Welcome to the "O"-zone

In the first few pages of The Creative Habit, Tharp talks about that empty dance studio and what it symbolizes for her. She says that many artists find the “major pause” before the creative process to be terrifying…painful…humbling. And instead of risking failure, they never start. Now, none of MY students would ever be guilty of procrastination, would they?

I agree with her that the journey toward producing something whole and beautiful and satisfying is daunting. I faced it this summer as I stared at a binder FILLED with glorious choral music, just waiting to be studied. Where do you begin this process? How do you begin this process? Well, you certainly don’t “get ready to get ready to get ready” (sound familiar folks?). You just begin.

I always begin with lots of listening…it helps me to hear others’ interpretations of our pieces. It helps me, as I watch the score and listen, to mark the things I like and make notes about what I would do differently. Listening. It is key. That is why I put links at the bottom of this blog page…to encourage you to listen. You will never be the musician you long to be unless you do. It would be like trying to write the Great American Novel without ever having read one.

I listen for a lot, but mostly (at the beginning) for phrasing. For the musical setting of text. For the musical pictures that the composer is trying to describe with tone and shape and dynamics and motion.

Not passive listening, either…active listening. The kind I ask you to do in the confines of the rehearsal. But more on that later.