Weird and Unnecessary Things

"I want to make this sound."

He's a flute player, and he's asking for help from me, the Alexscovery teacher.

CHANCER: Have you made this sound before?

"No."

CHANCER: How do you know you can make the sound?

Silence.

***

I realise - he is chasing a sensory experience. I am not a musician, but I do know that you need a clear movement plan to do anything. I wonder if he has that…

CHANCER: Can you be more specific about this sound?

"hmmm… I know the sound I want. I need to change the way I exhale my air."

I give him my chasing-sensory-experiences speech. It doesn't work for any artist to aim for an emotional state. When actors do that - they exaggerate. An actor playing at crying isn't crying at all - and the audience knows it.

It's false. It's empty. It's boring.

I am not a musician, and therefore not as clear on how to translate my knowledge into his field. However, I don't need to do that. Instead - knowing from my BodyThinking - we need to explore his plan to use air to make the sound.

Because this the reality of the sound making - it is an action of the whole Self co-ordinating to, organise the embouchure & instrument, breath and invite the audience to share what he intends to communicate with his music.

In all of that - where do we focus today. And that depends on the activity plan - how he is playing the flute, in particular, how he is coordinating his exhale.

AND THEN IT BECOMES OBVIOUS.

While he is exhaling the air, he is busy pumping his arms to make his particular sound. As though that is what arms do. (They don't). And of course - it only makes sense he is doing this if he believes that his arms and the exhale have some relationship.

I don't know this - but I can find out by offering him a replacement plan for his current thinking. A playing plan to stop him trying to feel for his sound by doing all these weird and unnecessary things with his arms.

CHANCER: What do your arms have to do with changing the pitch?

He looks startled, it's an unexpected question.

CHANCER: Play it again, and coordinate your Self by reminding your system that your pitch will is being managed by breath, the keys and your embouchure.

We all hear it, an exceptionally different sound.

This is how you construct movement plans - the core idea permeating BodyThinking Online. On June 25th I am offering a free coaching session on BodyThinking Online, and a special offer that I will announce on the call.

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