I’m an interpreter of stories. When I perform it’s like sitting down at my piano and telling fairy stories.
Nat King Cole
What a fantastic quote!
Once upon a time, I was preparing a student for her exam! Everything was in place. All the notes and rhythms were correct but there was something missing.
So I got out a piece of card, a pair of scissors and some magazines. On one side of the card we started writing words to describe the music. It was a snowy piece so we came up with lots of wintry words. But it was also mysterious, a little spooky, with some dramatic contrasts of calm and frenzied action.
We started thinking about what kind of story the music conveys and pasting cut out pictures onto the card to accompany the words. Soon the creative juices were really flowing and we had come up with a narrative to fit the piece. My student had created her own “fairytale” or story!
When she went over to the piano to play the music again, the difference was huge. She had taken ownership of the music and put her own stamp on it. We had found the missing ingredient!
Ever since that day, if a student is struggling to connect with the music we go into storytelling mode and tap into their imagination and creativity. It’s fascinating how one piece can inspire so many different ideas from numerous students. No two stories are ever the same!
Do you use storytelling in your own teaching?
I was inspired by this experience many years later to create a musical mystery adventure called ‘Who Ate My Cake?’, where all the tunes are very much story based. The King stomps through the castle sadly despairing the loss of his cake and wondering who stole it, and the ‘Suspicious Statues’ whisper secrets amongst themselves as the ‘Suits of Armour’ march down the corridor.
Students learn the music on their instrument and search for clues in the score to solve the case and rule out suspects one by one. Who was seen hanging around the kitchen door and what could be hiding in the castle attic?
Find out more about Who Ate My Cake and other mysteries here.
