What to do while injured

[kriskicksass]

I have flexor muscle sprains in both of my arms, and not being able to practice is driving me nuts. Anyone have any suggestions as to what I can do musically while healing? I'm already doing some counterpoint exercises, but they're just not cutting it.

[gonzalo]

The answer is quite obvious isn't it?

[lagin]

Memorize music from the scores.  This is a great time to develop this ability.  I've tried it, and it is doable, but it takes longer than memorizing with a piano for me, yet, because I haven't practiced it enough.  Can you write?  If you can, work out fingerings for your pieces.  Harmonically analyse your pieces and understand how they "work."  But if writing isn't a good idea, which it probably isn't, then listen to recordings.  Practice singing your melody lines, or separate voices in any fugues.  Do memory points.  (Numbering every other or every few bars - every other works best - and then drawing those numbers at random and visualizing in your mind, what the score looks like at those points, so you could start at any one of those if you ever had a memory slip. 

My teacher just told me last week, and I really think I believe her, that if she had 2 months to learn a piece, she would not panick if she did not have access to an actual piano for the first month. 

[gonzalo]

Memorize music from the scores.  This is a great time to develop this ability.  I've tried it, and it is doable, but it takes longer than memorizing with a piano for me, yet, because I haven't practiced it enough.  Can you write?  If you can, work out fingerings for your pieces.  Harmonically analyse your pieces and understand how they "work."  But if writing isn't a good idea, which it probably isn't, then listen to recordings.  Practice singing your melody lines, or separate voices in any fugues.  Do memory points.  (Numbering every other or every few bars - every other works best - and then drawing those numbers at random and visualizing in your mind, what the score looks like at those points, so you could start at any one of those if you ever had a memory slip. 

My teacher just told me last week, and I really think I believe her, that if she had 2 months to learn a piece, she would not panick if she did not have access to an actual piano for the first month. 

That's the answer.

[quantum]

Memorize music from the scores.  This is a great time to develop this ability.  I've tried it, and it is doable, but it takes longer than memorizing with a piano for me, yet, because I haven't practiced it enough.  Can you write?  If you can, work out fingerings for your pieces.  Harmonically analyse your pieces and understand how they "work."  But if writing isn't a good idea, which it probably isn't, then listen to recordings.  Practice singing your melody lines, or separate voices in any fugues.  Do memory points.  (Numbering every other or every few bars - every other works best - and then drawing those numbers at random and visualizing in your mind, what the score looks like at those points, so you could start at any one of those if you ever had a memory slip. 

My teacher just told me last week, and I really think I believe her, that if she had 2 months to learn a piece, she would not panick if she did not have access to an actual piano for the first month. 

Great stuff.

Also just listing to music that you haven't heard before.  Increase your knowledge of the wide range of piano music available.  Make notes of pieces you may wish to study in the future. 

[kriskicksass]

Thanks, I think I'll try to fill my practice time with that.