.  In the African-American tradition, when something is “too good,” audience members throw their shoes! *

And then the professor burst into tears.  It was so moving.

The student was in tears soon after.

And the class was speechless.

And that, for me, is what it’s all about.

++  Class is held in a studio with a dance floor.  Everyone takes off their shoes so the floor remains grit-free. If a dancer were to trip on grit, s/he could sprain, dislocate or break something, putting him or her out of the game for a long time.  So that’s why the professor didn’t have her shoes!

*  Both professor and student happen to be African-American.  After class, I shared with the professor that I worked in an African-American church in Brooklyn for quite a while, also performing in other venues with the music director, who is a wonderful singer. However, when things were “too good,” no one threw their shoes.  So where did that come from?  She said it’s a Southern thing.  People even throw their shoes in church!

★ ☆.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.• ヅ★

Please take a look at my e-book!

“Goal-oriented Practice”
Are you practicing well? Is your repertoire of ideas working for you? Are you making consistent progress?

My book will help you take a step back, save practice time, learn more music, and perform with confidence. Whether teaching, playing solo, or collaborating with other musicians, you will find many practice- and performance-tested suggestions here.

50% off!!!  Absolutely NO JARGON!  Even my non-musician little sister says so.

Click here for the book intro, table of contents, reviews, and reader comments.

If this post has been helpful and you think your friends and contacts would benefit from reading it, please share.

I would appreciate it very much. Thank you!

Back to top

Travel sticker for instrument cases!

Tags

air travel, airport security, musical instruments, STICKER

Thanks to the pianist Christopher O’Riley, here is brand new information that makes it easier for instrumentalists to navigate airport security:

Christopher O’Riley

3 hrs · 

a great idea by Kyle Price to protect traveling string players: In light of the recent Time for Three situation involving instruments on the airplanes I have designed a STICKER (5 inch by 3 inch) which can be applied DIRECTLY onto instrument cases regarding the federal public law, title IV section 403 which, “Requires an air carrier to permit an air passenger to carry, without charge, a violin, guitar, or other musical instrument on a passenger aircraft if it can be stowed safely in a suitable baggage compartment or under a passenger seat in accordance with FAA requirements for carry-on baggage or cargo. Sets forth requirements for the carriage of musical instruments as checked baggage or as occupants of a purchased seat.” By showing this sticker on our cases, we can now provide flight attendants and crew with the federal law which supports our rights with the instruments and there place on board and safety from disaster. This kind of stuff has happened to often and I hope this can serve as a simple way to help solve this boarding issue. If anyone is interested in getting a sticker please message me. Part of the sticker proceeds will go to the non-for-profit Chamber Music Connection cmconnection.org .

Kyle Price Hey Christopher O’Riley! Thanks for your support here is the link to the design.http://files.wnd.vphosted.com/…/4a8438f1a446c70e052ff6f..

(Photo credit: Michael McCarty)

Happy Birthday, Norman Luboff!

Tags

arts, Music, Norman Luboff, Norman Luboff Choir, Pianist, piano

Norman Luboff
(May 14, 1917 – September 22, 1987)

I had the privilege of touring the United States as pianist with The Norman Luboff Choir twice. I am grateful to have had such a wonderful experience.

 Discography of The Norman Luboff Choir

 

 

Back to top

 

A poem for collaborative pianists everywhere!

Tags

accompanist, poem

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The following poem was sent to me this morning by Elaine Broad Ginsberg (Lainee), conductor of the Hampshire College Chorus.

THE ACCOMPANIST

I've always worried about you-the man or woman

at the piano bench,

night after night receiving only such applause

as the singer allows: a warm hand please,

for my accompanist. At concerts,

as I watch your fingers on the keys,

and how swiftly, how excellently

you turn sheet music pages,

track the singer's notes, cover the singer's flaws,

I worry about whole lifetimes,

most lifetimes

lived in the shadows of reflected fame;

but then the singer's voice dies

and there are just your last piano notes,

not resentful at all,

carrying us to the end, into those heartfelt cheers

that spring up in little patches from a thrilled audience

like sudden wildflowers bobbing in a rain

of steady clapping. And I'm on my feet, also,

clapping and cheering for the singer, yes,

but, I think, partially likewise for you

half-turned toward us, balanced on your black bench,

modest, utterly well-rehearsed,

still playing the part you've made yours.

