Group 4
Welcome to the NEW TWO WEEK INTENSIVE on tonebase!
"Phrasing like a Singer" at the Piano with Leann Osterkamp.
Much of classical piano music evolved historically from vocal music. Voice, naturally being the most primal/organic instrument of all, is the source from which pianists draw our understanding of dynamic contour, pacing, and phrasing. By understanding how one might coach a vocalist, one can create an organic musicality and polished phrasing on the piano. Join Dr. Leann Osterkamp He as she demonstrates how her experience coaching professional singers in both opera and lied transformed her understanding of phrasing on the piano. She will break down the basics of vocal coaching into pragmatic learning steps and fun techniques for you to use in your own learning!
Post your progress with videos and written commentary on how things are going for you!
- Course Period: October 28th - November 9th
- Class Size: ALL are welcome!
- Optional check-In via Zoom: TBD
Assignment #1
https://youtu.be/GvYcVNFby4A?si=Svu_TDAPzv98ZOl_
1. Pick 8-12 bars of a solo piano piece of your choice that has a clear melody.
2. Put in your own lyrics in your most comfortable language! No need for fine poetry, just aim for something that you think fits the character of the piece/moment. Be careful when thinking over whether every note needs its own word or if you might like to draw out a word over multiple notes (by extending a vowel). The goal is to make it sound like natural speech.
3. Now go in and mark breath marks, making choices based off of organic pause in the language, punctuation of word, physical necessity, etc.
4. Now that you have intentional breathing, identify the dynamic contour of each smaller unit between each breath, thinking of the natural inflection of speech, the range of the pitches, word punctuation, etc.
5. Share a screenshot of your score, a recording of you playing your final result, or a video of you discussing interesting elements you discovered in your work.
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This was fun, and already it's helping me shape a line that sings.
I don't think my lyrics adhere to the rules outlined in the video. But I did try to write lyrics that reflect the lugubrious nature of the music. Also, the composer was clear about creating breaths with the rests in the melody.
The lyrics are: (note; written last night before the Yankees lost.)
Oh Aaron Judge
you done me wrong.
Why'd you do it?.
Your home runs they are gone.
Where did they go?
Now all you do is fan the plate.
The Dodgers win and win again in the World Series.
Tonight it's do or die.
The Yankees they must win or else the season ends.
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Betsy Wiesendanger your lyrics made me laugh out loud! So fun.
Great start! Now, I would encourage you to really get into detailed rules about fitting lyrics to the notes. For example, you can't have two words per sustained note. If you sustain a word, it can only be a vowel. Try to have important words on downbeats and beginnings of phrases, etc.
The reason for this, is that it further helps you define which notes (like words in a sentence) are connective, subjects, descriptive, etc. In doing this level of detail work, it enables you to have further specificity over articulation and dynamics choices and overall pacing. It also will help you memorize the piece much faster!
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