Practice

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As I mentioned in my last post, in my attempt to become an “adult prodigy,” I am reading Daniel Coyle’s book, The Talent Code. I’ve just finished Part 1 (which I have rather enjoyed), and here’s a summary of what I have learned thus far:

  • “Skill is a cellular insulation that wraps neural circuits and that grows in response to certain signals.” Or, in other words, skill is the development on myelin, a cell which insulates nerve fibers in the brain and increases the efficiency of cognitive and physical actions.
  • Deep practice increases the production of myelin. The steps to deep practice are:
    1. Analyze the desired skill as a whole by watching, listening, or performing.
    2. Divide the skill into its smallest components.
    3. Practice each component separately and slowly.
    4. Once each component is mastered, add layers of complexity and integrate additional components until the entire skill is learned completely.

Now, I have been trying to integrate smooth bow changes into my playing for the past six months (to no avail). This week, I’m going to diligently apply the steps of deep practice to developing smooth bow changes and see if there really is anything to this method. Here's the routine I'm going to follow:

  • Step 1 - Analysis: I found this video of Todd Ehle demonstrating smooth bow changes. He goes over what's involved with the execution pretty thoroughly:
  • Step 2 - Skill breakdown: With method 1, you shift the weight of the hand toward the pinky and drop the elbow at the frog; at the tip, you lift the elbow to release the weight from the hand. I can practice the collé stroke to get the right motion, shifting my hand weight, and elbow positioning at the frog and tip. With method 2 (which he introduces around 3:25), you just release the first finger. That seems pretty straightforward. I can practice engaging and releasing the first finger before integrating the motion into the bow stroke. I plan to try out both ways to see which works best.
  • Step 3 - Slow Practice: Argh!!! Slow practice! Anything but slow practice! This one’s going to be a real challenge. (As a piano student, I spent many, many hours doing slow practice: right hand alone slowly, left hand alone slowly, both hands together slowly, with my eyes closed slowly, in a deep sleep slowly! It seems that, even now, I can't escape slow practice. Sigh.) I'm going to practice very slowly (obviously) on open strings to start out with. I'll also practice for short periods (say, 15 minutes at a time) so I stay focused.
  • Step 4: Well, if I get past Step 3, I can start integrating smooth bow changes (again, very slowly and deliberately...sigh) into first my scales, then my etude, and finally my piece.

Yes, so that’s my goal, all laid out, for this week. It seems that becoming an “adult prodigy” might be harder than I thought. Wish me luck!

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I have decided that my New Year's resolution needs to be better defined and, after having read this article by Daniel Coyle, I have decided to become an adult prodigy this year.

That's right, me...an adult prodigy...this year.

I see you rolling your eyes. Yes, I know that, strictly speaking, it is impossible to be an adult prodigy because prodigies are, by definition, only children, and that you cannot "become" a prodigy—either you are one or you aren't; however, I would like to experience the type of exponential progress that prodigies experience. Or even just moderately accelerated progress.

In my last post, I outlined a lot of lofty goals, but no real strategy on how to achieve them, other than "practice more often" and "practice more scales." And while that's a good jumping off point, I need something more structured than that. I need a real, live framework on how to practice more effectively; to practice smarter, not harder.

Fortunately for me, Mr. Coyle has written a book on how to do just that called The Talent Code: Greatness isn't born. It's grown. Here's how. So, about a week ago, I popped over to Amazon and bought it along with his other related book, The Little Book of Talent: 52 Tips for Improving Your Skills.

Both books only arrived recently, so I've just started reading them, but it seems like there is a lot of information that I can begin using immediately to improve my practice strategy. I'll let you know how things go. In the meantime, happy practicing!

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Seeing as it is January 1, I think now is the perfect time to set some goals and make some resolutions about my violin playing. My goal for this year is to play violin well. Not just play well for a beginner, but play well—period. I’m not expecting (or even hoping) to play like a professional—that would be completely unrealistic—but I do want to play my pieces with reasonable tone and intonation, good control over rhythm and dynamics, and with relative ease. I’d also like to improve my vibrato (which is pretty rudimentary) and develop some more advanced bow strokes, like sautille and colle. Of course everyone learns at a different rate, but that doesn’t seem like a terrible lot to ask for.

In addition, I plan to play something at least once a day. It doesn’t have to be a full, all-out practice session—just, you know, run through a scale or play through a piece. Nothing crazy, but something each day. Even on days when I’m tired. Even on days when I just don’t feel like it.

And I plan to practice for real at least four times a week. Five times would be better, and every day would be ideal, but I’d rather plan for something I can stick with. It’s sort of like making a resolution to go to the gym for an hour every day and going for days 1 and 2, missing day 3, and then getting discouraged and not going back for 6 months. This is a really easy trap to fall into—and I know from experience! I’m aiming for good, not perfect.

Finally, I plan to make scales, arpeggios, and etudes a regular part of my practice routine. Especially scales and arpeggios, since I avoid these like the plague. On an intellectual level, I know that they are essential for developing a good technique, but knowing something is one thing and doing it is another. But this year I’m really going to do it. Honest!

Okay, and there you have it! That’s the plan. I’ll let you know how things go. Happy practicing until next time!