Grocery Shopping, Greeting, Gratitude & Connection: Part 3 Lesson

Grocery Shopping, Greeting, Gratitude & Connection: 

How we greet each other and establish a connection right from the start is important at every lesson. Teacher and student create the time and space for this to happen. This is the part of the lesson that is like selecting the exact ingredients that you need for a complete recipe. You have selected the recipe and are now at the grocery store. You remember what you need, what the student needs. You are looking for it in the moment to see what they have today. What is fresh, what do you notice? What may have to be substituted or improvised? We look, listen, feel and are grateful for what we have. 

This is all a form of LISTENING - The Art of Listening...

Greet each other acknowledging this important time you have together. Look in their eyes for a genuine moment and show your caring for them and your respect for the lesson and the music.


Notice their breathing with interest and kindness as they enter. What do you observe? 
Is it flowing or held?
Is it weak or strong?
Is their audible sound when they breath in or out?
Do their ribs move freely as they breath?
Is their a natural rhythm to it?...


Begin to connect and hear the sound of their voice. 
What is the tone of their voice? What qualities does it contain today? Is it higher than usual? Is is lower? 
What is the rhythm of their words? Are they animated, carefully chosen or lacking in energy..? 
What is the dynamic of their greeting? 
What kind of expression are they showing you in their greeting?


Observe the students body language. 
How are they walking into the room? 
Is it light and flowing, heavy and plodding? Jumpy, fast, slow...?

Are they aware of their whole self? 
Is their head balanced on top of their spine with ease? 
Is their a sense of balance and freedom of movement?
Would you describe it as connected or separate? Unknowing or knowing their body. Aware or not aware?...  

How would you describe their body language today? 
Is it one of:
confidence, doubt, openness, fear, hope, caring, happiness, sadness, freedom, respect, gratitude, excitement, balance...?

So, you have a plan and now you have observed what is in store for you. 
How would you like to proceed? What will you select today?

How about a few words of gratitude? Something authentic for you to express. 
Perhaps something like: 
So happy you are hear today.
It is lovely to see you again.
How wonderful that we have this time together with music and our flutes.
We are so fortunate to be able to make some music together.
I am excited to be here and for us to learn something new today...

Or you may say them silently too...

This kind of greeting, connection and gratitude sets the tone for a  lesson. One that creates an air of awareness and a promising beginning for a wonderful lesson.

Next, part 4, is to look at the Recipe that was given from last week     ( I have my students keep a notebook and 3 ring binder) and to see what the student has made.

Thank you,
Jennifer 

Preparation, Planning & Personal Consideration: Part 2 Wonderful Lesson

A Wonderful Lesson and a Great Meal both include:

Preparation, Planning & Personal Consideration.


What are you thinking about in between lessons/ meals, for your student/s? What have you asked them to do? What have their band/orchestra directors asked of them?

What new menu are you planning?

What are they finding difficult and need help with to transform and grow? 

What kind of recipe can you make to help them move through this?

Are they improving and growing via the nourishment you provide and are they feeding them self in between lessons?

Is their menu of growth and nourishment motivating and inspiring them?

What are their future goals and dreams? How are you going to design their individual lesson and practice? What kind of new recipe, menu do they need that is delicious and nourishing for them?

Recipe for a Wonderful Lesson - part 1 of 12

 What makes a wonderful lesson?  

For one of their final projects I asked my pedagogy students to consider and write about what makes a wonderful lesson. They were to use all that we had been studying, their education as musicians and personal life experiences. I hoped that this would also bring out more of their individual teaching styles as well as honoring the art of music and pedagogy. 

I in turn, did the same assignment. To me a good metaphor for a wonderful lesson, is cooking a fine meal. There is a lot that goes into creating, preparing and cooking a lovely meal. 


“The qualities of an exceptional cook ( musician)
are akin to those of a successful tightrope walker: an abiding passion for the task, courage to go out on a limb and an impeccable sense of balance.” 
~Bryan Miller

You have to consider who you are cooking for, what they would enjoy and what is nourishing for them. You consider the environment, the time you have and the kind of meal you are creating. What kind of meal are you making? Is it a simple snack, gourmet breakfast, ethnic lunch, romantic dinner, elegant banquet or a feast...? 

How connected to and involved are you in the whole process? Are you the only person preparing and cooking? If not how are you sharing and creating this together? 

