The Surprising Playing Motto That Works!

Do the minimum.

If you’re reading this blog, I’m guessing this isn’t a motto that resonates with you.

After all, musicians and music students tend to be achievers, the kind of people who put 110% into anything they do and who, when faced with obstacles, double down on their efforts. Extra credit? Sure! Above and beyond? Yes, please!

And the thing is, making an effort does serve us well in many, many areas of life.

It’s just that that playing the recorder isn’t one of them.

I’m being slightly specious, of course. Consistent effort, applied over time, is the only way improve many of your skills. But in terms of physical effort, the recorder needs very little. And if you overfunction, using more force than the instrument requires, almost every aspect of your playing will suffer.

How do I know this? Well, for starters, because I’m a recovering overfunctioner myself! But also because, of all the playing problems I see in my teaching life, maybe only 10% are due to insufficient physical effort. The remaining 90% are caused by using too much.

Overfunctioning, or putting forth more musicular effort than you need to while playing, can lead to a smorgasbord of playing problems. Like harsh tone. And weak tone. And turbulent tone! Also ugly tonguing, stiff fingers, poor coordination, squeaky high notes, squeaky low notes, voicing while playing, too much air, and even not enough air.

In short, it’s a waste of your time.

Yes, it’s difficult to train yourself to do the minimum!. It’s tough to give to the instrument only what it needs and no more. But your reward is a gorgeous, soaring river of sound!

So go ahead: Kick back, relax, and enjoy the flight.