If I could offer one thought right now, this would be it: Having job interviews right after having a baby is hard. And just because one musters the energy and focus to get through job interviews doesn't mean they are ready to go back to their day-to-day work.
And that's okay.
Now, off to prep some music...
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
The Longest Rehearsals
Today I was thinking about how to help my students. I know, I know, we ALL think about our singers. We think about how to inspire them, how to teach them concepts, how to get them to a place of personal satisfaction and smart musicianship... I leave all my rehearsals and reflect on what went well. But, when I ask my students to lead sectionals, I am asking them to take time to think through how to present music to their peers (even if it's "just" one line, they still thinking about so many concepts).
So, that begs the question: what can I do to help them?
The first, and perhaps most obvious answer, is to set a good example. I strive to be the best teacher I can be at every rehearsal, every class. If I am not, I leave and reflect on why I wasn't on my "A game." I recognize we all have off days, so I don't beat myself up, but I do expect more from myself next time.
The second thing that came to mind was: Be available for questions.
Yet, that doesn't seem to be enough, because how do they know what questions to ask? So instead, I asked them to give me feedback on how they felt sectionals were going. I asked them pointed questions: Do sectionals feel slow? Do they feel their peers are focused? What are they doing that is having success?
Based on their responses, I gave them some ideas to "break up" the monotony of sectionals. Let's face it- no one loves pounding out notes. So I gave them ideas of how I might address a few issues (some articulation concepts, some rhythm concepts, etc).
I know sectionals are not always the most awesome. But as mentioned a few posts ago, Mozart can be difficult, especially if you have not sung Mozart. What's also not good is JUST pounding out notes and rhythms. What about text stress? Articulation? Dynamics? Direction of line? So much of that is my job, so there's a delicate balance of teaching notes/rhythms without allowing things to be incorrectly entrenched in the brain (it's hard to unlearn a bad habit!).
It's hard not to want to micromanage everything sometimes. With that being said, I am glad my section leaders have the chance to lead sectionals. Leading sectionals and being in front of a group was so helpful to me as a young(er) conductor.
So, that begs the question: what can I do to help them?
The first, and perhaps most obvious answer, is to set a good example. I strive to be the best teacher I can be at every rehearsal, every class. If I am not, I leave and reflect on why I wasn't on my "A game." I recognize we all have off days, so I don't beat myself up, but I do expect more from myself next time.
The second thing that came to mind was: Be available for questions.
Yet, that doesn't seem to be enough, because how do they know what questions to ask? So instead, I asked them to give me feedback on how they felt sectionals were going. I asked them pointed questions: Do sectionals feel slow? Do they feel their peers are focused? What are they doing that is having success?
Based on their responses, I gave them some ideas to "break up" the monotony of sectionals. Let's face it- no one loves pounding out notes. So I gave them ideas of how I might address a few issues (some articulation concepts, some rhythm concepts, etc).
I know sectionals are not always the most awesome. But as mentioned a few posts ago, Mozart can be difficult, especially if you have not sung Mozart. What's also not good is JUST pounding out notes and rhythms. What about text stress? Articulation? Dynamics? Direction of line? So much of that is my job, so there's a delicate balance of teaching notes/rhythms without allowing things to be incorrectly entrenched in the brain (it's hard to unlearn a bad habit!).
It's hard not to want to micromanage everything sometimes. With that being said, I am glad my section leaders have the chance to lead sectionals. Leading sectionals and being in front of a group was so helpful to me as a young(er) conductor.
Sunday, March 6, 2016
Rereading Old Textbooks
As I'm preparing for an interview in which I'll be teaching a portion of a conducting class, I'm rereading some old texts about conducting. I'm skimming them, really. I am so passionate about conducting pedagogy and how the gesture should be an effective teaching tool, and not a deterrent, to the music.
