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What verse do you typically play a descant on?



 
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ejweiss
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 6:08 pm    Post subject: What verse do you typically play a descant on? Reply with quote

Say there are 4 verses of a Lutheran hymn. I sometimes play descant on 3, but usually on 4.
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Don Herman rev2
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 6:22 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Melody first, harmony second, tacet (rest) third, descant fourth.

YMMV - Don
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DH
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 8:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've usually done melody on 1 and 2, descant on 4

If 3 verses, melody on 1, descant on 3

If 5 verses, melody on 1, 3 and descant on 5

If 6 verses, melody on 1, 2 and 4, descant on 6

I followed this formula so I could tell which verse it was. I was in the balcony and couldn't hear the actual words from below.
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Denny Schreffler
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PostPosted: Wed Jan 02, 2019 11:42 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don Herman rev2 wrote:
Melody first, harmony second, tacet (rest) third, descant fourth.

YMMV - Don


+1
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dr_trumpet
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 12:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

DH wrote:
I've usually done melody on 1 and 2, descant on 4

If 3 verses, melody on 1, descant on 3

If 5 verses, melody on 1, 3 and descant on 5

If 6 verses, melody on 1, 2 and 4, descant on 6

I followed this formula so I could tell which verse it was. I was in the balcony and couldn't hear the actual words from below.


+1...sometimes I'd play the chorus on 2/4, but if it was a long service, I'd do the above. 6 verses can be taxing on 7-8 communion hymns.
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deleted_user_48e5f31
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 5:59 am    Post subject: Hymn verses Reply with quote

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Yamahaguy
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 6:40 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I play whenever the MD tells me too!

Most of the time it is on last verse though...
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Dale Proctor
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 6:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Last verse. No interpretative movement on the verses you don't play...lol
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cheiden
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 9:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

My MD is pretty specific. The problem for us is keeping straight the roadmap for the different services. Early services are always shorter, with fewer verses. And while he usually adds verses for the later service, sometimes things don't go as planned.
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trickg
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:48 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

All of them.
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Halflip
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 3:27 pm    Post subject: Re: Hymn verses Reply with quote

dfcoleman wrote:
On the verses that I tacet, I perform a free-form interpretive dance, usually wearing a spandex body suit and some type of exotic hat. Many parishioners find this off-putting from a man is his late 50s, but I gotta be me.

Needless to say, I don’t get a lot of repeat gigs.


Heh-heh. I take it that the customary admonition "Your mileage may vary" (or "YMMV") applies here too.
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deleted_user_48e5f31
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 4:14 pm    Post subject: Oops! Reply with quote

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Halflip
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 03, 2019 6:24 pm    Post subject: Re: Oops! Reply with quote

dfcoleman wrote:
My apologies: I just noticed the OP referenced LUTHERAN hymns. I generally omit the exotic hat for those gigs.


I'm sure I'm one among many who will rest easier thanks to your clarification!
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Derek Reaban
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PostPosted: Fri Jan 04, 2019 5:44 am    Post subject: Re: Oops! Reply with quote

dfcoleman wrote:
My apologies: I just noticed the OP referenced LUTHERAN hymns. I generally omit the exotic hat for those gigs.


Now that the hat is gone, all I can picture is that great scene from the Pink Panther with Steve Martin as a backup dancer for Beyonce!


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dstdenis
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 6:21 am    Post subject: Re: What verse do you typically play a descant on? Reply with quote

ejweiss wrote:
Say there are 4 verses of a Lutheran hymn. I sometimes play descant on 3, but usually on 4.

In a case like that, I'll usually play melody on 1, tacit on 2, simple descant on 3 and a more celebratory descant on 4. I try to develop descants in a call-and-response format so it sounds like a back-and-forth conversation between the hymn melody and the descant with overlapping phrases.
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JayKosta
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PostPosted: Sat Jan 05, 2019 7:22 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It depends on the purpose of the music, and what else is going-on at the time.
1) if accompanying hymns or a choir, the music should not intrude on the singing (use the correct tempo and phrasing). During the non-singing portions it should 'work with' the style of the singing.
2) for processional music, it shouldn't distract from the meaning or participants of the procession.
3) if the music is for entertainment (versus devotional), then just use good taste.

Similar with TAPS at a funeral or commemorative service, it should not standout as music - it's purpose is to enhance the larger purpose - it is ceremonial, not entertainment.

In some situations, the organizer of the event might not really think about the details of the music - they just think it would be 'neat' to have a live group. It's the responsibility of the musicians to make a positive contribution to the purpose and quality of the event. Not just as a 'performance'.

Jay
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