Dick Allen

Originally published in North Dakota Quarterly, 
Vol. 74, No. 3, 2007

Thank you, Mr. Allen! Thanks, Lainee!

★ ☆.•*´¨`*•.¸¸.• ヅ★

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Back to top

First impressions

Tags

arts, Handshake, Job interview, Résumé

Audition Cartoon (Photo credit: Mr. Daniel Ted Feliciano)

Auditions are a lot like job interviews.

When job coaches write about interview preparation, they talk about how to make a good first impression:

• Sit toward the front of the couch or chair so you can stand easily.

• Have your resume in your left hand, ready to go.

• Stand immediately when the interviewer enters the room.

• Smile and shake hands.

Why is all of that important?

• You don’t want to be sunk into the couch (bad posture, hard to stand).

• You don’t want to have to dive into your briefcase to look for your resume.

• You want to appear alert, not reluctant.

• Just because you’re nervous doesn’t mean you can’t smile.

In auditions, the same mindset sometimes eludes us. Last weekend I was house accompanist for several auditions, so there was plenty of time to observe a variety of entrances into the room.

Some things to look at:

• Arrive warmed up! The audition panel is not there to give you practice time.

• Have your resume in your hand. If you carry a briefcase, great. But digging around is a waste of everyone’s time.

• Knowing your range would be helpful.

• Look at your music after making copies! Is the entire piano part visible? (If the bass line is missing on the last staff, you may hear something you weren’t expecting.)

• Make sure the song/aria title, show/opera, and composer appear on the first page of the copy.

• Punch holes in the copies, then put them into a binder back-to-back. If the copies are single sided, then tape the pages so the pianist can turn them easily.

• Find the tempo on your metronome. Then write the metronome marking at the top of the music. This gives the pianist something to go on. S/he only has about 3 seconds before your audition starts.

• Don’t offer excuses to the audition panel. Everyone knows you’re nervous. If you weren’t, you’d sound like a robot. Excuses make you sound unprofessional and could cost you a part.

What we can do

• Practice warming up in the car, even on non-audition days.
• Practice our entrance in the mirror.
• Practice our entrance and our music on our friends.
• Practice breathing exercises to control nervousness.
• Do more auditions to become used to the process.

Ready for your audition?  Break a leg!

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Back to top

Overcoming stage fright

Tags

how to overcome, Inderal, stage fright, Walter Willett

Marlene Dietrich in Alfred Hitchcocks "Stage Fright" ~ Image via Wikipedia

Most people who perform, whether it be in sports, public speaking, or music, are familiar with what it feels like to be nervous.  Performers in general believe that without any nerves at all, the results are boring.

I have certainly been there.  In sixth grade, standing in front of the class to give a book report, I blacked out and became very dizzy.  I told the teacher, who said I could sit down.

During sophomore year in college, I sang a voice jury.  The first song was called “Old Woman Rain.”  I forgot every word after the title!

And when I began commuting from Amherst to New York to study with Martin Katz, my hands shook during lessons for an entire year.

Increased many fold, nerves become debilitating.  In that case, they turn into stage fright.  A performer can be so affected by stage fright that s/he grows dizzy, forgets everything, loses focus, and feels completely out of control.

There are many things one can do to overcome stage fright.

These are all things that have worked for me:

Learn the music very well.

Control your breathing ~ count 4 in, 4 out.  The counts should be slow enough to allow for a complete breath.

Repeat a mantra.

Eat before you perform ~ healthy food, no sugar, not much caffeine.  (In other words, don’t skip breakfast or lunch, and at least have a snack before an evening performance.)

Wake up and go to sleep on a regular schedule.

Exercise.  You don’t have to be super human ~ take an energetic walk!

Running works extremely well.  I began running six months before playing a Messiaen recital, solely for the purpose of improving my concentration.

Make a list of positive things people have said about your performing.  Tape it inside the front cover of your music, then read it just before going on.

