If You Can't Say It......

We've all probably heard this saying, "If you can't say it, you can't play it." Audiation is very useful for musicians, whether it be sung externally or externally. Still, there is something about the external act of singing a phrase, rhythm or anything else that gives us a clearer "view" of what we want to express through sound. True, some of us can't sing or have trouble when notes get too fast to verbalize, but generally singing the phrases still give a good picture of what is going on or what is intended. Simply put, if you don't audiate what you want, it may or even won't happen. Maybe you intend for a certain tempo, but by jumping into playing without confirming through your audiation, you may be too fast or too slow or have the wrong character of tempo, etc. This occurs not only in performances, but in our lives.

The belief in causality and the law of attraction has become more popular in the last 10 years, and hinges on the act of verbalizing the things you desire. Most, if not all, religious texts have advocated this as well, so the labels may differ, but the resulting act and description remains the same across the board. First you say it, as often and with as much conviction as possible, then it comes to pass. In both cases, whether it be in the practice room or in life, the timing of when you'll learn that particular technique, or when you'll find romance, is unknown. By just believing in the audiation of what you want, it influences your actions that eventually lead into the manifestation of the desired result. Let's say you're practicing and it's not quite right. Once you sing it, you will hear the tendencies, maybe lack of rhythm or a sour note somewhere, that informs your strategy for fixing it. Or you are single and you say you want to start dating. By verbalizing that desire, we step into being open to possibilities and gets us less "shy" to the idea of putting ourselves out there (not just tinder, but actually physically going out. Same as playing for people. Gotta put ourselves out there or else we never work out the nerves attached to it).

So, while you practice, hopefully you do a little of this already, and there's always room for more of it. But maybe you don't do this in your life. I started doing this when I was 16 and have gotten scholarships, television appearances, travel opportunities, etc., from saying what I wanted, even writing it down, over and over and over again. How many times do we say that we suck, or that we aren't good enough. We've said it so much to the point that we start believing it, and it takes more time to form a new narrative for ourselves because of the damage we've either self inflicted, or inflicted by the negativity of others. It's like when you memorize a piece wrong. The habit has already been engrained in your brain and it takes so much time to replace it with the correction. 

The same is true with the things we tell ourselves. If we are used to thinking that "we suck," it might be unbelievable to us to think otherwise, even though we are saying it out loud. Fake it till you make it, keep saying it until your believe catches up to your verbalization. So be mindful of the things you say, specifically about yourself, but in general as well, because it does inform the steps you take towards whatever you are aiming for. If you say you're not good enough for a job, yeah, maybe you'll try to work harder, but it's within the mentality of lack or inadequacy, which leads to having low self esteem about your musicianship (which we often connect to ourselves as people, which isn't good). 

All sound is significant because it produces a reaction. Maybe it's background noise, filling the space around us, or it's screeching tires, making us aware or on edge. Not only can your music effect people and yourself, but the words we speak have the same, if not more, power (since it's very direct and not up for much interpretation like music is). We have to be mindful about the way we talk to ourselves. Kindness towards self is important for our esteem, confidence and perception of who we are. If we don't value ourselves first, the music we make won't have much value. Let's try to be more compassionate to ourselves, and go for what we want with courage and abandon. Say it, believe it, and act on it, we can make it happen!