"I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music." -J.S. Bach
Practice Makes Perfect?
Nope!
(Adapted from “Practice Makes Perfect”, by Simon Horsey
In last quarter’s newsletter we talked about a talent for preparation. Many people talk about ‘talented’ musicians... but it is tenacity, not talent, that wins the day. We have all heard that “practice makes perfect”. However, that’s not exactly true. What is truer is that “perfect practice makes perfect”.
Efficient practice makes a huge difference to your enjoyment when playing an instrument. Imagine you could make three, four, five or even ten times as much progress on your instrument as you do now... and all in the same amount of time or even less! How is this possible? By developing some good practice habits.
Here is one very important practice habit:
• Always play with 100% correct notes, right from the first time!
This is because our brains learn patterns. When we learn to play pieces of music our brains are actually learning the patterns within them. Each time we play 100% correct notes the pattern is reinforced. Each time some (even one) of the notes are wrong, it isn’t. In fact, the more times we play something wrong, the more our brain learns the wrong pattern! Better not to play at all than to play incorrectly, at least that way you aren’t reinforcing the wrong notes!
Educational psychologists currently believe that a pattern is learned after it has been repeated 7 times correctly. If a pattern is learned incorrectly first it takes an average of 35 repetitions to unlearn and learn the correct way! So if you want to make faster progress let this be your encouragement for getting it right first time, and every time!
How to get it right every time
It is very simple to play 100% correctly every time. Here is the secret
PLAY SLOWLY,
and stop if there is something you are not sure of.
That’s it. Play slowly. Stop if you find there is something you can’t play, or a note or fingering you don’t know. Work it out - don’t guess. Mark it on the music. Yes, this will interrupt the flow of the rhythm a few times as you stop to figure out what you are doing... but it means your brain is learning the correct pattern of notes and the stopping will stop very soon! You can even stop before a complex section and take it at a slower speed. As long as the notes are 100% correct at all times. It is often a good idea to use a metronome when practicing slowly to make sure you are not speeding up when playing.
If you make sure you have 100% correct notes all the time you will begin making faster progress almost overnight.
But I could play it at home
Getting notes 100% correct can also help with curing this problem. If you find you are getting things right at home and wrong in your lesson making sure you have 100% correct notes at all times can help.
Think about your practice. Does it follow this pattern?
Play something. Get it wrong. Play it again. Get it wrong. Play again, a few less mistakes this time. Play again. Same mistakes as last time. Play again a few less mistakes. Play again...almost there. Play it again...EXCELLENT! All notes correct. Got it! On to the next section.
Look back at the previous paragraph. Six times wrong. Once correct. And you wonder why things go wrong in your lesson? If that was each session for five days you’d think you had practiced 30 times... but you would have played the piece wrong 25 times and correctly 5 times! Something to think about?
When you’ve ‘got it’
you are beginning to practice it
There’s always a point when practicing a section that we think... GOT IT and move on.
STOP!
This is when the most valuable practice is done. It is at this point that you are strengthening the myelin nerve sheaths. Make the most of it. For faster progress, when you think, ‘got it’, play through that section another five times. At least! Since you are playing it correctly it won’t take long, and the small time investment here pays off hugely in terms of progress and the speed at which you learn pieces... and in the HQ (Happiness Quotient) of your teacher next lesson!
"I play the notes as they are written, but it is God who makes the music." -J.S. Bach