Choose a place to look ~ if you’re a singer, talk to your teacher about this.

Look like you mean it ~ head up!  (Don’t look at the floor!)

Project confidence.

Walk with purpose.

Take your time before starting ~ be grounded first.

Focus on communicating with the audience.

Play for friends.

Then invite some people you don’t know to join the group.

Practice with a variety of distractions.

Perform as often as possible.  Extended care facilities, schools, and churches all provide valuable experience.  I’m sure you can think of more.

Wear clothing that breathes, and realize that stage lights are hot.

Practice your entire program in your concert clothes, shoes included, hairdo, everything.  If that slip doesn’t work or your hair falls, you don’t want to find out during the concert.

Practice your entrance, bows before and after, and exit.  If you will be standing between groups to bow, practice how you’re going to do that.

Will you be speaking to the audience?  Practice that!  Will you be using a microphone?  Check it out.  Will someone hand it to you?  Do you need to remove it from a stand?  What happens to it when you’re done?

Ask a friend or two to sit in the front, middle, and back of the hall.

Focus backstage on channeling your energy into the music.  Don’t dissipate it by talking.

Accept that no one is perfect.  This is not your whole life.

Make plans for after ~ go to a movie!

OK, I’ve tried that.  Now what?

Additional things you can do:

Group therapy with stage fright as the focus.

Individual therapy with a therapist who works with performers.

Meditation.

Yoga.

Tai Chi.

Kickboxing.

Hypnosis ~ a friend of mine who had finished his coursework at Columbia was having trouble going to the library to write his dissertation.  After many attempts at self-discipline didn’t work, he saw a hypnotist.  He is now a happy PhD!  And his mother has stopped asking him every week whether his dissertation is finished yet.

Biofeedback ~ participants learn to control their anxiety.

Role playing.

Write out the worst scenarios you can come up with about performing.  Then rewrite them as success stories.  Draw illustrations for both.

Taking care to maintain your metabolism without allowing it to spike and then rapidly decline goes a long way toward eliminating triggers leading to nervousness.  Eating regular meals, avoiding sugar, and taking any medications at the same time every day are all factors.  More information about maintaining a healthy metabolism can be found in an excellent book written by Walter Willett.  Links on his Wikipedia page include a PBS interview.

Some musicians take Inderal just before performances and auditions.  Inderal is a beta blocker prescribed to reduce stage fright.  This New York Times article presents a balanced assessment.  In addition, I have read of skeptical musicians who tried Inderal and played for their friends the first few times.  Their friends preferred the performances with the musicians using the beta blocker.

Note: I do not take Inderal, and am not recommending it one way or the other.  Speak to your doctor.

How do you deal with nerves?  Stage fright?  How do you help your students in those situations?  Please share your ideas in the comment section below!

Related articles

• Stage Fright (psychologytoday.com)  About public speaking, applies to music as well.  Includes links to other relevant articles.

Check out my low-priced E-books! Just click on titles in the left sidebar.

Back to top

Basic piano skills: the ultimate guide to why you need them

Tags

later benefits, Music, piano, skills

Wyoming Park Theater Company’s “A Christmas Carol” ~ Image via Wikipedia

When someone asks “What instrument should I play?” I usually recommend that they take piano lessons either first or concurrently with another instrument or voice lessons.

A piano student may or may not decide to continue with the piano.  In fact, most students will develop other interests after awhile.

Why is piano study important if it doesn’t lead to having a career as a pianist?

In the future, a piano student may decide to:

• play a different instrument
• join a chorus
• be in a musical
• play for fun

And even if none of the above happens, someone who is educated about music will be an informed audience member, better able to enjoy the music.  Creating audience members of the future is one of my goals in teaching.

Virtuosity is not necessary

It is entirely within reach for someone to benefit from having the piano available as a tool.

The keyboard provides visual relationships.

• Intervals on the keyboard relate to intervals on the page
• The keyboard’s keys are always in the same place, unlike interval relationships on a stringed instrument
• Intervals can be felt in the hands, unlike in singing (if you feel what you’re doing in your throat, you’re not singing correctly)
• The concept of range is easier to grasp due to being able to see the keyboard
• Hearing the entire piece, not just one line, is immediately possible

One of my students is a terrific self-taught guitar player.  His more recent piano study has clarified many things for him, especially concerning range.

