Teacher Appreciation Day

Thanks to my teachers on Teacher Appreciation Day: Of course, my parents for everything they gave me--unconditional support throughout my life. Mr. Wilson in 7th grade in Florissant, MO--he told me I should sing in the A Cappella choir next year--we moved back to Seattle, but I DID join the choir. I also started singing in the youth choir at Haller Lake Methodist (we sang for the early service every Sunday) and Helen Pedersen was a wonderful influence.

Junior HS and early HS was Leonard Moore, followed by Neil Lieurance. Neil student taught at Shorecrest HS my sophomore year, taught special ed the next year, but accompanied the select choir and became my voice teacher. He was the person who first suggested I major in music. Neil has been a mentor and friend ever since. Neil also introduced me to Bob Scandrett at WWU, so I went to summer workshops there during college with Gregg Smith, Günter Graulich, and Louis Halsey. In addition, Bob organized the most amazing choral study tour of England--you can find details on my blog if you're interested.

Undergrad at the University of Washington was Rod Eichenberger, my first conducting teacher and a wonderful one! There's so much I gained from Rod, much of it simply a part of me--I would say, most of all, a sense of rhythm and phrasing. Rod has also remained a friend and mentor, although we don't see each other regularly. When I took the job at PLU (where I followed Maurice Skones) he called and said he'd also followed a legend (Charles Hirt at USC) and was available for advice or just to talk any time.

During that time I also sang in almost every grad recital I could, which was where I learned to read and also learned so much from those conductors. While there are too many to mention, I'd say Bruce Browne and Larry Marsh stand out as important influences.

While an undergrad I also studied in the orchestral conducting class of Samuel Krachmalnick, a brilliant musician and conductor. Learned an amazing amount from him (and also sat in on most of his rehearsals for a couple years).

I can't help but mention Nancy Zylstra, from whom I learned (and continue to learn) an enormous amount. She was my partner in crime in starting the Seattle Pro Musica groups. Those ensembles (Pro Musica Singers, Bach Ensemble, and Pro Musica Chamber Orchestra) truly provided my REAL education--the repertoire I got to do with them taught me more than any grad school could (pace to my grad schools, who will be mentioned!). Many individuals were influential, but I have to mention Randall Jay McCarty, who was an important guide as I began to explore early music.

I also began to conduct at the Pacific NW Bach Festival in Spokane in 1978 and continued through 1985 to work with many talented period instrumentalists (Stanley Ritchie among them) and the wonderful Dutch baritone Max van Egmond. Huge thanks to David Dutton and Beverly Biggs for making that possible.

Then I taught at Mt. Holyoke College for three years and discovered I loved teaching. A return to the Northwest and Pacific Lutheran University (for 18 years!) was another amazing part of my education. My students at MHC, PLU and now UNT have again taught me more than I can possibly say (and much more than I taught them). My experiences with the Choir of the West and Choral Union were simply amazing. My various colleagues were also fantastic--many more than these were important, but I can't help mentioning Richard Nance (who just did such a brilliant concert at ACDA in Dallas) and Mira Frohnmayer (chair of the voice department for my entire time at PLU).

In the same way, the singers of the Seattle Symphony Chorale (1990-94), Choral Arts (an inaugural concert with Eric Ericson in 1993 until 2006), and Pro Coro Canada (1999-2011) also were an enormous influence and inspiration. Thank you to all my singers, board members and supporters.

Although I would never say I'm even remotely his student, a mountaintop experience with Helmuth Rilling and the Mass in B Minor in 1972 at the Oregon Bach Festival was a huge influence (I'd watched him work in Stuttgart in 1971 when I stayed in Europe after the UW Chorale tour that summer). In may ways it changed my musical life.

My MM at the UW with Abraham Kaplan was an interesting time--Abe was not so much a fantastic teacher, but I did learn much from him. He was freshly from NY and lots of work with the Collegiate Chorale, Camerata Singers and Leonard Bernstein--his rehearsal technique, in particular, at that time was incredibly efficient and a great model. And among my fellow students, Andrew Bernard and James Savage were fantastic colleagues and I learned much from them.

My DMA at the College-Conservatory of Music/U Cincinnati was terrific with Elmer Thomas, John Leman, and Earl Rivers, plus Teri Murai in my orchestral conducting minor. Too many fellow students who were fantastic colleagues and teachers, but I'll mention Edie Copley and David DeVenney (David kept me sane during my year in residence). I also enjoyed tremendously coming back to CCM as a guest professor in 2006 and briefly in 2009. Earl is a great colleague and has been a great friend as well. And I loved working with the students--in 2006 this was what convinced me that I needed to go back to teaching.

