| Stop and think a minute about a gospel trumpeter (as I am trying to be). We play hymns and favorites that everyone knows the words to! As I play in church, I think of the message the words speak then use that as to color the way I play! I do it every Sunday!
I recently played, soli, a hymn called "His Eye Is On the Sparrow" for a fellow trumpeter's funeral. It was his favorite song. Don't think, for one minute, that his family didn't sing the words, in their heads, as I played. I watched them closely and could tell!
The message is not just the words, it's the music as well. They all go together. As a musician, to try and separate them is a disservice to the composer and lyricist. Play them as you sing them, that's what I do! |