Abstract
This study outlines a pedagogical approach aimed at enhancing the proficiency of higher education music students in analyzing and interpreting orchestral and ensemble scores. The primary goals were to cultivate advanced score-reading skills and foster a nuanced understanding of orchestration techniques. Employing a systematic teaching methodology, incorporating theoretical frameworks and practical exercises, yielded noteworthy results. Students demonstrated significant improvements in score comprehension, ensemble coordination, and interpretive depth. The implications of this research extend beyond the classroom, offering a transformative model for music education that empowers students to engage with complex scores with precision and artistry.
Highlights:
- Enhanced Score-Reading Skills: The methodology focuses on cultivating advanced proficiency in reading and interpreting complex orchestral and ensemble scores.
- Systematic Teaching Framework: A structured approach, combining theoretical foundations and practical exercises, is employed to facilitate comprehensive learning and application.
- Transformative Music Education Model: The research offers a pioneering model with implications beyond the classroom, empowering students to engage with intricate scores with precision and artistic depth.
Keywords: Music Education, Orchestral Scores, Ensemble Coordination, Music Methodology, Music Literacy
Introduction
The complex, multifaceted activity of a conductor is a creative process that includes three stages - working on the score, rehearsals with the orchestra, and concerts. If the rehearsals with the orchestra are the result of the analysis of the score, the concert combines them both. These three steps apply to all performers. However, unlike them, the conductor's instrument consists of people. Their character is different. Therefore, the conductor should also be a psychologist. A musician, for example, spends as much time as he needs to prepare a concert program [1]. Time is allocated to the conductor's program. During this time, he is obliged to bring the product he prepared to the stage. Therefore, rehearsals should be concise and efficient.
The better the relationship with people, the faster the expected results can be achieved. The advice given to them about their creativity or behavior should be polite and not belittle them [2]. The rehearsal environment, the level of musicians' interest in the piece also depends on the conductor. How to start rehearsal? From the planning, which work is the first, which is the second, and so on. Depending on the professional level of the orchestra, the plan may be different.
Methods
If the orchestra's voices are checked, the rehearsal time will be saved, it will be appropriate if the conductor expresses his wishes and opinions in short words. Inattentiveness makes musicians bored and reduces the creative atmosphere [3]. Different similes can sometimes be used to explain some images.
Usually, during rehearsals, poor Toscanini had to turn back one request several times. Finally, he took out a napkin from his pocket and threw it up. "This tune should sound like this," he said, putting the napkin back in his pocket. In the end, the next performance satisfied him. The demand depends on the professional level of the orchestra [4]. If a higher level orchestra is asked to produce the image, and the lower one is explained with what bars the image should be produced. Sometimes both requests can be combined.
It is necessary to learn the sound of the conductor's instruments, to study the lines, because the expression of the character of the characters depends on the quality of the sound [5]. It is not necessary to stop the orchestra often. Even when stopped, the demand should be expressed in short, concise words. It is not necessary to speak after raising the hand. If necessary, lower the hand and then speak. The rehearsal method can be different for different conductors [6]. But there are generalities that apply to all:
a) play the piece from beginning to end without stopping as much as possible;
b) work on contents;
d) playing from start to finish at a new quality level.
Result and Discussion
This form of rehearsal allows musicians to understand the piece more deeply and more widely. Depending on which direction of the score is shown more, the conductor and the author may slightly change the dynamic signs [7]. For example, if the string instruments play a piece of Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony in the composer's dynamics, it may overwhelm the woodwinds playing the main melody. The main melody sounds better if the strings are played one step lower for the right ratio [8].
The word "ensemble" is of French origin and means "together". "What is an ensemble?" Musicologists answer the question as follows:
1. Performance of choral or instrumental music by several performers;
2. Performance of a group of artists (composers and singers) as a whole artistic team;
3. A piece of music created for several singers or a group of musicians.
An ensemble of musicians can be one-voice (unison) or multi-voice depending on the nature of performance [9]. Ensembles are named differently depending on the number of musicians and singers. Two performers - duet, three performers - trio or tercet, four performers - quartet, five performers - quintet, six performers - sextet, seven performers - septet, eight performers - octet. An ensemble of musicians can be composed of one type or different types of music [10]. The large number of types of Uzbek folk choirs makes it possible to create musical ensembles that are diverse in composition. Ensembles of musicians can be divided into three groups depending on the type of soloists:
1. Ensembles of musicians consisting of the same musicians: flute players, chang players, kashkar and afon rubobists, dutor players, oijjak players, circle players ensembles, etc.
