Oh
man, that's spicey!
Bear
with me, it's 88 degrees in
Scotia, where the usual
temperature hovers around 10
below zero. It just ain't
natural. So I start punning
-- and it gets ugly.
"Sure
I practiced... I played at
least an hour every day this
week." Yup, that student
did indeed have the
instrument out of the case
for at least an hour each day
during the previous week. He
even had the thing in his
hands and made noise with it.
So why did his lesson sound
just as lame as on the first
read-through the week
previous? Is he a bad player?
Did he suffer a sudden
catastrophic injury to his
hands? Did his truss rod pop
out? Nope, nope, nope.
Practice
and playing are two very
distinct beasts. As soon as
the student realizes this,
the happier the teacher will
be. Yeah, the student will be
a happier camper as well.
Practice
is how the instrument is
learned. Wait, I thought going
for lessons is
how it's done! Now every
teacher on the planet will be
all over me like a wet diaper
-- at least those who wish
their students to think that
that particular teacher is
the only true path to
enlightenment -- but the
lesson time is not the most
important aspect to a musical
education. Lesson time is
when a new concept or
technique is introduced.
Lesson time is when the
previous week's assignments
are heard, critiqued and
problems corrected. Lesson
time is when good practice
habits and musicality are
instilled. Practice is when
the student takes these
concepts and attempts to
incorprate these into his
actual being as well as into
his skill sets on the
instrument itself.
Playing
is a totally different beast.
Playing --performance-- is
when you take everything
you've learned through
instruction and practice and
put it into.. into... Well, I
was going to say
practice, but
that is too redundant!
Playing is why you learn and
practice. It is not how you
improve on the instrument.
You can improve through
playing, but only in gaining
poise and performance savvy,
but that is another tale for
another day -- and only if
you are playing in front of
people, not just playing on
the sofa to your cat.
So
what is practice? How should
one practice? Is there a
formula?
Practice
time should be regimented,
structured and adhered to
religiously -- a solid
practice routine will grow a
student faster than master
classes with Segovia... while
he was alive, naturally. Yes,
there is a formula for
practice. I can tell you
mine, but a practice schedule
is as varied as the
individuals doing the work.
Here is how I practiced in
college:
Hour
One:
Ten
minutes: Chromatics, Slurs,
Stretches and Barres (see
some of the early weeks'
sessions and the left hand
accuracy article for
details.) I even would run
through a portion of the
Giuliani 120 Studies.
Forty
minutes: Diatonic Major and
Minor Scales (Segovia Edition
-- he was still alive then,
but his scales remain with us
to this today, a valid,
living thing.) Played with
all combinations of right
hand fingerings that I could
muster, including some rapid
thumb work.
Ten
minutes: Cool down.
Hour
Two:
New
assignments and
read-throughs. This is where
I took new studies, preludes
and concert pieces assigned
by my teacher and read them
through for the second or
third time, looked for the
underlying technical
difficulties/lessons and
tried to glean the most
benefit from them. By doing
this fairly early in the day,
I could give my best and
brightest moments to the most
strenuous mental tasks. I
would use the entire hour for
this without cool down as
there would be alot of
starting and stopping anyway.
Hour
Three:
Pieces
I was in the process of
committing to memory with a
school jury, recital
performance or the looming
graduation recital in mind.
These were usually stuff that
I had been using in hour two
a month previous. Now they
were no longer technically
difficult -- or at least as
difficult as they had been --
but were now no longer the
"News of the Day."
Hour three would incorporate
a cool down if I were
proceeding to hour four.
Usually, on a week day, I had
begun this process at 6:30 AM
and would have to be off to
classes at this point.
During
the school day, there would
be numerous opportunities to
play -- even practice. I had
a schedule with some gaps
where I would either be
running through ensemble
pieces with others or would
be playing old pieces in a
closet by myself. I didn't
count this time as practice,
to me it was playing.
