5. Chamber Music
Individual preparation for rehearsal:
- Study the score:
- Know which instrument has the primary material. If you have a supporting role, how can you contribute to the texture, phrasing, and color?
- Find passages where you have shared rhythms with another player. Write these into your part!
- Write in rhythmic cues for your entrances.
- Circle special moments such as tutti rests, very loud or quiet dynamics, and interesting harmonies.
- Practice your part well. Write in fingerings and any other markings you find useful.
- Number the measures in your part. Write in translations/definitions of words you don’t know.
- Listen to a variety of performances of the piece.
- Research the composer and piece. What style period is the composer from? What are the composer’s artistic influences (e.g., ballet, Impressionist painting, folk music)?
Rehearsal structure:
- Bring the score, your part, metronome, tuner, and pencil + eraser to each rehearsal.
Tune carefully: take the A from the pianist (or cellist, if there is no pianist in the group). Tune individually first, then check open strings together. - Have a plan for the rehearsal: identify tricky parts and goals.
- Work on the piece:
- This is the main portion of each rehearsal.
- Near the beginning of the rehearsal, play through a large section or entire movement. Near the end of rehearsal, after working on spots, play through that section again, listening for changes you made.
- Work on the tricky spots.
- Make a plan for the next rehearsal.
What to do in rehearsal:
After playing through a large section of the piece, discuss what went well and what you’d like to improve. The answers often fall into two broad categories:
UNIFICATION OF MUSICAL INTENT
- Discuss the character of the music. Is it melancholy? Exuberant?
- Think cinematically. What kind of scene is going on?
- Identify which instrument has the melody and what the role of each supporting instrument is (countermelody, texture, rhythmic drive, harmonic motion, etc.). Are two parts having a conversation or argument?
- Experiment with dynamics and phrasing. Don’t be afraid to try ideas you’re skeptical of, or to push extremes. Take turns cueing and leading.
- Is everyone feeling the musical motion in the same way?
- Count the beats of the bar aloud together, enthusiastically incorporating phrasing, dynamics, and character.
- Or sing the passage together!
NUTS AND BOLTS
- Unify articulations, bowings, and vibrato.
- Match intonation. Build harmonies slowly from the root, then add the fifth, third, and other chord tones.
- Play fast or intricate passages slowly at first, then gradually increase the tempo.
- Subdivide out loud to coordinate tricky rhythms or tempo changes.
- Work on tricky passages in pairs. Have everyone else listen and provide feedback, or act as a human metronome.
Suggestions for working as a group:
- Be open to new ideas, even if you don’t initially agree. You will appreciate when others extend the same courtesy to you.
- Be constructive when giving criticism, and think about what could help solve the issue.
Concert tips:
- Tune backstage. If your ensemble includes a piano, check the A with a tuner before the concert.
- Line up backstage so that the person who has the farthest to walk goes first.
- Bow before putting down sheet music or other items and getting ready to play.
- After performing, bow before picking up your sheet music.
- As an audience member, keep clapping until all performers have left the stage.
