Frank F. Eychaner- Colorado Christian University
One of our many goals as music ministers is to make our musical and worship offering to the Lord the best we are able to produce. Artistic performances begin with our preparation, both musical and personal, and are facilitated (or hindered) by our choices. In this article, we will explore avenues that all choral directors must consider on the road to artistically excellent performances.
First, we cannot lead our choirs on journeys that we have not taken ourselves. Like the early pioneers who relied on the knowledge and experience of scouts to guide them to their destinations, our singers are largely dependent on our expertise to guide them to artistic excellence. Singers need our knowledge of vocal pedagogy to help them navigate vocally challenging passages, they trust our ears to balance chords and sections. Further, singers benefit immensely when we know the easiest routes from the beginning of the musical journey to its end so they can efficiently learn the music while avoiding the pitfalls that are in every choral journey. Our effectiveness as musical leaders is contingent upon our knowledge of the musical score. We must commit the time necessary to know the intricacies of the music we teach and conduct before we walk into rehearsal.
Only great artists are able to awaken great artistry in others. As choral musicians, we should be constantly nurturing our own artistry both for our own good and the good of our singers. It is impossible to remain stagnant as artists, we are either advancing or retreating. Our artistic renewal and advancement is the foundation upon which great choral performances are built. How do we grow? The easiest answer is the five C’s: Conferences, Concerts, Clinics, Continuing Education and reCordings. I encourage all leaders of choirs to sing in the finest choir you can. Your constant interaction with great music and great music making will inform and enrich your work your own singers, regardless of how modest or astounding their abilities. Attending concerts, conferences and workshops reminds us of techniques and repertoire we’ve forgotten and exposes us to best practices in our field. There are so many ways to develop our own artistry: performing collaboratively with other fine musicians, listening to albums, attending a rehearsal led by someone else, preparing a recital, or watching fine choirs on YouTube. Our own artistic growth is the seed that blossoms into artistic choral performances.
A quality of effective leaders is their ability to help those they work with envision and strive for a desired goal. We need to purposefully inspire our singers toward artful performances. We should thoughtfully and purposefully set out to create an environment where our choristers are motivated to seek artistic excellence, a place where that goal is lauded and encouraged. How do we accomplish this? While a complete answer is beyond the scope of this article, there are a number of simple things that can help us realize this goal.
Few things feed artistry like artistry. What I mean is that experiencing beauty is intrinsically motivating. Choirs that have sung heartfelt lyrics that convey a powerful truth with musical excellence will be filled with a desire to do so again. We bridge the gap between choirs of modest ability and the above average performance one chord at a time, one phrase at a time, step by step. Purposefully find a ‘magic’ moment in each rehearsal where the group can experience this compelling beauty. When the choir creates one of these special moments, celebrate it, and encourage one another to seek it again and again. You will find that this practice, relentlessly pursued, will transform the rehearsal from the mundane and repetitive to a powerfully positive time that singers and conductor alike look forward to with great anticipation and expectancy.
Another powerful truth about musical excellence is that vision leaks. We need to be reminded of the beauty we’ve experienced in the past. We need to read scriptures that inspire us to passionately pursue excellence to the glory of God. Our singers, like archers, need to have the target of their musical efforts (arrows) brought into focus again and again. Without this intentional revisiting of our calling and purpose, we simply become forgetful and complacent, going through the motions. Put inspirational phrases and scriptures around the rehearsal space. Craft a vision statement and post it and say it publically and often. Focus some devotional times (in the rehearsal) on the purpose and goal of the church choir. You’ll be astounded by the results. People can achieve a goal that is their own.
It is clear that the rehearsal process we choose will facilitate or limit artistry. The word ‘choose’ here is operative. How we rehearse a piece of music, when we work on it in the rehearsal, the ‘focus’ at any given time, etc.; each have a profound influence on the outcome. Further, as the director of our groups, we are the single biggest influence on the musical outcomes of time spent with our singers. We must choose rehearsal processes that edify individuals, effectively accomplish our musical goals and uses our limited time efficiently.
Most effective directors frequently work far less on basics like correct notes, rhythms and tone than the average director. Instead they work on shaping of melodies and phrases, textual meaning, balanced chords, and articulation. Counter to what we may have learned and observed in our training, the most effective directors know that many ‘basics’ often take care of themselves when higher level musical considerations are the primary focus. These same directors seem to intuitively know what will fix itself and what needs specific attention. While this intuition is partly the result of years of experience, this ‘intuition’ is also the result of the meticulous preparation of the score undertaken before a note is sung in rehearsal. The process of learning each part thoroughly and the resulting knowledge of the score makes clear what mistakes the ensemble will be inclined to repeat and which will be easily corrected without director assistance the second time through.
Let me be clear, the basics are absolutely necessary. The most heartfelt performance is still marginal if intonation is poor (unless, of course, the performers are the children’s choir…). However, if pursuing the basics becomes an end, rather than a means to the end of conveying truth with beauty through musical excellence, we will not reach our artistic potential and our worship will fail to move our listeners as we might. We can all recall ‘flawless’ concerts, performances where all of the ‘basics’ were executed brilliantly, that failed to move, a pitfall we are wise to avoid. Our rehearsal process must keep beauty, truth, and honest communication at the center or we risk achieving a ‘flawless’ performance stripped of heart, life and the very humanity which is essential to choral music.
Thus far we’ve talked primarily about attitudes and actions of us, the director. For the remainder of this article, we’ll turn our attention to our singers: who they are, their motivation and needs. Through this lens, we’ll discover a number of truths that will help keep us firmly on the path toward realizing our artistically ideal performances.