What recipes are you using? Are they yours, someone else’s or a combination?  You have to choose get to know the recipe and all of its ingredients. You have to have all of them and they are best when fresh. You know it will taste the best if all the ingredients are of highest, finest, organic quality. 

For the most wonderful meal, you have to allow for each recipe to cook as long as is needed and to be involved and connected to it during the whole process. What kind of cooking is needed? Slow, baked, boiled, broiled, grilled, rolled, tossed, kneeded, stirred, poached, fried, seared, blended, gently folded...?

How much time will it take to prepare your meal?  You are acutely aware of how the timing for each part of the recipe effects the whole meal. You are alive, in the moment as you cook it. Does it need a lot of tending, encouragement, listening... or very little... What does it require, need to become a wonderful culinary delight?

You realize that their are an infinite number and kinds of recipes, ingredients and spices. You delight in and know that each one is unique, that it takes time to get to know each ones qualities, properties, and uses/gifts.  

You learn and are amazed by how they can be combined and how each one effects the other.  What kinds of spices do you need to add?   Perhaps it is something more bold or sweet or something with more refined and subtle?  It takes an impeccable sense of balance.

What kind of mood and environment are you serving your meal in and who are you serving? How do you know when to serve it? What kind of dish do you serve it in? What comes first, in between and last? What do you add or take away during the meal? 

How do you know when it is enough, complete, finished? How does the meal end? 

What do you have to clean up after it is over? 

What do you want to remember about it ? 

And, are there leftovers to take home? What kind of container can they take it home in and bring back for more at the next wonderful meal?

Recipe for a fine lesson has: 

Teacher & Student, Ideas, Imagination, Design, Education, Passion, Practice, Play, Information, Creativity,  Innovation, Positive Attitude, Love, Gratitude, Listening, Awareness, Personality,  Guidance, Sound, Encouragement, Heart, Communication, Connection, Curiosity, Daring, Dialogue,  Joy, Delight, Presence, Looking, Focusing, Openings, Spirit, Possibility, Thinking, Feeling, Observing, Movement, Laughter,  Risking, Growth, Wonder, Authenticity, Empowerment, Direction, Dreams, Goals, Future, Hope...

Creating: Connection + Clarity + Commitment + Courage = Confidence

How is practice directly related to performance, yet performance is not the same as practice? 

It is not a mystery, how creative, complete, connected, clear, committed, courageous and confident you are in your practice, is how you will perform. There is “magic”, music that happens when all these things align and you are in a state of trust and confidence, in the zone or flow. How are you at creating these meaningful, magical, musical, connections, clarity, commitments and courage as you practice, prepare, perform your music? Is your practice one of self and musical discovery, that prepares you for a connected, confident, committed, courageous, lesson, jury, audition and performance?  

Here are a few ideas to consider.

Connection :

The more meaningful connections you make in your practice, playing and performing, the more you will remember and stay connected to your flute, your music and your audience. Make your preparation and practice full of meaningful connections . When you do this, your brain will be activated on both sides and create more memory. The meaning you make, the connections you will create and the more memories you will have for yourself and your audience. M&M: Meaning and Memory = Connection.

Clarity :

The state or measure of being clear in thought, feeling, listening, looking, appearance, style; lucidity. Finding your own way and being taught through confusion, doubt, not understanding, leads to clarity.  Practicing with your awareness and open focus on creating clarity in your playing, music and artistic interpretation is the key to feeling prepared. Being taught and self discovery in clear, connected, meaningful ways will transform your playing and performing. The more clarity you gain, the more prepared you will feel. The more clarity and commitment to making artistic choices the more confidence you will develop. Clarity is a necessary step in learning, creating meaningful connections and choices in your practice, flute playing and music making. The discovery of these connections into clarity, commitment and the courage to be this, turns into confidence. Clarity = Confidence

Commitment & Courage :

The more connections you make to yourself and your music, the clearer you will become. The more clarity you have and in yourself, the more committed you will become and be able to express in your practice, lessons and performances. The more committed you are to making the connections, bringing clarity and commitment to all that you do, the more courage you will develop. Courage from the 12c., French,  courage: heart, innermost feelings; from the Latin, cor: heart, which remains a common metaphor for inner strength, passion and love. Playing and performing the music with a fearless commitment to what you believe and trust in is courageous.  The more commitment and courage you have to be your authentic self, the more confident you will be in your practice, lessons, juries, auditions and on stage as a performer.