2. Ensembles of musicians composed of cholo belonging to the same family: ensemble belonging to the family of wind cholo: flute piccolo, flute, koshnai, bolomon, trumpeter ensemble; an ensemble belonging to the family of string cholo with percussive sound: chang piccolo, chang prima, chang tenor, chang bass; Ensemble belonging to the family of mezrobli old women: rubob prima, kashkar rubob, afo'on rubob; an ensemble belonging to the family of percussion instruments: dutor prima, dutor second, dutor alto, dutor tenor, dutor bass and dutor contrabass; an ensemble consisting of percussion instruments: doira, noora, safoil, spoon, kairaq, etc.; ensemble of cellos played with a bow: oijjak prima, oijjak alto, oijjak bass and oijjak contrabass [11].
3. Ensembles of musicians consisting of various musicians. There are many opportunities to create ensembles of musicians consisting of various instruments. In this case, ensemble leaders have the opportunity to create ensembles of musicians of various composition without disturbing the sound balance of cholo. Ensembles of musicians consisting of various instruments may include the following instruments: flute, chang, kanon, kashkar and afoan rubabs, oud, dutor, tanbur, oijjak, dutor bass, doira and others.
In the process of training the leader of the multi-voiced Uzbek folk cholo ensemble, developing his ability to perform perfectly in one or, if possible, several cholo gives an effective result [12].
The purpose of the art of conducting, like any other performers, is to convey the main idea of the work to the listeners, to reveal the essence of music using the means of performance skills [13]. Each performer must first understand and feel the main idea of the work, and only then find a means to express it convincingly.
So, what are the secrets of a conductor's skill?
In addition to musical and other professional skills, a conductor must be a disciplined, responsible person, able to work with musicians according to a plan, know how to lead rehearsals in the right direction [14]. Based on what each musician is capable of, the conductor should assign to him only the tasks that he can perform. It is necessary for the conductor to have a good feel for the form and dramaturgy of the work, to be able to correctly plan the tempo and sound culminations while following its style [15]. During the accompaniment, the conductor must determine when to lead the soloist and when to follow him. In fact, all of the above is a fact well known to all of us. But how to implement them? After all, every conductor has his own, unique performance and practice style. Therefore, three main stages of the creative process can be defined in the art of conducting. This is:
1. A detailed study of the score by the conductor himself.
2. Rehearsal period.
3. Performance in concert.
Two more difficult stages are the conductor's work on the score and the rehearsal with the orchestra. The range of issues that a conductor should understand while studying a piece is very wide. As G. Neuhaus said: "A performer should be both a historian and a theoretician in some sense." Studying the era in which the composer lived and created, studying his biography, worldview, and the art of that time will help the performer to better understand the images created by the composer and understand his goals [16]. The information obtained during this process serves as a certain basis, based on which the conductor can work more effectively on the score. It is known that each conductor has his own way of getting acquainted with the score: someone tries to play it on the piano, another reads it only with his eyes and imagines how the music sounds with the help of inner hearing, and someone listens to magnetic records and compares with the score. It would be wrong to single out one way as the only correct way. In our opinion, the best way is to play the score on the piano. Because in this way, one has a complete idea of the main characters, structure and dramaturgy of the work, and it can be mastered well. A piece "read" with the help of a musical instrument, although at a slower pace and roughly, is well performed and easily and firmly settled in thought. If the conductor does not know how to play the piano enough to play the piece at least slowly and partially, then he can listen to the audio recording a couple of times first. However, it is not good to get addicted to this method, because working based on only one audio recording will make the inexperienced performer get used to one-sided interpretation of the work. It is better to listen and compare the piece after it is mostly mastered [17].
Now it will be necessary to study the score in detail on the writing table, without leaving any accent, league or line, to all its intricacies. The main attention should be paid to leagues. These special (horizontal) brackets, which connect notes of the same pitch and increase their length in musical notation, determine the rhythm of phrasing and breathing in stringed instruments, and in wind instruments. When studying the score, you need to understand all the main situations - bar (line) movements, breathing pattern in a long solo sentence, etc. I think it's too much to ask the conductor to lay out the lines with great precision, because an experienced concertmaster can always come up with a more interesting line. There is no piece in which the conductor does not have to change the nuances specified in the notes during the performance. Because there will always be a need to "hide" secondary voices [18]. However, the conductor must know exactly which group should be increased or decreased where. Try to demonstrate this with your hands at the very first rehearsal: any orchestra will pay attention to such instructions, and based on them, they will judge how well the conductor prepared for the rehearsal and thought out all the nuances. Sometimes the musical piece to be performed does not interest the conductor at the first meeting, and he cannot work because he is disappointed. Nevertheless, the conductor should try to continue the work responsibly [19]. He must force himself to study the work seriously, he must listen and feel it carefully. Only after that it is possible to conclude whether the first impression was correct or not.
