Playing With Pain--Don't Do It



A Humorous Look At Playing With Pain



As you travel along on your musical journey, you may notice that certain areas of your body are starting to hurt as you practice.  This soreness is a "red flag" and you should deal with it immediately.

More importantly, if there is pain for your child when practicing, talk to the music teacher right away.  Your child's music teacher may not have noticed a leaning posture or a wrist position that is slightly off.  Pianists often develop pain somewhere in the neck or upper/lower back.  If your teacher is not able to help you alleviate the pain through better body ergonomics, a trip to the doctor would be in order.  Many of you see physician's assistants and chiropractors and that, too, would be a great next step.

If you are a practicing adult student or performer, after making sure that your body is in the right position for playing your instrument and there is still pain, you should also see a doctor, physician's assistant, or the like for any pain in your neck, hands, fingers, legs, etcetera.  Adults may also find that practicing yoga, Pilates, or just plain old stretching helps limber up sensitive areas of the body before practicing and that will disperse the pain.

As many of you know, there are now specialists that treat musicians and athletes for specific kinds of pain in the body related to the playing of instruments and athletic training.  Please do not hesitate to contact these people for counsel and help.

Memorization

Does the word memorization strike a chord of fear in you?  Or, are you one of the lucky people who are able to easily memorize words, numbers, and music?  If you are not one of those lucky people, there is no reason to fear memorizing your music.  Some of us like to use the phrase, "You could eat an airplane if you broke it down into very small pieces".  That translates to: memorize in small amounts, such as measures or phrases.  It is also very helpful to have good recordings of the song or piece you are memorizing and to be listening to the recordings.  If you are a Suzuki student or parent, you know that having a digital device in different rooms of the house as well as your car is a great idea because you can flick a switch wherever you are and whatever you are doing and hear the piece you are memorizing.  This is a language approach to learning and the listening reinforces the memorizing plus you have the bonus of listening to lovely music all the time.

If you are the parent of a young music student and assignments for that child include memorizing, you may be able to help your child by being supportive in subtle ways.  Encouraging your child verbally is very important and I've mentioned in other postings that if you're able to choose words that are honest and specific, those are the best.  For instance, "Good work on getting that second phrase memorized today!"  Or, "I heard you working on repeating the ending to that song and it is sounding great!"  Also, if you are able to stay in that area of the house while your child is practicing (if you are a Suzuki parent, you will actually be involved in the practice session with your child), most children like the fact that you care enough to stick around and listen to them.  An even better action from the parent is if you give them your undivided attention and listening ears.

Memorizing is like any other activity: it gets easier with practice.  So, the sooner the better to get listening and practicing to start the momentum of this fabulous asset.  Once again, the study of music translates in a positive way to other areas in your life or your child's life.  Memorizing is a great way to keep a brain active as well as helping younger students work on words, numbers, and formulas.

Don't Forget To Applaude Your Progress

We often are too critical of ourselves when we are trying to learn a musical piece.  We think we should be learning faster and that it should be easier than it is.

One technique that may help you overcome these negative feelings is to simply take a few minutes or a bit of time out of your schedule to watch some old performances of you or your children.  Often when we or they see how far we've come on our musical journey, we can be more gentle on ourselves and remember we really have made progress.  So, don't forget to keep making videos!

Helpful Hints When Learning A Song, Etude, Study, or Piece

* Try to prioritize the tough spots you need to master and break the song into segments.
   Then, practice the segments one at a time

* Use a metronome at a slow tempo to evenly learn the piece

*  Here's a trick that the professionals use for learning a tough measure or phrase:

    Practice one measure and stop.  Practice the next measure and stop.  You get the idea. 

The picture at the top of this posting is one of Wynton Marsalis, famous trumpet player who was born and raised in New Orleans.  He embodies the work ethic and stamina that being a musician demands as well as the joy of sharing his teaching and expertise.  He's worth a Google search to remind you why you are taking this journey.

   

Another Way To Enjoy Music With Your Preschooler



Here is another fun music game to play with two or more preschoolers.  I got this idea from the book:
Music Games and Activities For Early Childhood by Margaret Athey and Gwen Hotchkiss.

Have some music ready to play either on piano or a CD that is played on your CD player.  Digital devices will work, too, if you have a speaker that will enhance/amplify the sound. Then, make up a scenario such as one child gets to be the mouse and the other child gets to be the cat.  Next, if you are playing the piano, play some medium tempo music in the treble part of the piano and tell the child playing the part of the mouse that the music you are playing now is when they will act like a mouse.  You may be the one to decide just what that behavior will be!  Maybe the mouse will scurry around looking for cheese or maybe they'll just be a dancing mouse staying in a small area of the room.  When you change the music that you are playing on the piano to a slow song played in the bass part of the piano, that means the mouse has to suddenly go into a crouch position on the floor because the low music means the child playing the part of the cat is active now.  The cat can only move slowly because the music is slow but the cat is allowed to come up to the mouse and look hungrily at the mouse, although no touching is allowed.  You may want to have a boundary like a piece of tape on the floor or a piece of furniture in the way so the cat won't be tempted to touch the mouse.  Then, you should change the music back to the more upbeat song in the treble part of the piano which is a cue for the cat to go back to the area they were originally in and the mouse can move again.  Repeat as many times as you like and the children may switch roles, too.

