| | From: "Nande" <denanny@h...>
"Nande" <denanny@h...>
Date: Thu May 10, 2001 6:03 am
Subject: Re: [vocalist] reading skills or rather a lack thereof.........
|
Thanks for your story, Peggy! I recognize your piano-playing methods,
as it is the exact same way I used to play the violin. I just never
got over it and quit taking lessons when it became really difficult.
Stupid in hindsight, but hey, I was only 12 at the time! :-))
Also, thanx for the tip on the book, I'll try to find a copy.
We do have some theory-books here in the Netherlands, but most of them
are really heavy stuff and no fun at all.
Nande
--- In vocalist-temporary@y..., Margaret Harrison <vocalist-temporary@y..., Margaret Harrison < > I'll explain: I learned my first instrument, piano, at age
> 9. And progressed really fast, as children of that age tend
> to do who have some ability. But my memory was really
> good. So I memorized the simple pieces I was playing at
> the time right away, and played looking at my hands. And my
> teacher at the time let me do this. So when I moved and
> studied with a new teacher, my sightreading was horrendous.
> Now I had the skill to decode the music at slow tempo, so I
> could read some, but I had no facility. So to this day, my
> piano sightreading, while it has improved, has never felt
> fluent. And funny thing, as I improved my piano
> sightreading, my ease in memorizing piano music diminished
> markedly. What used to be easy and natural because work. I
> think it's related.
>
> When I learned my next instrument, the viola, my only
> interest was playing in the orchestra or ensembles. I had
> little interest in playing solo works. I played an hour a
> day at school orchestra rehearsal. And a two-hour evening
> or two a week in community orchestra rehearsal. And found I
> could play my parts as well as I needed to with minimal
> additional practice. So I sight-read - day-in, day-out.
> Year after year. More and more difficult music. And after
> 10, 15, 20 years, I played pretty well and sight read
> incredibly well. Playing in the orchestra all those years
> gave me the great rhythmic sightreading skills. But I can't
> play music on the viola without the paper in front of me. I
> can't hear a melody and reproduce it on the instrument,
> without consciously thinking about intervals.
>
> As a singer, I started with choral music. Sight-read good
> to start with (with my college theory training under my
> belt, and rhythmic skills and interval recognition from
> orchestra viola-playing also transferred over) and I only
> got better. Now I'm an excellent choral sightreaders.
> Melodies in solo music memorize themselves though memorizing
> the words gets harder and harder the older I get), but in
> choral music - I have to have the book in front of me
> (though I do know the Hallelujah Chorus by now, after about
> 1000 repetitions!).
>
> The original writer might want to check out that great book
> "Soprano on Her Ear", which deals with many musical and
> learning issued, with some great insights on sight-reading
> and memorization and lots of other good stuff.
>
> Also, next time, put the words on a card and trust yourself
> on the notes and rhythms you've learned the way you know
> works for you. They'll be so impressed that you learned it
> so fast and can sing it without the music in front of you,
> that they'll overlook a mistake or two.
>
> Peggy
>
> --
> Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
> "Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
> mailto:peggyh@i...
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