. . . tension ridden, eternal beginners who are stuck in a deep depression, unable to move on from remedial pieces, longingly watching Utube videos of a 6 year old who is far in advance of you. Ladies and gentlemen I give you Ramon Amara's essay on 'snail practice'. Ignore at your own peril. You will need the patience of San Miguel though.
For lick
'All of my students invariably ask me for my advice on how to practice. And over the years I have given it to them verbally. Recently it dawned on me that it would make a lot more sense to give it in writing. That way the student could absorb it more thoroughly, and also be able to refer to it regularly to buttress comprehension. Below is the essay I now give to all new students. I offer it here for any member who is in search of advice on how to practice.'
Ramon
A METHOD FOR PRACTICE
Most theories on practicing are sound, and will work if followed diligently, but it is reasonable to suppose that some work better than others. My own theory of practice is time tested, and has proven very successful for myself and my students. I should add that others have offered similar ideas, so I don't claim any unique insight.
This method entails what I (and others) call "snail practice." This means pretty much what it sounds like – but not just "slow" practice. It means very, very slow practice. There are many reasons for this – all good, and many results of this – all good.
First, it relieves, or more correctly – precludes – tension. Tension is the single most detrimental factor and inhibitor of fluent playing. And so it is beneficial to ask what causes a player tension in the first place. It is primarily caused by fear of making a mistake. You perform a hundred simple, mundane tasks daily without getting tense. You don't get tense pouring yourself a glass of water. Or tying your shoelaces. That's because you're not likely to get it wrong, and it doesn't matter much if you do.
But when practicing a piece of music, especially for the first time, you are likely to get it wrong – at least at first, and at least in some places. So you get tense because you are afraid you are going to make a mistake. Ironically, that fear generally becomes self fulfilling due to the tension it creates.
But suppose for a moment there was a way of practicing by which it is just about impossible to make a mistake - even the first time through the music. You are not going to get tense since you know you are not going to make a mistake, and consequently there is no reason to get tense. Very, very slow practice is that way. You practice so very, very slowly that you completely relax in the knowledge that you are playing the music perfectly – we are speaking here of just the notes.
Consider that statement for a moment – "playing the music perfectly." It's quite an achievement to play music perfectly, albeit at a very, very slow tempo. The goal of any practice method is to eventually play the music perfectly, and here you are doing so the first time through. No tension – no need for it.
Now consider the alternative – practicing faster than very, very slowly. You are bound to make some mistakes. What then? You go back and try it again. Maybe you make the same mistake or mistakes in the same place or places. Maybe you don't but make some other mistake or mistakes. What then? You go back and try it again. Etc. You will probably get it right – eventually. But at what cost? Frustration at making mistakes, more repetitions than are necessary, and – tension.
And frequently a repeated mistake becomes ingrained, so that you tend to make it often, and even when you don't you get tense at that point because you know it's a problem spot and you're afraid you're going to make that same familiar mistake. How much better is it then to not make mistakes while practicing, and to relax in the knowledge that you will not.
Your fingers will go where you train them to go – by habit and muscle memory. But we only develop habits in general by regularity and controlled repetition. Doing something wrong numerous times and repeatedly going back to correct it will never develop a good habit, nor will it develop good technique. But doing something right over and over, no matter how slowly, will develop a good habit and good technique.
Here is my recommended method:
Don't use a metronome. Start at a very, very, very slow tempo. Consider this – there is so much to think about all at once that it is taxing on the mind, fingers, and nerves to concentrate on everything at the same time – unless you give yourself the luxury of amply sufficient time for all of it. You have to do the following: read the notes, relate them to their location on the fingerboard, select the proper right hand fingering, select the proper left hand fingering, and keep correct time.
It's little wonder that a player going through a piece of music is going to make mistakes. But – you can go through it without making any mistakes if you just play slowly enough – again, which means extremely slowly. By going through it numerous times very slowly – and perfectly - your fingers develop a positive habit. No hesitation becomes ingrained because you never have any hesitation in the first place. No mistakes become ingrained because you don’t make any. And most important of all – you never get tense, because you are playing slowly and relaxed in the knowledge that for all practical purposes it's impossible to make a mistake.
Now here is the key to making this approach work - never consciously attempt to increase the tempo. You might ask how will you ever get a piece or run up to final tempo if you never increase the practice tempo. The answer is you will discover that after a period of very, very slow practice without having consciously increased the tempo in intermediate gradations, you can play the piece or run fairly close to final tempo – perhaps tempo seven or eight out of ten. This is possible because by so thoroughly ingraining the fingering, and with complete relaxation, your fingers have developed muscle memory in such a secure, positive way, that there is no tension to inhibit speed. Going on to tempo ten follows easily.
One final phenomenon you will discover using this method. Though you are not attempting to increase the tempo as you go, and are not even using a metronome, and don’t really know at what tempo you are playing, except that you are trying to play at the same snail tempo all the time, you will find at some point that you are actually playing somewhat faster, but it seems like you are still playing at your original tempo. That’s because it has all become so ingrained, and in such a relaxed and natural way, that it feels like the same tempo, but is in fact faster.
