9/17/2010
Tim Fitzpatrick tells us and our accompanists what makes it work!
 THE DYNAMIC DUO: CHORAL CONDUCTOR AND ACCOMPANIST
Timothy Fitzpatrick, Assistant Professor of Choral Music & Vocal Education
Western Washington University
Timothy.Fitzpatrick@wwu.edu
During warm-ups the accompanist:
Draws singers’ attention with light, musical touch.
Never “hammers out notes.”
Gives new tonic cues with rhythmic regularity.
Does not compete with vocalise by playing light, staccato chords.
Does not double a vocalise if the choir can sing it.
Improvises under vocalises to add musical, expressive or rhythmic interest.
Adjusts chord/pitch cues to accommodate ensemble:
Open chord voicings for clarity of mode/tuning.
Fully-voiced chords for large choirs.
Bass reinforcement for treble groups; treble reinforcement for bass groups.
Sound the fifth or third to assist intonation.
Does not play at all in order to help ensemble:
Develop accuracy in tuning diatonic patterns.
Develop accuracy in tuning intervals.
Develop accuracy in chromatic tuning.
Listen more intently to their sound.
Positioning the Piano
Uprights: aim toward the group. Open the top.
Grands: open all the way. Use half stick, or remove the lid!
Put the piano in the center of a rehearsal circle.
Maintain comfortable proximity with conductor: clear sight lines, good peripheral vision, ability to communicate in a whisper.
Distance the choir from the piano to promote independence.
Position the piano in the middle of a split, mixed ensemble.
Ask about the location, type and condition of the piano before singing in a new venue.
The Useful Accompanist:
Is confident, establishes boundaries, and fakes unapologetically.
Plays subtly, especially when the choir relies heavily upon their help.
Gives pitches once, from the bottom up—lightly.
Does not re-strike pitches:
When repeating a small section.
When the key does not change.
When the tonic is obvious.
When there are no intonation problems.
To correct intonation problems.
Does not do uninvited intonation checks.
Drops out when it is clear that piano help will not rescue a flatting choir.
A Choral Accompanist:
Feels valued and is regularly acknowledged.
Is given specific tasks to perform during rehearsal.
Is not afraid to offer feedback to conductor and choir when invited to do so.
Is consulted about tempi & musical decisions, especially in regard to demanding accompaniment.
Is familiar with choral literature that they have to accompany.
Has a clear sense of their role in a choral rehearsal.
Communicates regularly with the conductor about expectations.
Strives for a high level of musicianship no matter how simple the task.
Learns to communicate efficiently during rehearsal.
Learns to empathize with the vocal instrument and is not uncomfortable with their own voice.
Does octave transpositions, simple key transposition, reads choral score.
Coordinates attacks and releases with vocal onset and release
On the beat:
Initial pure vowels.
Certain voiced consonants [d, b, l]
Some unvoiced consonants [p, k, t]
Before the beat:
Certain voiced consonants [l, m, n, v, z]
Unvoiced consonant combinations [st, sp, sn , sw]
Short/long diphthongs [you, young, yore]
Phrases with choir
Releases pedal with choral releases
Marks singers’ breaths in score
Phrases with a singer’s breath
Inflects dynamically with a singer’s breath
Plays with a singer’s tone
Sensitively voices and balances in a linear fashion, especially in hymn-like textures.
Plays with lyricism, legato line and tonal depth that arises from vocal empathy and understanding the function of the breath.
Understands that, for singers, every pitch has a different physical sensation and places different demands upon the voice.
Recognizes that subtle imagery, colors, and thoughts can profoundly change the color, tone and intensity of the voice.
Discovers that the vocal mechanism is the fundamental tool for developing superb musicianship.
Knows that the voice is the most highly sensitive and personal of instruments.
Knows that the voice has unique issues regarding tone production, resonance, intonation, breath, onset/release, etc.
Knows that the voice is profoundly influenced by psychological, physical, and environmental factors.
Realizes that their proficiency has a profound effect on a vocal ensemble.
Sight-reading: The Hierarchy of Necessity
- Rhythm: play whatever you can manage at the right time.
