Flute Karaoke

I have a confession. I'm a closet American Idol watcher. I know. You can't believe it! Generally I don't watch much tv, but I started tuning into the show because my parents are big fans. RTP and I laugh at the judges' musical critiques as we draw transfers to the realm of classical music. What if you went to an orchestral audition and one of the comments was "Your performance was a little pitchy, Dog." Another regular criticism by the judges is that a performance is like karaoke. That made me think a little bit about fostering your own musical voice and breathing new life into the standard flute repertoire. We classical musicians certainly don't want to perform "auto pilot" when we're on stage. Of course you'll want to study recordings and try different interpretations of a piece. Another way I try to stay fresh is always programming new repertoire and playing at different performance venues. RTP and I are playing at the southwoodstock music festival tomorrow: www.southwoodstock.org. I'm going to play two pieces with cd accompaniment: Ian Clarke's TRKS and Cindy McTee's Stepping Out. This will be my first time playing those pieces in public, so I'm looking forward to seeing what will happen. I suppose there is even more danger of sounding karaoke when you perform with pre-recorded accompaniments....especially with the Clarke. Once the piece feels mastered, you may want to try playing on the back side of the beat at times and exploring the timing each piece allows. Since the accompaniment is fixed, you will have to vary your tone colors or energy level. In the case of the McTee, the percussion part could also be performed live which is neat. Will let you know how it goes tomorrow. Have a great weekend!

Relax and have fun!

I was reminded several times over the last few weeks about the importance of taking breaks and relaxing. In fact I'm taking a little break right now from a practice session. It probably first hit home when RTP started working for the state and I could see that he was getting stressed out over the newness of the job, etc. My advise was don't forget that you have 2 breaks at work -- USE THEM. Get up out of that chair and walk around. I just had a conversation with a co-worker today about how she shouldn't work through lunch all the time. Remember that the work will always be there. Lastly, an old college friend came to visit on Friday and working all of the time came up yet again in conversation. I was glad to hear that he was taking up piano lessons which sounds like a great creative outlet.

Is it no wonder then, that music teachers have to work on destressing students during their lessons? When I was teaching in East Texas, I wondered how some of the freshmen had time to practice after they told me their schedule - part time jobs, marching band... I suppose it's different for every teacher. Old timers like Debost, Tipton, and DeLaney would tell stories during lessons. Amsler uses Feldenkreis technique. Others might use humor or movement. We could probably learn something from dolphins. Did you see the story today? Apparently they blow rings of bubbles underwater and jump through them. That sounds like a stress reliever to me. Glub! Glub!