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... 

1st of 9 posts on Creative Practice Circles, #1

You are your own window into knowing your self, your practice, your musical life. Consider your practice life and how it is a mirror of your musical life. What would you put in your Circle that represents the design of your whole musical life? Write your name in the window and freely write, doodle, draw, the elements of your practice in the circle of your musical life.

Next Post will continue on with more ideas about what is inside your Circle of Practice!

Let me know what you came up with :-)

Here are some ideas about Circles, Communication, Community and Connection:

Creative Practice Circles

Creative Circles              

We acquire the strength we have overcome. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Creative Circles are a way of tapping into the natural flow of our creativity. The brain works in non linear ways and takes an idea, connecting it by associations & images. Creative Circles  is another way to organize your self and to tap into your creative side. Use this for any idea, subject, goal, dream... anything that you are trying to understand, play with, learn bring to life. Here is a creative circle for you to look at that I created. Play with one today to explore your self and dreams... your tone... a musical idea, or ______?

Enjoy, be playful and free!

More Circles soon!

More Ideas: See my book and classes Creative Circles.

Listen: to inspirational music.                                                               CD: make your own play list of music that inspires you.     

 Look : Mandalas

Creating and Cultivating Presence in Practice and Performance.

Here are a few ideas on creating and cultivating Presence in your life, practice and performances. 
Also, last night I was reading a wonderful book, Life is a Verb by Patti Digh, her blog is, http://www.37days.typepad.com/. On pages 46- 48 she talks about presence and how we hold presence for each other and receive presence from another. It is so beautiful, the book and these pages on Presence... 

Enjoy,

Jennifer

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others. - Marianne Williamson

What is Presence ? And how are you accepting and holding Presence for another?

. •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...

Permeable

Listen: to NPR Series 50 Great Voices

The Art of Possibility- Zander

I have been reading along with my students this semester, The Art of Possibility, by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander. What a wonderful book full of inspiring stories, ideas, and real life practices to engage in life... in making music of life...  Thank you for writing this book! I highly recommend it! The Art of Possibility


The 12 practices are:
1. It's all Invented
2. Stepping into a Universe of Possibility
3. Giving an A
4. Being a Contribution
5. Leading from Any Chair
6. Rule Number 6
7. The Way Things Are
8. Giving Way to Passion
9. Lighting A Spark 
10. Being the Board
11. Creating Frameworks for Possibility
12. Telling the WE Story




Try them and see how your life changes and the lives around you... Let me know what it creates in your world. 

Here is a wonderful TED Talk by Ben Zander on Classical Music and Passion... Also full of inspirational ideas of how alive and well classical music can be... and how we listen and what "impulse" is in phrasing... Thank you Ben!


Heartfully,
Jennifer

All State Flute Etudes - Texas

It is that time of year again - All State Etudes are out!!! I enjoy teaching these Etudes as there is so much potential for the students to learn about music and grow as flutists, musicians and people. Because they are so challenging and the process of learning and performing them is so intense they have the opportunity for great growth. So for me the HOW of how they learn these is so important. Well, the HOW in how we learn in general is so meaningful and important to me as an educator and as a person who genuinely loves to learn and teach. So, each year I give a series of Master Classes using these Etudes as a means to learn about music, flute and the unity of Practice and Performance. The classes start in Austin, Texas the last week of July and continue to Houston, Texas the first week of August. I also give a class for the Houston Flute Club and at the University of Houston as well as for various other organizations in Texas. 


Below I will post a few of my hand outs on these Etudes.  If you would like to purchase a set of my practice parts please contact me. The cost is $15 and I will send you the pdf of them. 
All the best to the students learning the Etudes this year! 


~ Happy Practicing
 Jennifer

All State Etude #1

Caprice no.29 in F# Major by Karg-Elert

1. Capture the:

Tempo: e. = 108-126   - Work up your tempo slowly. Use Metronome Motivation Chart. Practice short chunks of music at high and turtle speed.

Mood:  With Velocity, Extremely Swift, Tingling, Sparkling. This is an Effervescent, Popping, Electric piece that is a little Mischievous too! Get into character and create this mood with the sounds you are making.  The unique sound of the key F# Major contributes greatly to the mood. Get to know and become great friends with this “yellow key” F# Major. 

Style: 2Oth Century with Late Romantic and Expressionistic Style.  Karg - Elert loved  J.S. Bach’s music and this influenced his style and composing. 

1. Shape the Dynamics : There are extreme dynamics from pp to F. Play what is written and also shape your Dynamic Design between written Dynamic Markings. Practice playing the pp in mf and f too to always create a great tone on each note. 

1. Color the Tone : In this Etude think of your tone color as central to the bright sunny yellow of F#. How you color your tone on the accents and slurs is essential. Use vibrato and vowel shapes to help you color and bring life and importance to special notes and high points in the your phrasing.

