I have been around music all my life. When I was very little, my Uncle would play piano and organ every day. My mother sang to me, took me to symphony concerts, started me in music lessons very early. I had piano lessons for something like 15 years and have officially learned to play flute, recorder, clarinet, bassoon, guitar, and mandolin. I figure that if you can read music and coordinate two separate hands playing two different things, then you can play anything once you master the technique of how to make the instrument make its noise. I once counted that I had played something like 19 instruments. I have neglected my music dreadfully since I've had kids and it's on my list of things I need to do. I miss it.
But I digress. That much classical training beats improvisation out of you. In Australia there are a series of exams you can take, one each year, and to pass a piano exam you need to play the notes as written. Exactly as written. Sure you interpret to make true music, but that's nuance and subtlety, while still doing exactly as the composer tells you to do. When I got to grad school, I had friends that played jazz and wanted me to join in. I tried various ways of "loosening up". Trying to play well while under the influence of alcohol just doesn't do it for me. Even worse if you are trying to play a wind instrument where lip control is important. Suffice it to say, I couldn't do it. I was so happy to be introduced to Claude Bolling's Suites for Flute and Jazz Quartet that he wrote for Jean-Claude Rampal. I guess, like me, classical playing beat the improvisation out of him. But if you play exactly what is written, it sounds like you are improvising. I've played these with several great flute players, including my sister, but never had a full quartet to accompany us. One of these days.
When I started university and moved away from my home with my piano, I couldn't get home and relax by playing. Instead, I found a new outlet for relaxation in learning to cook. Just like music, I stick to recipes. I follow what's written. Even when its a favourite recipe I've made over and over for years. I know the theory of how foods mix together. I understand the science behind why certain ingredients are used. I get the aim of challenging various senses at once. And yet I have never improvised a recipe. Until now.
Oh boy, can't wait to find out what you make! Almost make me tear up but I'm a damn fool sap.
ReplyDeleteHi Ruth, Jerome here (Melissa's husband). I saw your post up on our computer and found it very interesting, as I think about this dance between recipes/improvisation all of the time. Like you I grew up reading music. First on violin, then trombone, then bass guitar. And like you, I am more comfortable with a recipe when cooking. Also like you, I have not played much music since the children came along, but I have found a similar spirit in my professional work. Although playing bass guitar brought me away from sheet music and into worlds of improvisation and "playing by ear", I never felt I was that good at it. Likewise, I have learned from Melissa to be more improvisational in the kitchen, but if left alone I'm going to start with a recipe.
ReplyDeleteI think whether a person is more inclined to follow a recipe or be more free flowing depends both on their individual brain structure and also how the skill was learned. Improvising is about knowing in your mind the results you're looking for, and using your acquired skills to get there. It's also about welcoming roadblocks and using them to your advantage.
As I read your post I thought "oh yeah, she a prof. of chemistry--chemistry certainly lends itself to following recipes too". I know very little about chemistry, but I happen to work with chemicals nearly every day applying and repairing finish on musical instruments. It's funny because this is one area where I trust my instincts (which are based on experience), more than any recipe. There are so many variables that any recipe is too restricting. It's much like cooking or playing music, yet somehow the process flows more intuitively.
I could go on and on, but since I don't have a clear goal for what I want to say (and I couldn't find a recipe), I'd better just stop before I make a big mess.
I would be seriously remiss, however, if I signed off without saying how lucky I feel to be a recipient of your first improvised recipe! I don't know if you improvised on the salad or the quesadillas or both, but they were both absolutely outstanding! Seriously, I will feel a slight void in my life until I can have that salad again. Thanks.