Along with the challenges of creating a new technical model for what I do (see so that your own work changes you.

One of the biggest revelations on that score for me lately comes out my piece “Strings of Passion” – which you can see for FREE on Friday Sept. 16 only at the Virtual Harp Summit  – (or purchase the all-access pass and get to watch it at your leisure forever).

See 'Strings of Passion' at the Virtual Harp Summit Fri. Sept. 16 goo.gl/3dlsNw Click To Tweet

 

strings-of-passion-logo-simple-600pI’ve been working on the piece for years – as a performance piece, a book and a workshop – and lays out my own creative process – in stories, ideas and music – into the 7 steps I take to get from any creative impulse to the moment of lift-off.  The 7 are:  Impulse, Structure, Character, Roles, Practice, Deconstruction and Lift-off.

“Lift-off” is the moment the original impulse has been transformed into a form of expression that can be express or shared.  Sharing or expressing is the moment the baton is passed, when it can be experienced first-hand by someone else and becomes part of their life experience, their story.

Strings of Passion: the steps I take to get from creative impulse to the moment of lift-off Click To Tweet

This is a screenshot from the “Virtual Harp Summit” Strings of Passion masterclass. At this moment I’m showing Diana Rowan an exercise to play with the roles of Leadership and Followship:

rowan-vhs-leadership-hands-dhc1When you’re playing  jazz, the space between impulse and expression is basically instantaneous.  When I create an orchestra score for a concerto-like piece to perform with symphony, the space between impulse and expression can be weeks, months or years.  And when it’s a musical theater piece, like “The Golden Cage” which I’ll be presenting privately this weekend, the work can take decades.

Keeping your connection to that original impulse throughout the process is the challenge. It’s also one reason jazz and improvisational performance is so liberating – which is why I always build in some improvisational element to every performance, even with symphony.

The Big Revelation: Letting Your Own Work Impact You

is there a creative way I can do this right now, exactly as I am, without having to ‘get better?’ Click To Tweet

The big REVELATION for me recently about “Strings of Passion”, is that this 7-step process is at work not just in my ‘creative’ life, but in every part of my life. So I’ve been using the principles in a very conscious way to look at my challenges — including very practical tech challenges.

And at the same time, I’m constantly asking myself the same thing I ask the musicians I teach and mentor – “is there a creative way I can do this RIGHT NOW, exactly as I am, without having to ‘get better?’

So I’m basically actually LISTENING to my own teaching (duh…) and delighted to experience, as my great friend Cherie Magnello once said to me “it’s amazing to discover that you actually can have an effect on yourself.”

it’s amazing to discover that you actually can have an effect on yourself. Click To Tweet

Wanna know more about “Strings of Passion?”

 

 

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