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What
makes fluent, naturally expressive playing?
1. Rhythmic flow = a strong sense or awareness of pulse so that
playing has energy - each beat is a release of energy.
2. Stability and flexibility = the matrix or organisation of the
pulse. This creates a sense of story or musical unfolding. It
is the underlying fabric of the music.
3. Good sound and natural phrasing = playing from the body in
a released and rhythmic way that serves the inner musician.
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How do
I find my inner musician?
1. It is a meditative not cognitive process: pure awareness.Trust
in your innate rhythmic awareness and power: tune into the pulse
and how it organises into an unfolding matrix and let the body flow
with it.
2. Trust in your tonal awareness - your natural ability to understand
melody and harmony. Hear the sounds clearly and "body-map"
the patterns of keys which make those sounds.
3. Notice the things you do to make those musical sounds and tag
them.
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Notice
how we can be distracted! The inner musician is all too easily
blocked by the following things:
1. Passive/automatic playing. There are two kinds: not focusing
at all (more like playing a CD than the keyboard) and decoding
from notated material.
2. Trying to get it right materially or make it "sound"
good.
3. Physical, mental or even emotional tension caused by the above.
The ego gets in the way - learn to put it aside!
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Why
do I have to play training pieces and why should I improvise? I
want to play famous tunes!
1. These pieces are carefully designed to give you the musical components
in a logical and digestible sequence.
2. Improvisation is truly active musicianship. Any piece
is only as good as the musician playing it. You don't want to ruin
your favourite song! Train yourself musically first!
3. They provide you with new, clear benchmarks. Trust them! |
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