beginner face question

January 26, 2010 at 10:41 AM

Here is a question that my son asked me and I need better answers,

" Why when some people play their instruments do they make faces ? ( contort, make eyes wide, stick out tongue, )get what I mean

I do know why they close there eyes after seeing Mr. Rogers one morning and Yo-Yo the cellest was on, but that is a differnt thing

From Tasha Miner
Posted on January 26, 2010 at 10:01 PM

Sometimes, while performing, we get so emotionally involved with a piece that our faces will portray that emotion. So someone may frown when they're upset or angry during a certain phrase that should sound as such. Someone may smile during a particularly happy or triumphant phrase, or because something went well in the performance. Sticking out one's tongue, however, isn't exactly legal. While we are allowed to show joy when something goes well, we are not allowed to show our displeasure. =P

Eyes closing can be a coping technique if someone is nervous, a memorization aid to visualize the music rather than looking out at the audience, or another form of inner expression of the mood of the phrase. It really depends on the player, the moment, and the piece.

From Stephen Brivati
Posted on January 27, 2010 at 4:16 AM

Greetings,

>Sometimes, while performing, we get so emotionally involved with a piece that our faces will portray that emotion.

and at such times we are usually boring the pants off the listener unless they too are hypnotizing themselves into being moved by the purely visual aspect;)

Cheers,

Buri

From Anne-Marie Proulx
Posted on January 28, 2010 at 3:35 PM

I also think it has a link with the "school" you learned the violin, your personnality etc. For closing the eyes to concentrate this is fairly frequent in advanced players but for more than this it depends of the whole "machine" you were in.

If you learned with "conventional" for example russian technique or technique/teachers, you might be not that expressive from far away, moving just the necessary and try to avoid too extreme faces. That doesn't mean the performer doesn't have any emotion (just look David Oistrakh to understand what I mean)

If you learned in America or with a young teacher from this "era", they might allow way more gesture and facial expressions since it's getting way more acceptable (public even wants this).

Finally, some people have theatral and extravort personnalities as Vengerov and Lang Lang on stage. Some are more reserved as the old masters on stage and a few these days too of course.

I think it is a mix of many things including what Tasha said of course. Many great violinists tell violin is as frightning as beeink naked in public because they have to completely abandoned themselves to play at their best unfront of many peoples and for some, I beleive, this means making many unconscious faces.

Anne-Marie

From Susan Smyth
Posted on January 29, 2010 at 9:13 PM

i think, if you're talking about beginners only, it's because they're concentrating. for example i know someone who always frowns intensely at the music...or if you mean people who have more or less overcome those issues, it is just that they are very expressive.

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