How To Practice!

A forum on practicing music!

Presented by Jonathan Dimond!

July 2011

What is Practice?!
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Technique!
Hands!
Breath control!
Tone!
Velocity (playing fast)!
Learn repertoire!
Exercises, etudes, drills!
By yourself!
Daily routine!

Towards a definition of Practice!

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Problem Solving!
Diagnosis!
Daily!
Learning to teach yourself!
Requires accurate self-perception!
Requires willingness for change (mental
attitude)!
! Moving from the known into the unknown!

What is Practice - a definition!

! Practice is the act of self-teaching,
with the aim of developing oneself.
Good practice applies the sum total of
your experiences and integrates all of
your faculties and aspects of your
Being.
(Bass Riyaz p.172 - J.Dimond, 1999)

What is Practice - a quotation!

! The very act of putting my work on paper,
as we say, kneeding the dough, is for me
inseparable from the pleasure of creation.
So far as I am concerned, I cannot separate
the spiritual effort from the psychological
effort; they confront me on the same level
and do not present a hierarchy.
Igor Stravinsky.

Fundamental concepts!
! Coordination!
! Unity of various faculties:!
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Kinesthetic!
Intellectual!
Aural!
Visual!

! Concentration - needs a new definition!

! Technique - needs a new definition!

What is Coordination?!
! Starts with the Primary (general) system and
moves towards those specific systems
contained within, which rely upon Primary
coordination!
! Intrinsic to our anatomy - how we are built as
vertebrates!
! Relationship of the head to the neck, and head
and neck to the back is of fundamental
importance, as demonstrated in the
coordinated action of all vertebrates!

What does Coordination look like?!

How do we improve coordination?!

! Observation!
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Toddlers!
Cats and Dogs!
Orangutans!
Elite athletes and performers!

! Change the way you map your bodys

construction in your mind!
! With a truthful map, apply good use and a
sense of the Primary coordinating system to
all activity - even sleep!!

What is Technique?!
! Physical means by which one executes a
musical conception!
! WRONG! This perpetuates the faulty idea that
the body and mind are separate - technique is
not body training!
! Psycho-physical means by which one
executes a musical conception
Indirect Procedures, p.171. Pedro de
Alcantara, 1997!
! Greek root word Techne - means art!

Redefining Technique!
! Linked to coordination - but which comes first?!
! Technique is the result of good coordination
(not the other way around)!
! Dexterity and speed is not technique!!
! CAUSALITY is very important to understand:
Means conditions the End; I.e. the how
conditions the what!
! Unite your old idea of technique with musical
content, informed by a coordinated use of your
Self!

What is Concentration?!
! To relate a set of surrounding factors to a
central point!
! NOT: To separate a point from its
surroundings (or to eliminate or ignore them!)
Indirect Procedures, p.69. Pedro de Alcantara,
1997!
! The idea is to harmoniously integrate as many
factors as a situation may require!
! Practice requires the coordination of a
multiplicity of factors, and the harmonious
relationship of them!

Practice Tips & Tools!

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Metronome!
Mirror!
Recording devices (audio/visual)!
Practice journal for planning, logging activity,
goal-setting and self-reflection!
Teacher!
Experience good models - watch great artists!
Adaptability - Place yourself in challenging
situations and learn to manage your reactions!
Move from the simple to the complex!

Further Reading!
! Pedro de Alcantara. Indirect Procedures, 1997!
! Pedro de Alcantara. Integrated Practice, 2011!
! Barbara Conable. Body Mapping What every musician needs
to know about the body, 2000!
! Barbara Conable. Move Well, Avoid Injury (DVD), 2009!
! Jonathan Dimond. Bass Riyaz, 1999!
! Thomas Carson Mark.What every pianist needs to know about
the body, 2003 !
! Stephen Nachmanovitch. Free Play, 1990!
! Kenny Werner. Effortless Mastery, 1996!