Lesson 30: Introduction to Ensemble Playing

Play one part of a two-part piece against a recording of the other.
Hold a steady tempo independent of the second voice.

Lesson 8 — articulation.
A partner or a way to record yourself.

Two-part ensemble awareness.
Holding tempo independently.
Listening while playing.

Playing with someone else is half listening.

Solo playing teaches you to hold a tempo against your own anxiety. Ensemble playing teaches you to hold a tempo against another person's choices. The discipline is different. You cannot rush, you cannot drag, and you must hear the other line even while your own is playing — because the music exists between the two parts, not in either alone.

If you do not have a duet partner, record yourself playing one part and play along with the recording. The recording is patient.

Duet exercise — canon

The classic ensemble exercise: a round. Record yourself playing the line below all the way through, then play along with the recording starting two bars later. Your live playing chases the recording — an instant canon.

The line reads in C major on your alto staff (soprano's G major); record and overlap as the soprano prose describes.

Duet exercise — two contrasting parts

Two parts that fit together. Record the lower part first; play the upper part live against the recording.

Both parts read in C major on your alto staff (soprano's G major); the contrapuntal relationship is identical.

Now play these

Frère Jacques: The textbook round. Record the tune; start a second pass two bars later. Real four-part rounds work the same way.
Bobbing Joe: An English country dance from Playford's Dancing Master. The melody is the line in our library; record it, then play along with the recording two bars displaced to hear how the dance answers itself.
Rufty Tufty: Another Playford dance with a short, repeated tune. Same drill — record the melody, then play it against the recording one repeat later.

When you can play one line of a duet against a recording of the other without either rushing or dragging, move on to Lesson 31.