An unexpected opportunity at the University of North Texas led to a return to teaching in 2009. Again, great colleagues (Jerry McCoy and many others) and fantastic students have made it a great learning experience.

And I can't say anything without mentioning my great mentor and model (although I would never say my teacher, since I never studied with him), Eric Ericson. I first met Eric briefly at the 1983 ACDA conference, then had the opportunity (thanks to Bruce Browne) to bring him and his conservatory Chamber Choir to the summer PLU workshop--not only once, but twice. There were other contacts, too and, as mentioned, he conducted the first Choral Arts concert. I decided to do a dissertation on some aspect of Swedish music and first visited Sweden for a month in 1989 to find a topic. I then came back for the full summer of 1990 to do my research. Eric literally opened every possible door for me--he was simply marvelous in every way. I was back again in 1996 to finish up research and finally start writing (and got to attend the 50th anniversary concert of Eric's Chamber Choir and attend the dinner). Then in 2002 I did two sessions with Eric and Gary Graden on my book at the IFCM conference in Minneapolis, then followed up with a visit back to Sweden in November for a presentation at the Choral Centre in Uppsala and a first guest-conducting experience with the Swedish Radio Choir. Other visits would be in 2007 and 2008. I have so many Swedish conductor friends that it's hard to mention some and leave so many out, but I'll mention both Robert Sund and Gary Graden anyway!

It's hard to quantify Eric's influence, but it's there in so many ways. I can only thank him for all he's meant to me and my musical life.

I'm sure I've left someone out--if so, I'm sorry! I've been more fortunate than I can reasonably have hoped in my life to have so MANY unbelievably wonderful teachers, colleagues, students and musicians to teach me.

I've been blessed.

Intonation IV - Barbershop - Guest Post by Mike O'Neil

Here's a guest blog post on barbershop tuning from Mike O'Neil, who taught high school for five years before becoming a music educator for the Barbershop Harmony Society (formerly known as SPEBSQA). He wrote to me offering a guest post and I happily accepted. Incredibly helpful and useful information. He included a couple examples of exercises they use, but I'll let you find them on the Barbershop Harmony Society website, since I don't want to violate copyrights.

Per your request, I am emailing you about barbershop tuning / methods to teach it.  Obviously, we use the just intonation system.  We feel the chords have a much better chance of creating the overtone and undertone series when tuned justly.  We teach “horizontal tuning”…that is, tuning to the key center, and we teach “vertical tuning”…that is, tuning the harmonies to the melody.  In our style, it is vital the melody stays true to the tonal center (horizontal), and the harmonies stay true to the melody (vertical).

As barbershop uses a large percentage of dominant 7th chords, one of the most important things we teach is that the root must be tuned to the tonal center, the 5th scale degree must be tuned on the high side, and the 3rd and minor 7th must be tuned on the low side (in comparison to equal temperament).  This method becomes somewhat tricky when singing through the circle of 5ths are what was once your 5th scale degree (tuned higher), is now the root of the new key, so constant adjustments must be made.   

We also place significant emphasis on matching vowels perfectly within the ensemble.  We have many exercises (like the ones attached), built around the circle of fifths, in which we incorporate many different vowel sounds.  This allows the singer to learn how to tune each interval and tune to the tonal center, all the while concentrating on matching the vowels of his fellow singers.  Barbershop vowels are obviously much more vernacular and casual than those sung English vowels in choral music, but the concept is still the same.     

Vocal resonance and placement are key to tuning for us as well.  Barbershop ensembles strive to match each other as well as possible (I dislike the word ‘blend’!) from a placement standpoint.  If the lead singer has a natural, forward, bright placement, the rest of the ensemble makes every effort to match that same resonance.  If the lead singer naturally sings with an open, full, rich, resonant natural tone…the other singers have a job to follow suit.    

Finally…you will rarely, if ever, see a piano in any of our rehearsals.  We utilize justly tuned learning tracks to teach to the majority of our amateur singers, so they can get the full understanding and aural memory engrained in their brains.

We attempt to do all of these things by teaching proper vocal technique, breath support / management, posture and alignment, and free / relaxed / effortless singing.  It is quite the challenge, but once a ‘barbershopper’ hears that perfectly tuned chord and executes it a few times, he usually is able to repeat it over and over again, and is very eager to do so!  There is nothing quite like singing with three other people, but sounding like 5+ people!

