STUDENT QUESTIONS

QUESTION 3...answer continued from previous page

What do you do when you lose your motivation to work? I've always loved music, but sometimes I'll get to the point where I just don't feel like doing it. Moving to a new teacher (which I have done many times in my life) is usually helpful at first because it is exciting to learn new approaches to things. But sometimes I will get too comfortable with what I've been doing and get lazy. Or my situation now: I really didn't like my new teacher. I love her as a person, but after being spoiled with an amazing teacher, changing to one who let me be mediocre was frustrating. I've looked for other teachers with no success. (And I really can't afford lessons now either.) I know I should be working on my own, but the motivation just isn't there. HELP!

Thank you!
Amberlynn, age 20

MARY GAE GEORGE answers, PART 2,

THE CARE AND FEEDING OF MOTIVATION

I couldn't wait for your questions because I am eager to discuss Part 2 with you! Your questions and comments are always welcome, at any point of this exploration. (But you better hurry up!)

In Part 1 we explored how motivationresults from directing your own life. Once this essential affirmationis achieved, and discipline is embraced, we come to some of the delightful options inherent in directing your own learning.

Do not limit yourself to practicing! For me, the aspects of music study (in addition to practicing) I most enjoy are:

• LISTENING
• READING
• INTERPRETIVE ANALYSIS
• WRITING
• TEACHING
• PERFORMING

Let us briefly explore each of these involvements.

LISTENING: Because music is an art that exists in time and sound, the most natural way togrow musically is through listening. Live performances are essential because we contribute to the experience more directly than when listening to recorded performances. Attend classical concerts regularly, including those given by seasoned artists, young artists, and, most certainly, students.

Recordings offer different advantages, for we can compare several artists' performance of the same work, listening repeatedly to any performance we admire, and learning much from doing so. I invite you to listen to chamber music, vocal music, orchestral music, sacred music - all music that is of lasting value. Also, listen to very early music (pre-Baroque) as well as music by the masters of the 20th century. You are alive in the 20th -- and soon also the 21st century -- so you must explore the masters of your own time. This is especially important in that you are majoring in composition. (I invite you to seek out Penderecki's CREDO, a remarkable new work. The recording number is 98.311, and it is available from the US distributor, Collegium Records [1-800-367-9059, E-mail scollegium@aol.com]; this work will be featured in a specials sales promotion by Borders Books and Music from February through May. You must have it!)

READING Remember the excellent book you discovered, Talks with Great Composers by Arthur M. Abell (the 1994 edition published by Citadel Press)? You spent a summer with this book, and thereafter did a perfectly splendid report on Johannes Brahms including a most informative and detailed Time-Line of his life. This is a perfect example of what we have been discussing. You found and devoured this book and it fed your motivation to do something extraordinary for your Independent Study Project that summer. Look for another book when you visit Borders Books and Music….

INTERPRETIVE ANALYSIS There is no better way to fully appreciate the profundity of a master work than to become a keen observer of the compositional process, delving into the details of form, rhythm, phrase forms and melodic development, and of course the underlying harmony and tonality. We can thus add to our intuitive appreciation of the work and bring to our performance a conviction that nourishes our own confidence and involvement.

WRITING Do you keep a Journal? Do you make note of your practicing victories and how you accomplished them? Do you share these victories with other students, as we used to in your Group Classes here in the Studio? Is it time for another of your now-famous reports on a composer of your choice? Bringing our thoughts and dreams into written form not only clarifies them but puts them in a permanently usable form. Write, my dear, and re-read often what you have written.

TEACHING There is no better way to appreciate all you have gained in your studies than to share it with another person. The history of music has evolved, in large part, through the teaching of dedicated individuals. Henry Adams said "The teacher's influence reaches eternity, no one ever knows where it ends." Think about it.

Teaching demands that we rise to the occasion, and after awhile it becomes a habit!

PERFORMING Performance is a lovely way of sharing with others what we have learned. Selecting outstanding literature, devoting yourself to its re-creation through your own intense study, and then projecting all you know and love about the work to those who listen is one of the most exciting and satisfying aspects of music study. That is why I am so proud of you for instigating the weekly "off campus" performance classes that the Studio's advanced class still holds. These classes, which you planned as preparation for our weekly performance classes at the Studio, demonstrated a true dedication that should inspire teenagers nationwide!

How do you feel now, Amberlynn? I'm excited for you, and you know I have every confidence in you.