Zoom whiteboard notes from a piano student's lesson

A student asked me questions on practicing. Do I practice every day, how long do I practice, when do I practice, what do I practice? How do I keep my enthusiasm for drumming year after year? Here are my answers. 

As many people know, I took up the drums at age 50 after an adult student challenged me by saying I had no idea how difficult it was to learn as an older adult. I took the challenge.  So, this blog is about my percussion practicing. (When my musical colleagues ask why I started drumming I tell a more colourful story that involves my misperception that drumming would be a cheaper mid-life crisis solution than buying a red sports car.)

1. I have a prepared practice space. Everything is organised and ready to go. I don't have to search around for anything. In short, I've removed the friction of a sloppy disorganised practice space. 
2. I understand and accept the difference between practicing and playing. I play music with my friends. In the practice studio I build skill and solve problems. 
3. This week, from the Metropolitan Silver Band, I received more than a dozen new pieces to learn in short order. My first step is to separate the music into two piles. Pile one I can sightread and will not be practiced. Pile two requires some work which I divide it into two further piles, music that requires a few minutes and then it's good to go and the terrifying pile. 
4. I listen to recordings of the terrifying pile so that I have a clear understanding of how the music should sound, then I get to work. When practicing music for my lessons, with symphonic percussionist Rick Dior, I carefully review my lesson notes from the Zoom video and follow his instructions.
5. All difficult music is chunked or learned in small sections. I practice very slowly with the metronome carefully playing with the correct dynamics, stickings, and articulations shown. I make note of the tempo that I can play accurately and the date on the top of the page. I want to practice slow enough not to make errors. Each day I move the tempo up by one or two BPMs. Other exercises are chop builders which need extended repetitions at loud volumes and fast tempos. 
6. I record my practicing, in various ways, in order to work in a "kind environment", that is, one in which feedback is quick and accurate. On the drum pad I use a metronome and listen carefully. On the electronic drum kit, I utilise a metronome app that every 32 measures scores me 1 to 100. I aim for 98% plus, which I can do if I build the passage or piece slowly and patiently. At band practices and lessons, I record everything on either audio or video. On my early morning walks and in the car, I listen to these recordings. 
7. I occasionally revisit old audio recordings to hear my progress. This week I listened to a performance from 2016. My wife said, "jeez you've improved."
8. I belong to supportive a musical communities: The Metropolitan Silver Band and The Kerr Street Big Band. For fifteen summers, in four countries, I've attended jazz and drum workshops. All these communities are full of keeners like me. 
9. I seek outside assessment. Both bands are run by conductors who don't let anything slip by. Also, I receive regular feedback from my teacher Rick Dior. The summer workshops are 24/7 feedback loops from fellow musicians and world class musicians. (I've learned to be humble.)
10. Do I practice everyday? I only practice 6 days a week.
11. How long do I practice? Eight to 10 hours a week on the kit, 4-5 hours of listening and evaluating my progress, two or more hours listening to and analyzing the playing of others, 1 hour reading about drumming in the "library", and an hour or two a week watching YouTube videos. Plus, I teach drumming a few hours a week.
12. What do I practice? See steps 2 through 6.
13. How I stay enthusiastic is no mystery. I love playing the drums as much I as love playing the piano. I love the ballet of 4 independently moving limbs. I love making music with my friends. I love drummers (they are different from pianists). I love the thrill and positive feedback of performing with and for others. I appreciate how it helps me identify with my piano students who are on a similar journey. I love where drumming has taken me: New Orleans jazz clubs like Preservation Hall, outdoor concerts under a summer moon in Rome Italy, Polish and American Jazz Clubs, the lists goes on and on. 

If I can help and encourage you on your musical journey, call me. 

David aka "sticks Story"
PS. I now cart my drums around in a red Cadillac. Not quite a sports car, but more drummer friendly. 
 

​The six skills of pianists

I don’t believe in talent. In my experience, all the so-called talented people turned out to be the hardest working, patient, and focused people of any cohort. However, they also had access to resources, like time and money to support their journey. Fortunately, there is a consensus around the core curriculum and its proper sequencing in formal piano studies. 