Confidence: 

What is confidence? What are you confiding in, trusting in?  The meaning from the Latin root confidere is, firmly trusting, reliant, self-confident, bold, daring... Are you building upon the experiences of expressing yourself and the music in a trusting, confident way? Are you confident no matter what situation you are in? What is your optimum level of  “stress” for great practice and performing? Do you trust the connections you have made in practice and performance? Do you have clarity and commitment in and to your personal and musical choices? Do you trust the courage you have displayed and experienced? Have you made meaningful connections in this flow state, being in the zone, that lead to greater clarity, commitment, courage and confidence? 

Presence:

What is presence? What kind of presence do you create on stage?  

Studies indicate that your presence is the main thing that people experience about you. Here is an interesting  TED Talk by Amy Cuddy on, Presence & Body Language - How your body language shapes who you are. Try some 2 minute Power Poses before you perform.

http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html

Presence ( From My Book Creative Practice Ideas & Exercises for the Whole Musician ~ Flute)

Presence has & is : How are you creating presence? Explore how you, Express Presence...
• Light - There is light in someone who has presence and in a sound that has presence. It is visible and

expressive, alive, alight, luminous. Kinds of Light: candlelight, moonlight, twilight, sunlight, spotlight... •Expansive - It defies the limits of body and space. It is multi dimensional, whole, unified, it is eternal...

• Intensity - Passion, purpose, power, desire, direction, drama, strength, commitment, expression, focus, determination and interest...

• Enchanting - Inviting, magical, imaginative, wishing, hoping, fearing, visionary, dreamy, singing...
• Attracting - Compelling, has character, wit, dynamic, intelligence, sweet, loving, kind, beautiful, funny,

connecting, magnetic, seductive, energized, vibrant...
• Alert - Presence is present, aware, awake, attentive, alive, alight, encompassing, inclusive, cultivating...

•Authentic - Being yourself, knowing yourself, real, natural, unique, original, one of a kind, special... • Permeable - Open, vulnerable, porous, empathetic, feeling, compassionate, connected... 

Art- ticulation - HOW you Articulate and shape your Air

In the last 2 blog post I talked about Embouchure and then Air and how it Creates the Music... Now adding on to this idea of air, yes... but what about the How of it... That what also matters so very much is the Articulation of your air, the shapes inside your mouth and the use of your tongue and the way your Embouchure is forming the release of the air. 

Now think about and experiment with this idea:

It is HOW you USE, SHAPE and ARTICULATE your AIR & EMBOUCHURE                (body, brain, imagination, knowledge...) that really creates the MUSIC.

I feel that most people do not think about and use a variety of articulations via syllables, vowels and consonants to shape inside the mouth and to create the sound, the music. 


What kind of shapes do you make with your embouchure, your tongue, your oral cavity to ARTICULATE the music? 

I am always investigating, watching and listening to great musicians, teachers and talking my musician friends. I just finished watching this video, http://www.keithflute.com/Keithflute/pay-to-view.html offered by Master Classes NYC  a great set of classes that Maryann Tu has developed and runs in NYC!  Go to some of these if you can or watch via online:-).
http://masterclassesnyc.com/masterclassesnyc/masterclassesnyc.html 
I highly recommend you spending the $20 and watching! Keith so clearly demonstrates how embouchure, muscles, articulations... effect the sound and music you are making. There is so much for you to enjoy and consider in your flute playing and music making from this fine teacher. 
In this video he goes into detail about:
FACIAL MUSCLES
EMBOUCHURE
TONGUE 
SHAPES INSIDE
ARTICULATION 
MUSIC...

My experience studying with great teachers, listening and watching great musicians, asking questions and practicing all these ideas, is that all of these artists shape and articulate their air in artistic ways. That they have thought in detail about what they want to create and they either can just do it or most have found out, via their teachers, their own study and practice... HOW to articulate and shape each note, each phrase, each sound that they make into music.

We can learn so much by learning from wonderful teachers, from listening to and watching the musicians we love and becoming keen observers and trying to emulate their sounds and music... Discovering HOW they do it and how we create that, is teaching ourself, is practicing, is developing our artistry. 

Your ART- TICULATION, is HOW you annunciate, pronounce, give voice, life to the music. 

Be CREATIVE and ARTISTIC in your ARTICULATION choices. 

AIR CREATES- Pahud class and Galway chat

I  am always talking to the students about Air and what it creates... 