1. Mold the Articulation : This is key to making this piece coming to life. Remember that the staccato notes need to have a consistently great tone quality on every note. The beginning, middle and ending of every note matters even when it is short! Practice all slurred and when you tongue it make sure that at slower tempi you allow the notes to be full length. As you increase the tempo the notes will become shorter. Most people focus on the start of the note, which is important, but also consider how you are releasing each note too. Use your “Breath Builder, Flow Master” to create light moving fast air for your tongue to move through and articulate. 

1. Contour the Meter : This is in 6/16. It can be counted at first in 6 and then felt in a big 2. The notes are metrically displaced over the bar line which look sort of strange at first. However notice that the accents keep the sound of a more traditional meter. It is quirky and fun to play in this 6/16.

1. Drive the Rhythm : The rhythm of the 16th pulse is constant creating a constant foot on the gas pedal, yet the slurs show us the the scenery we need to enjoy the drive. Remember finding the heartbeat, pulse of any piece is essential and is the life blood of the music. Music exists in time. 

1. Express the Form: There are 5 basic Motives in this Caprice. You will see these revealed in each of the Practice Parts. Enjoy the great composing of Karg-Elert and how he so exquisitely composed this piece. Take apart the puzzle, discover and explore the parts and put them together again to see the  Motives and the form of this Caprice.  

1. Say rhythms out loud and over exaggerate the accents and articulations. Notice all the sharps and enter the land of F#Major.

2. Practice each part 3-7 times as directed in number 3. 

3. Practice very slowly with metronome on sixteenth note Subdivided 2 on each an unaccented sixteenth note. Leave accented notes single tongued so that you can really notice the accents. 

4. Use the 7 Levels of Learning, 25 Practice Ideas and your Metronome Motivation Charts. 

Practice Schedules - Work & Play

I keep reading about my students work out schedules... which is great :-) It makes me wonder about their Flute Work-out schedules? We all need to inspire and motivate our self to practice. I will write about that too... For now select a workout for your practice and do it! You can change it. Most important is that you give this time to your self!  Play with each work out you choose and bring your practice and music making to life!


A few Questions to ask are:

1. What is my daily schedule? How long am I going to commit to practicing?

2. Can I practice in 3 or 4 sessions, 2....? or do I only have the morning or evening? or early and late? 

3. Am I more of a morning or evening practicer? 

4. Do I have a lot of flexibility in my life schedule right?  

5. Do I just need to make a schedule and stick to it? 

6. What do I need so that I am practicing everyday in an effective and joyful, playful, productive way?

7. Am I thinking that I will get to this schedule stuff, but really I do not and need to do this now :-) ?

What kind of schedule do you use to help yourself? How do you devide your time?

Some of my favorites are in my Practice Ideas.  5 and 7 Part Recipes for Practice. 

5 Part Practice

  This Recipe takes 65 minutes of Practice :           Have more than 65 min.’s to practice? Yes!

                                                                                                 Practice on the part that needs it the most!

   1. Preparation: 5 minutes                                                  Examples are: a difficult piece, lots of 

                                                                                 music to learn, improving your tone, working

                                                                                                on a particular technique - like multiple tonguing:    

   2. Tone: 10 minutes                                                            then spend more time on that part of your Practice.

   3. Technique: 10 minutes Remember: A very important part of your musical

                                                                                                   education is to listen and study your music.

   4. Etudes: 15 minutes

   5. Repertoire: 30 minutes Great Practice + Great Musicianship =  Great Performance

 7 Ingredients -  Practice Recipe

  Creating a recipe for creative practice?

  Use Inspiration, Organization, Creativity & Action to create your recipes and maps.

  How are you going to divide your time to manage this?

  Create a practice plan and a motivational map.

  Remember: When creating maps and plans, begin with a goal that will have positive results!  &  Spice it up!

 1. Body - Mind - Spirit : Stretch and breathe -  organize and focus - be present and positive.

 2. Tone: Have a daily & weekly plan. Do not bore yourself! Work on something different & specific each day. 

 3. Technique: Create a daily & weekly plan. There are so many to choose from, do it... and invent your own too.

 4. Music, Solos, Orchestral, Ensembles: What are you learning? What is a priority? Divide your time wisely.

 5. Studying and Listening to your music: This is a very important and productive part of your practice time. 

 6. Record and Video your practice, lessons and performances: Do it at least once a week!

 7. Perform and play for people: Make a habit of playing for someone once a week. Share your love of music!

The 7 D's of Practice

It is the end of the semester and a good time for reflection, relaxation and remembering important things that make practice meaningful as we go into the summer months. Look at these words and see what you may be missing and would like to add more of to your practice and music making! 

Happy Practicing! 

Jennifer

Here are my:

7 D's of Practice

Desire    Dedication   Determination    Discipline  

Delight   Daring   Discovery !