 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: whole note
Date: 2010-05-15 12:52
I am having the time of my life playing the Kegelstatt Trio in my first chamber music ensemble through Continuing Ed at NEC. We are performing in three weeks so at our last rehearsal we played standing and it was apparent to all that I looked too stiff and was not moving, as if interacting/conversing with the others. Meanwhile, I feel very engaged and am playing way more musically than I am moving.
I doubt this is anything that I can figure out in three weeks. It probably either needs to come naturally or be developed over time. But I'd appreciate any advice or helpful hints about how to be a more engaging presence on stage.
Thanks in advance,
Nancy
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-05-15 13:33
This is a very staid community on this board and may appreciate someone who doesn't move.
Personally, I think the Europeans have a better grasp of the situation. Check out Sabine Meyer or Sharon Kam on YOUTUBE. If you just let yourself "react" to what's going on, you may have more luck.
Also, check out the book "The Soprano On Her Head." Some really good performance ideas in there along the lines of the book "The Inner Game of Tennis."
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: whole note
Date: 2010-05-15 16:01
Thanks for these ideas. I will definitely follow up on YouTube and reading.
I don't want to go overboard but also don't want to look like a
"deer in the headlights."
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Author: Caroline Smale
Date: 2010-05-15 16:07
OK I am old fashioned... but it seems to be that what matters is the interpretation that comes out of you and your instrument and not any physical gyrations introduced to "simulate" emotion...
Personally I find the gymnastics used by Meyer, Emma Johnson et al add absolutely nothing to the performance but become extremely distracting to watch. I often have to close my eyes so that I can listen just to the music.
Please Please do not allow yourself to be forced into this musical play acting.
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Author: salzo
Date: 2010-05-15 16:21
"Personally I find the gymnastics used by Meyer, Emma Johnson et al add absolutely nothing to the performance but become extremely distracting to watch. I often have to close my eyes so that I can listen just to the music."
I always make it a point to close my eyes when "listening" to a performance, especially when you got someone up there who thinks he is a dancer rather than a musician.
I recently went and heard one of the "premiere" clarinetists play the Mozart. I had the great fortune of having probably the only seat in the house where you could not see the soloists. The only time I could see him was on the many occasions where his dance steps had him lunging forward.
What I heard was some dead pan clarinet playing-but it seemed most of the audience was quite taken by his "performance". Which makes me think that when it comes to performing, if you dont have anything to sell to the ears, sell to the eyes. Most of the audience will relate to what they are seeing, and be oblivious to the fact that what they are hearing, isnt worth hearing at all.
So if you cant play, by all means dance.
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Author: Barry Vincent
Date: 2010-05-15 16:48
Let your fingers do da walking and the Clarinet do da talking (singing). This doesn't mean that you have to stand there stiff as a board, but your doing a Clarinet recital not a dance routine. Then again , it's often 'show business' .
Skyfacer
Post Edited (2010-05-15 16:59)
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Author: concertmaster3
Date: 2010-05-15 17:12
I think the real fear of the group is that you may just be standing to rigidly. Just allow yourself to be loose. I move a lot when I play (and coincidentally I perform a lot with dancers too) but it is not a forced action. Singers move a lot as well as part of the drama of their music, and so do string players. Movement isn't a bad thing, unless you are forcing yourself to do so, or if the only time you move is when you make a mistake, which is a problem one of my student's is currently facing.
My suggestion is just to relax and really connect with your clarinet and the other musicians. Be inspired by the music and what it is saying. Live music is as much of a visual experience as it is an audio one.
Ron Ford
Woodwind Specialist
Performer/Teacher/Arranger
http://www.RonFordMusic.com
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-05-15 17:22
What I tell ya.
Also, there are performances of the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmnonic, Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra etc. where the perfomers even seem to move as one organism.
I DON'T say that movement IS the performance, what I mean is that music DOES affect all of us (any of us who care for music that is) on MANY different levels simultaneously. We should not shut off other avenues out of some arbitrary, Puritanistic vision of what music "should be."
Some of us are told to sit perfectly still while we play, and in the process lose some of the joy that we are experiencing. Some of us can sit like a lump and not lose the joy in the music - good for you guys.
