With all caveats out of the way, then, let’s get to the technical side.įor teaching microtonal passages, I advocate a “bimodal, target-based” approach. If the singers like you, they’ll give it a chance. Use your entire boundless enthusiasm to support the methodical techniques below. However, a director in this circumstance needs to sell the piece in question to a perhaps skeptical ensemble. Why on earth would anyone try to bring microtonal music into this ecosystem? Well, for one thing, it will help hone everyone’s intonational awareness-which can be sorely needed – but, on its own terms: there are new worlds of emotion to be explored that are unavailable with 12 equal tones alone! So, for amateur choirs, there is no guarantee that the singers will have the whole-score awareness that is a hallmark of elite ensembles and for many, there is basically a guarantee that they won’t!

The challenge is that the director is very often, out of necessity, a teacher. The joy is that it brings the experience of communal music-making into the reach of a very large population. The notation then becomes, as it was in medieval Europe, more of a memory aid than a set of explicit instructions.Ī facsimile of the manuscript for ‘Iubilate deo universa terra’ which shows a series of unheightened cheironomic neumes added to psalm verses. In addition, it is quite common to encounter experienced choral singers who have limited sight-reading ability, who rely instead on a finely developed skill at retaining and repeating melodies that they hear. There is pride in the technical execution, too, of course! But much more so, it’s about conveying emotion, and experiencing the same emotion, and thus creating and maintaining the bonds of community with each other and with an audience. The first thing to know about choirs below the professional level is that, in my firm belief, we are in it for the community above all. Thus, I usually deal with a different set of concerns and priorities from many readers of NMBx might. Robert Lopez-Hanshaw, composer and musical directorĪs a choir director, the majority of my experience is with youth and amateur ensembles. Focus Posts about the ICB dossier content.

Pianoteq 5 intonation