play it straight

He said it with emphasis.

“Just play it straight!”

I knew what he meant.

Everyone in the orchestra did.

Just play it exactly as written. No slowing (rubato), no speeding up (accelerando) – just play it straight off the page.

No frills.

Straight up.

It’s often harder to do than one thinks. You sometimes add things to the music that you don’t really know you are adding.

But everything in music should be intentional.

And it should still sound magical, as if it just happened.

Another one of those mind-twisting, and often frustrating paradigms about music.

Today I felt a bit flustered, and rushed.

It might have had something to do with the fact that I arrived late for both rehearsals.

That was a first for me since orchestra started, and an embarassing-I-will-never-repeat – first.

Sometimes it’s hard to play life straight.

Get all your ducks lined up. Sometimes you feel like just quitting.

I’ll be honest. Sometimes I just feel like I missed out on too much, not having gone to music school. I have to pull things from my old archives, or I have to go home and Wiki things. Ask questions, and feel dumb sometimes. I just feel on the outside of the loop sometimes. And it’s hard.

But winners never quit. Those who quit – never win.

It might be easier to just do what may feel right at the moment; take the easy option, and quit.

But it’s better to persist.

It’s better to listen closely, and do what I can still see Maestro Brott saying, with those piercing blue eyes of his and outstretched finger:

“Just play it straight!”