...................Paul Aviles
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2010-05-15 18:38
Although I agree that to much movement can be distracting I don't mind if a player just plays in an a natural way. If that means moving around somewhat then that's fine with me, as long as it's not an act. Personally I can't stand it when watching someone play live and plays stiff as a board, I find that more distracting than someone "feeling" the music. Just go with the flow and don't worry about it. It's what comes out in the music that's the most important thing. Move if you play better. ESP http://eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: salzo
Date: 2010-05-15 23:44
Isn't there some crazy a$$ piece by Stockhausen which requires the performer to play clarinet, slide around on the floor, dance and wear a funny costume?
I think it is the Harlequin, or is it "the charlatan"?
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Author: whole note
Date: 2010-05-15 23:46
Personally I can't stand it when watching someone play live and plays stiff as a board, I find that more distracting than someone "feeling" the music.
Ed, That's exactly how I feel. Thanks for articulating it.
And many thanks for the great advice and encouragement.
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Author: concertmaster3
Date: 2010-05-16 07:56
http://cyrusartproduction.com/gallery/gallery.htm check out improv on three. Not playing clarinet on this one, and it's not one of my more interesting movement pieces, but still a lot of fun (especially getting on the stool carrying the violin the first time we rehearsed it!)
Ron Ford
Woodwind Specialist
Performer/Teacher/Arranger
http://www.RonFordMusic.com
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Author: Niclas.e.gustafsson
Date: 2010-05-16 11:16
after reading alot of books, playing a lot of other genres and been working my own stiffness out of my body, here is what i think:
90 % of how we communicate is through body language.
its the same thing when on stage playing as when we are just talking to someone. we have to let the co musicians or conversation participants know what we are feeling, thinking and going to do.
really, there's no difference between solist - audience, and people - people.
music is a form of communication and needs to be as understandable as possible.
if your co workers are complaining about you being too stiff what they are reacting to is that they can't "read" your intentions, and therefore they are being uncertain.
and here its good to point out that its a big difference between being stiff and being standing still perfectly relaxed. stiff = not letting your body talk. relaxed = the subconscious is working your body automatically! that's how "mind readers" read your mind. they interpret what they see!
first you have to work the stiffness out by every day making sure that you never practice with a tense body. your legs has to be relaxed and not stretched backwards, your back straight, your arms relaxed. and so on.
a mirror is a good friend in letting you see how you look when you are playing. also a video camera is a useful tool.
then you have to start actually practice expressing yourself through the body while playing. and i'm not saying you have to move a lot!! that's just silly and disturbing!!
subtle movements, eye contact, and such is the most important.
every world-, jazz-, or other ear based musician do this automatically. that's how they are making music! they get "feeling" or "flow", but its all just about a good communication that's making it so magical!!
/niclas
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2010-05-17 02:54
It suddenly occurred to me that it is perfectly ok for your trio to sit when you perform the Kegelstat. There is really no reason to stand, so sit down and worry less about your gestures.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2010-05-17 12:51
These days, a lot of telephones and PDAs can shoot video. Can someone shoot a snippet of you playing so that you can watch it and see for yourself how you look to others? That way you can use your own common sense about how much movement would look natural and not distracting, versus how much would look too much like Little Egypt, who "...came out struttin' wearin' nuttin' but a button an' a bow.... She walks! She talks! She crawls on her belly like a rep-tile!"
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
Post Edited (2010-05-17 20:52)
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2010-05-17 18:37
Although Sabine is one heck of a player and moves a bit she keeps the horn in perfect position and it never changes. When watching her is more of a jerking motion.
I sort of like some of the jazz band musicians, they move around a bit, not a lot, but the movement goes with the music.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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Author: davetrow
Date: 2010-05-18 03:57
Bob, you can't play skittles while sitting down, so why play the Kegelstatt that way? 
Dave Trowbridge
Boulder Creek, CA
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Author: whole note
Date: 2010-05-18 15:26
Thank you all again for this wonderful range of input. Especially Niclas' recent post.
I think things are improving as I am becoming more familiar with the music and the exact entrances/interactions that go on with the viola and piano. It's hard to respond and interact with the other players unless you know what they are up to. So much to keep track of-- but I am at now more comfortable with my part and at a point where I can begin to sort out the score.
One thing for sure--it's feeling a lot like work!
Nancy
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2010-05-19 15:57
When you EAT Skittles while playing, your reeds get stuck to the mouthpiece, and your bore gets colorful.
So, sit down and enjoy yourself.
Bob Phillips
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