Philosphy

 

 

Balancing The Musical Elements

 

        There are two great forces, hanging as it were on a scale, which determine the outcome of every performance.  On one side you have the mechanical elements which constitute all of the technical aspects of playing.  On the other side you have the human elements which makes up all of the emotional content of the performance.  The goal of every great performer is to balance these elements so that one does not shine forth at the expense of the other.  For instance, one can devote much time and attention to learning all the mechanics of a piece, putting on an impressively accurate performance yet still disappointing a crowd eager to feel and emotional connection to the performer and music.  In this way the performer is no better than a computer which, though highly accurate, lacks any kind of human intuition.  On the other hand, the performer who leans too heavily on emotional the emotions of a particular piece can be “swept away” and lose focus, thus becoming vulnerable to mistakes.  Mistakes distract audiences, forcing them to temporarily disconnect from the performance experience to observe the lack of preparation of the performer.  

        Since each of these elements takes considerable time and patience to develop, it can be counter-productive to attempt to master them simultaneously.  I teach my students to first familiarize themselves with all of the technical aspects of the piece and then to appropriately add emotional content soon thereafter.  Using the four Practice Pillars can help in mastering the mechanics of smaller parts of the piece to which the human elements can be conveniently added.  Adding the human elements too soon can hinder development of the mechanics, yet adding them too late can result in the delayed ability to fully express them.  Though focus on one element at a time is vital when learning a new piece of music, incorporating them simultaneously is a whole different skill set which must also be practiced and learned.  Thus the elements must not only be mastered individually, but also collectively.

 

Mechanical/Technical

The mechanical elements of music include everything that goes into playing a piece “correctly.”  Most common among musical mechanical elements are notes, sound quality, tempo, timbre, rhythm, timing, articulation, dynamics, and inflection.  When beginning new material, particular emphasis should be placed on the mechanical aspects of music. It is important to learn the piece correctly the first time, as it takes a lot longer to “unlearn” mistakes than it does to learn the mechanical aspects correctly the first time. Orators must first learn the words of the poem or work they wish to share with an audience before they focus on how to deliver.  The same is true with the musician.  We must first learn what the piece says before we decide how we want to present it.

 

Human/Emotional

This element of music focuses on how to deliver the piece to our audience.  Part of what makes us human is our ability to feel a wide range of different emotions. A human experience is very dynamic.  We experience great highs and great lows.  We experience intense joy and intense sorrow, pleasure and pain.  The human, or emotional, elements of music focus on these opposites. A convincing piece of music utilizes the emotional experience within the composition itself, and a convincing performer draws on her or his experience with these emotions to first interpret them, then feel them, and finally to share them with an audience.  Much like a spirit and body combine to make up a living soul, once the mechanics of the piece are learned adding the human emotions gives life to the sound and completes the musical experience.  Thus, in order to achieve the desired effect I often tell my students once they have mastered the mechanical elements to “play the music, not the notes.”  Delivery, or the performance, should be focused on sharing emotion rather than trying hard to remember all the mechanics.  If a piece is properly prepared, there is little need to focus all the attention on the mechanics.  The confidence experienced by mastering the mechanics through hours of careful practice will enable the performer to spend more thought during the performance on HOW to deliver rather than WHAT to deliver.

 

 

 

 

4 Practice Pillars

 

Slow

No matter what material we are learning it is critical to at first practice it many times below performance speed.  Not only will it eliminate learning mistakes but will immediately reinforce into the subconscious the correct way to play it.  It is much more efficient to first learn a piece slowly and correctly than to learn bad habits and spend valuable practice time to unlearn them.

