At some point in our music study we reach a crossroads. A decision has to be made. Do we go deep or stay in the shallow end of the pool? Deep means:
And, we know what they are. So we make our decision. cheers, David Story
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For music students this means attending class, seeking out creative solutions to practice problems, watching and learning on YouTube, going to concerts, attending workshops, hanging out with musicians, talking up a storm with other students, asking questions of your teachers, setting practice goals which challenge, learning new styles of music, reading biographies of musicians you admire, reading biographies of musicians you hate, going to music festivals, and as Wynton says, “addressing your short comings”. Every experience you have adds to your store of knowledge and, over time, increases your ability to respond successfully in the moment. “Every time you expose yourself to another situation, it will give you another key of experience for your key ring” Source: Life is Tremendous, by Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, page 36 Have a great week. David I was thinking...
Hilariously absurd. Yet millions apparently attempt to teach themselves piano on-line. And, there are lots of folks willing to sell you a miracle DVD, book, subscription in your quest. No teacher needed they proclaim. Some people spend a lifetime looking for shortcuts and online freebies, when a few short years of focused effort and disciplined practice with a professional teacher would lead to the results they seek. My favorite is the "Play what you want promise" A common desire. But in order to play the latest chart topper a few basics need to be addressed i.e. how to get the dots off the page and into your fingers? No shortcuts here. A competent teacher can guide you through that little roadblock in short order. A competent teacher will want you to play the music you love. They also know the quickest way to get there: professional instruction, a willing student, lots of focused effort. Focused effort is practice, bench time, rehearsal, wood-shedding, what ever you call it, result=input, cause=effect, karma, you get the point. The miracle is practice. The shortcut is work. Cheers, David Story People want to learn to play an instrument fast. (I included). We dream about performing the Moonlight Sonata, jamming the blues, or playing Christmas carols in just weeks. Two weeks would be ideal to quote Leo Babuata. Search for “learn piano fast" in Google and you get 418,000 hits. The proprietors make wild claims and promises. Bunk, of course. Let us take a closer look at what it would take to play well. Focused practice on the right things for a start. Playing an instrument is primarily an athletic event. Physical skills take time and guidance. Of course, there are people who can guide you more effectively and quicker than others. However, few people can teach themselves past a rudimentary level. It would be like trying to achieve your black belt from watching Youtube. An absurdity. Now assuming you have a competent teacher, in person or online, you have to learn effective practice habits. The habits of the pros. (I swear some people spend more time looking for shortcuts than the time it would take to learn properly in the first place) Before you dive in with plans of practice marathons, I suggest you start slowly and build some good habits, habits that will raise the odds of success. Step one: Listen to a competent recording of your pieces before starting to play. Then complete the assignment, and afterwards fiddle about. Step two: Explore the instrument, improvise, and noodle about. Step three: Add a little time each week to your practice sessions. Step four: Inspire yourself by reading magazines for students like Keyboard, Pianist, Modern Drummer, Downbeat, etc. Step five: Have faith in your progress. It is a lot of work to learn to play well. I practiced about 400 hours before I could play drums in an amateur band and not embarrass myself too much. Now I am up over 1000 hours in almost 3 years. If it takes 10,000 hours to reach expert status, at this rate I will be 80 years old. Nevertheless, I will be swinging hard. My goal is to add one extra hour per month to my practice schedule. Now my drum practice is about 6 hours a week. By the end of the year, I hope to have it up to about 12 hours a week. Which will cut the 30 years down considerably? (In my forties, I studied and obtained my ARCT in piano pedagogy. I put in five thousand hours over 4 years of practice and study. I succeeded at it, and had an excellent finish, but the experience was the most difficult thing I ever did in my life, period. Berklee College of Music was a walk in the park compared to that experience.) Final thought: Celebrate the small victories because it is the journey that counts. These thoughts and acts will help tame the practice monster and give you some inner peace to help you persevere through the difficulties, defeats, and triumphs of learning to play well. Cheers, David Giving up the piano can be one of life's great regrets. But resuming lessons after decades is not. If you are thinking about it you should prepare yourself for an interesting journey of rediscovering filled with joy and guided by humility. I invite you to watch this recent video and browse the book where Alan Rusgridger learns Chopin Ballade no. 1 at age 57, 41 years after giving up the piano, while working as the editor of the Guardian newspaper. WOW! As a drum student myself, it is always heartwarming to meet a fellow traveler For more info on my own journey in mid-life learning see my blog. Just click on this paragraph. Cheers, David updated: May 2023 I won't make any New Year's resolutions this year, but I will review why I signed up for drum and guitar lessons in the first place. Success, I've been told, is a result of our habits, and our habits are the consequence of our actions. Actions come from our values. Values are bred into us. So, resolutions in conflict with our values are doomed. But habits created considering our values have a chance. Postscript February 2023. I made a few resolutions this year. These resolutions were created after reflection and preparation. I'll see how it goes. Cheers, David Updated Feb 2023 “Private Practice Determines Public Performance” Carl Allen, December 2011 issue of Downbeat Magazine “Start with the end in Mind” Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Tips on Practicing I just finished reading Carl Allen’s article in the current issue of Downbeat magazine. Carl reviews his philosophy of drumming. Most of it is applicable to piano and guitar as well. Inspired, I offer this.
We play like we practice, so… 1. Practice mentally and emotionally engaged. 2. Remember, it must be in the so-called muscle memory to be secure. 3. Practice slowly, listen deeply, be patient, and pay attention to the minute details of the score: articulations, dynamics, phrasing, tone, etc. 4. Start slowly, the correct tempo will come later. 5. Imagine you must play publicly in a week. Then tackle the annoying bits first. :-) Cheers, David Updated Feb 2023 You must believe you can do it. Without this belief all is lost. Update September 2020 A good attitude is easier to maintain if you are sharing this journey with other people. You can meet other adult piano students at professional piano recitals. Strike up a conversation with the person beside you. because chances are good, they play or have played the piano. David Updated Feb 2023 How do we maintain our enthusiasm for study and hard work? Here are some sure-fire ways that will help.
Tonight, we saw Jo Bonamassa at Roy Thompson Hall Toronto. Rockin' good fun for twenty-five hundred enthusiastic middle-aged fans, aficionados, and players. I'm looking forward to practicing tomorrow. Cheers, David Story Updated Feb. 2023 |
You've got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail. AuthorI'm a professional pianist and music educator in West Toronto Ontario. I'm also a devoted percussionist and drum teacher. Categories
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