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When I ask someone I'm performing with if they're going to say a few words to the audience before launching into the music the response tends to be one of bewilderment, panic, or both.
"Talk? In front of the audience? It's bad enough I have to perform! I can't talk too!!"
I get it, I really do. I've had my share of stage fright through the years. But here's the thing - I actually believe that talking to our audiences can be a key to quieting our nerves. It is also, in my opinion, a key to making more people in the audience more comfortable and ready to receive whatever it is we're about to give to them.
At the university where I teach and accompany the students perform frequently in departmental recitals. I struggle a bit internally, especially when a singer gets up to perform, even more so when what he or she is singing is in a foreign language. Perhaps because of time and budgetary constraints the translations to the songs being sung are often not included in the program. The titles aren't even translated into English so for the most part the people in the audience don't have any clue as to what a given song is about. In my mind this is a great way to shoot ourselves in the foot! We're not at a music conservatory where every piece performed is something that everyone in the audience grew up listening to - most of the students have come from small, rural communities. This is an opportunity for the students to hear some great music for the first time but how can they even begin to enjoy it when they haven't a clue what the words being sung mean? And how does this effect the performer? Here we have a young singer braving the stage, staring out at an audience full of their colleagues looking back with blank faces. How rewarding an experience can that be for the singer? How rewarding can it be for the audience? Even I don't care to listen to singing when I don't know what I'm listening to and I've been listening to classical music all of my life!
Oh my. Sorry. Deep breaths. Obviously it really gets to me.
So what can we do? Every time I play for a singer in a situation where no translation is being provided I suggest that the singer come up with a one sentence explanation for what their song is about that can be presented before beginning the song. When done well it can not only help the singer focus, it also helps the audience to have something to grasp onto. It can be like a piece of scenery to help place everyone in the same place at the same time and it breaks down a bit of the wall that can so often occur between singer and audience, especially when a foreign language is involved. Although it's rare that a student will get up the nerve to take my suggestion, when they do I find it always makes a difference in a positive way. The faces in the audience soften and take on a more receptive look, they respond more to subtleties in the singer's expression...sometimes it can be downright magical and all because of a handful of words.
These days I almost always say something before I perform. The more I do it, the more addicted I become to addressing the audience because so many incredible experiences have come from me reaching out to the audience in some way. One of the most interesting and unexpected results that has happened is that there have been several times when I've had audience members stand up to ask questions or to share something personal about how the music has affected them at the end of a performance before everyone has dispersed. This has happened to me here in the states but it also happened to my husband and I in Germany. It has meant that the audience, at the end of a performance, has felt like they can stay and chat rather than to flee the minute the last note is played. It has meant that I get immediate feedback and connection rather than having to face the lonely, quiet Green Room by myself. It has meant that music-making has become a social activity, which is in my mind, the way music is supposed to be. And the beauty of it all is that with each wonderful experience like this I have grown to love performing more and more - nerves no longer have a hold of me because my eagerness to communicate musically and personally is greater. Like I said earlier in the post, it's gotten downright addictive.
In case you were wondering, no, I am not fearless when it comes to public speaking. I get butterflies every time I go out to talk to my audience so it's something I am working on developing. But I figure I'd have butterflies anyway. I may as well let the butterflies escape while I'm talking so that by the time I sit down to perform they've had a chance to fly off somewhere else. And the rewards are just so great - I can't not do it anymore.
So the next time you perform, I challenge you to give talking a try. Keep it short, keep it simple, keep it sincere and watch what can happen with that little act of bravery.
I'd love to hear other people's stories about talking to the audience! I know there must be good ones out there and it would be a great way of encouraging others to give it a try.
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Not disagreeing with the spirit of your post, but this caught my eye:
ReplyDelete«Because of time and budgetary constraints the translations to the songs being sung are often not included in the program. The titles aren't even translated into English so for the most part the people in the audience don't have any clue as to what a given song is about.»
Yes, it's time-consuming to prepare a text and translation, it can be expensive if you need to pay for the rights to the translation or for a text that's in copyright, and it's more pages in the program book/leaflet. BUT, but, but…
It is not time consuming to translate song titles, and this is unlikely to add to the bulk of the program leaflet. Any music department (or performer for that matter) who can't be bothered to supply the audience with a translation of the title/incipit alongside the original language is simply being lazy, not economical.
