Clouds

My mother always says that music and the arts are what make us human. They make us whole. She also is quick to point out that the lack of appreciation for nature, art, music, dance, etc., is why this global community is headed to hell in a handbasket. I'm sure she would have a more colorful, East Tennessee-infused turn of phrase but I can't quite figure out how to work the word "cattywompus" into the idea.

I had a student who was learning the two Takemitsu pieces, "Breeze" and "Clouds." Easily Takemitsu's two most accessible solo piano works, I thought it would be a nice departure from the same old Chopin and Mozart. The student to which I assigned these pieces was technically capable and had grown to be quite musical as well so I figured these pieces would be a good fit that she could learn quickly. "Breeze" came easily enough but for some reason, "Clouds" was hitting a wall.

There is a lightness to these two pieces that should've come easily for her... but it just wasn't. I figured the idea of watching clouds float by would bring the character into focus, but the student just stared at me. "Have you ever laid in the grass and watched the clouds?"

"No."

That was part of her assignment for the following week. A very academically minded student, I was afraid her parents might object to such a "frivolous" use of time. I told her even five minutes would do the trick. The following week, my student came to her lesson and her performance had completely changed. It now had the lightness and effortlessness that had been missing before. It was a new piece.

As a teacher, I try to remind myself it not all scales, arpeggios, and octaves. There is more to making music than the notes on the page. Sometimes the music is found in the silences or just laying in the grass and letting the sky float by.