Many thanks, Mike!

Intonation III - What system do you use?

Many of us have gravitated towards a system of "just" intonation, rather than the tempered scale that's used for tuning pianos. You may not have even thought about this and simply accepted that the piano is the arbiter of what's in tune and what's not. However, equal temperament is really a compromise tuning system (and all systems will have their pros and cons). However, if one tunes according to the natural harmonics present, one gets a very different tuning for particular intervals (especially the major third) than with equal temperament. 

 

On a keyboard, of course, one has to choose a tuning system and deal with its pros and cons, since once tuned, it's fixed (until you tune again). There are examples of organs with split sharps that allow for a different D# than Eb, for example, but that need not concern us here (you're unlikely to have one available!).

 

However, with a choir (or instrumental group that can be flexible with pitch) one can sing or play pure thirds, for example, no matter what the root of the chord. This is, in essence "just" intonation. This wikipedia article can give you a start if this is new. Barbershoppers use just intonation all the time and I'll have a guest post soon about that approach.

 

To show the differences in cents (remembering that there are 100 cents in a half step), here is a chart of chords in just intonation with the difference in cents between just and equal temperament.

 

As you can see, the major third is 14 cents lower in just intonation than in equal temperament. And the dominant seventh chord includes the same lower third, but 31 cents lower for the seventh (which is a chord used constantly in barbershop)!

 

There's much more I could say about science, but I think it's more important to get to practical matters! How do I use this in my choirs? How do I teach them to do this?

 

First, you have to train your own ears to hear the difference between a tempered and pure major third. This will take some work if it's totally new to you. I still remember an interview with David Willcocks, after his choir participated in the Bach cantata series on Telefunken with Gustav Leonhardt. He was asked if he accepted the lower tuning of the thirds and responded that he felt it was surely correct, but that his ear still heard and wanted a "brighter" third.

 

Most of us were trained at some point to sing the third "high" because otherwise in a dominant chord (where the third is the leading tone) the tonic chord that follows will be flat. I can say that doesn't have to be the case, but can't deal with that yet--patience!

 

With my choirs I often do an exercise early in the year to help them hear a pure third. This requires a group who can sing accurate unisons/octaves and a room which is resonant enough to be responsive to overtones. I have them sing a chord in A or Bb with voicing B2 root (near the bottom of staff), B1 fifth above, T2 octave, T1 fifth above, A root above that, and S the fifth above that (i.e. near the top of the staff). They need to sing very pure and unified pitches with a clear, ringing fifth. I usually use an "ah" vowel and it needs to be a very bright, forward (and unified) "ah." And they need to sing senza vibrato with a fairly loud dynamic (I ask them to breathe frequently and keep the air flowing). In other words, they only sing root and fifth, no third. If they can do all of this and the room is reasonably responsive, you (and they) will start to hear the third appear in the room as a harmonic. Sometimes it takes a while, or my singing the harmonic lightly as an example after they've cut off, for them to hear it. But normally it will start to become clear and in the right room can be quite loud (you may have had the experience of a harmonic appearing that no one is singing when your group sings particularly well in tune). 

 

If I can get them to hear this, then I can ask sopranos or tenors, for example, to match the third they hear in the room. If they can do this and learn to feel/hear the restful nature of this pure third (because it is in "harmony" with the natural harmonic system, there are no beats), I can then re-voice the chord in different ways with different parts singing the third. It's very interesting then, if they've really settled into this tuning, to play the same chord/voicing on the piano, which now sounds very "jangly" (OK, that's a vague and perhaps invented term, I know! but to my ear the beats in the thirds on the piano strike me that way!) and out of tune. I wrote something about this in my blog after the last NCCO conference in reference to how my ear has changed over time.

 

This is just an opening exercise, but then I have to work on tuning chords in vocalises at the beginning of rehearsals, and as we begin to work repertoire, to do the same, particularly on any chord that is held for any length of time. Most often, if they aren't tuning the third well, I remove the third from the chord (so that only parts with root and fifth sing) and then sing the third for them myself. Then I have the part which sings the third match my intonation. It takes time to do this and skill builds gradually, but it's very possible. If barbershop quartets and choirs can do this, there's no reason your choir cannot as well. But it takes consistent effort.

 

This has already gone on a bit too long--and might be too esoteric for some! I promise I'll get around to more basic issues of teaching good intonation and fixing various intonation problems. 

 

Until Memorial Day I'll be posting twice a week, Thursday and Saturday, so I can cover more ground on a fascinating and important topic before the summer hiatus. Next, a guest post about barbershoppers's methods of teaching tuning, then next week, how I use (and don't use) piano in rehearsals.

