“How does this song go?”

 

There are many times where we get so wrapped up in the technical aspect of playing our instruments that we forget that music is indeed a communicative art form. When we play, the end goal should be to tell a story of some kind that the audience will understand. I am forever telling students that “Music is storytelling”, or that “Music is sales.” The following are some ideas to consider that might make you a more effective storyteller.

 

Ø      Always play with direction! We all know what a drag it is to read a book or watch a movie that just isn’t going anywhere. Remember, if you aren’t going somewhere, you aren’t going anywhere! How we use our air will be a critical factor in determining how much motion there is in our music making. An idea that I like for students to imagine is that there is perpetual motion built right into our music- we can think of that motion as a compact disc spinning in the machine. Now try to imagine that your air steam is just as relentless and continuous as the disc spinning in the machine. Once you start to blow, don’t stop until you get to the end of the phrase or you need to breathe.

 

Ø      One of my goals is to make my playing sound as vocal as possible. When we sing, we don’t think about producing the tone…we just do it! When we are singing, the production never stops. Playing with continuous air and non-stop sound will lead to much more motion in your playing.

 

Ø      What kind of song is this? Roger Bobo once said in a masterclass that there are only two kinds of songs: Love Songs and Pirate Songs. While this is a very simplistic idea, there is a lot of truth to it! Determine what kind of story that you want to tell. There may be several different moods within the context of a single piece of music, so make the changes obvious and easy for the listener to understand. It is a great idea to assign adjectives to music- it really helps to be able to describe in words what it is that you want to do. Always try to avoid the trap of “just playing.” Strive to say something every time that you pick up the instrument!     

 

Ø      Do your best to understand the form of your piece. To keep the analogy of story telling going, know where your sentences start and stop. Know where your paragraphs start and stop. Know where your chapters end. If you can organize your solos or etudes even in the simplest of manners, it will help your phrasing and your ability to sell the piece immensely.

 

Ø      When playing, avoid sounding as though you are reading aloud fro the white pages of the phone book. All of your phrases should do one of the following three things: Build tension, Release tension, or Build and Release tension. If you aren’t doing one of these three things, chances are pretty good that you’re just hanging out. I like to call this “musical loitering.”

 

 

64 Crayons

Okay, I’ve got a confession to make. When I was in elementary school, I was afflicted with ugly thoughts. I broke one of the Kindergarten Commandments: “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s crayons.” There, I said it! What a load off of my mind!

 

You see, my Mom and Dad just didn’t understand the power and sheer sexiness of the box of sixty-four. All those colors—Brick Red, Forest Green, Yellow-Orange, Sky Blue. And that built-in sharpener- right in the box- how cool was that?!

 

Nope. I was stuck living in the utilitarian world of primary and secondary colors. “What kind of art can you make with eight colors?”, asked the six-year-old, incredulously. “Think of the creations that I could make… fuscia cows, burnt sienna race cars, goldenrod hamburgers…” The possibilities seemed endless.

 

This is the question that I pose to you: How many crayons do you have in your box? How many do you use? In order to be the most effective musician possible, you need to have the largest range of expression possible. Consider this box of sixty-four:

 

This represents a pretty good place to start. As you grow as a musician, your palette of colors will increase and you will begin to understand how different styles of music need to be played. Someday you’ll be thinking, “How did I ever get by with only 64 crayons?”

 

Time is On Your Side

One of the most troublesome aspects for lots of musicians is rhythm. There are a few things to consider that, if paid attention to, will make you a more rhythmic player.

 

Once the bus stops rolling, it does not stop. I like to think of music as an activity that occupies time. When I think about time in a piece of music, I go back to that spinning disc concept that we talked about earlier. The tempo of the piece is analogous to the speed that the disc is spinning. Think of the time and tempo of the piece as being represented by this constant motion. Once we’ve established that time will not stop, we need to concentrate on the pulse.

 

The pulse in music is the regular division of time as it transpires. It can usually be measured in a metronomic fashion, such as 60 beats per minute. Developing a strong internal sense of pulse is one of the key ingredients to really rhythmic playing…your brain should silently scream the pulse as you play! I’m always amazed that young players sometimes don’t have a strong sense of pulse, because popular music (be it rap, top 40, punk, country, metal, etc….) relies incredibly on a regular pulse. Once you have established a strong sense of pulse, all you need is a little math.

 

We’re not talking about trigonometry here, we’re talking about third grade division. If you can divide by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, & 9, you can play anything. One of the best pieces of wisdom that a band director ever gave me was “Rhythms are to be calculated, not approximated.” How true! Reading rhythms is no more complicated than dividing the pulse, usually by two or four. If you keep your head, even divisions of 5 and 7 can be handled with little difficulty. The key to great rhythm is simple division of the regular pulse.