Following on from our blog on lyrics, let’s explore the combination of lyrics and slurs.
As instrumentalists, we look at the meaning of the lyrics when playing a transcription of a song. Where are the breathing points? Which notes should be slurred? It is important to make sure that vocal lyrical slurrings are maintained within a string transcription.
In writing Stringtastic, we gave some serious thought to how to combine lyrics and slurs in a very different context, that of beginner string playing. Originally, we were not sure how to deal with slurs and lyrics for inexperienced players. Our first port of call was to look through as much beginner repertoire as we could to see if there were a set way of doing things. We couldn’t find anything already published to help clarify matters. If you know of any beginner string books which combine lyrics and slurs then please do get in touch, as we’d love to see them.
Can lyrics help when learning slurs? Often, slurs are introduced without worrying about rhythm, just working on the coordination of the left and right hands. The next stage might be talking about bow distribution and then adding the rhythm by counting the pulse.
When trying out slurs and lyrics with our own students, we discovered that most of them found it easier to perform a slur on two separate words or syllables, rather than using a vocal slur (two notes on one syllable). Students found it simpler to coordinate the left and right hands, with good bow distribution, when the slur had two defined words. When given a vocal slur, the pupils tended to use a disproportionate amount of bow on the first note. Our thought process is that, when working on slurring, the use of lyrics is strongly connected with pulse. Based on these findings, rightly or wrongly, we decided not to use vocal slurrings when introducing slurs in Stringtastic Beginners.
If the students are singing the lyrics as part of a performance, the slurs should be ignored. As with everything in our book, all of the fingering, bowings and slurs are at the discretion of the teacher.
We’d love to hear your experience of how you and your students are finding our books.
Stringtastic Beginners is available from Faber.
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