Chapter Summary: Words can be a great influence for good or for evil. Sometimes words just don't suffice to convey the meaning or depth to a concept or a feeling, other times the right word can spark within us an emotional and physical response appropriate to what we need. Sometimes words tie us up and make us think or associate the music with a rigid, wordy instruction of how it should sound which can end up tensing and restricting us, thus restricting and tensing the music. I loved the notion of acting out the character of the music. When we can lose ourselves in the identity of the music, how it feels, how it reacts, and explore the music as if it were it's own unique identity we can come to feel the music. Words can, with the right association, help us on the right track to finding or recalling that feeling, but words without feeling is just stale air.
Key Concept: The right words with the right association can be powerful tools in our arsenal to learning and teaching music.
Key Terms:
Making Connections: Sometimes when I see or hear the word 'forte' I automatically get tense in my whole body, because I have associated forte in the past with some of those feelings or emotions. However, forte on the saxophone, piano, and singing are all very different, furthermore, forte for one piece of music isn't the same as forte for another piece of music. I need to learn to explore the words in my music and associate them in different ways to the character or mood of the piece rather than assuming that all fortes are created equal.
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