Phrasing and Notes
The other day one of my sons and I met with a cello professor at a nearby university. My son is interested in going to school there and wanted a lesson from this professor. For an hour she had him play around fifteen measures of music only. She took those fifteen measures and broke them into phrases, working with him to interpret each phrase and make each distinctive in its voice. She then broke each phrase into individual notes, focusing on note interpretation, finger weight, bow weight and length, vibrato, and volume of sound.
After each attempt, she would say, “Good, now . . .” and make an additional recommendation, building upon her previous recommendation. When the hour was over, my son had dramatically improved those measures. It was hard and demanding. He was nervous but dedicated.
Family life is a lot like music. We have a score to play and that score is filled with different phrases. Each phrase is made up of individual notes, each having a distinct voice.
We shouldn’t expect to get it perfect the first time we play or even the last time. The point is that provided we’re working hard and are listening to our life coach, each time we play, we’ll sound better. Keep practicing.
“Music is a proud, temperamental mistress. Give her the time and attention she deserves, and she is yours. Slight her and there will come a day when you call and she will not answer. So I began sleeping less to give her the time she needed.” ―Patrick Rothfuss