I like to say is:

YOUR AIR CREATES.... How you use it, create it, imagine it, know it, feel it, express it... Creates the MUSIC... 

I also went to the Pahud Class and Concert in Austin Texas last week and this morning read the Galway Flute Chat. Many wonderful things, inspiring to think about and learn from.

During the Pahud class and watching him at his concert it was clear that he created with his air. There was always a sense of ease and right effort in creating the music and an at one-ness with the music and musicians. 
Some of the things he said about air were:

"Air in motion, creates sound...

Not lips but your air, your wind...

Breathing, air is supported NOT pressed, instead imagine an inflated balloon... Bouyant...

Release the air, it is all in how you release the air... For Forte, release more air... for Piano release less air...

Use the and feel the air in the Sinus cavities, the Wasabi diet...
Allow the air to flow, send it and focus...

Place the breath in a musical place or an expressive place that is least heard... I want to hear the fantasy, your imagination in between the notes... use your imagination, air and body to create this... "

Below is something I saw and appreciated on the Galway Chat this morning... I was helping a student with her high Ab playing softly at the end of an Overture. Part of the 'trick" is knowing the feeling when the note is, STABLE or "locked in" when it is resonating and not to press it but to continue to support and allow for the resonance of the note to be amplified inside the body and in the instrument.... If a person does not have this awareness, knowledge and feeling then they might keep pushing and the note may crack, drop or be very difficult to play...

"The following idea might sound almost too simple, but with the flute being a wind instruments everything is triggered by the airstream. The airstream is the tool, which includes all our musical ideas. No air, no music. It has to go across the edge of the lip plate at a width of two Millimeters. The lips, the fingers, jaw and the tongue follow this airstream. Comparing this to violin playing: The bow is leading, not the hand on the fingerboard. We will find out that playing to the octave doesn’t mean to change the lip position. The lips will adapt to the supported airstream. I don’t want to simplify at any price, but I think a change of prospective can help to approach a complex issue.

Having understood this basic concept through the years, I could allow myself to look at technical details like the following one with great fascination:

Air pressure inside the mouth has been measured. The result was that we don't have higher air pressure inside the mouth in the high register. There is some change of pressure at the moment when we switch from low to high register. But once the high notes are stable, the pressure inside the mouth is going back to the earlier level. From this moment on, the resonating chamber inside the mouth and head is amplifying the sound of the flute (and not the amount of air we blow into the instrument!). The feeling is, as if the high note would lock in, independently from its dynamic range. Check it out!"

Matthias Ziegler

Zurich University of Arts

Switzerland

www.matthias-ziegler.ch

“It does lock in - and mouth resonation in octaves plays an essential role, 

basically you reshape the inside from an open vowel (aaaa ... like in LOVE) 

to a semi-closed (eee like in THE)... Though the fact that the air columns 

stays in the upper octave even after reducing the speed, has more to do with 

the inertia of the vibrating mass.

Thank you for this very interesting message, have a great day”

Uberto, London

www.ubertorlando.com 

Embouchure

  Embouchure

Your lips are vibrating membranes...~ Marcel Moyse

Embouchure: Formation of the Lips                        

The air, your whole body, spirit, musical imagination and your instrument create your sound. Every Face and Lips are one of a kind and  so is the creation of your Embouchure!

I have learned many great things about embouchure from all my teachers. Thank you for all your help and wisdom. I also learn by observing what great players do while playing, by listening to their artistic sounds and music making. Then I explore and try to emulate that sound and embouchure via my own lips, body, ear, air and musical spirit... Please do the same. 

Learn, watch, listen, experiment and hear what creates your most natural and beautiful sound. 

Your Embouchure refines the air and your sound. It is best to create a natural formation with your lips. One that has life, movement and is a Supple, Stable Structure and can Sculpt your Sound.

Let’s look at some parts of the embouchure, even though they all work together, in concert.

Top Lip: Aims and directs the Angle of the Air down into the flute. 

You may like thinking of the top lip as the top of a pyramid or  a bit like a beak to aim air. 

Aperture: A tube, tunnel like opening between the lips. When 

the lip tube is long it creates a   warmer sound and faster air. It                     

It helps to control air flow, to  sculpt & shape your sound.                  

See aperture section below.

Bottom Lip: It is like the base of the pyramid, a long, stable structure.

 It Connects to the lip plate, Curls out, or pouts forward and away from teeth and Cushions the air between the lip and teeth. 

