For my creative response to this project I decided that I wanted to sing songs with Darrin. This particular song is one that I mentioned had a strong influence on my music-culture in my first blog. For me, performing music is the most personal for of creative expression. It allows me to express my emotions and to slip away into another world if only for a minute. I love to be on a stage performing musicals, so I thought…what better way to fulfill my creative response? I am demonstrating my understanding of Darrin's music-culture by putting my knowledge to the test. Since I was the Broadway Nights featured artist the night I sang this song, I also got to participate in the friday night rehearsal. I experienced first hand Rebecca Trinidad's and Darrin's advice on how to better sing and act out my song. There are so many different creative interpretations of songs it is interesting to bring mine into a room full of opinionated people and get their feedback. It was definitely helpful and I think it made something click in my brain about how to approach music now. So for that I am thankful for this opportunity.
Elise Pardue
Monday, November 17, 2014
Creative Collaboration with Darrin Newhardt
For my creative response to this project I decided that I wanted to sing songs with Darrin. This particular song is one that I mentioned had a strong influence on my music-culture in my first blog. For me, performing music is the most personal for of creative expression. It allows me to express my emotions and to slip away into another world if only for a minute. I love to be on a stage performing musicals, so I thought…what better way to fulfill my creative response? I am demonstrating my understanding of Darrin's music-culture by putting my knowledge to the test. Since I was the Broadway Nights featured artist the night I sang this song, I also got to participate in the friday night rehearsal. I experienced first hand Rebecca Trinidad's and Darrin's advice on how to better sing and act out my song. There are so many different creative interpretations of songs it is interesting to bring mine into a room full of opinionated people and get their feedback. It was definitely helpful and I think it made something click in my brain about how to approach music now. So for that I am thankful for this opportunity.
The Sustainability of Darrin Newhardt
Titon states
“sustainability stewardship is not just about the music; it is about the people
who make music” (Titon, 31). Darrin has created quite a name for himself in the
city of San Antonio. Do I believe he has a sustainable career? Yes. I think it
takes a very talented person to be able to sight-read complicated music and
simplify it while improvising to get to the next section without throwing off
the inexperienced vocalist. Also, one thing I have noticed in this city that is
also true for the theatre scene in San Diego, people have respect for those who
have been in the business for a long time. In other words, there will always be
some sort of work for someone who left on good terms who was talented and apart
of the “in crowd” in community theatre. Darrin is a very well known and well
liked performer so I believe as long as he is wanting to do work here he will
be able to find it.
Broadway Nights has been such a
success that only a few months after it began it became so popular that another
theatre called Darrin and Rebecca asking them to bring the show to their
theatre and away from the Woodlawn. Like Darrin said, there is nothing like
Broadway Nights in San Antonio, as of right now it is very popular; however,
if it should close I would expect another theatre to open up something similar.
If it were to close that would imply that the “Cast Members” were part of the
reason it closed. So I don’t believe that Darrin would be immediately
commissioned for the copycat show, but I believe his talents still make him a
strong contender to be considered. Based off of “Misty” and seeing his cover up
for the mistakes vocalists have made and continue to play is something I am
envious of, but it is not a talent that is uncommon. Here in town Darrin has
admitted that he doesn’t have to promote himself as much. But that is only with
his theatrical and liturgical endeavors. He will have to start promoting
himself more if he would like to be taken seriously as a composer and start
holding concerts of his works. Although, he does have many connections with
possible donors and supports in the theatre world that would gladly support him
in his compositional dreams if he asked them to. Darrin has several other
compositions besides his church songs that could potentially be successful. He
will have to release more “performance ready music” in order to hold a
concert. His church works like “Commune
With Me” are simple enough for the congregation to follow, and musical enough
to be played by other churches. There is a beauty to things that are simple.
However, despite having connections outside of the state Darrin will still have
to work twice as hard to be as successful as he is here if he were to move.
I believe that Darrin is somewhat of
a local “celebrity” many people know of him. It doesn’t make him extremely
wealthy, but it gives him enough money to live comfortably. The path that
Darrin has chosen isn’t one that most people are brave enough to take because
of the constant uncertainty of “when will my next job come?” but I believe
Darrin has overcome this and thrived in the city of San Antonio.
Works cited
- "Broadway Nights." Facebook. Accessed November 8, 2014. https://www.facebook.com/BroadwayNightsSA/info?tab=overview.
- Caruso, Jim. "Castpartynyc.com." Cast Party. January 1, 2004. Accessed November 14, 2014. http://www.castpartynyc.com.
