Perpetual Motion

Greetings, dear ones!

No doubt some of you noticed I had a little blog lapse last weekend. Originally, that wasn’t my intention, but things got a little crazy in the midst of CU’s spring break (no, not that kind of crazy...), so before I knew it, it was Thursday, and I decided I may as well wait until the weekend. So, apologies to anyone who may have felt deprived of their weekly dose of solfa...

Like I said, things have been busy -- good busy, though, and while I join with many in wishing spring break could magically repeat itself, I think we’ll all make it to the end of the school year in style. This final spring-break stretch, with its parade of concerts, dress rehearsals, holy days, musicals, etc., always scares me a little. The knowledge that it’s going to be a run to the finish line can be a bit daunting. However, hopefully this is also a time to start reaping the benefits of long months of preparation, the time when you get to find out if the steps you took were the steps you needed to take. So hopefully, for better or for worse, this will be a time of intense learning, and even if things get hairy, you’ll know better for the next time around.

With that in mind, I offer these rhythmically active examples for your enjoyment, your preparation, and your diversion:

Rising Level 2's

Take a look at the following from Ottman:

12.1, 12.2, 12.4, 12.13, 12.24, 12.27

First, SCAN your way through each example. Look for patterns (scales, triads, rhythmic cells, melodic sequences) to act as guideposts.

Second, decide on your approach to any passages that look particularly thorny. Decide where audiation of a particular scale degree or harmonic underpinning might make your life a lot easier.

Third, pick a reasonable tempo (but hopefully not too slow!), sing the example through, and try not to stop. Once you get through it once, take care of any little boo-boos through smart practicing and go through it again.

Fourth, use what you learn each day about the troublesome parts of that day’s example to guide your practice for the next day’s example. See if you can come up with a list of the strategies that worked best for you. If you like, shoot me an email about what you discover, or call up a friend and discuss your pedagogical discoveries.

Rising Level 3’s

Take a look at these Ottman ditties:

12.40, 12.42, 12.48, 12.52, 13.7, 13.26

Follow the steps outlined above.

Rising Level 4’s

For you, a special treat!

http://www1.cpdl.org/wiki/images/1/1d/Barhu_-_salomone_rossi.pdf

We’ll modify the steps above in the following ways:

Take two days on each voice part, and go through steps 1 and 2 the first day, steps 3 and 4 the second day. Note that the key signature depicted may not necessarily dictate the best solfa choice (especially given the time of the piece's origin)

If you’re feeling particularly frisky at the end of the week, round up a group to sing through multiple parts together.

Definitely do yourself a favor and listen to the whole piece here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHsXu2WwbNY

Enjoy, my friends, and may you stay in motion!

You have a heart...

Heartfelt greetings, my dear students!

I just arrived home from several lovely days at the American Choral Directors' Association national convention in Chicago. Not only did I get to hear some fantastic choirs, I had the chance to reconnect with lots of my friends now living afar, and even have time for a little attitude adjustment.

That's right, an attitude adjustment. You see, I think we musician types tend to get all jammed up (to borrow a term from my beloved older brother) over many, many things, and we become extremely critical of both others and ourselves, and we forget why we're in this business. We forget it's not just a craft (or a business, for that matter), but a soul-baring art, and that the whole point is to be able to say something and to say it from the deepest and truest part of us. Yes, this sounds extraordinarily touchy-feely, maybe even more than usual, so let me explain.

Many of you will recognize the name Alice Parker, probably from the cover of countless choral octavos, many of which were co-arranged with the late Robert Shaw. Ms. Parker has been doing what she does for a very long time, and I don't think anyone would argue with the idea that she is a person who truly deserves to be thought of as the top of our field. As such, she could work with whomever she wants, and probably be able to present on any topic of her choosing at any ACDA convention ever. I know it was her name that brought me to the Chicago Hilton yesterday morning, but I was greeted by something I never expected. Joyful Noise Chorus and their conductor, Allison Fromm were Alice Parker's co-presenters, and they blew me away. Joyful Noise Chorus is a group comprised of singers with physical and intellectual disabilities, and they were co-founded by Allison Fromm and her sister, Beth. This group of singers performed with the beauty, honesty, and openness I've seen from my own sister (who, as some of you know, has autism and intellectual disabilities....and who is the person who forced me to learn to play by ear because she wanted to hear me play "Peter and the Wolf" and wasn't going to take "I don't have the score" for an answer!), and....well, let's just say the tears flowed freely throughout the session. No pretense, no judgy-wudgy nonsense from the floor, just honest music-making in collaboration with several giants in the choral field, people I never would have expected to see on stage with a choir of people with special needs.

I believe this is more than a photo op or a moment to grab a kleenex. This is the real story, and it's at least two-fold:

First, the singers in Joyful Noise obviously know a lot of things for sure that we don't feel sure about at all. They have no qualms about saying what's on their minds, or about singing straight from their hearts. This kind of openness and vulnerability is the antidote to the passivity and apathy so endemic in our culture. As the words of one of Joyful Noise's songs go: "You have a heart....so use it!"

Second, the interaction between Joyful Noise and the folks I affectionately refer to as ACDA royalty was incredibly beautiful. Why? Because nobody was copping an attitude. Nobody was carrying themselves as if they'd taken a step down. It was people being with people. And, if we believe in Kodaly's philosophy that music belongs to everyone, I think it has to belong equally to every human creature.