There is one book (what I received is more of a manuscript, but now I think it is in book form) in particular I love rereading. It is from my Choral Methods class from undergrad. The teacher? None other than Mr. Weston Noble- huge inspiration and a true delight to learn from. Instead of expanding on one topic in this post, I would like to share some quotes as I come across them. Some of them are close and personal to me, as I subscribe to them as basic principals in my choirs. Some of them are good reminders. Some- well- I just think it's good teaching so I'm including it.
"What a gift we give to our students if we give them but ONE moment of wholeness they ill remember in the course of their four years."
"Only 30% of communication is the words. 70% is HOW we SAY those words."
In my manuscript, there is discussion about how some people believe to be very stern for the first semester with students. While I believe in setting high expectations, this doesn't mean being a teacher that is hard to connect with (forgive that I'm ending with a preposition in this sentence).
"Be proud of your love of classical music... Instead of starting a piece of music by saying, ' I know some of you probably won't like this' try 'I love this piece and I'm anxious for you to learn it. I know it's difficult, I also know you like a challenge...'." I have used variations of this when I teach. For example (relating to my last post), when I led the tenors and basses the other day in learning a portion of the Mozart Vespers, I stopped about 2/3 of the way through the rehearsal, took a moment to look at all of them, and said," I know Mozart can be difficult. We are focusing a lot on notes and rhythms right now and that's not always the most exciting, plus it's not easy. You are doing a great job, and I wanted to let you know I'm excited to hear the way you are starting to catch on to some of the nuances of this music." In reality, I know some of them could dislike the Mozart because it doesn't sing as easily as "Sing Me to Heaven" (which they just did on a concert). But I think they could love it.
"A carefully planned rehearsal is vital." YES. I plan my rehearsals, and I reflect on them rehearsals after they are finished. On that reflection, I take the initial outline of my next rehearsal and shape it based on the rehearsal before. Yes, I plan out about three rehearsals at a time- the first one being the most specific, and the second two giving specifics but allowing for flexibility to be shaped based on the previous rehearsals.
"Any choir encounters 'slumps.' One must understand the reason why this has occurred." The paragraph goes on to say to consider all things that could possible be affecting your students or your rehearsal.
There is a section about teaching using the three domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Kinesthetic. I consider these three domains all the time when I'm planning.
"Space between singers is a basic rubric!" Yes- when my singers spread out, they are stronger.
"How did Robert Shaw imbue this basic ingredient of rhythm into his choral music and musicians? Count-singing was the result." And then... "Counting can be counter-productive if a high tessitura is present." I always encourage my singers to switch to an easy syllable/vowel in the extremes of their registers.
"Then he (Robert Shaw) went on to say: 'You directors spend so much time trying to achieve vowel uniformity and then you never arrive at the vowel together!'"
I am not sure if this manuscript was published. If so, I will edit this post with the book title. If it was published, I am not sure how different the book is from the manuscript.
There is one book (what I received is more of a manuscript, but now I think it is in book form) in particular I love rereading. It is from my Choral Methods class from undergrad. The teacher? None other than Mr. Weston Noble- huge inspiration and a true delight to learn from. Instead of expanding on one topic in this post, I would like to share some quotes as I come across them. Some of them are close and personal to me, as I subscribe to them as basic principals in my choirs. Some of them are good reminders. Some- well- I just think it's good teaching so I'm including it.
"What a gift we give to our students if we give them but ONE moment of wholeness they ill remember in the course of their four years."
"Only 30% of communication is the words. 70% is HOW we SAY those words."
In my manuscript, there is discussion about how some people believe to be very stern for the first semester with students. While I believe in setting high expectations, this doesn't mean being a teacher that is hard to connect with (forgive that I'm ending with a preposition in this sentence).
