On Practice: practicing vs. having a practice
I sometimes wonder why lawyers get to say that they have a legal practice and doctors have a medical practice, but musicians just have to go practice. What would it mean, in addition to practicing, to have a practice of music? That is a question I have often tried to transmit to my students over the years.
There are a great many books on musical practice, so this small entry in the website is not intended to compete with all that. Some published books and sites are directed mostly to the technical side of instrumental or vocal performance (finger dexterity and independence, pedalling, posture, embouchure, breath support, diction, …), and some are directed more to performance practice (structural analysis, interpretation, memory, performance anxiety …). On this page are just some miscellaneous tips and reminders that seem worth repeating.
Below, for example, you see a sample template for a practice log that was given to the students in “Piano Improvisation & Contemporary Styles” during my teaching at York University. One issue for many musicians is that, after we are able to learn more quickly and after we begin accepting engagements for concerts and broadcasts, we have so many different things to attend to, that alotting an effective amount of time for each item needs its own attention. In addition, some people work better in long stretches while others work best in smaller chunks separated by some physical activity. Many musicians are more efficient practicing in the morning hours but, after beginning to play concerts on a regular basis, I realized that my body and mind at 8 p.m. did not respond as it did during all my practice time. I’m writing this to say that we need to experiment with all aspects of our work: time and duration of practice; mixing work on technical issues, memory, reading, listening, and so on. A few details follow.
The log below is only a sample. Each musician should organize their own log and journal. I use the term log to mean a place to quickly jot down the general stuff: more or less what you did; how long you worked at each exercise or composition; and so on. A pracctice journal is for all the details.
So a Practice Journal might document such things as:
Which exercises did you practice?
TECHNIQUE
Tempo: Did you practice in the same tempo as previously, and did you also try working in a faster or slower tempo? Were some things improvsed by playing in a slower tempo or in a fasterone? It can work both ways.
Fatigue: If your hands became tired or strained, when and at which places in the music did that begin? Are you working without tension. Are you breaathing with ease or holding your breaath in the difficult places?
Key: Did you try the same exercisea in any different keys than previously, especially the keys you find more awkward or difficult to remember well in your hands and mind?
Duration: Did you practice each exercise for a longer or shorter time than you’ve been doing?
Continuity: Do you stop and/or hesitate at the same places? Do you then identify and isolate those passages in order to see where the weakness lies? Are you able to practice them from memory so that reading is not an additional issue? Can you write out those passages from memory, that is, without copying from the score?
Did your muscles become tired or strained? What did you do about it: stop and rest; stretch; use somethning to warm the muscles?
Was anyone listening to you work? Does that produce additional tension or distraction?
Is your instument in good shape? E.g., is your reed good or in need of changing? Is it in tune?
The log excerpt below is from mid-October but, even after only a few of weeks of classes, assignments, exercises and hand-outs, it can be tough to keep track of everything. So, in addition to keeping a daily practice journal where they keep the details of their work, the students profited greatly by keeping chart as a quick check-list to see what they’ve been focusing on and what they’ve been neglecting. Often we have to not only learn new music but also practice for several upcoming rehearsals, concerts and broadcasts. Such a log can be really useful as a way to allot and monitor your time. Additional lines can be inserted in your log as needed in order to add your own choice of exercises, sight-reading, listening, etc. If you are also practicing improvisation, those items will need different boxes. [Click on the image to see the other pages.] The Practice Log works best when complemented by a Musical Journal where you write in detail about your work. There is a separate page on the website where you can find a few of those student journals. Many more will be uploaded soon.
One excellent read for a pretty comprehensive overview of the history of piano technique and teaching is Gerig’s book:
Famous pianists & their technique / Reginald R. Gerig.
Gerig, Reginald R., 1919-2018.
Bloomington ; Indianapolis : Indiana University Press, 2007., 2007
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Details
Title
Famous pianists & their technique / Reginald R. Gerig.
Gerig, Reginald R., 1919-2018.
Contents
The meaning of technique -- The early clavier methods -- The beginnings of the piano -- Mozart and the early piano technique -- Hummel : the culmination of the Viennese era -- The dynamic Beethoven technique -- Czerny : technique personified -- The early methodology -- The lyricism of Chopin -- Liszt and virtuoso technique -- The Schumann circle -- The beginnings of modern technical methods -- The Leschetizky influence -- Russian nationalism -- The French school -- Breithaupt and weight technique -- The English school : Matthay; his pupils and colleagues -- Ortmann : piano technique comes of age -- Contemporary technical thought -- The perspectives of an enlightened piano technique -- Appendices. The aesthetic imperative ; Mental and psychological control ; An intellectual grasp of basic technical knowledge ; Isolated movements ; Muscular coordination ; The kinesthetic sense ; Posture ; Means for specific technical development ; Historical concepts and perspectives of piano technical thought ; Supplemental bibliography.
Description
"Famous Pianists and Their Technique has been a standard in the field since its first publication in 1974. This widely used and acclaimed history of piano technical thought includes insights into the techniques of masters such as C.P.E. Bach, Bartok, Beethoven, Brahms, Chopin, Clementi, Czerny, Debussy, Godowsky, Horowitz, Levinskaya, Leschetizky, the Lhevinnes, Liszt, Mozart, Prokofiev, Ravel, Rubinstein, and Schubert, among others. Called 'the bible of piano technique' by Maurice Hinson, this book is a comprehensive resource for the student, teacher, and professional pianist who seek to discover the secrets of how the immortal professional pianists developed and polished their mechanical and musical technique. This expanded edition contains a foreword by Alan Walker, a new preface, and multiple new appendices."--Publisher's website.
Subject
Piano music -- Interpretation (Phrasing, dynamics, etc.)
Bibliography note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 567-590) and index.
Identifier
ISBN : 088331066X (pbk.)
ISBN : 9780883310663 (pbk.)
ISBN : 9780253348555 (pbk.)
ISBN : 0253348552 (pbk.)