The Powerful Question You Should Be Asking Yourself

One of the joys –and tribulations– of making music is that your journey from page to stage (or practice room, or closet…) is not entirely straightforward.

Sure, part of your path is clear. You need to try to play the right notes at the right time, following whatever instructions the composer has provided. In this way, a certain portion of music-making is like assembling IKEA furniture… though hopefully with less swearing.

But often (as with IKEA products, come to think of it!) the instructions don’t tell you everything you need to know. And even if they did, there’s so much more to making music than assembling notes!

In any given piece of music there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of choices to be made. How might you articulate that pericular passage? Which note gets the accent in measure 30, and how are you going to convey that? Should you ornament in measure six, and if so, how? What kind of tempo works for movement two?

Making music is a galaxy of tiny decisions. That can be empowering. Or nerve-wracking. Or both. For many student musicians, this wealth of possibility causes anxiety: How can you know if the choices you’re making are the right ones?

This is where the Powerful Question comes in.

So what, you might be asking, is the Powerful Question, and why in the world does it deserve those capital letters? The Powerful Question is a simple, flexible decision-making tool that can help you either affirm or reject choices in almost any musical scenario. Want to know if your ornament works? Wondering if your articulation is on point? The Powerful Question is for you!

So let’s ask it: Are you helping or hurting?

I have to admit my Powerful Question comes straight from the front lines of parenting. With small kids, the idea is to get them to consider the consequences of their behavior in relation of family or community goals. It works...sometimes.

But in music, the Powerful Question is no-fail! Because every piece of music, every single scrap of every movement, is trying to do something. Maybe it’s reaching. Maybe it’s intensifying. Maybe it’s diminishing or circling or exclaiming or lamenting or holding still. There are a zillion things music can do, and our job, as players, is to give it a hand.

Are you helping or hurting? I adore this question, because instead of assessing whether you’re “correct” or “right–” concepts that, truth be told, have limited musical utility, you’re forced to contend with music as a living, striving entity. The Powerful Question requires you to engage with music in a way that is much deeper, and more productive, than trying to be “correct.”

Are you helping or hurting?

When you’re highlighting what the music is trying to do, you’re helping! Pick an ornament that enhances the music’s natural acceleration toward the cadence. Reach where the music reaches. Soften as the music softens. Strengthen when the music is gaining power.

When you’re obscuring or clouding or stymieing what the music is trying to do, you’re hurting. Don’t pick a fast tempo for a sorrowful slow movement. Don’t add fussy little ornaments to long, clean lines. Don’t dump a bunch of moving notes on a note that wants to rest.

As I tell my kids, it’s better to be a helper!