Eric Erickson Dirección Coral

REHEARSING METHOD

M$TODO DE ENSA%O

 Eric Ericson

Trad&cci'n: Oscar Llobet 

THE CONDUCTOR PREPARES HIMSELF

EL DIRECTOR SE PREPARA A S( MISMO

One One of the the nece necess ssar ary y qual qualit itie iess of a conductor is the ability to achieve his concept of a choir piece within a short time of efficient rehearsing. To facilitate this, a conductor must arri arrive ve at rehe rehear arsa sall with with a defi defini nite te musi musica call concept and a complete technical command of  the piece he is going to rehearse. A conductor  cannot learn a piece in rehearsal without losing time. Also, if the conductor is unable to learn the scor core -or -or is, is, perha erhap ps, jus just lazy lazy-- the repert repertoir oiree will will be limite limited d to wors wors sung sung by other choirs. !ow do you prepare a new choir piece" #f  you have had practice, possess a good ear and have had long e$perience, you simply read it. This is the ideal% the inner ear not only hearing the right notes read by the eye, but transforming that music into choral sound.

&na &na de las las cual cualid idad ades es nece necesa sari rias as de un director es la habilidad para alcanzar su concepto de una obra coral dentro de un corto tiempo de eficientes ensayos. +ara facilitar esto, un director  debe debe lleg llegar ar al ensay ensayo o con con un clar claro o conc concep epto to musical y un completo dominio tcnico de la obra que va a ensayar. &n director no puede aprender  una obra obra durant durantee el ensay ensayo o sin perde perderr tiemp tiempo. o. Adems, si el director es incapaz de estudiar la  partitura -o es, quizs, slo indolente- el repertorio se limitar a obras cantadas por otros coros. /(mo prepara &d. &na nueva obra coral" 'i ha tenido prctica, posee un buen o0do y ha tenido larga e$periencia, simplemente lala. *sto es lo ideal% el o0do interno no slo escuchando las notas notas correc correctas tas le0das le0das por el ojo, ojo, sino sino tambi tambin n transformando esa m1sica en sonido coral.

Cante cada parte Sing each part The first step is to mae sure that you can sing sing each each part. part. &se your your hand hand to reflect reflect the  piece in simple rhythmic movements. The hand must must lear learn n to refl reflec ectt the the musi musica call inte intent ntio ion n accu accura rate tely ly.. 'it 'it at the the pian piano o and and chec chec  the the accuracy accuracy of your your intervals intervals,, paying paying particular  particular  attention to intonation. This helps you prepare to rehe rehear arse se the the piec piecee with withou outt inst instru rume ment nts. s. Analyse the difficulties of the piece and arrive at a concept of tempo and interpret interpretation ation.. (omplete familiarity with the wor is essential) a choir conductor who cannot sing every part correc correctly tly and witho without ut hesita hesitatio tion n cannot cannot be a silful and efficient teacher.

*l primer primer paso paso es asegur asegurars arsee de que &d.  puede cantar cada parte. &tilice su mano para mostrar la obra en sencillos movimientos r0tmicos. 2a mano debe aprender a revelar con precisin la intencin musical. 'intese al piano y controle la e$acti e$actitud tud de sus interv intervalo alos, s, presta prestando ndo especi especial al atencin a la afinacin. *sto lo ayuda a prepararse  para ensayar la obra sin instrumentos. Analice las dificultades de la obra y llegue a un concepto del tempo y la inte interp rpre reta taci cin n.. *s esen esenci cial al una una completa familiaridad con la obra) un director de coro coro que que no es capaz apaz de can cantar tar cada ada par parte correctamente y sin dudas no puede ser un maestro e$perto y eficiente.

Cante !os acordes Sing the chords #t is considerably more difficult for the inner ear to learn to hear the full sound of the  piece than to hear the individual parts. #f you find that your ability to read and hear vertically is limited, start singing the chords aloud and chec them on the piano.

*s consid considera erable blemen mente te ms ms dif0ci dif0cill para para el o0do o0do intern interno o aprend aprender er a escuch escuchar ar la sonori sonoridad dad completa de una obra que escuchar cada parte por  separado. 'i &d. 3escubre que su habilidad para leer leer y escu escuch char ar vert vertic ical alme ment ntee es lim limitad itada, a, comi comien ence ce cant cantan ando do en voz voz alta alta los los acor acorde dess y contrlelos en el piano.

