No school today, cause it's tuesday. Also, because it's tuesday, Fi and I went to Perkins for tea and knitting... which has become diet coke and studying. She did reading and I did Beethoven Analysis. I've decided it will be done for friday. I spent this evening and some time this afternoon doing just the harmonic analysis... it took much more time than I had expected... however I also ended up paying attention to the thematic aspects at the same time.
I need to wake up earlier on tuesdays and actually start working sooner. I've gotten in the habit of sleeping in til 11 or noon, and then not actually getting any work done til 1 or later... When I had to leave the house at 3:30 today, it didnt leave me nearly enough time to be productive.
The reason I had to leave today was that I was accompanying singers at their rehearsals in preparation for festival. It went well and gave me a good idea of what to expect. There's such a huge difference in accompanying young singers.. sometimes I forget just how much university student's know and have experience in. With younguns, you have to find a balance between following them(allowing them some control) but also keeping the tempo up or helping with notes depending on the particular weaknesses.
One of the teachers I was playing for tonight wasn't able to be there due to a family crisis (she had to have her doggie put down). Her student's still came so that they could meet with me. As a result, I got to give voice lessons/coachings. It was an interesting and exciting experience for me.
The first girl was quite young.. maybe 11 or something.. I dunno... She sang very very well.. which is good, cause I wouldn't dare do anything technical with a voice so young. The first song, she did everything well and told the story very convincingly. The second song, she didn't have the same connection with. It was "little lamb, who made thee", so before I went on to explain the text, I asked her mother if they were religious... the girl answered "my father is a minister" so I chose my words very wisely and was always watching for her mothers head to perk up if I was treading bad lines... All went well, and without preaching, I was able to bring her attention to the major ideas of the piece and got her to treat the lines differently and it really added to the colour and shape of the song.
The second girl was quite a bit older and we had fun. Her songs were going well. We worked on some tricky areas with counting... and who better to help with rhythm, than someone who isn't a singer..... (tee hee hee). With her, I worked a little more on technical things... sorta. I was trying to get her to relax, which apparently is no new concept to her... she said all her teachers have told her that. I tried, probably the same way all the others tried. It was sorta working and there were some much nicer colours when she let them out.
Anyway, this was a great experience.
On the bus ride home, I finally finished my book I've been reading: Paul Hindemith's "A Composer's World"! This is the first long book I've finished in a long long time. Alice in Wonderland was a step in the right direction, but now with this one down, I'm officialy off my reading hiatus. The book has been causing me to think of my role as a musician, and the worlds relatoin to music... And this last chapter really brought it all together and has inspired me. It has reaffirmed the importance of the music generalist.
I felt like it was speaking right to me when it talked about amateur musicians. It talked about how as an amateur singer or violinist or whatnot, there are community bands and choirs to take part in, but as a pianist there isnt really anything. An amateur pianist can never be satisfied, because they know how the music should sound, but don't have the technique to make it happen. This has strenghtened what David has been saying about how even if I'm not going to be a performer, I need to be professional in my pianistic endeavours. This will save me from the fate of an amateur who will never be satisfied.
The book also talks about the dissappearance of the true musical amateur... It used to be that 100 years ago, almost everyone know how to play piano or fiddle, or something. And those who didn't didn't know anything about music. That was how people experienced music, they coulnd't just listen to it. Now, you don't need any skill or knowledge to 'experience' music. We as a culture have delusioned ourselves into thinking that people know music because htye listen to it. We have poisoned ourselves with constant noise, be it in a store, or on the radio, or mp3 player... The blazing majority of people don't actually know or understand the musical elements of what they are listening to. Hindemith warns that this will develop into (currently it may well have) music PURELY for entertainment and explains why this is so detrimental to society.
his solution is that composers need to know their place, and need to create music and opportunities for amateurs, as the professionals are elite and far removed from the real world. As I've been reading this, I'm seeing examples of it all over the place and it's frightening... his predictions are quite accurate, and I worry as to the extent that the ramifications are destined.
I would love for people to read this book. There are sections for every type of musician, and I feel it is an invaluable resource for getting an idea of the importance, role and risks of each aspect of musical life; be it educator, performer, composer, academic... you name it. Talk to me about it, theres more to say but not here.
The only downside of the day is that, because of Beethoven, I didn't really get much practicing done... althogh I had half an hour at the Conservatory between soem lessons and I can now play all the notes in the brahms intermezzo... which is a good accomplishment.never mind the fact that I'm behind on thepractice goals schedule.. but we'll find out just how much tomorrow, at my lesson.
No comments:
Post a Comment