Friday, December 7, 2007

Back to the Body

It is amazing what the body remembers. Muscle memory is an incredible thing.

Apparently, I signed up to do a performance in January. I don't remember doing this, but have been reassured that I really did. Maybe I should make a dance each time I sign up to do something, so I will remember I did it!

So last night I dug out some notes from a piece I have not done, or even really thought about, since May. I read through them and told Chris there was no way I was going to be able to do it; I had no idea what this stuff was. So I took my notes into the computer room (where we have a little space) and tried to work it out. Surprisingly, it came back! Not all of it, but a good chunk. One movement just flowed into the next. I am really impressed. Apparently my muscles have a better brain than my head! Today I am feeling far less stressed about having less than a month (the busiest month of the year for me) to prepare. My head can check out; my body knows what it is doing!

Now this piece is a duet, so hopefully Charles remembers the pieces of movement I'm missing. I think I'm going to do some research (in all my free time) about muscle memory. I always knew I had it, but never was so in awe of it.

1 comment:

Amy Crawford said...

I experience this all the time with the piano. A piece that I learned back in the eighth grade, for example, comes back to me almost immediately when I start playing it, even though I could barely hum it for you. It is astounding how that works.