If you are using a CD player or digital device, you'll need to have two contrasting songs ready to toggle back and forth so the mouse will know when to move and crouch and the cat will know when to wait and move.

Some suggestions of music to play when the mouse is moving might be:  Golliwog's Cakewalk by Debussy; any upbeat movement of the Nutcracker Suite; any upbeat/up tempo piece by Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Beethoven, or Brahms.

Some suggestions of music to play when the cat is moving might be:  Horn Concerto #2, Andante Movement, by Mozart;  New World Symphony, Largo Movement, by Dvorak; any slower movement or piece by Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Beethoven, or Brahms.

Of course, it's perfectly fine to use pop or any ethnic music you like.  Irish music works well for this activity and jazz works nicely, too.

The reason this activity for young children is musically helpful to the child is because it incorporates focus, listening, creativity, coordination, and cooperation.  I guarantee that everyone will have fun in the process!

Creating Your Personal Repertoire

Some music educators feel it's important to have a playable repertoire ready to play at a moment's notice. Why do we feel this way?

The reason it is important to have a repertoire ready to play (even if the repertoire is Mary Had A Little Lamb and Twinkle Twinkle Little Star) is because it is satisfying to the player as well as any listener; and in addition, it keeps the player motivated to continue learning new music.  Think about it--if you've been studying architecture, baseball stats, finance, ballet, or any other activity, the more you build upon your foundation of knowledge, the more excited you are to keep studying.  In music, the way we keep our repertoire list fresh and ready to play, is by reviewing the pieces we've already learned.

 

Reviewing Repertoire

Enjoy the repetition of your songs that you've worked so hard to learn by choosing one or two pieces to review each time you practice.

Notice how you glide right over that fingering that used to be difficult and can direct your thoughts to the phrasing and musicality of the piece.

Luxuriate in the wholeness and beauty of the music.  You have earned the privilege of conveying the composer's wishes because you've mastered the technique of the piece.

If you are helping a child review their pieces, the above concepts will be second nature to them.  Watch as they musically blossom after reviewing their songs over many months and years.

Adult Music Students



Are you an adult music student?  Or, are you thinking of dusting off your old instrument and starting to play again?  What a good idea!

As you know, learning how to play an instrument has so many benefits.  Not only does playing an instrument focus your mind away from all the cares of the world, it fosters your creativity in all aspects of your life.  After you start practicing, you may notice a new calm in your daily awareness, too.  Maybe you will take a different approach with that problem at work.  You will probably be more cheerful as you go about your day and week.  As with children studying music, your focus and attention will be enhanced because you've been cultivating the two during your practice sessions.

Don't forget to have your instrument cleaned up or repaired if it's been awhile since you've played it.  Many music stores offer a repair service or are able to refer you to someone that may help you get it back in good shape.

Invite yourself into the wonderful world of music!

Practicing For A Performance

                    

Sometimes we or our children have a recital or another kind of performance coming up in the future.  You may want to change your thinking about practicing, at least until the performance is over.

Here are some tips for getting ready for a performance:

 

* Spend a litte more time (5 - 30 minutes depending upon your age and ability) warming up with tone and technique exercises. These are the basics for musical performance and offer a foundation of support from which to emote. This may mean spending a bit less time practicing new repertoire and other exercises; but, you may put those "on hold" until after the performance.

* Visualize the performance. Many athletes use this technique to get ready for a game or competition. Close your eyes and imagine the room or recital hall, see yourself sitting in the auditorium getting ready to play, or backstage behind the curtains. Feel yourself walking on stage and taking in the atmosphere--there may be audience members moving, whispering, etc. What will it feel like to take that first breath or strike that first chord?

* Play this simple game while practicing your performance pieces: Start out playing your piece from the beginning but stop suddenly and wait 5 - 10 seconds. Then, start playing again exactly where you left off. Stop again in another random place in the piece and wait 5 - 10 seconds. Start playing again exactly where you left off. This game helps with concentrating/focusing and also helps psychologically reassure you that you would be able to go on playing if you were to make a mistake while performing.

* Remember that the composer of your performance piece wrote it so that you could play it and give others the gift of his or her piece. And, here's hoping it will bring you great joy, as well.

While some of these tips are rather sophisticated and wouldn't be appropriate for a young child, you may draw upon the tips that would work for you and your child.

Good luck!