5 Steps to Learn Contemporary Pieces
New to new music? It doesn’t have to be scary!
The process for learning contemporary music follows the same concepts as more traditional repertoire, just with slightly different practical execution.
My process for learning any new piece of repertoire (contemporary or not) is as follows:
Look at the score
Listen to a recording
Find patterns
Isolate the hard parts/any new technique
Refine your musicality
Let’s break it down:
Look at the score
When you first receive the score, skim through it and see what sticks out to you Is it traditionally notated, or is it a visual/graphic score? If there is notation you don’t recognize, are there performance notes provided?
One of the perks of playing new music is that often if we have a question about what a certain notation means, we can actually ask the composer!
Listen to a recording
This can get tricky—many pieces of new music have not been professionally recorded, or do not have any public recordings at all!
If you have access to the composer, ask them if they have a midi recording they’d be willing to share with you. Although this will not give you the best sense of the musicality or character of the piece, it will help you internalize the rhythms and contours.
If no recording exists, I find it helpful to try singing/speaking the piece, so you can hear it without the technique of your instrument.
Find patterns
Now that you’ve connected the score with how it sounds, you should be starting to notice patterns. Are there any elements that repeat? Here are some examples:
Rhythms
Motifs
Phrase lengths
Harmonic motion
The more you can condense the piece into its patterns (rather than every single note as its own unit), the easier it will be to approach.
The hard parts
Just like in traditional repertoire, there will be spots that just don’t come as naturally, and will require some more intense practice.
The technique for practicing the hard parts isn’t anything new! Figure out what aspect of the passage is tripping you up, and then use a technique that targets that specific skill (metronome for rhythm, tuner for intonation, slow practice/rhythmic variations for tricky coordination, etc).
Make music
Now the fun part—making music! Again, if you can work with the composer, they will have insight about their creative vision for the piece. If you can’t, research any information you can find about the piece—the meaning of its title; if it contains any musical/literary references, etc—as well as the composer’s background and influences.
What inspires you about the piece? Is there anything in the physicality of it that stirs up an emotion for you? Is it, in essence, an emotional piece, or does its impact come from objectivity and exactness?
I brought a contemporary piece I was working on to my teacher recently, and he told me that in order to give an effective performance, I needed to be like a computer and play exactly what was on the page. He said, “There are two types of contemporary music—pieces where you should play exactly what is on the page and not let your heart out, and pieces where you should ignore what is on the page and just be expressive.”
While this may be a bit of an oversimplification, it does hold a good amount of truth. If a piece is intricate and mathematical, then you should play it that way. If a piece is focused on texture and mood, then that’s what you should create. The goal is always to serve the music, so think honestly about how you can bring it to life as effectively as possible.
Have fun!
Above all, enjoy learning something new and expanding your repertoire! You are bringing someone’s vision to life, and that is a very special feeling for both o you.
I hope these insights into how I approach new music are helpful and make it less intimidating to get started!
Yours in joy,
Hannah