When I began teaching at Carson Newman, it was still a college. In the time I've sojourned with the students, staff and faculty of this unique school, I have grown with it, and am grateful to have benefited in so many ways from the truly fine people who make up the Carson Newman community. I'm grateful for each and every experience, for each moment of glory, and each moment of pain and travail. Sometimes the same names are attached to both glory and travail. Isn't that a beautiful thing? Thank you, students, staff, and faculty for allowing me to learn from you all. I've learned much more than I was able to teach. Dear students, you've taught me well. This month's blog post is dedicated to all of you who work so hard and faithfully to lead, learn and then pass on that learning to others. You're the absolute greatest. Five Recent Lessons - 1) Rhythm is the path through the forest. Keep to the path. If you rush, you will get there quicker, but, oh, the beautiful scenery you will miss along the way. If you drag, you lose perspective so that the sense of the forest is lost among the trees. To put it another way, we lose the sense of the complete musical idea because of getting lost in the foliage of the individual notes. That well earned sense of achievement we all enjoy at the conclusion of a work of music disappears. So it's important to set a realistic pace in the practice room, one that preserves the character of the rhythms, and keep to it in performance. 2) Take responsibility for your own shortcomings and playing weaknesses. The great thing about taking responsibility for ourselves and our own weaknesses is that then we can do something about them. If, on the other hand, we're busy blaming someone else for the weaknesses in our playing, then the solutions reside outside our control. Which would you rather have, the ability to change yourself, or a great excuse for not having a needed skill? I thought so. Reach for the absolute highest goal imaginable. Know that it takes work to get there, but don't shrink from the work. Many of my previous blogs deal specifically with motivation to work hard so I won't belabor it here. If we don't hold ourselves accountable, no one else will be able to do so no matter how hard they may try. 3) Comparing - don't do it. But if you can't avoid it, and find yourself giving in to the temptation to compare yourself to others, at least compare yourself with those under similar circumstances, and those who have similar career goals. If you compare yourself to someone less capable than yourself who isn't planning to make a living in music, for example, you run the risk of feeling falsely superior and/or overconfident. On the other hand, if you compare yourself to someone who accomplished what you're now working on when they were much younger, you will come away feeling inadequate, and may lose the desire to work. If you are a person of faith, then you know that your God loves you, and has made you and placed you according to His plan. He doesn't make mistakes. When the time comes, He will lead you in other ways according to His desires for you. So comparison deserves no place in your life. It only brings you down, or lifts you higher than is realistic. Judge yourself soberly, work on that which needs work, and enjoy the rewards of it. Comparisons are a distraction at the very least, and a devastating self condemnation at the worst - who can perform well under such circumstances? 4) Give practice time to sink in. If you're preparing for a junior or senior recital, and have only recently acquired the skills and knowledge needed for the works on the program, why not wait until those skills have become a regular part of your playing? We all recognize the need for practice on the piano. But we might overlook the fact that skills like multiple tonguing on the trumpet require as much automation as do runs, arpeggios, trills and other aspects of piano technique. Don't think that just because the trumpet has only three valves that it deserves any less practice than an obviously challenging instrument like the piano. Trumpet playing lips, tongue, and lungs do an enormous amount of heavy lifting that are accomplished with the stroke of a finger on the piano. This comparison is instructive because it illustrates how some instrumentalists intuitively grasp the need for practice to settle into the fingers, and how others do not, though we should. Skills need time to become habits if they are to be utilized effectively in performance. So, if there is time, take it. Practicing steadily and faithfully over a longer period allows new skills to be laid into the foundation of our playing where they form a bedrock that can withstand the most pressurized conditions. Conversely, jumping into a performance unprepared just to get it over with or because of pressure to meet an arbitrary timetable creates less than optimal performances. 5) Be honest. In other words, be honest about how you're approaching a piece of music. Don't try to fake or force your way through difficult sections. Your friends and family may be impressed, but those who know the music and the instrument will lose respect for such efforts. It's possible to fool some of the people some of the time..., but not those who know better. Listen honestly to the people in your life who are tasked with instruction. If they care for you, they will tell you the hard things you need to hear, but may not want to hear. Listen well, and make the most of good advice whenever and from whomever it comes in life, be it in school or out of school. I hope you've enjoyed these parting words from a grateful Carson Newman University trumpet teacher. The blog will go on, along with your continuing influence in my life as a kind of touchstone, though my association with you is ending. May God continue His rich blessings to you now and always. Comments are closed.
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GlendaI'm a trumpet player and music teacher aiming in this blog to help other Trumpeters, Music Enthusiasts, Music Educators, and aspiring professionals reach their highest potential in life through the study and cultivation of musical skills. Music Education
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