Recognizing Small Changes
What I write each day becomes part of my practice. Yesterday after going through my emotional inventory, a new softness in my mouth emerged as I played. The tongue, soft palate, and throat released just a bit which made way for new resonance in my sound. This wasn’t anything I anticipated, it just arrived in my experience as a result of approaching playing with a new perspective.
Discoveries like this are thrilling and inspiring to me. They are indirect results from a change in my approach and they inspire curiosity. The curiosity challenge I like to use is, “What happens when I _____?” You fill in your verb. Any small change leads to infinite new possibilities for expression.
The softening in my mouth was not the only thing I discovered though! As I was playing through an etude, I experienced an instantaneous tightening in my throat and neck when I came to the e-flat 2 in the music. Wait, What? E-flat 2 elicits a tension response? On my flute, this note is less clear. I have developed a habit of tightening to attempt to get the note to be more responsive. Not only does this not work, but the tension also limits everything else I play.
Now that I know my response to e-flat 2 I have the ability to change how I play it. Without ever recognizing this habit, I would be hopelessly spinning my wheels to “try” and get the sound and response I was after. The tension highjacked any possibility of change before I even begin.
What’s the moral of this story? Small shifts become infinite new expressive possibilities. Today, be aware of subtle changes in your playing. Anything from the way you move to deliver instrument or hands to a little less tension in the embouchure to softer hands on the bow. Small shifts magnify in sound and expression.
Be curious!