Rehearsal BreakAuthor(s): Jose “Peppie” Calvar
Source: The Choral Journal , Vol. 59, No. 2 (September 2018), pp. 65-68
Published by: American Choral Directors Association
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26600216
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The “Mute” Button: Techniques and Benefits of Silent Rehearsal
by Jose “Peppie” Calvar
Imagine an extended rehears- Conductors can deploy the mute rehearsal can last a few beats, several
al, perhaps at a choir retreat where button in rehearsal to save singers’ measures, or even several phrases.
you’ve been lucky enough to secure voices while developing their audia-
a full twelve hours of extra rehearsal tion skills and refining other physical
time with your choir over the course aspects of their performance that Method of deployment
of a weekend. The bonds of fel- are visible to our audience. It works Singers in my choirs know that I
lowship are forged. Large volumes with singers of all levels and ages. could employ the mute button at any
of music can be acquired or small Conductors of children’s choirs time in rehearsal. I typically extend
volumes of music can be mastered. constantly seek new and different my left arm directly over my head
The possible benefits are numerous, ways to hold youngsters’ attention. and point my finger toward them,
but vocal fatigue can present several Adult community choirs and church as if to press the mute button on a
challenges. choirs often have one long rehearsal TV remote. My right hand contin-
Or, visualize a situation where per week, where the long work day ues to keep time. The same gesture
singers are preparing for a long and the late hours can often result is used for muting and unmuting.
weekend of performances, and find in diminishing returns in a rehears- While muted, conducting gesture
themselves in the last rehearsals al. The mute button can accomplish can still be used in both hands while
leading up to a situation where they several tasks simultaneously. visually monitoring many other per-
will be physically vulnerable. formance aspects including:
Alternatively, consider the last
few rehearsals leading up to a per- Engagement Physical engagement and facial expres-
formance where so much is at stake, The mute button works best while sion: We so often forget that a cho-
and your choir sounds beautiful, but singers are standing in rehearsal. ral performance is both heard and
their physical engagement is not in Singers do everything except sing. seen. Singers and conductors spend
concert with the musical rhetoric. They mouth words, control breath, so much time and energy focusing
Or worse, the performance is over and physically move as if they were on traditional musical foundations
and you sit to review the video, or singing. The result is very much like that we forget to incorporate physi-
perhaps some still photos, and you muting a television set; all the visual cal communication to our audience
realize that what you see in character and physical components continue in the form of visual effect. How we
does not match what you hear. forward without sound. The mute dress our choir only begins to ad-
CHORAL JOURNAL September 2018 Volume 59 Number 2 65
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Rehearsal Break
dress this issue. In general, a choir lent, but their physical movement ing and accompaniment can help
that physically connects to its audi- and facial expression does not match increase precision of timed physical
ence is more effective, and a choir the character of the music. motion. Of course, singers would still
who is visibly connected to their mu- Let’s consider, for example, a piece mouth the words in synchronization
sic and to their audience is more like- like Barbara W. Baker’s arrangement during this exercise. This would be
ly to convey the perception of a high- of “The Storm Is Passing Over.”1 applicable in a piece like “Ritmo” by
er-quality performance. The mute Our faces should reflect the same Dan Davison.2
button allows conductors and singers “Hallelujah” that the music projects,
to isolate physical aspects including but far too often, the performance Visual connection: as the learning pro-
body language and facial expres- of a piece like this is met by a choir cess advances, the possibility of the
sion, identify issues in the ensemble, who sings it beautifully with energet- choir going into “auto-pilot” in-
and correct them without taxing the ic tone, but the faces and bodies are creases. In other words, individual
vocal instrument. This is especially more reflective of our favorite setting singers at times can gain confidence
helpful on a high-energy piece where of “Tenebrae factae sunt.” In those and comfort in their performance
the choir might be sounding excel- last moments of rehearsal, the mute and disconnect from the conductor,
button allows us to focus on, address, thus preventing the choir from re-
and rebalance our facial and physical sponding to any additional nuance
commitment to the music. in conducting gesture as rehearsals
The mute button also fundamen- progress. The mute button breaks
tally changes how individuals in a the aural connection between the
choir connect with one another. Add- singers, requiring them to audiate the
ing motion and expressivity to the re- music and increase their visual and
hearsal can heighten a singer’s feeling mental connection with the conduc-
of vulnerability, particularly when tor. Warning: if the choir isn’t watch-
their movement makes them feel iso- ing in the first place, the mute button
lated. This problem is compounded won’t work. Keeping the choir guess-
by the adrenaline rush brought by ing as to when the conductor will use
performance. It is essential, there- the mute button will help assure the
fore, that physicality and movement choir is paying attention. Additional-
be a component of rehearsal, like all ly, singers help share the accountabil-
the other fundamental components ity for watching and singing mute as
of good choral singing. The mute the choir learns to use the technique.