- Harmony: play bass line with reduced chords in harmonic rhythm.
- Melody: play main themes, subjects, points of imitation, important lines in rhythm!
- Individual pitches: play exact notes in rhythm – bass line first, then tenor, then alto, and lastly, the soprano line (or skip soprano).
- Play paired lines only; BT, BA, BS, AT
- Play one line only.
- Learn to sight-read the a cappella choral score:
Play 2 treble clefs with R.H.
Play bass/baritone line, or the bass and tenor clefs with L.H.
Play only the part that needs the most help, or drop out when parts are secure.
Play inner parts only in homorhythmic textures.
Play head motives or employ basso seguente in imitative or polychoral textures.
Play difficult leaps and/or highlight chromatic alterations, especially at key change.
Even when a reduction is available, endeavor to read from the choral parts; use reduction as a back-up.
Simple Transposition
Solve intonation problems and/or change color by transposing up or down a half step.
Some easier changes are C to C# - D to Db - E to Eb - F to F# - G to Gb - A to Ab - B to Bb.
Score Reduction
Develop the wide angle view:
Scan all lines of the choral or open score.
Take in what is important and eliminate redundant or doubled lines.
Play only the bass line in complex Baroque reductions.
Read harmonies by reducing the score to simple block chords, played in harmonic rhythm.
Practice reading with a steady pulse and play whatever you can without stopping.
Simplify orchestral reductions to make them manageable.
A Choral accompanist’s score-study habits:
They become familiar with each vocal part first.
They sing or play through each line.
They mark beats for visual clarity.
They put in courtesy accidentals, especially around key changes or modulations.
They put their music in an easy-to-turn folder, number measures, mark rehearsal letters.
They are able to play choral parts in any pair: BS, BT, BA, TA, TS, AS.
They work on open score reading even when the edition includes a piano reduction.
They always read from the choral portion of the score first, then integrate accompaniment later.
They learn to rehearse while rehearsing.
A Choral Conductor:
Takes charge and invites the pianist to follow.
Understands that a choir will follow the sound of the hammers when leadership is lacking.
Doesn’t just beat time but communicates expressively to the pianist.
Conducts piano introductions, interludes and postludes.
Understands the complexity of the accompaniment and empathizes with the pianist.
Provides the accompanist with a rehearsal plan.
Tailors demands to the accompanist’s level.
Gives advanced pianists rewarding accompanying challenges.
Devises different ways to engage the accompanist in serving the rehearsal process.
Asks accompanist to provide subtle cues and hints in specific places.
Asks accompanist to provide help for “troubled” sections - even if just one line.
Asks accompanist to think ahead and anticipate the conductor’s next move.
Thinks quickly, saves time, and helps the ensemble maintain focus.
Lets the accompanist decide when it’s time to drop out and when it’s time for more support.
Gives feedback subtly during or after rehearsal.
Never embarrasses the accompanist in front of the choir.
Conducting and Accompanying: The Dynamic Duo Minus One
Not ideal—advocate for an accompanist!
Grand: lid half stick butt-end toward group, upright: face group.
Use a stool to gain elevation and, if possible raise the level of the keyboard to match.
Have students stand while conductor/pianist sits.
Keep good posture.
Keep eyes and face visible.
Play one hand of the accompaniment and use other hand to conduct.
Play melody with R.H. while cuing with L.H.
Cue or beat pattern with R.H. while playing L.H. bass lines with pedal.
Play bass only, use pedal to “add” another hand .
Use eyes, head, mouth to conduct if necessary.
Draw the singers into the sound of accompaniment.
Never ‘overplay’ the instrument.
Create an introduction or use an existing introduction to establish tempo.
Lead by playing slightly ahead of the beat (improvise subdivision in slow/rubato tempo).
Do not follow the sound of singing group/choir/congregation, pull the sound along.
Choral Accompanists are usually trained by the conductor
Train a pianist who already sings in the choir; train a singer who has piano skills.
Establish the habit of having your pianist follow your tempo and your conducting.
Teach them to be sensitive to conducting gestures: articulation, dynamics, rubato, starts and stops, etc.
