Your wedding is in six months and you have sorted out the venue, catering, and the officiant. Yet, you still don’t have your wedding ceremony musicians! All the big wedding vendor sites have lists of musicians an arm’s length long. Where does one begin?
Quite simply, this is a personal choice. Although recommendations from friends and family are important, there is no one-size-fits-all. At the end of the day, you as the bride or groom will have to see which musicians resonate (no pun intended!) with your personalities and dreams the most. Here are a list of things you can think about.
1. What is the ambiance that you would like to establish during your ceremony? How do you want the guests to feel when they enter the venue? How do YOU want to feel before, during, and after the ceremony? Ideally, the music should not create the atmosphere – it should reflect the atmosphere. Can you see (hear) the difference? In other words, rather than the music artificially making people feel a certain way, it should be a natural expression of what is already happening “on the ground”.
2. What kind of sound do you want? There are many options available for ceremony musicians. String quartets and other string ensembles (such as trios, duos, and a wedding violinist) can give an elegant touch. In fact, the warmth of string music is hard to replicate!
3. How many guests do you anticipate having? Obviously the musicians need to be heard. I recommend that you hire no fewer than 3 musicians if you have 75-100 guests and certainly no fewer than 4 if you have over 100. This applies to string ensembles. Remember that strings are not usually amplified, which is actually a GOOD thing. Amplified music often (but not always) substitutes volume for warmth.
4. Is your wedding music ensemble or contractor easy to work with? Unfortunately, many groups have amazing players but they are not able to communicate effectively (or even appropriately) with their clients. It’s very important that your musicians are willing and able to coordinate the fine-details of the wedding ceremony. As an example, someone from your wedding party can give them a signal when to start and stop playing (if you feel that this necessary).
5. Are the wedding musicians professional? Although it might be tempting to hire conservatory students, remember that they are not necessarily reliable and that you do get what you pay for. Students have other priorities and your wedding is not necessarily going to be the most important in their need to make a living.
6. Are your musicians reputable? There are many groups out there that play the “occasional” gig, but unless they specifically advertise as a wedding ensemble, you might not be satisfied, no matter what you pay. A world-class quartet that tours the country might actually not be the most appropriate ensemble for your wedding, as tempting as this may sound.
7. Finally, do the musicians make you feel like YOU are the most important? Musicians have a reputation for being egotistical (after all, they are used to getting all of the attention). You want someone who is dedicated to your happiness with a “customer is always right” attitude.
– Daniel Broniatowski, D.M.A.
Maestro Musicians
http://www.maestromusicians.com
Who was Dr. Suzuki?
The Suzuki Method
Dr. Shinichi Suzuki was a famous Japanese violin educator of the twentieth century. His
Talent Education School trained countless numbers of young children. To this day, the
Suzuki Method is used worldwide to inspire and develop children’s musical talent for all instruments. Dr. Suzuki’s book,
Nurtured by Love gives a thorough account of his teaching philosophy and training
.
In 1933, Suzuki had an epiphany. He realized that all children speak their mother tongue. While seemingly self-evident, this realization came to represent the pedagogue’s new philosophy that music, like speaking, can be taught with the correct conditioning and nurturing from birth. Given the right stimuli, the child would correctly and voluntarily learn new concepts in a short time. As a result, Suzuki believed that it was necessary to begin teaching students as young as three years old. First, one of the students’ parents would be taught some basic technique and repertoire. Then, the desire to play would be developed in the child, upon seeing and hearing the violin at home. Suzuki also believed strongly in the necessity to train a child’s memory and musicianship through repetitive listening of recorded music.
To Suzuki, talent is no accident of birth. He believed that every child can learn how to play the violin. Suzuki bemoaned the fact that adults are quick to resign children to a fate of failure through their mistaken belief that they are not gifted. Rather, every child has infinite potential from birth. They simply have not been given the necessary opportunities.
Suzuki’s most influential violin teachers were Andō Kō and Karl Klinger. Both trained with Joseph Joachim. In his book, Suzuki admitted his inadequacies as a virtuoso and attributed them to his being “damaged by the wrong kind of education”. These inadequacies, however, are what spurred him to greatness, since he never stopped trying to improve himself.
Dr. Suzuki’s most important goal was to create noble human beings, rather than virtuoso violinists. He was a true humanist whose methodology transcended the violin. It was his belief that the right kind of education could create good people. Provided that the student responds with consistent and accurate practice, the expert teacher could impart his/her talent, much in the same way that a person of good character teaches morality through example.
--Daniel Broniatowski, D.M.A.
www.violinteacherboston.com
