How do you keep yourself working ?

[menuet]

Hi everyone,
today's question concerns the working session itself :-)

What are your tips to keep "working" during your practice session ?

I mean how do you avoid looking mindlessly at your fingers playing some music, without really thinking about it ?

This really happens to me too often, and I feel that I'm wasting lots of time,  not really working on the music I want to learn.

My only tip is to divide my one hour practice session into 4*20 minutes with a different score to work on each time.

Are there any others ? Do you plan your practice sessions ?

[shortyshort]

My only tip is to divide my one hour practice session into 4*20 minutes with a different score to work on each time.

That works for me nearly every time.

Shorty

P.S. I think you'll find that 4*20 mins = 80 mins (lol) 

[danny elfboy]

Hi everyone,
today's question concerns the working session itself :-)

What are your tips to keep "working" during your practice session ?

I mean how do you avoid looking mindlessly at your fingers playing some music, without really thinking about it ?

Sharp your theory
I mean, think of the whys of the passage you're practicing
The great teacher Gregory Presley has taught me an important lesson: never think of practicing time as a passage you can't play perfectly and need to practice for the last 20 or 40 or 90 minutes. Instead always start by analyzing the reasons why you can't play that passage. It takes a very analytical approach to the difficulties.

Does a shift in position cause the problem? Is there a change of direction, or a change in the pattern that is creating a mess? and do on

Movements must be complementary to the analytical work but really "technique" is a piece of cake. What really makes piano playing difficult is "mental barrier" movements come (or not) as a consequence.

And that's the point: it's to impossible to just move your finger mindlessly if your practicing is the result of an analytical check-up of what's the problem is and what you need to do to overcome it

[overscore]

Well, pick stuff you're not good at, then you'll have to keep your attention focused.

I would think that if you can, say, plan a holiday while practicing something, then you don't really need to practice that thing. Sometimes if I'm playing something my mind wanders and then I realise with a jolt that I played the whole thing without paying any attention whatsoever. If that happens I just chuck it.

[ramseytheii]

Sharp your theory
I mean, think of the whys of the passage you're practicing
The great teacher Gregory Presley has taught me an important lesson: never think of practicing time as a passage you can't play perfectly and need to practice for the last 20 or 40 or 90 minutes. Instead always start by analyzing the reasons why you can't play that passage. It takes a very analytical approach to the difficulties.

Does a shift in position cause the problem? Is there a change of direction, or a change in the pattern that is creating a mess? and do on

Movements must be complementary to the analytical work but really "technique" is a piece of cake. What really makes piano playing difficult is "mental barrier" movements come (or not) as a consequence.

And that's the point: it's to impossible to just move your finger mindlessly if your practicing is the result of an analytical check-up of what's the problem is and what you need to do to overcome it

I thinkthat's good advice from the elf.  One has really got to approach problems rationally.  Especially it is difficult for talented people, who might feel that the answers should come naturally.  Answers don't come automatically for anybody, even Glenn Gould said he had to work for hours to overcome mental blocks in the 5th variation of Beethoven op109 3rd movement.  It takes a rational mindset.

The other thing it takes is setting goals, and not giving up until you have achieved a reasonable portion, if not all, of the goal.  You may be surprised how much your attitude determines whether or not you solve a problem.  It's not possible to solve everything in one sitting, but especially for passages that have been plaguing you, often times I find all it takes is a determination to succeed and a rational mindset, even if you cannot find the answers immediately.

I don't take a formal approach to dividing up practice times.  If you ever had a personal trainer at the gym, when you get tired, they always tell you to push on, to get past the tiredness.  The true is same in mental exercise, which the best piano practicing always is.  There may be an initial resistance, but with determination you can improve your times, go for longer, with more sustained concentration.

If you practice at home, it may be a good idea not to.  There are often too many distractions, like eating, internet, books, television, whatever.  Practicing in a practice room, or in a church, can often force you to schedule certain hours: in other words you have to get a certain amount of work done in a certain amount of time.  This works well if you have specific goals.

Goals are the inspiration that will keep you going.  It doesn't help to do anything aimlessly, and it's important to have self-esteem in what you do, and feel a sense of accompishment.

Walter Ramsey

[menuet]

I thinkthat's good advice from the elf.

In fact I think it is as good as it is simple to understand !
Using this simple tip, I find myself very concentrated  and being able to overpass difficulties I've been through for days.

