Avoiding Commandments

Most of the road blocks in the path to good music making, are mental, and not physical.   They can be tough to overcome, and a daily dose of vodka, is not a healthy way to remove those inhibitions.    I know, a little southern comfort while struggling with Bach can be tempting, but in the long run, it just doesn't work.

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I find myself, when in my biggest moments, yelling at myself, and enjoying a donut or two.  What I learned is, as much as the will is there,yelling does not work.   Stubbornness can be a great thing; push us to new heights when times are tough, and help us tune out the truly negative criticism that can cripple us, but with the learning process, we have to be careful.

"Crescendo, Crescendo!!"

"Bring out the melody here"

"Faster"

Bring about immediate, but not always organic results.  Bringing forth musical spasm, ratted nerves, and then back to where we were to begin with.  These commands lack any real weight or purpose, they are impotent, they do not confer any ideas.   They do not encourage good music making, or any long term gain.   

When we sit down, at a concert, and the orchestra swells, that beautiful long, gradual, even sensual crescendo, this can do more for us then any of our commands.   It can be more potent then any lecture, or explanation we can give ourselves, in our own understanding.     These musical directions must exist in the mind, before we can produce it with our fingers.   The melody must be able to sing in the brain, before the fingers recreate the tones.   Our own mental pace, must quicken, before we can ask our fingers to move "faster."

This is only from observation and personal experience, but I sometimes hear when hearing a piece, it can increase my own abilities.   Hearing a performer, play it faster, or doing an interesting interpretation, increases our own abilities, to interpret.  We have new mental pathways, we can imagine it, in fascinating ways, and twist it further.

I recently listened to Vladimir Horowitz's recording of Chopin's Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante Op. 22 (included is the youtube link in two parts.)

I heard, something special, in it's conception, power, speed, every aspect felt new.  I always felt, that this piece was outside of my skill set.   Upon hearing this recording, the piece, became alluring, sticking in my mind, and despite Horowitz's technical abilities are far beyond my own; I felt this piece was finally within my grasp.

In a profound intimate way, Proverbs Chapter 23 Verse 7 comes to mind, and a phrase from that verse holds truth.

"For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he"