Tuesday at Cabaret Summer School, January 2013
Today everyone challenges themselves with complex and difficult songs. It's great to see them all attempting their "high-wire acts".
For the European Cabaret Song Masterclass, I have prepared a big French song called "La Boheme", made famous by Charles Aznavour. It's about starving artists living in a garret in Paris. The song is wordy, and there are four verses. It's really hard to fit all the words in, but I have been practising my pronunciation and listening to recordings on YouTube.
I reckon I've done a good job, and I'm quite proud of my facility with French. I'm not just learning it phonetically; I understand the lyrics, and I've delved into some of the finer nuances of the lyrics. Still, I recognize that I am there to get help with the song, not to be told what a good job I've done.
In the past year I've read a book called "Mindset" by Carol Dweck, which has had a lasting influence on me. It describes the difference between a "fixed mindset" in which you attribute success to natural talent, and a "growth mindset" in which effort is seen as the determinant of success. In a fixed mindset, your objective is likely to be to "look good" and preserve your image of yourself as a successful person, so you might not attempt a task if you are not sure if you can do it well. Conversely, in a growth mindset, your priority is to learn as much as you can. I'm determined to approach this whole week in a growth mindset.
Michael Morley from Flinders University Drama School is our mentor today. While I am waiting to sing, he explains that early exponents of French chanson used always to hold the lyrics in front of them, and sing from the text, so as to ensure the accuracy of the lyrics. Internally I shout "hooray!" because he's given me "carte blanche" to read from my page, there's no pressure on me to sing from memory.
I sing the song through once. Michael's first recommendation is that I make more distinction between the verse and the chorus. He advises me to listen to how Aznavour does it. Then he tells me I should sing three verses, not four, which would be too much foreign-ness for a non-French speaking audience. I feel a sense of relief. I've already decided which verse I will ditch - the one where I've been struggling to cram the lyrics into the music. Suddenly, mastering the song has become more achievable.
Michael also encourages me to lengthen the words at the end of phrases, instead of cutting them short as I would in conversation. Finally, he encourages me to study the score to ensure accuracy with the rhythm. Because I don't play piano, I tend to learn my songs by ear, rather than reading purely from the sheet music. With this French song, the sheet music has the words divided into syllables. It was easier for me to learn lyrics with meaning than to memorize syllables. So I've listened to Aznavour to hear how he phrased the words and where he placed the emphases. But now I feel equipped to work through the song line by line and see where in the bar the words fall; Michael recommends I lean on the first beat of each bar.
By the end of the workshop, I've got some keys to unlock the intricacies of the song. I've got things I can work on to improve my performance. During the week I'm videoing myself in every workshop. Later I review the video and see where I struggled, and the improvement I've gained from Michael's intervention.
Ben Finn from the Adelaide Festival Centre comes to talk with us about publicity. I ask his opinion about some photos I had taken last year, which I'm thinking of using for my flyer. Ben tells me which one he'd select, and why.
I drive home in heavy traffic, and that evening I return for another session - "Raising Your Standards", a jazz workshop. Matthew teaches us three jazz standards, and we practise singing them, both as a group and individually. We also work on developing "patter", using a song we presented during the day. This is not a song I'm using for my show, but it's still useful to engage in the exercise.
By this point, I've done nothing towards my show for Saturday night. Instead of going home and returning for the night session, I resolve to stay at the Centre for the next two evenings. It was a waste of time to sit in traffic, when I could have been working on my show. It's vital to make the best use of the limited time available.
Video of "La Boheme"
Today everyone challenges themselves with complex and difficult songs. It's great to see them all attempting their "high-wire acts".
For the European Cabaret Song Masterclass, I have prepared a big French song called "La Boheme", made famous by Charles Aznavour. It's about starving artists living in a garret in Paris. The song is wordy, and there are four verses. It's really hard to fit all the words in, but I have been practising my pronunciation and listening to recordings on YouTube.
I reckon I've done a good job, and I'm quite proud of my facility with French. I'm not just learning it phonetically; I understand the lyrics, and I've delved into some of the finer nuances of the lyrics. Still, I recognize that I am there to get help with the song, not to be told what a good job I've done.
In the past year I've read a book called "Mindset" by Carol Dweck, which has had a lasting influence on me. It describes the difference between a "fixed mindset" in which you attribute success to natural talent, and a "growth mindset" in which effort is seen as the determinant of success. In a fixed mindset, your objective is likely to be to "look good" and preserve your image of yourself as a successful person, so you might not attempt a task if you are not sure if you can do it well. Conversely, in a growth mindset, your priority is to learn as much as you can. I'm determined to approach this whole week in a growth mindset.
Michael Morley from Flinders University Drama School is our mentor today. While I am waiting to sing, he explains that early exponents of French chanson used always to hold the lyrics in front of them, and sing from the text, so as to ensure the accuracy of the lyrics. Internally I shout "hooray!" because he's given me "carte blanche" to read from my page, there's no pressure on me to sing from memory.
I sing the song through once. Michael's first recommendation is that I make more distinction between the verse and the chorus. He advises me to listen to how Aznavour does it. Then he tells me I should sing three verses, not four, which would be too much foreign-ness for a non-French speaking audience. I feel a sense of relief. I've already decided which verse I will ditch - the one where I've been struggling to cram the lyrics into the music. Suddenly, mastering the song has become more achievable.
Michael also encourages me to lengthen the words at the end of phrases, instead of cutting them short as I would in conversation. Finally, he encourages me to study the score to ensure accuracy with the rhythm. Because I don't play piano, I tend to learn my songs by ear, rather than reading purely from the sheet music. With this French song, the sheet music has the words divided into syllables. It was easier for me to learn lyrics with meaning than to memorize syllables. So I've listened to Aznavour to hear how he phrased the words and where he placed the emphases. But now I feel equipped to work through the song line by line and see where in the bar the words fall; Michael recommends I lean on the first beat of each bar.
By the end of the workshop, I've got some keys to unlock the intricacies of the song. I've got things I can work on to improve my performance. During the week I'm videoing myself in every workshop. Later I review the video and see where I struggled, and the improvement I've gained from Michael's intervention.
Ben Finn from the Adelaide Festival Centre comes to talk with us about publicity. I ask his opinion about some photos I had taken last year, which I'm thinking of using for my flyer. Ben tells me which one he'd select, and why.
I drive home in heavy traffic, and that evening I return for another session - "Raising Your Standards", a jazz workshop. Matthew teaches us three jazz standards, and we practise singing them, both as a group and individually. We also work on developing "patter", using a song we presented during the day. This is not a song I'm using for my show, but it's still useful to engage in the exercise.
By this point, I've done nothing towards my show for Saturday night. Instead of going home and returning for the night session, I resolve to stay at the Centre for the next two evenings. It was a waste of time to sit in traffic, when I could have been working on my show. It's vital to make the best use of the limited time available.
Video of "La Boheme"
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