1. Technique is the foundational set of skills required to play competently without injury.
2. Musically satisfying music which systematically builds musical skill in a logical and sequential manner while maintaining the student’s enthusiasm and satisfying their musical interests. 
3. Theory helps to decode and understand the patterns within the music, memorize music easier, and knowledgably communicate with the teacher.
4. Aural skills encompass guided listening, sight singing, pitch recognition, and transcription to connect the ears with the hands. Aural skills are tightly bound with music theory skills.
5. Sightreading skills work with theory knowledge to make music reading easier, quicker, and effective. Skilled sight readers can play a wide variety of music for fun without teacher input. Therefore, for recreational pianists, becoming a great sight reader should be the number one goal.
6. Reviewing old repertoire builds a student's confidence that all their hard work is paying off.

​If I can help you on your journey, call me.
 
David 
Revised 2024

1. This chart illustrates the significance of note-taking during lessons because relying solely on the teacher's notes is not enough. Taking your own notes can enhance your memory of the class content.
2. This chart highlights the optimal time for practice, which is right after the lesson.
3. This chart underscores the importance of spaced repetition. Ignoring the science of forgetting leads to losing most of the learned information.
4. This chart shows that we tend to forget two-thirds of the material we practiced just the day before.
5. This chart should reassure you that your learning pattern is normal.
6. The Harvard paper mentioned provides valuable insights into memorization techniques.

If I can help you, call me. 

​David
Revised 2024

References: 

Replication and Analysis of Ebbinghaus’ Forgetting Curve | PLOS ONE

How Memory Works | Derek Bok Center, Harvard University

How to prepare to attend a classical music concert.

1. Review the concert program.
2. Choose one piece to study.
3. Search out background information on the composer and the piece. (On YouTube you will find experts speaking on well-known pieces. They may be worth a listen.)
4. If the piece is in the public domain, you can download the score here: IMSLP: Free Sheet Music PDF Download
5. Play a few of the themes of the piece. Violin I is a good place to find these themes.
6. Watching the score scroll, on YouTube, as the music plays is fun. 

Below is an example.
Revised 2024

Short explanation

This goes deeper

The score and parts are at the bottom of this page. 

I recently returned from Scotland where I attended, Mostly Audio 2023, an audio/music/Ai workshop and conference. This video summarizes all that's wrong with Ai generated music while missing the creative possibilities of Ai. 

My take aways from this video. 

• It presents a new way to sound conventional. Whereas the old way of producing banal music took time and effort, this is much quicker. 
• This is to music composition what paint by numbers is to art. 
• The part I enjoyed the most was the human generated vocabulary of the introduction. It was dope!
• The part I didn't enjoy was the voice over telling me what my reaction was supposed to be. A variation on a leading question. 
• The latest con, that you too can be a musician without time or much effort. 
• Thank goodness, the output of these musical geniuses will remain buried on YouTube. 

Musical skill, vision, and creativity will be paramount to overcome the limitations of this new medium. To succeed as a musician in the future, you will have to be better than this. As "this" will flood the market.  

However, this video does raise interesting questions for music education. The structure, delivery methods, and content of musical education will need to quickly evolve to stay relevant. But I have a few questions. 

Relevant to whom?
Do all students want to be creators or producers?
What will be the nature of musical collaboration?
Who will have time to listen to all this easily generated music?
Who will care?
Is the joy of making music in the work or the output?
How will this be monetized?
Did the "creators or producers" of this video have licenses to use the likenesses of John Coltrane?

David

A Royal Conservatory piano student's goal,
Is mastering the art of playing with control.

Begin with scales and arpeggios in hand,
To warm up fingers and help you understand.

Next, pieces chosen with purpose and care,
Played often, so the music's easy to bear.

Technical studies such as Hanon or Czerny,
Can help you play with dexterity so cleanly.

Sight-reading and ear training are quite a treat,
To build essential skills and make progress sweet.

Choose challenging repertoire to extend,
Your capabilities, and become a true friend.

Lastly, review and refine what you've learned,
So your piano skills will be well-earned.

