Quick answer – get over it.
Go do some practice.
Ok. Not helpful.
Here are some suggestions for those days when your students
(or you) are suffering from a case of the can’t-be-bothereds.
Listen to music:
Listen to alternative recordings of the piece/song they’re
working on.
Listen to other works by the same composer.
Compare two or more recordings of the same piece. Why did the performer choose that
style/phrasing etc?
Work backwards – who influenced the composer of that
piece? Research and listen to their
influences. And the influences of the
influences.
Play “Abba to Zappa”.
This was a radio competition one summer on New Zealand’s national
radio. The announcers gave the listeners
two seemingly different pop music acts (e.g. Abba and Frank Zappa). Listeners had to find recordings/artists that
linked the two in a six degrees of separation kind of way.
Play YouTube Roulette.
Pick a performer/composer/artist you like. Type their name into the YT search bar and
listen to the first track that comes up.
Then, click on the first suggested item.
Then the next.
Creative Responses:
Listen to the piece you’re working on, and draw a picture or
write a story based on how it made you feel.
Sing the piece all the way through (singers could just “la
la la” or try to pick out the tune on a piano).
Play another instrument’s part. For example, if you’re playing lead guitar,
try and figure out the bass part.
Random suggestions:
Find the context - read a book/watch a movie set in the same
time as your piece.
Just start. Aim to do
10 minutes of scales/technique/tone/whatever.
Often you’ll get into the groove (1980’s reference there…) and will want
to keep going.
Try playing the piece backwards.
Find a 12-bar blues track on YouTube (gotta love the YT) and
start improvising. No-one can hear
you. You’ll be fine. Just try it.
Play along on one note if you must.
Start a reflective journal (more on this in a post to come).
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