How to Practise Better Options

[BitterSweet]

I love this article. It's actually explained to me why I hated singing practice (and rarely did much) until the last few weeks. I'm approaching my Grade 8 and have finally started to find all the pieces really quite challenging. I've never had to learn ornaments before, for example.

In particular, I've learned how useful it is to break down the section you're getting wrong, and go over it and over it, as slow as you need. I'm sure instrumentalists learn this earlier than singers... I've also discovered that my practice is more fun if I try to get a sense of performance in as early as possible by thinking about the emotional journey of the music. That way, I don't end up sounding like a singing robot when I perform!

In the article, the writing things down tip is especially good. I made a couple of pages for my filofax where I make a note of what pieces I did and any problems I worked on. This is really good for lessons too, because then I cna tell my teacher what I need her help with.

Just a shame all that work can't fix the timing issues on piece three because I don't have a recording of the accompaniment but nevermind, the exam is so close now I refuse to worry!

[flobiano]

... today's mindful practising update is short, and blindingly obvious

It is really difficult to concentrate on practising after a full day at work.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/agree.gif)

Mine is also blindlingly obvious - that the more I stress about the high notes and playing them in tune, the worse they sound. If i relax a bit more and don't mentally (and physically tense up) they sound a lot better and a lot more in tune.

[Roseau]

My problem tends to be making different mistakes..... less easy to find the cause.

Me too (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

[schraeubchen]

I hope it's OK, if I join in this discussion.

I read the article yesterday. And I've some thoughts on it.

First I restarted to play the flute 3 years ago. I am not sure if I know enough about techniques to always find a solution for special problems. But I always try. And I think I can ask my teacher if I am not able to find a solution on my own.
Second I generaly work like this. Maybe it's a personal thing. I always first face a problem, figure out what it is and what it means and then try to find a solution.

I have been to a training course the past two days, that was pretty exhausting, so not much energy left for mindful practicing with a brain full of new knowledge.

My main focus right know is to improve my tone and to improve working with my lynchpin. Yesterday I faced the problem of playing b flat (second octave on the flute) to f (third octave on the flute) slured as harmonics.
It's nearly impossible for me to do so.

Possible reasons are
- I still fear the f (no kidding)
- I do not use my abdominals enough in this situation
- the fingering of f is still not automatic

Solutions could be
- trying to accept my fear in front of f and any higher notes and try to reduce this by playing them more often with my mind in working mode.
- Only do the fingering for all the dreaded note from f third octave on without the flute at my mouth
- go on playing harmonics to loosen my jaw and getting a feeling for my abdominals for this notes

Beside all that, I also find it hard to practice mindful and not with my brain on autopilot after a long day of work.l

[jod]

I hope it's OK, if I join in this discussion.

I read the article yesterday. And I've some thoughts on it.


Possible reasons are
- I still fear the f (no kidding)
- I do not use my abdominals enough in this situation
- the fingering of f is still not automatic

Solutions could be
- trying to accept my fear in front of f and any higher notes and try to reduce this by playing them more often with my mind in working mode.
- Only do the fingering for all the dreaded note from f third octave on without the flute at my mouth
- go on playing harmonics to loosen my jaw and getting a feeling for my abdominals for this notes

Beside all that, I also find it hard to practice mindful and not with my brain on autopilot after a long day of work.l

Fear: yes that can really get in the way have you tried self-hypnosis or deep relaxation techniques especially as you also report brain being on auto pilot after work.

Try having a break and reading a book for 30 mins before practice and eating something not to heavy but nutritious.

Getting the fingering automatic will only come with time silent practise or no silent practise so don't beat yourself up over this.

Try pilates if you want to get intouch with your abdominals. Might help with the relaxation work too. Just a thought.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[Tassimo]

As promised here is the feedback on my practice session.

Practice time: 2.5 hours (10 min breaks on the hour).

Objectives: Introduce new scales and improve tone on three exam pieces.

AOB: Taped myself on my dictaphone.

Outcome:

I played my current scales well, but intonation was sloppy on position shifting. Improved the intonation by tackling small sections and placing fingers deliberatly until correct pitch was achieved. Added in dominant sevenths, which was enjoyable. Also, added in chromatic scales, which I loved but my brain has a failing on a note descending. Tackled this altering fingering pattern and 'seems' to have solved the problem.

