Put 'Play' Back in Your Playing!
It's 2024! I am over COVID-19 (for the second time) and feel like I am about to explode with new inspiration.
Right before COVID, 2024 kicked off with a deep dive into "Infinite Play," a workshop led by Kyle Finchman founder of Infinite Play in NYC. Not a music-related workshop but, oh what a connection to music it revealed.
Infinite play is movement exploration through non-competitive games. Think moving around a chair without touching it in as many ways as possible.
Play is creative, organic, fun, and joyful. In play, we lose ourselves, move beyond self-consciousness, and become deeply connected within the body. In play, time has a different feel, some call it ‘flow state’. WOW! Is there any better condition for music-making?
I started thinking about the ‘play’ in my flute playing. How much ‘play’ has there been in my playing? How much ‘play’ is there in YOUR playing?
The next time you are playing scales or tone exercises move about your space sending your sound to different objects in the room and into all directions. Use objects low to the ground, or high up, the ceiling, carpet, or bookcase, all are in play. How about sending sound into the bag of cough drops sitting on the desk? Or underneath a chair?
You will find yourself moving up and down, underneath, around, and over different objects as you play or sing! Maybe even lying on the ground or ducking under a desk (keep your instrument safe). If you get lost in the scale or you would like a different sound quality, find your place, or adjust the sound but keep moving. Take your time there is no rush!
Can you play through all major scales as you move through the space in this way? minor scales? how about a section of a piece you are working on?
Be curious & let me know what you discover!
Parkour is a great place to rekindle your inner play!