Music to Their Eyes

As I have mentioned before, I play the oboe with our local civic orchestra. I have been doing this for almost 20 years. I participate as a community member in the orchestra of a music program of a small Christian university to supplement the students so we have all of the instruments represented. The university where our orchestra plays used to be a small college and still operates on this beautiful piece of land on the outskirts of a nearby city. It’s rich in history, however, the buildings were built “back in the day” and are old, dark, impractical, and definitely not up to current building codes.

This year I got a new set of glasses and discovered that I can no longer see the music. This is a problem for a musician… What I discovered when lamenting about my situation is that other more “seasoned” players like myself wear musician’s glasses. They are similar to computer glasses in that they are designed to keep a specific distance in focus. Once I got mine, the music reappeared! Music to my eyes.

This got me thinking about other random issues I’ve encountered as a musician when preparing for a concert. Things that other planners may never experience, and therefore, never think about when planning a concert event. For example, most of the time, the lighting team wants to light the ensemble on stage with a flood light so they can be seen better by the audience. The problem is that now the musicians have a bright light shining in their eyes, backlighting the conductor, making him almost impossible to see. This is a major problem considering the conductor is the glue holding the ensemble together. Be sure to check with the musicians when lighting the stage.

In older buildings, temperature and humidity are also issues. These can be hard to regulate with an old base-board or radiator system and single-pane, leaky windows. These affect the intonation of the instruments and functionality of the reeds of woodwind instruments. When it comes to a concert, both of these are imperative to provide the audience with an ear-pleasing musical sound. It can also mean death to a woodwind instrument. Dramatic changes in temperature or humidity as a musician is carrying their instrument on and off stage can cause a wooden instrument to crack. As a planner, if given the option, selecting a different venue that is more temperature controlled would be preferred.

Acoustics are another thing to consider when booking a venue for a concert. Venues with vaulted ceilings or tile floors can make the sound echo throughout the space, distorting the music. This is especially true with brass instruments. They tend to overpower strings and woodwinds anyway, but throw in a tile floor and you might as well only have a brass quintet performing at your concert. A venue designed for a concert with sound tiles on the walls and sound directional panels on the ceiling will give the audience, and musicians, the best experience.

Sound projection or recording the music using microphones needs to be done under the direction of a professional. Not only do the acoustics of the venue play a huge factor but the sound doesn’t come out of the “end” of every instrument. Yes, for a trumpet, it is true the sound will be picked up by a microphone if placed near the bell or “end” of the instrument. However, in my case with the oboe, the microphone needs to be placed near the center as the sound emanates from the instrument, not just from the bottom.

Hopefully the next time you are planning a concert event, especially one involving a band or orchestra, you will be better equipped to select a location and provide not only the musicians, but the audience, with the best experience possible.

Have you encountered an unusual planning experience that others may never think about? You can send me an email or share it here.

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