[musictlk] Learning to Be More Visualy Pleasing re Performance

[Sarah Massengale]

Hi Dani,

I think this is one of the hardest aspects to performing, because, as you’ve basically said, how do we figure out how to be visually pleasing.  There are a couple of things I’m thinking, before I share those though, I’d like to ask you about something.  What is your situation with your teacher?  Why are you submitting recordings instead of having in person lessons?  This is just my opinion, so please take it for what it’s worth; as someone who is blind, I definitely advise seeking out a teacher in your area and doing in person lessons.  I think you’ll be a great deal happier if you can have this much more hands on experience.

Now, as far as being “visually pleasing”.  First of all, this takes time.  Sit down and become so familiar with your music that you could sing it in your sleep.  From there, think about the emotions attached to the piece, or about specific passages that you think require gestures/movement.  For example, I have an Italian aria where, at one point, the translation is that the person in the song is going to tear out her hair.  I know this is a very strong emotional reaction, and so, I know that I need to simulate the tearing out of hair in order to convey it to an audience who doesn’t speak Italian.  So, you know your piece backward and forward, and you’ve identified the passages the you think require gestures/movement.  Now comes the hardest part, do you have a concept of how sighted people express the particular emotions you’ve identified?  Do you have a concept of how you express them?  Once you have these concepts, start applying gestures that feel natural to you and that you think convey the right feelings to the piece.  Write these gestures down, if you must, and continue to practice the exact same ones until you have them memorized.  Alternatively, if you just can’t feel what gestures seem right, ask your teacher to design them for you.  That doesn’t make them set in stone, but it gives you a baseline from which to work.  If, however, you do feel comfortable creating your own gestures/movement, I would recommend finding a very trusted sighted person who will be one hundred percent honest, whether it hurts your feelings or not.  I would perform for them using what you’ve created, and ask them to tell you what your gestures, movement and facial expression conveyed.  You can also make your teacher aware that, because this is extra difficult for you, she will need to help you through multiple drafts of an audio recording until the two of you find what works for you.

I realize this is long, and I’m sorry about that.  I think it’s everything I have for you right now though, and I really hope it helps.  Feel free to write me back if there’s anything else I can do to help.

Sincerely,
Sarah Massengale


> On Jun 1, 2016, at 4:00 AM, Dani Pagador via musictlk <musictlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi, Everyone.
> This week's lesson covers performance: using the face and hands, and
> possibly body/gestures, to communicate the story behind the song. The
> teacher is hoping for a video of the assignment submission--the
> majority of the students, me included, have submitted audio recordings
> for the past eight lessons. I am quaking in my boots and want to toss
> cookies at the idea of having to do a video recording.
> 
> I suck wind when it comes to movement. I've got rhythm, yes. But I'm
> not comfortable gesturing or moving on stage because nothing ever
> happens the same twice. So I just stand in front of the mic and sing;
> I'm assuming I have an OK facial expression, because no one's said
> otherwise. But there's a lot people _don't tell you when you're blind
> for fear of hirting your feelings, or because they don't really know
> how to help you ... be more visually appealing ... once they've said
> something. I know I'll never look like a sighted performer. But dog
> gone it, how do I get past the anxiety that comes with looking blind,
> knowing it, and not being able to do a thing to help it?
> 
> And dog gone those sightlings. When we go to concerts/performances,
> _we have to be satisfied with descriptions like "there are singers and
> dancers, and they look so awesome . ... wish you could've seen it, you
> would've enjoyed it."; we get to listen to the music, feel the rhythm,
> and let our ears help us imagine just exactly what we missed.
> 
> If it were up to me, I'd dim all the lights and be on stage with the
> music and the mic and let them imagine all they want ... have the
> audio minus the visuals, bring them in to _my world as opposed to
> always having to conform to theirs.
> 
> I realize I've got a lot of work I'll need to do. But I'll need to
> start somewhere, so I'm grateful to be able to ask questions here and
> not feel like I'm being a dope. This is 45 years of frustration
> talking. Sorry you guys have to listen to the rant.
> 
> So ... what do you guys do? How do you handle performances? How do you
> learn to be more visually friendly?
> 
> Thanks,
> Dani
> 
> _______________________________________________
> musictlk mailing list
> musictlk at nfbnet.org
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/musictlk_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for musictlk:
> http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/musictlk_nfbnet.org/skmassengale%40gmail.com