The Music
Tree...Can You Grow Your Own?
The last few issues we
have been discussing the various qualities that make for success in
piano playing and in life as well.
Growing a successful skill is very much
like growing a tree -- there are many branches that must be
developed, but those branches are dependent upon the root system --
what goes into the tree in terms of nourishment.
Some of the roots are:
|
your environment
(culture)
what you listen to
what you read
what you feel
what you think
about
|
All the branches, such as the songs you
can play (your repertoire), your styles, rhythms, sight-reading
ability, improvisations, arrangements, and so on, are dependent upon
your world-view -- what you take in in terms of listening and
thinking and feeling and reading.
So what does that mean for you and I?
It means actively listening -- not
passively, but actively. Listening for chords, form, key changes,
and a million other things every time we hear music. I means
exposing ourselves to lots of different music styles. I often
recommended to my students that they sight-read some piece of music
every day that they have never heard, and purposely pick pieces from
all genres -- classical, jazz, folk, country, pop, musicals -- you
name it.
It will make a difference!
