Breathing, music performance and pedagogy, creativity, the flute and flute-playing.
Greetings,What instruments do you hear?More suggestions by Maya to develop deeper connections to the music:
How does the music makes you feel?
Listening to pieces with narrationWhen my students are learning new pieces, I first have them learn the pieces without listening to any recordings. Once they have mastered the notes and rhythms, I have them listen to multiple recordings of the works, comparing the performances to develop their aesthetic senses. I often suggest specific recordings for students to listen to for phrasing ideas--often performances by great singers of the past. Students are also encouraged to improvise, connecting their imaginations and emotions to their instruments.
Singing the familiar tunes
Looking up composers on the Internet
Listening to multiple performances of the same piece
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| Moshe Aron Epstein |
The most valuable lesson I learned from the flute is listening. Listening not just with the ears – listening with all senses – sight, smell, taste and touch, listening with the soul, listening through feeling myself and others, listening to the world, listening. Listening made me observe tone quality, intonation, dynamics, rhythm, style. It brought me to understand how others are playing and being able to imitate at least parts of their qualities. But moreover: listening in its widest meaning makes it all meaningful, worthwhile…
Excellence requires an inner need to always find more about yourself, the composer and his piece, a need for a continuous development and to purify the means of performance. It often demands to forget yourself and let the playing just stream through you. Excellence is achieved in the rare moments, when the triangle: player-composer-piece makes a new entity summing all three parts up. The result is very personal, even intimate, often mysterious.
Playing a musical instrument, the flute included, is a rare discipline that combines technique, spirit, body and soul. I have been teaching flute for almost 42 years (a frightening figure, isn’t it?!), from beginners through professionals. I spend endless time and effort on the physical side of playing: from posture to breathing, from intonation to finger technique, dynamics to sound quality and of course to shape, style, and musical phrasing etc. But above all I look for the special encounter between the player and the composer and the message to be delivered through musical means. I put an emphasis on the fact that we should serve the music - be like a vessel through which the great music is flowing. The better the technique, the more subtle it should become.
Keep a good, healthy and true balance between the outer demands of the modern world and your own inner voice, soul and spirit. In a humorous way, with some Yiddish flavor it would be: In spite of the fact that you are, or want to become a flutist, be a MENSCH!