 

If you have the chance to try the exercise I give above with your choir, let me know the results!

Intonation II - "What is good intonation?"

As I started to outline potential posts in this series I came up with a ridiculous number--only some of which may actually happen before the summer hiatus! One of the problems is that so many areas overlap--you can't talk about vowel without talking about vocal technique or your idea of an ideal sound. So some posts will end up relating to others. The nature of the beast, I think.

 

So to begin by asking, "what is good intonation?" "What are your standards?"

 

I think all of us will have differing ideas, depending on our experience (how we're trained, who our models are) and the level of our ensembles.

 

Our ears (or more accurately, our brains) will adjust perception of what is acceptable--in a very average (or slightly below average) choir, for example, the range of pitches perceived as "in tune" will widen. On the other hand, in an advanced group, especially if they sing with much closer tolerances of pitch, small deviations from what is now established as "in tune" will be very noticeable. So the consequence of singing with narrower tolerances in pitch is that deviations are heard more easily! It's a risk I'm willing to take, however!

 

That rather wide tolerance of deviation from a central pitch is also, however, what creates the sort of "gray" lack of color one hears in many amateur choirs (or amateur bands--that sort of washed out sound in a large group of flutes, none of which are zeroed in on the center of the pitch). The lack of a clearly focused pitch means that overtones are not re-inforced and the sound doesn't project nearly as well. Having heard the Swedish Radio Choir up close (and prepared them for a Brahms Requiem, among other works), they have the ability with just a few added singers (48 when I prepared them) to sing the Brahms with a full orchestra and yet be heard clearly. The combination that makes it possible is 1) big, trained voices who sing with full "singer's formant" 2) great ensemble and ability to unify vowel and 3) minimal vibrato (but they do sing with it!) and absolutely focused, unified pitch.

 

My experiences with Swedish choirs, plus a long interest in early music, mean that I look for less vibrato than some, but singers still singing with full singer's formant, and clearly defined pitch. Additionally, if you are to tune with either "just" intonation or earlier tuning systems (quarter-comma meantone) with very pure thirds (lower than the thirds on the piano), you have to use less vibrato to hear the difference (too much vibrato blurs the two types of thirds).

 

That means I want a narrow definition of what a good unison is and how much tolerance there is for chords to be in tune. Of course, that changes with style--if I conduct the Verdi Requiem, I'll expect more vibrato and the consequent widening of what is allowed in a unison on one or multiple parts. Some research shows that with vibrato, humans perceive the mean frequency as the center of the pitch. One study of modern performances of Schubert's Ave Maria showed a mean variation of plus or minus 71 cents (100 cents is a half step) and more variation in a Verdi aria. Of course, there is also a difference between the perception of a solo singer with orchestra and a group of singers. If you're like me, you've heard some performances of the a cappella quartet in the Verdi Requiem where you couldn't recognize the chords!

 

So, opening salvo! 

 

Next, on to tuning systems.

 

If you want to hear what my groups do (hard to discuss sound without hearing--and being able to say, "Oh, THAT'S what he means!" by the amount of vibrato or something else), here are two examples with my Collegium Singers:

 

Handel Dixit Dominus from last Thursday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz4ZVusFsTo

and

Victoria Requiem from the Berkeley Early Music Festival last summer with just 14 singers from last year's group: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUBIxg6ZpKE

 

In the Victoria, in particular, because it's a small group (3 each on soprano, 2 on other parts) singing with very minimal vibrato, you'll see that small deviations in pitch are more noticeable. In the Handel, because of the virtuosic nature of the vocal writing, my singers have freer range in terms of vibrato, although there may still be some who think I'm restricting vibrato more than their taste -- and taste does enter into it!

Intonation I

Intonation is an incredibly important subject for all choral conductors, but one that isn't simple. In this next series, I'll write about different aspects of choral intonation. Not only what does it mean to sing "in tune," but how do you help your choir sing better in tune?

When I say "isn't simple," I mean that as conductors, when we hear out of tune singing from our choir we need (most often) not to tell them just, "It's out of tune" or "you're flat," but diagnose why it's out of tune or why it's flat and help them solve the underlying problem. Is it a vocal issue? Is it a particular interval that causes the problem? Is it a complicated harmonic structure the choir can't yet hear? Is it that the choir isn't matching vowels? Is it poor ensemble? Is it that the chord isn't balanced?

