Four-Measure Phrases

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En provenance du cours de The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Fundamentals of Rehearsing Music Ensembles

208 notes

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Fundamentals of Rehearsing Music Ensembles

208 notes

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.

À partir de la leçon

Phrasing

Module 5 begins with a discussion about score marking, a topic that is controversial by some ways of thinking. One school of thought suggests that scores should never be marked with cues and other information, since doing so reflects a deficit in score study on the piece. Another school believes that judicious marking enhances our efficiency in rehearsal and allows for better connection with the ensemble. This module also includes detailed explanations of the three types of fermatas that were introduced in Module 4: caesura, release-in-tempo, and continuation. It is worth spending extra time on these techniques, as the skills involved in preparing, sustaining, and releasing each one apply to a variety of conducting situations, including cues, rubato, and accompanimental conducting. For rehearsal strategies and the rehearsal toolkit our topics are phrasing and dynamics. As with many other topics in this class we can only touch the surface in terms of depth, but I hope there will be a few ideas to begin filling your rehearsal toolkit.

Introduction to Phrasing1:12

Conducting Phrases7:55

Phrasing: Shaping a Melody3:48

Shaping an Accompaniment3:57

Four-Measure Phrases15:57

Phrasing and Accentuating Rhythmic Accompaniment Lines3:52

Trade-offs: Matching Style and Musicianship2:35

Rencontrer les enseignants

Dr. Evan Feldman
Associate Professor & Wind Ensemble Conductor
Music

[MUSIC]

There's a common saying that all music has to

either be going towards something or coming away from

something and really what that means is phrasing that

very rarely is something going to be completely static.

It's either going to crescendo slightly and phrase towards

a point, or recede from a point and decrescendo slightly.

We often think about phrases in 4-measure phrases

or multiples of 4 perhaps 8-measure phrases, 16-measure phrases.

The next few videos discuss this concept and show some of the variations that

we can use in terms of this to and from idea with common 4-measure phrases.

[MUSIC]

Good, good.

Can we think of phrasing this in a 4-measure phrase so it goes from the pick

up all the way to the to the down fourth, da dee da da and I take a breath.

Da dee da ro ra ra ra re ra ra ra re and then we start again.

Let's see if we can get that as a large macro level phrase.

[MUSIC]

So it really needs to go from that first pick and

we're aiming all the way the down beat of the fourth measure.

That's exactly when trombones give us

a little bit of re-enforcement, which highlights

the fact that it really needs to be a 4-measure phrase, going towards them.

Let's try that again.

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

Yeah, and it's incredibly important that folks that are

not the melodic voices to do the same phrasing.

So if you're underneath, make sure you're giving

the same 4-measure phrasing, so it supports it.

There's a concept called conservation.

And we have conservation in terms of water and electricity, things like that.

It works in music also.

Where we can't always crescendo.

If we say crescendo, crescendo for 4 measures, and

then crescendo for another 4 measures, it's not possible.

We run out of energy.

We have to conserve.

So we would go for 4 measures, and then

we'd back off, and then we'd do it again, because

it's really the distance from one point, and how we

travel that makes it interesting, not the sheer decibel level.

So let's try that.

We have a 4-measure phrase, we conserve

energy, and we have another 4-measure phrase.

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

Good, good.

Now let's talk about in the middle of this 4-measure phrase, there are kind

of micro phrases inside there and the harmony can help us figure that also.

Can we try the down beat of 121 slowly with just trumpets?

Anyone who has descending da, da, da, da,

da those folks, plus base line and we'll listen.

This is purposely constructed so that

there's tension, release [SOUND] tension release.

Those down beats are not necessarily chord tones, and so

we want to appreciate that a little bit as we phrase them.

Here's slowly, the pick downbeat of 121.

[MUSIC]

>> Good, let's try regular speed, and let's phrase it like that.

So we have a 4-measure phrase that goes as a macro phrase and we

have a micro phase that, that it

takes advantage of these tension release harmonicals.

Pick up to 121, just bass voices and melodic voices.

