Affirmations
Program Note
Affirmations is a collection of 13 poems written by Andy Wilkinson with music composed by Michael Markowski. Together, they are intended to become a part of an ensemble’s daily warm-up routine just like scales, long-tones, breathing exercises, or chorales. Each line in these poems should be spoken by a chosen Speaker and repeated back by the Players three ways: first, spoken; second, the melody played in unison (A); and third, played in harmony (B).
The music notation is stemless, without a determined rhythm; only pitches are prescribed. Each pitch corresponds with a syllable from the poem. The Speaker will recite the first line, the Players will play the first phrase in unison. The Speaker will recite the second line, the Players will play the second phrase, and so on. The rhythms played should echo the rhythm of the words. After the Players have absorbed and internalized the poetry, a fourth and final statement of the harmonized music should be played through completely. This fourth repetition should be without the Speaker and without a conductor—chamber music style.
My hope is that, over time, these exercises will strengthen our attention—our attention to rhythmic nuance, our attention to phrase and melody, our attention to each other as we learn to listen more deeply, and our attention to flexibility and possibility as we work to escape rigid thinking and playing. Perhaps more importantly, I hope these exercises will help strengthen our intention—what we bring emotionally and poetically to our playing, the unspoken, the subtext—and encourage us to think less about how we make music and more about why.
Dedication
For Paula Corley
Rehearsal Notes
THE SPEAKER
In the conductor’s score, the poetry and a suggested rhythm is presented. The Speaker should use this rhythm as a guide for early rehearsals. Once the Players become more familiar with the poetry, the Speaker may deviate and vary these rhythms if desired, so long as the words still retain their own natural rhythm. Be sure to recite this text in a slow, measured manner.
THE PLAYERS
No matter what rhythm the Speaker recites, the Players should always strive to play legato, connected phrases. Each phrase ends with a fermata. The Speaker should not dictate when the fermata is to end; the Players should end intuitively, chamber music style, before the next line is spoken.
IN GENERAL
Don’t rush through these exercises. Aim to spend at least a week on each movement so that the poetry can be absorbed and internalized by the Players. Daily repetition is key and the gauge for progress. It will sound a bit messy at first, but messy can still be musical. When all four repetitions are played (spoken, played in unison, played in harmony, and played in harmony without the Speaker), the exercise should only last roughly 3 – 4 minutes. As the ensemble becomes more familiar with a particular movement, you may skip the first two repetitions and begin at the harmonized section.
OTHER SUGGESTIONS
- Consider introducing each session with breathing exercises to calm our minds and prepare us for the proper mindset.
- For an added challenge, try singing the unison lines at ‘A’ before playing them.
- Invite different students to take on the Speaking role. This fresh perspective will also create fresh vocal rhythms for us to tune into and further challenge our listening skills.
Text
Affirmations
By Andy Wilkinson
Whence we begin — the starting point
“Now-Here-This”
There is no other time
Than now.
There is no other place
Than here.
There is no other life
Than this.
“Something to Say”
I know the world
By how it makes me feel.
I say with music how I feel ;
I have something to say :
Something you can feel,
Something you can know.
“Architecture”
The rhythm in the beating heart ;
The architecture in the chords ;
The melody in soaring line ;
The music in the space between.
“Process-Not-Product”
Process rules, master of product.
The product serves the master.
When I follow process, the product is certain.
Process-not-product.
Process-not-product.
The only way forward.
Coddiwompling
“There Is this Moment Only”
I play how I feel, now ;
I sing how I feel, now ;
Not how I used to feel,
Not how I hope to feel,
Not how I ought to feel.
I am how I feel now.
“No Worry”
I will not worry
Should or shan’t.
I will not worry
Could or can’t.
I will not worry
Would or won’t.
I’m always do, I’m
Never don’t.
“Assembly Line”
Music is nothing
But one true note
Then another true note
Then another true note
With spaces in all the true places
Until the music is made.
“Practice”
With practice I become
Myself.
When I become myself,
I grow
Beyond perfection, grow
Unbound.
In practice, there are no
Mistakes.
“I Live in Music”
I live in music.
Music lives in me.
I speak through music.
Music speaks through me.
For music is the oldest poetry.
Where we go — the stopping point
“The Way”
You will not know me by the notes I play ;
You’ll know me by the way I play the notes.
You will not know me by the song I sing ;
You’ll know me by the way I sing the song.
Not by the music that I make
But by the way I make the music.
“John Donne It”
I am not an island.
I am not a singularity.
I’m incomplete when I’m alone.
I’m incomplete when I’m alone.
I am not fully me
Until I am in harmony.
“Manifesto”
I am this instrument ;
This instrument is me.
I am the bow, the strings ;
I am the valves and slides ;
I am the fingered keys.
I am this instrument ;
This instrument is me.
What comes next?
“A Higher Level”
The last step of a journey
Is the first step of the next.
I take a breath
Begin again.
I’m at a higher level…
I’m at a higher level…
I’m at a higher level now.
A higher level now.
A higher level now.
About Andy
Andy Wilkinson is a poet, song writer, singer, playwright, and visual artist whose particular interest is the history and peoples of the Great Plains. He has recorded a dozen albums of original music and has written seven plays. In addition to magazine articles and chapters in various non-fiction books, he has written four monographs: “A Family of the Land: the Texas Photography of Guy Gillette” (University of Oklahoma Press, 2013); “Storyline” (Dry Crik Press, 2017); “Surprise, Texas” (a novel, Zenchilada Press, 2018); “Mystery Mechanics: the Creative Process” (Zenchilada Press, 2020); “Llanero: a boyhood on the 360-of-180” (a memoir, Zenchilada Press, 2021); and “Raw + Ripe, Collected Poems 1965-2023” (Zenchilada Press, 2023). He has been recognized with several awards, among them the Kerrville Folk Festival’s New Folk Contest (1985), the Texas Historical Foundation’s John Ben Shepperd Jr. Craftsmanship Award, and seven National Western Heritage Wrangler Awards in five different categories. His visual art works are principally done in gouache, pencil, or pastel. Since 2001, he has been affiliated with Texas Tech University, having served as Artist in Residence at the Southwest Collection, as an instructor in songwriting in the School of Music, and as a teacher in the Honors College. Retired from his regular duties with the University, he continues to teach.
Publisher
Markowski Creative (ASCAP)
Instrumentation
Clarinet Ensemble:
Part 1: E-flat Clarinet, B-flat Clarinet
Part 2: B-flat Clarinet
Part 3: B-flat Clarinet, E-flat Alto Clarinet, B-flat Bass Clarinet
Part 4: B-flat Bass Clarinet, B-flat Contrabass Clarinet, E-flat Contra Alto Clarinet
Saxophone Ensemble:
Part 1: B-flat Soprano Saxophone, E-flat Alto Saxophone
Part 2: E-flat Alto Saxophone
Part 3: B-flat Tenor Saxophone
Part 4: E-flat Baritone Saxophone
String Ensemble:
Part 1: Violin A, Violin B
Part 2: Violin C, Viola A
Part 3: Viola B, Cello A
Part 4: Cello B, Double Bass
Flex Band:
Part 1: Flute, Oboe, B-flat Clarinet 1, B-flat Trumpet 1, A-flat Alto Saxophone 1, Mallet Percussion
Part 2: B-flat Clarinet 2, B-flat Trumpet 2, F Horn 1
Part 3: B-flat Tenor Saxophone, F Horn 2, Bassoon, Trombone, Euphonium
Part 4: B-flat Bass Clarinet, E-flat Baritone Saxophone, Tuba, Double Bass
Errata
No known errata.
Year Completed
2025