Relative ease in learning to play piano

• You can see what you’re doing
• The piano keys are always in the same places, which makes playing correct pitches easier
• Memorization is easier because the visual track (seeing the keys in addition to remembering the printed page) reinforces sound and feeling in the hands

More difficult aspects

• Playing with both hands
• Playing independent lines

Even elementary piano skills allow musicians to learn music faster

• By finding pitches
• By playing one line at a time

Both of these are helpful to singers and conductors, especially.

Do you have basic piano skills?  I recommend acquiring them!

What do you think?  Do you agree?  If you disagree, I’d love to hear your reasons!  Please share your ideas in the comment section below.

E-book ~ take a look!

Goal-oriented Practice

Back to top

It’s about the WORDS!

Tags

art song, Broadway song, expression, language, pop song, singing, vocal coaching, words

Image by Cayusa via Flickr

Last weekend I was invited to coach a group of  student singers and play for them in recital.  The program included classical and pop music as well as Broadway show tunes.

From the viewpoint of a vocal coach, these styles have many similarities.  Yes, the requirements of vocal production are widely different.  But what do they have in common?

There was one issue consistent among the singers:  the words!

Expressing the words

What does it take?  What do we need to look at?  What kinds of decisions do we need to make?

1.  Do your own translation. Every singer must know which word is which!  One singer I was coaching didn’t know which words were the most expressive, because she had only a general idea of what they meant.  The publisher had provided a translation next to the original text.  Looking up just a few words would have made a huge difference.

The word order changes from language to language, folks.

2.  Know where each sentence begins and ends.

Not every group of words you sing is a complete sentence!  Look at the printed text. When you come to a rest with a piano interlude, do you see a comma?  A semicolon?  If you don’t see a period, the sentence continues.

3.  Perform the words, spoken aloud, first in English and then in the language of the song.  Declaim them.

This step is crucial.  There are no shortcuts.

You will sound like you are in a fog if you blow this off.  You’ll just be singing gibberish.  You are telling a story!

4.  Find the most important words. Then be expressive on the stressed syllables of those words.  (BLEI-ben, VEIL-chen, VA-ter, etc.  Same approach in English.  French, an unstressed language, is an exception.)  “The,” “a,” ‘”and,” and “or” are unimportant.  They can almost be passed over, singing shorter notes.  (There are occasional exceptions, of course.)

This applies even when the notation indicates an entire measure of quarters or eighths. When we speak, syllables require varying amounts of time to verbalize.  We just talk without realizing that.  In singing, notation sometimes gets in the way of expression.  Declaiming the words away from the music is so important!

Example of stressed syllables:
“We’re OFF to see the WIzard,
the WONderful WIzard of OZ.”

4.  Connect sentences with your thought. Your intention to convey a sentence matters.

Example:
“… sie wieder einen
inmitten dieser sonnenatmenden Erde…”

“… the happy ones, again unite
amidst this sun-breathing earth, …”

from “Morgen!” by Richard Strauss
text by John Henry Mackay

In this song, the thought continues between “einen” and “inmitten,” although there is a piano interlude (so the singer can breathe!).

How would you finesse that?  How could you connect the 2 lines to make a sentence while breathing in between?

How about breathing immediately upon the release of  “einen,” with the intention of conveying the connection? In other situations, you might take care not to drop the end of the syllable preceding the break.  In fact, a crescendo preceding a break creates a wonderful illusion of continuity.

5.  Know the mood of your character. The intensity changes during almost all songs.  Is your character wistful?  Triumphant?  Still hopeful?  Resigned?  Your vocal production, facial expression, gesture, and volume must change accordingly.

When you sing the same words more than once, each statement is different. Are you becoming more emphatic or resigning yourself to the reality of the situation?  You can sing louder or softer to match the mood.

Example: “I love you, I love you, I love you!”  You sing it 3 times because you mean it!  Don’t let it be just a bunch of words.

No matter how long you’ve studied or in which genre you are singing, spending time delving into the words of your song will improve your understanding and performance.

