....On The Role of the Performer:
One of my favorite composers as of late is Michael Colgrass. He really defines the role of a "modern composer" in the way that he uses jazz and other more modern influences in his writing. We'll be talking a lot more about this gentleman soon but let me start out with a series of quotes regarding the role of the performer:
"When a performer is playing I am listening to everything that the performer is doing. I might find a performer in one performance who is inclined one way and then a month later, another performer is inclined another way and I will go with each according to that performer's nature. They are contributing something. So in other words, to me, a piece of music is not finished when you finish composing it-the composer is not the only creator."
"I think 'what do these performers give me?' I encourage performers to be creative."
"What I ultimately want is emotion....a powerful feeling of emotion in the musicians and I want that to come across to the audience. That is what the audience comes out to hear."
-from an interview with Stephen Clickard for the book "A Composers Insight-Volume 1"
What I find exciting is that we're talking about a piece of music that is living and breathing. Never finished but always being expanded based on the musicians who give it life. That makes the music a more interactive process and not just an exercise in receiving instruction from a conductor. That's music making at the highest level and the kind of music we're after in Wind Ensemble.
More to come. Keep checking in.
"When a performer is playing I am listening to everything that the performer is doing. I might find a performer in one performance who is inclined one way and then a month later, another performer is inclined another way and I will go with each according to that performer's nature. They are contributing something. So in other words, to me, a piece of music is not finished when you finish composing it-the composer is not the only creator."
"I think 'what do these performers give me?' I encourage performers to be creative."
"What I ultimately want is emotion....a powerful feeling of emotion in the musicians and I want that to come across to the audience. That is what the audience comes out to hear."
-from an interview with Stephen Clickard for the book "A Composers Insight-Volume 1"
What I find exciting is that we're talking about a piece of music that is living and breathing. Never finished but always being expanded based on the musicians who give it life. That makes the music a more interactive process and not just an exercise in receiving instruction from a conductor. That's music making at the highest level and the kind of music we're after in Wind Ensemble.
More to come. Keep checking in.
posted by Aaron Hilden at 8:23 AM
5 Comments:
I like the quotes. And this is a really cool site. Good idea, Mr. Hilden!
the thing about this particular blog that i find most interesting is how he speaks of emotion being one of the main parts in music making in one of his quotes. i think that playing with emotion is one of the most overlooked aspects of music. people look at the notes, the dynamics and whatever else is on the page... the "road map"... then they get to listening to eachother, blend, balance, intonation, open-ness, staying under the melody/bringing it out, moving together, keeping the phrases together... then they also have to think of looking up, keeping time, getting right rhythems, watching for cues...!!! well you get the idea... its madness already, and adding emotion may sound like something that, well, there just may not be any room in the mind to do that. but if you look at the emotion of the piece, the parts, the emotion the composer intended... and the emotion you get out of the piece, so many other things will completely fall in place...
if you were writting the last paragraph-type-thing on a piece of paper there would be scratches through most of the things you would need to look for if you just add emotion... to get everyone to add the emotion they feel from the music, all of a sudden you will get a darker sound, the phrases and dynamics will be together, everything will fall in place better then sitting like a stick playing what the paper says and nothing more.
i dont know... i guess i just believe in using alot of emotion in music. i also think that one thing that would help this is possibly getting the students to move around a little more when they play. let the music you're playing move your body physically. if the piece is a fun dance, then dance. if its slow and sorrowfull, then let your body mourn for whatever emotions in your life you can connect this with. you could get a very interesting outcome. i think...
well, i could write a novel, but i didnt think i'd take up anymore of your time. lol..
see ya tomorrow.
Emotion is a give-in indeed. the question is, especially in our setting...are you comfortable and skilled enough, not only on your respective instrument, but with yourself...? to let what you hear in your head, what you feel in your heart, be played through your horn and out into music? an imperative question, I think, that players at this level HAVE to ask themselves. You really have to master all aspects of playing: that includes the self, not only the 'hunk of metal in front of your face,' not only technical aspects. everything in music is important, and it's not worth sacrificing a beautiful performance for wasted time.
and i think that colgrass is a fine dude who has some wonderful thoughts about composing/conducting that many composers tend to glaze over; that actual human beings play their music, that the music will change in the hands of different people. very cool stuff
You all inspire me. Simply awesome the thoughts you have shared!
I agree. Emotion is a risk but one that, if taken, has great rewards for performers.
And Colin, you're correct. Concentrating on what matters in music (the emotional/musical/artistic center of the piece) usually brings out what everyone is after in terms of sound. At least with good players it does.
I don't think that playing with emotion is overlooked so much as it is forgotten. You're always told to play with feeling, but once you start looking at all the technical aspects of a piece, it's really hard to remember the real point of what you're doing. I was once told to "play ridiculously," and when I remember to remember that, I play so much more musically than usual. His point was that even if it seems like it would be overwrought to do that, it doesn't come across that way in music. Usually. Except in poorly written contemporary worship music, but I hope that we won't be playing any of that...The same person also told me to just relax and enjoy playing music, because that's really at the heart of it all, and I like to think about that sometimes. I also think that we constantly need to come up with new ways of saying that same idea, because the old ways quickly become habit, and then they don't mean anything.
I don't think it's a good idea (usually) to completely disregard the written instructions on the page, but what we do play should feel natural. Hopefully, the dynamics, etc. on the page reflect the composer's intent, and if we can figure out how the composer was hearing it when s/he wrote the piece, it can help us with our interpretation.
-Sonia
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