Monday, February 22, 2010

Frustrations and Limitations

So, what happens if you are one or two in a group who really has a passion to push the group to the "Next Level?"

The group is Youthful.
The group is full of fun and fest.
The group has little or no discipline.
They seem to desire none of it...

Now, this group is NOT without talent and potential. Not at all-in fact, when the planets align, magic happens. The problem I'm seeing and having is that due to the nature of Youth, the rehearsal period isn't always used to its fullest potential-what I mean to say is, that if we aren't scurrying to learn and memorize something JUST in the nick of time for a performance, then there is a noticeable lack of adrenaline in the rehearsal room. If it's not a new piece, well, it's just not "Fun" enough.

The repetition needed for the first phase of learning is not what is needed for the second phase, which requires discipline and stamina on a subtler scale.

It's almost like someone who won't read unless it's on a computer: the toy is as important as the task at hand. All needs to be bright, shiny and new.

If the music isn't new, then there isn't enough interest to really polish it and make it WONDERFUL. The Youth mistakes the rush of performance for excellence.

If they're asked to repeat and dig deeper for more nuance and for better pitch or more musical understanding, more emotional commitment, well... not until I get a piece of chocolate...

The building of a true Work Ethic begins in childhood, and is groomed and nurtured in middle and high school. College is almost too late.

If the music is "learned"-that is, the notes are understood and can be sung back, then the Youthful mind says, "That's all there is. what's next?"

True musicianship and art come out of the willingness to suffer on another level to develop a totally different piece of work. The suffering is the harder more specific work it takes to break something down to the nitty gritty when you think it's already "Finished..." News Flash-it's NEVER Finished...

If posture, to take a basic example, is poor in a rehearsal situation, and causes poor intonation, sloppy diction, well, if that's what the performer is allowing to be the baseline, that is what the voice will produce in performance. The mind and the body speak to each other constantly; if the pitch is low due to bad rehearsal habits, well, the mind will not know the piece in any other "key." The body is being taught the wrong things from the start-or, the middle, really.

"I'm kind of tired of this piece..." comes the whine...ah, well, then...there we are...

Full of potential. Lots of talent. Incredible leadership. The ingredients are there for spectacular things. Where's the recipe? I keep waiting for the yeast to proof...the dough to rise...

Monday, November 16, 2009

"Here Are The Rules" or "I'm Going To Attempt To Control My Class" or even "Learn to Live Outside the Box by First Working from Within It..."

The following are links to various approaches to Middle School and High School choral handbooks found on the web. What I find kind of fascinating and cool, is that they end up being a forum or soapbox for these directors to spread their own personal message-to try and pass on a little of the passion for music that has transformed their lives. That's what makes it more than notes-that's what creates art-personal vision, personal passion.

My favorites are the ones written by those who have taken a personal risk in really opening themselves up and sharing their philosophy about what music can do for you and how it can change lives-ours. Those are the ones I find the most interesting-more than merely rules of conduct for a choral class to keep everything neat and clean...


Take a look-they're from all over the country, but it's a small world after all, it seems...(do NOT start humming that song-I can HEAR you...don't DO it...)



http://www.lewiscentral.org/vnews/display.v/ART/2009/08/01/46d338a4a952a

http://www.waukesha.k12.wi.us/West/Music/CHOIR_WEBPAGE/HANDBOOK.HTML

http://schools.fwps.org/sac/swenson/Choir%20Handbook%2009-10.pdf

http://schoolweb.psdschools.org/rocky/academics/performingarts/choir/Choir_Handbook_2008.pdf

http://cmweb.pvschools.net/~rross/smhschoirs/SMHS%20Choral%20Handbook.pdf

Thursday, October 1, 2009

The Text - is it REALLY Important?...

Well, yes, and no, depending on how you chose to look at it. I grew up singing the music for top 40 songs, never knowing the lyrics (because they were unintelligible...), or, usually the title. If the music portion was interesting, then I focused on the musical components and not much else.

As a cellist, I can recognize pieces I've played or heard, but can't always name them. I can hum my part, but the certain symphony escapes me...because it wasn't as important as what I was playing and experiencing. I refuse to get into a "Who Knows More Repertoire" battle with passive aggressive musicians with many titles...

BUT-when it comes to good and really memorable, of COURSE, text can make or break a piece. If the music is absolutely brilliant, set to an insipid text, will it inspire? It puts me to sleep.

In approaching a piece, I'm amazed at what musicians look at and how they interpret text.

In a dramatic sense, if it's not important in the utmost sense of the word, the writer would not have bothered. Same with the music....if it's good...

Looking at a piece of vocal music (well, the same really holds true in instrumental music too, but that's another conversation...), I look at it as a monologue. A story. A narrative. It MUST have a clear beginning, middle and end. It also must have a journey: how are we or the performer/singer/actor changed by the end of that journey? There is no 2 hour play to show the journey with any leisure-it's compressed time when it's a choral piece, unless it's opera, and even then, if you look at it, it's abridged.

WHO is singing, or telling the story? WHY are they choosing this moment, above all others, to tell someone? Who are they singing to? (I know-I ended the sentence with a preposition...) WHY is this moment so much more important than the previous minutes of their lives?

Artistically, in order to be dynamic, in order to inspire a fully emotional performance, the writer has done this work on a writer's level, and it is up to us to rediscover it all for ourselves.

For example: An actor should find a way to make the moment a monologue is shared so important that it merits a monologue. It's the actor's homework in the character. It is also the singer's work, the conductor's work... In a Broadway musical-the actors do not sing, until what they're experiencing is of such a high level, that speech no longer expresses the emotional message adequately. The musical version/translation of anything is on a higher plane. Opera-same deal. If it were everyday as usual, would we pay to see it? Movies? Would we watch someone do dishes and "be real" for two hours-REALLY real-not the movie version? Totally unedited? "The Truman Show"-did they watch every minute, or try and tune in when something was "Happening?"

Art encompasses special moments in our existence as human beings, as we try and understand why we're here, and what we're all about. Aesthetics improve the quality of our lives-they are not random. Whomever chooses an art form is choosing because of deep rooted emotions that inspire the artists. Furniture designers, musicians, bakers, sculptors, all artists. Same deal.

If you approach a piece with the knowledge that this is probably the "first" time of something, you'll be ahead of the game in helping to unlock the potential depth of emotion good, fabulous work can inspire.

It can be the first time a woman has ever shared deep important thoughts with this person. It can be the moment of death, or love, or hatred, grief-see? lots of riches out there. The stronger the choice, the better and richer the performance can be, due to the fact that it has heightened importance for the performer.

The writer, composers don't always see it, but if it's great work, the depth will be there due to the depth of emotional life the artist is capable of. Playwrights don't always see the imagery the actors and directors see-same with the music. They just wrote what was in their hearts and minds. It's up to us to find the personal meaning so that our performances can be as rich and wonderful as we are capable of sharing. It's all about looking beyond the written page. If you'll commit to that search, your work will never be the same.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Cross Country vs. Music...

I admit it freely: I am not a football fan. Sorry. I know what you're thinking, but it's kind of like not tolerating brussel sprouts or beets, isn't it?

Anyway-I'm having the opportunity lately to see the sport of Cross Country in action, and I'm very impressed with the kids in the sport. My 12 year old is new at it, but has found something else he wants to do.( Yes, I groaned when he told me...)

Went to a meet this morning. Early this morning. They had to be there in a Saturday morning at 7:00. A RAINY Saturday at that. He got up and went and ran in the rain.

We got some god pictures of him during the race that really show the effort and concentration necessary to be able, not only to succeed in this sport, but even participate, for goodness sake!

It's a team sport-points are awarded for various places earned, and an overall team score gets you noticed. BUT-a team sport? Is it really? Yes, I'd say it is. These boys and girls are together every day, running together-they quite often train in partners-getting to know each other, rooting each other on, so, yes, I'd call it a team.

The training each individual must endure is what the difference is, I think. In football, the bursts of concentrated effort are short in comparison. They don't have to steel themselves to be able to run miles by themselves in any weather pretty much alone. It's all up to them and their preparation. The look on my son's face while running made it obvious that there is deep concentration happening inside that head...between those rather beautiful but slightly large ears...

So-I hear you asking "What the hell does this have to do with music?" Ah-I heard that...Well, I think that music takes quite the individual discipline to go off by yourself and train, learn your instrument, do the research, have the right equipment, the right coaches and mentors in order to have a whole musician to bring back to complete the ensemble...

Whether you're an instrumentalist or vocalist, soloist, or ensemble-type. The training must still happen in your process before you can really be on the team in a meaningful way. Now-we've all witnessed the harm of the Diva Energy; this is a persona who has no true desire to add to anyone else's ensemble at ALL...It's a more(!) narcissistic way of living in this world-drawing attention and sucking the life out of a room in order to re-direct it towards oneself...a pity...they don't know what they miss... It's not just the trees, it's the damned forest doncha know...

The enjoyment of participating in any ensemble-theatre, choir, orchestra, band,-is a joy unlike most others. It's about celebrating the successes of each other and our group efforts. We cannot be a group of individuals and have the same results as when we commit to the group on an emotional level, give up the notion of individual success and glory, and be a cog in the wheel, for without the cogs, that wheel is just not going to function, will it?

It's sacrifice. It's compromise.

It's not about winning.

It's about doing.

well, would you look at the time...
another rambler...gotta go and "run a few"...


Friday, September 11, 2009

AVA thoughts...

What a great way to use a vacation day...

Spent the entire day at the AVA workshop today-LOVED it. The energy, the common interest of everyone there, the information I was able to absorb, everything.

Sat in on Lori Hetzel's talk on the changes the female voice goes through from puberty to maturity. I thought back, and sure enough, in the 8th grade, I was having a harder time singing first soprano, figured it was me personally, instead of my body changing, was bored in the soprano section anyway, so I switched to Alto II...lived there ever since...I even remember having difficulty singing with enough breath in church, for instance, just singing hymns. Funny-it's the normal process. Very interesting to hear her speak. Got more things to look up-oh, BOY!! More reading! (I'm actually really happy about that...)

Andre Thomas was wonderful. Quite the entertainer/teacher. Very involving, very engaging. Never dull. I watched him work the room with such specific intent and purpose-really fine.

I thoroughly liked his way of "re-attaching" the "Singing Head" to the body.Too many singers think that if the sound comes out of their mouths, that's all that's involved. He used specific physical movement/images to connect and give deeper meaning/internalization of what he's after-it becomes more about how it FEELS, than how it sounds. Simple movements that automatically give your body a different message and changes the sound production. Cool! Like cues for your brain to remember what the voice can do naturally...until we start thinking too much... Great habits/tips to follow. The connection of mind and body is incredible: Your body can help more than you think-it's VERY smart. Let it loose...


His afternoon session about his book on how to approach the spiritual was fascinating-made me want to learn tons more about that painful segment of our nation's history. Can't separate the music of a people from the history that created it. Sure changes how you hear a piece. His personal history is quite rich as well, making his interest in preserving the history and culture of his heritage all the more meaningful.

He walked the whole group across the floor while singing "Keep Your Lamps (trimmed and burning)" as if we were shackled together, unable to do more than drag the attached foot. Very powerful. Eye-opening.

These kinds of days, spent just sucking up music makes me blissfully happy and equally full of regret that I'm doing this all so late. I could have lived there the whole time...

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

"Stop InterRUPTing me!!!"

I grew up in a household of "Interrupters..." We all know who they are-it's a form of narcissism that is thinly veiled, at best. It means that we really don't have to be in the room-Interrupters can easily carry on a conversation with themselves...because they are too busy re-directing the conversation flow back towards themselves, that they have no need to listen to you.


It's much like what we all thought was "acting" back in high school-wait for your turn to say your line as beautifully and creatively and emotionally as possible. That ain't art, my friend...

Acting mimics real life. When it's artificial, we all know it-it's painfully obvious. Acting is all about true talking and listening, just like life is/should be.

If we are so caught up in the picture of ourselves that we can't even stop and see through our own fog to acknowledge the person there with us...well, what's the point?

"Seek First to Understand" another habit cheerfully brought to us by Stephen Covey...

Listening to words is only the beginning: behavior speaks/screams with much more volume and intent. The words can lie, but if you really LISTEN to the behavior, you'll learn volumes more.

It means training our eyes AND ears and hearts, really, to look for more than what's on the surface. It takes time, it takes the desire, it takes caring about your fellow man.

Stephen Covey uses sales as an example of a career that lives and dies by true listening. If you're worried about your sales more than your customer/client, you might make money, sure, but if you took the time and invested the energy in what THEY want, what THEIR needs are-not your mortgage or credit card payment-think of all of the needs you could uncover!

