Becoming One with the Music and Connecting to the Audience
We've all heard about the importance of focusing on the music and connecting to the audience when we perform. But how?
Can you believe January is almost over? Time is flying! Hope your new year has continued to look exciting and full of opportunity!
In a book about Artur Schnabel (a respected pianist and teacher; his pupil wrote the book under his supervision), I came across the following idea:
“He frequently emphasized that the interpreter, both when studying and performing, be concerned solely with the music, not with the fact that the art of performing in public is a communication between the composer and the audience. He knew that if the performer became one with the music the audience would feel it, while if he tried to play to an audience, he would not be able to do full justice to the music.” (page 16)
This paragraph filled my mind with questions to ponder:
1.) The art of performing in public is a communication between the composer and the audience, but we are not to focus on that when performing. But yet, I have been taught not to ignore the audience and the connections to be made with them, either. So how does one strike that balance?
2.) Focusing solely on the music makes sense, but how does one keep from going too far? We learn not to become consumed with errors or small details when performing, and instead to focus on the “bigger picture” so to speak, so what is the right level of focus?
3.) How does one keep from playing to the audience? When a performer walks out onto the stage and sees the audience sitting there, how does he/she ensure that the focus stays on the music and not the faces seen in the audience (particularly if one or two of the faces is intimidating)?
I believe an answer to each of these questions depends on the emotion a musician feels for the music he/she is performing. The audience feels the emotion that comes from the music, and the emotion that comes from the music is channeled from the musician creating the music. By letting the audience in to these emotions, one is not ignoring them. But the performer is concentrating on the emotions the music awakens within them and sharing those with all who are listening, thus creating a collective emotional experience (though not everyone will feel the same emotions). Perhaps that helps to strike the right balance between acknowledging the audience, but not focusing on the audience.
When it comes to going too far with focusing on details and the “bigger picture”, I personally visualize zooming out from the sheet music. Instead of zeroing in on this dynamic marking or that accent or this pedaling mark, I imagine zooming out and seeing the full score. Similar to examining the brush stokes in a painting, then zooming out to see the full artwork. Listening to professional recordings and paying attention to how you feel as you’re listening can be enlightening, as well. When listening to the recording, one is less concerned with the small musical details and more interested in the beauty of the music as a whole. It fills the room (or the headphones) with life and creates a new atmosphere, so whether there is an accent on beat 3 in measure 16 becomes less of a concern (if at all). It’s an excellent reminder that the audience is not going to be obsessed with the small musical details like the performer may be. They haven’t been recently studying and practicing the works like the performer has. Instead, the audience wants to feel, which is why creating an emotional environment they can connect with is so important in performance.
As far as intimidating faces sitting in the audience, the general recommendation for coping with that is to not stare at those faces! You can’t ignore them, nor should you entirely, but you don’t have to dwell on them either. Instead, find a friendly face or two in the audience that makes you feel calmer or encouraged. Take some time before you begin to play and breathe deeply. Think about the music and how it sounds. Think about the emotions this music gives sound for. Appreciate this opportunity as the special one that it is.
Community thread prompt: How do you focus on the music instead of the audience? How do you concentrate on the work as a whole vs. the details? What helps you cope with any intimidating faces you may see in the audience?