"When working on a piece in the classical style, one must first determine the composition of the string group. Now in the western countries it is a picture to play the works of Bach, Haydn, Mozart with a full set of string instruments. The correctness of this is doubtful, because in the KHUSH century they worked based on a completely different ratio of stringed and wind instruments. I'm far from stylizing it, it's impossible, because it would have to play Haydn with three violins. However, the stylistic characteristics of the musical works of the 19th century require a lighter performance than, for example, Beethoven's last symphonies. A full performance of a small quintet (the first violins should not exceed 10) is more suitable for this style than a low-key performance of the full string group," writes the famous Russian conductor Kirill Kondrashin, in his " In the book "On the Art of Conducting" [20].
It is clear from this that the duties of the conductor as a performer and interpreter are a very complex issue for him. Of course, for this it is very important for the author to be very attentive to the text, to be able to read it clearly, to diligently study all the instructions of the author, all the performance recommendations. takes out. The opinion that it deprives his performance of its originality is completely wrong. There are only a few performers who pay great attention to the author's text and at the same time have bright originality [21]. For example, N. Rubinstein, I. Hoffman, Arturo Toscanini, Carlo Secchi and others are among them. The fact is that the text of each note is somewhat approximate.
In particular, if the notes are written as F (forte), crescendo, achchelerando, and hokazos, this means that the music should be played louder, louder, or faster. However, how to perform all these colors, what should be the ratio between them depends on the artistry and originality of the performer. In this way, the fulfillment of the author's instructions serves as a unique resource, a basis for the manifestation of the individuality of the conductor in his performance, on the basis of which the conductor realizes his performance goal. When trying to study the work in more detail, the conductor must first determine the composition of the orchestra, and then analyze the means of expression (form, harmony, melodic structure, tempo, metro-rhythmic, dynamics, etc.) [22]. The need for such an analysis is necessitated by the birth of an artistic image in a musical work in the process of integration of all means of expression. Analyzing a work is a living creative process. While working on the details of the score, we get to know its narrative features (polyphony, acoustics, orchestration, texture, etc.), without forgetting the performance as a whole, and draw conclusions about the details and their performance with regard to the general concept of the work, its compatibility with the process of dramaturgical development. We will have to think. As soon as we hear the work for the first time, we try to determine its structure. Analyzing the form of the piece, the conductor first of all tries to find out what parts it is made of and what its characteristics are [23]. After all, the structural structure of the work is closely related to the essence of music and originates from it. Structural analysis makes it possible to reveal the unique features of this work.
The analysis of the stylistic direction is directly related to the essence of the work and helps the conductor to better understand it. First of all, the general character of the existing methodical direction (methodical line) is determined, the main directions of intensification and culminations are determined. Because the culminations and declines are emphasized by the conductor during the performance [24].
Melody is so connected with other tools such as expressiveness, rhythm, harmony, dynamics, and stylistic features that it cannot be considered without them. While studying the nature of the melody (melody) development, its movement, rhythm, dynamics, we should consider the connection of these features with the development of the image [25]. It is also important that methodical direction analysis is important for the conductor because the possibilities of the orchestra are not limited. The range of use of orchestral timbres to express different characteristics is endless.
"Tone is the basis of music, but it should not be forgotten that this basis can interact with other components of a live, polyphonic work. In a monophonic theme, its artistic essence is concentrated in the melody as a whole. However, in a polyphonic work, the tone of the voices is very important, along with the main tone. Sometimes it even radically changes the figurative character of a particular tone," wrote S. Skrebkov [26].
Conclusions
It is known that the use of polyphonic tools greatly enriches the musical image, because the expressive possibilities of these tools are extremely wide. The use of imitative or vocal polyphony often plays an important role in revealing the main features of an artistic image, ensures continuity of action, and activates development. Analyzing the score, we simultaneously determine the harmonic basis of the work, because harmony is an important means of expression of music. Especially in the creation of a form, its universality is great. Often, when creating an image, the melodic direction falls to the second level, and harmony appears as the main means of expression. In many works of Russian classics, we can find a vivid description of fantastic characters, magical nature or figures from fairy tales through harmony. For example, Rimsky-Korsakov's "Immortal Kashey", "Snow White", Lyadov's "Magic Lake" and others.
The dynamics and timbre of the voices in the harmony, which is essentially polyphonic, needs some modification. In some cases, it is necessary to increase the bass, and in other cases, there is a need to achieve a certain middle sound or, on the contrary, the timbre and dynamic flatness of the sound. All this requires hard work.
A detailed analysis of the melodic structure, polyphony, and harmony while working on the score helps the conductor to determine the place and importance of each element, to find their balance. In some cases, it is important that the melodic direction does not disappear within the overall sound, and in other cases, it may be important to highlight a secondary voice or harmonic color that is important in creating a musical image.
The next and practically decisive stage of work is unique to the conductor. Artistic interpretation consists in developing one's own attitude to this music. The more similes and images the performer finds in the piece of music he is studying, the easier it will be for him to understand what the author wanted to say, and therefore to reveal the dramaturgy of the work.
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