Start at the Sanctus...

Today I sat in a coffee shop for two hours and rehearsed fifteen minutes of music in my head.

2 hours.  15 minutes.

Sometimes I gestured.  Sometimes I made notes in my score.  Sometimes I sang a line (quietly).  Sometimes I did nothing outwardly but was listening to the different lines in my head, hearing the music, shaping how I wanted it to sound.

And I barely got through the 15 minutes of music in those 2 hours.  I may have rushed the "Agnus Dei" of Haydn's Little Organ Mass so I could hear the entire piece in my head.  I'll start at the "Sanctus" next time.

Score Markings-- The Wrong Way

Score markings.

I did something that goes against every fiber of my musical being.  Instead of making score markings in my full scores (of pieces I am conducting at an honors choir festival in March), I made score markings in the vocal scores first.  I ordered the full scores, but they took about a month to come in.  In the meantime, I made some markings the vocal scores (that were going to be handed out to the singers).  --

I'm going to stop here, because I don't need to explain.  But needless to say, I transferred all my score markings into my full scores from the vocal scores.  I have the music in my brain, but I haven't put the all the markings in my full score.  And, I haven't went through the orchestral parts as thoroughly as I would like.  Needless to say, I feel behind.  It's a good thing I'm on maternity leave.  I have all this extra time... (I'm rolling my eyes.  You just can't see it).

So, this next week, my goal is to finish my score markings for Schubert's Mass in G, Haydn's Little Organ Mass, and two more pieces for the April concert.  The two choral pieces are straight forward.  The Schubert and Haydn will be exciting to finish marking.

Also, I downloaded two new books to my Kindle.  They aren't exactly music related, but I think they will be useful for me as a musician.  Both are Brene Brown books.

Rehearsal Always and Nevers

It's been awhile since I have posted, and I do plan on keeping this blog going.  But being tired and pregnant, and now having a toddler and a newborn, makes it so that some things fall by the wayside for a bit.

For today, let me talk about some things I am intentional about in rehearsals (both what I do and what I don't do):
- I still put the order of pieces rehearsed on the board (exception: if I'm running late from a meeting or something, and putting the pieces on the board would cut into rehearsal time, I don't do it.  I may start asking my section leaders to help do this).
- Every choir does some form of sight-reading.  And ear independence training.  And theory/history discussions.  Sometimes I ask the singers to lead the discussions.  Sometimes I flip the rehearsal.
- I never snap my fingers/clap/count to keep the tempo while my students are singing.  Never.  Sometimes I turn on a metronome and have them sing a section and we discuss where they first start noticing tempo fluctuations (which always leads to a conversation about subdivisional pulse... which I love).
- I don't mouth the words.
- I don't sing with them.
- Addendum to above: Sometimes I'll conduct a phrase to show a tempo change and have my singers watch and listen.  Often I phonate the subdivisional pulse.  I don't do this often, but I find it useful for them to know what I'm thinking re: subdivisional pulse.  Also, the music education majors love seeing this kind of stuff.
- I do what I can to involve the singers in the music making and music decision process, but I also have a clear vision of the music.  Sometimes it's as simple as having them sing something two different ways and decide what they like more (for example: Let's crescendo to beat 3 of measure 34, and the second time, we'll crescendo to the "and" of beat 4 of measure 34, and then you'll vote on which one you think is more musical/like better/gives more energy to the phrase/etc).
- I never have my cell phone sound on or vibrate on (unless it's the case of an emergency, at which point I let the singers know I may receive a phone call.  This is aligned with the cell phone policy I set forth in my syllabi).
- I always leave rehearsal and evaluate: What went well?  What could I have done to make the process more efficient?  Does efficient mean faster?  What took longer than I expected and was it worth the time?  Did I do too much talking?
- I always ask myself: Did I do too much talking?  The answer is almost always yes.
- I always apologize if I give an instruction while they are singing.  I know better than to talk over them.
- I always plan different types of rehearsals, but also am ready for things not to follow my rehearsal plan.
- Yes, I always plan rehearsal.  I write down objectives/goals for each piece and how much time I will allot myself.  I jot down some strategies (if it's a passage that we've already worked on and have to come back to).
- I read the room, and if there is something unusual, I make a mental note and often address it.  Sometimes, their focus and intensity is incredible (these type of rehearsals are happening more and more frequently), and I let them know that their hard work is paying off (I don't say that phrase.  It sounds lame).  Sometimes they are unfocused or consistently out-of-tune or a variety of other things, and then I tell them what I hear and ask them if they agree (and normally they give some solutions for how to refocus).
- I always feel gratitude for every rehearsal.  They learn, I learn, music is made, community is built.