Do You Know What CSP Stands For?

That song's too high.
That song's too low.

And so it often goes when someone tries to pitch a song.

Some use a tuning fork or a pitch pipe.  This is great.
And, oh, so very helpful!

~*~*~*~
But what's to be done when the music is written too high?

For example, while assisting a local colleague with her children's choir (3rd - 6th graders) I observed that one piece (a hand-written arrangement) was written too high for their voices and commented on it. 

(I was talking about a measure that was written as the A above the treble staff!?!?!)

Her response was "That's how it was written."

I said it was not in the ideal child voice range.

Her response, "They can sing that."

I guess my face gave away my disagreement. I refrained from saying anymore because students were present and it was not the "time" for that discussion.

She went on to say, "That's what it has to be to go with the instruments."

Inwardly my response was YIKES!

[I might mention that the children's choir sings a cappella and so this connection to an instrument part is a moot point.]

Rehearsal continued - we got past the song in question.

Since my assisting the children's choir is associated with my mentoring this music educator she and I will be talking further about writing appropriately for children's voices in a future mentoring session.

~*~*~*~
Many times music teachers run into this problem - trying to connect instruments with limited ranges and choices of notes with children's voices. 

Unfortunately, if care is not taken, the integrity of the voice part is often sacrificed to accommodate the instruments' capability.

Solutions to this problem:

• Rewrite the vocal part so that it fits the child's vocal range.
• Rewrite the instrument part by transposing it to another key that fits the child's vocal range.
• Sing it a cappella.
• Perform it only on instruments.
• Choose another song to sing.

Regardless of the chosen solution, something must be done so that the vocal part fits the voices that are singing.

That's kind of obvious.

Please don't get me wrong! I am not opposed to having instruments accompanying voices. I am opposed to poorly written music that combines the two horrendously.

~*~*~*~
Something else that might be done, especially if the song is a folk tune or some other song to be sung in unison as a group, is to determine the "comfortable starting pitch," or CSP.

I learned of this while completing my Kodaly certification.

I had noticed that many of the songs in one of the books we used were written in the key of G, which for my alto voice, was oftentimes much too high.

Then I noticed that each song in the book had CSP: ____ written near the title of the song.

This suggested CSP indicated the "best" note on which to start the song so that it fit, in this case, the child's voice.

When I followed this suggestion it was like, "Voila!" ("That's it!")

Suddenly all these years of thinking, "That song was way too high (or low)" was solved with the understanding of CSP.

No CSP indicated? Then look for the range of the song.  What is the highest note? What is the lowest note?  Then determine to what pitch can you lower or raise the song so that it fits comfortably in the voice?

Now, this pretty much only works with voices in the same range (children's, women's, or men's voices) on a cappella pieces that are either, ideally, in unison or, if necessary, harmony (with parts that do not go too high or too low).

[Note: Add an instrument to the mix and you begin to limit your options. Though this explains why many singers have a preferred key they sing in - they have found their comfortable starting pitch.]

~*~*~*~
I am reminded of something Ysaye Barnwell (former member of the AMAZING African American a cappella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock) said at a conference I spoke at this summer.  She mentioned that the group Sweet Honey did not use anything to set the pitch of their songs and that sometimes when a song was started too low she would just have to "look" at that person questioning "Are you really going to pitch this song that low?"

Ysaye said her voice just kept getting lower and lower over the years because they were pitching the songs lower. (Ysaye could sing bass well enough to challenge any male bass!)

So see, even a professional group of singers struggles with pitch issues.

This means that anyone, amateur or professional, who leads songs needs to be aware of how to pitch a song so that it fits the voices that are singing it.

Pitching a song at one's speaking voice pitch is usually a disaster waiting to happen.

It does take effort to pitch a song correctly.

It does means singing higher than one thinks or wants to naturally sing.

If you try, you will probably find those you are leading will respond more musically to your leading.

Songcatcher

While I work on my writings for my dissertation I watched/listened to the movie Songcatcher (2000). How appropriate it is for me to have watched this movie! The movie is about a woman with a doctorate in music who traveled to visit with her sister, a school teacher in the mountains. The doctor, a city woman, was unimpressed by the laborious trip to arrive at her sister's humble home. Not really seeing the worth of her visit she was feeling a bit sorry for herself when a young girl was called upon to sing one of her songs for the doctor. Her interest was peaked and thus the movie really takes action - in a musical sense. The doctor records on cylinders and in notation the songs of the young girl and another mountain woman. She is immersed in the lives of these hillbillies and finds a wealth of musical treasure. I won't ruin the movie for you, dear reader, should you choose to watch it, but let it be said there are love interests and catastrophe.

I was struck by the young girl who said that the songs she knew were "give to her" by her granny. This oral tradition of passing on songs from one generation to the next is, I fear, a dying tradition. Too often children today learn songs from a recording rather than by sitting on the lap or at the feet of their parents and grandparents. I am thankful that I learned the old fashioned way. I recall the songs my grandparents sang to me. I was an avid listener! When I think back to my childhood I can remember my Daddy going about the house singing and whistling; Momma was always singing the songs that I now as an adult associate with household chores and fun songs for entertainment. My parents continue to make music a part of their lives.

The recording of songs in the movie was done through the use of cylinders and music notation after several hearings. Songs which were recorded on the cylinders would later be transcribed into notation. As I watched the doctor in the movie notating songs I was reminded of the importance of ear training - the ability to hear a tune aurally and then be able to write it accurately on staff paper. This is a learned skill, one that takes a boatload of patience and years to accomplish. I often smile as I listen to an interesting song for if I really think about the tune I find myself figuring out the solfege and picturing it on the musical staff.

This movie has a connection with my dissertation. I am writing about Zoltan Kodaly and his work with music education. Part of his work was based upon his own folk song collecting in the countryside of Hungary in the early 1900s. I have read about how he had to develop a relationship with people before they would share their songs with him, how he used the cylinders to collect his songs, and about the importance of scientific collection and indexing. I could see his persistence and dedication in the work of the movie's songcatcher. The great thing is I know what he did with the bulk of his work and I have seen how it has influenced the musical lives of millions of people, both in Hungary and around the world.

A regret that I have is that I will never meet this man, Kodaly. However, I have been blessed over the past 10 years to meet and spend time with people who *did* work with him. If I cannot learn from the Master I am blessed to learn from those who did.

OAKE National Conference

I have returned from the OAKE National Conference which was held in Washington, DC. This organization is a group of music educators who adhere to the Zoltan Kodaly pedagogy. My masters degree was in music education with a Kodaly emphasis; hence, my specialty area is in "Kodaly". I have a fondness for this group and have met many amazing musicians.
Of course, a music conference is filled with just that MUSIC!
The organization has a theme song called "Harmonia Mundi". It is sung at all gatherings of Kodaly educators and, since everyone singing is a music teacher of some sort, the music is glorious! The words are: "We gather here together with joyful heart and mind. We raise our voices ever our distant souls to bind. To remember in this moment of friendship, love, and joy, that music made together may one day heal mankind." To stand and watch people's faces as they are singing this is quite an experience. The faces are nearly blissful.
All sessions are music oriented and there are concerts throughout the day.
Thursday night the Washington DC Men's Camerata performed. They were quite good. Of course, Kodaly educators only promote quality music and I love listening to men's choruses so I knew this would be a great concert. A favorite that they sang was Biebl's "Ave Maria" [NAXOS BIS-CD-533 Track 11]. It just swells and encompasses the listener.