Practicing:
Keep PRACTICING, dear friends, making it as much of a winning process as possible. Look through these articles from The Bulletproof Musician:
8 Things Top Practicers Do Differently (which I read parts of to you on Friday in class)
Metacognitive Instruction (which Caleb posted on the blog here)
Why the Progress You Make in the Practice Room Seems to Disappear Overnight (which James posted here).
Keep sharing what works for you when you practice, and keep asking yourself how you can make your practice sessions more effective. Try things out, see what works for you, and ask your teachers and fellow students. Remember, we are a community.
Transitioning to the practice room and quieting the chatter in your mind:
"Release," "laugh at your fears and let them go" (which we did in class today), and babbling are all great ways to transition into music time in the practice room. Letting go of what has happened today and what may or may not happen later is an extraordinary gift to give yourself.
In class, I played notes on the piano, striking a key and keeping it down until the sound completely decayed, and we listened through the end of the note into the silence--which turned out not to be so silent after all. This is a "practice" in calm, focused listening, which one might call meditative listening. I learned it from The Listening Book by W. A. Mathieu. That link will take you to the Google Books preview; the exercise, "Listening to a String," is on page 39. (You can also read the entire book in a rather blurry scan here. And if you like it, you can buy it from Amazon here!)
Do this several times and write about your experience below.
I did the whole piano note decay thing before I practiced last night, and at first it was hard to focus on the note exclusively, probably because I was so tired and just wanted to go home. However, I did find out that the more that I did it, the more my mind became distracted by the progress of the note's decay and the overtones that appeared. Then I found that when I went to practice, not only was I more focused, but I found myself more attuned to the quality of my sound as well as my intonation. It was quite magical.
ReplyDeleteI did the piano note decay technique before I sat down to practice piano for my midterm. I'm always tense when I practice the piano because I feel as if I'm not doing something right since it's not my primary instrument. Focusing on the decay helped me relax a little bit more, so when I went to play I wasn't harshly striking the keys as usual. It also helped me worked through my problem spots much more smoothly since I wasn't as tense.
ReplyDeleteI did the piano note decay and I still could not quiet my mind. I would be reminded of things as the note was decaying. I will admit that I wasn't trying very hard. Its so much effort to make your mind clear and I would rather let my thoughts run free. When I gave up and went to practicing I was more relaxed but also more tired. It personally doesn't work for me, but its still pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteI did the piano decay before I practiced today and it helped me to really focus in on the moment. I was, however, distracted by far off doors slamming and people laughing and all those sorts of things... But listening to the piano until I could hear nothing really settled my mind in a sense that even though there were distractions outside of my door, I was in my own space in my own moment with just that sound. I found myself way more relaxed during my practice time.
ReplyDeleteI did this before practicing piano...at midnight. Under the physical conditions I was in, this exercise proved not helpful due to it making me extremely relaxed and immediately following I took a nap on one of the GCPA couches. I then decided to go to my room and sleep. So, this just showed me that I need to reconsider my practicing schedule in the future so I can have the mental energy to focus in on sounds the way this exercise would do so.
ReplyDeleteI did the piano decay in the afternoon before one of my classes. I felt that this helped me to clear my mind in order to focus better in class. I thought it was helpful. I agree with Aubrey, probably wouldn't try it at night
ReplyDeleteThis listening exercise is difficult for me. Maybe I'll give it a try after I've caught up on sleep during spring break. Especially in a practice room, the decaying note exercise does relax me but to the point of sleepiness. That then results in me feeling tired for the rest of my practice session. I think I will try this exercise at the end of a nighttime practice session. I love the idea of quieting my mind and relaxing with music so that the last thing I am thinking about at night is music.
ReplyDeleteThe single-note piano decay worked the first two times I tried it, but the third time I was too eager to start practicing, so I stopped in the middle of it. What kept my mind really engaged though was a piano decay where I played chords in different qualities, inversions, and registers. I would listen for one note then listen for another note in the chord. It took a couple seconds at first to be able to hear the note I wanted, but once I got the hang of it, I found that I could shift my focus from one note to another and in my mind create little melodies from the chord. It was WEIRD but so cool because I never bothered to listen very closely until that moment.
ReplyDeleteThe piano decay exercise wasn't easy for me. I almost found myself counting numbers in my head as to how long it lasted and then I couldn't focus on the actual ring. What I found worked for me better was the "release" we talked about in class. I decided to do the release by first taking a deep breath and going into a few minutes of meditation. It helped me not only get into my body but also helped me relax enough to feel like I was in a relaxed state of practicing. It was a really good feeling to practice and be in a good state of mind and feeling good physically.
ReplyDeleteI tried the piano note decay before practicing yesterday. I noticed that it put me into a much more relaxed state of mind and I was able to focus better on what needed to get done during my practice time. I also think that this exercise put me in a relaxed state for the remainder of the day. I might try this exercise every day just to help keep me relaxed during the day.
ReplyDeleteI did the piano note decay thing today before I started practicing voice. I just love this exercise! It clears my mind like really nothing else can. I just find it so interesting listening to the note decay that I don't really have issues with getting distracted or thinking about other things. I normally go into practice sessions stressed and thinking, "OK. I have this much time to get this many things done. Lets GO!" and clearing my mind before practicing was extremely helpful. I felt so much more relaxed and at ease while practicing, which is also good for the voice. Tension is never good! I am going to start doing this exercise at least a couple times a day and whenever I'm stressed. I really love it!
ReplyDeleteThe piano decay was a lot easier for me during class. When I'm by myself, I get antsy and want to play something more active or "interesting". I definitely think this could help, but maybe it would work better when I'm already in a slightly focused mindset.
ReplyDelete