Learn and practice the basic principles of running an effective music ensemble rehearsal. Techniques and strategies are applicable to a variety of ensembles, including bands, orchestras, choirs, and chamber groups.
Working with an Accompanist
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来自 北卡罗莱纳大学教堂山分校 的课程
音乐合奏排练基础
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从本节课中
Accompanimental Conducting and Intonation
Module 6 (our final week!) begins with a brief discussion about planning rehearsals, moves to techniques for accompanimental conducting, and then dips into the Rehearsal Toolkit for intonation strategies. The intonation section includes an introduction to overtones, harmonics, and temperaments. These are acoustic concepts for which at least a basic understanding is useful for knowing how to achieve good pitch. It’s a fascinating topic, and a great example of how we can apply science to art. The final few videos cover a miscellanea of rehearsal topics, including protecting one’s ears, the use of a podium, and set-up issues.
与讲师见面
Dr. Evan FeldmanAssociate Professor & Wind Ensemble Conductor
Music
[MUSIC]
A unique aspect of working with choral ensembles is working with an accompanist.
I talked about this issue with my choral colleague, Daniel Huff.
Would you agree that an accompanist has two basic functions?
One is to support learning notes, rhythms, tonality.
And the second is essentially a surrogate for a full orchestra.
>> Mm-hm.
>> How do you deal with working with an accompanist?
>> Well, they're either, they either make your day or they ruin your day.
And, I've been fortunate, I've worked with wonderful people.
So, I guess my conception of the problem was
limited by my good fortune in some, in some respects.
I will say this, that, the nicest thing
about an accompanist who understand the learning process, is
that they jump in on the reinforcing, before you
have to stop and tell them to do that.
So, I think if you're working with an accompanist, and you have the
luxury of somebody whose quick, and just doesn't know what to do, the very
first thing that you should tell them to do is to be isolate parts
and combinations, so that they can teach
that layered process that we described earlier.
Second thing that I think.
>> Let me jump in here for a second.
If you don't have an accompanist, that's a
really good skill for the conductor to have, too.
>> Oh yes, oh yes.
>> To be able to play, soprano and tenor at the same time.
>> Against, yes.
>> Yeah.
>> Yes, and that's particularly true if you do certain kinds of music, because
the tenor is written, to sound, it, it's written an octave above where it sounds.
>> Mm-hm.
>> So, you're going to read it in one clef, and
sound it in another clef and that's kind of bizarre
if you're reading alto and tenor combination, because the tenor
looks like it ought to be always higher than the.
>> Right.
Than the alto, but it's not.
In any event, that's a terrifically useful skill.
Second thing that I think you want to do wherever
possible, is decide whether the accompaniment is an integral part of
the event, or whether the accompaniment is something that is
designed only to support the process, or to support the performance.
so, for instance, a really fatal error in
using a modern piano to, to play a continuo
for a baroque piece, is it was never
intended to be that prominent in the overall texture.
The sound of a harpsichord in, in a supporting, is
by definition a supporting role, and primarily a percussive role.
Not even a harmonic role, the harmonic role is
likely to be in the cello, in the continuo.
And, it's interesting how, that changes, how
profoundly that changes the texture if you use
a harpsichord to do the Baroque piece,
even though you're playing the accompaniment, the same.
It changes the texture profoundly.
Actually helps, helps clear it out.
and, and and if you're stuck with a piano,
then the very first thing you have to figure out
is, how to reduce the sonic capability of the piano
because, after all, it's a technological advance over a harpsichord.
So, it's primary goal was, it could do
both loud and soft, it was capable of both.
Hence the term, four day piano.
>> Mm-hm.
>> And, thirdly I think it's important to have a pianist who realizes that just
because it's written on the page, doesn't
necessarily mean it has to be precisely that.
In a lot of things, where the piano is a reduction of an orchestral
score, and the cellos and the basses double each other on running 16th notes.
A, it's impossible.
And B, it would be such a cluttered sound that you'd have to decide which octave
you're actually going to sound it in, and what
sounds best for the ensemble that you're doing.