You may imagine something alive there, inside the cushion, like a lady bug, so you will not crush it or this space which is the cushion of air. Most people place the flute below the red of your bottom lip. Release unnecessary tension from your whole body, face, jaw and tongue. 

More on Embouchure

The aperture can change the flow (dynamics): smaller as you get softer and more open to allow for louder sounds.  It can change the speed (register) via the shape and length of the tunnel, tube of the aperture and lips. 

Here are some of examples of how the aperture     may change shape for each register and dynamic.

upper register & softer dynamics - higher pressure and faster, smaller and a bit rounder

middle register & medium dynamics - medium pressure and air, a bit longer and more open.                          

lower register & forte dynamics lower pressure and slower air, more elliptical, thinner longer opening.  

(Forte dynamics may be rounder, and more open,  depending on registers.)   

Educate yourself and use your artistic, creative imagination to find your embouchure and sound. 

More things to experiment with for your embouchure:

Practice Bending tones, above and below the pitch for greater flexibility and to find your sweet spot.

Use Harmonic practice to learn the best use and balance of Air and Embouchure.

Use straws in different sizes to help with size and shape of aperture and length of lip tube/tunnel. 

Think of your air aiming at your left elbow or left big toe. (If you are using your air, pressure and flow “Bernoulli Effect” and embouchure well, then the raising and lowering of the angle of air is minimal. 

Use outside air and move the air into the flute, allowing it to ring and resonate.

Learn to buzz lips and use a chopstick for more balance and stability a’la Keith Underwood.

Use this idea: all air and lips, no teeth. To allow for the independence of the bottom lip and jaw.

Clarity = Confidence

I have not written for a while, but have been teaching and playing a lot. This always leads me to thinking a lot and trying out the ideas that surface as I teach and play. Lately there is a theme of teh week that presents itself in the weekly lessons. A few weeks ago it was this idea of:

CLARITY & CONFIDENCE

It started out as a question of:

How do I make something clear to my students and how does a student make something clear for themselves?

This in essence is:

How am I teaching?  How are you teaching yourself?

When we are both doing this in meaningful, creative, articulate ways, it is Clear. When this happens, something in us becomes clear and ideas resonate.

When we have these moments of CLARITY there is CONFIDENCE.

When we have CLARITY and CONFIDENCE together there is movement and magic in our self and in our playing. 

Teachers, are you reading the student to make sure that you are clear? When they do not seem clear are you confident that you can teach it another way? Are you open to the present moment and willing to offer suggestions and ideas to make something clearer? Are you able to make it a metaphor? Are you free to think and live outside the box and in your self and your students world to... Make the Music come to life?

Students, how are you receiving clarity from your teacher/s? Do you have the confidence to ask questions when you do not understand? Remember, clarity=confidence. Are you stopping at the point of confusion? OR, are you finding ways yourself to turn the confusion into something clear? For it to become clear in your mind, heart, spirit, WHOLE SELF... So that the music comes to life? 

And, having made a distinction between the student and teacher relationship, which is important, it is also true that we are all students and teachers in this together...

I believe and have witnessed so innumerable times myself and with my students this "clarity" and how these moments add to confident playing and music making.

It adds hope to and gives you another reason to go into and beyond the confusion, to move into clarity. 

It is challenging, exciting, meaningful and necessary for personal growth and in becoming a great person and musician. These kind of moments of confusion into clarity is the learning process and  is what great students and teachers love. This dynamic of transformation into the great mystery of you and the music!

Share with us some of your great moments!

Heartfully,

Jennifer

Good, Right vs. Depth & Beauty?

Thinking about the idea of "making something good" or "getting it right" vs. learning something deeply. I will always choose depth... I love to learn. For me, for something to be considered beautiful it has depth. I am more interested in the process than the outcome. I do believe that it may be right and good via my path to depth. I do believe that something may be simple or complex and still have depth. I do believe that the path to learning something deeply is a very worthy, engaging, and an important subject to share with our young people and all people. I feel that it may be lost to many as to why it is important and    the how, the process and mindful awareness of what we are learning is what is truly important and interesting. 

So, what is depth... I think that learning an art form creates depth in a person and the outcome is art. I think that diving into any great subject, creates depth. I believe in the importance of learning things and in knowing something or someone over a long period of time creates a relationship that has the potential for depth, for knowing yourself and the "subject". 