Encourage them to sight-read choral score and keep a steady beat while faking as needed.
Get them out of the habit of correcting mistakes, going back, or skipping beats while sight-reading.
Ask accompanists to learn:
Major, minor, diminished and dominant 7th chords up and down chromatically in all inversions.
V7-I and I-IV-V7-I in all keys.
Simple transpositions.
Basic tempi: mm = 60 and 120.
Simple improvisation on diatonic scales: embellish, reduce, realize, create from chord charts.
Basic vocal techniques through voice lessons, coaching, or voice class.
The great choral repertoire.
Bibliography
The Choral Rehearsal DVD: Influencing the Choral Ensemble through Gesture, Rehearsal
Technique, and Accompanying Technique. Prod. James Jordan. Perf. Marilyn Shenenberger.
DVD. GIA Publications, 2007.
Johnson, Deral. Choral Techniques : Beyond the Basics. Boston: Neil A. Kjos Music Company, 1997.
Jordan, James. Evoking Sound: The Choral Rehearsal. Vol. 1 Techniques and Procedures. Chicago: GIA Publications, Inc., 2007.
Long Beach Unified School District - LBUSD - Official Site. 11 Feb. 2009 <http://www.lbschools.net/Main_Offices/Personnel_Commission/pdf/classSpec/child-care- instructional/Choral%20Accompanist%200122.pdf>.
Manhattan Beach Unified School District. 11 Feb. 2009 <http://www.manhattan.k12.ca.us/pdf/hr/Job_Description/Choral_Music_Accompanist_jd.pdf>.
Nurre, Vikki Burkhard. Accompanying and the Choir: A Guide for Accompanists and Conductors to Artistic Choral Accompanying. Bothell, WA: Vicki Burkhard Nurre, 2008.
The Rehearsal Room and Selecting an Accompanist. Connections - Sharing Knowledge and Building Communities. 11 Feb. 2009 <http://cnx.org/content/m17482/latest/>.
Wodell, Frederick W. Choir and Chorus Conducting. Philadelphia: Theodore Per, 1909. |
May 7, 2010
Warm-ups! Use them for skills development
by Tim Fitzpatrick, R & S Chair for Women's Choruses
Choral conductors assign repertoire to teach many different concepts: expressive singing, stylistic awareness, tonal variety, vocal technique, rhythmic and harmonic discipline, ear training, music literacy, historical and multicultural perspectives, and so on. Every piece we teach presents a different set of challenges. Warm-ups should be utilized to reinforce desired learning outcomes and skills development necessary to achieve a satisfying musical experience.
Here are some ideas about how warm-ups can be conceived by drawing directly from the repertoire:
"Gloria" from Gloria D Major (Vivaldi) The dotted rhythm of the first choral entrance becomes a wonderful warm-up for fostering a light “belly marcato” when sequenced up or down a diatonic scale: “GLO -ri-a” [d,r,m,r,d]. The same choral entrance also features a nice SATB voicing of a D major chord which could be used as an exercise in tuning and chord balance when sequenced up or down by half-steps. For a more complex tuning exercise, chromatically sequence the I-I6/4-V-I cadence found in last two measures of the chorus part: “Gloria in excelsis Deo.”
"He, watching over Israel" from Elijah (Mendelssohn). The opening theme of this chorus would be an excellent warm-up for intermediate to advanced choir. The four-bar theme demands superb breath control and an excellent legato, provides a lovely line for musical shaping, and contains a shift (D up to F#) that is great for smoothing out register changes, particularly in tenors and sopranos.
"See dat Babe" Christmas spiritual (arr. Stacey V. Gibbs). The opening unison statement of the melody is readily adaptable as a warm-up exercise. This 8 measure tune is enjoyable to sing and perfect for creating the proper vocal weight, color for a spiritual. Elements such as diction and subtle stylistic scooping can be incorporated into this warm-up as well; it is a great opportunity to sing and tune in the minor mode!
