Musician or Magician??
| Written
by: |
| by Mary
Kasprzyk Tokarski of the "K"
Trio, USA. |
| |
| Publication: |
| General |
| |
|
Date
written:
|
| November
2000 |
Today I was
driving my car, and something my husband Frank always says crossed
my mind. He frequently refers to me as a "magician . . . I mean,
musician" . . . "she can make her accordion talk!" You know what
. . . he's right!
What other profession can turn a person who's had a bad day into
a happy-go-lucky spirit! A musician can make you sad or glad,
exuberant, elegant . . . can create images in your mind of peaceful,
floating clouds . . . angry, turbulent storms . . . shining stars
. . . tumbling waterfalls . . . mysterious places! It's "MAGIC"!
There's something in the delivery of the music that lifts the
spirit to an ethereal place; where the world and all its insanity
just seem to disappear!
Thinking back over my learning years with Michael Fernino of Ansonia,
Connecticut, I realize that his guidance awakened my imagination,
creativity and "magical" musical skills, qualities and talents.
I remember sitting on my lesson thinking, "What on earth is he
talking about?" . . . as he'd talk about the movement of a phrase
. . . or motion and no motion! Over time, through experience,
and all of his prodding, I guess I finally got it! Of course,
maturity helps some, too; but learning to "listen" and create
from the inside gives the musician (magician) a head start in
life!
My whole outlook on life seems to stem from my musical creating!
I find myself giving mundane tasks in my every day life a musical
song, or chant, to brighten up the job! My musical training helps
me to "find another way" of doing something that isn't working
as well as I'd like it to! When I teach, I constantly look for
the things I like . . . and ways to recreate the ones I don't
like!
Remember that old phrase: "If at first you don't succeed, try,
try again!" WELL, FORGET IT! Learn to think, instead: "If at first
I don't succeed . . . . CHANGE SOMETHING!" Draw from all the musical
information we store inside to decide what's "happening",
then adjust your thoughts to eliminate the problem! (i.e., am
I using wrong fingers, are my notes correct, is my phrase correct,
is it sounding as I want it to?) Once the problem is recognized,
you can then decide on HOW to fix it!
Maybe it's only a new thought about the way the phrase should
sound! I have to admit here, that with many of my students, I
find this is the real answer! Most of the difficulties in performing
a selection of any kind stem from an incorrect thought! As long
as all the basics are in place . . . notes, rhythm, fingering
. . . then the only other way to think is SOUND! Changing the
emphasis on just ONE note in a phrase usually will make the entire
thing flow more freely! Finding that note is the challenge!
To instruct my students in this technic, I usually ask them to
play a small phrase without any accent. Then I ask them to try
putting in the rhythmic accent (not a real hard accent, but just
that feeling of beat accent!), listening to the result, and deciding
if it works. If not, try another spot . . . until the music makes
sense . . . a sentence of sound, if you will!
Given any piece of music, I set out on a journey to find out what
the composer wanted me to look for! Sometimes the title will give
me a clue, but other times, I have to really listen to what the
notes have to say, and then "create" an image in my head . . .
a story, if you will . . . that will guide me through the entire
selection!
This is one of my "secrets" to memorizing music as well. Having
this "story" (or "map") of what you're going to create in a piece,
makes you less likely to lose your place . . . EVEN if the worst
happens . . . like wrong notes, or major slips . . . you can ALWAYS
start up on a new part of the story!
Learning how to "think" this way depends greatly on your physical
ability to execute the notes and rhythms the composer gave to
you on paper. The rest comes with multitudes of experience . .
. and much patience! To this day, every time I play a piece of
music, the music remains the same, but I'm delivering it with
today's sense of being . . . perhaps happy, sad, angry, calm,
powerful . . . who knows!!
A great example of this is a piece I learned on accordion called
"Autumn Breezes" by Pietro Frosini. Some days it's a very gentle
breeze . . . other days, it turns out to be a hurricane! It depends
on my mood! However, the ease of ability I have in executing the
notes and rhythms makes me able to think of "other" things as
I play . . . like . . . maybe I'll make a HUGE crescendo here
. . . . a little echo there . . . an accent or two in a strange
place! Whatever seems right at the moment -- or how adventurous
I'm feeling!!!!!
But, I've come to the conclusion that THAT's what makes playing
the music so much fun for me! Whenever I stop thinking about the
"story" or "map" of my music, I'm not happy with the overall effect
I create!
Do remember, however, that the "ease" of ability in executing
the notes and rhythms can only come from the solid technical and
theoretical study of your chosen instrument! There's no replacing
lots of good practice!
The Moral of this story: Achieve enough technique to be comfortable
performing even the most difficult passages; achieve the knowledge
about music that's necessary to decipher anything you can pick
up; achieve an ease with your instrument by learning to handle
it properly and effectively; and THEN . . . achieve the ability
to release yourself from being the "player" of the music, to becoming
a "listener" of what you're doing!
By listening to yourself as others would hear you, amazing "magical"
things will begin to happen! You'll find lots of fun things to
think about as you play, new ways to express a phrase, a new sense
of accomplishment in your music . . . and consequently, in your
life!
HAPPY MUSIC-MAKING!
For workshops or performances contact: The "K"
Trio |
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