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Music is a creative art
form, right? Think about that for a moment......
CREATIVE Art
Form
To be an effective performer,
this implies that the imagination must play a very vital and prevalent
role in your music-making.
IMAGINATION.....images
Images created by music
might very often be representative, or at least strongly suggestive,
of real-world events (think of Beethoven's Pastoral pictures).
Or, it may represent nothing at all.....or maybe just a subtle
thought or emotion. This elusive quality is what makes music MAGICAL.
Exisiting in the medium
of TIME, however, gives music a very special quality as an art
form. The fact that music is intangible, odor-free, and invisible
allows it to be perhaps the most abstract of art forms. This abstraction,
however, doesn't imply that music is "out of touch"
with reality. Indeed, the very opposite is true. Music is as "in
touch" with reality as any of the sensory perceptions we
experience on a daily basis.
The subleties inherent
in musical expression, in fact, make it more connected with ones
reality than conscious perception might first lead you to believe.
On many levels music leaves an impression upon the listener. Some
levels require very thoughtful introspection, others merely a
quiet and open mind.
As a player of music,
you have a chance to share very subtle degrees of the human experience
with your audience:
Anger, love, indifference,
green, tall, scary, rivers, bicycles, memories, purple, apathy,
wars....all this and more can be brought to life- brought to the
imagination- through your music.
Sometimes we get so caught
up in the black dots on the page before us that we forget the
very essence of music.......EXPRESSION through sound. It's often
necessary to bring ourselves back into the very real world of
imagination.
That's what this little
exercise seeks to do.
First, sit motionless
and quiet for 2 minutes. No thought, no physical activity...just
sit.
When all has quieted and
you feel relaxed, click on the link below. Study the image for
a minute or so. (Study the image by simply taking it into the
imagination.......in other words, just look at it)
Then.......PLAY it. That's
right, PLAY what you see. If the trombone's not handy, SING what
you see:
IMAGE #1
You might have noticed
some things about your playing as you performed that fantastic
painting. Many folks realize that for the first time in their
playing careers, not a single technical thought entered their
mind. They weren't thinking about tongue position, slide technique,
tone production, and on and on. They were just PLAYING.
Some people have reported
that they've done things on the trombone they never knew they
were capable of.....played a very rapid succession of notes or
very extreme registers or very long phrases, etc.
They're able to do this
because the focus is solely on EXPRESSION.....making the IMAGE
come to life.
Now, try this one. Again,
sit still for a moment. Then,
PLAY THIS ONE
Very well done! Try this
one:
Imagine you walk into
a building and see this. What feelings arise within you? Play
them.
Again, you might have
noticed some things about your performance. You might have employed
musical sequences, stepwise motion, wide and profound leaps, ostinato
rhythms, angular syncopation set off by lovely lyricism....
This is exactly what composers
do. They bring an image to life using the very same vocabulary
you just displayed. This realization ought to make your performance
of printed music more expressive, more personal ,more IMAGINATIVE......more
musical!
Exercise the imagination
by performing literary masterpieces, poems, pictures, sculpture,
colors. Try writing lyrics to your favorite etudes. Then try drawing
your least favorite etude. (Bet you discover a new understanding
of it)
Every time you play your
trombone, engage the imagination in this way. Not only will your
listeners appreciate it,but your love of music will expand exponentially.
You will constantly be discovering and re-discovering features
of this beautiful art form. Stay true to what you believe is the
composer's intent, but never be afraid to offer us your interpretation
of this intent.
More exercises in imagination:
You walk into a room and
see this object. What music do you hear playing in this room?
Play it!
Dwell upon this for a
moment, then make the concept manifest itself in sound... (click here)
Your Beautiful Tone.....allow it to sound like THIS
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