One thing I love about GG fans is that they're bitterly divided into the
Hummists versus the Anti-Hummists. Not long after I joined f_minor, one
guy who hated the humming was actually petitioning CBS/Sony to release
an electronically doctored edition of hum-less GG recordings.
I'm a bigtime Hummist, by the way.
"But was Gould's singing - and is the humming of pianists in general -
an embarrassing encumbrance, even a sign of mental instability, or might
it be inseparable from the expressiveness of their playing?"
This thing at the end is a quote, but is it also a question for us?
Maybe I'm a Hummist because I can't play an instrument (not counting my
Theremin, and there's some controversy over how well I play that, or
whether it's even possible to play a Theremin well). Everyone can
express his/her love of music with singing and humming, though; it's
just so natural and spontaneous. Who can resist the temptation of
singing in the shower?
Is there some kind of direct logical argument, or well-accepted notion
of musicianship and mental health, that suggests that as soon as you can
play a non-mouth instrument well, you should immediately want or agree
to cease singing and humming?
When I listen to GG's piano recordings, I hear a guy just volcanically
erupting with love and passion for this music. Nobody knows better than
he how superbly he's rendering it on the piano -- but for GG, I don't
think that was enough.
It seems clear that not only is he expressing his intense passion for
this music when he hums, but that the humming "informs" and directs the
playing. In particular, his humming "aims" his fingers and feet, his
body and muscles, at special and subtle emotional moments both of
crescendo and synchopation.
We take it for granted that GG nearly always had his very personal
interpretations of pieces of music, and these moments of "unusual"
emphasis and synchopation are rarely, if ever, absolutely specified in
sheet music. They come from the soloist's (or conductor's) heart and
soul. My guess is that humming expressed GG's interpretative ideas first
and most clearly, and his fingers "listened" and followed.
There usually are music teachers on this list. What do you tell a child
learning a keyboard instrument about humming? Do you find that most
children spontaneously hum? Do you instinctively discourage it? Why? Do
you have strong feelings that humming interferes with specific
objectives of learning the piano?
Students or former students -- do you remember struggles with your
teachers over humming? Did you subsequently conclude that the teacher
was right, and that mastery was improved by disciplining yourself not to
hum?
I take strong exception to that "sign of mental instability" thing, even
if Eyres hides his own opinion by making a question out of it, which I
think was a cowardly thing to do, a slur he just wanted to sling without
having to defend it.
Singing and humming are just so human, so universal. It's a way ordinary
mortals express their hommage and admiration to great singers, great
songs, great instrumentalists, great instrumental music. Toddlers are
constantly creating their own "oeuvre" of personal, imaginary music,
symphonies, themes, which they sing to themselves; it's so normal a part
of childhood development that a parent might wonder about a child who
wasn't composing personal music and humming it.
Elmer
Grand Krigat of the Hummist Kult
-----Original Message-----
From: Nessie Russell <nessierussell@YAHOO.CA
<mailto:nessierussell@YAHOO.CA>>
To: F_MINOR@email.rutgers.edu <mailto:F_MINOR@email.rutgers.edu>
<F_MINOR@email.rutgers.edu <mailto:F_MINOR@email.rutgers.edu>>
Date: Friday, May 30, 2003 1:07 PM
Subject: Humming and singing
There is an interesting article on "Involuntary vocalization" by
Harry Eyres at
http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/fridayreview/story/0,12102,966166,00.html
The article mentions other pianists who hum and sing, but Glenn
Gould is featured. There is even a link to an Audio clip of GG
playing the Sinfonias "complete with humming". Try it out. Lots of
humming, singing and talking.
"But was Gould's singing - and is the humming of pianists in general
- an embarrassing encumbrance, even a sign of mental instability, or
might it be inseparable from the expressiveness of their playing?"