Did something unusual this morning
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Today I played "Amazing Grace" with a high school senior accompanying me on piano, for his classmates. We had never worked on it together until this morning. We went over it twice, making a few changes here and there.
Here’s what led up to it. My daughter is the High School teacher for( AP English ) for this student. Let's just call him Frankie. She, ( our daughter) assigned them some sort of senior final project that allows them to share with the class a certain interest or passion they may have. Frankie's is Jazz music and music in general. He's a good pianist and even has written some of his own stuff. He wanted to have someone play trumpet along with one of his songs, and he chose Amazing Grace. Teacher then suggests her father can play the trumpet with him, maybe? And so, I did.
When we first started, I thought....hmmm, he seems a little stiff and halting. Oh, well, I thought, it’s his show...
After going over it once, I asked if he would mind some suggestions. He said, no, not at all. I said, how about we do this, that, and that? And he perked right up and said, yeah, that sounds good. Next, and final time we ran through it he was rejuvenated and finally let loose and really was now doing what he could do. We really got on the same channel and felt what we should be doing. It went great when it came time to do it a few minutes later. He then played a few more pieces on his own. What a great experience to hear him play! I enjoyed it, except for the awful traffic I had to face going to the school at rush hour this morning! -
@BigDub I believe Amazing Grace is one of those songs that really demonstrates how music is the language of GOD. This is one of those pieces that is relatively simple but if one opens up their heart while playing, it (the song) will create many variations and speak to multitudes of people in their own way. I have never played it the same way twice and I have never played it that I wasn't touched in a new way.
Ray Z
If you don't know where you are going it doesn't matter how you get there !!!!!!!!
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@MasterWannabe said in Did something unusual this morning:
@BigDub I believe Amazing Grace is one of those songs that really demonstrates how music is the language of GOD. This is one of those pieces that is relatively simple but if one opens up their heart while playing, it (the song) will create many variations and speak to multitudes of people in their own way. I have never played it the same way twice and I have never played it that I wasn't touched in a new way.
Amen to that, Ray.
“‘‘Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear,
And grace my fears relieved.
How precious did that grace appear,
The hour I first believed"My daughter texted me that night that her students were talking about it all the rest of the day.
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@MasterWannabe said in Did something unusual this morning:
...Amazing Grace is one of those songs that really demonstrates how music is the language of GOD.I so agree. And going away from the hymnal, and into contemporary music, John Coltrane was well known for his re-connection to God in his album "Love Supreme"
However on "Crescent", he plays another tribute within his Spiritual Connection called "Wise One". This one really speaks to me:
I perform this song myself on Flugelhorn, at gigs where I am the only solo voice, and it is equally haunting and spiritually connecting with that voicing.