And if space permits, there's no reason why the performer couldn't also provide the program editor with one or two sentences on each song that sums up the theme or scenario. By doing this, they will also be preparing themselves for any spoken introduction. Better still, the audience will have something they can consult during the performance (not everyone has a perfect memory for the spoken word) and afterwards if a particular song caught their imagination.
(For what it's worth, at my university performance students were expected to prepare their own program sheets for their recitals and the quality of these factored into the assessment of the performance. Sometimes they were simply detailed program listings, sometimes they included brief notes on the works, but either way it made us think about what documentation we were providing for our audience and how we could make it helpful and supportive of our performances.)
Thomasina,
DeleteThank you for contributing your thoughts. I completely agree with your thoughts! I wish I had more klout in the music department and perhaps inspired by your comment I will have the nerve to bring it up again. So thank you!
Erica
I always thought talking was really important for me when I performed. Showing that you've really made the effort to make the music more transparent is something that audiences will appreciate. Plus, it really shows that you are knowledgeable and passionate about the music you've prepared. This may sound kind of cheesy, but the vast majority of your audience wants to see you succeed on stage. Those short talks really made me feel like I wasn't alone with my accompanist in tackling repertoire; the audience had my back. On a somewhat more esoteric note, much of my audience will be hearing my instrument being played in a completely alien idiom (classical saxophone) to them. A knowledgeable and enthusiastic musician leaves people with a great first impression.
ReplyDeleteJacob,
DeleteThank you for reading and taking the time to comment. I love your cheesy line, "...the vast majority of your audience wants to see you succeed on stage." Absolutely! I've always found it odd that we as performers can so easily forget that and assume the opposite. I suppose there are always the critics in the audience too but that's not who I tend to play for anyway since they're rarely impressed or open to being moved by my performance. I also like your image of the audience having your back. It makes it so much easier to try new things and to be a little more creative and adventurous during a performance when we feel that safety on stage.
Keep talking! :-)
All the best,
Erica
I couldn't agree more! Thanks for this post.
ReplyDeleteI have heard musicians say that it is "unprofessional" to talk at a performance. But I think it is time to get past the old tradition of simply walking out, taking a bow, and playing. When we perform, our goal should be to invite the audience into the music--to help them love it and enjoy it as we do. Many audience members simply do not have the same "tools" to understand classical music that we do after years of study. They have an increased capacity for enjoyment if they are given some ideas of cultural context and what to listen for in the music. Why wouldn't we talk??
Syneva,
DeleteI don't really understand the view that talking at performances is unprofessional but I know some people feel that way. I also know that talking can be approached in a not-so-helpful way, especially when it gets long-winded or is full of too much technical jargon. It definitely takes some practice to figure out what works and what doesn't but I think it's worth the work. :-)
Thank you for reading and taking the time to comment!
Erica
I agree with what you're saying, and it's almost always appropriate to talk to the audience, but I am SUCH a horrible speaker -- I mumble, I don't project, etc. So that would be something else I'd have to practice. The first recital I gave as an undergraduate, in fact, the programs disappeared before the concert (I think someone threw them out, not realizing it hadn't taken place yet), and I had to announce each piece. The recording tech didn't include my announcements but I wish he had -- it would have been interesting to hear how I did. But I suspect I was probably inaudible to most.
ReplyDeleteIt's great to hear from you, Harriet!
DeleteIt was definitely way past my comfort zone and still is if I'm in a funky state of mind pre-performance. But it is getting easier, for which I'm grateful. And they payoff is so worth it in my mind.
And I wouldn't use your undergraduate recital experience as a way to judge your skill at speaking - sounds like that was a last minute thing that really doesn't make one feel real great, especially when it's at such an important milestone.
For what it's worth I always tell myself that I'm not trying to impress anyone with my speaking, I'm just sharing. That usually helps.
All the best to you!
