Chapter 11--Questions 2,5; Project

Chapter 11—Teaching for More than Performances

2. List three places for locating music for secondary school performing groups.

1. Methods classes in undergraduate studies or music education workshops and reading clinics.

2. Listening to other schools’ groups and inquiring about pieces they perform.

3. Publisher catalogs and music stores.

5. Why is it important that students in high school performing ensembles learn more about music than the correct execution of the notes?

Learning to perform is a necessary part of music education, but students also need to be aware of so many of music’s other aspects. Reading music is an integral part to understanding how to perform it, and making use of expression through varied dynamics, tempos, and articulations is necessary as well. In addition, students should also be taught the various styles of music from different eras of music as well as the history behind such pieces and musical periods. Without an understanding of the music itself, how will students know how to perform it?

Project: Select a choral and an instrumental work from the music education curriculum library or the performance library at your college or university. Decide the following about the work:

(a) The level of difficulty

(b) Important aspects about the expressive qualities of the music

(c) How you would help the student perform one or two of the expressive qualities more effectively

(d) What you could teach them about the work in addition to performing it correctly

(e) What would you rehearse and “how”

(f) What would you prepare in advance

(g) Where would the trouble spots likely be

(h) How do analyses of cadences, keys, ranges, tessitura, etc. assist with your conducting and expressiveness?

Choral: Annabel Lee – Robert H. Young

(a) Medium

(b) Phrasing, solo/sectional solo opportunity, dynamic contrast, emotional expressivity

(c) Convey contrast in dynamics through conducting gestures; develop emotional connection to the story being told by having students relate it to a personal experience that may be similar

(d) History of the text (Edgar Allan Poe); importance of staying on pitch (especially with violin obbligato as accompaniment to the choir)

(e) Learn the melody on solfege to cement in the F major key, should be able to translate solfege to key changes; clear diction—a lot of words, make consonants clear and crisp

(f) Practice conducting tempo and meter changes and fermatas, cues for entrances and releasing suspensions

(g) Bass: some portions low for HS bass, m. 49; key changes, meter changes, tempo changes; fermatas; last page—5-7 part splits

(h) Higher pitches in soprano need support, so bring the volume up a notch to help them sustain their pitch (m. 64). Analysis of cadence points enables me to dwell on ending pitches a bit before going to the next phrase and also allows choir to take a good breath. Key changes may permit me to pick up or slow down the tempo a bit. Suspension figures can be brought out more.

Instrumental: Second Suite in F for Military Band—I. March – Gustav Holst

(a) Medium difficult

(b) Articulation is a key factor in effective expression—crisp, clear. Dynamics add wide contrast to the piece. Change in meter also provides a change of mood at Rehearsal H.

(c) Give very clear gestures regarding the dynamic, and also convey articulation in baton and beat pattern.

(d) Study of motives and themes throughout the work (there are several motives and themes repeated in the piece); use of unison rhythm in various sections and its purpose (only a few parts happening at one time).

(e) Opening motive—keep it clean. Work slowly, gradually increasing tempo. Letting the solo lines come through—cue in the solo part, but conduct the rest of the band to stay below the melody line. It will also take some work to keep the entire band together in passages with unison rhythm marked with such crisp articulation—memorize the rhythm for a small section and play rhythm together on one chord, watch me for tempo and dynamic changes, just to get the unison rhythm passages clean.

(f) Identify sectional changes in score, mark solo lines and new motives; take note of meter and dynamic changes.

(g) Opening motive—keep it clean: quick unison, staccato passages. Wherever there is unison rhythm with fast-moving notes, there could very well be a problem. Work through these passages slowly, gradually increasing tempo. Meter changes may also take the band by surprise, so work on transitions.

(h) Identifying sectional changes makes the mood more defined in the contrasting sections. Locating cadence points also provides opportunity for changes in dynamics (given in score or additions of subtle changes in dynamics). Locating the motives in different parts throughout the pieces helps me to understand who needs to play out and who can provide the harmonic support for the melodic line.