So, for instance, in my choir, I don't
really want the cello part, because it probably
is doubling my bass or my baritone, so I really want what would have been the bass.
And you have to make those decisions.
And a good accompanist, you've got to be able to
say, no, take all those notes out, replace them with this.
From a rehearsal stand point, it's terrific to have someone who understands
that you want just the chord, in the voicing, at a certain place.
Not necessarily all of the chords, or all of the notes, ever, anywhere.
And that's another one of those things that you
said is a great skill to have as a conductor.
That's one of the things I do when I learn my little crunch chord out of tempo.
I learn.
>> The reduction during your score study process.
>> Yes, yes.
I learn where to put the pivots.
I learn where to, where I have to play something
so that I've got an irretrievably correct thing, right there.
>> Either to find, and I would think that's usually to,
to create a reference for a note that's being sung right afterwards.
And say, well here's, we're shifting to the key of
F, here's our C7, before you're about to sing it.
>> Yes.
Then, you know, a good accompanist, well, a good accompanist
just solves a whole heck of a lot of problems.
They can retrieve something that's otherwise unusable.
They can add a terrific amount of sparkle if the piano
is in, is, conceived as an indigenous part of the performance.
They can, if you have a terrific accompanist,
then you inject a level of professionalism to
an utterly, otherwise utterly amateur group, and the
whole group will suddenly be elevated as a response.
And on the other hand, they can be a real albatross, you know?
The most, unfortunate experiences I've ever had have been places where I have to
go and live with somebody else's as
accompanist, and they can't count or they can't.
>> Right.
>> You know, they play the notes slavishly, as opposed to, artistically.
>> I would think that there are pitfalls
in, what we do as conductors with an accompanist.
I, I can.
Imagine that it's easy to over conduct the accompanist.
They're playing orchest, often playing orchestral parts, and we want to be
expressive, and be in their face where, where they may not need that.
Is that true?
>> Well for one thing, the size of the gesture
is silly, because you know, where you would be that big
for an orchestra of 60 players, you've got a person
right to your right that doesn't need that kind of demonstrativeness.
And secondly, if they're actually doing
an orchestral reduction, they probably have more
than they can pay attention to just to keep on top of it,
and they may need to cheat some things in order to make it
actually work for the instrument that they're being required to adapt it on.
I can remember an occasion where we did a
Mozart, mass movement that had a double fugue and the
accompaniment was impossible, the reduction was impossible to play
on a single piano, because it was a double fugue.
And so, you had two equally important sets of harmonic, or contrapuntal
voices running in a harmonic context, and one person couldn't do it.
And we ended up, we were, we had
the good fortune of having two fairly matched pianos.
We shoved them together and took the lids off, and
played it with two accompanist, and it worked like a top.
And all they did was, essentially, play the thematic
material, and supply the orchestra chords, where it was necessary.
Mozart would have rolled over in his grave, but it worked effectively.
And it allowed us to perform the piece with a mess of high school kids
that would otherwise have never had a chance
to sing something of that sophisticated a level.
Yeah.
>> Well, we have to sometimes get out of the way of, if it's just.
>> Yes.
>> You know, a single, just.
>> Yes.
>> Almost like we're conducing a soloist.
>> Yes, that's exactly it.
>> Or just be clear.
>> Most like recitative.
>> Give them the time.
>> Yeah.
>> And the space and let them.
>> yes.
>> Express within that.
>> Yes, and the other thing is.
>> Assuming we trust them.
>> Yes, and if you have an artistic an,
artistic, accompanist, then your better off to give them voice.
You know, they're going to tell what is characteristic for their instrument, more
so than I could, as a, as a chopsticks level piano player.
You, you know, it's one thing to play the piano.
It's another thing to hack at it fairly industriously.
And I'd say I, I can do the latter.
But somebody who plays the piano can
tell you what's, what's idiomatic of piano playing.
And if the piano part is conceived as a
part of the performance, you should let them speak.
>> That's a great overview on the pitfalls and advantages of having an accompanist.
>> Oh, you want an accompanist.
