Content dictates form • Less is more • God is in the details
– Stephen Sondheim
all in the service of
Clarity
without which nothing else matters.
This is the mantra at the beginning of both volumes of Stephen Sondheim’s magical lyric collections, Finishing The Hat and Look, I Made a Hat.
But of course, this mantra can be applied to much more than lyrics. Over the next few days, I’ll be considering each part of the mantra as it applies to teaching.
God is in the details. In other words, if you want to get to the ultimate version of your art, don’t focus on the vision and the large scale elements. Focus on the minutiae, and the big stuff will take care of itself.
It’s obvious that Sondheim agonized over the details from the way he has subtly revised and changed lyrics, sometimes decades after a show premiered. Or read how he eviscerated the lyrical greats Ira Gershwin and E.Y. Harburg for “Let’s Take A Walk Around the Block” because of the line “You’re just the companion I need at Grand Canyon” because no one says “Grand Canyon”, we say “the Grand Canyon.” He cared deeply about the details.
God is in the details in all of teaching, too. The details of timing a lesson perfectly. The details of knowing precisely what you’re going to teach in rehearsal, and how you’re going to teach it. The very specific and important details of making interpretive choices at the smallest possible levels.
Details are the most frustrating part for everyone. They were Sondheim’s passion but also the thing that slowed down his work. And so it is for teaching: it’s focusing on minute details of the music that most frustrates my ensembles in rehearsal (try working on the same 4 bars for 20 minutes of rehearsal), but it’s the details that most frequently challenge me as a teacher. It’s next level to clarify the details enough in your own mind to be able to convey them with ultimate clarity.
Which brings us to tomorrow: clarity.