button helps to isolate the physical
components of a performance. En- Vowel formation and unification: If the
couraging singers to engage one an- music is homophonic, for exam-
other in the mute rehearsal process ple, conductor and singers can both
helps assure uniformity of expression look across the ensemble to confirm
across the ensemble and reduces the whether vowel shapes are appropri-
vulnerability some singers might en- ate to the text and matching across
counter when encouraged to sing the ensemble. This is helpful for con-
and physically emote. ductors and singers who subscribe
Music with claps, stomps, and to the idea that vowels that look the
other forms of body percussion also same across the ensemble will also
benefit from mute rehearsal. Isolat- sound the same.
ing these elements by removing sing-
66 CHORAL JOURNAL September 2018 Volume 59 Number 2
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Final consonant releases: When that nation or rhythmic alignment is well ending note of each phrase.3 Or, in
last fricative or plosive sound refuses on its way to performance readiness. a piece like “Locus Iste” by Anton
to align, the mute button can help Using Michael Haydn’s “Tenebrae Bruckner, a conductor might start
our singers isolate that single sound. factae sunt” in A-flat as an example, the piece unmuted to assure intona-
Have the singers sing a portion of a conductor might choose to mute tion on the opening chord, then mute
the preceding phrase muted, and from the beginning but unmute the through the first phrase, and unmute
unmute the final consonant.
Timing: Instead of having the choir
sing that first note, have them sing
it mute. The conductor can visu-
ally identify anyone who might be
lost. This also works particularly Make the world a bette
better place.
well in polyphonic textures includ-
ing fugues, where choirs stand in We can help.
sections. Wayward singers are easy
to identify and assist. Singers often
find these exercises humorous and
disarming.
Phrasing and text stress: Choirs that
move with the phrase and empha-
size syllabic inflection points with
Colorado
do Sym
Symphony Cho
h ru
rus
uss
the voice and with the body create a
heightened sense of expressiveness
to their audience. The mute but-
ton can help coordinate moments
of musical inflection with physical
motion and establish the degree to
which choirs will move.
Emory University Concert Choir Bosto
on Gay Men’s Chorus Portland Symphonic Girlchoir
Audiation: The mute button allows
the conductor to confirm whether Sh i music
Sharing i means strengthening
t th i communities,iti building
b ildi
the choir has internalized musical understanding and spreading joy and peace. As fellow musicians,
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During a take in rehearsal, begin by
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CHORAL JOURNAL September 2018 Volume 59 Number 2 67
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Rehearsal Break
again after the first homophonic rest and accompaniment muted adds a
to check intonation again. If the un- dimension of increased audiation, NOTES
muted chord is in tune, assuredly timing, and visual connection. 1
the muted content was accurately As a rehearsal tool, the mute Charles Albert Tindley, arr. Barbara
audiated. Meanwhile, the conduc- button can yield several simultane- W. Baker, “The Storm is Passing
tor is checking across the ensemble ous benefits both to conductors and Over,” Boosey & Hawkes, Inc.,
for unified vowel shapes and physi- ensembles, but beware: using it too OCTB6936, 1996.
2
cally expressive (mute) singing. early in the rehearsal process can be Dan Davison, “Ritmo,” Walton Music
counterproductive. Additionally, in Corp., GI.WW1414, 2009.
3
Accompanied music: using the mute the absence of aural stimulus, the Johann Michael Haydn, “Tenebrae
button with accompanied music can mute button requires conductors to Factae Sunt,” European American
also be helpful. Of course, a mute visually assess the choir. Therefore, Music Publishers, 49012535, 1973.
accompaniment while the choir is an intimate knowledge of the score
unmuted basically equates to an a and solid audiation skills are needed
cappella rehearsal. However, the by the conductor so that they can ef-
choir muted while accompanied can fectively engage and assess the choir
be helpful with exercising audiation in mute rehearsal.
and physical movement. Both choir
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68 CHORAL JOURNAL September 2018 Volume 59 Number 2
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