Eercise !eaps "et#een parts

E)ercite sa!tos entre partes

*$ercise the leaps between different parts

*jerci *jercite te lentam lentament entee saltos saltos entre entre distin distintas tas

slowly in order to force yourself to read and thin multiple parts at the same time. #t is, of  course, advisable to occasionally play all the choir parts simultaneously. 4ut, do it in combination with some vocal activity in order  to arrive at a vocal way of playing. 5emember, when the hammers in the piano hit the strings, it is an event only remotely connected with vocal  production. Try to play with as soft and 6singing7 a tone as possible so that your   playing serves to support the vocal concept. +lay the choir parts all together, but sing along,  part after part.

 partes a los efectos de forzarse a &d. mismo a leer  y pensar muchas partes al mismo tiempo. *s sin duda conveniente tocar de vez en cuando todas las  partes simultneamente. +ero hgalo en combinacin con alguna actividad vocal de forma de llegar a una manera vocal de tocar. 5ecuerde, el golpe de los martillos en las cuerdas del piano, es un hecho slo remotamente relacionado con la emisin vocal. Trate de tocar de la manera ms suave y cantabile posible, de manera que sirva  para sostener el concepto vocal. Toque juntas todas las partes, y cntelas, una tras otra.

To1&e &na parte * cante otra P!a* one part and sing another +lay one of the parts and sing a second until you have mastered all the combinations  possible.

Toque una de las partes y cante otra hasta que haya dominado todas las combinaciones  posibles.

To1&e tres partes * cante !a c&arta P!a* three parts and sing the +o&rth #f you are preparing a four-part piece, try to play three of the parts and sing the fourth. This might present some difficulties but, it forces one to thin melodically as well as harmonically and to be aware of intonation at all times.

'i &d. est preparando una obra a cuatro voces, trate de tocar tres de las voces y cantar la cuarta. *sto puede presentar algunas dificultades  pero, lo obliga a uno a pensar tanto meldica como armnicamente y a tener conciencia de la afinacin en todo momento.

Dando notas To ga,e pitch &se a pitchfor to gave the pitch. 8hen  preparing the wor, become aware of all the  places you may want to start in rehearsal.

&se un diapasn para dar notas. (uando estudia la obra, tome conciencia de todos los lugares de los que pueda querer comenzar durante el ensayo.

Practice !eaps in te-po

Practi1&e sa!tos a tempo

 9ow, practice moving from part to part, once again in the correct tempo. This e$ercise has, of course, its natural place in 6imitative7  pieces where one sings a whole series of  entrances. 4y trying to sing the entrances himself, a conductor can perceive the problems that may arise for the choir singer who has difficulties relating to the previous entrance.

Ahora, practique alguna que otra vez saltar  de una parte a otra, en el tempo  correcto. *ste ejercicio tiene, por supuesto, su espacio natural en obras 6imitativas7 donde se cantan series completas de entradas. Tratando de cantar l mismo las entradas, un director puede percibir los  problemas que puedan surgir para el coreuta que tiene dificultades relacionadas con la entrada anterior.

.or/ o&t a cond&ctor0s g&ide 8or out a conductor:s guide) i.e., mar  your score with a line that travels up and down through the score, emphasizing all important entrances an dynamics which must be observed and cued by the conductor. 9ow sing the score in addition to conducting with it.

.rite o&t a piano part

Con+eccione &na g&2a de direcci'n +or ejemplo, marque su partitura con una l0nea que vaya de arriba hacia abajo a travs de ella, enfatizando todas las entradas e indicaciones dinmicas que deban ser observadas y se;aladas  por el director. Ahora cante la partitura y dirija con ella.

#f the choir parts are particularly complicated in their interweaving, write out a  piano part to condense what is melodically and harmonically important in the score. The  process of writing out a piano part in addition to analysing the music harmonically is very revealing and is especially useful when studying the counterpoint of erman and *nglish music of the olpes muy estridentes y pesados Econ frecuencia generados por golpes de pieF tienden a eliminar el verdadero sentido r0tmico

Rehearsing the parts #f the piece is so difficult that you run a definite ris of failure in using the above method, then by all means rehearse the parts separately. 4ut, mae sure you eep the suggested principles in mind. The conductor of  an amateur choir cannot pretend to be a demanding choir master. #t may even be necessary to teach by rote. Try to apply the simple ground rules that apply when teaching a  baby how to wal. Bou may have to let the choir sing with the leader setting the e$ample E6supporting the baby by holding its arms7F. The ne$t time, you proceed with less support E6hold the baby:s hand7F and, eventually, the singers will be almost on their own E6let the  baby hold on to the finger7F. Thus, no depressing failures, but not so much support that the effort to read music vanishes completely. #f you practice every part little by little, following it and singing it together, then you eep the whole choir busy most of the time without too much idle waiting. #t is, of course, a good thing to have the whole choir follow the rehearsing of each part. This encourages familiarity with the complete lines of melody and provides practice in reading music by listening and looing. &nder certain circumstances, it helps to have the entire choir  sing through each part in the score. #t is also a good idea to put a fermata on certain chords to give the choir the opportunity to listen carefully and to let every part find its vertical function in relation to the other parts. The structure of the piece should determine how the parts are to be rehearsed.

