This week we encourage you to tap into your imagination and recreate a written piece of music. Rather than making up music from scratch, try playing a written piece of music (an etude, a familiar song, an orchestral excerpt, etc.) but with a creative twist. For example, how would “The Star-Spangled Banner” sound if you were a 4-year old with a lisp experiencing a sugar rush? Or how would the opening to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony sound if you were a giant elephant walking on ice? Read below to learn how you can apply this prompt to your practice.
Adult non-musicians: Sing “Happy Birthday.” Now sing it as a screeching eagle. Sing it again but like a shy, emotional middle-schooler. Sing it one more time like how your mom would sing it. What thoughts did you have for each adaptation? Was the experience fun and silly, or stressful and uncomfortable? Can you think about how this experience might apply to your regular life? For example, does the discomfort translate to how you feel while public speaking? Or does the silliness reflect how you act with others?
K–8: Play or sing a song, piece, or scale that you know well. Now play it as if you were a bird flying through the sky. What do you need to change to make it sound this way? The notes, dynamics, tempo, articulations, playing technique? Play the same thing one more time, but this time sound like a mouse sneaking through a house. What did you change this time?
Musicians: choose an orchestral excerpt or an excerpt from a song/etude you know well. Now think of a movie you know well. What is your favorite scene? Play the excerpt as if you are acting out that scene.