Music Teacher's Helper Blog

In my October blog the basic “rules” of phrasing were listed that most elementary and intermediate students could be taught to incorporate into their playing.

As a musician matures and repertoire advances, applying these basic rules will not guarantee a musical performance. Along with intuitive musicality, there are additional fundamentals that can inspire a creative performance. As I mentioned, the content and inspiration of these blogs is a modification of an article written by Marvin Blickenstaff, a well-known pedagogue. Blickenstaff defines artistic phrasing as:

• exceeding the correct notes
• music flows forward
• expression is tangible
• naturalness to the shaping
• timing between sections

A closer look into the structure of each phrase and a carefully determined plan are  rudimentary to providing a performance that reflects the list above.

BEYOND the BASIC Rules

A Phrase…

usually comes in PAIRS

• Question (Antecedent) “is more intense and states the issue”
• Answer (Consequent) “rounds out the statement”

length is usually inspired by the natural span of BREATHING

may come in a variety of lengths but are BALANCED by neighbors

includes a PEAK which my be identified as the

• longest note
• fastest notes
• highest note
• the 3rd measure out of 4
• beat 1 of measure 2 out of 2
• harmonic tension or variance*

SHAPING phrases takes PLANNING

Once the basic and beyond basic rules have been applied, three key ELEMENTS must be addressed:

1) FLOW or LAUNCH = short notes move to longer note

2) DYNAMIC Shaping = determined by the peak of the phrase. If there is repetition, create variance in dynamic levels. Placing a TRIANGLE to mark the PEAK (like a mountain peak) of each phrase can help the artist remember the shaping planned for each phrase.

I use small triangles for all phrases and one BIG triangle for the PEAK of the entire piece.

3) BREATH = defines the end and predicts the beginning of the next phrase.

These breaths should be planned as if you were playing a horn, flute and can be marked with these abbreviations:

CB = Catch breath

NB = No Breath

BB = Big Breath

Once a plan is designed, play, listen, and reflect. Tweak plans until it pleases the artist’s (and your!) ears.

Wow–all these RULES must be taught to ensure a musically pleasing performance? Perhaps not, but these specific “laws”, using Rachmaninoff’s term,  provide inspiration that can lead musicians to look beyond the correct notes.**

Early level students can easily compare one phrase to the next, label them and create a lovely crescendo and diminuendo to define a phrase. However, my advanced and adult students enjoy determining the peak of a phrase, and whether they will use a breath between phrases or go for the dramatic “no breath” to enhance the flow. As these decisions are made, ownership of the music transfers from the the printed page and falls into the hands of the performer. As musicianship matures, the performer realizes that an interpretation may require digging even deeper and may continually morph. The black and white of the page is much closer to “lovely shades of gray”.

These “gray answers” to a musical performance are not HIDDEN, but GIVEN by the composer. Although musicians may differ on how to unlock the composer’s “code”, it would be safe to say: artistic phrasing RULES!

*The focus of this blog is mainly on the melodic line, and did not address the importance of  harmony. The comprehension of harmonic progression is essential to phrase shaping–mmph, maybe next time?

**In order to make my point about phrasing at a recent group lesson, I read a Dr Suess book. Some pages I used great inflection in my voice with dramatic pauses for punctuation marks and clear diction. Other pages I read in a monotone voice, stuttering and ignoring all punctuation.  Puzzled at first, the students soon made the association to their own music making and we all enjoyed some great performances that day!