"A Boy and A Girl" (Eric Whitacre). Finding the right balance, tone, and good intonation to produce a beautiful Whitacre shimmer is a huge challenge in this piece. There are so many ways that one can extract warm-ups from pieces such as this. For tuning, balance and blend, sing the opening chord on pure vowels [root, 5th, 2nd 3rd] and move in parallel motion up the diatonic scale [d,r,m …] or, for a greater challenge, move around by intervals [up a m3, up a whole step, down a whole step]. Extract any of the more complex “cluster chords” (mm. 16, 21, 40 etc.) and create tuning and balance exercises by singing the single chord and adding or subtracting the dissonant notes to teach the make-up of the harmony to the choir. Create random cluster chords; establish desired tone and vowel uniformity by doing what is called a diatonic smear. Have the choir sing a descending major, minor or modal scale (on a neutral vowel, solfege, or numbers), directing each singer to choose a random scale degree upon which to stop, making sure that all eight scale degrees are represented by the time the tonic is reached. Have the singers take a breath and re-sing their randomly selected pitches on a series of beautiful vowels. The resulting cluster chord (smear) can be quite beautiful. Its novelty tends to draw singers focus into the sound of the vowel and the color of the cluster - achieving a very Whitacrean aesthetic.
Coda
For variety's sake, get away from the piano when doing warm-ups, or teach student pianist how to accompany warm-ups so that you can focus more intensely on the sound of the choir. Try doing simple rounds to establish sectional or choral blend. Even diatonic melodies that are not specifically rounds can be treated as such. For example, I use the plainchant "O Come, O Come Emanuel" on a neutral vowel, each section entering at the distance of four notes.
Folk melodies based on the pentatonic scale work very well as fugal warm-ups ( Pre-existing melodies also provide a great opportunity to develop expressive singing, legato and shaping of line). Ask a competent section leader or assistant conductor to lead warm-ups so that you can observe your singers' body language, posture and vocal production. Space permitting, get out of traditional block formation and try warming up in a large circle, or in sectional mini-circles.
Call or email me to share your great warm-ups ideas!
Sincerely,
Tim Fitzpatrick,
Assistant Professor of choral Music/Vocal Education
Western Washington University
Timothy.Fitzpatrick@wwu.edu
360-650-7290
|
Put the Speaking Voice in the Singing Place!
by Tim Fitzpatrick, R&S Chair for Women's Choirs
August, 2009
Whether working with young beginners or collegiate level vocal majors, in order to develop resonance, beautiful vowels, easier register adjustments and more expressive singing, I often ask singers to “put the speaking voice in the singing place” when speaking text in rhythm or simply speaking it at a medium slow chant.
When speaking in rhythm, I ask all singers to use their head register, or upper adjustment, being as expressive as possible, emphasizing the space in the vowels with exaggerated vowels and relatively light consonants. This is a great way for inexperienced singers to access and strengthen a register they seldom use in everyday speech patterns.
Before doing vowel unification exercises [a, ε, i, o, u] in warm-ups, I like to have singers do “wheelies” or “sirens” especially on [u or o], from the top to bottom, or bottom to top of their vocal range while maintaining free and tall vowels through the registers.
I have appropriated this (all my best ideas are borrowed from somebody!) from a notable Seattle area teacher - who probably borrowed it from someone else - the practice of “doing Swedish” on text at a medium slow tempo with equal stress on all syllables. Each vowels is given the same duration, started in the middle adjustment, and with a very sustained legato portamento, is slid into upper adjustment. Great care is given to ensuring that each vowel is carefully placed with an equal measure of resonance and ring.
To do this successfully requires proper breath support and a carefully managed release during phonation. Visually speaking, the effect of the exercise is like a thick colorful line that makes repeated upward loops - a continuous vocal spiral from the middle to upper register. This exercise does wonders for ‘mapping’ proper resonance and support as the benefits of the “Swedish” exercise are transferred to the music.
I encourage singers to rethink their speech patterns in ways that are more beneficial to their singing voices, more expressive and effectual in communication. and healthier for the longevity of their voices. Men, particularly young baritones and emerging tenors, are encouraged to modulate their voices upward and out of the low monotone “cool and chillin'" range that so many young males gravitate toward.
