Getting Instrumental
I made a post recently about believing that trapeze is the “piano of aerial”. Just as it’s commonly believed that piano provides a strong foundation and understanding of music for musicians, I believe that starting on trapeze paves the way for a strong, healthy foundation of aerial apparatuses for aerialists.
This led to a fun conversation with some of my new Denver circus friends about what instruments other apparatuses might be. For your entertainment and consideration, here were our ideas:
Trapeze = piano. Simple, classic, foundational. Important to learn general body mechanics, form, etc (like learning notes, scales etc).
Lyra = harp. Gorgeous by itself, just pluck a few strings and strike a few poses and it’ll be lovely. BUT, has hidden depths and can take years of dedication to bring out all it has to offer.
Sling = trombone? Sax? Something jazzy that lends itself to improvisation. There’s not a lot of codified vocabulary on sling, so I feel it’s like a slide trombone, versatile, with all kinds of non-notes available.
Silks = guitar. Easy to begin, incredibly challenging to master. Everyone wants to play it.
Rope = bass. Seems like a less-complex version of silks, but demands precision rhythm and hidden strength.
What do you think? Any others?