Double Bass Why do orchestra members always have on a 'serious' face when playing classical music?

[Andy Mopley]

Hi all
as I watched another orchestra on YB, I played close attention to the players. To my surprise, I rarely saw a player with a big, grinning face! There may be a few who can be lightheaded, but a lot of them played like it's nothing but business. True, it's their job to play the notes how the director wants them to, and individually they can be pretty chill and have a good time, but during a concert it's strictly pure business!
It would be nice to begin with seeing an orchestra full of players who don't assume they're an invisible face in a crowd. The show goes on during their bars of rest, and it goes on between numbers.
But maybe this is just a personal preference.
Regards to all

 

[flannel cat]

I think its because they would rather be playing rock N roll.....

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Nobody smiled before the end of WWII. Look at old photos. Nobody smiles.
The orchestra, not only conveys the music as it was composed, but also the mood of society at that time, when nobody smiled.

I mean, we weren't happy about not being able to buy toilet paper during the pandemic.
Toilet paper hadn't even been invented back then... and they had the black plague. What's to smile about?

Of course there were exceptions to the no smiling. Those people were all considered to be crazy.

 

[Carl Hillman]

Hi all
as I watched another orchestra on YB, I played close attention to the players. To my surprise, I rarely saw a player with a big, grinning face! There may be a few who can be lightheaded, but a lot of them played like it's nothing but business. True, it's their job to play the notes how the director wants them to, and individually they can be pretty chill and have a good time, but during a concert it's strictly pure business!
It would be nice to begin with seeing an orchestra full of players who don't assume they're an invisible face in a crowd. The show goes on during their bars of rest, and it goes on between numbers.
But maybe this is just a personal preference.
Regards to all

I'm not a symphony player, but I imagine that most musicians aren't smiling because of the extreme amount of concentration necessary to deliver a performance that is as close to perfect as possible.

The higher profile the orchestra, the higher individual standards expected. I could see it being a stressful gig.

 

[David Potts]

The only time the TV camera caught me with a nice big smile on my face was used in an advertising clip for years after.

Less seriously, we are mostly playing the music of dead composers for an audience waiting for God, aren't we?

 

[marchone]

I'm not a symphony player, but I imagine that most musicians aren't smiling because of the extreme amount of concentration necessary to deliver a performance that is as close to perfect as possible.

The higher profile the orchestra, the higher individual standards expected. I could see it being a stressful gig.

This. It's intense concentration to playing and attention paid to the conductor, coupled with sight reading often complex pieces.

 

[Lo-E]

My "day" job is at The Metropolitan Opera House. I'm not in the orchestra, I'm a stagehand, but I know many of the orchestra members for many years.

The Met orchestra is one of the highest regarded orchestras in North America. When a chair opens the auditions to fill that chair go on for weeks. The person who wins that audition has succeeded to beat out literally thousands of applicants to obtain a very desirable, high paying job.

In order to keep that position, they have to keep their playing in top form. They're playing with some of the best musicians in the world and if they're slacking people will notice. They have to maintain those standards for the rest of their career which, in some cases, is the rest of their lives. That means spending several hours of their own time every day practicing.

The Met orchestra, during the opera season (10 months per year) rehearses daily, usually from 10 AM until anywhere from 2:30-4:00 PM. Then they're on their own time until they have to return on time for the downbeat - in formal dress - for an opera that is often four hours long. Their work day can easily be 12 or more hours long, six or even seven days per week.

Because many of them have personal lives and families, and because many live in apartments where practice would bother their neighbors, a lot of them stay after the performance, find an open rehearsal room or just a quiet stairwell and practice well into the middle of the night. When working the night shift I often crossed paths with orchestra members practicing at 3:00 in the morning because it was the only time they could get uninterrupted practice time.

On top of all of this, the musical director is extremely demanding (which is why they're so good). No pressure, right? Easy, joyous gig, right?

