Greetings! I hope the ravages of Irene have run their course for all you east-coasters, and that life is quickly getting back to normal.
My last first week of school as a student is now behind me, and predictably (as all students know), it came with a few bumps in the road. In fact, there's kind of one central bump I've been wrestling with quite a bit lately. That bump is a combination of two related issues:
Getting tied up in negativity -- about myself, others, political situations, you name it
and
Not knowing where to put my focus.
These are fairly standard human problems, I think, and maybe they're even more standard for artist types -- because we tend to be sensitive souls, and many of us are basically hardwired for perfectionism because we notice a lot of subtlety and feel responsible for it. I think folks who grew up with parents, guardians, or teachers who tended towards the strict side also relate strongly to these issues because we're used to operating from a diagnostic perspective -- the main reason we heard from close authority figures was because something was wrong, and basically, there was (and is) always something that could be better, so we're conditioned to constantly seek out and weed out problems. The probable result of either (or both...heaven help us) of these situations? Harsh, constant self-criticism that gets translated into the ways we relate to other people and situations. It's exhausting. I'm exhausted just from writing all of that.
So, what does one do? Especially when the criticism inside gets echoed by criticism outside, and then it seems like the entire world is against you. What do you do?
Well, first off (and this is so difficult to do, and even more difficult to gauge when you're actually doing it), make a friend. That friend is yourself. I'm not saying that self-criticism is a bad thing, nor am I saying that we all ought to walk around in the world feeling like we're always right (because if you did, the entire world would turn into Boulder, CO....jes' sayin'). I'm saying that, when the chips are down, things are looking ugly, and the oxygen masks start falling from the panel above your seat, you have to care enough about yourself to put on your own darn mask. Have your own back. In the heat of the moment, practice non-reaction as much as possible, and then go away and think about it. That's the great thing about being a musician rather than a brain surgeon -- if you choose not to make an immediate decision about something, or if you change your mind later, probably no one is going to die. Probably. If, upon reflection, you want to change the way you handle a similar situation in the future, that's a choice for YOU to make for YOU on YOUR time.
Second, read this. Seriously, read it. It's pretty genius.
Finally, use non-emotionally charged activities to train yourself to ignore things that aren't helpful. That might sound either abstract or kind of silly, but I have a feeling it works. Why? Well, because I have the easiest time following all of my own advice (see above) when I am in the head-space I use for sight-singing or analysis. You know the head-space I mean...non-emotional, task-oriented, strategic -- still human, still musical, but not so busy with myself that I can't be present with the task (or the person or the conflict or the difficult conversation) at hand. Try this:
Rising Level 2's
Take a look at this:
This little piece has a lot of visually forbidding things about it that might get you all hot and bothered....however, don't worry. Ask yourself:
What is familiar and easy about this piece (it's in C major, it's in 4, there are only 2 parts, the melody is very singable, etc.)?
What is the best way to isolate small parts of the piece and deal with a little bit at a time (i.e., isolate the rhythm, look at only one section at a time, etc.)?
Notate on your own score the parts of the piece you personally find easy. That way, when you're reading through, you'll recognize when you're in friendly territory.
Each day, choose one or two difficulties within the piece and come up with a creative solution that makes the difficulty seem easy. If you get frustrated, walk away for a few minutes or look at a different section, and come back to the tricky bit. Change tactics. Don't beat your head against a wall. Play to your strengths.
Rising Level 3's
Look at this piece:
Before you do anything else with it, listen to it here:
Cool, isn't it?
Take another listen with the score (use the first link, even though they're singing it in a higher key in the recording -- the score is just a little nicer to look at than the one in the video), and make a little textural map for yourself -- where is the homophonic material? How much imitative material is there really? Is texture tied to text in some important ways?
If you try to visually determine from the score which solfa to use at any given moment, you may wind up a bit frustrated, because there are some funny twists and turns in the piece, and the key signature is sometimes profoundly unhelpful. Instead, I'd recommend that you give yourself one more listen to the recording with score in hand and circle the spots where you hear definite cadences. Then, work backwards from those points to determine your solfa choices.
Try to sing through each part and mark which keys/modes are in play. For fun, you may even want to do a solfa chord analysis of the homophonic sections -- you'll have to make some key decisions in order to do that, but who knows? Your harmonic analysis may actually wind up informing your key area/mode decisions, and thereby your musical decisions. That's right folks, I'm suggesting that musicality can and should be informed by analysis and vice versa. It's a two-way street, and it doesn't even have to be unpleasant. You can even change your mind. Who knew?
Rising Level 4's
Look at this piece....Rheinberger, if you've not heard of him, was a contemporary of Brahms.
Now, I'm not going to give you a recording like I did for the 3's....if you find one, please feel free to use it like I had them use it, if you wish. However, there's no need for panic with this piece either, even without the aid of a recording.
Scan your way through the piece. Take note of the places where accidentals appear, especially where they are repeated. If you had to guess, what key(s) do you visit? Do the cadences reflect your suspicions? In general, how does the bass line (and therefore, the harmony) move?
Using your own musical discretion, divide the piece into manageable sections. Sing through each part -- if you can, sing one part and play another. Once you've sung through all the parts and made some solfa decisions you feel comfortable with, do a Roman numeral analysis. Do the numbers behave like they're supposed to? Do you think you might want to reconsider some of your key area choices in light of the information the analysis gave you?
So yes, I think solfa and analysis can actually serve as a backdrop to positive behavioral changes that can have a lot of impact on the way you feel about your life as both a musician and as a person. The fringe benefits of a musical life aren't just for our students -- they're for us. The music can be our refuge, too.
Enjoy!
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