[MUSIC]

Good, good and in this macro phase, beat 3 of course belongs

not to the measure that it's in, it belongs to the next measure.

So we have [SOUND] think of how we would treat a suspension or any

sort of dissonance, we crescendo into the dissonance.

So we have a double whammy on this.

We're carrying something over the bar line, and we're

setting up our dissonance, and then resolving it properly.

One more time those folks, then we'll add the whole kit and caboodle.

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

Good, and that lets us finally going [SOUND] as being a very romantic gesture

because we can conserve our energy and let that be expressed without over playing.

Let's go everybody pick up to 121 [NOISE].

[MUSIC]

Good.

Boy, how tricky is we all want to make sure we have these

great little microphrases, but not lose the overall sense of the 4-measure phrase.

So, let's think both at the same time.

Same place, so we pick up, only with the quarter notes.

>> [MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

And see if we can just work on a few phrasing issues.

Let's treat these like 4-measure phrases with an arch going towards beat 3.

So D a measure 3 so D.

[MUSIC]

And then we build the arch again from here.

Let's try that.

So we have two 4-measure arches.

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

Yeah, good.

>> It, it's very nice.

There's a couple of things we have to deal with.

First is listen to how we treat the decrescendo and

make sure it goes at the same rate as the crescendo.

Its very easy to go and get fortay very quickly and

then diminuendo very quickly and not have a very smooth taper.

So let's try that one more time and then

we're going to work on some of the articulations issues.

Heres 14 everybody again.

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

Good, last thing we're going to do on this section is just with folks who

have the melody and somehow we have to find a way to hide our leaps.

What we're hearing from up here a little bit is [SOUND].

That octave leap is the hardest one.

But even the little turn figure in 14 has to be treated as smoothly as possible.

Let's try that.

And all we care about is that.

Don't even worry about phrasing right now.

Let's just isolate that smoothness.

[MUSIC]

The octave is great.

I think we can make it even better if we have the high E flat, right?

Yeah, the high flat just feel like it's an overtone

of the low E flat [SOUND] as opposed to [SOUND].

Try it one more time not [SOUND] It's like the same note, we want it to sound like

[MUSIC]

Let's go on and do it again.

[MUSIC]

Yeah well, those E flats are really quite gorgeous now, [INAUDIBLE] everybody

14 so woodwinds as we go through here can you combine both

issues, the arch phrasing but as you arch, you're almost fighting against

yourself, because you want to crescendo, but not let that E flat pop out.

We'll go on after this.

Here's 14.

>> [MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

[BLANK_AUDIO]

[MUSIC]

There's [INAUDIBLE] here.

It's just space.

There's no sound in space.

[MUSIC]

>> [MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

Sets the format of the phrases as the fuel that goes.

Sometimes there's a crescendo [UNKNOWN] and sometimes there's not.

But what they make sure, every time we go

[SOUND] and just make sure the folks who are

whooshing are the most [INAUDIBLE] melody folks

not so much a quarter notes [INAUDIBLE] so it

bounces, the mellow is a little under score

right now because the way were [INAUDIBLE] Lets

go right on to measure 17 please [INAUDIBLE]

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

[INAUDIBLE] Let's jump back into the [INAUDIBLE].

Guess he put a D after the quarter notes.

Can you play only if you have a melodic gesture of

some sort, starting at 17, as it comes into your part.

So you may have a melodic gesture then you turn back into

a pumpkin, and once you turn back into a pumpkin, don't play.

And then when you're a princess because of a prince, go ahead and play.

Here's 17.

[INAUDIBLE]

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

[MUSIC]

(music).

Yeah, just a couple of things.

Below, if we can make sure that on

that (hums) what you're playing expressly now doesn't get.

At any tempo.

The, I think we have to make, separate our energy here.

So, the energy expressed doesn't create energy tempo rhythm.

So just [UNKNOWN] that will give us a chance to saver and express this energy.

In terms of, I think in general, it could be switched on.

forte.

>> Yeah

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