Breathe together, Move together, Play together
E - Repertoire Development - Mozart K157
In this example of Passing the Lead, the ensemble plays downbeats from an excerpt of Mozart’s K157, employing the “whole chair” while guiding each other through the outline, or “skeleton,” of the phrases. One member acts as the leader - the initiator - and will interpret the skeleton however they choose. After a few phrases, another member becomes the leader, rotating the lead until all members have experienced the role as the initiator. This activity helps encourage members to utilize cueing and movement discovering where the music can benefit from having a particular member, or set of members, act as the initiators. Encourage the group to play their “downbeat” pitch collectively as one full sound no matter the written rhythmic value, therefore optimizing awareness for the beginning, middle, and end of each note. Rests should be gestured with the same cueing as a sounding note would require, just as one might engage non-verbally in a conversation.
Utilize the Bach chorale to explore sending the sound to different parts of the room. For each stanza, the ensemble will experiment with This video is a continuation of the “Downbeats - Part 1 Passing the Lead”, delving more deeply into the activity.
Furthering the experience of the downbeat game, the ensemble moves to the “as written” activity. One voice plays “as written” taking the group on an adventure of listening and inspiring the character of the excerpt while the other ensemble members continue playing the downbeats or the outline of the excerpt. This activity allows the members to hear how their individual parts inspire and fit into the outline created by the downbeats of each measure.
Multiple members play “as written” exposing a set of voices sharing a unique view of the phrase or phrases. In this video, the second violin, viola and cello play their written parts while the first violin continues to play the downbeat of each measure. Any combination of members may play “as written,” while rotating a single member playing the outline.