How to Rekindle Childlike Joy In Your Playing

I recently went to Edinburgh to do an event where I shared the oboe with younger students. Here's what I learned from it and what it taught me about creating joy in playing.

This episode has an accompanying blog post. Click here to read.

Use code ELEANOR15 for 15% off your Notabl_ practice journal, and level up your focus in your sessions! Click here for your journal. 

I only recommend things I love. This contains an affiliate code which means that I receive a commission -- with no extra cost to you! 😊

Chapters

• 0:00 Warm Welcome And Sunny Setup
• 2:10 Pizza, Mood, And A Joyful Frame
• 2:55 Performing Britten For Young Oboists
• 5:15 Remembering Why We Play
• 6:27 Tip 1: Just Play, Not Just Practice
• 10:20 Tip 2: Make Music Across Skill Levels
• 13:10 Tiny Wins And Teaching Moments
• 14:00 Tip 3: Play For Your Younger Self
• 17:26 Focus Tools: The Practice Journal
• 19:15 Recap And Closing Invitation

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

Hello and welcome to the Confident Musitioning Podcast. My name is Eleanor and I am a British American oboist studying at the Royal Conservatory of Scotland. Literally my dream school. And it took me a long way to get there. I applied and auditioned for 12 schools in three different countries. It was a lot of hard work. But oh my gosh, so worth it. I want you to have the confidence to work hard in achieving your goals. So come with me as we go on this journey together. So sit down, pull up a chair, take a seat, or if you're on the go, welcome to the Confident Musitioning Podcast. Hello, hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Confident Musitioning Podcast. I am so excited to be sharing this moment with you. I'm so glad you're here. It is in Scotland at least, such a sunny day. This never happens. We've had so much rain and wind and just kind of really muggy weather. Um, and today it is really sunny and it's kind of got my mood up, and I'm really excited to spend this time with you. I have literally just finished baking, well, not baking, um, making homemade pizza. I usually make homemade pizza every Saturday. Uh, and that was Saturday was yesterday. Today, as of filming, it is a Sunday. Um, and last night I was going somewhere and I didn't get a chance to finish the pizza. I finished one that I ate, but I couldn't finish um another one that I usually use for leftovers. Uh, and so that just went in the fridge, not finished, um, and I just finished making it in the oven. So the room smells like fresh pizza, um, which is a really lovely smell, and that is what I am experiencing right now, and it is making me very happy, and I am very excited to talk to you today. Because today we're gonna be talking about something that was really cool that I recently did, um, that kind of turned into some thoughts that I have about finding that joy in playing. I think as musicians, we focus so much on getting things right, perfection, you know, playing things perfectly or good enough, or was that good enough? You know, all of these things. And sometimes we forget why we started playing our instruments, what that little or smaller or younger, that's the word, younger version of us, um wanted, and and why they decided to to start the instrument that we now play. Um, and this kind of these thoughts came from an experience that I recently had. I recently was part of or a part of this event that was like a workshop with younger students, with younger Obo students. And I got to meet like primary school students, so like eight, nine years old, um, as well as like older students as well, so like you know, in their in their teens, like 13, 14, 15, 16. Um, and so basically just children meeting them and basically sharing the joy of the oboe, and it kind of reminded me of some things and put some things into perspective. I performed a piece for them, I performed some Benjamin Britton um for them on on Oboe, and it was honestly so much fun. I really enjoyed playing for them because their eyes, especially the younger ones, their eyes just lit up, you know. Because I was, I mean, I was playing Britain um and the piece that I was playing, it was Six Metamorphoses after Ovid, the first two movements, they are extremely kind of magical. There's so much you can do on the oboe with them. There's harmonics. Um, the the eyes of the students when they heard the harmonics on the oboe, like they were so extremely excited about that. Um, and then there's like a really kind of articulation bit that's like da da da da da, and they really like that too. And so it was an amazing opportunity to just bring something that I love to these people and to show them look, this is what you can do with the instrument. Do you know what I mean? And then um, we kind of did like a workshop thing. I performed with them, um, and I worked with them, and it was just an amazing opportunity. So let's get into kind of the the takeaways that I have from this and the kind of things that I've taken from this to put in my own um life, in my own practice, and that I am hoping will be helpful for you as well. Because one thing that I really noticed about these students was the pure joy that they got from playing their instruments, you know, and these children, some of them had been playing the oboe for like a month, and like they got so much joy from that. Do you know what I mean? They they were so happy and so excited that they were learning this new thing, and and that when they got the noise they wanted, they were like, oh my gosh, it was so amazing, and so they had that joy, and it it kind of forced me to contrast, compare and contrast what I do in my own playing because I often have those oh my gosh moments, um, and I also have those moments where I get so frustrated, you know, where we get frustrated and we're like, why can't I do this passage correctly, or why am I struggling with this or struggling with that? And I think it's so important to to think about what can I like how can I cultivate that joy, you know? Even when I am struggling with a passage, how can I cultivate that joy? And so that's what today's episode is all about. So let's dive into three things. The first one is in our practice, remembering to just play. Practicing is so important. I mean, we know this, practicing is so important, and you know, metronome practicing, rhythm practicing, long