Robe Improvisations
Me and my Robe
A few nights ago, I was about to turn out the lights and go to bed and I thought to myself, let me just sit down and see what comes out, one last time this evening.
I sat down on the bench, in my robe, and this magic appeared. Sometimes I feel like music is a divine gift.
It has this unique way of reaching our soul, spirit, and emotions in such a deep and profound way. Music can connect us and heal us and give us a therapeutic outlet while listening or while playing.
As I listen to the recording, I close my eyes and sway back and forth and feelings arise and leave. Deep, soul feelings.
As one of my young students once exclaimed during her first lesson, “I get it!! Music expresses emotions that words just can’t express!” You got it, girl.
Apparently, I’m not the only one out there who likes to improvise in a robe. Meet my Piano Flow student Selena Pistoresi. Selena is doing incredible work in the world as an inclusive music specialist. In January, as an in demand teacher, Selena decided she wanted to balance her precious time with her own piano playing. She also wanted to dive into the delicious world of free flowing improvisation and wanted some concrete tools to use for exploration.
Selena Pistoresi- Music Inclusion Specialist
Free Flowing Pianist
Inspiring Human Being
Selena dove in and immediately took flight! Within a couple of weeks of starting Piano Flow, she was brave enough to post her first Facebook Live improv in our private Facebook group. This took a lot of courage and was a growth moment. In all new endeavors, we have to do the scary thing.
We have to make ourselves vulnerable and we might not be *perfect* (spoiler alert: we never reach this elusive stage of perfection). If we aren’t willing to do the scary and the vulnerable action, we will stay in our comfy little comfort zone. The comfort zone is nice and sweet, but after awhile, it gets kind of stagnant in there.
Learning from Nature
We are designed to grow and to evolve. When we think about the natural order of things, we imagine blades of grass growing towards the sky. Roots of trees grow deeper, while the branches extend. Stretching outside of our comfort zone and exploring new avenues can be intimidating, but eventually leads to gratifying moments of pride, fulfillment, confidence, and of course, growth!
From this new space, we can choose to, again – stay where we are in our new comfort zone, or continue to challenge ourselves and grow even further. The sky is truly the limit. It is up to each individual person to make the commitment to growth, and then get the support structures in place to make the transformation. Finally, the work must be implemented. It is quite simple, actually. Commit. Get the tools. Implement.
Come Flow With Us!
Interested in learning how to access some free flowing improvisation skills this summer? I am offering a 12 session, 6 Week Piano Flow Summer Intensive! We are going to learn some sounds from other lands, learn how to improvise within rhythmic structures, and we have guest instructors working with the Flow State, Beginning Jazz, and Yoga for Musicians!!
The course is already half way full and I haven’t even announced it yet, so grab your spot now, as space is limited.
Would you like to hop on a call and discuss if the program is a good fit for you? Please book a call here. I would be happy to chat.
Selena and her Robe
Okay, back to superwoman Selena. By the way, did I mention in addition to teaching 40+ students, she is opening a new music school in the San Jose area, runs an online teaching course to train teachers how to teach students with Special Needs, has an extremely informative Instagram page, AND finds the time to make incredible progress in her improv skills? If she can do all of this, you don’t have the excuse of saying you don’t have enough time…
I was so blown away when I saw this video. Selena had only been taking Piano Flow for a month or two, and came up with this beautiful rendition of our improv exercise. I love that her significant other decided to join in on the music making fun. He is not a musician, but clearly has a natural affinity and joy for music making (don’t we all!?)
Selena even decided to improvise for her college audition, even though she had only been improvising for a short while. I am beyond proud of the progress Selena has made in such a short amount of time. Yes, she is a natural musician, but she also has the invaluable skill of being willing to dive in and give it a go. Even allowing me to post this robe video took courage.
Selena might fit in her creative time late night in her robe, just as I often am most creative in the evening, after a full day of teaching and parenting. We find the time to do the things we want to do. It’s simple, really.
