My Musical Code of Conduct.
After a tough couple of weeks, it's time to get back to basics. I now have tendinitis in my left wrist, so Quote of the Day went out the window. I'm just thanking my lucky stars that I'm not a professional writer or pianist. No recreational typing, texting, or piano playing. Then I lost one of my church jobs due to budget cuts. Not the end of the world, but definitely a shock to the system.
In the communication lull, I've been giving some thought to my musical process. I've come to the conclusion that my goals should serve my process as an artist and not the other way around. My goals should be the expected (or hoped for!) outcomes as the result of a healthy and fulfilling way of working. Goals change all the time. When I finally reach my goals, they're only satisfying in that moment or few days afterward. What's most satisfying for me is the work I do getting there. If the journey is aligned with my purpose, shouldn't the goals follow suit?
I've written up a quick code of conduct for myself in terms of my lessons and musical development process. I'm hoping to use these as a touchstone in my studies over the next few years.
My Musical Code of Conduct
1. Be present.
Show up on time. Be fully in the lesson while you're there. Listen to your body and be physically present. Breathe. Lessons are a time for focus, and it's not right to waste your time or the teacher's.
2. Be prepared.
Have a clean coach's copy of your music available. Have your translations written in below the lyrics. Know the basics about your keys and time signatures so that new questions won't throw your for a loop. Know your music well enough so that if something goes awry in the piano part, you can hold your own. Write in your solfege and your count-singing syllables above the music staffs if you need them. Warm up thoroughly.
3. Be open.
Listen. The person with whom you are working is a specialist in what they do, and they are pulling apart what you're doing to make you stronger, more efficient, and more lovely. Take the feedback in. Apply the feedback as well as you can. Ask questions if something isn't clear. Reflect on your lessons carefully after they're done.
4. Be kind to yourself.
You are learning difficult skills that musicians spend a lifetime trying to master. Be gentle with yourself and allow the music to settle into your body over time. Beating yourself up in lessons and making grumpy noises doesn't help you learn the music more effectively; in fact, it slows the process down. You can't learn to do something well unless you do it poorly to start. Praise yourself for progress. Set your standards against personal progress. Compare and despair.
5. Be beautiful.
Enjoy your music-making. Treat your practice time as if it is performance time so that you are committed in your singing and follow through with your swing. Enjoy your vocalization in the same way that you would enjoy the athleticism of a yoga asana or swinging a tennis racket. Chances are if you bring that light and life to your work - from full arias to warm-up exercises - you're going to bring that light and life to your teacher's day, too. They will get to encourage and enjoy the best of what you do.
6. Be ugly.
Don't be afraid to sound ugly when you're working on a specific technical skill or if the character calls for it. Being human is a part of music-making. If you listen to yourself too much, you get stuck, you fall behind, and your singing suffers. Sometimes ugliness can be quite beautiful, depending on the context. You do ugly well.
7. Take risks.
Your lessons are safe spaces for experimentation. They are one of the few places where you get to play with color and the fringes of your voice. Taking a risk in interpretation can be the difference between competent and virtuosic singing. The best singers did not get to where they are today by playing it safe.
8. Ask questions.
You don't have to be smart and an authority on everything all the time. If teachers use words that you don't understand (which is about 40% of the time), ask what they mean. If a technical tip is not clear, ask for clarification. If something feels shaky, ask for repetition or reinforcement.
9. Be honest.
If you haven't done your homework, tell the teacher. If you got 3 hours of sleep the night before the lesson, tell the teacher. If you're coming down with something, tell the teacher. If you're struggling in a particular section, tell the teacher. If you have a differing opinion on poetry or interpretation, tell the teacher. To help you best, they need to know what they have to work with in that moment. Every day is going to be different. Every lesson will present different challenges. Let them be your partner.
10. Think, but don't overthink.
Your brain is both your best friend and your worst enemy. If you're too hard on yourself, you are not functional and you suck the beauty out of the music. If you aren't connected enough to the body in a simple and fundamental way, you're not going to be able to use your instrument properly. If you're think too long on a coloratura passage, it will have already passed you by. Let yourself be stupid. Follow the bouncing ball. Feel instead of over-analyzing everything. Your instincts know more than you do.