Main pieces were tackled one by one and the stumbling block was not so much on the position shifting but keeping the tempo going. I am happy to position shift but because I do not know the notes yet I am stumbling, which then loses tempo and then I start to feel sorry for myself. Tackled by just attempting the few bars at the beginning of the shift to try and keep the tempo correct - lost intonation, but tempo improved. Will work on intonation but the main thing is tempo.

I lack confidence when fourth finger is involved. Not a fear of using it, but fear that the pitch always sounds dull and therefore when I am approaching fourth finger placing I start to tense up. I hope to overcome this by getting fourth finger exercises from teacher at the weekend.

Observations: I played in a music practice room with a lot of space. I had plenty of time for practice and therefore after my intial tense first ten minutes I could relax completely. I played with gay abandon and that, along with 'mindful' practising, allowed me to relax fully and therefore play like there was no restrictions. Also, the thought of students passing the room and listening also made me want to produce a sound that they would not laugh at. Therefore I understand that I need to take my practice more seriously. I need to make each note count and not rush. I feel that I am being rushed when I practice at home.

As a thought I listened to my recording the next day (from my dictaphone) and I surprised myself. I play better than I think that I do. I think that when the violin is so close to my ear I hear every scrape and scratch and tend to concentrate more on these than the pretty noise that I am making.

I will make a real effort with the mindful practising in future.

trying to accept my fear in front of f and any higher notes and try to reduce this by playing them more often with my mind in working mode.

This is a really good action plan. I know that my brain fears certain things and that is difficult to overcome, but I think with an action plan it can be worked at.

[schraeubchen]

Fear: yes that can really get in the way have you tried self-hypnosis or deep relaxation techniques especially as you also report brain being on auto pilot after work.

Try having a break and reading a book for 30 mins before practice and eating something not to heavy but nutritious.

Getting the fingering automatic will only come with time silent practise or no silent practise so don't beat yourself up over this.

Try pilates if you want to get intouch with your abdominals. Might help with the relaxation work too. Just a thought.

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

Sounds a bit like what my teacher said to me last lesson: "Your main problem is that you need to be more patient with yourself!"
Beside that I got physical exercises for my abdominals and a Taffanel/Gaubert Study for getting in touch with my abdominals. I hope it will help.
I think, today I will have a little nap before practicing. I am so tired right now, I start to be crossed-eyed.

This is a really good action plan. I know that my brain fears certain things and that is difficult to overcome, but I think with an action plan it can be worked at.

I hope, it will work out as a good action plan for me. I will let you know.

[Tassimo]

I hope, it will work out as a good action plan for me. I will let you know.

Yes, do that please. I think that the more members who post about observations during practice time the more we can learn from one another. Also, it reinforces that we are all feeling the same thing and not alone (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

Look forward to your update!

[Inacka]

That's a really interesting article - it nicely phrased what I've subconsciously realized.

I usually do practice that way, but my problem is that I don't have the physical stamina to match the mental, and I'm more of a visual learner (tough for singing ...). By the time I've figured something out, I can only do a few repetitions before I'm too tired to do any more correctly. It's not enough repeats to build muscle memory, so the next day I end up starting almost from the beginning (but with the "intellectual" knowledge of how I eventually managed to get where I was, and a memory of the physical sensations). A lot of the time, I'll pin-point a problem during my weekly practice and then ask my teacher for exercises that will help.

The flute is much easier since I can see and hear and feel what I'm doing (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif). I usually play through what I'm working on a few times to see which mistakes or problems are consistently showing up. Then I focus on the problem areas.

QUOTE(sbhoa @ Jun 21 2011, 01:09 PM)

My problem tends to be making different mistakes..... less easy to find the cause.

Me too

Does this mean consistently making many different mistakes (i.e. there are many mistakes, but each type of mistake shows up consistently), or that each time you play something, you make a different mistake? When it's the second for me, I usually find that it's because I'm not completely focused on what I'm doing (mind and body), or that I'm trying too hard in certain areas (i.e. tensing up instead of relaxing because I want to make a certain part "perfect", or anticipating something coming after the part where the mistake happens). But, sometimes it happens just because it's "one of those days!"

[sbhoa]

That's a really interesting article - it nicely phrased what I've subconsciously realized.

