Important tips for every guitarist to improve your ensemble skills while playing with other musicians

By Daria | April 12, 2020

Today I would like to talk about musical ensemble, and in particular about smaller formations, or chamber music ensembles. Having been an ensemble musician for more than 10 years, I’ve proven myself not only as an orchestra musician but also as a member of numerous chamber duos and trios, etc. I can certainly say that being part of a musical ensemble is not just about learning your part well. It’s more about the interconnection with other musicians and work with a group for the good of the whole.

Even beginner musicians know that playing in an ensemble develops teamwork and social skills and the ability to communicate in one musical space with other players. It can also help you to improve your rhythm and timing. An ensemble group should not just play but even think as one person. More on how to build outstanding ensemble skills in today’s article:

● The main postulate of every ensemble musician – music is meter! In Western music, the concept of meter is a “pattern of stresses or accents that provide the pulse or beat of the music.” Those stresses and accents have not only a dynamic but also a time aspect. Such accents are generally called “metric accents,” and they are valid inside short bars (measures), musical phrases, and within the whole musical piece. In the example below, you can see how metric accents are distributed within one measure. The first beat of the bar is the strongest (the “downbeat”). The second and fourth beats are weak. The third beat of the measure is also strong, but not as strong as the downbeat.

● The metric accent is making the note longer in duration without altering its value. According to this, we should emphasize the strong first beat and slightly accelerate the second ones to make up for the time spent on the “downbeat”. Although the fourth beat is non-accented it sets up the next “downbeat”. Because it drives forward towards the next strong beat it’s usually more “expanded”, “wide”, “ample”. Interestingly, we can draw a parallel between such a “compensation” principle in music and our circadian rhythms (constant change between day and night, ebb and flow of the waves, etc.).

● The same rules apply to longer musical constructions. In the following example, we display a simple period, an eight-bar structure divided into two four-bar phrases. The metric accents are distributed as in 4/4 time, but now, instead of weak and strong beats, we have weak and strong measures.

● Now we arrive at the point of understanding how all that I’ve mentioned up till now affects the interconnection within an ensemble. I am going to play the above example in unison as a guitar duet with my friend. Because we are completely different, our vision and interpretation of this music fragment is also varied. Let’s hear what comes of that…

● Well, we should assume that it doesn’t sound synchronized and balanced although we both played the same notes. The reason for such an unsynchronized sound is that we both completely ignored the principles of music meter. How can we fix this? First, we should determine the strong and weak measures as we did before, then put caesuras before each strong bar and try to interpret all the harmonic/melodic tensions and proper resolutions according to the music meter rules. Now, we are going to play this Simple Period and strictly adhere to the metric accents.

● As we can hear, our ensemble is now much more balanced and synchronized. In the same way, in accordance with the music meter, you should determine the phrases for the whole song. You should also be aware that harmonic/melodic tension and resolution usually (but not always) contrapose the meter, which creates a peculiar symbiosis of unity and a struggle of opposites.

In conclusion, I would like to say that it can take years to achieve a well-synchronized and balanced ensemble sound. Each ensemble member must contribute not only their skills but also their time, professionalism, experience, and patience. In my next article, I will continue to highlight the importance of music meter and its primary role in improving your playing speed and timing.

The various ensemble formations have different specifications. If you’re in an orchestra, your individual performing style is completely leveled, while in chamber ensemble you take the role of a full-fledged soloist. Even beginner musicians know that playing in an ensemble develops teamwork and social skills and the ability to communicate in one musical space with other players. It can also help you to improve your rhythm and timing. An ensemble group should not just play but even think as one person