The Sweet Spot – music and sport part 2

by | 23 Jun 2021 | blog

  Serena Williams on form… again.    With Wimbledon in the offing, I can’t resist continuing the tennis/sport/music theme from the previous post. I have always seen parallels between music and sport – I admit to being biased towards bowed string playing, tennis, and football here – but actually pinpointing the similarities has produced a list the length of which has surprised even me. Trajectory. Momentum. Movement. Awareness. Preparation, swing. Placing. Watching. Receiving. Listening. Movement. Attack. Weight. Agility. Goal. Target. Live – in real time. Warm up. Nerves. Euphoria. The psychology of confidence. Doubt. Doldrums. Team work. Social side.  Morale. Accuracy. Improvisation. Adjustment. Frustration with the manager/conductor. Uplift of the inspiration of other players. Analysis. Focus. Muscle memory.  Balance. Preparation – mental and physical. Unrepeatable event. Importance of the crowd/audience relationship. Supporters. Commentators. Critics. Play. Fun. Importance of heroes of the players in their minds. Stamina. Pacing. Speed. Skill. Technique. Training. Parental support. Psychology. Mental attitude. Collective awareness and understanding. Visualisation. Presentation. Performance. Imagination. Dreaming. Physicality. Adrenalin. Post mortem. Pacing. Build up. Release. Relaxation. Suppleness. Flexibility. Fluidity. Strength. Training. Balance. Timing. Set pieces. Strength. Softness. Resonance of playing objects. The bounce (ball/now on string). Sweet spots. Finding the most efficacious point of contact. Working with the tightness/pressure of the ball is like working with the tightness of a string to transfer energy and create momentum in creative ways. The visceral experience of responding to kinetic energy and managing latent energy. Substitutions. Athleticism. Reaching – calculated and instinctive – for the ball, for a note. Concentration. Beauty – of action, movement. Intention. This list without doubt opens up all sorts...

“Oh, I say!” Music and sport part 1

by | 13 Jun 2021 | blog

Mozart enjoyed a game of skittles, and Shostakovich loved football to the extent that he qualified as a referee.  He is seen here playing football with his son Maxim.  He supported Leningrad Zenit (now Zenit St Petersburg), frequently going out of his way to attend their matches.  According to Maxim Gorky ‘he was a rabid fan. He comported himself like a little boy, leapt up, screamed and gesticulated’ at matches.  Generally thought to be introverted and depressive, it is good to hear that Shostakovich found a way of releasing tensions, even if his interest in football is also inextricably linked with the state approval of the game as being beneficial for society.  As ever with Shostakovich, it is never a simple story. I think it is undeniable that he translates some of the energy and fun of football into his music at times.  This is arguably evident in the 3rd string quartet’s first movement, but even more overt in this piece, ‘Football’ from ‘Russian River’ Op 66. Without doubt there is a parallel in his music with the extremes of euphoria and despondency that players and fans feel after an important match. Shostakovich at a football match I don’t know if Shostakovich played tennis.  He may well have been persuaded to play a set or two with his friend Benjamin Britten on the grass court at Britten’s Red House home when he visited.  Britten was a very keen tennis player, and it seems that he was rather intimidating on the court, as he could be when making music with others.  My violin teacher, Colin Sauer (first violin of the Dartington...