Video Transcript

Ben Zander:

Yeah, you forgot to tell-

Tyler Boque:

Yes, I certainly did.

Ben Zander:

That’s all right. That’s fine.

Tyler Boque:

I learned this last night.

Ben Zander:

That’s fine. Oh, great.

Tyler Boque:

This is my first time.

Ben Zander:

You relearned it last night. Well, what happens is that you actually tell her that you have poles in your heart and that you are an irresistible treasure. And you missed that one. Good. Look. Lovely. With plenty to work on. You have a lovely voice. Tell me your age.

Tyler Boque:

18.

Ben Zander:

Fantastic. No, it’s really very important to realize this. Voices do not develop at the same rate that instrumentalists develop. By 18, now, there’s a famous story of Piatigorsky, the great cellist. A young boy was brought to play for Piatigorsky, the mother brought. And he played Tchaikovsky Rococo variations and Piatigorsky said, “How old is he?” And the mother said seven. He said, “Ah, what a pity. It’s too late.”

For a singer. You’re just beginning. It’s amazing. That’s a very developed voice for an 18 year old, it’s extraordinary. So what I’d love to talk to you a little bit about is what the character is, here. What you are doing. It’s a charming song and it’s a seductive song. You’ve got this mermaid out in the water and you’re saying, “Come to the land. Get on your boat and come to the land and let’s sit together. And you put your head on my chest and we’ll talk, hand-in-hand, have a little conversation.” And then he says, “After all, don’t be afraid because the sea and the wind and the waves, that’s very scary. I’m not scary. And moreover, I have a pearl in my heart.” So it’s a charming, winning, lovely, tender thing. And he marks the tempo. I would think, no, he never wrote a Metronome mark in his life, that came with Beethoven, not with Schubert, but we gradually get to know what his feelings are and what the speed_… I think this is a faster piece, because it’s exciting. You’re trying to entice her in and you are a little bit as though you are laying back in your armchair in the club, thinking about her, rather than actually bringing her into land.

Tyler Boque:

Faster.

Ben Zander:

Good. Let me just tell you something, just a moment. You remember I said before, when I was talking to Laura, that the singer always takes the dynamics from the piano, in Schubert. So this is pianissimo, right? So you are winning her over, a little bit like a fisherman bringing in your mermaid. That’s lovely. That’s a lovely_…

With the_… It’s a little bit too wild. You are just talking about, “We are going to chat. We are just going to chat, the two of us.” Right?

So just, in the same dynamic, a tiny little bit, just_… You know what you should do, is raise one eyebrow. That’ll do it. That’s all_…

Tyler Boque:

Absolutely.

Ben Zander:

That’s all. Yeah. It’s very intimate.

Tyler Boque:

Absolutely.

Ben Zander:

And charming. And you want to make yourself as attractive and as charming as can possibly be. You’re not a mean person at all, in this song. Not at all. It’s a delightful idea. There’s that little mermaid out there. You want to get her in. You want to have a little time together_… And I don’t think this is a sexual overlay. I had a very strange story. I shouldn’t tell the story, but it’s an amazing story. You know he poet, Robert Lowell? Well, I had the privilege one day of going for dinner with him and we were up in Castine, Maine, where my wife had a house and he knew the family. So he invited me to dinner and I rang the bell and Robert Lowell opened the dinner and said, “The trout is a rape scene.” “Hello. How do you do? How are you?” He didn’t say anything. He just opened the door and said, “The trout is a rape scene.”

Amazing. These people who live in their ether, don’t have to do small talk. They don’t. They live in another world. First time I met Bernstein, Leonard Bernstein, he said, “How come you never call me?” He didn’t say hello. He didn’t say, “How are you? I’m pleased to meet you.” He said, “How come you never call me?” I didn’t know I was supposed to. And the second thing he said was, “You are wrong, you know?” What world do these people live in? It’s amazing. Anyway, this is not a rape scene. This is charming. It’s sweet. It’s humorous. It’s light. And so if you can get that sweetness into your_… Do you know Fritz Wunderlich?

Tyler Boque:

Yeah.

Ben Zander:

Oh, well, be like Fritz Wunderlich.

Tyler Boque:

Sure.

Ben Zander:

Yeah. Yeah.

Tyler Boque:

Yeah.

Ben Zander:

Imagine how he would sing that. You’re doing beautifully and the pianissimo dynamic is lovely. And if you go up to the F in a semi falsetto, it would be lovely.

Tyler Boque:

Absolutely.

Ben Zander:

Yeah. Great. Should we do it again?

Tyler Boque:

Certainly.

Ben Zander:

Such a light piece.

There’s a little thing, which is that little, I think it’s like a little accent.

You look anxious. Don’t be anxious.

Tyler Boque:

Okay.

Ben Zander:

Come, bring your boat to the thing. It’s charming. Charming and light and sweet. Would you do it one more time? You’re doing it beautifully. Just think pianissimo.

Be careful. Be careful. No ham acting.

Tyler Boque:

Yes, sir.

Ben Zander:

Right. Right. Not in leader.

Tyler Boque:

Yes, sir.

Ben Zander:

Right. Be true. Always true to the spirit of the music. Otherwise, we look at you acting, which we don’t want to do. We want to go inside your head and heart, directly. That’s the thing about leader. It’s personal. It’s very, very personal. So you’re not putting on a show. You are sharing your innermost thoughts. Isn’t that lovely? It’s a beautiful thing. It’s why in the end, this is the greatest music ever written, because it’s the revelation of the inner spirit of an individual. It’s a beautiful thing. Just do the two bars before.

I’ve got another thing to tell you. Sorry to interrupt you so much, but your_… Legato. And full length to the notes. Don’t come in and out of them.

Tyler Boque:

Hm?

Ben Zander:

It’s the sea. The sea. Yeah. Good. Good. You can be a little bit more characterful, here. “Lay your head_…”

Tyler Boque:

“_… on my chest.”

Ben Zander:

“_… on my chest. But don’t be afraid. Don’t be afraid. The sea is much more worrying, much more frightening.” So, do that second, that next verse. Right. Right.

Tyler Boque:

Right there?

Ben Zander:

Yeah.

Tyler Boque:

All right.

Ben Zander:

That’s good.

Every day.

Good. It’s nice to keep it at that low dynamic, because you are telling something, you’ve got a pearl in your heart, you’re a good person, you’re bringing her to you. So, keep it pianissimo. Several beautiful pearls I have in my heart.

Bar before. Two bars.

Yeah. That’s beautiful. Lovely. Beautiful. You’re great. Bravo. Bravo.