User:Ballet Class Music
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The Motosonus Method
Music for ballet class has evolved a great deal over the last century. It began much the same way as music for silent pictures did. A pianist would use a compilation of music notation known as a fakebook. This would be a book or notebook which the pianist would make themselves, one which contained abbreviated versions of music from the great ballets.
Unlike piano sheet music which is written on a grand staff (both treble and bass clef), a fakebook contained only the treble clef line with the melody written without harmony. The pianist would write the chord symbols above the single staff and these symbols would be used to improvise the left hand part. These fakebook renditions were precisely as effective as the skills of the pianist allowed, and many pianists became very proficient at using this technique both on the pianos of the ballet studios and the organs of the silent movie theaters.
The ballet class music changed very little from its inception as the decades went on, but there were trends. The use of fakebooks faded and disappeared for the most part when sheet music became widespread and affordable, and ballet pianists instead came to the job prepared with bags and sometimes suitcases full of piano music--famous classical piano literature and transcriptions.
There was another type of ballet class pianist that came on the scene at this time. This was the individual who could not only sight-read complex musical scores, but was also highly skilled at composing and improvising. These talented individuals became the super-stars of the ballet class music world, and their abilities continue to be coveted by the top teachers and ballet companies around the world.
The best of this new breed of ballet class pianists are intimately familiar with the details of ballet class and the nuances of each ballet exercise and are able to create music on the spot that matches the instructions of the ballet teacher. Many of them studied ballet and choreography.
In the 1980s this trend was standardized into a system. A series of informal studies were conducted at the Eastern Washington University Dance department under Elizabeth Carlssohn, aiming to find the composing and playing techniques that would produce the most effective ballet class music. By using beat placement, beat width, tempo changes, chord changes, rubato phrasing, and melodic content to specifically match each ballet exercise the system of creating ballet music was created which is now known as the Motosonus Method.
The purpose behind the creation of this system was to use the music in ballet class to its greatest effect, by enhancing the impact the music has on the students in the class. The inevitable evolution of this system, as it comes into wider and wider use will continue to have a positive impact on the quality of ballet class music.
The Ballet Exercises at the Barre
Plies
Ballet classes are divided into two main sections referred to as barre and center. As is implied by the names, the first half of class, barre, takes place at the ballet barre, which is literally a wooden or metal bar that runs the length of a wall that is usually covered with mirrors. The dancers use the barre to help them balance while they do a series of foundation exercises that will warm them up and prepare them for the more difficult exercises performed in the center of the room.
The first exercise performed during a ballet class is called plies, pronounced plee-ays. This exercise is designed to stretch every muscle group in the legs and warm up the body for the leaps and jumps yet to come. The plies also teach the dancer how to create a foundation of support and balance for their upper body.
There are two types of plies, called demi-plie and grand-plie. When performing demi-plies, the dancers bend their knees about halfway, whereas when performing grand-plies a full bend is required. The plies are usually executed in each of the five foot positions in ballet which are referred to as first position through fifth position.
The ballet class music that is improvised or prepared for an effective plie exercise is usually very melodic, often romantic, with a full rich sound that leads into the downbeats of each phrase to create both a musical endpoint and a musical start point. The pianist should play the plie exercise with a wide beat, meaning the base notes can begin slightly ahead and linger slightly past where the strict beat placement would lie. This gives a restrained feeling to the music and enhances the feeling of muscles opposing each other which is characteristic of this exercise. It also keeps the dancers from rushing. This can be accomplished with a grace note, a rolled octave effect, or even an arpeggiated chord leading to the bass note on the beat. It is effective to use a conversational phrasing that moves freely with a great deal of rubato, almost as if the piano is making an important statement over and over with changes and new devel0pments on each repetition.