Don't get me wrong; most of them really like the job, feel great pride in their orchestra, deeply respect the musical director and are actually into the music. All that said, it's an extremely difficult job and they spend a lot of their time physically and mentally exhausted - all while maintaining an extremely high standard. The music IS joyous to them but it's no joke!

 

[AGCurry]

I smile sometimes in the orchestra, but it's almost always during extended rests, when I'm listening to other players.

But generally, one player with a big smile, among 40 others who aren't, is a distraction. And brass and woodwinds can't smile when playing, so I suppose a more-or-less-uniform facial expression is appropriate.

 

[David Potts]

Asking a student to repeat what they just attempted to play with a smile on their face instead of grimly pursed lips is a trick to show how counterproductive their tension is at that moment. It is hard to be tense with a genuine smile on your face IMO. However, the concert platform is not a good place to experiment if you wish to satisfy the five basics to a high degree - All the notes, in tune, in time, with good musicianship and with a sense of style. What I do observe in many European groups with younger musicians is lots of physical movement, swaying like bamboo in a strong wind, to emphasise their energy and commitment. This can equally become a distraction, as bad or worse than sitting there po-faced IMO.

 

[chazolson]

Because if someone in the back of the viola section jumps to his feet, screams "rock and roll" and starts playing "Smoke on the Water" as loud as he can, it's generally frowned upon.

 

[Anne Millington]

Well it is all part of trying not to distract from the music or disturb your hardworking colleagues. No foot tapping, humming, looking around, grinning, right? Of course you can and should smile during stand-ups for applause or welcoming your concert master, etc. But a poker face should never be taken as boredom. I often get that gooseflesh frisson while playing with the section.

The real trick is trying not to be biting your tongue, mouthing some incomprehensible phrase, looking like you are having a b.m. or otherwise pulling unattractive faces while playing. That takes discipline.

 

[Anne Millington]

...Don't get me wrong; most of them really like the job, feel great pride in their orchestra, deeply respect the musical director and are actually into the music. All that said, it's an extremely difficult job and they spend a lot of their time physically and mentally exhausted - all while maintaining an extremely high standard. The music IS joyous to them but it's no joke!

Thanks for that great perspective.

 

[crobasster]

There are serious musicians also in the other "music genres" !

 

[CaseyVancouver]

The Met orchestra, during the opera season (10 months per year) rehearses daily, usually from 10 AM until anywhere from 2:30-4:00 PM. Then they're on their own time until they have to return on time for the downbeat - in formal dress - for an opera that is often four hours long. Their work day can easily be 12 or more hours long, six or even seven days per week.

Because many of them have personal lives and families, and because many live in apartments where practice would bother their neighbors, a lot of them stay after the performance, find an open rehearsal room or just a quiet stairwell and practice well into the middle of the night. When working the night shift I often crossed paths with orchestra members practicing at 3:00 in the morning because it was the only time they could get uninterrupted practice time.

On top of all of this, the musical director is extremely demanding (which is why they're so good).

This reinforces why I totally enjoy playing with unpaid community orchestras.

 

[AGCurry]

There are serious musicians also in the other "music genres" !

That's true, but you are in the "Orchestral Technique" subforum.

 

[s van order]

Asking a student to repeat what they just attempted to play with a smile on their face instead of grimly pursed lips is a trick to show how counterproductive their tension is at that moment. It is hard to be tense with a genuine smile on your face IMO. However, the concert platform is not a good place to experiment if you wish to satisfy the five basics to a high degree - All the notes, in tune, in time, with good musicianship and with a sense of style. What I do observe in many European groups with younger musicians is lots of physical movement, swaying like bamboo in a strong wind, to emphasise their energy and commitment. This can equally become a distraction, as bad or worse than sitting there po-faced IMO.

This says it all so elegantly: "the five basics to a high degree - All the notes, in tune, in time, with good musicianship and with a sense of style"

 

[CryingBass]

My "day" job is at The Metropolitan Opera House. I'm not in the orchestra, I'm a stagehand, but I know many of the orchestra members for many years.