Ensa*ando !as partes 'i la obra es tan dif0cil que &d. corre un verdadero riesgo de fracaso utilizando el mtodo anterior, por todo concepto ensaye las partes separadamente. +ero, aseg1rese de conservar en mente los principios sugeridos. *l director de un coro aficionado no puede pretender ser un e$igente maestro de coro. *s necesario a1n ense;ar por repeticin. Trate de aplicar las simples normas que se aplican cuando se ense;a a caminar  a un beb. 3ebe dejar cantar al coro luego que el gu0a haya mostrado el ejemplo E6sostenga al beb tomando sus brazos7F. 2a vez siguiente, ayude menos E6sostenga la mano del beb7F y, eventualmente, los cantantes casi se bastarn a s0 mismos E6deje que el bebe se agarre del dedo7F. 3e este modo, no habr desalentadores fracasos,  pero tampoco tanta ayuda que haga que el esfuerzo de leer m1sica se desvanezca por  completo. '# &d. practica cada parte de a  peque;os fragmentos, siguindola y cantndola  juntos, mantiene a todo el coro ocupado la mayor0a del tiempo sin muchas esperas inactivas. *s cosa buena, obviamente, que todo el coro siga el ensayo de cada parte. *sto favorece la familiaridad con todas las l0neas meldicas y acarrea prctica de lectura musical por audicin y visin. *n ciertas circunstancias, ayuda que todo el coro cante cada una de las partes. Asimismo es  buena idea colocar un caldern en ciertos acordes  para dar al coro la oportunidad de escuchar  cuidadosamente y permitir a cada voz encontrar su funcin vertical con relacin a las otras. 2a estructura de la pieza deber0a determinar  cmo deben ser ensayadas las partes.

Often, with e$tensive polyphony, one tends to wor each part carefully before putting all the  parts together. !owever, in a piece built on chords EhomophonicF, it can be helpful to combine the parts at an earlier stage to e$plain rather than to complicate. Also, let different combinations of parts rehearse together  according to the structure of the piece, i. e., cantus firmus with the most mobile of the other   parts, imitative and canonic parts with each other, the outside parts with general bass, the accompanying parts together, etc.

Crecuentemente, con la gran polifon0a, se tiende a trabajar cada parte cuidadosamente antes de  juntarlas todas. 'in embargo, en una pieza construida sobre acordes EhomfonaF, puede ser  1til combinar ms rpidamente las partes% esto ayuda ms de lo que pueda complicar. Tambin,  permita que diferentes combinaciones de voces ensayen juntas de acuerdo a la estructura de la obra, v. g., el cantus firmus con la ms florida de las otras voces, las partes imitativas y cannicas entre s0, las voces e$tremas con el bajo real, las voces secundarias juntas, etc.

3ariation

3ariedad

Alternating between woring with details and e$periencing, the overall impression is important to eep the interest of the singers. #ndeed, the rehearsal can become an e$citing e$ploration in music. !owever, if one section of the choir is having e$tensive problems, don:t let the whole choir sit and wait while that section learns its part. #t is better to call an e$tra rehearsal for that particular section.

Al alternar entre el trabajo detallado y la e$perimentacin, la visin global es importante  para mantener el inters de los cantantes. 5ealmente, puede convertirse en una estimulante e$ploracin musical. 9o obstante, si un sector del coro tuviera grandes problemas, no permita que todo el coro permanezca sentado y esperando mientras esa seccin aprende su parte. *s mejor   programar un ensayo adicional slo para ese grupo.

P!a*ing the piano #t is my firm conviction that using too much piano in rehearsal can destroy the sound quality of a choir as well as its ability to read music. Therefore, # recommend as little of the accompanying instrument as possible. !owever, there are situations in which # would recommend using an instrument. At times, one encounters intervals in a choir part that are very hard to sing because they are harmonically so difficult. #t might help if you first play the part, accenting the difficult intervals and then, have the choir sing while you play the 6e$planatory7 harmonies. ost of the choir parts in