This method of practice, followed diligently, will lead to more fluent playing, and faster playing where speed is required or desired. I recommend using this method for all practice - runs, isolated sections, and complete pieces.
here to edit.
For lick
'All of my students invariably ask me for my advice on how to practice. And over the years I have given it to them verbally. Recently it dawned on me that it would make a lot more sense to give it in writing. That way the student could absorb it more thoroughly, and also be able to refer to it regularly to buttress comprehension. Below is the essay I now give to all new students. I offer it here for any member who is in search of advice on how to practice.'
Ramon
A METHOD FOR PRACTICE
Most theories on practicing are sound, and will work if followed diligently, but it is reasonable to suppose that some work better than others. My own theory of practice is time tested, and has proven very successful for myself and my students. I should add that others have offered similar ideas, so I don't claim any unique insight.
This method entails what I (and others) call "snail practice." This means pretty much what it sounds like – but not just "slow" practice. It means very, very slow practice. There are many reasons for this – all good, and many results of this – all good.
First, it relieves, or more correctly – precludes – tension. Tension is the single most detrimental factor and inhibitor of fluent playing. And so it is beneficial to ask what causes a player tension in the first place. It is primarily caused by fear of making a mistake. You perform a hundred simple, mundane tasks daily without getting tense. You don't get tense pouring yourself a glass of water. Or tying your shoelaces. That's because you're not likely to get it wrong, and it doesn't matter much if you do.
But when practicing a piece of music, especially for the first time, you are likely to get it wrong – at least at first, and at least in some places. So you get tense because you are afraid you are going to make a mistake. Ironically, that fear generally becomes self fulfilling due to the tension it creates.
But suppose for a moment there was a way of practicing by which it is just about impossible to make a mistake - even the first time through the music. You are not going to get tense since you know you are not going to make a mistake, and consequently there is no reason to get tense. Very, very slow practice is that way. You practice so very, very slowly that you completely relax in the knowledge that you are playing the music perfectly – we are speaking here of just the notes.
Consider that statement for a moment – "playing the music perfectly." It's quite an achievement to play music perfectly, albeit at a very, very slow tempo. The goal of any practice method is to eventually play the music perfectly, and here you are doing so the first time through. No tension – no need for it.
Now consider the alternative – practicing faster than very, very slowly. You are bound to make some mistakes. What then? You go back and try it again. Maybe you make the same mistake or mistakes in the same place or places. Maybe you don't but make some other mistake or mistakes. What then? You go back and try it again. Etc. You will probably get it right – eventually. But at what cost? Frustration at making mistakes, more repetitions than are necessary, and – tension.
And frequently a repeated mistake becomes ingrained, so that you tend to make it often, and even when you don't you get tense at that point because you know it's a problem spot and you're afraid you're going to make that same familiar mistake. How much better is it then to not make mistakes while practicing, and to relax in the knowledge that you will not.
Your fingers will go where you train them to go – by habit and muscle memory. But we only develop habits in general by regularity and controlled repetition. Doing something wrong numerous times and repeatedly going back to correct it will never develop a good habit, nor will it develop good technique. But doing something right over and over, no matter how slowly, will develop a good habit and good technique.
Here is my recommended method:
Don't use a metronome. Start at a very, very, very slow tempo. Consider this – there is so much to think about all at once that it is taxing on the mind, fingers, and nerves to concentrate on everything at the same time – unless you give yourself the luxury of amply sufficient time for all of it. You have to do the following: read the notes, relate them to their location on the fingerboard, select the proper right hand fingering, select the proper left hand fingering, and keep correct time.
It's little wonder that a player going through a piece of music is going to make mistakes. But – you can go through it without making any mistakes if you just play slowly enough – again, which means extremely slowly. By going through it numerous times very slowly – and perfectly - your fingers develop a positive habit. No hesitation becomes ingrained because you never have any hesitation in the first place. No mistakes become ingrained because you don’t make any. And most important of all – you never get tense, because you are playing slowly and relaxed in the knowledge that for all practical purposes it's impossible to make a mistake.
Now here is the key to making this approach work - never consciously attempt to increase the tempo. You might ask how will you ever get a piece or run up to final tempo if you never increase the practice tempo. The answer is you will discover that after a period of very, very slow practice without having consciously increased the tempo in intermediate gradations, you can play the piece or run fairly close to final tempo – perhaps tempo seven or eight out of ten. This is possible because by so thoroughly ingraining the fingering, and with complete relaxation, your fingers have developed muscle memory in such a secure, positive way, that there is no tension to inhibit speed. Going on to tempo ten follows easily.
One final phenomenon you will discover using this method. Though you are not attempting to increase the tempo as you go, and are not even using a metronome, and don’t really know at what tempo you are playing, except that you are trying to play at the same snail tempo all the time, you will find at some point that you are actually playing somewhat faster, but it seems like you are still playing at your original tempo. That’s because it has all become so ingrained, and in such a relaxed and natural way, that it feels like the same tempo, but is in fact faster.
This method of practice, followed diligently, will lead to more fluent playing, and faster playing where speed is required or desired. I recommend using this method for all practice - runs, isolated sections, and complete pieces.
here to edit.