Tharp goes on to say, “When I’ve learned all I can at the core of a piece, I pull back and become the Queen of Detachment. I move so far back that I become a surrogate for the audience. I see the work the way they will see it. New, fresh, objectively. In the theater, I frequently go to the back and watch the dancers rehearse. If I could watch from farther away, from outside the theater in the street, I would. That’s how much detachment I need from my work in order to understand it” (Creative Habit, Page. 41).
So, if you substitute “hear the work the way the audience will hear it”…that describes what every conductor has to do. Sometimes conductors get way too focused upon the nuance of the hands, the cutoffs, the need to micromanage the choir members with flicks and pulled lines, and facial pleading (HA!). Ever wonder why sometimes I just quit conducting, step to the back of the room, or the front, or even the hallway? Sometimes I cup my hands behind my ears (no, I’m not going deaf…yet!); sometimes I lean back against the piano, close my eyes, and attend to what you are doing. Granted, you are all kinda on your own during these times…but all the better. I’m trying to see that whole forest; to hear the overall effect; to listen for…what?
A goose bump moment?
Maybe.
An aural sample that you are applying what you’ve learned.
Probably.
Musical understanding?
Absolutely.
“Dive in. Step back. Dive in. Step back.” (page 41).
It is a delicate dance that we all do in every rehearsal.
Isn’t it grand?
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Without a conductor, we're also forced to listen more. Not only to stay together, but for the musicality of the song.
ReplyDeleteI have done that same thing since i was about 5. Detachment. It's all about understanding what you are hearing/seeing/feeling from new perspectives. Sometimes I'll just stop in choir because I don't understand what a phrase REALLY means. I'll just stand there and listen to it as if I had not rehearsed it in my room before class. And then sometimes I have a light bulb moment and others I just hear what we've been doing, which by all means is not bad. But, it's those light bulb moments I live for. I can't sing it, if i can't understand it.
ReplyDeleteI've always pondered about what you heard when you would step off to the side, as i've always wondered what it was exactly that the audience was hearing. Im so glad that I fully understand what it is that you are accomplishing by listening to us from afar. You are not only the conductor, but the listener, which challenges us to listen so that we may find ourselves and find the nook that we fit in to again reach those light bulb moments as a whole.
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