       

 

Chunks

Master a piece by first mastering small sections, or “chunks”.  If you find it hard to avoid the temptation to play through the entire piece, use a pencil to physically draw parentheses around smaller portions of the music.  Pay attention especially to the hardest parts of the piece.  Once you feel you have a good handle on a chunk, add another chunk to it, then another.  Once you have become proficient at numerous chunks, try playing them in succession, thus creating a new, bigger chunk.  Do this technique throughout the rest of the piece until you have one big “chunk.”  Now you can play the entire piece proficiently.   As the old joke goes: “What is the best way to eat and elephant?  One bite at a time!”  Same way with learning a piece: one “chunk” at a time.

 

 

Repeat

We are creatures of habit.  We learn by doing and redoing.  By repeating a certain task time and time again neural pathways develop in our mind making that task easier and easier.  Also, by keeping it “fresh” in our mind there is less chance that we forget it.  In a performance this becomes very important as mistakes can lessen the musical effects of the message we wish to share with the audience.  Repeating a small section over and over not only helps us learn the piece quicker, but increases our overall ability to perform the piece effectively.

 

Stop

We learn in traffic school to stop at a stop sign, look both ways, and proceed with caution.  This process can and should be applied in learning music as well.  After we’ve learned multiple chunks of music the next step is to play them together seamlessly.  Rather than trying to remember old chunk and the new chunk all at the same time it helps to play the first chunk we learned, STOP, prepare for the next chunk, and then to play it.  When we stop we should consider everything necessary to play the next chunk correctly and beautifully.  After we’ve played it in our minds we then play it for real.  After putting the STOP sign into practice a few times it’s important that we take it out so that our mind doesn’t get used to stopping.  However, the first few runs without the stop sign should be played slowly and carefully to ensure the chunks can be stringed together correctly and seamlessly.  So, turn the stop sign into a yield sign until you get a good handle on the section.  Then, speed it up!!!

 

 

Other Practice Tips

 

Do the Hard Stuff First

Start your practice off with the hardest parts of the piece rather than the beginning.  The subconscious works on learning the piece for you while you do other things as long as you tell it to do so.  You can “program” your mind to learn music for you through the four practice pillars.   Then while you take a break from the hard parts, practice the easier parts of the piece and focus on making them better.  At the end of your practice, go back to the hard parts again and many times you will you notice increased accuracy and fluidity in your playing.  Use the “Chunk” method on the hard parts by circling them in pencil so as to draw attention to them.  We are more likely to practice chunks when they are easily visible.

 

Ironing

This technique is all about focused intensity.  Just like you iron a garment to get out wrinkles, you “iron” a piece for much the same purpose.  In learning a new piece of music, the most of the ironing happens with the practice pillars.  However, just as garments can get wrinkles despite our best efforts to keep them smooth and pressed, so too can our pieces despite our best practice efforts.  When this is the case, it is important to give special attention to those wrinkles.  Just as heat, time, mist, and steam are used to get out tough wrinkles in clothing, the proper use of the practice pillars can be used to get out tough wrinkles in our pieces.  Isolate the area, look for ways to use the Stop Sign, and spend time slowly repeating the section.  By doing this you can master a very challenging section in a short amount of time.  Also remember, it is a misuse of time to iron a whole piece to get out one wrinkle.  You can accomplish more in 10 minutes of focused practice than you can in hours of leisure tinkering or always starting from the beginning.

 

Look Ahead

This is a simple yet often overlooked technique.  In music there will always be areas where the tempo tapers or the notes lengthen in value.  If you are still sight reading the notes, use that “extra” time to look ahead to the next section instead of staring at the note.  If you have the piece memorized, use the time to think ahead and prepare mentally for what is coming up.  Either way you can avoid unnecessary pauses in your practice and performances.

 

Rest

A good personal trainer will tell you to get good rest after a workout to let your body recover.  Playing a musical instrument is more physically and mentally demanding than some might suppose.  Our body needs time to recover and our mind needs time to sort through the information it was presented.  During extended practice sessions take breaks to let your mind process what you just played.  Though the afore-mentioned Stop Sign method also assists in this manner on a smaller scale, it is also important to take 5-minute breaks a few times an hour to allow the brain to absorb and sort all the music you’ve just practiced.