Rehearsal Quote
via goenglish.com"Practice is for learning your part. Rehearsal is for learning everyone else's."
I don't remember who said that, but it's a good thing to keep in mind for rehearsals with ensembles of any size.
The Sight-Singing Matrix
via www.wired.comI taught an AP Music Theory class for three years. The class was a mix of band, orchestra and choir students (with the occasional guitarist thrown in for good measure). Some were planning on majoring in music in college; some were taking it to learn more about music; some, to be frank, took it because I cajoled them into it.
Because the class had such a varied skill level regarding singing, I started at square one. Most of the choral students were good singers and had experience sight-singing, but not all of them did. Most of the band and orchestra students had minimal experience.
One of the things I used at the beginning of the year - and came back to occasionally as the year progressed - was a sight-singing matrix. This is used in the AP Vertical Teams Guide for Music Theory (a great book for your district's music department, even if you don't teach music theory), and we also used it during a summer workshop I took at Columbia College.
At first, they look confusing. There's some solfege written on a grid, some are bold, some are highlighted ... how do you make sense of it?
I used this one frequently as a class warm-up before doing other sight-singing exercises.
Look at it vertically and horizontally - just like you would do when reading a chorale in standard notation.
Horizontally:
- The numbers here indicate the original pitches in the chorale this is based on (1 being the soprano voice, 2 being the alto, etc.).
- The shaded-in and bolded squares indicate the original line of the chorale.
Vertically:
- I filled in the chords, so each chord has all of the 1s, 3s and 5s that are available.
When you're using this with a class, you have a few straight-forward options:
- Students can sing one line in unison, and cycle through all four lines.
- Students can divide up and sing in 4-part harmony, singing the bolded lines
But my favorite was giving the students the option to choose what they want to sing. A student could start on the pitch next to 3, but instead of following the bolded (original) line, she could sing "Sol - Mi - Fa - Ti - Mi."
As trained musicians, we know that this is an awkward line - strange leap at the end, atypical voice-leading. The student might not know this, but she'll learn that some things don't make sense, and have some experiences to relate to when you discuss melodic lines and voice-leading.
So not only are students learning solfege and learning to sight-sing without worrying about notation and rhythm, they are also learning about voice-leading and what can construct a good melody without, initially at least, worrying about the rules common-practice theory has.
Using a matrix can also help with introductory dictation exercises. I liked to start without rhythms, and I also liked to use worksheets that looked like this:
Students circle the pitches they hear. It might seem elementary, but it works remarkably well in getting students to translate what they hear into what they see.
As we got used to using a matrix, I would expand them, such as this one (from the AP Music Theory book references above) and this one. I would take chorales used in band or from other sight-singing books and rewrite them in Excel and put them on the overhead projector.
Let me know if you have any questions about sight-singing matrices! Feel free to use these examples I posted, and share some others that you come up with. I didn't come up with this idea, but I found it very useful and worthwhile in music theory classes.
Remember: a goal of music theory is to get our brains to see what we hear and hear what we see. The above matrices are but one excellent tool to help students achieve that goal.
Politics and Music
via www.windrep.orgLast night I was at the Illinois Music Educators' Association Conference (IMEA) to perform with the Illinois Wind Symphony. Prior to our performance I was walking through the exhibit hall, checking out the new book and CD offerings (and sampling the occasional piece of cheesecake or pizza).
While I was at a CD booth I overheard a customer talking to the salesman about David Maslanka. My ears perked up because he is one of my favorite contemporary composers. Most of what I've heard about him from other people has been complimentary. But this person took a different angle.
The jist of what he said was that he was fond of Maslanka's music, until he discovered Maslanka's politics. The paton followed that up by saying that he was going to focus on composers (presumbly for his ensemble to perform) who are Republican.
This caught me off-guard, because I usually don't think of composers in political terms. When I do, I usually am not in disagreement because of my decidedly left-leaning political views, and thus it doesn't negatively affect my opinions of their music.
Knowing what I know about Maslanka, and for the sake of this discussion, I'd like to add the composer's religious/spiritual views in to the mix. (That may not have been implied in what the patron above said, but I want to expand the topic.)
via www.wikimedia.orgThere are some notable examples of composers who's politics we know, especially before our contemporary era: Beethoven (at least regarding his Eroica Symphony); Wagner; Richard Strauss. Of some more modern composers, we know of Copland's and Bernstein's political views. We know of Bach's religious views, among others.
In some clear cases, these views influenced their compositions. Maslanka wrote a Mass that includes the Latin mass, but also includes poetry by Richard Beale called “Hymn to Sophia, Holy Wisdom," talking about the Sophia wisdom of ancient Christianity, and his recent Give Us This Day - partly based on a Bach chorale like so much of Maslanka's music is - is influenced by a book by Thich Nhat Hanh.
