Krehbiel: Creative Not Caring

From David Krehbiel: Through the Door

David Krehbiel was principal horn of the San Francisco Symphony from 1972-1998. He is legendary for his artistry and his willingness to take musical risks.

"Creative Not Caring" means staying in the present moment, not dwelling in  past or future moments. In the present moment, you don't mind what just happened or what could happen in the future. In "Creative Not Caring", you trust your body (not your mind) to play the instrument. You use your mind to power musical emotion and to define your sense of time and space in the ensemble.

For me, "Creative Not Caring" meant getting past worrying about the times I failed or missed the first note during a performance, and realizing that whatever the outcome, it was okay. Just play! Focus on the emotion of the music in that moment.

I was always the daredevil who would take chances. Being willing to take chances without minding the outcome is the secret of achieving one's goals. I became aware of this when I started playing this so-called difficult instrument, the horn.

We have a choice in how we think and how we react to that thinking. But again, there was the nagging question: How do I produce the attitude of "Creative Not Caring" at will? How do I get to a point of trusting that my body will take over in matters of technique so that I can focus on communicating the emotion and purpose of the music? How can I pick up my horn and play with the ease that will make a career with the horn possible?



"Creative Not Caring" means:

•  Staying in the present moment
• Conquering fear by not minding what happens after this moment or what happened before
• Trusting your body to play the instrument
• Using your thinking to power musical emotion
• Using your thinking for time and space in the ensemble
• Taking risks and always prioritizing musical expression
• Occupying your mind with the emotion the composer is communicating in the passage. This, in turn, keeps thoughts of what might happen before and after the audition or performance at bay. When I am in the present, playing how I feel musically right now, it's one of the most conscious, most alive times I can have.
• Trusting the body to take over physically and play. This is analogous to learning how to ride a bicycle; once you learn, your body knows how. If you try to think about keeping your balance on a bicycle, you will be too slow and you will fall. 
• Experimenting and taking a chance on making a change to become more efficient or more musically expressive.
• Balancing the vertical with the horizontal.
• Being able to feel the flavor of each note while remaining conscious of the line or phrase.
• Being able to feel the gravitational pull from one note to the other, going and coming.
• Creating tension and releasing tension in a musical phrase like breathing in and out.
• Using tone color, volume, and inflection as an actor would do to portray emotion.
• Becoming involved with the emotion of the music, which is the best way to alleviate stage fright.
• Being aware of feeling or feeling the architecture of each phrase and composition.
• Be able to recognize that the voice in your head is the cause of most trouble with nerves and stage fright.
• Be aware that the voice in your head is not who you are.