  Especially it is difficult for talented people, who might feel that the answers should come naturally. 

I'm not talented at all, but I think that you have a point here. I've been working since now on easy scores that did not require so many work and that came alone in fingers and memory. Now, I'm just starting harder things for me (grade 5 to 6) and I really have to change my working routine to keep the progress on.

Goals are the inspiration that will keep you going.  It doesn't help to do anything aimlessly, and it's important to have self-esteem in what you do, and feel a sense of accompishment.

Thank you for your very valuable answers ! It really helpled and gives motivation :-)

[rc]

I agree, a very good post from Danny!  I have to remind myself of this often.  It's easy to fall into mindlessness.

Something I use to keep myself on track is a practice journal to record each practice session.  It's a little, lined book that I keep beside the piano.  It's become a ritual for me.  Before I practice, I write down the objective of the session, sit down, take a moment to adjust my posture, clear my head and prepare myself for the practice - visualizing what I'm about to do.

Also to work out longer-term goals.  Recently I've been focusing on technical drills.

An example:

12/29/06

(2:00 PM) - Bbm arp, 72 bpm 3X + inv
(2:36) - did well actually, but overpracticed.  Be careful

(2:51) - Bbm/o7 chrds, 80bpm 3X
(3:04) - No problem!

(4:17) - Andante amoroso, bars 1-23+
(4:50) - got ||1-46|| needs to be fluid.

(6:43) - Andante amoroso, 38-46
(7:09) - good

[Bob]

Keep yourself working?

Hmm.... give yourself some goals.  Then block out some time.  Short blocks will keep you working.

And you don't have to plan every practice session out.  You can just set the goals and keep the blocks of practice time the same -- "For x-minutes, I will work on this goal." 

That generally works for me and makes me more productive.  I tend to keep finding more and more levels of detail to work on though, so things can get bogged down.  Or, I end up with a problem where I can't figure out the solution and hammering away at it with blocks of time won't solve it.

But have a goal can really help.  If you don't know what to work on, find something.  Then you have something to focus on and hopefully some way of "measuring" that aspect so you can hear progress.

[ramseytheii]

I obviously can't say this doesn't work, because you said it works for you, but I personally would disagree with half of what you are saying.  I don't think time limits are appropriate, even though esp. Bernhard is quite strict about them.  I think that it is much better to work on a goal till you have accomplished a reasonable amount of it, no matter how long it takes.

Sometimes problems arise: irrational obsession which only leads to destruction not productivity, frustration which blocks progress, legitimate distraction, etc.  Anything that blocks progress is obviously bad, and you should stop, or change course.  (Did you hear that, Amerika?)

But Bernhard argues that because of mental fatigue, and apparently some scientific studies that say 15 minutes or whatever is the maximum for full concentration on any single item, we should change course all the time.  If you ever had a personal trainer, they push you the most when you start to complain about being tired. 

If you are setting time limits in your practice, or saying you will stop soon, you are giving in to a mental fatigue which can be overcome.  Instead you should work to obliterate whatever is blocking your concentration, and keeping your attentino focused on achieving a reasonable amount of your goal.  Not all goals can be finished in one sitting, but you have to have gotten somewhere with it.

If it works for you to set limits, or change often, that's fine and I won't say you are wrong; but from a practical standpoint I can only advise the opposite.

(Happy Birthday A.R. )

Walter Ramsey

Keep yourself working?

Hmm.... give yourself some goals.  Then block out some time.  Short blocks will keep you working.

And you don't have to plan every practice session out.  You can just set the goals and keep the blocks of practice time the same -- "For x-minutes, I will work on this goal." 

That generally works for me and makes me more productive.  I tend to keep finding more and more levels of detail to work on though, so things can get bogged down.  Or, I end up with a problem where I can't figure out the solution and hammering away at it with blocks of time won't solve it.

But have a goal can really help.  If you don't know what to work on, find something.  Then you have something to focus on and hopefully some way of "measuring" that aspect so you can hear progress.

[rc]

I agree with Mr. Ramsey, and will add that in my experience when I set a time limit for myself, there is a part of me that will be counting down the minutes in anticipation, which is a cause for distraction and an "almost there" mentality that makes me lazy.

It's like in work, we work a lot better if we're payed by the job than by the hour.