Music, Mountains… and Your Free Emotion Words List

Hi Reader

Your brain remembers better when you give it more to work with.
The more senses you involve while practicing, the stronger the memory traces you create.

Don’t just think about what the music sounds like—ask yourself:

What does it look like on the page?
What does it feel like in your hands?
Does it remind you of a picture? A place? A friend? A vacation? An emotion? Even a smell?

One of my students recently asked for help remembering the difference between the first and second endings in his piece. He’s an avid hiker, and at our last recital he told a vivid story about how the piece he would be performinng reminded him of two hikers making their way up a mountain.

So I showed him: the shape of the first ending on the page looks more like a volcano, with a dip at the top, while the second ending looks more like a classic mountain peak. Once he saw it that way, he never confused them again.

And let’s be honest… mountains are never flat. That’s why, this Sunday in Piano with Rebecca B, we’re going From Flat to Expressive—because music, like a great mountain range, needs peaks, contours, and drama. I’ll share the tools you need to play with more expression, plus how to make confident interpretive choices.

I touched on this in a recent YouTube video, but Sunday’s session will go much deeper and include a live Q & A.

To help you bring more shape and meaning to your playing, I’m including a list created by the violist Karen Tuttle of emotion words. Click on the link to download it.

👉Emotional Lexicon

Next time you practice, mark your score with words that connect to you. Tie each few measures to a feeling, a scene, or even a smell—and watch how quickly your memory and expression improve.

Rebecca

P.S. If you’re not already in the Piano with Rebecca B community, join us here so you can attend the talk:

👉https://www.skool.com/pianowithrebeccab