Solfege Hand Signs

Rhythmically Accurate
Versus Accurately Placed
BY SCOTT LAIRD
I
nstrumental music students are trained from an early age to it is always a pleasure to wear my “violinist hat” in the context of
read and interpret rhythms in the most accurate of ways. In a conducting gig. Also, I truly believe in a section rehearsal, the
both the general and instrumental music classroom, we drill leader should not be conducting. At its very best, the sectional
rhythmic exercises and patterns. Students develop great skill leader should play along with students and offer insights into the
in understanding and demonstrating rhythmic accuracy. One mindset, technique, and performance of the individual within
unintended result of this training may be a deficit of rhythmic the ensemble setting.
inflection in student performances. While we obtain rhythmi- On this occasion, the orchestra was working on February:
cally accurate results, performances may lack expressive inflec- Carnival by Tchaikovsky, arranged by Steven Brook. It is a piano
tion. Music instructors must be willing and able to articulate, piece that has been adapted for grade IV string orchestra and is
demonstrate, and ultimately require the nuances of inflection in perfect for this type of ensemble. We were working on a pas-
music in order to achieve a superior performance. sage that had an ascending melodic line full of sixteenth notes.
I recently conducted a fantastic high school all-county orches- It finished with eighth note, eighth rest, eighth note, eighth rest
tra event. I couldn’t have been happier with the students’ prepara- and then a triple-stop chord to end the phrase at the apex of the
tion and response to my work with them. On the second day of line. I was playing the first violin part along with the students in
rehearsals, I was asked to run a first-violin sectional rehearsal. So, the sectional. It quickly became apparent that had I turned on a
I grabbed my instrument and began the sectional. As a violinist, metronome during that rehearsal, the students would have been
Southwestern Musician | November 2016 13
spot-on in their rhythm. They could per- past accurate rhythm and working hard accurate rhythm. We began to discuss and
form the passage, yet it really didn’t call to understand the inflection and subtle- focus on the concept, and it paid strong
for spot-on rhythm. Instead it needed a ties in the musical line. It wasn’t incorrect dividends as we moved toward our perfor-
stronger placement of the individual notes interpretation of rhythm. It was, however, mance date. The result was an ensemble
of the passage based on the direction of inaccurate or inappropriate inflection in with significantly enhanced ability to play
the melodic line and the role that the rest performance. with insightful rhythmic inflection. Of
of the ensemble was playing at that par- I thought about that section rehearsal course, there are also plenty of instances
ticular moment. a great deal, and the following week, that simply require rhythmic accuracy,
I had been aware of the tension in I brought up the concept with my high and perhaps this is the reason that young
this passage when I conducted it earlier school orchestra. We were prepar- musicians struggle with this concept.
in rehearsals. But the real issue became LQJ 'YRUáiN·V 8th Symphony at the time. When do I play with accurate rhythm and when
much more apparent when my instru- Throughout this work, there are passages do I accurately place notes in a passage?
ment was in my hands. I began to work in which performers need to be conscious I mentioned the concept of inflection
with the students on this notion of getting of accurate placement as a priority over earlier, and I would like to expand on it just
a bit. One might respond to my thoughts
805-338-4170 / www.ccriddles.com P.O. Box 363, Newbury Park, CA 91319 here by simply saying, “Watch the con-
ductor!” But I actually don’t think that
provides enough information to achieve
the desired effect. There is a deeper issue
at hand, and I believe it has to do with the
connection between speech and rhythmic
placement and performance. When we
speak with passion or conviction, we push
and pull the tempo of our speech to pro-
vide emphasis and dynamic contrast. So it
is with expressive musicianship.
Innovative, Versatile, Fun, and Challenging My orchestra continued to focus on
this concept throughout the term. During
Study Cards Practice Tests Workbooks that same time, two of my students had
14 Southwestern Musician | November 2016