The Met orchestra is one of the highest regarded orchestras in North America. When a chair opens the auditions to fill that chair go on for weeks. The person who wins that audition has succeeded to beat out literally thousands of applicants to obtain a very desirable, high paying job.

In order to keep that position, they have to keep their playing in top form. They're playing with some of the best musicians in the world and if they're slacking people will notice. They have to maintain those standards for the rest of their career which, in some cases, is the rest of their lives. That means spending several hours of their own time every day practicing.

The Met orchestra, during the opera season (10 months per year) rehearses daily, usually from 10 AM until anywhere from 2:30-4:00 PM. Then they're on their own time until they have to return on time for the downbeat - in formal dress - for an opera that is often four hours long. Their work day can easily be 12 or more hours long, six or even seven days per week.

Because many of them have personal lives and families, and because many live in apartments where practice would bother their neighbors, a lot of them stay after the performance, find an open rehearsal room or just a quiet stairwell and practice well into the middle of the night. When working the night shift I often crossed paths with orchestra members practicing at 3:00 in the morning because it was the only time they could get uninterrupted practice time.

On top of all of this, the musical director is extremely demanding (which is why they're so good). No pressure, right? Easy, joyous gig, right?

Don't get me wrong; most of them really like the job, feel great pride in their orchestra, deeply respect the musical director and are actually into the music. All that said, it's an extremely difficult job and they spend a lot of their time physically and mentally exhausted - all while maintaining an extremely high standard. The music IS joyous to them but it's no joke!

That was an outstanding post. Thanks for sharing your insight.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

My "day" job is at The Metropolitan Opera House. I'm not in the orchestra, I'm a stagehand, but I know many of the orchestra members for many years.

The Met orchestra is one of the highest regarded orchestras in North America. When a chair opens the auditions to fill that chair go on for weeks. The person who wins that audition has succeeded to beat out literally thousands of applicants to obtain a very desirable, high paying job.

In order to keep that position, they have to keep their playing in top form. They're playing with some of the best musicians in the world and if they're slacking people will notice. They have to maintain those standards for the rest of their career which, in some cases, is the rest of their lives. That means spending several hours of their own time every day practicing.

The Met orchestra, during the opera season (10 months per year) rehearses daily, usually from 10 AM until anywhere from 2:30-4:00 PM. Then they're on their own time until they have to return on time for the downbeat - in formal dress - for an opera that is often four hours long. Their work day can easily be 12 or more hours long, six or even seven days per week.

Because many of them have personal lives and families, and because many live in apartments where practice would bother their neighbors, a lot of them stay after the performance, find an open rehearsal room or just a quiet stairwell and practice well into the middle of the night. When working the night shift I often crossed paths with orchestra members practicing at 3:00 in the morning because it was the only time they could get uninterrupted practice time.

On top of all of this, the musical director is extremely demanding (which is why they're so good). No pressure, right? Easy, joyous gig, right?

Don't get me wrong; most of them really like the job, feel great pride in their orchestra, deeply respect the musical director and are actually into the music. All that said, it's an extremely difficult job and they spend a lot of their time physically and mentally exhausted - all while maintaining an extremely high standard. The music IS joyous to them but it's no joke!

Before feeding from the federal trough, (retirement) I fed from a state one. Worked in public radio for a University. We'd carry the Opera performances from the Met. Some were live. I'd have occasion to talk with the engineers involved in making the programming go out the the radio stations. Don't remember names, but they were all top notch, and great to deal with.

 

[Lo-E]

Before feeding from the federal trough, (retirement) I fed from a state one. Worked in public radio for a University. We'd carry the Opera performances from the Met. Some were live. I'd have occasion to talk with the engineers involved in making the programming go out the the radio stations. Don't remember names, but they were all top notch, and great to deal with.

Yeah, they're nice guys.

 

[TK1820]

You'd look odd smiling during the Brahms Requiem.