A great article from Psychology Today about how focus and goals are better than brute practice length. Although I completely disagree with their statement: “Though practice is not an enjoyable task, musicians understand the value of it, and know it must be done.“ Practicing can be a very enjoyable experience if you choose small complete-able goals. In fact, with my [...]
Preparing for juries or performances
Erica Sipes via her blog Beyond the Notes wrote a great article about preparing for juries. Below is only a small excerpt: In advance of the jury, play for as many people as you possibly can, wherever, whenever. Do not let your teacher’s studio or the jury itself be the first place you’ve performed your repertoire. [...]
Visual Communication in Ensemble Rehearsals
This week’s theme is: Tips for Ensemble Rehearsals Although music is an art of listening, any high level ensemble musician or performing soloist knows that visual communication can make players perform better and help the audience to understand the music. Here are a few tips on how, when, and why we communicate visually. Visual cues for helping [...]
Contribute to ensemble rehearsals (even as the weakest player)
This week’s theme is: Tips for Ensemble Rehearsals Even as the weakest player in a group you still need to contribute something to the music. This is not as difficult as it might first appear. All you need to do is decided what the priorities of the music are and then contribute something toward that end. Rhythm: [...]
How practice methods and sleep affect your learning
Science Daily takes an interesting look at how sleep affects the learning of musical melodies on piano. It might seem all very obvious but in fact the tips to be learned are clear. Reinforcement of learning was key. I’d sugget practicing twice a day rather than one big session. “The goal is to understand how the brain [...]
Ensembles need a leader: Sir Simon Rattle in rehearsal
This week’s theme is: Tips for Ensemble Rehearsals Ensembles need to either make decisions together or have a leader. In particular, the larger the group the more leadership is needed; someone to decide how to unify the group and have a single vision for the work. This can also be accomplished through group discussion but [...]
Ensemble Rehearsals: Analysis Equals Success
Photo Credit: chooyutshing This week’s theme is “Tips for Ensemble Rehearsals“ I’ve been think about ensemble rehearsals lately because I’ve been recording some videos lately from the duo I play in and we’ve rehearsed a great deal. Trying to get an ensemble to work as one is a tricky deal, it takes a lot of effort, [...]
Combatting Nerves and Performance Anxiety
This post is part of a Theme of the Week: Practicing for Better Performances As guitarist Scott Tennant states in his technique book “there’s no substitute for preparation.” That is true, you certainly don’t want to perform something you haven’t practice well if you are the nervous type. The more you prepare the better the performance will [...]
Understanding Your Strengths and Limitations
This post is part of a Theme of the Week: Practicing for Better Performances In yesterday’s post I discussed the idea of setting musical priorities for better performances and I wanted to add to that idea by discussing more on understanding your strengths and weaknesses. The basic concept behind this idea is that we can’t always bring out [...]
Practice with Priorities for Better Performances
New to the site is theme weeks. Each week I’ll choose a theme to create a narrative and flow from one article to the next. Theme of this Week: Practicing for Better Performances Sometimes you need to set limits There are so many elements and musical considerations to present when performing: rhythm, phrasing, articulation, dynamics, clean technique, [...]
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