Chamber Music

Chamber music can be a real pain in the ass sometimes.

Ya I said it. Anyone who has experienced a full-time or part-time chamber music for more than a few weeks (or even less time than that sometimes) knows that tensions can become high during a chamber music rehearsal, especially when there's a strong disagreement on some part of the piece. Who knew the style of attack on a chord could cause so much grief?? No matter how much fun being a part of a chamber music group can be, sometimes the stress of a performance, working on the same piece for weeks and weeks (this especially for younger groups such as the one I'm in), and the constant bickering on how to practice and perform can cause some serious difficulties.

For example, the rehearsal I just came home from was filled with high-tension, and even a few accusations (all accompanied by awkward jokes and cover-up humor to prevent serious anger and fighting). And even if it was a productive rehearsal, and I feel like we're completely ready for our performance on Thursday night, I am stressed and honestly pretty ticked off for no single apparent reason. Arguing is fun. It wastes time, and gets everyone on the edge of their seats. Yet all chamber groups have had their disputes, and this will always be so.

Today, therefore, I present to you some possible ideas on how to avoid all-out arguments when it comes to a chamber music rehearsal:

1. If you stumble upon a disagreement, start out by getting ideas from ALL MEMBERS OF THE QUARTET (very important) on how they think it should be played. Usually this will narrow it down to 1 or 2 options.

2. Take a vote. Sometimes it helps to play it through both ways and then decide.

3. If it's a tie (as it often if not usually is in a quartet), try to find an outside person, musician preferably but anyone will work, to listen to it both ways and help with the decision.

4. If all else fails, each side pick a member for Rock, Paper, Scissors. It's fair, and can settle a dispute easily.

Hopefully this helps any young chamber musicians running into difficulties. None of these are sure to work. In fact, I basically just made them up on the spot, but I have used a lot of them before and they usually work. There's always that odd incidence when they don't though, and you'll just have to figure out a way to settle the argument.

Good luck!!

-Phil