When singing a song you never think about the power of silence within a piece but this is actually just as important as the notes within it. 'Music plays on not just what notes are sounded but which are not' (Levitin, D.(2006) 1:18) discusses the idea and shows that music is a lot cleverer than we might perhaps think. It shows it is well thought out and I have been learning about where to place silence for it to be most effective. I have been looking at doing this with rehearsal of a solo piece, 'Astonishing' from Little Women.
'The creation of the world,however it came about, must have been accompanied by motion - and therefore sound. Perhaps this is why Music has such magical importance for primitive peoples, often signifying life and death'.
When reading I've found this quote very interesting for several reasons, and therefore has helped me with my piece. It discusses the idea of silence being the first thing that ever happened, just silence. It then looks at how sound came about and the balance between the two becoming important to conveying emotion and why Music is so important and very personal for so many people. This is why in 'Astonishing' I picked out the lines that were the most personal to me and that stuck out.
There's a life
That I am meant to lead
A life like nothing I have known
I can feel it
And it's far from here
I've got to find it on my own
I think this verse stuck out for me the most and therefore I sat for a while trying different places to put the silences yet still fitting with the Music and accompaniment. I think this was challenging but definitely enabled me to learn of how to place silence so that it conveys emotion and emphasizes personal areas of the song to become more real to the audience and build empathy for the character. However at the same time fitting with the rhythm and pace of the song to show her excitement and passion about what she is saying, which increases when the emotion builds. Although seemingly obvious, silence at the beginning and end of a piece is vital as it sets the atmosphere straight away and needs to captivate your audience almost immediately before you even start singing.
'The creation of the world,however it came about, must have been accompanied by motion - and therefore sound. Perhaps this is why Music has such magical importance for primitive peoples, often signifying life and death'.
When reading I've found this quote very interesting for several reasons, and therefore has helped me with my piece. It discusses the idea of silence being the first thing that ever happened, just silence. It then looks at how sound came about and the balance between the two becoming important to conveying emotion and why Music is so important and very personal for so many people. This is why in 'Astonishing' I picked out the lines that were the most personal to me and that stuck out.
There's a life
That I am meant to lead
A life like nothing I have known
I can feel it
And it's far from here
I've got to find it on my own
I think this verse stuck out for me the most and therefore I sat for a while trying different places to put the silences yet still fitting with the Music and accompaniment. I think this was challenging but definitely enabled me to learn of how to place silence so that it conveys emotion and emphasizes personal areas of the song to become more real to the audience and build empathy for the character. However at the same time fitting with the rhythm and pace of the song to show her excitement and passion about what she is saying, which increases when the emotion builds. Although seemingly obvious, silence at the beginning and end of a piece is vital as it sets the atmosphere straight away and needs to captivate your audience almost immediately before you even start singing.
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