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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
 Posted - 12/12/2011 : 08:57:44 AM
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Some cool thoughts from violinist, conductor, and instructor Itzhak Perlman on practicing. I do not see why this would not apply to whatever instrument or style of music that you play.
Itzhak On Practicing
Uncle Dennis with his thoughts on rehearsal versus spontaneity.
Dennis Kamakahi (first 22 seconds of the interview)
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Andy |
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TerryLiberty
Lokahi
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 10:34:46 AM
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Andy:
Great advice from a couple of super practitioners. I had never heard the idea (Perlman's) that the slower you practice, the slower you forget. Brilliant! Tomorrow's session on Keola's Ka Lupe 'Ula will be much slower and in smaller chunks.
Thanks for posting.
Terry
Forever a haumana
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Terry
Olympia, WA
Forever a haumana |
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slipry1
Ha`aha`a
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 1:44:00 PM
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Oh no!!! Not the dreaded "P" word!!???? ;) Seriously, folks, it really does help, if you focus on the fine points of your technique. Hawaiian steel, e.g., is very subtile - you know if it doesn't sound Hawaiian, but it takes a LOT of work to get it to sound that way. I often record myself playing, and on replay, say "Oh my Gawd! What was I doing?" Then back again for a 2nd try.
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keaka |
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TerryLiberty
Lokahi
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 5:08:39 PM
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Slipry:
So much the case. Recording is both a blessing and a curse but it's some of the best feedback a person can get. I've noticed that a weekly recording helps show progress and also helps show places where there's still work needed. The lovely thing is that there are so many high quality, reasonably priced digital recording devices now available to do this work without the expense or complexity of the older gear.
Regards.
Terry
Olympia, WA
Forever a haumana |
Terry
Olympia, WA
Forever a haumana |
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ricdoug
`Olu`olu
USA
513 Posts |
Posted - 12/12/2011 : 7:49:33 PM
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| Performing 3 to 5 times a week I never have time for traditional practice. Since I perform with a multitude of artists, that is my form of "practice". It's seldom that I use a song sheet. If I don't know the song, I just sing the chorus. The musical patterns are generally easy for me to follow. Ric |
It's easier to ask for forgiveness, than permission! |
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chunky monkey
Ha`aha`a
USA
1022 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2011 : 06:03:37 AM
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| Re: Uncle Dennis's comments about not rehearsing. Maybe he doesn't rehearse, but he does practice. A few years ago I was lucky to have him stay with me for a couple of days in San Diego. I saw him play nonstop for nearly 4 hours one day in my living room. Pretty much every tune I had ever heard him play at that time. Guys like that don't get to be guys like that without practice. |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2168 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2011 : 06:33:46 AM
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| My Dad used to tell me to practice slow, get each note clean, then speed up. Otherwise your playing sounds mushy and the notes are indistinct. It's better to learn it the "right way" than try to unlearn the mistakes learned at speed. |
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Admin
Pupule
USA
4551 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2011 : 06:39:55 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by chunky monkey
Re: Uncle Dennis's comments about not rehearsing. Maybe he doesn't rehearse, but he does practice. A few years ago I was lucky to have him stay with me for a couple of days in San Diego. I saw him play nonstop for nearly 4 hours one day in my living room. Pretty much every tune I had ever heard him play at that time. Guys like that don't get to be guys like that without practice.
Terry - Thanks for making the distinction. Good point. |
Andy |
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TerryLiberty
Lokahi
USA
207 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2011 : 08:00:15 AM
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Kory:
I think your dad had it right. Practice doesn't necessarily make perfect. Only perfect practice makes perfect.
Terry
Olympia, WA
Forever a haumana |
Terry
Olympia, WA
Forever a haumana |
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slipry1
Ha`aha`a
USA
1511 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2011 : 08:41:33 AM
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| When I was playing pedal steel full time (5 nites/week) back in the 80's, I didn't have to practice. Of course, what you may have heard from me sounded like practice. Of course, playing for dancers is more forgiving than playing a concert. You have a lot of opportunity to "try things out". |
keaka |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2011 : 3:21:14 PM
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| I think if you play with other guys, you might want some kind of "practice" to get used to timing and maybe who going take the pa'ani and such. Plus too, if you get paid for a gig, maybe you might want to make sure you geddem good. At least practice singing the words so you get the phrasing and pronunciation right, if you are not a native Hawaiian speaker. |
Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2168 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2011 : 6:27:23 PM
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| Any playing music with others is great for smoothing out the rough spots. Timing is greatly improved and you get to sharpen your listening abilities. |
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Trev
Lokahi
United Kingdom
265 Posts |
Posted - 12/13/2011 : 11:31:38 PM
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Practising is very sporadic with me. I don’t like practising when my Alison is in the house – I think listening to someone play the same thing over and over again, and stopping to redo the ‘hard’ bits’ is particularly irksome to the listener, and I’m reluctant to put our relationship under strain.
Additionally, I’ve got a full time day job, and I play out with others about four times a week, either in gigs or in our equivalent of a kanikapila. This means that I often only get a couple of hours at home before it’s time to go out again.
So most of the time, unless I’ve got something I particularly want to learn, I don’t do much ‘practice’, but I ‘play’ all the time. The outcome of this is that while I’m reasonably OK at joining in with more or less anything someone else plays, and can pick up songs relatively quickly, I’ve got a very limited repertoire of things I can play on my own.
I sometimes practise improvising by imagining the chords in my head whilst playing things I imagine will sound good. Unfortunately, what I imagine sounds good over imaginary chords isn’t always what actually sounds good over actual chords. Still, onwards and upwards, eh?
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thumbstruck
Ahonui
USA
2168 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2011 : 04:14:33 AM
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| Playing at home is practicing. I've told students that listening to music is practicing, also. Getting comfortable with the instrument, interacting with others, and learning to listen are important. |
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RWD
`Olu`olu
USA
850 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2011 : 04:26:02 AM
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I practice everything.
When I am practicing for a performance, I go so far as to do a mock stage entrance, do an introduction, and finish playing to the end no matter what I do wrong. This was suggested to me by my classical guitar teacher and it works well.
I have the bad habit of stopping on mistakes so I can work to correct the mistake--this does not work live obviously and it will not prepare you for a live performance. If you depend on being perfect, you could panic and brain freeze when it happens.
For me it is more important to:
1) work through mistakes when they happen--there will be a room full of people watching, and
2)try not to make a face that gives it away.
I can do the first one but not the second.
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Bob |
Edited by - RWD on 12/14/2011 05:12:51 AM |
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wcerto
Ahonui
USA
5052 Posts |
Posted - 12/14/2011 : 08:34:29 AM
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Along this same line...is desire a bigger factor than innate talent? i.e., you want to play well (even though someone else may have more "talent") so you practice, practice, practice, you go to school, you take lessons, you research, read, listen to CDs, DVDs, etc. and play, play, play. Then there is someone else to whom it comes easily and they pick up a guitar every now and then but you see glimpses of genius should they just work at it a bit.
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Me ke aloha
Malama pono,
Wanda |
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Thoughts on practicing
