Dear Students,
As the end of the year winds to a close, and the chaos of the holiday season ensues, many students are faced with the dual challenge of more musical demands (usually in the form of end-of-year concerts, recitals, or holiday events) and less time for regular routine.
This month, you may find motivation through a deeper understanding of your practice routine. So far, we’ve discussed goals 1,2, & 5.
1.To warm up the voice prior to singing songs (increase blood flow and stretch/ limber muscles)
2. To condition the voice (increase strength, stamina, flexibility)
3. To improve musicianship (become familiar/ comfortable with musical patterns)
4. To learn/ master songs
5. To cool down (prevent muscle injury/ soreness after singing)
This month, I’d like to complete our conversation with goals 3 & 4, which go hand in hand.
Building musicianship can be seen as the development of a musical vocabulary of gestures, phrases, pitch patterns, and rhythmic patterns. There are only so many variations of pitch and rhythm that show up in only so many musical gestures and phrases, and express only so many facets of human emotion and experience. To put it another way: “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9 ). Becoming a better musician is as simple as becoming as familiar as possible with the musical variations that occur.
Musicians gain this experience through listening to and/or memorizing a lot of musical patterns and, ideally, gain the muscle memory to execute a lot of musical patterns. A familiar pattern is easier to retrieve than an unfamiliar pattern. Musicians who have, over years of experience, learned just about every variation will not find it hard to learn a new song. Musicians can cultivate this experience through two kinds of source material – exercises designed to teach the sound and mechanics of specific musical patterns (ie musical scales) and through routine song study.
It seems like it almost goes without saying, but for most, the main purpose of study is to learn songs. Whether in preparation for an audition, performance, or just for one’s own enjoyment, the act of learning and polishing a song brings great reward to the musician.
“L’ennemi du bien est le bien”
(the perfect is the enemy of the good)
– Voltaire
As you work to prepare a given song, it can sometimes be difficult to assess when a song is “complete” – that is, ready to share and/or set aside. In the case of repertoire selected towards a specific performance goal, completion is tangible, assigned a concrete deadline in the form of the performance itself. Those students who prepared for the winter recital have hopefully found that, after their performance, they feel a sense of closure and accomplishment in the work that they have done. This past month, I found myself frequently repeating to students the reminder that “your performance WILL not be perfect, but it will be good”. Regardless of how “close to perfection” the students’ work has brought the song, the experience of performing that song before an audience serves as an acknowledgement from the community of a job well done. At that point, the student can, metaphorically speaking, pack the song away, dust off their hands, and move on to something new.
It is a bit trickier to make that call on a song that is not selected for a concrete performance date. How is one to know when the song is ready to be set aside? How can you gain that same satisfaction without a public acknowledgement of completion? I find that, as with many things, bringing a little bit of intentionality into the purpose with which you prepare can be helpful. In initial song selection, give yourself a period of time to decide how you like the song – you may find after a week or so of practice that it is not a good fit for your current goals (for either technical or artistic reasons). Or, you may decide to work on it for a bit, and, in doing so, gain valuable experience. But after a time, you may hit a wall with it or get sick of it prior to the point of it being polished. In both scenarios, recognize when you have reached a point of diminishing returns and allow yourself to set aside the song (maybe temporarily or maybe forever) without any guilt or feeling of failure. This will free you to focus on music that you actually want to work on.
On the other hand, you may decide this is a song that you can bring to a point of true refinement. This is your invitation to dig in and explore and cultivate every facet of this song. Print out sheet music if it exists. Listen to recordings by multiple artists to gain inspiration for interpretation. Read up on the background of the song: the composers’ intention, its cultural and historical context, or seminal performances of the song. Analyse the song structure and (if you have the knowledge) its musical theory. If it’s a song drawn from a larger work, such as a musical or a suite, understand its context within that work and listen to it in that context. If it's from an opera or musical, research the character who sings it and, if possible, watch the show. If it’s in a foreign language, obtain or create a word-for-word translation and make sure to have that memorized along with the lyrics. Learn the notes, learn the lyrics, learn how the accompaniment goes, learn the dynamics, learn the phrasing. Determine the dramatic progression of the song and pick specific emotions that represent that progression. Practice conveying those emotions in your instrument, body language, and facial expression (this is relevant for singers and instrumentalists!). If you are a singer, plan your breath marks, where you have to switch registers, where you may need to employ vowel modifications, and make note of any other technical considerations that may arise. If you’re a pianist, play through it hands separately and notate fingering that supports the most ergonomic playing experience.
The depth to which you go will determine your reward, but it’s up to you. A very refined, performance-ready song is great to have in your back pocket even with no upcoming performances. Even if you never intend to perform it, work at this level will necessarily bring you to a deeper appreciation and understanding of the music and of your own instrument. You will never achieve perfection, but at a certain point you will feel ready to set it aside. But keep a list of “completed” repertoire – repertoire you’ve worked on thoroughly – and run through it occasionally to keep those songs in your muscle memory. The human brain is quite amazing in its ability to retain music. You’ve just gained a possession you will carry with you forever.
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