How to Revitalize Old Repertoire
The sad truth is that we get sick of our repertoire, no matter how beautiful or fun a piece is when we first find it. Once the novelty aspect of it wears off from listening to it and practicing it so many times, we can lose interest in it. The piece may become boring, dull, uninteresting, or otherwise no longer fun to sing or play.
After you have taken a break from the piece and are ready to revisit it once again, it is important not to just go through the motions. Singing or playing through the piece in the exact way that led you to disengage from the piece will not provide you with any benefits nor help you successfully reconnect with the piece.
Renewing your perspective on old music is essential to help you grow your musicality within those pieces. Below are some tips to help you successfully revisit your old pieces to make them feel like new again.
First and foremost, get into the right mindset before revisiting an old piece of music. If you continue to tell yourself that the piece is boring and that there is no possible way you can learn to love the piece again, the chances are, you will believe it. This will affect your ability to reconnect with the music. The brain is an extremely powerful tool, so try your best to go into the practice session with an open mind. Believe that there is more to be found and that you can always learn something new. Make sure that you are not getting in your own way by developing misconceptions before you even try to revisit the old music.
Next, remind yourself of what initially drew you to the piece. Is there a specific section that you just love? Does it make you feel a certain way? Are you a big fan of the composer? Does the piece challenge you in a unique way? Perhaps even listen to the piece before going back to it because after a long break, doing this may help remind you of what you thought and felt when you first encountered the piece.
Find something new about the piece. Do your research and really dig deep to find interesting background information. For example, see if you can find out why the composer wrote the piece and then make a connection. Is there anything to the composer’s journey that you can relate to? Also, look for where the piece has been performed. This can provide new insight and a better understanding of the piece.
Challenge yourself to override old habits that may resurface from performing old repertoire. During the break that you took from the piece, I am sure that you grew and learned a lot as a musician. Make it a priority to intentionally apply your new, healthy habits and technique to the piece. Be sure to catch yourself when you realize that you have slipped into poor habits. Use the piece as a way to show off how much you have grown and be proud of that growth!
Additionally, if you are a student or a music theory nerd like myself, take the time to analyze the way that the piece was constructed. Use your music theory knowledge to your advantage to identify intervals, patterns, phrase shaping, and other musically interesting aspects of the piece that an average listener who does not know music theory would overlook. For example, I have an older piece that has a retardation that resolves and sounds beautiful. It is now one of my favorite parts of that piece (À Chloris by Reynaldo Hahn, if anyone is interested).
Going back to the basics can help refresh old music. Go on YouTube, SoundCloud, or any other listening platform and listen to interpretations and performances that you admire. Pay attention to the ways that the performers express themselves on stage and note their perceived feelings about the piece to help you reignite your feelings towards the piece.
If you have old recordings of yourself practicing or performing the piece, listen to those as well. Keep an ear out for your unique spin on the piece and think of how you can lean into that to further make the song feel like your own.
Perform the song if you get the opportunity to. Not only will scheduling a performance date motivate you to pay special attention to the piece, but it helps with goal-setting. Putting a date on this process can facilitate commitment to the piece and inspire you to do it justice.
Also, remember that whenever you perform a piece, there is probably someone in the audience who is hearing it for the first time and someone who is hearing it for the last time. Make this experience memorable for them by giving the best emotionally-invested performance that you can.
These last two tips are geared more towards vocalists:
If your piece is in a foreign language and you have not already looked up the word-for-word literal translation, doing so will help you understand the piece better. If you have already done this, it is still beneficial to revisit the translation. Knowing what each and every individual word means can help you express the piece properly. There are certain words that you may want to bring out by lingering on them a bit or otherwise highlighting them through musicality. There are also certain words that may have intense emotional implications that, as a singer, you should be able to bring out in your own way.
In addition to knowing the literal translation, look into the figurative translation. To figuratively understand the piece, familiarize yourself with the poetic translation of the piece. Poetic translations are often more flowery, which can provide a foundation on which to emotionally connect with the piece.
Play around with your interpretation of the piece, especially when it comes to acting it out or stage presence. We want to make sure that our stage presence is genuine and effective, so if we autopilot our motions and revert to what we previously did when singing the piece, it will most likely not add much to our performance. I once heard a phenomenal quote from a vocalist named Soile Isokoski, who stated that “if it’s habitual, it doesn’t provide the audience with any information”. So, make whatever you do count. Make sure what you do is intentional and has meaning.
Happy practicing and best of luck! Please reach out if you have any questions.
Kindly,
The Baroque Mezzo
