This audience-worthy warm-up takes a little preparation and a good dose of charm but routinely yields surprisingly captivating musical results.
The Basics
Players form an aesthetically pleasing clump or series of orchestrated lines before the audience. The “conductor” (host) passes out a series of large, shuffled cards, each containing a random emotional state or condition. On cue, players reveal these emotional “instruments” to the audience. After a brief orchestral warm-up, the conductor moves focus to various individuals and small clusters of players who use their assigned emotions as the basis of a repetitive musical motif. These offers, in turn, form pleasing melodic and percussive “conversations” with other selected instruments. After each player has enjoyed at least one featured moment to explore their unique emotion-inspired sound, and perhaps following several well-crafted “movements,” the conductor engineers a climactic exchange with the majority (if not all) of the instruments sounding off together.
Example
Players stand in well-crafted lines, reveal their cards, briefly warm-up, and then, upon the conductor’s signal, a symphony begins…
Player A: (exploring the emotion of giddy in a steady rhythm) “Eee heeeee, Eheee Eeee…”
The conductor points to Player B…
Player B: (in the emotion of frightened as A continues) “Ooooooh, ah ah ahhhh…”
[Hopefully, that’s enough to give you the gist as it all seems quite absurd when you try to notate it!!]
The Focus
Look for smaller joyful games and interactions between particularly interesting emotional combinations. And amidst the fun, endeavor to pace the overall musical arc.
Traps and Tips
1.) Explore tempo. This warm-up has a lot in common with one of my other favorite short-form musical games, Madrigal. In both cases, finding, establishing, and maintaining a foundational rhythm is central to the game’s success. As players, look for ways that your assigned emotion can augment and enrich the overall orchestral sound. If you’re an early addition, consider leaning toward the percussion section, or at least offering up a structured, repeatable, and musically clear “bar” of music. (This is generally sound advice for everyone who’ll want to craft and maintain a sustainable pattern rather than just riff freely and unpredictably with no concern as to how such a solo might work alongside other improvisers). As the conductor, look to visually set this tempo once it becomes clear so that others can utilize the benefits of your vantage point. If your ensemble has players with a wide variety of musical experiences – as most do – I’d advise leaning on someone with a good ear and rhythmical sense for this first position. If the first few offerings are erratic and devoid of any clear musical structure, you’ll have a hard time building the opus.
2.) Explore musicality. Once a strong base tempo has been set, look for opportunities to pitch a wide range of different types of instruments and voices. What part of the orchestra does your emotion evoke? Are you bold and brash and belong in the brass section? Or mellow, lush, and full-bodied and a member of the sultry reeds? Or perhaps the strings appeal with their potential for more harsh, screeching, and abrasive tones? Obviously, your own vocal instrument and abilities will also likely influence your decision, as well as (hopefully) the choices and hues already established by your teammates. I like to think of the players essentially becoming the instruments themselves, rather than just merely playing them, so don’t neglect these performance potentials too. For example, I love maintaining a rather pompous and official air until the instrument is activated by the conductor because it makes the silliness of the game even more delightfully silly. I’d also recommend against using recognizable words (as opposed to emotional utterances, sighs, and howls). Creating dialogue tends to puncture the instrument conceit in a manner reminiscent of telling (rather than showing). If an earlier player, in particular, creates a “lyric,” it becomes especially difficult for those that follow not to mirror that choice.
3.) Explore dynamics. Once each instrument has previewed their musical choice to the audience, much of the finesse and pleasure of the game stems from artistically layering on various dynamics and combinations. The majority of this shaping function resides in the hands of your conductor, so it’s worth taking some rehearsal time to teach and practice various signals. I use a distinct point to start a new instrument, a wave up or down to adjust volume (or a hand to my ear if I can’t hear a new instrument amongst the din), and a clenched fist to pull a voice out. I tend to pulse my hand a little to visually represent the beat as well. It can prove helpful to think of the orchestration in “movements.” The first section consists of hearing all of the available sounds in small clusters of three or four voices introduced one at a time. The second movement features revisiting established instruments in intriguing combinations – perhaps all the positive or extroverted or subtle emotions. This exploration often serves as the main course of the game. Usually, my final section gradually builds to a crescendo by restarting one improviser after another until everyone is jamming together. (I will confess to a somewhat “standard” ending of then suddenly cutting everyone off and having perhaps the funniest or most memorable instrument offering up one final refrain by themselves.)
4.) Explore polish. Finally, take some time to set the symphony up for success. You certainly can perform the game without clearly printed cards naming each emotion, but the audience delights in this visual reminder when each player adds their voice (and if you’re playing in a larger ensemble, these signs are incredibly helpful for your conductor as they seek to maximize fun combinations and callbacks). Consider setting and staging how players get into their orchestral positions as this transition can add to the slickness of the whole event or just appear clumsy and amateurish. It’s also critical that the conductor has a clear line of sight to communicate with each member of the band. (While players sing out to the audience, they’ll also want to always keep a vigilant eye on the conductor and their gestures.) If you’re using cards to reveal the instruments, it’s worth taking a little time to stage how these signs can be swiftly distributed and revealed – I deploy a fun little choreographed communal card flip which adds a nice finesse. Don’t shy away from rehearsing your preferred conducting signals and style, too. This will enable subtler games and more impressive dynamic shifts.
In Performance
This warm-up is a quick-hit all-play charm-fest and a great addition to the top of a show, especially if you routinely play in a larger cast of ten or more as there aren’t that many stage worthy numbers for robust companies. It might have diminished appeal if you program it too often, although the basic symphonic form is easily tailored to other “instruments” and times of year. I’ve used occupations, university majors, types of office equipment, Halloween creatures and objects, and the like, all with similarly successful results.
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Cheers, David Charles.
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