Taught by renowned pianist
Chelsea Guo
Almost all great composers wrote vocal music, and pianists can revitalize their playing by learning from the grand tradition of vocal technique. In this course, award-winning pianist and soprano Chelsea Guo welcomes you into a singer’s world, sharing eye-opening analogies between piano and voice to unlock new technical and artistic potential. The lessons address four crucial aspects of musicianship: listening, biomechanics, phrasing, and interpretation.
Introduction
Guo introduces the topic of vocal pedagogy and the four areas the course will cover: listening, biomechanics, phrasing, and interpretation.
Listening
To start things off, Guo addresses perhaps the most fundamental aspect of music-making: listening. Easier said than done: singers are constantly reminded that what they hear is quite distinct from what the audience hears, while pianists have the illusion that they hear everything clearly. Using Debussy’s “Clair de lune” and Chopin’s “Raindrop” Prelude as examples, Guo demonstrates the dramatic difference that posture and a “third-person” listening can make.
Biomechanics
Next, Guo tackles the physical side of piano playing: biomechanics, or the motion of the body as an interconnected system. She explains how tension is essential both to singing and piano playing — when delivered in proper doses and always followed by a release of tension. Using a study of the entire body and examples from Brahms and Mozart, Guo shows how this constant alternation combines with careful listening to allow beautiful playing while never becoming tight or tired.
Phrasing
Guo shares a singer’s approach to phrasing and applies it to piano music. While pianists often are told to make long phrases to counteract the decay of their instrument, often the musical context implies a series of shorter phrases, like when vocal music is broken up by commas or other punctuation. By applying the text of a Mahler song to Schubert’s G-flat Impromptu, Guo finds a different, more articulated delivery which will freshen your approach to phrasing piano music.
Interpretation
Finally, Guo explores interpretation from a singer’s point of view. For both pianists and singers, it’s essential to “read between the lines” to find the transitions and quicksilver changes of mood that require special interpretation. Using examples from Puccini and Chopin, and by summarizing the other lessons in this course, Guo demonstrates that by thinking deeply about the inner life of musical characters (and how to emphasize crucial narrative shifts), you craft a more striking performance that can reach straight to the heart.
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Unlock Course →Chelsea Guo stands out as a remarkable new musical artist, equally inspired as both a classical pianist and a soprano. She won the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in 2022 as both pianist and vocalist – the double award a first in YCA history.
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