 |
CLICK FOR ADRIAN'S VIDEO BLOG
|
Over the years of working with clients many old lessons come
to mind and are put to use in getting better performances out of musicians.
When we are young we work on the fundamentals of our instruments. I think that
in many ways the musician who succeeds is the one who takes up the cross of
these fundamentals and works them until they overcome the physical obstacles
that stand in between the music, that is in them, and the outside world.
Hopefully, you have the good fortune of a teacher who is willing to tell you
when you suck in a way that motivates you to keep plowing through those
fundamentals.
We live in an age where self-esteem reigns as king over all
and unfortunately, good self-esteem is what stands in the way of accomplishing
what you want to accomplish. Unearned self-esteem is useless. Feeling good
about yourself, without doing something is meaningless. I strive to have no self-esteem
and when I achieved no self-esteem all that was left was the work and the
satisfaction that comes from accomplishing something. Making music is not easy.
Anything of beauty requires great effort. Communicating deeper truths requires
great effort. Effortless comes with
great effort.
Music speaks to the whole person, body, mind, emotion, and
soul. In order to get to communicate with the emotion and soul, we must first
master the body and the mind. The playing of scales, arpeggios, and chord
progressions lead to the physical and mental mastery of our instruments. As I
have recommended in earlier blogs, sing what you play so that you can learn to
play what you sing. This leads to a better integration of your instrument with
your body and mind. Do you hear it first
and then play it or do you play it first and then hear it. This is what gives you
a more complete integration of body and mind. When you develop solos, sing them
before you bring them to your instrument. If it sounds good when it is sung it
will sound good when you play it on your instrument. This will also break your
solos out of the grip of the scale that you are basing your solo on.
-Adrian Yañez
