Finding the Clarity

February 6, 2008 at 3:18 PM

In my very first lesson with her, my teacher repeated the phrase "find the clarity" several times. She's never been wrong yet, she clearly knows what she's talking about, and she's an excellent player, so I trust her judgment--yet I have not really been able to make that concept work for me so far.

There's something weird and unsettling to me about the thought of "the clarity" being out there lying around somewhere for me to find, rather than being something that I build or create by my own sweat and tears (virtual ones, anyway). Similarly, for me, the writing process has always been more of the second than the first. When I write, clarity comes from building up, paring down, rearranging, agonizing. It's not just out there to find.

And the very nature of the violin, too, seems to work against the idea. The violin is made of wood and metal and animal parts, it's got imperfections galore. And I'm even more so. I don't have absolute pitch. I try to tune to A440, but I can't hear the difference between A440 and A441, or A439. And if my A happens to be at A439 today, then all my other notes are going to be the same, small, interval off, and I'll never know. It just seems to me that the best I can hope for is to be in tune with myself, to make all my notes and strings in tune with each other. If "the clarity" is some kind of Platonic ideal, I'm still firmly rooted back here in the cave.

But . . . last night I was practicing a nosebleed 8va section of the Violin I part of Copland's Outdoor Overture. It's very exposed when played with full orchestra, and last week in rehearsal the 1st violin section sounded pretty bad, as a group, in that spot. And I'm sure I made my full contribution to that overall badness. The conductor told us he didn't want to waste the rest of the orchestra's time while we learned the part and exhorted us to spend more time on it at home.

So, okay Mr. Conductor, I agree. I'm trying. I've already been over it with my teacher, and I have fingerings that are do-able in principle. I've listened to Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the SF Symphony on this piece over and over again. I know how it's supposed to sound when played well. But, here in the practice room, just me and the violin and the music, it still sounds "bad" anyway.

Until I realize that my first finger is waving around unnecessarily when it's not playing. It shouldn't be doing that--it should be helping me get my bearings up here. That's better. Also, the intervals are small up here. And, I really don't need to jump as far back when shifting down. Check against the open string. Flat again. Flat, flat, flat, I'm always flat. And that's what's doing it: the wayward first finger, the overshifting, the overestimating the interval distance.

When I finally "nail" the high E on the A string, for the first time maybe ever outside my lesson, it rings! And the D below it (closer, closer, closer . . . this is way up there and the notes are closer together) . . . yes, it rings too. It sounds "good" . . . hard to explain, not just in tune, but really good. It seems almost too good to be true. Did I finally find the clarity?

I have another rehearsal tonight, so I'm not going to look this particular gift horse in the mouth. Maybe it's time to take a problematic leap of faith. I don't have to believe the clarity is really "out there" like some patron saint, but maybe, with enough experience, I can still learn to trust myself and my instrument to achieve it.

From Drew Lecher
Posted on February 6, 2008 at 7:36 PM

Karen,

You are correct — the clarity isn't out there, but when it's there it does GO out there — ENJOY!!!

Just breathe, have fluid motion and KNOW where the point of contact, et al are.

Piece of cake_
Drew

From Tom Holzman
Posted on February 6, 2008 at 8:53 PM

Good luck with your rehearsal. The Copland is not easy. The clarity is out there somewhere, and you will recognize it when you hear it. And, it won't be the same each time.

From Stephen Brivati
Posted on February 6, 2008 at 10:43 PM

Greetings,
didn`t TS Elliot write a poem about this.

Maclarity, Maclarity, there's no on like Maclarity,
He's broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,
And when you reach the scene of crime--Maclarity's not there!
You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air--
But I tell you once and once again, Maclarity's not there!

Cheers,
Buri

From Roy Sonne
Posted on February 7, 2008 at 12:16 AM

"Find the clarity"
This is like something I say to my students all the time: "find the tone," by which I usually mean, play a musical fragment of a few notes, or even just one note over and over again to "find" just the right tone quality. In analytical terms that would mean: find just the right combination of bow speed, bow pressure, point of contact, vibrato speed and width, etc. etc. However I often prefer not to be so analytical and encourage my students just to listen to the tone and keep playing and adjusting instinctively until they find something really fine.

From Karen Allendoerfer
Posted on February 7, 2008 at 2:49 PM

Ah, Maclarity, the mystery cat, the hidden paw--LOL! My dear departed cat would have hated listening to me practice this music. Way too high for her. But, rehearsal went quite well last night. I'm excited about the concert at the end of the month! This is the first concert I've played with this orchestra and I'm beginning to get a feel for how it all comes together.

This entry has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.

Finding the Clarity

Subscribe

Laurie's Books