tones, you know, vibrato practice, articulation practice. You know, this this changes if you're a string player or or whatever, you know, instrument that you play. But it's the same idea. Practicing is really important, you know, getting in a practice room with a metronome and putting in the time to really focus on something and really kind of get better at something, that is super duper duper duper duper important. But if that is all we do, then that's gonna kind of get old. You know what I mean? Um, it's kind of like actually, okay, let's put it in a different term. It's kind of like if you were learning a language. I love learning languages, so this is kind of a metaphor for that. And let's say you're learning a language and all you do is just grammar tables, right? You learn how to conjugate a verb, or you learn how what you know, you do vocabulary practice, things like that, but you never actually have a conversation with someone in that language. After a while, you might be like, is this all there is? I just do grammar. What? You know what I mean? Like, um, huh. Or, I mean, I'm not really kind of like a sports person, but if you I assume if you kind of just practice technique with sports but never actually play a game, you might be like, uh huh, what is this? What is this? It is just it's just kind of like practicing, but not actually playing. Do you know what I mean? And so, you know, we perform, and that's great, but what about performing for yourself? What about playing for yourself? Do you know what I mean? Like, so at the end of a practice session or at the beginning or in the middle, whatever you want, um just make noise. Just let your instrument make noise, see where that takes you. Noodling around on an instrument is so crucial. You know what I mean? I it's just I it's so easy to to look at it and be like, uh it's not all that, it's not all that, you know, because I'm just making noise. But that noise is so important because that noise is part of a journey, and you don't know where that journey is gonna take you. Do you know what I mean? Like, noodle, seriously, just noodle and and make noise and and see where that journey takes you because it is so important. So, yes, practice with imaginome, practice intentionally, have focus. This is so important, and incorporate playing in there as well. Okay, if you're like, oh, I really love this tune, I really love this song, I just want to make noise to it, put it on, make noise to it, okay? That is joyful. Do you know what I mean? That is that is where it where it is, and it it makes it feel so much better. And and when I do it, I'm like, oh my gosh, I love the oboe. Do you know what I mean? Like, I'm just like, yes, this is amazing. So, yeah. Okay, the next thing is kind of similar to that, but it is working with other people from different backgrounds. So, one thing that this experience working with the younger students taught me was um, well, the thing about okay, backpedal bit, the thing about the younger students was that it wasn't just younger students, there were also teachers and coaches there. And so we had a wide range of kind of abilities and also ages. Um, and I thought I think it was such an amazing experience because I worked with people who are older than me, people who are younger than me, people who are much better than me, people who are just starting out. Um and being able to kind of create music with these different, you know, these varying levels of expertise, um, was just such an amazing thing. You know, it really was. And I I know like when I work with someone who is much better than I am, it brushes off on me, you know, and you might get this feeling as well, um, especially now that I mention it, when you do when you work with someone that's like more um experienced than you are, you might notice this. But for me, I just like tend to be more aware of my playing, but like in a more kind of refined way, if that makes sense. Like, I'm like, oh, you know, they they do it like this, I want to try that, or they do this, I want to try that. Do you know what I mean? And kind of getting ideas. Um, and so working with different people of different, you know, levels and and ages is so important, and not necessarily just working with people who are more experienced, but also the opposite. Working with people who have just picked up that instrument and who, you know, are like, this is the coolest thing, you know, this is the new thing in my life, and I just want to make some noise. Do you know what I mean? Um, and you uh maybe you've just finished, you know, a practice session um where you've done lots of metronome practice, you're like, Oh my gosh, yes, let's just make noise, you know. I just like did all the all the hard stuff that I have to do. Let's just make noise now, you know? And like it's an amazing experience. So I highly recommend just performing, playing, practicing with whomever, regardless of their age, regardless of their ability on the instrument, just jamming. Seriously, it's so so helpful, and it it kind of lends so much goodness both ways. You know, when you're working with people who are more experienced versus less experienced, both of those things, you know, are so valuable in their different ways. Okay, then the third thing. Oh, and also you can, I mean, of course, when you're working with people who are less experienced, you can, you know, lend some knowledge, and that's amazing too, because then you know they might be like, How does this work? Actually, I remember there was a student, there was like a really, really young like primary school student who was struggling to get the bell of her oboe onto the bottom joint. Um, she was struggling to put the bell onto onto her oboe, and she came up to me and she was like, Can you help me with this? And I showed her, and I was like, You twist it on, and she was like, Oh, because she was kind of just pushing it on, and you do have to do that twist um to get the bell on the oboe, and like even that, you know, she learned something new, and I was like a little puddle of like I don't know, just like like I was like, oh my gosh, like this that that was so cute, you know what I mean? Like, I was just so it was just so wholesome. I was just like, my heart melted, you know what I mean? Like, I was like, oh my gosh, that was amazing, that was so sweet. So that is another