My orchestra teacher of eight years was and still is an incredible woman, who is courageous and fierce in her creative process as a violinist and teacher. She forcefully encouraged me and her other students to show her the beauty when we played. She knew we were not just playing music notes or sounds. She knew there was something deeper to the sound, to the notes and to the music. It was communication. It was like learning a new language -- her language.
When it came down to learning an advanced piece of music, we had to work on our vibrato. For those who are not familiar with it, vibrato is a rapid change in pitch that creates a richer tone and sound. When we played pieces like Benjamin Britten’s third movement of Simple Symphony, she encouraged us to play as if someone ripped out our heart, stomped it on the ground, and spit on it. We had to make our instruments cry.
She sure made her violin cry. There was so much connection between her and her violin, that it seemed like they were one. I remember sitting in class, closing my eyes, ignoring everything but the music and listening. The music turned into a wave of emotions. In every crescendo, I felt my heart race. In every decrescendo, I felt relaxed. As the last note faded away, I could feel her passion ignite a fire in my heart. Not only was she passing down her teachings and skills to me and other students, but she was giving us passion.
In moments like that, I become so grateful that music is more than just its instruments and sounds. In general, the arts are more than just a profession. They are about communicating emotions and promoting feelings on an audience. It can connect people in a way that can be more meaningful than words. It makes something that seems inexpressible, expressible.
Throughout my entire life, I have had the privilege of being influenced by many creative, musically inclined and artistic teachers. Whether they were teaching an orchestra class on music theory or a class on the theories of colors, shapes, and line, my artistic and creative judgment has been shaped by great musicians and artists.
Not only that but my perception of how creativity is a part of everyday life has changed me as a person. Creativity is a different way of thinking that every human being is capable of doing. It is a different way of communicating and connecting with others. It is the process of making something intangible, tangible. Our result, which is art, is the bridge between what you are thinking and feeling to what other people perceive. This is my definition of the creative process that I have put together thanks to the many “creatives” that have mentored me. If I had never attended my music and art classes, I know I would not have a strong understanding of the importance of the arts.
To all of you creative, artsy, musically inclined, crazy, and wild teachers out there, thank you so much for passing down your passion for the arts to the next generation.
