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Thursday, June 17 - 2:30 pm Elisa Koehler, Reporter After the entertaining skit Green launched into a discussion of his new book, The Mastery of Music. The idea for the book resulted from his experiences coaching a singer for whom the essence of the Inner Game (awareness, commitment, and trust rather than doubt and fear) was simply not enough. She had the right attitude, but something was missing, something inside. That inspired Green to investigate the main qualities of the human spirit that influence music making. After more than 120 interviews with great musicians, Green selected “Ten Pathways to True Artistry” (the book’s subtitle) and paired each trait with an instrument or group that best represented them. The ten pathways chosen were communication, courage, discipline, fun, passion, tolerance, concentration, confidence, ego and humility, and creativity. Green employed a colorful multimedia presentation to facilitate his talk. Playing excerpts from recorded interviews while projecting photos on the screen, Green highlighted some of the traits most applicable to trumpet players. Beginning with courage, Chicago Symphony principal horn Dale Clevenger revealed his battles with nerves. What made the difference? A “mental switch” that turned on and inspired Clevenger to concentrate and play to the best of his ability. Another horn player was cited as making a similar choice at “a fork in the road: anxiety or hope?” The split second choice to be brave was revealed as the essence of courage. Percussionist Evelyn Glennie was also quoted. For discipline, clarinetist Eddie Daniels was featured as an example of the refined art of practice. Tolerance was represented by a spirited violist, Nokuthula Ngwenyama, and praised as an essential trait for success in the music business.
Green ended the session by discussing the opposites of ego, humility, and creativity. Opera singers were prime targets for ego (Kathleen Battle) and humility (Frederica von Stade) while composers were natural representatives of creativity (Libby Larsen, Terry Riley, Dave Brubeck). He afforded the final word to Cincinnati Pops conductor Erich Kunzel, “It’s my job to make you smile!” After the session Green was available in the lobby to sign copies of his new book for members of the audience. |
session, Green made a second entrance as part of a multimedia skit dramatizing the essence of the “inner game” phenomenon. Beginning a funky rap with lyrics about “inner game – outer game,” Green began to play along on his bass. The rap transitioned into a non-stop soundtrack of “negative self talk” that constantly thwarted Green’s attempt to play a solo on the bass. 
Trumpeters were featured as examples of confidence. Including testimonials from Doc Severinsen, Michael Sachs, Barbara Butler and Charles Schlueter, the distinction was drawn between bravura and integrity. The virtues of positive reinforcement, over preparation, and raising expectations were all highlighted as ways to build confidence. 