I usually do practice that way, but my problem is that I don't have the physical stamina to match the mental, and I'm more of a visual learner (tough for singing ...). By the time I've figured something out, I can only do a few repetitions before I'm too tired to do any more correctly. It's not enough repeats to build muscle memory, so the next day I end up starting almost from the beginning (but with the "intellectual" knowledge of how I eventually managed to get where I was, and a memory of the physical sensations). A lot of the time, I'll pin-point a problem during my weekly practice and then ask my teacher for exercises that will help.

The flute is much easier since I can see and hear and feel what I'm doing (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif). I usually play through what I'm working on a few times to see which mistakes or problems are consistently showing up. Then I focus on the problem areas.

QUOTE(sbhoa @ Jun 21 2011, 01:09 PM)

My problem tends to be making different mistakes..... less easy to find the cause.

Me too

Does this mean consistently making many different mistakes (i.e. there are many mistakes, but each type of mistake shows up consistently), or that each time you play something, you make a different mistake? When it's the second for me, I usually find that it's because I'm not completely focused on what I'm doing (mind and body), or that I'm trying too hard in certain areas (i.e. tensing up instead of relaxing because I want to make a certain part "perfect", or anticipating something coming after the part where the mistake happens). But, sometimes it happens just because it's "one of those days!"

The second.

[corenfa]

i've unfortunately not managed to get any practising in since my last post whether mindful or not, but it is really interesting to read everyone's responses. Thanks for sharing!

[schraeubchen]

I did some practice today, but I couldn't work on the mentioned problem. It's a gender problem I face every four weeks. My tone is a catastrophy by then and so are my abdominals. Will update in a few days, when everything is back to normal.

[katica]

My problem tends to be making different mistakes..... less easy to find the cause.

Me too (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ph34r.gif)

Frustrating, isn't it?! My variation on this is playing something fine a couple of times and then inventing a new way to muck it up. My teacher finds this particularly annoying too. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/happy.gif)

Possible reasons are
- I still fear the f (no kidding)
- I do not use my abdominals enough in this situation
- the fingering of f is still not automatic

Replace "flute" with "oboe" and that's me!

A colleague of mine who is a singer was sharing some of her most useful visualisation tips and I think they help with wind instruments too to improve the tone of high notes. One is to imagine coming down onto the note instead of straining up to it as if it were somehow out of reach (a bit like jod's "filling a jar on a high shelf" image on another thread) and another is to imagine yourself much fatter/larger than your normal size.

I have been trying to remove the fear of high notes in scales by learning even higher notes that I'm not really expected to be able to play yet. The variety of possible fingerings seems to get more and more complex the higher you go in the third octave on the oboe. It's totally confusing me - but making third octave E and F relatively easier to remember and less scary.

[schraeubchen]

Possible reasons are
- I still fear the f (no kidding)
- I do not use my abdominals enough in this situation
- the fingering of f is still not automatic

Replace "flute" with "oboe" and that's me!

A colleague of mine who is a singer was sharing some of her most useful visualisation tips and I think they help with wind instruments too to improve the tone of high notes. One is to imagine coming down onto the note instead of straining up to it as if it were somehow out of reach (a bit like jod's "filling a jar on a high shelf" image on another thread) and another is to imagine yourself much fatter/larger than your normal size.

I have been trying to remove the fear of high notes in scales by learning even higher notes that I'm not really expected to be able to play yet. The variety of possible fingerings seems to get more and more complex the higher you go in the third octave on the oboe. It's totally confusing me - but making third octave E and F relatively easier to remember and less scary.

May I add, imagine a table tennis ball in your mouth? Once I worked with my flute teacher on this problem, she said: "Open your mouth!" After that lesson I thought about an image to do so and found out it works with the table tennis ball.

I think your method is a good idea. My problem is, im not safe enough from A third octave upwards with my embouchure. I can mostly manage the B but only in lucky moments the C. Anyway, I will go on and hope it will work one day.

[jod]

The gender problem that spells trouble with abdominals every four weeks is an occupational hazard unfortunately and there is nothing for it but to work through it as much as possible so the abdominals are strong enough to cope most of the time.

When it becomes a complete disaster is when it is coupled with menorrhagia and possibly anaemia leaving the poor woman washed out too.

The only solution hot water bottles and analgesics and keep going. In the intervening weeks strengthen the core abdominal muscles.