Does all this mean we shouldn't study to be technically proficient? No, not at all, but it does mean we have to remember where the music comes from. We all have a heart.

If you'd like, you can always go back and catch up on a week of Ottmans you missed, but this week's unapologetically touchy-feely assignment is:

All Levels:

You have a heart. So, use it!

Let your light shine!

Transfiguration

Greetings, ever-adaptive singers!

This morning, I led some of my favorite singers through a service at a lovely church in Denver, which has re-sensitized me to the liturgical calendar and alerted me to the fact that today is "Transfiguration Sunday" -- the last Sunday before Ash Wednesday. So, for the folks who follow the liturgical calendar, Tuesday is the day to eat pancakes, get the Alleluias out of your system, and yuck it up...and starting Wednesday, the minor mode, fasting, and the color purple reign supreme for 40 days of Lent. And, Transfiguration Sunday itself is interesting and cool in its own right/rite: the gospel story is that Jesus and three of his disciples went up on a mountain, and suddenly Jesus didn't look like the guy they'd been trekking around with for the past 3 years -- all of a sudden, he glowed with a bright light and all kinds of crazy stuff went down (including a cameo appearance by Elijah and Moses).

Whatever your religious persuasion, I think it's possible to relate to this notion of transfiguration in some way. I think we all experience it -- a moment comes along, something happens that has never happened before, and we see ourselves or someone or something else we know change radically in an instant, and a part of them rises to the surface that we've never seen. Sometimes it's for the better, sometimes not, but it's always memorable. And, in a way, isn't it vital to our survival that we can still be surprised by what can happen both outside and inside ourselves? The world is chaotic, and we may all yet see things we've never dreamed of, but even so, we each have stores of strength and instinct that will surface only when the moment is right. So effectively, that means we're all stronger than we think, even when Plan A is a distant memory....and Plan Z is all of a sudden on deck.

So, here's a little exercise in "transfiguration" for you all...it's a stretch, and probably not so very profound, but I hope you'll enjoy it just the same...

Rising Level 2's

I'd like for you all to go on a little adventure with me....to Ottman, Ch. 20...

Don't panic!

20.1 - Read as written, go with the key signature for your solfa. Anything weird? No? Good.

20.2 - Read as written, go with the key signature for your solfa. All good? By now, you've surely figured out what the deal is with this chapter, yes? Now, try reading through the example again, but pretend it has a flat in the key signature, and sing the B-naturals as "fi". What did you think? Which way did you prefer?

20.3 - Read as written, go with the key signature for your solfa. For fun, sing it once in E minor with f-sharps instead of f-naturals. What happens to the character of the piece?

20.4 - Read as written, go with the key signature for your solfa. Now, pretend there's a flat in the key signature and sing it starting from do, but sing the B-naturals as "fi". Which way did you like better?

20.5 - Read as written, go with the key signature for your solfa. Now, pretend there's a sharp in the key signature and sing it starting with so,-do rather than re,-so and call the F-naturals "ta". Which way did you like better?

Rising Level 3's

Take a look at this piece by Palestrina:

http://www.choralwiki.org/wiki/images/sheet/pal-supe.pdf

Let's take it step-by-step:

Step 1 - Sing through the bass and alto lines up to m. 14. What mode does the piece seem to be in? What is the intervallic relationship between the bass entrance and the alto entrance? Is it imitative? If so, is the alto a tonal answer or a real answer of the bass?

Step 2 - Look at mm. 14-23. How has the texture changed? Sing through any two vocal lines of your choice.

Step 3 - Look at mm. 23-39. Has the texture changed again? Sing through the soprano and alto lines mm. 23-28. How would you characterize the way these two parts move in relationship to one another? See if you can find similar "duet" relationships between other voice parts in this section.

Step 4 - Look at mm. 39-55. What is the main rhythmic event of this section? What word does it seem to be highlighting? What does that word mean (hint: use Google translate)? Sing through any two voice parts of your choosing.

Step 5 - Look at mm. 55-end. Pay particular attention to the soprano voice -- compare it to what has happened before range-wise. Where is the highest note? Why? Sing through any two voice parts of your choosing.

Rising Level 4's

For you all, a special treat....

Look at this piece:

Page 1: http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~lsa/associated/Susanne/LupiP1.pdf

Page 2: http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~lsa/associated/Susanne/LupiP2.pdf

Sing through the tenor line only.

Now, look at this piece:

Page 1: http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~lsa/associated/Susanne/SusanneChoralP1.pdf

Page 2: http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~lsa/associated/Susanne/SusanneChoralP2.pdf

Page 3: http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~lsa/associated/Susanne/SusanneChoralP3.pdf

Sing through the soprano line. How often does it line up with the tenor line of the first piece? Now sing through the tenor 1 line. How often does it line up with the tenor line of the first piece? Is the original material sometimes transformed in some way? Does it ever creep into other voices? Is it ever transposed? Does there seem to be an obvious connection between the two pieces (sort of like L'Homme Arme masses)? If you're interested, you can read more about the tradition here.

And finally, in the spirit of the season:

Change by Tracy Chapman

Enjoy!