But I can't imagine avoiding composers because of their political or religious view points, and the influence those views have on their music. Again, maybe it's because I typically tend to agree with composers, politically at least. Spiritually, though, that's more up in the air. I don't frequently attend church (maybe it's a symptom of being a PK), yet I find Bach's church music and Bernstein's Mass some of the most moving music I've heard or performed.
In my opinion, I don't think we should separate the composer from the larger society. A composition might be that person's way of speaking to larger truths or struggles of his time. ("His" being a generic term, not one implying a specific gender.) But at the same time, should we avoid those who hold views we don't share, even if it doesn't come across plainly in their music?
I'm interested in hearing what you think. Do you take politics and spirituality into consideration when listening or performing? Should we? Should we pretend that the composer doesn't hold those views, that he's separate from society? How should we let these views affect our understandings of his music?
"I Choose To Be The Best That I Can Be"
via www.natalieweiss.net“A new song by Jason Robert Brown.” Seven words that will excite any contemporary musical theatre fan. The inclusion of this new song – “There With You” – on the debut EP by Natalie Weiss will no doubt induce people to buy the album. It’s worth it for that song alone, but the entire album is a pleasant treat, a great way to start off the new year.
Natalie Weiss is a 25 year old who has been an Internet sensation for a few years. Her “break” came with a performance of “And I Am Telling You” (from Dreamgirls) uploaded on YouTube, and has been viewed almost 220,000 times. The other uploads on her YouTube channel have been seen upwards of 325,000 times.
She is becoming well known in musical theatre circles, too, having previously been in the 2nd national touring company of Wicked and as an understudy in Everyday Rapture on Broadway; she’s currently performing with the 25th anniversary tour of Les Miserables. She was a semifinalist in the 4th season of American Idol, and her previous successes and the release of this album add her name to the list of those Idol contestants who are more successful than the eventual winners.
Ms Weiss has a playful, energetic spirit. (Her online resume says that she “can sing flat or sharp upon request.”) This energy comes across readily in the eclectic mix of pop songs that comprise the EP. Each track has a buoyant quality, thanks in part to Matt Hinkley’s music direction. The album begs to be sung-along with; it would be a perfect road trip album, if only it were a little longer.
via www.natalieweiss.netThe EP opens with a spirited “More to Life,” giving a good preview of what the entire album will be like. It unfortunately ends abruptly, though, as if they ran out of tape in the recording studio. “Astonishing” is the Act I finale from the 2005 Broadway musical Little Women. Originally an opportunity for the character of Jo to belt out her life ambitions, the song works remarkably well outside the context of the show in this pared-down acoustic version.
As lesser-known track from Katy Perry’s first album (“Mannequin”) follows, leading to “Only Hope.” Originally by Switchfoot, it’s perhaps best known from the movie A Walk to Remember, in a performance by Mandy Moore. Ms Weiss pulls off a more optimistic version, with a great groove, and is nowhere near as pleading and desperate sounding as Ms Moore.
via www.natalieweiss.netAn older, almost forgotten Boyz II Men song (“Water Runs Dry”) receives another solid performance, but seems dated compared to the other material. It’s the one low spot on the album – but more of a dip than a valley. Ms Weiss quickly recovers, though, in “I Choose,” a funky, danceable cover of an India.Arie song.
“There With You” has many trademarks of a Jason Robert Brown pop/rock song, and will undoubtedly be heard at many auditions and variety shows in the future. It will be a disappointment to some that Mr Brown’s presence isn’t larger on this track, but he was wise to let Ms Weiss keep the vocal spotlight. His songs are notoriously difficult, and Ms Weiss handles the material with the ease of a veteran singer twice her age.
Ms Weiss’ debut EP is fine album by an exciting up and coming singer. The album doesn’t portend to give any innovative approaches to the music, but it does provide the listener with an enjoyable – albeit short – time. As Ms Weiss sings in “Astonishing,” her great adventure has begun, and we’re fortunate to be joining her on this part of the journey.
Related links:
-Natalie Weiss' website
-Download the album from iTunes
-Purchase CD from Sh-K-Boom & Ghostlight Records
-Purchase other albums with Natalie Weiss
U2 Does Clave
Yet another entry for my clave pattern list ... I previously noted how Gershwin used a clave pattern, as did Justin Bieber, George Michael & Bow Wow Wow. This pattern keeps popping up - you'll hear it in many, many places! (I think that's why I find it so fascinating.)
Like U2's "Desire," from their 1988 album Rattle & Hum. The pulse permeates the entire piece! PS Check out Bono's hair. Old school!
By xrayspx, via Wikimedia Commons