A Royal Conservatory piano student's way,
​Is to practice each week, with dedication and play.

William.

​Do you have enough time to take piano lessons?

Given the demands of overscheduled lives, most adults will have to give up some activity to make room for a new one.  Google "how many hours does the average adult spend surfing on their phones?" Cutting that in half will free up enough time to learn piano.

Call me when you are ready.
​
David
Revised August 2022

​Level 1: Fun is guaranteed in level 1 by just showing up and playing. Playing in a community concert band or at the family Christmas party would be an example. On the lesson front, level 1 is leisurely and steady.  

Level 2: You are going to perspire. Lessons will be intense. You may be getting ready to audition to play in a high-level community group. Or you may be preparing for an exam. Regardless, the musical standards are high. Daily deliberate practice of an hour or more will be required. Success is a near certainty given enough grit and time. 

Level 3 is going to hurt, tears will be shed. But you are all in. Your daily focus is piano. You dream of Carnegie Hall. You have multiple lines of attack. You put yourself out there. You are preparing to be an Olympian. Many dream, few make it. But this doesn't deter you. Large amount of time and money will be spent. Results not guaranteed. 

Athletic parallels
Level 1: Weekend running group. 
Level 2: Marathon preparation. It's going to hurt, but you will live to tell the tale. 
Level 3: Extreme endurance running. You might die.

Let me know where you stand. 

David
Revised August 2022

The internet is full of hucksters telling you that learning to play the piano is easy. It's not, but it is fun. Every day I watch my students grow; the days turn into years. And, inch by inch, progress is made. 

If I can help you on your journey, call me. 

David
Revised August 2022

When I was a naïve overconfident young man Dr. Hugo Norden, professor emeritus Boston Conservatory, coached me in Baroque counterpoint and harmony. He was a wise man who knew how to handle characters like me. 

A restatement of the "law of association" to which I’ve spent forty plus years considering. I've reached several conclusions starting with who and what we listen to and how that normalizes our expectations of how music should sound and be presented. These associations show us possibilities. But who we “hang with” will be the greatest influence on our musical progress. Jazz musicians hang with Jazz musicians, Classical musicians hang with Classical musicians and so on. 

To whom are you listening? Do your listening habits support your music studies or distract? Do you associate with other like-minded individuals such as fellow students, or concert goers?

If I can help, call me.
​
David
revised August 2022

What is practice math? Kim practices 10 minutes a day and Rachel puts in 60 minutes a day.

All I would add to these fine words is the following: do these things long before they are teens.  

Good luck

David
Revised October 2022

Keeping a positive attitude on the piano bench, when the going gets tough, is a perennial dilemma for us all. I found the following activities helpful on my learning journey as a percussionist. (I took up the study of percussion at age 50 on a dare from a piano student)

• I maintain a positive attitude with focused effort and disciplined study that aligns with my goals and values. I would summarize my goals and values like this: first, I want to play in community groups that are dedicated to excellence, play a few public concerts each year, and are comprised of musicians that reflect a broad range of ages and backgrounds. Second, I want to play with my retired professional peers as a percussionist where we have fun, share stories, and play the old tunes one more time.
• I take weekly lessons; I do my homework.
• Maintaining a positive attitude is easier when I share this journey with other people. So, each summer when I attend an adult music workshop where I meet other adults on the same journey.  We commiserate together! A bonus is learning new teaching techniques from master teachers. Now that piano concerts are returning, it is easier to meet other adult piano students. Strike up a conversation with the person sitting beside you. Chances are good they too play the piano and would be happy to chat about it.

David
Revised October 2022

It depends.

It depends on your prior musical experiences and expectations. If your desires are modest, YouTube will work. But if you desire to achieve some level of musical competency you will need a teacher. Teachers provide objective and knowledgeable feedback. Teachers guide you through a proven curriculum that has been successfully followed by countless students. And when the going gets tough, and it will, a teacher will support and inspire you to keep going. 

If that sounds like the help you need, call me.   

David
Revised October 2022

These are short, charming, easy pieces for levels 5 and 6.

