The ART of COLLABORATION

Part I COLLABORATION BASICS

Part I offers building blocks for foundational group interaction and performance. The opening chapters address the principles and the “how to” of verbal communication within an ensemble to help each member have an equal voice. In addition, causes of tension and conflict within groups are identified, and collaboration strategies are provided. This part concludes by introducing two fundamental ideas for productive rehearsals—the comedy improvisation practice of “Yes, and…” and “Try every Idea as if it were your own,” moving beyond compromise toward collaboration.

Chapter 1: Our Rehearsal & Teaching Philosophy

This chapter details the authors’ teaching philosophy, representing the foundation of the strategies and techniques for productive rehearsals. Elements of this philosophy include creating a positive environment for learning through empathy, humor, and co-leadership. These elements inspire and support artistic excellence. Cultivating respectful relationships within the ensemble is highlighted as integral to the rehearsal process. The authors move beyond the traditional concepts of leading and following by introducing the concepts of initiating, inspiring, responding, and reflecting.

Chapter 2: Working Well Together

This chapter addresses tension and conflict within groups, including strategies for working well together and creating a healthy environment for rehearsals and performances. These foundational skills, combined with the rehearsal techniques and strategies, heighten the excellence of ensemble performance. Foundational strategies for building collaborative teams include appreciation, inquiry, invitation, listening, energy, and collaborative dialogue. Sources of conflict include blaming, taking things personally, lack of focus, misunderstandings, assumptions, strongly held views, and not following through. The chapter concludes with strategies for working well together, such as try every idea as if it were your own, the rule of agreement from comedy theatre improv, humor, respecting personalities, emotional intelligence, and bring your best self to rehearsals.

Part II REHEARSAL PREPARATION & PROCESS

Part II details productive rehearsal approaches, including individual preparation and score study. These chapters also provide wisdom and guidance from our mentors about pacing and organizing rehearsals.

Chapter 3: Individual Preparation

Individual preparation is crucial for a successful chamber music experience. This chapter provides a structured approach to preparing for rehearsal, emphasizing that each ensemble member must contribute as an equal partner. It covers topics such as preparing parts and scores, practicing one’s individual part, developing an interpretation, and knowing what to bring to rehearsal. The chapter concludes with a discussion of co-leadership, where every member takes on a leadership role to ensure all voices are heard and valued during rehearsal. The ideal member of a high-functioning chamber group is described as supportive, inspirational, honest, committed, passionate, reflective, decisive, creative, and a problem-solver.

Chapter 4: Score Study

Score study is essential to the rehearsal process, fostering a deeper understanding of form, structure, melody, harmony, and motivic development—such as recurring rhythmic or melodic ideas across different sections of a composition. It helps musicians gain a comprehensive knowledge of how their part interacts with others and contributes to the overall work. This chapter offers guidance on selecting editions of scores and parts, strategies for identifying key elements within the score, an encouragement to play directly from the score, and a practical exercise to apply the strategies covered. Throughout, examples demonstrate how to identify and annotate key features in both the score and parts.

Chapter 5: Rehearsal Playbook

This chapter offers suggestions for planning and implementing a constructive and effective rehearsal. The authors place a musical spin on the sports playbook approach, offering long-range and daily rehearsal planning guidance and organizing accountabilities. Roles and accountabilities are described in detail, with strategies to ensure that responsibility for the ensemble’s progress is shared. The chapter concludes with tips for healthy dialogue and communication during rehearsal.

Part III INSPIRATION & INTERPRETATION

Part III helps ensembles navigate the interpretive process of defining character, mood, and meaning, offering strategies for researching composers and the contexts in which they created their works. As musicians we strive to bring the music to life, creating a dynamic, shared experience for both ourselves and our listeners through interpretation. This section provides guidance on understanding the context of a composer’s work and concludes with one of the most exciting aspects of chamber music playing: collaborating with living composers.

Chapter 6: Exploring Character

At the heart of the rehearsal process is the ensemble’s ability to define and express musical meaning and character. This chapter explores methods for interpreting moods, emotions, and meaning, creating a tonal color palette, engaging the imagination, telling a story, and drawing inspiration from diverse sources. The authors suggest adopting a multi-faceted approach, including researching historical context, using descriptive language, and finding inspiration in visual art to enrich the interpretive process.

Chapter 7: Exploring the Composer’s World

This chapter offers recommendations for researching the composer to ignite the interpretive process. Investigating the composer’s era is a point of departure to deepen understanding of trends and styles, such as art and architecture, literature, and the natural world. Guidance is provided to explore the composer’s voice through researching life events, listening to other works by the composer, and reading letters and quotes. The second half of the chapter provides a section on collaborating with living composers, highlighting advice from renowned composer Gabriela Lena Frank. The chapter concludes with an approach to developing a composer’s mindset and a rehearsal technique to inspire your inner composer through improvisation.

