Molly wrote:
>
> I was assigned the mother in "Hansel and Gretel", and it looks difficult,
> entrance-wise, interval-wise, etc. Anyone have good hints on how best to
> effectively prepare a role? My piano skills are not too great,either..though
> I DO try.
And a lister replied:
> why don't you just go ahead and learn it off a couple of different
> recordings until your musicianship skills improve? speaking the words, then
> speaking them in rhythm would be a good idea. good luck.
I know this music well - though I haven't sung it, I have helped several
singers who had
this role to sing learn their music. It is difficult musically, and tricky
rhythmically.
This is music that I DO NOT recommend anyone attempt to learn from a recording,
because
it's easy to misinterpret the artist's rhythmic flexibility for the wrong
rhythms when one
doesn't yet have a solid handle on what's correct.
But I like this lister's other suggestion:
> speaking the words, then
> speaking them in rhythm would be a good idea.
Text and rhythm, including the accompaniment/other parts before and after your
entrances,
is a great thing to start with. Having your accompanist record your part in
perfect
rhythm, and use that to check yourself, is also helpful. Sometimes when I have
complex
rhythms to learn, I write out the note values (without a staff, bit with stems,
flags,
rests, measure lines) and put the words underneath them, and use this to
practice with.
For this work, I would recommend not spending much time with recordings until
you've
learned it - then the recordings can be helpful.
And if there's one of the "practice perfect" CDs of the accompaniment, that
also can be
good to work with while you're learning the music.
Good luck!
Peggy
--
Margaret Harrison, Alexandria, Virginia, USA
"Music for a While Shall All Your Cares Beguile"
mailto:peggyh@i...
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