kind of thing that comes out of you know working with people of different um levels and ages. Okay, the next one, the third thing. I love this tactic, and I actually recently talked about it on the podcast. Um, but it is picturing your younger self when you do hard things or focus sessions. So hard things, I mean, okay, let's let's unpack that because not everything, not everything big is hard, and not everything hard is big. But um so for instance, I recently did a performance class at my conservatoire, and there was like a switch up last minute, and I long story short, ended up with a week less than I thought I would get to prepare. So I was like really kind of nervous to to perform. And one thing that really helped me was to imagine my younger self and what she would think, you know, my the the my nine-year-old self um who was just starting out on the oboe, my 14-year-old self, you know, who was who had just gotten a brand new oboe and was so excited about it, you know, my 17-year-old self who was applying to universities and and conservatoires and music schools, and you know, wondering, is it all gonna work out? Like, can I do it? You know, like you know, all of these these people, uh versions of me, what would they say to what I'm doing right now? You know, I am going to perform in a class at my conservatoire that I got into that I am so excited to be at every single day. You know, I think nine-year-old me would just be so excited. So ex 14 year old actually, all of the versions of me would be so stinking excited for me, and that just filled me with joy, pure joy. Like I was like, oh my gosh, I am living my nine-year-old version of me's dream. Do you know what I mean? And you know, I'm working towards it like like it's still it's still a journey, right? I haven't figured out everything, but like definitely not, like, I 100% have not figured out everything, like I am I am working through this, and I think that that's what makes this this thing so magical because every day we are working through what we are working through, and it might feel like oh my gosh, this is so hard. Am I actually getting anywhere? But if we take a look at what if I told younger me what I'm doing right now, would they be like, oh my gosh, like that's so cool! Then you know you're getting somewhere. Do you know what I mean? Like, there there is growth, there is growth happening. Um, and it just it's pure joy, honestly, pure joy, right? And so I think that that is so important because when I was at the event with the younger students, I honestly pictured my younger version there, like the younger version of me there, the the nine-year-old who had just started out on the oboe. She would have loved this event, and she would have probably been so excited that I was performing at it. Do you know what I mean? And I like I just imagined like younger her in the audience, and it just made me so full of joy. And so this is a great trick, you know. What would they say? What would they say if you told them what you were doing? You know, they'd probably be like, Oh my gosh, I never thought we could do this, you know? Like, oh wow, it's it's so so good. So yeah, there is that as well. Before we pack up, pack up recap, you know, the yeah, before we end, um, I want to tell you about something that is really, really helpful for practicing. Um, so we have, you know, this kind of joy thing. Now, how do we take the joy and put it in the practice? Oh, that's important. Well, something that is really helpful with practicing is focus. You know, focus practice leads to efficient, effective results. And um, you know, it's it's really, really helpful. And so, one thing that I use in my um focus sessions is a practice journal. And that is to help plan my practice. And the practice journal that I use specifically is a notable practice journal. This thing is so so helpful. Not only can I plan my session so I know exactly what I'm gonna do, I also can reflect on them so that I know what went well and what didn't, so that every session can be like better than the last. Do you know what I mean? And I also plan in time to just play. If you look at my schedules, there will be schedules where it's like, oh, okay, etudes, extracts, you know, scales, and then just a jam session. I just I write it in, I schedule it so that it does happen. Um, yes, and it is this this journal is so extremely, extremely helpful for my focus and for the effectiveness of my practice. As soon as I realized that this was helping, I knew I needed to tell you about it, and I knew that I needed to give you a code. So use code Eleanor15 for 15% off your journal. That is E-L-E-A-N-O-R 15 for 15% off your journal. And get yourself a journal and start like planning that practice. It is so so helpful. I only recommend things that I absolutely love. This code is an affiliate code, which means I do receive a commission with no extra cost to you. Okay, let's do a Wii recap. So the first thing is remembering to just play in the practice, right? Just play, like have that time, jam, make noise, like you know, experiment, do do it, do all the things. Um number two is working with other people from different backgrounds, younger people, older people, people who are um, you know, just started out on their instrument, people who have been playing for almost all their lives. Do you know what I mean? Like this is it's so important to to have that. Um and then the last thing is picturing your younger self when you do all the big things, even if it's not the big things, like you could you could tell your younger self, I am currently practicing in a practice room, you know, I'm preparing for this exciting thing, or I am doing this, or doing you know, like even the smaller things um of just the practice sessions can be can can you can use that with it as well. So so those are the three things, and then of course the notable practice journal. Um, the link for uh your journal will be in the show notes in the description. Um, and so will the code written out. Alright, that is about it for this episode. Thank you so much for hanging out with me. Um, if you found this episode helpful, please do like, subscribe, comment, and share with all of your musician friends because we all need that little bit of joy in our playing. And yeah, these are some things that have helped me find that. Alright, take care. Bye bye.