Today I wrote, what I thought was a very nice piece. Took me a long time to write, too. Then Disaster!
Learning curves come to mind. We all have learning curves to overcome. My teacher and mentor, David Darling always reminds us that there is no "good" or "bad" only levels of experience. So, after spending an hour on my post, my level of blogging experience killed it. I am a new blogger the same way my students are new musicians. I struggle with this, they struggle with reading a jumble of lines and spaces that are supposed to mean something to them. Just as I wish I had hit the [SAVE] button, or had not included crazy formatting, they wish they could play what they hear inside themselves.
That is one of the reasons why I give them opportunities to play improvisations. Improvisation is one way for them to "mess around" with sounds and harmonies. All judgment is suspended;everything is accepted. It gives them the confidence to deal with learning abstract ideas like what written notation has to do with sound, strengthening and controlling young fingers and ear training. It gives them experience to reach their goals. Most of them don't realize they have goals only because they find it difficult to articulate what they want.
I've been working with chromatic scales today. I found a wonderful drone (now lost to me) on YouTube against which I practiced playing flute. I found a new level of sound quality and relaxation through that simple exercise. So, I'm going to post this and try to relocate that wonderful drone. Tomorrow is another day!
