You Are What You Practice
It’s true, how we approach our music will be indicative of our experience performing it.
Photo Marielle Salon
Practicing is something I spend a lot of time doing, particularly during the performing season. Many times we spend hours on the daunting task of playing technically well.
How about this for a change, approach your music with the intent of expressing to guide how you practice. I live and die by these nine practicing concepts. Of course you need to be technically able to play, there’s no way of getting around that but give these ideas a shot and let me know what you think.
Practice Musically
Incorporating the musical ideas provided by the composer is the fundamental framework. Make sure you are actually doing what is notated in the music.
Connect the measures: It is a rare occasion that a measure will stand alone. Measures create the phrase and combine to create the musical scope. There is a flow and connection to each measure and they compliment each other and support the musical idea. It is important to be conscious of the phrases and gestures. You will have greater results if you are aware of the composer’s musical intentions.
Be deliberate with your musical intentions and think about what the audience will perceive during the performance. What do you want them to experience? Instrumentalists create mental illusions without words. Recall your expression tools: dynamics, sounds, silences, and time. These elements contribute to the musical experience.
Dynamics provide shape and meaning. Dynamics give you insight of the phrase and knowing how to start and end the note gives the music more direction and allows you to know what to do technically to achieve that.
Accuracy + Structure = Command and Musicality. With structure comes freedom and musicality. Give the music your whole commitment and trust the composer's writing. Once you have that fundamental scheme you can bring in appropriate musical ideas that are in context with the musical environment. You will be able to judge properly if you need to use rubato, dynamics, articulation, or tone to bring out phrases.
Simplicity can be beautiful. When in doubt aim for clarity of gesture with accurate rhythm, note placement, and beauty of sound. You can never go wrong with that.
It is okay to change. Do not aim for a rigid blueprint of how you are going to musically execute the piece. Allow ebb and flow to the performance. If you are fully competent in the music you will be able to communicate clear musical gestures on the spot. This helps keep the music fresh and enjoyable. Give yourself room to explore and discover the composer’s musical language. Also, allow musical partners to lead and always listen to where the harmony takes you.
Create dialogue. Many times the composer creates the illusion of dialogue through gestures. Dive into the score and find out how your part fits in the full scope. Know who has what supporting roles and melodic roles.
Always listen for beauty of sound. Take the time to see how intonation is working. We know that all environments have different temperatures and levels of humidity which can affect intonation. You need to know what your instruments tendency is and how to appropriately remedy the problem. Be prepared with additional equipment or materials for the performance.
Just a little something to think about, and that’s my two cents.
