Simple melodies


I`m glad to share this with you. Sometime I desire to play simple melodies. It gives me a feeling of joy. When we play things which seems to be easy for us, we don`t need to concentrate too much about technique, rhythm, intonation or interpretation. We feel relaxed and this allows us also to enjoy what we are doing.

Our comfort zone is a natural state, where stress and anxiety are almost nonexistent. Being in the comfort zone from time to time will give us a good feeling.  I know, it`s not challenging or demanding and will not help us grow, but look also on the good side of playing simple studies or pieces: you can do it very easy, without to much effort and without mistakes. And above all, you can feel pleasure and joy!
As a professional musicians we need to arrive at a certain level in technique and interpretation. For this reason we should learn also difficult studies or pieces. This it`s not so enjoyable because they are more demanding  and often we are facing stress and anxiety. It requires a high level of concentration, patience to resolve the technical issues, patience for finding the right interpretation and to assimilate the entire piece. This process of learning a difficult piece  it can take one or two weeks, or maybe one month, it depends on each individual level. Sometimes you work on a difficult piece or study for some days and after this you see nothing, absolut no progress! For sure you asked yourself: "What`s wrong?" Well, it`s nothing wrong. Just take a short break for one or two days and then come back to the piece. You`ll realize that some technical problems are resolved and it sounds better. I can give you this example with the flute passages from the Firebird Suite-Stravinsky. There are some bars, technically difficult and in a very fast tempo. I played this passage every day, also in a slow tempo, but still, 3 or 4 days I saw no progress. It took me more than one week to play all the right notes in the right tempo! Simply, some difficult passages or pieces need time and patience. 

Taking risks and going out from our comfort zone will help us grow. It`s the only way to progress if we want to become better musicians and to reach a higher level. Still, let`s not underestimate the easy studies and pieces. I think it`s good to play from time to time simple melodies. In the end, the essence of music, that feeling of pleasure, relaxation and joy, it should be not only for those who are listening, but also for those who perform it!

An unexpected break


Dear readers, this year I`ve decied to write on my blog more from my own experience and less from the general problems or situations which appear sometimes in our career as musicians. Your feedback was, it is and will be very important for me, also from now on!

Everything happened during and after the travel back home from France. Nothing serious, just some digestive problems, but enough to keep me away from playing the flute for some days. So, I was obliged to take a break, an unexpected break. Maybe some of you had to deal with this in the past and you know what  I`m talking about. In this moments we are facing the feeling of not being able to do what we can normally do without problems. Unpleasant, isn`t it?
Sometimes is good and very useful to take a break. If  is planed, in my opinion. But when is coming suddenly, it`s not so easy to handle this situation. Because I`m an organized person and I like the predictability. In fact I can see that life is absolutely unpredictable and maybe this is a good start for me: to accept that in some moments we don`t have control, we are absolutely without the power of decision and still, we must go on. Easy to say, hard to do! 
In the first day I was very sad and frustrated. I was thinking just to my break without playing the instrument and this was not good because it made me feel little anxious, nervous. It was the most difficult day from all this period. The second day it was little better, but not very different: the same mood. My brain was full of worries and it was impossible to relax, to see the good side of this unexpected break. But you know what? Today is the first day when I feel better! I`ve realized that I`m able to do what I want to do and this is a very good feeling! I`ll not play the flute for some days, but apart this I can write, read, sleep, take a walk, watch a movie whenever I want during the day. No plans, no working hours. Now I`m able to see also the good side of this situation with much more optimism, trust and freedom! After some days of worries, I made a big step: back to normality! 

When we are able to see also the benefits of an unexpected break, we are able to go on with a totally different state of mind! Believe me, it matters!

Why do we love Christmas songs?

Personally I like them and I play christmas carols each year with the same pleasure and enthusiasm. They are simple melodies, but touching. I saw that my students love this songs.
We associate this carols with a feeling of joy, the special feeling of Christmas.This can be a reason but the question still remains: 

Why do we love Christmas songs? Share your opinion!

What does it take to become a professional musician?

We often attribute career success to fate or destiny, like being in the right place at the right time or just being lucky. In fact we are the architects of our future career as musicians. This is a process which takes time and is developed over years. There are no shortcuts.

The question is: what does it take to become a professional musician? We all know that hard work and talent are essential. This is true, but a career in this field requires also other important qualities like: passion, motivation, flexibility, creativity, self-discipline, enthusiasm, perseverence, networking skills etc. 

And still, I belive that the most important quality is to love music, to make it every day and to be dedicated 100% for it! This is not a complete answer to the question, is just a way to see the things from my perspective. I`m looking forward to see Your Ideas and Sugestions on this topic!

Deep Practice

Deep practice it`s designed specifically to improve performance, it can be repeated a lot, feedback on results is continuously available and it`s highly demanding mentally.

Remember this 4 steps:

1. Pick a target

2. Reach for it

3. Evaluate the gap between the target and the reach

4. Return to step one

To understand how deep practice works, we must understand the importance of mistakes to the learning process. A few years ago, the researchers did a study to see what determinates babies improve at walking. The key factor wasn`t height, weight, age or brain development. It was the amount of time they spent trying to walk!

"Try again. Fail again. Fail better."    Samuel Beckett

                                 

Musical Talent

What is talent? It`s a natural ability to do something better and with less effort than other people can do it. Talent is written in our genes just as height and other physical traits. We are born with it and cannot be improved much upon with practice.

How to recognize a child`s musical talent?
Here are some essential criteria for identification of the musically gifted children:

1. Rhythm

The child can hear and identify rhythmic patterns accurately, is able to find the underlying pulse and to keep a steady beat.

2. Perception of sound

Perceives differences in tone and pitch, can match pitches, is able to identify familiar melodies on tonal instruments. The musically talented child has a great enjoyment in listening live or recorded music and will repeat favourite songs over and over again.

3. Expressiveness

The child performs and reacts to music with personal expression showing signs of creative interpretation. Is fully involved and enjoys the experience of performance.

Other signs of a musically gifted children:

• Interest in musical instruments
• Ability to play an instrument by ear
• Composition of songs
• Absolute pitch
• Creates original rhythmic and melodic patterns
• Is persistent in new learnings 
• Sensitivity to changes in tempo, dynamics and tone color

Successful Musicians

                   

                        http://www.thestrad.com/latest/blogs/10-habits-of-successful-musicians