Q: What can harpsichordists teach pianists?
A: How to pace the music. Listen to the subtle flexibility in the flow of the music. 

In the second video the performer talks about these works. 

Enjoy, 

​David
Revised October 2022

The music. BACH JS 6 préludes (BWV 939-943).MUS (imslp.info)

Q: How does an impatient student find patience?
Q: How does the piano teacher maintain the student's enthusiasm while working with an impatient student?

Good questions. 

A: There are no short cuts. Playing piano is a manual as well as intellectual skill that just takes time. If we neglect the development of your core piano skills, you will grow bored, discouraged, and quit. In the end, it's faster to learn the skills, embrace the discomfort of challenging work than to search all over the internet looking for a short cut. A good analogy is martial arts, yellow belts don't graduate to black belts by skipping the intermediate belts. There is a progression of skills, steps, and experiences required to move from belt to belt. 

Core music skills: 

1. Technique
2. Aural Skills
3. Sight-reading
4. Theory
5. History
6. Repertoire
7. Etudes
8. Improvisation
9. Group music making 
10. Music appreciation

Here is a short story taken from my parallel passion of drumming. I devote a large chunk of my practice time to the core skills and fundamentals of drumming, namely time, tone, and patterning. Left, right, left, right or LLRR or RLRR and LRLL. I listen intently to the results. I analysis my movements. And on and on it goes. I've learned to be patient and I've made some real progress in my studies.  I'm confident I will continue to make progress. 

Let me help you. 

Call me. Let's get started.

David
Revised October 2022

I'm dreaming. of one week of piano with first rate tutors, delicious food, and flowing wine at this adult piano retreat in the UK. ​Click above for more inf. 

David
revised November 2022​

Sometime the stress from the pandemic is a bit too much. It can lower our enthusiasm for practice. So, what to do? Assuming you are not suffering from clinical depression, in which case please seek professional help. This is not the place. 

But for the rest of us. Try some or all the following.

1. Find a quiet moment and just listen to beautiful music played by professionals. 
2. Remember the difference between practice and play. Practice involves judgement, play is non-judgmental fooling around, playing whatever strikes us.
3. Revisit your go to pieces and quietly play them.
4. Go for a long safe walk. Fresh air is good for us.
5. Daydream musical ideas, thoughts, dreams, and plans. For me that would include adult music camps in New Orleans and Europe. Starting up a band for my young students to play in after the pandemic. 

Good luck, stay safe, behave, and we all be playing together again in person soon. 

In the meantime, call me if you would like to meet online. I've dozens of students happily progressing on zoom. 

​David.

Will I ever get there?

Maybe.

An adult student is working on the scherzo of Haydn’s piano sonata in F major Hob.XVI:9 A fun work from RCM level 4. It goes fast, it’s light, it’s fun under the fingers. It reminds me of joyful summer memories as a kid riding our bikes as fast as we can go, just celebrating the joy of movement and being alive.

How does one play like that?
Can I ever go as fast?

Another story. I’ve a young teenage student preparing to sit for her level 8 exam later this month. One of her pieces is Solfeggio in C minor by CPE Bach an extremely fast and demanding piece of music. She runs like the wind through it. The power of youth. Can my 61-year fingers play that fast? Nope. Period. It’s as absurd as looking on while high schoolers compete in the 100-yard dash. Yeah, I can still run fast, but not like that.

Moral of the story. Be at peace with it.

​Now can we learn to play faster. Of course. Can we ever go as fast? Maybe, maybe not.

​
Now back to Haydn. Pianists who play well, including fast, have worked patiently in the following areas.

