Every time that the children in the courses I teach give a public presentation, I am always amazed by the different reactions of the public. Every reaction represents a new experience for me, which constitutes a valuable lesson in my journey as an artist and a teacher.
In a course I gave recently, at the end of the children’s musical presentation, a mother commented that she had been impressed at how she had been able to hear her own breathing during the students’ performance. This reaction was due not only to the intensity of the performance by the children but also to the power of silence between each sound.
This comment led me to reflect on the essence of silence in the world of music, and its power to produce an effect that is truly captivating. It is as if allowing ourselves to be truly in contact with silence helps us to capture the right, natural intention of the next sound we create.
One way of developing a more profound contact with silence is our own breathing. Every time you have the chance to be in contact with your breathing, whether in an artistic performance or in your everyday activities, try breathing gently and slowly with your abdomen. This simple action done on a regular basis will help you to be fully present every time you are in contact with silence.
Curiously, I addressed this very aspect of silence in this recent course in a more conscious and detailed way than in previous courses. I felt that the time had come to include silence as a basic pillar of creation in the world of sound.
It is also amazing to see how children have the natural ability not only to be fully present when performing music but also to be totally present physically, emotionally and mentally in each silence in their musical creation.
Achieving this makes each class a time of creativity, of discoveries of sound and of true enjoyment of the experience of both music and silence.
This post is also available in: Spanish