Erica
I work more on my script in the final week of preparation than on the music. You're right that it's easy to babble or to become too technical - my goal is always to give the audience a way to hear what I hear, and to understand what I'm doing. Sometimes that means stories or verbal imagery, sometimes a breakdown of the form of a piece, or sometimes just a personal note about why I like the work.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't consider performing without speaking, honestly. Call me unprofessional, but the stuffy formal recital experience is not for the era I live in or the audience I want to encourage.
So good to hear from you again, Jennet. Think you for contributing your own thoughts about all this!
DeleteHappy musicking please keep sharing your passion!
Erica
Great post! As musicians we often forget that people know very little about classical music, periods and composers. There are often interesting facts or stories that about pieces or the composer's life at the time the compositions are written. It helps the audience connect before the first notes are played. Our band director often point out subtleties in dynamics or tempo changes that make the audience sit on the edge of their seats trying to ketch the exact moment these changes occur. It's very interesting to observe, really. Plus, I personally don't have any issues with public speaking and enjoy telling these little interesting facts about music. People come to be entertained, to enjoy themselves, not just to sit there with somber faces pretending to understand complex compositions they know nothing about. We can make classical music a lot more personal, if you may, by providing that verbal connection to the music, the historical period it was written in, the context for the notes and the emotion we are trying to convey. It makes the player appear less distant and more of a person, too, as opposed to someone above the audience, someone too unreachable. Isn't that what we all want? A connection to the audience?
ReplyDeleteOlya,
DeleteYes, yes, yes! I'm waving my hand with wild abandon to your last somewhat somewhat rhetorical question...at least rhetorical to many of us! And I love what you say about talking about the piece helps the audience connect even before anything starts. I tend to think it can heighten the anticipation for those in the audience and like you said, it can actively give something to them to try and hear for themselves. It gives them an active role in all of it.
So let's keep talking!
Thanks for your thoughts, Olya!
Erica
When a performer shares why a piece speaks to them, a performance can be akin to the delicious thrill of being trusted with a happy secret by a friend. It connects you to the performer and the performance in an authentic and more tangible way. I've been willing to give pieces that I didn't enjoy the first (or even the fifteenth) time another chance when a performer has spoken and given me a way or a reason to appreciate the pieces with new ears and new eyes. Sometimes I still haven't liked the piece, but often, through that new way of listening and understanding I was given, I have.
ReplyDeleteMany musicians say that music is a vital part of their being- a passion, love- but it has not been uncommon for me to attend performances that feel like the love they are feeling they are keeping for their intimates and themselves and that the audience is an irritation and necessary evil they endure for the sake of economic solvency. It may be that this disconnect stems from a performer's anxiety and worry about not being good enough so they push everyone to a safe distance. The audience may feel that push, and take it to mean that the performer thinks that they (the audience) are not good enough to be trusted with something the musician loves and cherishes so much. It can make for a pretty uncomfortable evening.
What's helped me with nerves in all of my social interactions has been remembering these words of wisdom: If you are feeling self-conscious, you are conscious of the wrong person. Speak to the person who is feeling out of place in the audience- the one who wants to enjoy music like you do but who doesn't know how or even what pause is appropriate in which to clap and root for you. Speak to the person who is struggling to take music lessons and has come to that performance for inspiration to see that the effort and the persistence is worth it. Speak to the date someone dragged along who thinks that this music has nothing to offer them and surprise them.
Music has the power to reach parts of ourselves that words cannot, but sometimes, the words are the "Welcome" that draws us in.
Melanie, first of all I want to say to you, "It's so nice to meet you!" One of the things I treasure about writing this blog is the fact that I have met so many wonderful people through comments on my posts. Since I noticed you have several blogs I have been reading through many of them, getting a glimpse of who you are and I'm moved by your words, your thoughts, your stories. So thank you for taking the time to comment - it's my "welcome" into your world!
DeleteAnd thank you for the words you have written here. They are full of such encouragement to keep talking to my audiences and my hope is that other musicians will be inspired to start sharing as well. Your suggestion for people who might feel self-conscious is wonderful.
All the best to you, Melanie. I'm looking forward to reading more of your writing and to hearing from you again sometime.
-Erica