1. Repertoire is developed in a thoughtful and methodical manner over many years.
2. They learn theory to understand the music they are playing: patterns and relationships. 
3. They have developed their aural skills to fine degree. Ultimately all playing is playing by ear.
4. They learn something about the history of the music they play Classical, Jazz, Blues, Folk, or Americana. Whatever it is, it has a tradition, a history, a story to tell. They are wanting a piece this story in their lives. They enthusiastically seek out experiences to get it.
5. They carefully learn to sight read well.
6. They cheerfully deal with their etudes and exercises.
7. They take their growing knowledge, experiences, and skills to understand the nuances of great performances.
8. They can answer the question, “who are your favourite pianists?” And tell you why? The sophistication of their answers will evolve as they develop as musicians. 
9. They are emotionally committed to the project of learning the piano. And have the maturity to understand it is a journey of learning.
10. They love the music.
11. They have studied how to practice the piano through different sources of reliable information. They avoid the pitfalls of seeking a work around, a hack, or quick fix. And the huskers selling shortcuts to expertise. 
12. They make the time to practice.

If I can help you on your journey, please give me a call.
​
David

Time to dream again. Covid-19 will abate this year; the vaccines are coming, spring will arrive. Time to get musically ready to share our music with the world again. 

Here are 10 ideas to mull over.

1. Organize your practice space with everything you need ready at hand: scores, recordings, pencil, headset for listening, phone recording app operational, metronome, lighting, piano tuned, distractions minimized. 
2. Schedule practice time in the calendar, the same way other non-work-related activities are. In short prioritize music this year. 
3. Plan to take lessons this year: Let a little fresh air in. A fresh perspective.
4. Learn to love how you sound at your instrument: Recording frequently and accepting how it sounds and thinking about how it might be improved is an effective step forward.
5. If your instrument is lacking, and you have the means, upgrade. 
6. Seek out other adult learners online. There are wonderful communities on Facebook. I belong to several them. Contribute, celebrate the privilege of being able to make music. 
7. When concerts return, go. Be sure to be there, it will be an emotionally cathartic experience of lifetime that first downbeat. Expect tears.
8. Find a duet partner after you get your vaccine jab. Celebrate together, the joy of playing together again.
9. Consider expanding or updating your musical preferences. There has been a lot of music created since our musical preferences were set in our youth. Much of it will speak to you in new ways. YouTube algorithms are good for this. My teenage students have the most eclectic tastes which I attribute to these algorithms.
10. Make a fresh list of pieces you like to play this year, purchase, or print the music, put it in a folder and plop it on the music stand and visualize yourself playing beautifully.

Cheers, 

David 

I'm 15 or so and I've been playing piano for just a year when I got the call from a singer of my acquaintance. She is cute and she needs an accompanist for the outdoor church strawberry social. I accept. (Though I'm way over my head, I'm keen to impress.)

We practice together. Somehow, I survive. However, I am about to learn the difference between the practice room and the stage. (I didn't imagine it is like basic training verses combat.) So, picture this: It's a beautiful day as I approach the piano the church has hauled onto the grass. The back of the piano faces the singer and the audience. I confidently sit down, and immediately my right leg starts to bounce uncontrollably against the underside of the piano. People are looking around for the source of the noise. I remain deadpan behind the piano. She keeps singing. It mercifully ends.

Takeaways.

1. "Superbia et ante ruinam" Pride goes before the fall. But the show must go on.
2. Never underestimate the power of shameless audacity in a show business career.
3. The magic of the performing arts is its illusion that it is easy.

David
Revised June 2023

Lockdown 2.0 Oh boy!
The article above supplies some great ideas to keep us practicing. I invite you to click the photo to read the article. 

​David

Listen to superb musicians playing great music. It is a musical truism: "we are who we listen to" because who we listen to inculcates the sound of the music into our being. This inculcation will colour how you play. 

Try this on your next new piece. 

1. Find a professional recording.
2. Listen a few times to the recording while watching the score.
3. With pencil in hand, work out the fingering for both hands on every note. You can skip repeated notes.
4. Now back to the recording. Listen to the first phrase, typically 2-4 measures. Using the fingering you wrote down mimic the expression of what you heard. If you are playing jazz, adjust the notation to match the recording because the recording is correct; fakebooks are just approximations. 
5. Painstakingly continue to the end of the piece one phrase at a time. 
6. Next day start over. It will go quicker today.
7. As you go along, record your phrases, and listen back. Are you shaping and articulating correctly? Don't worry about the tempo. That will come later. 

Have fun. 

David
Revised January 2024