This week’s episode of the Time to Practice podcast is the second in a two-part…
Writing, Performing, and The Creative Process : An Interview with Ashley Rescot
On today’s episode of the TIme to Practice podcast we’re speaking with violinist and author Ashley Rescot. Ashley describes herself as an “aficionado of music, pedagogy, family, faith, and language.” She writes about her life as a musician and writes fiction geared toward young musicians that they can connect and relate to. We got a chance to sit down recently and talk about fiction as motivation for young musicians, how the creative process for musicians and writers is related, and of course music practice.
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Writing, Performing , & The Creative Process with Ashley Rescot – Time To Practice
Highlights from Ashley Rescot:
On practice when she was young:
“I remember that my mom, I mean, my goodness, she is a saint. She would work with me every day when I was growing up. And then as I got older, she had to kind of rotate through because she would work with all of my sisters and me. And so sometimes she’d have to rotate which of us she was practicing with. But, I really, I did enjoy, especially learning like the solo repertoire. So the Suzuki songs and later the concertos, I have fond memories of learning the violin concertos in high school. At that point I took [lessons] from my aunt, but my mom would still help me. I still needed a lot of coaching. So I have overall fond memories. Obviously there’s always those moments of clashing that are kind of inevitable, but overall I think especially now, my sisters and I all look back and were like impressed with my mom’s perseverance in teaching five of her children to play violin. It’s pretty cool. And now we still play together when we get the chance.”
“I think being a musician teaches you how to reach that high level in whatever fields you go into, which is really important. That’s probably the most important, one of the most important lessons we teach our music students, I think.”
On Students & Musical Fiction:
“I really wrote it with kind of our teen students in mind, but something that we could even do as a studio, especially when I feel like they’ve been kind of fragmented during the pandemic. And I can tell my students anyway are really craving socialization. They really want to see their friends again. And especially at the height of all that, like a year ago, I did a book club with a different book , It’s called The Main Dish and it’s got a violin on the front. So basically just slap a violin on the cover and I’ll probably read it, and it was excellent.
She geared even a little bit younger, her characters were in high school. So even some of my like nine and 10 year olds were able to read it and they were just like, “oh, we want to practice again. We’re excited!” She even came in on a zoom call and talked to my girls in the studio and they just thought that was the coolest thing to get to meet a real-life author. And one of the dads was like “the book wasn’t my style, but it got my daughter to practice.” So that’s what counts.”
“Some people when they write or they play initially, you’re kind of just writing or playing for yourself, which is really important. So I never want to diminish that importance, but then eventually you also want to be writing and playing for your audience.”
Links from Today’s Episode with Ashley Rescot:
Ashley Rescot’s Website: https://www.rescotcreative.com/
Book: A Change in Tune: https://www.rescotcreative.com/book/a-change-in-tune/
Book: The Chronicles of Music Majors: https://www.rescotcreative.com/book/the-chronicles-of-music-majors/
Music Fiction Fridays podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4cHCdHA72lBRPHQ6w0bLG7
Zazzle: Goofy Music Gifts: https://www.zazzle.com/store/rescotcreative/collections
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZtVHWjHUPKQMdoFT60P-IQ
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/violinashleyrescot
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleyrescot/
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