TO STOP OR NOT TO STOP, THAT IS THE QUESTION!!
We've all been there. You have given the pianist your tempo at an audition or masterclass. Suddenly however, they are 3 bars behind. Or someone has just added some benzadrine to their water and presto is their new favorite marking. Or they just....stop playing...for a couple of bars...or play so many wrong notes that Schoenberg is calling them from the grave for new ideas while you search for your key.
You breathe. You try your hardest NOT to look panicked. You resist the urge to conduct. You keep going, but all the while your mind is yelling at you "Just Stop!! Just stop and start over!!" but you know it is DEATH to stop. What do you do??
While you're performing/auditioning: Try to give cues without conducting. Angle yourself to the side so the pianist can see you breathe. If they've stopped playing, keep going, they'll catch you. BREATHE. this sounds ridiculous, but try to laugh at it - this is one of those moments when they can see how truly awesome you are as you work it out despite accompaniment issues. Avoid all dirty looks and knee-jerk reactions to stare down the pianist with that "what's going on?? expression".
After you're done: remind yourself that you LOVE pianists, and of all the coaches and accompanists that have made you sound great. Remind yourself to take your time next time with a pianist to really show them the tempo - especially if your union, like Equity or SAG, grants you a certain amount of time onstage no matter what. I have one bold friend who asked the piano to demonstrate a few bars for her before she started singing, since she had heard the tempi were a little off that day. This is only for the fearless, but if you really need your tempo, ask nicely and be clear.
SMILE at them, even if you secretly want to cut their throats afterwards. Chances are they are very embarrassed at any mistakes they've made, and even if they aren't, you'll look so gracious. Remember, pianists are most often the colleagues we work most intimately with. If you have fun and are nice, how can they resist you? Surely a smile will cause them to hang on your every syllable, to breathe with you and create the most perfect accompaniment ever. And if it doesn't, well, at least you'll look good. Thank them anyway, theirs is a thankless job, and we couldn't do ours without them
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Colleague? Really?
So here it goes yall!
Welcome to The Good Colleague, my brand spanking new blog about working with other musicians in professional settings of all sorts, no matter how - ahem - "professional" (or otherwise) the situation may seem.
So why the word colleague? Who even uses that word? I had a music history professor in undergrad that we all thought was very stuffy and out of touch with what we needed to learn. Many of us learned later when working with her one on one that she was actually very helpful, and for me personally later on in grad school she was actually one of my former professors with whom I kept most in touch. ANYWAY, in lectures she used to refer to all of us collectively as "colleagues." At the time it just seemed stuffy, pretentious and old fashioned. We were cool kids coming back from Katrina to save New Orleans - we didn't know what we were, but we weren't "colleagues."
In recent years however, the word, like the musicologist, has really grown on me. In professional situations, we aren't always bandmates, and we're usually contracted so we're not co-workers. As musicians for hire, we often wear so many different hats: accompanist, soloist, ensemble member, backup, leader, supporting role, hired gun - how do you refer to the people you perform and work with? What about the crew, the stage hands, the sound guys, the costume and makeup staff, the drivers and all the other people that go into making a performance happen? I mean, you could consider yourself the only REAL musician and refer to everyone else as "The Others," "Those cats," or just "people". That would definitely be the basis of a reputation for being incredibly eccentric....or just a colossal jerk.
And isn't that what we're all trying to avoid? That's why we're here, or at least, that's why I'm here. This blog is about asking questions and looking for answers on trying not to be a jerk to the people you work and perform with. For starters, try referring or maybe even thinking of them as colleagues. Don't you feel smarter and more professional already?
Welcome to The Good Colleague, my brand spanking new blog about working with other musicians in professional settings of all sorts, no matter how - ahem - "professional" (or otherwise) the situation may seem.
So why the word colleague? Who even uses that word? I had a music history professor in undergrad that we all thought was very stuffy and out of touch with what we needed to learn. Many of us learned later when working with her one on one that she was actually very helpful, and for me personally later on in grad school she was actually one of my former professors with whom I kept most in touch. ANYWAY, in lectures she used to refer to all of us collectively as "colleagues." At the time it just seemed stuffy, pretentious and old fashioned. We were cool kids coming back from Katrina to save New Orleans - we didn't know what we were, but we weren't "colleagues."
In recent years however, the word, like the musicologist, has really grown on me. In professional situations, we aren't always bandmates, and we're usually contracted so we're not co-workers. As musicians for hire, we often wear so many different hats: accompanist, soloist, ensemble member, backup, leader, supporting role, hired gun - how do you refer to the people you perform and work with? What about the crew, the stage hands, the sound guys, the costume and makeup staff, the drivers and all the other people that go into making a performance happen? I mean, you could consider yourself the only REAL musician and refer to everyone else as "The Others," "Those cats," or just "people". That would definitely be the basis of a reputation for being incredibly eccentric....or just a colossal jerk.
And isn't that what we're all trying to avoid? That's why we're here, or at least, that's why I'm here. This blog is about asking questions and looking for answers on trying not to be a jerk to the people you work and perform with. For starters, try referring or maybe even thinking of them as colleagues. Don't you feel smarter and more professional already?
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