By Jonny Schouten
This is a phenomenon known as frisson and it’s a sure-fire way of knowing that you have a deep emotional and physiological connection to music; that music can connect to your very core, eliciting and heightening feelings and emotions.
We still do not know whether this is an innate way that only a certain percentage of people’s brains are wired, or whether it is something that can be developed by anyone through their individual musical journey, but as a practitioner, I have encountered many students whose musical education, imposed on them by pushy and oblivious parents and teachers, would negate any chance of an emotional connection being forged between a student and their music.
Over the last 11 years of being a music teacher, I have often been approached by parents who are concerned about their children’s lack of practice, or that their child wants to give up the instrument that they have been learning. This is a totally understandable concern, especially if parents have forked out large sums of money on instruments and teachers, only for their child to lose interest and have the instrument gather dust in a basement.
My first question is usually “what is the student’s practice routine?” Oftentimes, the answer is something along the lines of “30 minutes per day”. This is perfectly adequate, and it’s the minimum of what I would recommend if a student wishes to make steady progress on an instrument. However, it is what is being practiced and how their practice is structured that can be the difference between a student flourishing on their instrument or consigning it to the trash!
Heart and Soul
All music students, particularly children, need to make a personal, emotional connection to the music they play. This, in my opinion, is equally as important as learning the playing techniques and music theory attached to their instrument of choice. Musical expression, the way a piece of music is interpreted, and the eventual ability to create your own music, is all predicated on feeling the music, not just hearing it and playing it. So, for example, if a student is wanting to give up playing piano because they are bored of just practicing scales, arpeggios and the pieces their teacher wants them to play, ask them: “What music do you want to play? What is your favourite band or song at the moment? Is there an artist that inspires you? Maybe there’s music from a video game or movie that you would like to learn?”
If students are allowed to explore music to which they have a personal connection as part of their practice, they will eventually look forward to practicing, and see it not only as a way to improve their mastery of the instrument, but also as a way to express their feelings and emotions. I would recommend building at least 15 minutes into into each practice session for students to express themselves in this way; this could be by learning a song they have a personal connection to, or if could even be just experimenting with the instrument in their own way and seeing what it can do outside the bounds of rigid practice…creativity is the name of the game!
We Are(n’t) The Robots
Many times in the past, I have taught students who are phenomenal musicians. Put a Chopin waltz or a Beethoven sonata in front of them, and they will give a note-perfect rendition of it. But when I ask them to play that piece in a different style, to play a simple chord progression, or to improvise, I am often met with a blank stare. This is a textbook example of students who have been forced to practice their instrument in a didactic manner; that is, where a teacher or parent has imposed a strict practice routine with little room for creativity or emotional development. These students may be wonderful musicians who can recreate most music that is placed in front of them, but they are essentially robots: they would struggle to create something of their own without instruction or improvise something on the spot, and they would certainly struggle to play in a band or ensemble setting where flexibility and the ability to adapt to what is going on around you are both of paramount importance. Any student who is learning an instrument should not have their knowledge of that instrument limited to the narrow framework of learning pieces by rote; they should be exploring how that instrument has been used in different contexts, styles, eras and genres, and getting inspired by the myriad amazing musicians and creators who use their instrument to create what others want to emulate, both individually and as part of bands and ensembles.
Every piece of music tells a story, represents an emotion, and is a window into the mind of the person who created it, whether or not it has lyrics. Each piece of music is capable of eliciting emotion from us, and no piece of music exists in a vacuum; it was created for a reason, by humans who wanted their music to represent something, even if they weren’t sure what that something was. Every note, chord, timbre and lyric can represent a moment in time, a feeling, a particular place, an event that has taken place, the list goes on; and the same piece of music can mean different things to different people based on their experiences and perspectives. For students, whether they are learning an instrument or not, I always recommend that they listen to as much different music as possible, and when a piece of music stirs a certain emotion, whether that is excitement, nostalgia, contentment, sadness, joy, or anything in between, I strongly recommend that they think about why that music has had that effect on them. For example, does it remind them of a time or place that was particularly special to them? Does it make them think of a particular person? Does it remind them of a story that they enjoy? Or, maybe they can’t put their finger on exactly why it makes them feel that way, but they know that they love it and it inspires them to want to emulate and create.
All these questions, and the approach of integrating music a student is interested in into their practice time, can then pique an interest as to what specifically in the music stirs these emotions, whether it is the instruments used, the tonality, the melodic shape, the tempo, or something else, and crucially, it can help students to know what kind of music they can use to help them navigate their emotions and feelings as they get older, which can often be hard to understand and a source of great distress. Music can be very therapeutic in these circumstances, and a very important tool for students to use to be able to identify, express and articulate their feelings.