Dr. Eph Ehly, in his memoir Hogey’s Journey, writes, ‘Success is a achieving a worthy goal’. Achieving the worthy goal of artistic excellence not only is a form of success, it creates further successes because achievement it motivating. Stated another way, choirs that have experienced great music will be intrinsically motivated to do so again and will redouble their efforts without outside input. They are motivated for many reasons: self-esteem is improved when we accomplish something of merit, knowing that we’ve performed a finely wrought composition leaves us not spent but excited to do so again, and seeing the impact of our musical success upon a worshipping congregation affirms our participation in the universal worship of our Lord. Everyone desires to be good at something and to be recognized for real accomplishments. It is highly likely that many who read this article are involved in music today, at least in part, because of the success and acclamation they received in their earlier music pursuits. The choir loft is where singers witness the impact of using their God-given gifts for God’s glory and the edification of the body of Christ.
We need to genuinely and generously acknowledge and celebrate real successes. On the other hand, we diminish our effectiveness and credibility when we haphazardly throw out words like ‘good!’ when the performance wasn’t, and ‘better’ when the singing did not improve. Don’t say ‘better’ when the only thing that improved was the vowel. Say ‘that vowel is getting better folks, thanks for your attention to detail’. In my experience, everyone in the room appreciates a deserved complement genuinely offered and they will work hard to get them from someone the trust and respect. On the other hand, our singers live in a culture where children get ribbons for last place on field day. Don’t pander, but insist they make improvements and then give meaningful and specific complements. Singers will walk out of the room a foot taller when they receive a complement they earned.
When the choir members can relate the text of an octavo to their own experiences, their life becomes a wellspring of inspiration for their music making. When we give voice, through the music we sing, to our singer’s wants, needs, losses and loves, our time together becomes an agent of wholeness and healing. Some songs and hymns resonate strongly. Explore the lyric to understand the real life experiences that make these connections possible. As the music director, we should find lyrics that accurately portray all aspects of the human condition and God’s transformative answers for that condition. When singers reflect on how lyrics are relevant to their own lives, their singing will be forever changed. Their singing will forever change them and those that hear them.
Positional authority is dead. Our media seems to celebrate every time a person of authority fails, and we the public seem to quickly generalize from the specific instance to all authority figures. Because of this truth, we cannot simply expect that the people in our care will blindly follow our leadership because we hold the lofty title of ‘minister’ or something similar. Today, the only things people genuinely respect are the life you live, your accomplishments in your chosen endeavors and your character. Quite literally, the choir’s ability and desire to respond to your efforts to help them achieve musical and artistic performances will be in direct relationship to their respect for you, your ability and your Christian character. We must re-examine all aspects of our walk with Christ, the quality of our relationships with His people and the consonance (hopefully not dissonance) between our creed and our actions. The more we make habitual choices that our singers find commendable, the more able they will be to follow our lead. The more we model character that they desire to mimic, the more they will become like Christ. As we become the people we aspire to be as musicians and children of God, our singers will be able to respond to our efforts to lead them.
Singers need to feel emotionally safe in our choirs. Part of creating an emotionally safe place means we make choices respectful of the humanity of our singers. For example, it is a good thing to sincerely praise a singer in public but admonishment should be done in private. Public shaming or embarrassment, even if deserved, backs people into an emotional corner and, like a cornered animal, their response will likely be to leave quickly or come out fighting. This creates a no win situation. We should always strive to help people take off the cultural and status masks we all wear that obscure authenticity and vulnerability. When we rehearse, sing and perform with these masks (white lies we tell ourselves and others about who we are or aspire to be) we will fail to connect with those who hear our singing because we’ve begun with a falsehood. Falsehood cannot produce truthful art. Before each director is the very real challenge of modeling this honesty, being authentic about our challenges and triumphs in the light of who God is and who we are in Him. When we enter into our relationships without pretense we open the door to trust, vulnerability and authenticity. When that door swings wide, we become terribly susceptible to joy, hope and feeling. This is the fertile soil from which powerful music making grows.
Another aspect of emotionally safe places is mutual trust. No one likes to find out that their trust in us was betrayed. An atmosphere of trust in choir room and the choir loft will advance music making with our singers while the smallest action or word will erode the same. Do we criticize the pastor, music committee or others in the presence of our singers? This public betrayal of trust will make singers reluctant to enter the vulnerability that is a prerequisite of great music because there is the silent question in the room: ‘When will I be the target’? Do everything in your power to say what you mean and mean what you say but always with love. Follow through on promises and commitments. Take responsibility when you’re not able to keep commitments and don’t blame others, while redoubling your efforts to be completely forthright in all your doings and to follow through even if it costs you.
The passionate individual will persevere long after the apathetic throw in the towel. The passionate will seek paths through barriers that prevent them from achieving their worthy goals. The passionate will put in the time, in and out of season. The passionate will continue to grow in their effectiveness as a musician, teacher and conductor long after others have gone home for the night. The passionate will exhort, cajole, inspire and model pursuing excellence. The passionate will take care of the details so rehearsal time is used effectively. The passionate will prepare scores, build relationships, pursue their dreams and scale the musical heights with their comrades, the choir.
You are a good God and worthy of our praise, our best offerings and even our lives. We praise you, Lord, for the awesome privilege we have of serving You as we lead Your people in worship. Thanks be to God, through Christ Jesus our Lord, that we’re not called to ascend to the heights in one day, week or season. Thank You, Lord, that You’ve given us the light for our feet today and reminded us to be unconcerned about tomorrow. Praise You, o Lord, that your strength is perfected in our weakness and your Spirit is at work in our hearts and minds to guide our hands and feet. We’ll be careful to give You the glory that only you deserve as you pour out Your blessings on your church and forge us into the leaders, ministers and musicians that only You can help us become. Amen.
