I’m so grateful these days for all the places in music that offer us the opportunity to re-group, re-calibrate, and re-commit.
What I mean is this: when you’re playing a piece (and especially when you’re performing it for an audience), it’s perilously easy to get caught in some inner story that leaves you breathless and rushing, or slurring through the measures, or just not having the best time. It’s like you’re groping blindly for the exit rather than consciously partnering with Beauty.
But if we’re attentive, we realize that music, by its nature, offers a host of natural “turn” places – the end of a section, the pause before the repeat, or even the held note or caesura. Here is the micro-pause where we can take a breath, adjust the rhythm, remember our initial intentions for the piece, and re-commit to enjoying it. Here we look up long enough to see Beauty smiling at us.
Many years ago, a man taught me to shoot a rifle. He directed me to lean into the flat top of a picnic table to steady my arms. “Take advantage of everything,” he advised, and his words have lived in me ever since, and not just when it comes to shooting, either. Every situation, bar none, offers advantages if we are keen enough to spy them.
We don’t have to go on as we began.
We get many, many chances to re-align with our ideals and desires. It is an aspect of artistry to recognize and seize the blessing of those opportunities.
And friends, as in music – so in life.
We can take advantage of everything. We can take a pause, re-group – and begin anew!
(pic of beloved student, taking a pause to smile in the most adorable manner possible)
