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Strange metaphors.
Mar. 23rd, 2010 11:23 pmMy choral conductor uses, as said by my friend, "really weird metaphors."
And it's not as though the advice he gives us is bad or anything. It's perfectly legitimate advice, and it (to me, anyway) makes sense and captures exactly what we need to do. But they're so strange.
For instance, the female:male ratio in the choir is approximately 50:10 (at least 50 alto/soprano, exactly 10 baritone) and so there is a tendency for the baritone voices to get drowned out. Midway through rehearsals, he'll motion at the alto and soprano sections frantically: "Be QUIET and let the guys sing out!" through hand gestures. Then he will go and talk about how this relates to driving and passing on the street. Or how a choir is like a rugby team and not like a social studies class. Or whatever other idea he comes up with: they're all logical, I suppose, but strange metaphors.
The other really notable metaphor is the "pulling [taffy] horizontally instead of vertically", which he also uses hand gestures for. It makes lots of sense, if you think about it: don't project volume (vertical), but instead focus on filling your chest and stomach with air and rounding out your sound. But it's bizarre, because at first glance these gestures mean absolutely nothing, and I'm sure that our audiences are perplexed by all of this.
And it's not as though the advice he gives us is bad or anything. It's perfectly legitimate advice, and it (to me, anyway) makes sense and captures exactly what we need to do. But they're so strange.
For instance, the female:male ratio in the choir is approximately 50:10 (at least 50 alto/soprano, exactly 10 baritone) and so there is a tendency for the baritone voices to get drowned out. Midway through rehearsals, he'll motion at the alto and soprano sections frantically: "Be QUIET and let the guys sing out!" through hand gestures. Then he will go and talk about how this relates to driving and passing on the street. Or how a choir is like a rugby team and not like a social studies class. Or whatever other idea he comes up with: they're all logical, I suppose, but strange metaphors.
The other really notable metaphor is the "pulling [taffy] horizontally instead of vertically", which he also uses hand gestures for. It makes lots of sense, if you think about it: don't project volume (vertical), but instead focus on filling your chest and stomach with air and rounding out your sound. But it's bizarre, because at first glance these gestures mean absolutely nothing, and I'm sure that our audiences are perplexed by all of this.
