on practicing
this wind symphony cycle, we are playing "wine dark sea" by john mackey, one of the most famous (and very cool!!!) pieces for wind band. each movement represents a stage of odysseus's journey in homer's odyssey. if you're curious, you can listen to it here!
i won't nerd out about the piece right now, but the main thing you need to know is that it's really, really hard 😭. so i've been practicing (i actually typed procrastinating first hahaha) a lot. recently, i've been reflecting on how my relationship with practice has changed over the years.
practicing: beginner
in kindergarten, my mom gave me the choice of learning piano or violin. since my best friend at the time was learning violin, i wanted to learn it too! (she was my jie jie 姐姐, or older sister, so my dream was to be exactly like her 🥺.)
my music school used the suzuki method, a music education philosophy that revolves around playing by ear. instead of learning to read music first, we listened to the teacher play (or a CD) and learned music by listening.
this era of my life is a bit of a blur, but practicing basically looked like:
- listen to what i'm learning on a CD.
- play the piece starting at the beginning. start over from the beginning when i mess up.
during my violin phase, practicing felt like a chore, a task i had to check off a todo list. looking back, this was not the most effective way to practice, BUT the "chore" of practicing got me in the habit of learning that to improve at anything, you need to do it every day!
practicing: intermediate
in 3rd grade, i started learning piano!
my first piano teacher's pedagogy was very different from the suzuki method. i learned that knowing the theory and technique can help you learn music faster. in fact, most music is some combination of scales and arpeggios.
my practice routine started looking more like:
- complete the theory book exercises.
- practice technique: scales, arpeggios, etc.
- play the piece starting at the beginning. start over from the beginning when i mess up.
practicing: advanced
in 5th grade, the band teacher brought all the students into library to test all the wind instruments. each station had one musician that showed you how to play their instrument: flute, clarinet, trumpet, trombone, and saxophone. after trying the instrument, you got a "grade" on your slip representing how naturally good you would be at the instrument. (i got a double star on trumpet because i hit a high note 🤭. thank god i didn't pick trumpet though, it's too loud!)
when i got home that day, i told my dad that i wanted to play flute. i thought it was the instrument all the girls played and it was so cute! he pushed back saying that i should choose the saxophone because it sounds the best and i was kind of like "ok!" (and i'm so glad i did!)
in middle school, i decided to take sax more seriously by taking private lessons outside of school. this sax teacher was the best music teacher i've ever learned from. one of her core pedagogical beliefs was that that non-college students could play (serious bizness) college-level repertoire.
an aside: most pre-college wind instrument teachers assign "easier" music for students to learn. most of these pieces are transcribed (translated) from other instruments (like violin) and not written originally for the instrument.
in high school, when i started auditioning for all state and performing at competitions, i decided to take practice more seriously. i consistently practiced 1 hour a day both because i enjoyed playing and was competitive.
my practice techniques evolved. instead of going through the same steps over and over again, i learned to:
- start by practicing technique (aka scales), but with a metronome.
- focus on parts of the music that are hard for me first.
- drill specific measures of music time and time again.
- play things super slow before playing it fast.
- record myself and listen to how it sounds.
- listen and analyze professional recordings.
the more i practiced, the more i enjoyed playing! learning to play saxophone taught me how to truly love music. what was different about playing saxophone? i'm actually not sure, but some ideas:
- the repertoire is better. most beginner to intermediate violin music is very traditionally classical and repetitive. the sax was invented in the mid-1800s, so most of the repertoire is fairly contemporary!
- i practiced more. unlike violin and piano, i got to a comfort level where i felt like i could play anything if i put my mind into it. i never reached this feeling for violin or piano where playing felt more difficult (more like work.)
as i've been learning wine dark sea this week, i noticed how i've grown so much in how i practice. practicing has taught me that with dedicated time and intentional effort, it's possible to learn anything~