Tension and Relaxation
Posted on | October 7, 2009 | 3 Comments
While I was at the Banff workshop this last spring, there was a lot of discussion of bodily tension and relaxation. I felt that this was particularly relevant to me, as I was still working through some tendonitis issues even at the workshop itself, though I have fortunately resolved them almost completely since then. Nonetheless, many of the faculty discussed the inevitable issues of bodily injury as a musician, and as several months have gone by since then for the ideas to gestate, I have some new thoughts on the issue that I hope will spark some interest and/or discussion.
Bassist Matt Penman presented one of the most intriguing clinics of the workshop in which he discussed his intense metronome-based practice regimen and the importance of having good time. It became clear in the course of the workshop that not only does he have phenomenal time, but he has an amazing ability to be relaxed while playing any style, tempo, or feel. An important part of his practice regimen involved putting the metronome at its slowest setting and working on fitting between 1 and 12 notes evenly between each very slow click. At the time, I could clearly see many benefits of this regimen in the development of a good time feel, but after watching him play at that week’s faculty concert, I began to realize that his amazing ability to remain calm and collected even in the most musically exciting moments was likely related to this type of practicing in which one is not only developing a strong sense of time, but also an ability to conceptualize everything based on the “least common denominator”, that is, breaking even the fastest tempos or most complex meters down to the simplest and slowest beat and conceptualizing everything else in relation to that slow pulse.
This is a concept which my long-time teacher and mentor Randy Porter emphasized to me many times when I was somewhat too young and excitable to really understand what he was talking about. When I was at PSU, Darrell Grant presented it in a somewhat different way – he would often discuss the importance of remaining “one step detached” from what you are playing, so that you can conceive of the entire arc or shape of the solo you are playing while playing it, which can be, in my experience, one of the first things to go when I become totally invested in a solo.
Back to Banff, pianist/keyboardist Adam Benjamin, in his typical wisdom, summed everything up very nicely when he said: “You don’t have to have tension in your body to create tension in your music.” For the past month or so, I have been trying to keep this in mind while playing. I find myself almost unable to remain relaxed in musically tense and exciting moments, and the other day I realized that part of this tendency comes from physically tensing up while listetning to exciting pieces of music as well – obviously the intent of the music is coming across and affecting me as the composer/performer intended, but it is a strange quagmire to be in as a musician myself!
I do not have a definitive solution to this problem other than continued awareness of it, but I am certain that remaining more relaxed physically while playing is certainly an important element of progressing as a pianist, and more than that, I am fascinated by the contradiction between physical relaxation on the part of the musician and tension on the part of the audience, and the cerebral/phyiscal divide therein – the musician knows mentally what will create excitement and tension in the audience, but must execute it without him/herself becoming tense.
Anyone have thoughts on this?
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3 Responses to “Tension and Relaxation”
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October 7th, 2009 @ 3:27 pm
Interesting topic Andrew! Playing music is indeed a physically dynamic process…each instrument has it’s own intangibles. Any time spent getting a deep understanding of how your body works is valuable in any endeavor. Rubenstein and Mehldau are two pianists that I feel embody the concept of physically effortless tension/release.
October 7th, 2009 @ 6:59 pm
You play coronet too. How do you feel about body relaxation in relationship to a wind instrument that requires that core, embouchure and skeletal muscles be engaged to even make a sound? Furthermore, to play softly is MORE straining for a wind player. Stan Getz was working harder than anyone. Or check out Kenny Davern http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yehjSzGy5hA What is a relaxing and easygoing tune requires more focus and energy. If we sat down on cushions and played coronet and tenor duets what would we get? Bad tone, less dynamic control and a desire to stand up. How can wind players work on reaching the meditative state?
I’m not so much asking you as putting forth questions. Other than that, I’d rather speak in person.
October 12th, 2009 @ 6:35 am
Very interesting topic — I’ve been working through some of these issues in my practice as well. I’m not sure how this could translate to piano, but I’ve actually been playing left-handed on the trombone. Practicing this way has not only completely eradicated the embouchure issues I’ve been struggling with, but also gives me that sense of “one step detachment” when I play — I think that’s because the other side of my brain controls my other hand, so I don’t have any “bad habits” stored in the neural synapses there. It’s an amazing feeling, but of course I can’t perform that way because the muscle-memory doesn’t exist for me to execute with good intonation or slide speed. But I am finding that the more left-handed practice I do, the more that “one step detachment” (and a better embouchure setting) are slowly creeping into my right-handed playing.
You could definitely do the same thing on trumpet, although holding the instrument would be a little awkward. I’m not sure how you could do that on piano, though, since you’re already used to playing with both hands. You’d need a piano with the low notes on the right and the high notes on the left!