I’ve been working on my entry for the YouTube symphony orchestra today- and finding it very hard going! It requires a completely different approach to playing in a conventional orchestra, or even playing on my own.
A couple of things I’ve noticed;
I’m much more nervous about this than any live performance! I have been playing the ‘cello for about fifteen years and am never usually nervous before an orchestral performance. Even when I’ve done solos I’ve not felt this bad! I think this must be because I feel more under pressure at the prospect of being recorded for posterity- with live performance it’s so fleeting that if you make a mistake you can move on and hope no one noticed!
It’s very hard to concentrate on playing an orchestral part on your own without the rest of the orchestra. That doesn’t mean I don’t count the beats while I’m in an orchestra, but more that it’s easier to go with the general momentum of the other musicians. You learn as an orchestral musician to trust the others around you, and to keep one eye on the conductor, one eye on the leader of the section and another on the music!
I have become even more critical of my own sound whilst practising for this. Again it has to do with the nerves, but also because I’ve watched some other cellists’ videos and am comparing myself against them. This is something you would never do in an actual orchestra.
I wanted to try the process not because I think I’m good enough to get through to the live performance in New York, but more because I was interested in how it might work. What I’ve learnt is that you cannot replicate the security of playing with other musicians, and the process of engaging with an online experiment can be as much a learning experience as the final output.
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