Companion Notes for FBSMC 15 , Spontaneity Within A Plan, Video 6

As musicians or actually anyone who is involved in developing a craft, skill or an art, it soon becomes very clear that all our practice sessions might not go smoothly and easily. What an understatement! But can we find ways to find the flow inside of ourselves so even in the midst of the difficult challenges we can keep moving.

Here is where that wonderful word attitude comes in. For the "right" attitude can do wonders in creating a bigger view in ourselves of the phrase "go with the flow". This kind of flow has found a way to love the process even in the face of what feels to be a lot of resistance getting in the way of our progress. If we can find a REAL attitude of love of the journey (yes, there will be discouraging moments, weeks, or months sometimes when it feels like nothing is happening or it even gets worse) to still be moving in ourselves with the accompanying attitude "when there's a will there's a way and another way!"

It helps, depending on where you are in your journey, to have a sense of "going slow to go fast." This means being in the moment of here and now so you can embrace where you are at and truly BE with it. My great lesson in this was when I injured my chops from WAY TO MUCH playing of a certain kind. I was put into a position with no choice but to surrender to what was actually going on and find the means to deal with it and heal. It was one small step at a time that eventually got me out of my predicament. It took 4 years and a whole restructuring of my embouchure. I never even took off time from playing in the orchestra or quintet.

But with an embouchure change that big, you lose and gain at the same time. It may also challenge your identity as a player, especially if you got known for certain attributes in your playing that may not continue to be there in the same way with your new set up (even though some aspects of your playing may improve. An example would be if you had an identity with a certain quality of sound. That sound might not be there in the same way with your new structure. This makes us look at our "mental" embouchure. A very necessary component!

We can see from this that a change is made up of many specific parts that need adjustment and repositioning. The power of a person's determination in how they approach this delicate territory is what will make the difference. The human will is a vital participant in this endeavor. Patience will turn into the a special kind of flow if it is coupled with hope and maintaining one's love of music. The "equation" could look something like this; Love + Hope + Acceptance = Flowing Patience.