- "Ella Fitzgerald - Misty." YouTube. September 21, 2009. Accessed November 17, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPOlakkBlj8.
- Newhardt, Darrin. Interview by author, Woodlawn Theatre. Nov, 11, 2014.
- Newhardt, Darrin. "Vocal Coaching by Darrin Newhardt." Facebook. Accessed November 11, 2014. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vocal-Coaching-by-Darrin-Newhardt/91780287480.
- Newhardt, Darrin. "Darrin Newhardt." YouTube. Accessed November 12, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/user/DNewhardt/videos.
- Newhardt, Darrin. "Darrin Newhardt." SoundCloud. January 1, 2011. Accessed November 14, 2014. https://soundcloud.com/darrin-newhardt/.
- Pardue, Elise. "Elise Pardue." YouTube. Accessed November 10, 2014. https://www.youtube.com/user/EliseMarieStar1/videos.
- Titon, Jeff. "Sustainable Music." : In China. November 15, 2009. Accessed November 10, 2014. http://sustainablemusic.blogspot.com/2009/11/sustainable-music-in-china.html.
- Titon, Jeff Todd. Worlds of Music: An Introduction to the Music of the World's Peoples. 5th ed. New York: Schirmer Books ;, 1984.
- Whener, Kurt. "Woodlawn Theatre | San Antonio | Live Performance Venue." The Woodlawn Theatre. Accessed November 8, 2014. http://www.woodlawntheatre.org.
Repertoires of Music According to Darrin Newhardt
Darrin
compositions are primarily church, instrumental, film scores, Jazz, and Broadway
tunes. His composition teacher said don’t think of “liking” or “disliking”
songs, but think of them as “useful” or “not useful right now.” Darrin says at Broadway Nights and at church he approaches music by looking at the basic
structure. What are the chords, what is the progression, where is it going, and
whatever he can’t play he improvises while keeping the basic structure. “The
important thing is to keep going.”
“Misty” originally composed by Erroll Garner, performed
by Darrin and myself. This song is structured ABA the first two verses are A,
there is B in the middle, and then it returns to A at the end. If we were to compare it to Ella Fitzgerald’s
version, the first thing you would notice is the introduction difference in the
two pieces. Neither one is a direct performance from the score. The basic
accompaniment is primarily chords with embellishments. Playing the piece this
way fits this genre of music because it allows improvisation to come from both
the vocalist and the piano making the song unique. It is obvious that Ella’s
version had more piano and vocal improvisation in the song that the one
performed by Darrin and myself; this could be due to levels of skill and amount
of rehearsal time. Another noticeable factor is the tempo difference. In my
version it was more up-tempo and Ella’s was softer and slower. In most Jazz
music, including what I provided Darrin the night we sang this song, there are
chord charts. This also makes it easier for the accompanying band to follow the
singer, and take his or her own artistic freedom with the song. Darrin says
that these skills of improvisation have come in handy when performing at Broadway Nights.
Ella Fitzgerald "Misty"
Darrin also admits that
improvisation is one of the ways he approaches composition. He will experiment
with sounds and chords until he finds something that sounds right. Similarly to
“Misty,” “Commune With Me” has a repetitive structure. It begins with a refrain
that’s repeated, verse, refrain, B section (or a bridge), refrain, and then
there is a key change for the final refrain. Just like in “Misty” the song is
basically composed of chords with embellishments. There are a lot of repeated phrases
in the piano and guitar part. The vocal line is also simple which lends itself
to being improvisatory in the future. He also has a female singing with him
singing the octave above with no special harmony. But the fact that she is
singing along gives the audience more color to be listening to and a reference
point for where their voice might fall when singing. In the recording of
“Commune With Me” there are sections where Darrin calls out to the audience
inviting them to sing the song and giving them hints as to which section of the
music is approaching.
"Commune With Me"
Activities Involving Music According to Darrin Newhardt
There
are many activities involving music that Darrin participates in on a daily
basis. Every Saturday night he is committed to being the accompanist at Broadway Nights which is where we were able to perform “Misty.” The Friday
night before is always the dedicated rehearsal time for the Saturday show. The
featured artist is there with any of the “Cast Members” who would also like to
perform. It gives Darrin a chance to make sure he can play the music to the
best of his abilities and coordinate with the performers. Unfortunately, Darrin
has said that he hasn’t held a concert for his personal compositions since he
was in college. However, he is delighted to announce that in this upcoming year
he will actively be performing his compositions at Broadway Nights. However,
not all of his compositions will be able to be played at “Broadway Nights”
because they do not fit the genre. Darrin is also committed to a one night a
week rehearsal for church, and the services on Sunday that he plays for. This
is where Darrin plays more of his compositions. He writes many church songs
like “Commune With Me” that are performed during the service. Darrin has said
that many people do not like to call singing at church “a performance” but he
believes that’s exactly what it has to be called. The type of song and the way it is presented,
and how it is sung are important factors in how people receive it and how they
participate during the service.