Part IV TECHNIQUES FOR PRODUCTIVE REHEARSALS

Part IV presents essential and practical techniques, organized by their intended purpose, for everyday use in rehearsals and teaching. These techniques are based on more than 35 years of rehearsing, performing, and teaching by the Cavani Quartet and include sage advice and observations from mentors, colleagues and students . Detailed explanations of the rehearsal techniques and transformational guidance for chamber music students and teachers are illustrated with photos, diagrams, and score examples. Each chapter is organized by the intended purpose of the techniques, including cueing and breathing, rhythmic alignment and ensemble, intonation, sound production, projecting expression, strategic listening, and balance. The final chapter concludes with the capstone technique: LBAD (Live, Breathe, and Die). These techniques are designed to give each ensemble member an equal voice in the interpretive process and help solve technical issues. Part IV provides a wealth of options to address the challenges of ensemble playing.

Chapter 8: Techniques for Cueing & Breathing Together

Cueing and breathing together are fundamental skills for playing chamber music and are a shared responsibility of ensemble members. Cueing establishes rhythmic precision and expands group awareness. Cueing develops the ability to communicate through physical motion. This chapter includes guidance on sharing the cueing responsibility and techniques for pantomime cueing, conducting and breathing together, and cueing with instruments.

Chapter 9: Techniques for Rhythmic Alignment & Ensemble

This chapter presents techniques to enhance group rhythm and ensemble cohesion, many of which involve physical motion to express rhythmic character. By physically embodying the music’s character while playing, musicians can achieve greater unity and create more expressive performances. The chapter covers strategies for synchronizing movement, expressive counting, using the metronome, establishing visual connections, passing melodies or motives, exaggerating tempos, clapping composite rhythms and syncopation, and for string players, employing left-hand-only exercises to achieve tactile synchronization.

Chapter 10: Techniques for Intonation

Great intonation enhances the quality of sound and resonance in performance. When interval relationships are understood and agreed upon, a group develops its own system of coherent and consistent tuning. This chapter provides guidance, practices, and techniques for practicing ensemble intonation. The concepts of just intonation and equal temperament are introduced, and approaches to intonation include establishing a tuning routine, and melodic and vertical intonation. A section for string ensembles outlines best practices on tuning at the beginning of rehearsals. Included are guidance for creating a warmup routine and intonation techniques such as playing scales together, playing Bach chorales, four-tone tuning, tuning passages, tuning to a drone, and tuning as a meditation.

Chapter 11: Techniques for Sound Production

This chapter explores how to develop an expressive and nuanced sound. The authors offer ideas for creating sound inspired by color, visual art, and vocal techniques. A section on articulation focuses on producing a unified ensemble sound, building upon the previous chapter on intonation. It covers various articulation techniques, including legato, staccato, and emphasis markings such as sforzando, fortepiano, and tenuto. The chapter also addresses vibrato practice techniques and sound production strategies tailored to different instrument families, based on interviews with prominent chamber musicians and the authors’ own experience. Appendix D provides additional sound production tips for string players, particularly regarding right-hand technique.

Chapter 12: Techniques for Projecting Expression

This chapter offers techniques to help ensembles develop their distinct voice as an expressive unit. These methods foster a group’s musical personality, making rehearsals both more productive and enjoyable. Building on the previous chapter’s focus on applying vocal techniques to instrumental playing, it includes specific strategies for playing while standing, expressing dynamics, “playing the silence,” and performing from memory. Additionally, the chapter introduces concepts such as playing towards the center of the sound and projecting the sound outward to the audience.

Chapter 13: Techniques for Strategic Listening & Balancing Voices

Focusing on the development of listening skills, this chapter introduces techniques for strategic listening—enhancing the ability to highlight and engage with different musical lines. These practices help create a resonant, well-balanced, and cohesive ensemble sound. The chapter features a listening game, methods for isolating musical lines within the group, and exercises such as switching seats to engage with different ensemble members and playing with backs to one another.

Chapter 14: The Capstone Technique: Live, Breathe, and Die (LBAD)

This chapter focuses on the capstone technique of Live, Breath, and Die (LBAD). This transformational technique developed by the Cavani Quartet, represents the culmination of the interpretive and expressive process. LBAD refers to a total commitment to live in the moment together, breathe through the music, and allow one’s ego to “die” in service to other members’ musical intentions. The LBAD practice ensures that ensemble members relate to each other through nonverbal communication by initiating (cueing), reflecting, and responding. This chapter includes a foundational mirroring practice used in theater to help students experience initiation, reflection, and responsiveness. The mirroring technique distills the essence of LBAD into visual, non-verbal movement. The steps to practicing LBAD can be used to solve a variety of rhythmic and interpretive challenges. LBAD can be used in combination with other techniques in the book.