Performing
The Best Ensembles
23/10/09 19:54
When playing music with two or more musicians, you’re either leading or following.
In the best ensembles, everyone’s doing both simultaneously.
In the best ensembles, everyone’s doing both simultaneously.
Perfect Technique
06/08/09 09:44
You have perfect technique if:
Your listeners will think you have perfect technique if:
- You sound exactly how you want to sound and
- You’re not injuring yourself
Your listeners will think you have perfect technique if:
- You satisfy their tastes
Sweet Spots
26/06/09 16:43
I just got home from a performance of one of my favourite operas.
Tempos were generally slower than I’m used to. I felt the conductor was trying to milk every drop of emotion out of every sweet spot. Critics might have called it an indulgent performance. I wasn’t moved. But that’s not my point.
A sweet spot could be a number of different things. It could be a tempo, a melody, a groove, a climax, a note, or a chord. Anything that gives you that feeling.
We can’t get enough of the sweet spots. So it’s only natural to indulge in them. We’ll take these powerful moments and emphasize them somehow in our own performances. I thought that the conductor I heard tonight was slowing down and dragging out every melodic climax and sweet spot to the point of over emphasis and over indulgence. Again, I didn’t enjoy it, but there were other members of audience so moved that they couldn’t hold back the tears.
The interesting part:
In that audience was the next generation of listeners and performers, moved to tears from those emphasized and indulged sweet spots. What will their performances sound like? As I sat listening, I began to imagine the performance history of this opera. I heard a lineage of over-indulged indulgences. What about the next generation? When this opera is performed 100 years from now, how slow will those sweet spots be?
Who knows…. But this raises some interesting points about the performing lineage of classic, timeless works. I would argue that studying pieces of music to perform them as it was originally performed is a futile task. They’re inevitably going to change with the rest of us!
Tempos were generally slower than I’m used to. I felt the conductor was trying to milk every drop of emotion out of every sweet spot. Critics might have called it an indulgent performance. I wasn’t moved. But that’s not my point.
A sweet spot could be a number of different things. It could be a tempo, a melody, a groove, a climax, a note, or a chord. Anything that gives you that feeling.
We can’t get enough of the sweet spots. So it’s only natural to indulge in them. We’ll take these powerful moments and emphasize them somehow in our own performances. I thought that the conductor I heard tonight was slowing down and dragging out every melodic climax and sweet spot to the point of over emphasis and over indulgence. Again, I didn’t enjoy it, but there were other members of audience so moved that they couldn’t hold back the tears.
The interesting part:
In that audience was the next generation of listeners and performers, moved to tears from those emphasized and indulged sweet spots. What will their performances sound like? As I sat listening, I began to imagine the performance history of this opera. I heard a lineage of over-indulged indulgences. What about the next generation? When this opera is performed 100 years from now, how slow will those sweet spots be?
Who knows…. But this raises some interesting points about the performing lineage of classic, timeless works. I would argue that studying pieces of music to perform them as it was originally performed is a futile task. They’re inevitably going to change with the rest of us!
Zoning
20/05/09 00:34
I thought I’d reflect a little more on my entry from May 10th. Specifically, how to find your ‘zone.’ I’m using that term to reference the mind space performers find themselves in when they are the most focused, creative and a possess a heightened capacity for channeling their ideas and inspiration.
I’m most happy with a performance when I’ve found my zone. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s difficult to find and even when I’ve found it, it’s difficult to retain. It occurred to me that your zone is a place of absolute freedom from the constraints of self-consciousness. If a performer is NOT in the zone, they may feel an internal pressure to play a certain thing or sound a certain way.
For example, they may be overly concerned that they are boring their audience, and feel pressure to alter their performance to keep them engaged and entertained. They may be unprepared or nervous. They may be fearful of sounding un-hip and therefore artificially hipify their music. Maybe they feel a pressure to sound like someone they’re not, hoping to bypass judgment from their peers. They’re all different issues, but will all contribute to the clouding of your zone.
What’s the solution? It mostly boils down to performance experience. And playing what you know and only what you know. Develop a concept you’re confident with and put yourself on the line.
Otherwise, you’ll sound how you feel: unfocused and out of your zone.
Be brave and be honest.
I’m most happy with a performance when I’ve found my zone. Unfortunately, sometimes it’s difficult to find and even when I’ve found it, it’s difficult to retain. It occurred to me that your zone is a place of absolute freedom from the constraints of self-consciousness. If a performer is NOT in the zone, they may feel an internal pressure to play a certain thing or sound a certain way.
For example, they may be overly concerned that they are boring their audience, and feel pressure to alter their performance to keep them engaged and entertained. They may be unprepared or nervous. They may be fearful of sounding un-hip and therefore artificially hipify their music. Maybe they feel a pressure to sound like someone they’re not, hoping to bypass judgment from their peers. They’re all different issues, but will all contribute to the clouding of your zone.
What’s the solution? It mostly boils down to performance experience. And playing what you know and only what you know. Develop a concept you’re confident with and put yourself on the line.
Otherwise, you’ll sound how you feel: unfocused and out of your zone.
Be brave and be honest.
Pre-Screening
10/05/09 00:28
I recorded a demo today to submit to various competitions and festivals. I always have problems when I’m preparing material for competitions. If you’ve ever experienced a pre-screening process, you may know what I’m talking about.
First of all, competitions are useless to the advancement of a career unless you can get past pre-screening. If that happens, then can you can start cultivating relationships, perform live for your peers and maybe even walk away with some money!
So when preparing for pre-screening, there’s a struggle. You really want to make it to the next round and so your demo has got to be bold. You want to make it clear to the judges in the first 30 seconds that you can play fast, groove hard, be creative, acknowledge tradition, retain interest and attract an audience. The problem, considering all of these things is that it’s very difficult to make an honest statement that represents you and your musicality. Should you play for the judges, or should you just play?
Competitions are unpredictable. The most deserving doesn’t always win. Sometimes it’s the person who’s the most commercial, or the person with a touching story. Maybe it’s the person who’s the best looking. The point is that you’re never going to know what judges want. I’ve come to realize that you’re best shot is to stop thinking about it, find the zone and do what you do best.
First of all, competitions are useless to the advancement of a career unless you can get past pre-screening. If that happens, then can you can start cultivating relationships, perform live for your peers and maybe even walk away with some money!
So when preparing for pre-screening, there’s a struggle. You really want to make it to the next round and so your demo has got to be bold. You want to make it clear to the judges in the first 30 seconds that you can play fast, groove hard, be creative, acknowledge tradition, retain interest and attract an audience. The problem, considering all of these things is that it’s very difficult to make an honest statement that represents you and your musicality. Should you play for the judges, or should you just play?
Competitions are unpredictable. The most deserving doesn’t always win. Sometimes it’s the person who’s the most commercial, or the person with a touching story. Maybe it’s the person who’s the best looking. The point is that you’re never going to know what judges want. I’ve come to realize that you’re best shot is to stop thinking about it, find the zone and do what you do best.