Traversing Terrain

A lot like performing

As I walked in the woods this morning I started to tune into the way my feet responded to the uneven surfaces I walked on.  Rocks, roots, and gullies interrupted the smooth moist earth of the trail.  Several times I didn’t see the rock that my foot encountered and lost my footing, at other times my toes banged into a protruding rock in my path.

I was appreciative of how my feet were flexible to respond to the lost footing and the encounters with hard rocks. If they weren’t, I imagine I would have sprained my ankle multiple times today and maybe broken a toe.  

But that is not all, my appreciation for the flexibility didn’t end at the ankle, I began to notice how the rest of my body contributed to the sudden shifts in balance.  It happened in an instant and my whole body responded.

So how is performing like traversing uneven terrain?

When we are performing we face a certain amount of unknown and may encounter surprises along the way (not enough air, an unexpected change in tempo by a collaborator, a loud noise in our space, nerves that emerge unexpectedly), but we don’t have to let these surprises derail us from our musical intention.

The key is flexibility and awareness, These qualities have a reciprocal relationship, they allow responsiveness and resiliency in our body, which enable us to adjust, to respond. 

Practicing flexibility and awareness is so important to my life as a musician, to life in general, I intentionally practice it all the time.  Fine-tuning my visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile senses during a walk or perform a less than interesting activity makes the experience all the richer with learning opportunities.  Think of the places where you get narrow.  

I would argue that being infront of a computer like I am now, is one of the biggest challenges we face in our modern world.  It is so easy to visually focus on the screen and descend into thinking that a sense of the body is lost.  Notice how you are at this very moment. Where is your head? How is your breathing? Begin to notice the sensations of movement and touch, hearing the layers of sounds around you and seeing around your screen as you focus on the screen.  The opening of your awareness will not only allow you to breathe more deeply it will allow you to notice your position is space and adjust if you are in a sub-optimally organized.  

Oh yeah, and you will also think better!  

Let your life inform your art!

Be curious…