Fall Festival--Celebrating Contemporary Music

We are in the final month of preparation for Fall Festival now. I enjoy doing this festival each year because it gets all of my students off to a great start in the fall. Whenever there is a recital or an event that they are working toward, they work harder and concentrate more. At the September class lesson, they shared their music with each other (memory wasn’t required). At the upcoming October class lesson, they will share the same pieces, memorized this time, and much more refined, ready for festival and recital.

The focus of Fall Festival is to introduce students to contemporary sounds. I will review of few in this blog post and provide links for some examples. Maybe you can look and see which categories are present in your music. Often contemporary composers will use more than one of these categories in their compositions. These characteristics are very distinct from other eras of composition.

Melody

1. Melodies are fragmented, irregular, or disjunctive.

2. Significant parts of the piece, or even the whole piece, lack melody.

3. The melody is constructed by chance or serial technique. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bkQa2Rowvw

4. The melody is built from non-traditional scales such as modes, a scale with “blue” notes, etc. Some examples of Taylor Swift music with different modes: Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, and Locrian) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixUpXB2zJ8M

   Harmony

   1. Chords are unrelated to a major-minor system—clusters, altered chords, quartal or quintal harmony. Here’s an example of quartal harmony (uses 4th’s) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2loKj2-SU4

   2. The composer makes simultaneous use of two chords or keys (bitonality).

   3. The piece is not in any definable key (atonality).

   4. Unresolved dissonance is common. (Henry, Bradley, Katie, Ellie, Qing Shuang, Jack, Myla)

   Rhythm

   1. The piece or large parts of it contain no bar lines.

   2. The meter is irregular, such as 5/4. (Sloane) Here’s an example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPRtRoH4zcA. See if you can count along (9/8: count 2,3,2,2)

   3. There are frequent meter or tempo changes. (Sam, Zaria)

   4. Cross rhythms (polyrhythms)—5 against 4, 7 against 8, etc.—are prominent.

   5. Jazz rhythms prevail. (Walker, Adam, Peter, Quinn)

   Other considerations

   1. Non-traditional notation.

   2. Knocking, tapping or plucking some part of the instrument not traditionally used in this way. (Lawrence)

   3. Use of prepared piano. Only do this with permission from the owner of the piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgph8aPmRJs

   4. Use of extreme range on the instrument.

Thoughts on Recitals

May 2018 Recital

Sharing

Recitals come around two or three times each year.  I always look forward to recital preparation because students really focus on getting their pieces ready to share with others.  I enjoy the practicing and the details of making pieces beautiful and the progress I see in my students.  I also enjoy recitals because of the opportunity to share.  Not everyone can play the piano, but many people enjoy listening.  For this reason, I like to do my recitals at retirement homes or nursing homes.  The residents really enjoy seeing the children (or adults who perform) and I think it brings joy to their lives.  Music should be shared!

Some students arrive early or stay a little later after the recital to talk with residents.  I know that it just delights the grandmas and grandpas to greet the children and congratulate them on their performances.  Sometimes they will share their experiences with music.  One lady used to sing a little Christmas song for us as she recalled her early choir years.  

Choosing pieces

Of course, recitals are a big deal in the life of music students.  They take preparation.  I usually like to choose music with beginners and intermediate students several months before the recital.  Advanced students often require more time for their preparation.  Choosing pieces usually means that I will give students 2-3 options.  I want them to have a say in what they will be spending a lot of time on and I want them to be excited about the choices.  So, I'll play the pieces (or excerpts from the pieces) for them and we choose together.  Since they usually play two pieces, I look for contrast, for the requirements of the event coming up, something that will challenge them but still be within their ability to master by the deadline.  With two to three recitals a year, they get a lot of variety in their music.  We prepare contemporary music, baroque music, classical or romantic music, and sometimes thematic music (colors, world geography, music from various decades, sonatinas/sonatas etc.).

Preparing recital pieces

When pieces are chosen with plenty of time to prepare, we can work on small sections each week. I've found that when students follow these dates, their pieces are ready for the recital and they play confidently and well.  When they are prepared, they feel much less anxiety about performing.   The performance practices before the recital help them  know what areas need extra attention and they can attend to those before the big day.

I usually set target dates for the student similar to these:

3-4 months before recital:  Choose repertoire for recital (more advanced students require more time depending on the length and difficulty of the piece)

2 months before recital: Play entire piece with ease

1 month before recital: Memory Deadline

1-2 weeks before the recital: Perform the piece 10x by memory before the recital for friends

Performance date

Memories

Performers remember the pieces they prepare for recitals best.  They remember their recital experiences----all aspects including the good and the bad.  I'll never forget a recital when I was a teenager where I totally forget how to end the piece.  I think I repeated a section a couple of times all the while wondering how in the world I was going to finish the performance.  Somehow, it happened.  I survived.  Sometimes those things happen.  

Recently a couple of students moved to another city. They will be continuing their studies with another teacher.  Because I keep (and treasure) my recital programs, I was able to give the new teacher a list of all the repertoire they had prepared over the years.  I think it will be invaluable to the new teacher to see what they have done.  It was very fun for me to reminisce about the students and the pieces we had worked so hard on.

I always invite my adult students to perform in the recitals.  Some do, some don't.  Either way is fine, I just want to give them the opportunity if they wish.  Sometimes, I'll invite my adult students to prepare pieces to share just among themselves (and not for any guests).  This gives them a goal and a purpose for really polishing a piece and then an opportunity to share it in a friendly (and sympathetic) environment.

Every once in a while, I jump in and prepare a piece for a recital as well.  I enjoy doing that a lot.  And I hope that it sets a good example to my students of life-long learning and a desire to share beautiful music.