Storytelling

The last bit of self care for November is injecting more of yourself into your music.  

Like a lot of music, holiday music tells stories. And like other music, it can get trite pretty quickly, especially since you get to play it repeatedly but only for a few weeks.   

One of the easiest ways to infuse life into the music (to alleviate boredom) is to become a storyteller with the tunes.  Think about the words (what could be easier – they’re all right there to read!) -

• What is the mood?   
• Where does the story go? 
• Who is in the story? 
• What is the action? 

Decide the story you want to tell – and use the music to share that story with your listeners.  You have all sorts of tools to tell your story – tempo, dynamics, techniques (p.d.l.t, harmonics, damping, ornamentation, arpeggiated chords, etc.).

Modify your arrangement so that you and your story come shining through.  And each time through, the tune can be a different chapter of the story. 

Stuck? Not sure how to start?  Try this: Play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.  Now play it angrily.  Now play it playfully.  How about impishly?  What about as a march?  Now as a great tragedy. Finish it as a lullaby or as Wagnerianly as possible. 

Make yourself laugh…or cry… or feel pain! Relax and enjoy the story!