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Related articles ~ read more about how to do a great translation

• Effective Translation (gretchenspianos.wordpress.com)

Back to top

“Goal-oriented Practice” has gained many satisfied readers! Click for great reviews and comments. Buy it now!

Epiphany by the River, in 2 Acts

Tags

Ephiphany, Hudson River, Magi, Mississippi River, New York

Adoration of the Wise Men by Murillo ~ Image via Wikipedia

The Feast of the Epiphany celebrates the arrival of the Magi at the manger in Bethlehem. It is the 12th day of Christmas, which falls on January 6th.

Act I

by the Mississippi River

The church I grew up in is a mile from the Mississippi River.

On Epiphany Sunday every year, the “Three Kings” processed to the front of the church. They were high school boys in costume. Each “king” sang a verse of “We Three Kings” (what else?).

I attended the same church for 15 years, so the Epiphany activities were routine to me. The costumes were not elaborate, and the “kings” sang the best they could.  I knew what to expect, and didn’t think about it much.

Act II

by the Hudson River

Fast forward to several years later.

Following graduate school, I moved to New York.  Soon after, I joined The Riverside Church.

Epiphany rolled around.  And the “Three Kings” processed down the aisle once again.

But this time it was different.

Imagine my surprise and delight upon seeing the costumes, worthy of The Met!  And the singers were not only good, they were opera singers!

Fantastic, amazing, goose bump material.  Have you ever heard “We Three Kings” sung really well?

And the (indoor) nativity scene had a real baby!

I will always be grateful to have had that experience.  You should go!

Back to top

‘Tis the season…

Tags

avoiding boredom, inspiration, Music, repetition, Ruth Slenczynska

Image via Wikipedia

…to play the same music over and over!

Thanks to my best buddy Louise for the blog post idea!  She wonders how musicians manage to do this several times a day for weeks at a time.  Good question!

The easy solution would be to “phone it in.”  I’ve made a personal resolution never to do that.  Too risky (for missing cues, notes, etc.), not to mention boring.

How can we avoid zoning out?

A few ideas:

Always find a way to “reinvent” the music, as tired as that term may be.

Practice the program every day, whether you know it in your sleep or not.  Be engaged.

A musician who lived in my building in New York made a good living as a sub in Broadway pit orchestras.  He played 5 instruments, and practiced every one of them every day. That’s what it takes.

Practice the program out of order.  Switch it up. Keep your brain working.

Change something about your practice environment, such as the temperature, lighting, or chair height.  This also keeps you alert, as well as preparing you for day-to-day changes at the venue.  The pianist Ruth Slenczynska uses this approach.

Practice at different tempi. This provides the opportunity to hear everything differently.  Who knows?  You could change your interpretation partway through the season!

Vary the dynamics. You don’t have to play exactly the same way every time, in most cases.

Take breaks in different places (not always after the same piece).

In a church situation, you could harmonize hymns in a variety of ways, add a descant, improvise between verses, or even stop playing.

With anthems, the added instruments could change from time to time.

The choir and soloists could sing from different places in the room.

You could switch up the solos.

What was probably the most effective trick was suggested by a friend.  The Fantasticks, for which I played the harp part on a keyboard, had a run of 36 shows last Spring at the Majestic Theater in West Springfield, MA.  Imagining one person in the audience who had never seen the show made a big difference to me.  Then I had all the incentive I needed to be involved, to communicate the music like it was new every time. Thank you!  You know who you are… : )

I also enjoyed watching a veteran actor every night. He has been in theater for over 40 years!  His ability to “read” the audience in each show, changing his performance to match, fascinated me.  Thanks, J.T., for the inspiration!  I learned so much from you.

How do you manage to perform the same music throughout an entire season?  Please share your ideas in the comment section below!

Related articles

• Pothole Insurance! (gretchenspianos.wordpress.com)

Back to top

“Goal-oriented Practice” is 50% off in the E-book version, 20% off in Print.  You’ll see great reviews and wonderful readers’ comments when you click on the link.

Credit cards and PayPal accepted.  You do not need a PayPal account to make a purchase.  And if you prefer, you can mail a check!