Keeney Studio Notes - Weeks 3 & 4

IDEAS: to think about... "What can I let go of?....." Not giving the body another thing to do, but to let go of and free your self back into the natural way the body moves freely and dynamically. Also, perhaps a better word than straighten for the spine is to allow for lengthening and sequencing. Again, this is the natural movement of the spine. It lengthens and gathers, like the  gathering and lengthening breath I taught you :-)... Yes, how we shape our breath, body, mind and heart, is how we shape the music too. 

Mystery to Clarity...How Clear is your thinking, feeling, knowing about the music you are making? Whole Self, Tone  (breathing, voice, presence), Technique (all parts and patterns), Rhythm, Interpretation (knowledge and personal musical instincts), Ensemble, Listening...  

What do you need to do in your practice and musical life to give clarity and meaning to the music, to your playing and performing? Find ways of making the music come alive through thought, feeling, knowledge, dedication, discipline, discovery, delight, determination, desire, daring and play. This will give you the clarity you are looking for in expressing the music in an artistic and joyful way.

C’s - Care,  Consistent, Conviction, Clarity, Challenge, Choice, Connection, Comfort, Confidence, Concept, Creative, Charisma, Courage, Color, Commitment, Character, Change, Communicate...

Letters - Thank you for your beautiful letters about giving yourself an A...

Book - The Art of Possibility by Rosamund and Benjamin Zander. Please continue to read be curious about and do the practices. 

Studio Class - See schedule for performers. 

*Add to schedule:  Change in Studio Telemann Recital is in Chapel on Oct. 11th.

Halloween Concert, Oct. 31 in 175. Ms. Gedigian’s Class on Nov. 21 5-7pm

Preparation & Performance - Lesson Notes sheets and focus points, p. 14-16. Use these for lessons each week in your 3 ring binder. Record parts of your practice!

Creative Practice Idea -  Please focus on these, p. 33 one inch and fermata technique...  and creating long lines,p.34

*Read Long Lines quote in Zander book, p. 116

Body - Read Alexander Pages in book, p.40 and practice directions and active rest.

Breathing - Finger Breath and Flow Master, p.41. Use directions for observation during your practice with these breathing toys :-).

Embouchure - Know your aperture!!! It is the “hands” that shape your air and mold the music. Be a sculptor of your air, an artist...

Tone Practice from: Creative Practice Ideas and Exercises - continue practice as in weeks 1&2 & Slow Movements of Bach Sonatas, Partita and Mozart Concerti - 1 a week

Technique Practice from: Creative Practice Ideas and Exercises - Continue practice as in Weeks 1&2

Etudes - as Assigned

Solos - As Assigned. 

Orchestral Excerpts & Band Music - as Assigned. Orchestral Excerpt Book by Jeanne Baxtresser is the required. 

Letting Go...?

There is the preparation and practice for a performance and then there is the letting go, trusting... enjoying the freedom of a performance...


How do we do this? By practicing letting go in our Practice! 
This is available to us anywhere in our life to practice... and in practice itself...
It is rare that people manage to stop and quiet themselves enough and get into a situation of non-doing. It is a choice to leave everything alone and see what happens. If you do this then you have to exercise control over your thinking process as well. You must really wish to do nothing and let go of any doing. It is not being rigid, frozen or holding as this can create all sorts of tension... It is a matter of leaving your self alone and letting everything just happen... 


During practice we spend a lot of time focusing on what we are DOING... So, if you are going to do something don't you want to ensure that what your doing is is what you truly intend? How can we measure doing vs. non - doing , letting go?
We cultivate AWARENSS... and at the very least you may become aware of how your BREATH changes... This alone is worth it... To find an ease to your breathing ...This letting go engages the cultivation of awareness. It is best entered into and built up over periods of time in practice...


Explore what it is like to let go and trust yourself ? What else opens in your practice? In your Listening? In your breath and body, when you let go? Are you hanging on to things, ways, ideas, perspectives, energy, habits that you no longer need any more? Let one go and see what changes. What are the possibilities that you did not see, hear, know, observe before that are now open to you? Just by letting go you may experience something fresh, new, and wonderfully different in your practice and in your life? 


Take the risk to trust yourself and let go ... it is worth it...


This letting go, reminds me of the Alexander Technique idea of Non Doing...? Inhibiting your habits then not doing anything,  non doing. I believe this letting go, non-doing (that is itself active on another kind of level) is the return to our natural state, Alexander called it (Primary Control)...This is the peace and freedom...
I love this book Thinking Aloud - talks on teaching the Alexander Technique - by Walter Carrington.


Let's Design a daily practice that includes letting go, the cultivation of awareness, peace and freedom... in the of our whole life, as artists, musicians, flutists...


Ahhh, sounds like a worthy practice to me....


Letting go...
~ Jennifer


Here is a poem I like about this....

“Do everything with a mind that lets go.

Do not expect any praise or reward.

If you let go a little you will have a little peace.

If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of peace.

If you let go completely, you will know complete peace and freedom.

Your struggle with the world will have come to an end. “

 - Ajahn Chah