Studio rehearsal
Darrin
holds voice lessons at his home, at the theatre, or wherever his students need
him to be to rehearse. These lessons are scattered and are not always constant.
Darrin is always out in the community music directing for shows at the San
Pedro Playhouse, Woodlawn Theatre, and wherever else he is commissioned. “Music
directing is a good way to promote myself,” Darrin explains. Now-a-days Darrin
does not have to promote himself as much because of how well known he is in the
community, people usually call him first. In his voice lessons he is also
connected with a producer that will send him singers in bands who are not quite
vocally ready to be recorded. Darrin will work with them and send them back
after he has taught them some basic technique.
Darrin
can also be found updating his YouTube channel and Sound Cloud with
performances and compositions he is ready to reveal. He also has his own
Facebook page for his voice lessons and for Broadway Nights where he can
update people on his musical activity. Darrin said that “back in the day” he
used to go door to door to promote himself, giving out business cards and CD’s,
but now, there are much easier ways of putting yourself “out there.”
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Ideas about Music According to Darrin Newhardt
Darrin Newhardt is the pianist for Broadway Nights at the Woodlawn Theatre every Saturday night at 10:30PM, and
has been since March of 2013. Broadway Nights is an Open-Mic type Cabaret
setting. Darrin has said that this event is based off of Jim Caruso’s variety
show Cast Party at the NYC jazz club Birdland. Jazz clubs have been very
popular since the 20’s; however, Newhardt has said there is “nothing else in
San Antonio like Broadway Nights.” The closest comparison that came to mind
was the Comedy Club. Caruso’s Cast Party is known for its laid back, Open-Mic
Jazz and Broadway atmosphere. Newhardt
says that each Broadway Nights there is a featured artist just like Cast
Party. Just a few weeks ago I had the opportunity of being the featured artist
and performed a Jazz standard called “Misty” with him. Usually Broadway
Nights starts with an opening number, in the past it was performed by all of
the “Cast Members” but recently Hostess Rebecca Trinidad has gone solo. Then
they have the featured artist close the show and then the farewell song is
sung.
This is the Birdland Jazz Club
This is "Broadway Nights" at the Woodlawn
Aesthetically, Cast Party and Broadway Nights might both be housing the same genres of music. But Cast Party has more guidelines; one of their “rules” is no sad songs because people come to laugh and have a good time. Although these sad or dramatic songs might still be performed, they are much more infrequent. However, at Broadway Nights it seems as if everyone lives for a dramatic sad song to pour their heart into. I’ve noticed that the featured artist will usually have a comedic song, an up-tempo, a classic, a belt song, or a ballad to perform. Neither is the better way, it just makes for different atmospheres.
The Links Below lead to different performances held at Cast Party
Not only does Darrin play for Broadway Nights, he is also the Music Minister at Forrest Hills Presbyterian Church. Interestingly, Newhardt said that the structure of church parallels that of Broadway Nights. So despite the fact that they are different genres of music, have different contexts, and different settings; the bare bones of having an opening, something special in the middle (the feature), and a closing song at the end, helps make Darrin flexible between the two settings. Being apart of the church gave Darrin the opportunity to write a song called “Commune With Me.”
Darrin Leading the FHCP worship team
One idea that Darrin explained to me that he was passionate about was music and politics. When Broadway Nights first started there was a “Cast” of about six or seven people: himself, Rebecca Trinidad, Melissa Gonzalez, Walter Songer, Jason Mosher, David Blazer and a few floaters that switched off. When Broadway Nights first began, these “Cast Members” would be the main featured artists rather than people from the community. Darrin mentions that at this level of community theatre it is important to be a little sensitive. Being aware of hurt feelings, not featuring one person over the other, not telling people “they suck.” Newhardt says that it is important to be fair because people aren’t spending hundreds of dollars to see these shows, and this is the environment where people can be exposed to new things, and be allowed to grow. Now, he isn’t saying to build people up and give them more praise then their talent calls for. “The secret is to be nice,” Newhardt insists. Little to do people know, that all the people at the top of the ladder are sweet people. It is the ones climbing to the top that are unprofessional and mean. Darrin truly believes that being nice plus your talent will get you places.
Darrin Newhardt
Born: October 6, 1996
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