I may have (accidentally) struck upon something which apparently all Starker students are supposed to know. Tension/release. I was getting ready to pull all of my remaining hairs out due to frustration with left hand tension. Instead, I unconsciously started bobbing my arm up and down to the beat, a movement which I associate with preparation, breathing, and feeling pulse – all of which were drilled into us in room 205, I believe it was. After doing that, it made perfect sense that it would apply to the tension/release philosophy he apparently espoused most of his teaching life. It was only due to focusing 98% of my brain power on this persistent problem that I experienced the connection.

The up and down motion smooths over much of the paradoxical nature of L.H. and L.A. intricacies. It causes many things to move in the right directions, it gives a natural sense of release and freedom, and it doesn’t go counter to music making like so much technical compartmentalizing does. It also seems the more I tailor the motions to the phrasing and the desired impulses, the better it works as a release mechanism. Maybe tension/release could be less succinctly rephrased as inevitable tension/controlled respite.

Actually I think Starker referred to using tension for the necessary strength to play beautiful notes. Appropriate tension makes clear sounds. Incorporating release enhances the resonance and gives breath to the phrase.

originally published on 1/5/10