Practice journal reflections: authenticity and joy
As musicians, we’re often handed a path that was neat, pristine, laid out by others, and told to follow it without question, because that’s how we’ll have success. Perfectionism becomes its own beast - do as you’re told, replicate the “correct” sound, steer away from creative instincts…or just avoid learning how to stoke the fires. I’ve experienced it at times, and observed it in others. It’s easy to not explore the path of our own interpretation, to perform it by someone else’s ideas. That robs the process of its soul. Yes, seek out guidance and learn as much as you can - including how to do this for yourself. When you let your full self into the music, that’s when it becomes something real.
So let’s get started, with some reflection questions to get us thinking about authenticity and what it means to us, and then what it means to us to put our full selves into our performances and artistic choices.
What does authentic expression mean to you when it comes to music? Do you think you bring that to your performances? Why or why not?
Seriously, don’t let someone else’s opinions direct the answer to this question - what does it mean to you.
(Disclaimer: I’m not just talking about authenticity with regards to things like historically informed performance, but if that is included in what you see as authentic expression, then please include it.)
Do you dare make musical choices that scream ‘this is me’ - or are you still tiptoeing politely through someone else’s expectations?
Be honest here. Are you making certain musical choices for yourself, or because someone else told you exactly what to do/told you that whatever it is is objectively correct?
(keep in mind that interpretation is subjective, and anything objective are you finding out how to get there or just repeating creative choices you’ve been told?)
If you are letting yourself shine through, how are you approaching that? Are you happy with it? Can you do more?
I challenge you to try to expand what you’re doing to express that more, even just a little bit.
If not, how do you think it would feel to let yourself shine through in your musical choices and performance?
Really consider this one and try to feel that feeling in your body. How does that feel? Does it feel scary? Does it feel thrilling? Does it feel like embracing more of yourself? Can you try it even just a little bit?
I guess this can circle back to my thoughts on “commit to the bit” in the way of really trusting the decisions you make and going all in for your own artistic interpretation. But if you’re resistant to the idea of letting your own artistic self shine through, I ask you - do you want to shape your voice and create a performance that is truly yours? Or do you want to be a carbon copy of ✨insert various professionals here✨? I mean, if you do, go ahead and try, but as much as we can all try to replicate the performance of someone else - first, where’s the fun in that? Second - none of us have the exact same internalized experience, so we’ll never be able to reproduce the exact same artistic and emotional performance as someone else. We can seek out guidance and wisdom from others, but we cannot fully reproduce someone else’s art.
We all have our own song in our heart.
If any of this helps or sparks your interest, I’d love to hear about it.
If you’re looking for a flute teacher, wanting to try flute lessons, or looking to add more tools to your practice routine I have space available in my online studio. I have a lot of options to choose from, so if you’d like to work with me, but would like to chat about your interests and goals, let me know by clicking here and we can see what’s a right fit for you.