Further, how about your ears? How sensitive are you to good intonation and how well can you hear exactly where the choir starts to flat, or which section is sharping, or what note in the chord is out of tune?

What have you learned or accepted about tuning systems? Where do you hear thirds as in tune? Is your ear trained by the piano and equal temperament? Have you done early music with a keyboard tuned to another tuning system (quarter-comma meantone, for example)? Have you worked with a system of "just" intonation?

What's your philosophy about vibrato and tuning?

All of these are areas I'll explore in the next number of weeks.

I'd also love to hear your feedback! There are areas where we may disagree and in that discussion can sort out our own biases, but also share the techniques that have been most successful for us.

If a particular topic calls to you, consider sending me a potential guest blog post.

Here's to better intonation!

Rehearsal Techniques II

Verbal:

• Don’t talk too much!
• By the same token, in varying pacing, there can be good times to let them sit back and talk about the background of the piece or something similar – it’s also efficient to take “pencil” time to give all markings for a piece or movement, rather than doing it piecemeal throughout your rehearsal
• Don’t tell them what you’re going to do, just do it! (“I’m going to start at bar 12, then go to bar 16, after which we'll . . .” As opposed to, “start at bar 12”) – use fewer words!
• Make instructions clear and concise, particularly about where you’re starting: remember to go from general to specific (page/ system/ bar,/ beat . . . or if you have bar numbers: bar 22)
• A friend of mine has a system for giving starting places when everyone has the same score: 3-2-5 = page 3, 2nd system, bar 5. If you and your choir get used to it, it’s very quick and secure. It’s easy for them to remember 3-2-5 while they find their place
• Instructions should be active, not passive
• Careful not to mumble or use non-meaningful syllables (“uh”) – we all have our own habits, but occasionally monitor them by recording a rehearsal
• Give only a few instructions at a time (too many and the choir forgets them)
• A corollary to that is if you give an instruction (“don’t breathe after beat 3,” “tenors are late after the dot,” “eighth note rest at the end of the bar,” “subito piano on the downbeat,” etc.), then have the choir sing it immediately – you need to reinforce what you just said in a concrete way (and you’ll also know if they understood it or not)
• Often with giving markings, you can save time if you plan, for example, consistent breaths with punctuation (“breathe/lift with punctuation,” “honor the commas,” rather than giving each individual breath) – one choir I know simply has the practice to breathe after every punctuation and they do it without fail—in this case, you have to tell them if you don’t want a breath with a comma or period
• Feedback is important: positive whenever possible, but you also have to express to the choir what isn’t right yet and how to do it correctly
• Make sure feedback is specific (e.g., “It’s not in tune” versus “when you sing the E to C# the C# is flat,” or “Basses are flat on that passage: the vowels are too dark”
• And I’ll say it again: make sure that when you give feedback, you have the choir sing the passage immediately, and then check to hear if they do whatever it is you asked! Instructions by themselves (without doing by the choir) are rarely effective!

Rehearsal Techniques I

General thoughts and principles (adapted from what I give my section leaders) about running good rehearsals:

• Put your music stand low enough and flat enough that it doesn’t interfere with your conducting pattern (and people can see it!)
• If you work from the piano, put the music desk down flat (for the same reason)
• Make sure your own posture is a good model for the choir
• More eye contact (which means knowing your score better!)
• Learn to hear more (especially parts not your own)
• Make sure, when rehearsing one section of the music, to make the transition into the next section or phrase before stopping to go back
• When repeating the same section or phrase several times, make sure you ask more or give specific feedback—don’t simply mindlessly repeat
• Remember to take away the piano as soon as possible, even in accompanied music (so that you know whether they can do it independently, and also so that you can more accurately hear what they’re doing)
• Use modeling/demonstration—a powerful tool (but models must be correct! your singers will copy poor intonation or phrasing!)
• You can also use choir members to model
• Think carefully about what parts belong together musically and rehearse them that way (you may choose parts that are in duet, or those that have dissonances against each other—the musical structure will tell you what belongs together)
• Have solutions already in mind to solve difficult note problems. Know why the problem might be there: is it hard to find the initial pitch? a difficult rhythm? difficult interval? tempo too fast?
• Pacing is important: not too slow or too fast (psychologically, pace should vary)
• When you stop the choir, don’t take too long before giving an instruction—make it concise and to the point—then get them singing again
• Don’t leave one section sitting for too long a period of time
• If you sing on a neutral syllable, don’t stay on the same one for too long, but vary them (it’s tiring to sing the same consonant/vowel for long periods). The same is true of count-singing