The idea that the "subject, love, people, animals, science, religion, poetry, nature, music, art...  is worthy... We all have something to contribute to a great "subject of depth" to learn from , is worthy of our in depth study. 

It is a way of knowing more of your self, of growing, of learning, of creating depth and beauty, art... in this world... It is sharing deeply a perspective that only you can give, given that you are a one of a kind creation never to be created again...  It is opening up the light of potential that is present, it is an unveiling of the beauty of this world and... that can not be found in a good or bad, right or wrong, but is found in the depth of you, shared from your human heart... to another heart... it is beautiful...

Thank you for your heart, your willingness to dive deeply into a subject of your choice and share your light...

Happy diving into your depths of de-light,

Jennifer

Mystery of Music and You and Me???

How did I find music? I came to music because when I heard classical music... Its unseen beauty was a sympathetic vibration that resonated in me, that it was like me... and I was and am, attracted to unexplainable vibrational sounds, to it's mystery, depth, and infinite possibility for expression...

The Mystery of Me

Music and I are revealed 

through the mystery of the unseen,

hidden in the waves of sound,

inside the nuance of the subtle,

felt in the heart,

expressed in e-motion,

an invocation, 

music, 

is returned in kindness...

JSK ~Jennifer Shawn Keeney

8/11/12

How did you find music? Or how did it find you? What was and is it that you connect to, that is unique to music and to you? How did you and do you identify your self with music? 

Please share...

Heartfully,
Jennifer

Free Things for TMEA All-State Flute Etudes

I have a new page with free information about the TMEA, All-State Flute Etudes for 2012-2013, available on my website,www.creativeflutist.com or www.jenniferkeeney.com

TMEA: Texas All-State Flute Etudes: (just click on TMEA Flute Etudes on the home page of my website)

Free Practice Parts, Etudes broken down into small parts and many ideas on how to practice them.

Information on each Etude

Metronome Motivation guide

Duets by the composers of the Etudes


Links to other Editions available online of the Etudes for further study

Videos at practice tempo and performance tempo

Links to more information and listening
and more!

Enjoy and let me know what you think :-)

Creative Practice Circles, #9 - Finding your Design... What is next?

What is next? 

Your Design is unique!

Find, get to know and grow and express yourself...

How are all your Circles interconnected, balanced and full of possibility?

I would love to see your Circle Designs. Please send them to me.

Here is one mine that includes the Circles I have written to you about thus far in our Circle Adventure:

Here is another idea:

Start with an idea in the center of your circle.


What are the ripples of this principal idea?

How does this effect the whole of you and your playing?

The ripples are endless and infinite... 

Creative Practice Circles, #8 - Performing

Here is a Circle I created with an idea at the center of each Circle for you to add your own ideas about what performing is to you. 

remember that there may also be things in your Circles that you do NOT want in your Circle. Or, things that not in your Circle that you DO want to bring into your Circles. 

Take a class on Performance Confidence. There are so many wonderful people, blogs, websites that offering classes, workshops and education. 

Here are a few I recommend:

Musicians Way

Bullet Proof Musician

Peak Performance for Musicians

Perform Confidently for Musicians

Practice Ideas for the Whole Musician

Creative Flutist

Creative Circles #7, Technique

Here is another Circle that is included in everyones Practice Circles:

 Technique

What is it and how do we develop, refine and grow it? :-)

The more technique you have, the less you have to worry about it... ~ Pablo Picasso                                                         Great dancers are not great because of their technique, they are great because of their passion...  ~ Martha Graham

In any work with scales, always practice with a sense of personal search and great integrity....

 Never practice for fingers alone. You must work for sound at the same time.... ~ Alain Marion

If you have a great technique then you have freedom. 

Freedom is gained through the mastery of a great technique. 

This mastery gives the musician the ability to express the music in an artistic way.

Thoroughly explore and improve your technique! Play with it, bring it to life!

Be disciplined, passionate, refined & creative in practicing technical studies. 

Always practice artistically, with awareness of the whole and with great musicianship. 

Remember - all this technical practice is - for the music.

As you play your scales, arpeggios, trills, tonguing patterns, chromatics, thirds...

They are music!  All the parts matter & make up the whole of music.

Always play with your best, most colorful tones. Use your most curious and alert attention.  

  Engage your genuine care for the music and for yourself. 

Activate all of your senses!

Feel the gratitude you have for being given the gift of playing a musical instrument.

Here is a Technique Circle I created: