Learn and practice the basic principles of running an effective music ensemble rehearsal. Techniques and strategies are applicable to a variety of ensembles, including bands, orchestras, choirs, and chamber groups.
A Choral Perspective: Teaching Notes
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En provenance du cours de The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Fundamentals of Rehearsing Music Ensembles
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À partir de la leçon
An Introduction to Rehearsing
This week, Module 1, we’ll discuss basic philosophical issues such as: What we do in rehearsals, what skills are needed, and the idea of the conductor as “the composer’s advocate.” I will also introduce the concept of Macro-Micro-Macro, which serves as the overarching principle of rehearsals. Then we will move on to basic conducting technique.
Rencontrer les enseignants
Dr. Evan FeldmanAssociate Professor & Wind Ensemble Conductor
Music
[MUSIC].
Here is another excerpt of the conversation I had with Daniel Huff.
In this one we chat about how macro-micro-macro can
be applied to teaching notes in a choral rehearsal.
Dan, can you explain to us the basic process of just teaching the notes?
In a previous video you mentioned, we'll go ahead and
teach the sopranos and then later that with the baseline.
But how do we actually teach them the notes?
>> Well this gets partly back to the vocalism
problem, but whenever I'm going to introduce a piece I pre.
Sage that I, I, I try teach some of that in advance through
the vocalizing, through the warm ups that I use in the ensemble itself.
So for instance, if I know I'm going to teach a particular piece of
music, and I know it's got a particular figure or a particular technical
demand, I try and preteach that in the vocalizing so they have some
sense of it and then when I get to introducing that whatever it is.
I link what they already know to that little piece where I'm going to rehearse.
>> Can you give us an example?
>> Sure.
For instance if if I plan to rehearse in, something in Adorian mode
for instances, then I'm going to vocalize in a, in a, I'm going to vocalize Adorian.
Some sort of transposed piece so that they hear
the difference in the harmonies associated with that scale.
And then since most polyphony is primarily melodically conceived, so it's
very much scalar in nature, then they're used to working with that.
So, as long as I identify their beginning pitch and
their ending pitch, they've already got a physical aural link
between how it feels to produce a tone and what
that tone should sound like coming through their voice part.
So, I've already pre-taught them.
A sort of a general association with where the part
is going to lie, and what it's going to sound like.
>> What would an example be for a say as you would,
had mentioned before some ordinary homophonic
music that's not necessarily melodically constructed?
>> If I were going to do something like that then I would probably finish
my vocalizing with a set of chords in a roughly parallel spacing so that.
A common spacing for a choir thinking in terms
of C Major, for instance would be a C
in the bass, a G in the tenor an E in the alto and a C in the soprano.
>> Kind of the overtone series almost.
>> Yeah, right, exactly.
It's the overtone series.
And particularly composers who would write using that harmonic vernacular
that's going to be a very typical spacing of those parts.
And as long as you have a rough working familiarity with where
those notes are and how they start, then the people have an idea.
How to locate it.
Now after that, when it comes down to the actual specific
pitches for the specific part that's written I'm real big on imitation.
I think the easiest way to teach, to
compound the teaching process or to accelerate the teaching
process, is to illustrate as closely as possible
the end product that you want them to have.
So, remember, I'm going to start this at tempo.
More or less in key and on time.
It's going to all be essentially the way it's performed.
And the best way I know to do that is to be able to show them directly.
And there's an obvious workability problem because clearly I
have problems singing in the soprano and the alto range.
Certainly not, I wouldn't want them to imitate that sound specifically.
But I can teach them to imitate that sound stylistically.
And so even if I teach, for instance, the top line.
If I sing it an octave lower, which I
can control in my voice for most Soprano notes.
Then I'm going to be able to give them a clear idea, not only what the
thing sounds like in a fairly precise way,
particularly if I involve them in the process.
So if I tell them I'm going to sing it one
more time, you snap on all the dotted notes and all
the tied notes and every place where there's a half
note or every place where I should have held or whatever.
Then they're hearing both the style and the phrase shape at
the same time they're hearing the pitches, and then it's their shot.
Now after that there are some things that are just
easiest to, for instance if it's a question of tuning.
For instance, once we get this thing layered up, and
the parts are there, but not necessarily in tuned then
I'm going to reference them to a piano, and then we're
going to begin thinking in, in textures as opposed to individual lines.
>> Do we worry about temperament in terms of
piano being equal and striving for something more pure?
Yeah, we do worry about temperament.
But to be honest, if the tone is produced
well, that is if the vowels are produced well the,
so that there's a lot of acoustic integrity and,
and similarity in the choir between the various vowel formants.
And if they're singing energized and resonated, then
there are so many variables in the pitch that
I don't generally consider whether or not the temperament,
I mean, generally that's the least of my worries.
That's the most true when you got a highly chromatic or highly evolved.
For instance, if you're doing Schoenberg pre.
Serialist Shernberg like Frita Alterden or something
that complicated, then the chromatic shifts are so
many and so varied the intonation becomes a
serious problem because of the issue of temperament.
But in most other music particularly music for a more beginning choir.
In terms of my level of concerns?
>> There's, there's other things you need to worry about.
>> Well down the stack.
>> So you reference the piano at that point.
Will you reference it for melodic issues?
How?
It seems like I've seen before group that uses a
piano, can you, piano can you please double the, the alto's.
>> Yes, yes.
>> And then you take the al, or you take the
piano away, or can we just hear soprano bases, piano double that.
>> Yes.
>> Is that a reasonable process or?
>> Totally pro, totally reasonable process.
I think the problem with playing the piano is,
if you're, if I'm the only person there, if, if.
I don't have a full-time accompanist.
Then, I have to concentrate on playing the piano, and
unless you're extremely adept at playing the piano, then what
you end up doing is paying attention to what you're
doing as opposed to paying attention to what they're doing.
And that's a fatal flaw.
If the pianist, if your hired accompanist doesn't understand that you want them
out more than you want them in so that the doubling is .
Purely a matter of egicsey not of religious practices not canonical.
We're not going to do this just because it's morally
correct, we're doing it because it's only practically necessary.
Then they can double too loud or they can whatever you teach people the opposite of
what you want them know which is how
to become independent thinking musicians in their own right.
So if you would watch what I actually do you'd see me
start them and run in three or four notes and bail in three
or four measures later where I anticipate a different, a difficult leap or
a particularly difficult rhythm and I may even do it well in advance.
So if we're functioning in a certain key and I know that a certain note is
coming and I can play it as a common tone, I just play it well in advance.
The other thing I think is wise to do, if you're
doubling a part, double it not in the octave that it sings.
So if you're doubling the altos and they perennially flat,
not that altos ever flat, but if they did, then you'd
play it in the soprano octave, so that they hear the
pitches relative to each other, and the notes, but they don't.
>> So it pops out of the texture once it gets lost.
>> Comes out of the texture.
Otherwise it becomes part of the texture and they just begin to accept it.
Though the real reason why I layer so much is
because, in my view, the problem with ordinary, traditional approaches
to literacy is that people learn to sing their part
as though it were dots being connected on the page.
So they sing it in a linear fashion without realizing that.
They have to insert it into the texture in
time and harmonic place and that's a whole other problem.
So the reason I text you so much and the reason why I say
that I refer to the piano for harmonic texture for time to time is that.
I want them to see it as sort of a correcting context
to the effect the dot to dot to dot effect where you can.
Successively sharp every single pitch and
individually they don't sound hugely wrong.
>> Vertically they do.
>> But vertically they are massively wrong.
>> And what you are mentioning in terms
of the accompanist over time you can develop a
good rapport with an accompanist where they kind
of know exactly what you want and can anticipate?
>> Yes.
>> Oh yeah, they're going to want me to drop out.
>> Yes.
>> And oh yeah, that g sharp is problematic.
>> Yes.
>> And they can pop in.
>> Yes.
>> But that takes time, of course.
>> Yes, you prize those people [LAUGH].
>> Yeah.
>> They're worth their weight in gold.
>> Yeah.
Great.
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