The last bit of self care for November is injecting more of yourself into your music.

Like a lot of music, holiday music tells stories. And like other music, it can get trite pretty quickly, especially since you get to play it repeatedly but only for a few weeks.

One of the easiest ways to infuse life into the music (to alleviate boredom) is to become a storyteller with the tunes.  Think about the words (what could be easier – they’re all right there to read!) –

• What is the mood?
• Where does the story go?
• Who is in the story?
• What is the action?

Decide the story you want to tell – and use the music to share that story with your listeners. You have all sorts of tools to tell your story – tempo, dynamics, techniques (p.d.l.t, harmonics, damping, ornamentation, arpeggiated chords, etc.).

Modify your arrangement so that you and your story come shining through. And each time through, the tune can be a different chapter of the story.

Stuck? Not sure how to start? Try this: Play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Now play it angrily. Now play it playfully. How about impishly?  What about as a march?  Now as a great tragedy. Finish it as a lullaby or as Wagnerianly as possible.

Make yourself laugh…or cry… or feel pain! Relax and enjoy the story!