Posted by Steve C on March 21, 2002 at 18:52:39:
In Reply to: Phrasing posted by Hiram Diaz on March 21, 2002 at 00:54:17:
I really like how Erik explained expression. He made some sence out of it.
One thing I didn't notice him mention however is where it comes from. When you're trying to phrase something, first think about how it makes you feel, what it makes you think. You must express YOUR feelings. When playing a musical line, find out of it feels happy, sad, angry, depressed ect... Next you need to find out how to express those feelings through your horn. One trick I was shown was to actually put words to the music. Think these lyrics as you play, Just make the horn sing.
Some music seems to have a more surreal feel, no deffinant hate, love, anger, happiness. Some just feel like, a warm summer day, sitting under a tree as you read a book and soak in the surroundings. See these images in your head, and make the music paint this image for us.
Underlined message, Its all about how you feel. You need to convince us of that. Read beyone what's on the page, its just a guide, not the holy grail. Erik compared musical and liturary expression. Great authors don't always use perfect grammer, spelling, and the like. You must know when to bend the rules, figure wheather or not a slur is used as a slur, or as a phrase marching? Does lagoto mean conected, or just longer and full-value notes? Should that accent be played lightly, or with extra weight?
You will never feel the same way twice (I don't think you will anyway), so you may never play the same piece the same way twice. This is what makes music so wonderful. There is no correct way (although some may sound better than others, but that depends on the listener).
Good luck on trying to find your own form of expression, I hope this rant helped some.
Steve C