Objectives: to help you to hear the composer’s musical choices as subtext or in-
ternal thoughts, to learn to fashion possible subtexts, and to become proficient in delivering subtext.
EXERCISE 1. (I/G) Words Without song** Instructions:
. Choose a song, aria, or lied on which you are working in English. Fash- ion a theme statement and objectives. Then go through the text to make sure
you know both the literal meaning of each word and the meaning of each phrase. Since songs usually have poetic texts, to make sure that you have a good grasp of the words, make a paraphrase of each phrase. For instance, here is the text of the first lines of Henry Purcell’s “Music for Awhile.” I have put the literal meaning of the unusual words directly below them in brackets and a possible paraphrase in italics
Music, music for awhile
A little music
shall all your cares beguile, [amuse, charm]
will temporarily relieve you of your worries
shall all, all, all, shall all, shall all your cares beguile:
will relieve you of every single one of your worries.
Read the original words aloud as if they are a dramatic text that has never been set to music. At first you may find it difficult to keep the composer’s music out of your head. If, however, you focus on expressing the meaning of the words, after several repetitions you will be able to free yourself from the condi- tioning the music has created.
Go through the text of the piece breath-phrase by breath-phrase. Decide how each one relates to the theme and to your objectives. Mark the most im- portant words in each phrase. (Underlining the most important word twice and the second most important once is a good system.)
Read the piece aloud, clearly emphasizing the words you have marked while maintaining an expressive flow. You can create emphasis by changes in volume, pitch, and rhythm, as well as with strategic pauses.
Using a clear subtext, read the words aloud to someone who doesn’t know the piece. When you are finished, ask the listener what she thinks the song is about. If your subtext didn’t get across, don’t explain yourself. Read the piece again, making your subtext clearer. You may have to repeat this process several times.
You will probably be surprised both at how much subtlety you can convey and, simultaneously, at how clear and specific you have to be to get your subtext across.
. Choose an aria, song, or lied that you are working on in a foreign lan- guage. Begin by making a literal, word-for-word translation. Write the literal translation either in your score under the printed words or on a separate piece of paper on which you have written out the text. Below your literal translation write your paraphrase and your subtext. Then repeat the previous exercise.
When you read the words aloud as a dramatic text, first read the original language with feeling, and then do the same with your English paraphrase. Practice reading the original aloud until you can put as much feeling into it as you can into your paraphrase.
EXERCISE 2. (G). Song Without Words Instructions:
Choose a song you don’t know. Have someone play two or three phrases of the melody and its accompaniment. Ask yourself what feelings are evoked by the music and analyze how the composer evoked them. Then have the person play the melody again while singing the words. Examine in what ways the music seems appropriate (or not) to the feelings and meaning suggested by the text.
EXERCISE 3. (I) Words Are Music
Objective: to tune your ears to hearing music as subtext. Instructions:
. Make up a short phrase of text (“Shut the door”; “Don’t you look nice”). Fashion a subtext for it. Say the phrase aloud, expressing the subtext very clearly. Repeat it several times. Record yourself.
. Listen to the rise and fall of your voice, listen to which words and syl- lables are emphasized; listen to which are quicker and to which are slower. Keeping the same inflection, repeat the phrase, substituting the syllable “la” for the words.
. Roughly notate the “melody” and “rhythm.” . Sing your notation.
. Repeat the exercise, using the same phrase with a different subtext. For example, for the phrase “Shut the door” first do the exercise with the subtext “I don’t care what you do.” Then repeat it using “Do what I say!” Try the phrase “Don’t you look nice” first using the subtext “Undress me, baby!” and then using “Did you find that dress in the garbage?” Do steps , , and with the alterna- tive subtexts. Compare the results.
. Imagine yourself in the following scene.You are standing in the doorway of your house or apartment saying goodbye to your boyfriend or secret lover. Your text is “I love you.” Try saying the text aloud with each of the following intentions: “to get rid of him,”“to get him to stay,”“to determine if he loves me,” “to get him to marry me.” (Fashion a clear subtext to express each intention be- fore you speak.) Record yourself.
Listen to your melodic and rhythmic inflection and then abstract it into music. Try singing each version.
EXERCISE 4. (I) Hearing Music as Feeling
Objective: to hear different styles of music as subtext.
The following exercises are particularly useful if you are working on a piece for which you are having difficulty decoding the composer’s emotional vocabu- lary. They are just as applicable to an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan in which all the music may sound glibly superficial to you as to one of Handel’s operas in which all the music may sound distressingly similar.
Instructions:
Choose a vocal piece for which you have difficulty hearing the music as subtext. Get a score and a recording.
. Read through the text. On the basis of the story, choose three highly emotional moments that have strongly contrasting feelings. Basing your inter- pretation exclusively on the words, write down what you see as the dominant feelings in each of the three moments. Then, as you follow the score, listen re- peatedly to the music for the three moments you have selected. Listen for simi- larities and differences. Use your understanding of the text to help you hear the emotional “storytelling” elements in the music.
. Pick two characters of the same sex from the piece who have very differ- ent roles: the king and the young male lover, the young female lover and her fe- male servant. Repeatedly listen to the music for each member of the pair and notice similarities and differences. Ask “How are the characters portrayed in the music?”“Are any elements of the melody, harmony, rhythm, or instrumentation repeated each time one of the characters appears?” Pay close attention to how the character’s words are set.