Hour
Four through Six:
After
One of my Mom's great
dinners. I'd be off to my
room to resume the practice
schedule. Written homework was
completed on the subway
train. (And if you want to
know genuine fear, try riding
the NYC subway system through
the South Bronx in the mid
1970's with a Jose Ramirez 1a
between your knees.) The
after dinner practice was
more 'playing' in one respect
-- I used this time of the
day, a time when my mental
levels were beginning to run
low, to run through pieces
that I knew I would be
performing soon. Be it a
student recital, a restaurant
gig, or that aforementioned
graduation recital, I needed
to keep a solid 90 minutes of
music ready to go. So I used
this time to run through the
pieces, ever mindful of
places where I'd fumble
through memory lapse as well
as looking for new
interpretive ideas while I
played the established ones.
I'd often read through a
piece I had already committed
to memory to make sure I
hadn't locked something down
incorrectly.
If
it was before midnight and I
still felt like it, then I
would play for my own
entertainment. I'm glad I did
that all when I was young. A
month of that type of work
now would probably kill me!
So...
How should you set up your
time? Let's say you are at
the point where two hours a
day is all you have to work
with. You don't want to do
two hours straight. It isn't
as much 'how long you play
every day', but how often
you had the guitar in your
hands. It is better to do
four half-hour sessions
spaced out evenly than one
marathon two hour hand-bash.
First,
you need to warm up
effectively. Schedule about a
quarter of your time to
scales, slurs, arpeggios,
chromatics, whatever you do
to get limber. The next and
most profitable time is spent
going through your weekly
lesson material. Do this
while your mind is fresh. It
doesn't pay to play all day
and then try learning new
material in the evening. You
will be throwing things in no
time through frustration.
Spend at least half
your remaining practice time
on that -- practicing new
stuff, reading new pieces,
copping new technique. This
is development. Any time
remaining should be used to
run through memorization and
older material. After that,
play.
Sounds
like work? It is -- if you
love the instrument and want
to do well, it is work you'll
gladly do. If you get
discouraged at your inability
to sound like Eliot Fisk
after six months of lessons,
maybe you're a hobbyist, not
a recitalist. That's not
condemnation, not everyone
who feels compelled to offer
a band aid is destined to be a
cardiac surgeon! Sorry if
that sounds harsh, but music
is not a neat way of
attracting members of the
opposite sex or a sure-fire
route to money and fame. You
have to love music,
not that other stuff. Man,
it's hot and I'm getting
cranky, so I better shut up
until next time!
Want
info? Want lessons? Lonely?
Just drop us a line at information@pellegrinlowend.com .
AVAILABLE NOW !
The Classic Guitar Method: Now in one volume, much
of what the novice classical guitarist will need to
know to lead him or her to the recital stage. From
proper instrument care and maintenance to the
necessary technical skills, musical mind-set, and
the standard repertoire—all exposed and explored
with enough detail and insight that the student will
wish to keep this book handy years to come as a
ready reference source.
With the aid of a good teacher, the student will
rapidly progress through The Classic Guitar Method
attaining technical proficiency and musical
eloquence.
This method stems from the need to incorporate a
number of schools into a single cohesive curriculum.
Years of honing a logical approach to the guitar and
the creation of music culminate in this volume. As a
self-proclaimed Disciple of Valdés-Blain , much of
that famed teacher's focus can be found in Mr.
Pellegrin's method.
ISBN: 978-1-4116-9442-2
Published by PAB Entertainment Group, P.O. Box 2369
Scotia, New York 12302
Please go to www.lulu.com to order.
Hear
selections from my new album,
Reflecting Pools. A departure
 for
me, it is a keyboard album.
The music is a series of tone
poems written for relaxation
and meditation. Reflecting
pools is the perfect
companion for a rainy
afternoon or a winter
evening. Actually, it is a
great stress-reliever at
work!
Click
the album cover to find links
for samples of all the pieces
on my album.
-
Harry Pellegrin
May
12, 2005
Available soon
through www.BathtubMusic.com
 
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Pound Sterling Graphcs