Coping and Recovery Strategies

This month, my students are performing in our Winter Showcase. For some, this marks their debut performance. This week, we've been working on various coping and recovery strategies. As much as we would like to believe that we'll play everything cleanly, the reality is that nerves, distractions, physical and mental state, readiness and uncertainty can affect how our performance turns out.

I'd like to highlight a couple of the strategies that I introduced to them last week. First - I had them drop a hand out for a phrase or two - just enough to get through a wobbly section. If you do it in phrases, then it sounds like you meant to do it that way. Just make sure that you don't drop the tune.

Another thing they tried was to simplify either the melody or the harmony (chords). A couple are playing solid chords instead of the funkier groove that is written. If you have to simplify the accompaniment to maintain the beat, so be it.

The third thing we've had to do this week is to shorten some of the pieces. I instructed them to play through until their ear "found" a logical stopping place (Those of us who have been in music for a while would call that a cadence). In one case, we added a tonic chord in as the next beat modulates to mark a new section.

For these to be automatic on stage, however, these strategies must be practiced at home. Not just once, but several times so that you commit it to muscle memory.

For when it comes down to it, no one really cares exactly what you play. They just care how you play it. So long as you don't miss a beat, the piece is recognizable and the tempo is close to the marked speed, you're set.

RCM and ConCan on Youtube

Students - did you know that the Royal Conservatory of Music and Conservatory Canada have their own Youtube Channels? Check out tips, great performances, repertoire demos and interviews with musicians past and present. Conservatory Canada Youtube Channel

Royal Conservatory of Music Youtube Channel

Great Performances - Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga

Maestro and I enjoyed watching "Tony Bennett: Duets II" on KSPS the other day. Well, he watched, I worked and listened. I've always enjoyed Tony Bennett's music and have been meaning to buy "Duets" and "Duets II".

There were so many great performances but this one stood out: Tony Bennett's duet with Lady Gaga.

They sang the Rodgers-Hart classic "The Lady is a Tramp". Tony was in fine form (as expected). However, it was Lady Gaga who took me by surprise.

I think this was a case where Malcolm Gladwell's Blink logic came to play. I look at Lady Gaga and expect a certain sound, based on what she's wearing. I was expecting a strong pop performance, coupled with an outrageous outfit.

In this case, my eyes were staring at my computer monitor. When I heard Lady Gaga's opening notes, I was floored. I didn't expect her to scat and groove with Tony like she's been singing like that. Her tone, her style, her ease and sense of fun in this number completely took me by surprise.

I got to appreciate her performance for what it was: fresh, fun and polished. Then I looked up and saw the turquoise hair and that elegant dress, which matched the heart of this song to a tee.

Good. Had I looked at her first and then heard her, I would have the image of her wearing that raw meat outfit stuck in my brain. My stomach would have roiled and I would not have enjoyed her performance quite so much.

Great Performances - VuVox Acapella Disney Medley

My students and I have been sorting out their ensemble pieces for their upcoming group classes. In my search to find some great Disney numbers, I stumbled upon this entertaining Disney medley by VuVox Acapella. Their pitch is incredible (always impressive with such a large a cappella group.

They are also just fun to watch, which is what makes this great. They really get into their characters. The audience is captivated throughout (always a good sign):

Great Performances - Dietrich Fischer Dieskau Sings The Erlking

This chilling performance by baritone Dietrich Fischer Dieskau and pianist Gerald Moore has been hailed on Youtube as one of the best interpretations of this German lied.

Franz Schubert based this "Der Erlkönig" (The Elf King or "Erlking") on a poem by Goethe of the same name.

In a nutshell, the singer portrays four characters: the narrator, a young boy, his father and the Erlköning. Dieskau superbly captures the nuances each character while Moore gallops through those triplets with an enviable pinnache. They paint us a soundscape of a young boy as he rides on horseback in the dark and of his encounter with the Erlking.

The duo are completely in sync, which is a feat considering I read once that the two hated each other. Dieskau's word painting is stellar. Every time I listen to this, I get shivers when the Erlking becomes forceful and the young boy meets his fate.