Beyond the Notes and Rhythms

I remember way back in my early days of the tuba, when I had to sit on two phone books to simply reach the mouthpiece.  I had recently joined a youth orchestra and was completely out of my element, in awe of the other young musicians around me.  They could play such fast notes and with such confidence.  At that point those fast notes seemed to equal greater skill, and man did I wish I could do the same.  As the next few years passed I grew….physically I could now reach the mouthpiece with one phonebook.  And now those fast notes didn’t seem to hold the same intrigue or interest.  I wanted more, but I didn’t know what it was.  In high school my teachers and mentors encouraged me to listen.   Listen to as many great musicians as possible.  I listened to tuba players of course, but also other brass players, string players, and most importantly, vocalists.  Singers like Luciano Pavarotti, Bobby McFerrin, Renee Fleming, and later groups like the Wailin’ Jennys, were and are captivating.  But why?  It wasn’t fast notes or stunning technique.  It was something else, something called musicality. 

I desperately wanted my own playing to have this mysterious element, I wanted to captivate people in the same way these amazing musicians were captivating me.  Initially I wondered if it was possible on the tuba, an instrument not generally recognized as emotionally moving, but after hearing other tubists like Pat Sheridan and Roland Szentpali (check them out if you haven’t) I knew this was more than possible.

It wasn’t until my graduate school, working with and listening to outstanding teachers and fellow students that I really began to discover and understand how to achieve this seemingly transcendent goal.  So how does one captivate their listener?  What does it mean to play musically?  And how do we as musicians go about that? 

Musicality Defined

Musicality is communication.  Communicating to the listener, whether it is other performers, a paying audience, or a family member listening to your practice session, what you are saying through your instrument.  This idea is analogous to language.  We take the fundamental basics of words, and string them together into sentences to express something we are thinking or feeling.  In music we take the fundamentals of musical language and express something we are thinking or feeling through our instruments.  Musicality is the connection; how we communicate our music to the listener.

Connecting & Communicating

Intent.  Okay, so we have to communicate and connect with audiences.  How?  To start, consider what the music means to the composer, and then more importantly, to you.  There are two layers, the composers’ intention and connecting those intentions to what’s meaningful to you.  What is the background of the composer?  Of the particular piece?  It’s important to have knowledge of different styles and understand where the composer is coming from, but then be brave enough to put it forth in an exaggerated manner that means something to you.

Imagine.  Finding what a piece means to you can require imagination.  When reading a book, we imagine and give life to the words on the page.  Similarly with music, take what’s on the page as a starting point and give life to the notes and rhythms.  Like a teacher reading a story to a kindergarten class, be the exaggerated story teller of the printed music.  In addition, use your intuition.  How do you intuitively or automatically want to respond to the music?  Compare this to the score and intertwine your intuition and the composers’ ideas together.

Paint a picture, tell a story.  Connect the music with something extra-musical, whether it’s descriptive words, moods, colors, emotions, a painting, or a story.  Better yet, try drawing/painting an actual picture of what the music looks like to you.  Or write a story to go along with the music, create characters, a plot, and action.  Reflecting the music in a personal painting or story will make the music come to life for you, and as a result your audience.

Sing.  All lines must sing on the instrument, so first sing them with your voice.  And really sing!  Notice how you approach phrases, where you breathe, how you emphasize certain moments.  And as you sing, conduct and move.  Feel the musical line, dance to the music and involve your entire body.  Internalize the music in your body and voice and then project that through your instrument. 

Listen.  Listen to other artists you admire, and really listen!  Include those that play your instrument as well as anyone else you admire.  Don’t limit your listening, explore a variety of genres.  Figure out what captivates you about the artist and use that as a platform or starting point.

Always be musical!

No matter what you’re playing, whether a Bach Cello Suite or a jazz ballade, or whom you’re playing with, from an unaccompanied solo to a chamber group, musicality should always be part of our musical message.  From the first reading of a new piece, keep in mind the story you’re telling. 

Get in the habit of having every note you play be a musical one.  Pay attention to the details on the page, see and respond to what the composer wants, exaggerate, give direction to the musical line, and tell a story.  Musicality allows us as performers to communicate and connect with the listener and other musicians.  And for me, this connection is the primary reason I became an artist in the first place.

-Stephanie