I worked for years in retail sales. Cosmetics. You think we didn't hear some life stories? But it gave us insight as to the kind of person we were dealing with, and if I was really tuned into them, NOT my commission, then even if I didn't sell them a million dollars that day, over the course of years I sure as hell did. I listen. I hear. I remember. Because down deep, as nuts as some of those women made me with their personal drama, I cared. I still do. I still hear from them. I still run into them. Sometimes I call them. If it wasn't sincere, my clients would have known. If they'd listened...

Listening is the building block for relationships. It shows that it's not all one-sided.

We are, all of us, creatures made up of years of memories and experiences. They all cluster together to form our particular source, if you will. Coach Veldran in high school totally, heartily, and with absolute vigor, disliked me. Why? I reminded him of his sister, and he hated his sister. (He's a miserable man, divorced and all alone, but I'm not the least bit bitter about the way he treated me in front of my best friends, whom he adored...his wife is the lucky one to have kicked his ass out, but I digress...)

If I'd looked like Farah, do you think he'd have spent so much energy on me being such a jerk? Well, I know therapy wouldn't have occurred to him...but I digress...

Do you think he really listened to his wife or son or students, he claimed he adored? Do you think he would have minded being beaten at poker during lunch by Farah???!!! But, I digress...

Listening is the source of knowledge. Without it we are all the Coach Veldran's of the world. Selfish little bastards...wait-is that another digression?...

Seriously-people are endlessly fascinating. If you take the time to listen, to learn what is different from you and your background, you'll be treating yourself to the gift of diversity. If we were all alike, wouldn't life be just the dullest thing going?... Slow down and take the time to listen on all levels. You'll be richer for it.









Monday, September 7, 2009

Reading Porridge...

Thick. Chewy. "The 7 Habits" is all of that. I've read it many years ago, and it's still relevant-maybe even more so-than the first reading.

"Begin with the end in mind." What the hell does that mean?

It means find the purpose.
Act meaningfully.
Don't live your life acted upon.

Whose life is this, anyway?

Love the way Covey has broken down thought processes here-"2 Creations" for every creation.
It's so true: Every idea is a creation first. Visualized by an individual. Manifested and made tangible if all goes well. The whole "visualization" trend made it all seem trite, but if you are clear on what you're aiming for, that's that first step towards having it come to fruition.

When I first had thoughts of stepping back into the Big Bad world of academia, I thought it through, made a ridiculous schedule that no one in their right mind would have survived (although I would have done it, I tell you...the survival level is what is in question...), only to have my employer of 12 years say "No." As if I hadn't made her an awful lot of money and given her years of my life and more energy than she knew. I was astounded. Really shocked.

I'd never even considered the possibility of her refusing my offer to continue to earn money for her and her company, but to add something for myself into the mix. She'd said no.

I told my direct boss "You know I'll find a job that allows me to do this."

I emailed The Hot Tamale Man himself and said that I wasn't going to be able to sing with him after all, but that I would find a job that would allow me the opportunity.

"If anyone can do it, I believe you will." he said, or something like that.

Within six months I had a new and really much better job. Here's how it all played out:

After I took a little bit of time to lick my wounds, I sat up and was mad. Now, I don't recommend anger as a motivating force for change, but this time it sure worked in my favor. I was so angry that this company saw me as expendable, and a cog in the wheel, that there was no way they'd ever get to my heart again. I started actively looking for a job.

My husband told me about an opening. I applied. I got a first interview. I got a second. I looked at my husband, feeling a little brazen when the words came out of my mouth, a little less than humble and said "You know I'm going to get this job, don't you?..." I don't talk like that...

I'd gone into the interviews knowing that it was right. Not the least bit weirded out that it wasn't necessarily something I'd done before. I'm not an idiot-train me. Teach me something new. The Big Boss asked me "Why do you think you'd be good at this?"

"Because I want to be."

Got the job.
Won Salesperson of the Year in my rookie year.

I wanted to.

I'd envisioned where it was I wanted to go, and I made tracks.
Even if someone trying to stop me made me make up my mind, I've always said "There's nothing stronger than a made up mind."

I'd hit a wall. I knew I needed out. I set my sights and everything fell at my feet. All of the pieces fell together. The timing was uncanny, but I don't believe it was an accident, or a random thing. It was, I believe, because I was ready, I was clear, I was specific. I wanted to be somewhere that would allow me the freedom to do something for personal enrichment. The idea came first. Then I manifested that dream. Too cool.