"I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music." -J.S. Bach
A Talent For………….
Have you ever wondered about talent, and how important it is for success in learning music? I would venture to say it is very important, but probably not in the way you are thinking. I’ve concluded that there is a certain kind of talent, which when excercised, is the very best predictor of musical learning success: a talent for preparation! In fact, it has been shown time and again, that students with the attribute of talent as it is usually defined (an innate ability which makes learning easy) don’t necessarily progress as well as those with average abilities, who know how to practice. (If you find that hard to believe, I recommend reading The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle.)
The topic of this article, therefore is practice. What constitutes the kind of practice and preparation that will yield the best results in the study of music? This is a topic about which much has been written, and I will be sharing more in upcoming newsletters.
Parents, you may have heard your student talking about myelin recently. Simplistically, myelin is a part of the nervous system that is built by practice. It is the insulation on a nerve circuit that makes the impulse faster and more efficient, which in turn, makes the skill easier, more automatic. With that in mind, I have been encouraging students to do deep practice. What do I mean by that?
• First listening many times to the entire piece being performed without mistakes (I may be passing out more recordings in future weeks). Don’t expect them to be able to play the whole piece the first time, though. If they can, I’ve assigned something that’s too easy!
• practicing with focused attention
• stopping when a mistake is made, correcting the mistake and playing correctly several times before moving on (Spunky Snake—if you don’t know what that is, ask your student)
• practicing in chunks (just a few measures at a time until those measures can be played without mistakes)
• practicing s-l-o-w-l-y until mistakes are ironed out
• practicing every day possible, even if only for 5-10 minutes (longer is even better!), with maybe one day off per week. That way, gains made will not be lost or dulled during the time off.
“I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music”—J.S. Bach