"Be proud of your love of classical music... Instead of starting a piece of music by saying, ' I know some of you probably won't like this' try 'I love this piece and I'm anxious for you to learn it. I know it's difficult, I also know you like a challenge...'." I have used variations of this when I teach. For example (relating to my last post), when I led the tenors and basses the other day in learning a portion of the Mozart Vespers, I stopped about 2/3 of the way through the rehearsal, took a moment to look at all of them, and said," I know Mozart can be difficult. We are focusing a lot on notes and rhythms right now and that's not always the most exciting, plus it's not easy. You are doing a great job, and I wanted to let you know I'm excited to hear the way you are starting to catch on to some of the nuances of this music." In reality, I know some of them could dislike the Mozart because it doesn't sing as easily as "Sing Me to Heaven" (which they just did on a concert). But I think they could love it.
"A carefully planned rehearsal is vital." YES. I plan my rehearsals, and I reflect on them rehearsals after they are finished. On that reflection, I take the initial outline of my next rehearsal and shape it based on the rehearsal before. Yes, I plan out about three rehearsals at a time- the first one being the most specific, and the second two giving specifics but allowing for flexibility to be shaped based on the previous rehearsals.
"Any choir encounters 'slumps.' One must understand the reason why this has occurred." The paragraph goes on to say to consider all things that could possible be affecting your students or your rehearsal.
There is a section about teaching using the three domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Kinesthetic. I consider these three domains all the time when I'm planning.
"Space between singers is a basic rubric!" Yes- when my singers spread out, they are stronger.
"How did Robert Shaw imbue this basic ingredient of rhythm into his choral music and musicians? Count-singing was the result." And then... "Counting can be counter-productive if a high tessitura is present." I always encourage my singers to switch to an easy syllable/vowel in the extremes of their registers.
"Then he (Robert Shaw) went on to say: 'You directors spend so much time trying to achieve vowel uniformity and then you never arrive at the vowel together!'"
I am not sure if this manuscript was published. If so, I will edit this post with the book title. If it was published, I am not sure how different the book is from the manuscript.
Thursday, March 3, 2016
I forgot about Mozart...
I forgot how difficult singing Mozart can be.
I say that because as a person who has been singing for years, has advanced training, and has been teaching for over ten years now, Mozart just makes sense. I can't sight read Mozart perfectly, but when I'm singing any of his choral or choral/orchestral works, give me two run throughs and things will be pretty solid.
Then I stand in front of my choirs and teach the Mozart Vespers (K. 339). And sight reading is a beast for them. But how often have they sung Mozart? The singers who have sung Mozart before have said to me," Mozart just makes sense when you sing his music enough." And I agree. But what about the singers who don't have strong sight reading skills and have never sung Mozart?
So, I start them under tempo, have them sing on a neutral syllable, then add some shaping to a phrase or two, combine it with another vocal line, etc. And I hope they catch on. If it's a theme or something that comes back in more than one line, everyone sings it. I introduce articulation, but very few singers hold onto articulation as they are reading, which is fine, because I keep reminding them.
But still, after the past few days of rehearsal, I was reminded that Mozart can be difficult to read. I'm glad we had our concert February 24 and were able to start on the Mozart sooner rather than later.
I say that because as a person who has been singing for years, has advanced training, and has been teaching for over ten years now, Mozart just makes sense. I can't sight read Mozart perfectly, but when I'm singing any of his choral or choral/orchestral works, give me two run throughs and things will be pretty solid.
Then I stand in front of my choirs and teach the Mozart Vespers (K. 339). And sight reading is a beast for them. But how often have they sung Mozart? The singers who have sung Mozart before have said to me," Mozart just makes sense when you sing his music enough." And I agree. But what about the singers who don't have strong sight reading skills and have never sung Mozart?
So, I start them under tempo, have them sing on a neutral syllable, then add some shaping to a phrase or two, combine it with another vocal line, etc. And I hope they catch on. If it's a theme or something that comes back in more than one line, everyone sings it. I introduce articulation, but very few singers hold onto articulation as they are reading, which is fine, because I keep reminding them.
But still, after the past few days of rehearsal, I was reminded that Mozart can be difficult to read. I'm glad we had our concert February 24 and were able to start on the Mozart sooner rather than later.
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