Podium Patter

Sforzando (forceful attack): "Four old women in the audience must have heart attacks."

A Brahms variation: "Play this line like little crawling lousies."

To a violinist: "Your fingers are like spaghetti cooked ten hours."

To a cello student: "You must opening the windows on your playing." Later: "Ahhh, I see you opening the windows, but air coming in is polluted."

Softly: "Whisper like a lady moving in a silk dress."

To the violin section: "You play this like apple pie with separate pieces. All together, please."

Accented notes: "Play like one shoe fits, and the other is a little small."

Cuing the string section: "Like an airplane pilot. Instead of landing 'Boom!' pilot comes landing so slow . . . so slow . . . all of a sudden wheels are on the ground."

Diminuendo: "With expression--not like when you are turning radio down because neighbors complaining."

Marked rhythm: "Like cowboy riding a horse."

A loud cymbal crash: "Like breaking all the glasses in Washington."

A crescendo in the brass section: "Sound like a million devils."

A passage in Prokofiev: "You must make it like two bugs fighting."

A constantly repeated phrase: "Like blowing up a balloon."

To a cello student: "You play too serious, like you are being condemned. It should be like singing to yourself."

Tremolo: "Like a hag who has false teeth and she is chewing caramels."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.