the opportunity to attend a master class cians I encounter each day, I find a gen- book to any music educator interested in
with William Conable, an Alexander eral shortcoming in musical inflection. developing musicians and ensembles that
Technique expert. Following their This includes not only the students I see are able to fully achieve musical expres-
experience, I invited them to share some daily in my institution but also those I sion and style with an emphasis on the
of their takeaways with our orchestra encounter in other musical environments, connection between speech and musical
class. One violinist offered an example including the all-county and regional lev- expression.
where another violinist was playing the els, summer camps, music performance In reflecting on these concepts and on
first movement of Tchaikovsky’s Violin adjudications, all-state level, various pri- Thurmond’s methods, I question whether
Concerto. Professor Conable worked with vate lessons, and other encounters. they would have spoken to me early in
that student (who was playing the piece
magnificently) on more accurately plac-
ing his rhythms rather than being so met-
ronomic in performance. As my student Students are so interested in playing difficult repertoire and
was describing the experience, I thought
to myself—This is it! This is accurate rhythm being correct in performance that the notion of inflection,
versus accurate placement.
Later in the rehearsal, another student musicality, and tone is often abandoned.
told of her experience in the master class,
and it was very similar. Her description of
the concept included the notion of musical This is actually not a criticism of the my career in the same way that they do
inflection, which I grabbed onto immedi- students or teachers, but more of an today. Isn’t it interesting how our inter-
ately. Expressive musicianship is strongly observation of our culture. I believe our ests and insights change with experience
related to fluency and language. I use so students become hyper-focused on get- and maturity? In those days, I was focused
many language and fluency references ting the right answer. This is actually sys- on the basics of string pedagogy, recruit-
when describing my pedagogical approach temic in every subject area, and I find it to ment, and development of a school orches-
and developing curricula for orches- be equally pervasive in music ensembles. tra program in need of a rebuild. Only in
tra, bowed strings, guitar, and piano. Of Students are so interested in playing dif- recent years have I begun to think deeply
course, many of us do—especially those ficult repertoire and being correct in per- about this connection between expres-
with strong Suzuki backgrounds. formance that the notion of inflection, sion and accuracy in playing. This rela-
Suzuki coined the phrase “mother- musicality, and tone is often abandoned. tively new focus is rooted in the trends I
tongue approach.” Many of his pedagogi- Additionally, a broad understanding of have observed while working with young
cal concepts and beliefs are built around concepts in bowing, bow direction, phras- musicians over a period of many years in
ideas of how and when children learn to ing, and other subtleties may be inade- many settings.
speak, use, and understand language. The quately addressed, opting for more focus I encourage each of you, as you are
notion of inflection fits right into this on technical passages. Or, perhaps if they rehearsing your ensembles in the coming
concept. Much of Suzuki’s early peda- are addressed by the instructor, students days and weeks, to consider this notion
gogy is built around rote learning, imi- are not giving them enough priority. of accurate rhythm vs. accurately placed
tation, and listening. Conversely, a defi- This concept is thoroughly addressed, rhythm. Do you feel the tension between
cit in inflection could be a result of too yet with different nomenclature, in the these two ideas in your rehearsals and per-
little demonstration in a student’s musical magnificent book Note Grouping by James formances? Do you feel this tension dif-
training. Thurmond. He details his method for ferently when you play rather than con-
I have wrestled with how I might be achieving expression and style in musi- duct? And how might you address this
able to articulate this universal issue for cal performance. He outlines the inherent with your students? What nomenclature
young ensembles. Today’s students are relationship between speech and music, works in this setting? What words can you
often focused on accuracy, and appropri- movement and music, motifs and phras- use and what examples can you give to
ately so. We must learn to play accurately ing, strong versus weak beats, and he strongly create an understanding of this
to master any passage in music, from continues to explain his theory of note subtle difference? I am convinced that the
the simplest to the most difficult. That grouping and applications. conversation will result in more expressive
being said, accuracy without inflection This book provides numerous direct ensembles at every level.
is pretty boring. Speech inflection is not applications for teaching this concept,
just changes in the pitch of a voice. It also conducting, and many other pedagogical Scott Laird is Orchestra Director and
encompasses changes in tempo and pace. areas. Thurmond explores the need for Fine Arts Coordinator at the NC School of
So it is similar with music. Those changes a more concentrated emphasis on move- Science and Math in Durham, N.C., and an
in inflection can be very subtle or quite ment in the orchestra as a means to over- orchestra conductor for the Interlochen
overt. The dynamic that inflection creates all meaningful expression. Throughout Summer Arts Camp, Interlochen, Mich.
in music, similarly, is absolutely necessary the book, he also draws parallels between Laird is also the 2017 TMEA Orchestra
to strong communication and expressive speech, fluency, literacy, and music, and Division Featured Clinician.
performance. he emphasizes the necessity of strong
In the vast majority of student musi- systems in pedagogy. I recommend this
Southwestern Musician | November 2016 17

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Rhythmically Accurate

Versus Accurately Placed

14 Southwestern Musician | November 2016

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