Concert this weekend - boy that was quick. I really need more time to work on this stuff! Our guest performer this concert is a trio who will be playing the Beethoven Triple Concerto in C with us. They came to rehearse with us last night. The cello part is both beautiful and maniacal. I hope one day I can get to a level where not only can I play something like that...but to hold it together well enough to play it for an audience. Watching the cellist yesterday made me realize that I will never get "tired" of studying this instrument. I have so far to go and there's enough learning here to last through the rest of my life.
I am feeling a bit more comfortable at rehearsals now....I decided to hold off on the wine for now and instead, started practicing for the rehearsals :) Still not as relaxed as I need to be..but hopefully that will get better with time.
One thing I never understood though...why do the weakest players sit in the back of a section? When you sit towards the back,
- It's harder to see the conductor
- You can't hear your section
- Bowings and fingerings travel back to you last so you constantly have one eye on the front of the section to ensure correct bowing...
Don't the weaker players just get weaker?
4 comments:
Glad to see you're posting again.
Interesting question about the seating.
Hmmm... I thought I posted a comment here on that a day or two ago ... or was it on another blog? (Maybe I forget to hit a button or something?) Anyway, what I recall writing was that I would love to be hidden in the back at times, but Maestro lines up the cellos across the front so we project. There are only 3 of us.
I like being hidden in the back too but I don't learn the material as fast. Or even read as fast because you can't hear anyone else in your section. For the concert - I think it's fine to have the first and second chair sit up front but in the rehearsals, I think that it would be really beneficial for a section to rotate their seating. That way, the people at the back of the section can sit in front of the first and second chairs once in a while. Seems to me like this will be a fast way to tighten up your section.
Just a humble observation from a (relatively) new orch geek :)
I always liked a rotating section, myself.
Here are a few thoughts, from my experience:
1) a lot of players who are struggling have some degree of fear that they will be exposed. Sitting in the front, where more people can hear them can lead to a lot of fakery and frustration for player and conductor alike.
2) the principals of each section need to see each other to make sure they have the same concepts of phrasing, articulation, attacks and releases. The interpretation gets handed down and back through the sections. If the people at the front of the section are primarily concerned with sweating out the notes, these elements of finesse are not addressed.
3) In a lot of organizations, the outside cellists are the stronger players, all the way through the back of the section, so 5th chair is often stronger than 4th, etc. It's like having a leader at every stand.
4) The mental game. It was always great incentive for me to try and battle my way up through the section. Sure, sitting 1st chair was scary because I was always heard and had the rest of the section counting on me, but my competence went way up by confronting the fear daily. Set your sights on the next stand up. Play with presence and really follow the section leader. Dynamics, articulation..play what's on the page, nothing more, and you will move up.
5) politics. This is so lame, but it happens all the time. A newer player will sometimes get buried at the back of the section because it might bruise the ego of one of the long tenured members. I get shuffled to the back of sections with the other subversives, if it makes you feel better. We hit the notes just the same as the elder statesmen of the studio scene, but since we aren't interested in kissing ass for a living, we get what they think is punishment for our petulance. Little do they know we actually like being where we are...far away from the BS.
I just tagged you with a "Seven Things" tag! See my blog for more information. :-)
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