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Music is an unbelievably powerful communicative medium. Wow, did I say that?
Well, it is! It is so powerful as to bypass words and pictures, going directly to the soul. Yes, the soul. The emotional receptor to all things artistic.

Why is it then that whilst conducting, listening, adjudicating, examining and just enjoying music I often hear performances that communicate nothing at all. Well, maybe not “nothing”, that’s a bit harsh. Sometimes the performance communicates panic, uncertainty, indifference, apathy and other negative emotions, but it all amounts to the same thing. The performers have failed to find and communicate the emotional content of the music for whatever reason.

Now I do not want to be one of those strident voices, preaching and lamenting everyone else’s shortcomings whilst praising my own brilliance. That happens too much anyway. I have had to learn how to get more from the musicians I work with for my own satisfaction and to be honest, if the music or players fail to communicate, I get bored with it all rather quickly.

So Mr Clever Clogs, I hear you say, how do you suggest we go about improving the communicative element in our performances? Or you might be saying, I wander if my washing has finished soaking yet?

Well, I have tried hard to develop some techniques in rehearsal and in performance to ensure the maximum emotional communication is achieved. These are neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and I am still learning and experimenting with my groups to improve this crucial element of ensemble skill.

In the next few weeks I will describe and list some of these methods so that you can; a) Try them out. b) Laugh at the absurdity of it all and get your washing out of soak, c) Pick and choose some things that might help, d) Ignore it completely. I would be glad to hear from anyone with an interest, better idea, opposing view; anything.

Update:

Note envelopes: Instrumentalists have to develop control over the attack of the notes that they play but all too often there is insufficient variety in the level of attack. Where the attack is varied, the choice of attack and level of accent is often a little random and lacking cohesion.

One way to bring performances to life is to ensure that phrases are rehearsed in such a way that the musicians understand what type of note shape and level of attack the group is aiming for in the passage.

Decisions are made as to whether the note is followed right through or whether a more tailed note shape is appropriate. Tailed notes are very useful for creating impact through careful attack and shaping as a substitute for raw power or volume. When the sections get experienced in the use of these note envelopes a huge amount of space is created in the soundscape. This facilitates balance, dynamic responsibility, and better intonation due to the ability to pick out the various parts.

These mini forte-piano shapes also add to the dynamism and the excitement of the score. Along with the whole range of attack levels, they can be used to facilitate pp playing by concentrating more on articulationg the phrase than creating lots of noise. Several players producing a light individual sound which is well articulated, can amount to a clear and controlled soft sectional sound.

More to come on this later.