All women, especially sopranos are reminded to ‘re-pitch’ their speech patterns so that they lie closer to the range in which they sing, rather than that of the ‘smoky-voiced FM announcer’. In general all singers are asked to ‘take the weight of the voice off the vocal folds’ and put the speaking voice in the singing place!
Tim Fitzpatrick Assistant Professor of choral Music, WWU and Women’s R & S WA State ACDA
Timothy.Fitzpatrick@wwu.edu |
The Keyboard in the Choral Rehearsal
By Tim Fitzpatrick, WWU Choral Music Professor
The piano plays an important role in the choral rehearsal environment, from fledgling elementary and middle school, to advanced collegiate levels. Regardless of the degree to which you rely upon it, the piano can enhance or detract from the quality of your rehearsal.
Listed below are random musings/ observations taken from my own experience as both choral conductor and pianist. These ideas are borrowed from a session entitled, The Dynamic Duo: Conductor and Accompanist, to be presented at the 2009 MENC Conference in Spokane.
Position your upright so that the soundboard faces the choir. If it is larger than a spinet, consider a small stool that will elevate you so that you can easily see your choir over the top. Open the lid on your upright if it has a hinged top. This will enhance the sound of the piano for your singers, allowing a fuller spectrum of overtones to be heard. This makes it easier to your choristers to discriminate between lower and higher pitches. This is especially important for uprights in poor condition..
If you have a grand, try to avoid using it as a desktop. The more you pile thin gs on your instrument the worse it sounds. If possible open the lid to the ‘small stick’ so that the sound improves.
When using the piano to give pitches, teach parts, or reinforce vocal lines in rehearsal, always play as musically as possible, especially if the instrument is in poor condition. Trying to compensate for an instrument’s muffled tone, or lack of volume usually results in an aural model that is more difficult to process. If your wrists and/or forearms are tired at the end of your rehearsal, you may be a candidate for early-stage tendonitis. Playing louder does not improve the singer’s ability to hear the correct pitches.
Draw singers attention with light, musical touch. Avoid the expression and practice of “pounding out the parts.” The louder one attempts to play, the more passively students tend listen. Try being more subtle with your touch and ask your singers to "turn up the volume” of their listening.
Even a piano in poor condition can be played in such a way that it sounds decent. Every instrument has its limits. Discover what they are.
When using the piano to assist warm-ups, try changing the voicing of ‘cue chords’ when exercising the choir up or down chromatically. Instead of using root position triad, play and open fifth with the left hand and play only the third with the right hand. This 'clarifies' the chord by providing richer overtones.
Stop doubling your choir’s vocalises as soon as they are singing them accurately. Reinforce the new tonic with a light staccato chord and get "out of the way" of the choir’s sound. This makes it much easier to assess the tone and pitch accuracy of your choir. It also forces them to listen more carefully; to listen "internally" rather than matching the "external" cues that are coming from the instrument.
As soon as your choir is able, try eliminating the piano from your warm-up routine. Give the ensemble an opportunity to train the ear and develop a sense of tonic, relative pitch memory, and tuning on ascending and descending chromatic scales.
The ideal model is a vocal model. Use your voice as much as possible to model good singing. Find your vocal comfort level and sing from it. You do not have to be a voice major. Even a single pitch model of a nicely rounded vowel is an effective teaching tool. Occasionally, try using a student to model a concept that your voice may not be able to demonstrate. As a male, I do this quite often when working with my female ensembles.
Position the piano in performance so that, first, the choir can hear it and, second, the audience can hear it. For uprights, position on the right or left side of the ensemble and aim the sound board diagonally to the opposite side of the choir.
For grands, position stage left in front of the ensemble, lid on full stick if possible, and aim diagonally across the group. In our hall, my choirs report being able to hear the piano much better when the lid is removed. The sound of the instrument becomes more omni-directional. One can position the piano in the center of the formation. This is especially helpful for larger choral ensembles.
If you find this information helpful and wish to explore the topic further, please consider attending the above mentioned session at the MENC conference in Spokane. If you have helpful tips of your own, or have contrasting ideas to share, please contact Tim Fitzpatrick at 360-650-7290, or email Timothy.Fitzpatrick@wwu.edu |
