Clavier Companion - January/February 2012 - 9

the discovery, the growth can begin. Moving past personal resistance is a key to establishing a well-oiled routine that can subsequently allow the creative juices to flow. There is no substitute for hard work, and ultimately failure. Failure is an inescapable part of growing as a musician, teacher, and artist. Tharp cites a math professor at Williams College who bases ten percent of his students’ grades on failure, since mathematics is about trying new ideas, all the while knowing that the majority of the student’s attempts will be dead ends.3 This professor encourages students to follow innovative or even quirky ideas. Just try it and see.

Be kind to yourself
In the process of moving through the practice sessions, through the lessons, and through life, be kind to yourself. We have good intentions, and we care about our work and those with whom we come into contact. We do our best, and although it may not always elicit the results we strived for or provide the beauty or depth intended, we have done our best. We are human, and sometimes the positive fruition of our creative lives is delayed. Be gentle and avoid chastising your creative, well-intentioned self.

Creativity, for life
Whether we face a lesson to be taught, a performance, another event, or just a regular day, we have an opportunity to create throughout life. And showing up and working hard for what we want is key. Being creative does not need magic or luck, but instead needs the setting of daily patterns; it subsequently requires the awareness of our habits, of our ruts, and of their fit into our disciplined lives. Creativity rises out of strong work habits, allowing curiosity and stimulus to flow. Ultimately, the disciplined life allows creativity to flourish.
Tharp, T. (2003). The creative habit. New York: Simon and Schuster. Ibid., pp. 18-19. 3 Ibid., p. 212. 4 Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York: Harper.
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Try something new or different, again and again
The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi suggests that we should attempt to surprise someone every day. 4 He prods us to change our predictable selves and act, react, dress, and think in a way other than our usual custom. Taking time for the experience at hand lets us participate fully in that moment and enrich it in ways that may surprise us.

Follow the creative spark
Creative sparks emerge seemingly from nowhere, but they quickly coagulate to enrich our days, our work, our play. As the sparks arise, one realizes that this is not the time to sit and smile inwardly at the new energy, but rather the time to listen to that spark and let it lead us deeper into the moment, the practice, the lesson, the writing. This is the time to follow the spark and to get down to work.

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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012

CLAVIER COMPANION

Clavier Companion - January/February 2012

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