Now that the music is composed, my task has switched to performance. Often, the music I write is too difficult for me to play well at first. Actually, this is true almost 100% of the time. I've been through this enough times to know that if I practice regularly and am diligent about working extra on the harder spots, that I'll be prepared by the time the concert comes.
A little practice every day is much better than a lot of practice now and then. When I encounter a rough spot, the best technique is to immediately slow down - to whatever tempo I can play the passage smoothly. Sometimes it is very slow, but there is always a tempo that works. Once I find that, and work through the passage a few times, I can usually speed it up significantly - though the next practice session will send me back to a more moderate pace to start. Before long, the passage doesn't seem difficult at all.
I find the same techniques - regular (i.e. daily) practice - and working at a level that is possible - so I'm practicing success rather than failure - work for almost anything that I want to improve at.
No comments:
Post a Comment