In the communication lull, I've been giving some thought to my musical process. I've come to the conclusion that my goals should serve my process as an artist and not the other way around. My goals should be the expected (or hoped for!) outcomes as the result of a healthy and fulfilling way of working. Goals change all the time. When I finally reach my goals, they're only satisfying in that moment or few days afterward. What's most satisfying for me is the work I do getting there. If the journey is aligned with my purpose, shouldn't the goals follow suit?
I've written up a quick code of conduct for myself in terms of my lessons and musical development process. I'm hoping to use these as a touchstone in my studies over the next few years.
My Musical Code of Conduct
1. Be present.
Show up on time. Be fully in the lesson while you're there. Listen to your body and be physically present. Breathe. Lessons are a time for focus, and it's not right to waste your time or the teacher's.
2. Be prepared.
Have a clean coach's copy of your music available. Have your translations written in below the lyrics. Know the basics about your keys and time signatures so that new questions won't throw your for a loop. Know your music well enough so that if something goes awry in the piano part, you can hold your own. Write in your solfege and your count-singing syllables above the music staffs if you need them. Warm up thoroughly.
3. Be open.
Listen. The person with whom you are working is a specialist in what they do, and they are pulling apart what you're doing to make you stronger, more efficient, and more lovely. Take the feedback in. Apply the feedback as well as you can. Ask questions if something isn't clear. Reflect on your lessons carefully after they're done.
4. Be kind to yourself.
You are learning difficult skills that musicians spend a lifetime trying to master. Be gentle with yourself and allow the music to settle into your body over time. Beating yourself up in lessons and making grumpy noises doesn't help you learn the music more effectively; in fact, it slows the process down. You can't learn to do something well unless you do it poorly to start. Praise yourself for progress. Set your standards against personal progress. Compare and despair.
5. Be beautiful.
Enjoy your music-making. Treat your practice time as if it is performance time so that you are committed in your singing and follow through with your swing. Enjoy your vocalization in the same way that you would enjoy the athleticism of a yoga asana or swinging a tennis racket. Chances are if you bring that light and life to your work - from full arias to warm-up exercises - you're going to bring that light and life to your teacher's day, too. They will get to encourage and enjoy the best of what you do.
6. Be ugly.
Don't be afraid to sound ugly when you're working on a specific technical skill or if the character calls for it. Being human is a part of music-making. If you listen to yourself too much, you get stuck, you fall behind, and your singing suffers. Sometimes ugliness can be quite beautiful, depending on the context. You do ugly well.
7. Take risks.
Your lessons are safe spaces for experimentation. They are one of the few places where you get to play with color and the fringes of your voice. Taking a risk in interpretation can be the difference between competent and virtuosic singing. The best singers did not get to where they are today by playing it safe.
8. Ask questions.
You don't have to be smart and an authority on everything all the time. If teachers use words that you don't understand (which is about 40% of the time), ask what they mean. If a technical tip is not clear, ask for clarification. If something feels shaky, ask for repetition or reinforcement.
9. Be honest.
If you haven't done your homework, tell the teacher. If you got 3 hours of sleep the night before the lesson, tell the teacher. If you're coming down with something, tell the teacher. If you're struggling in a particular section, tell the teacher. If you have a differing opinion on poetry or interpretation, tell the teacher. To help you best, they need to know what they have to work with in that moment. Every day is going to be different. Every lesson will present different challenges. Let them be your partner.
10. Think, but don't overthink.
Your brain is both your best friend and your worst enemy. If you're too hard on yourself, you are not functional and you suck the beauty out of the music. If you aren't connected enough to the body in a simple and fundamental way, you're not going to be able to use your instrument properly. If you're think too long on a coloratura passage, it will have already passed you by. Let yourself be stupid. Follow the bouncing ball. Feel instead of over-analyzing everything. Your instincts know more than you do.