Making a bent endpin

Hello Bass players!

I recently spoke to a great room of teachers at the NYSSMA Winter Conference here in Rochester, NY. One of things I recommend highly to teachers who must keep their bass players standing (for whatever reasons) is to use a bent endpin.  My favorite supplier is Slava.net but sadly the owner has decided to close the business.  And my research for another supplier led me only to sites that sell a kit which you place on the bottom of the bass that provides for a spot for the straight endpin (which you also buy) to be angled back correctly.  But those kits run about $250, which seems quite out of reach for most public school programs.

So today I'd like to share with you the directions, as given to me by George Vance about 15 years ago.  Don't be put off by the need for a gas torch.  Your facilities department may have one.  I purchased one from an Ace Hardware store years ago and they are lightweight and very easy to use.

HOW TO MAKE A BENT ENDPIN

Any steel rod may be bent.  Grunert uses the Gotz endpin assembly which has a sufficiently thick rod (10mm).  If a thinner rod such as is found on cheaper endpin assemblies is bent it will tend to wobble.  It is possible to bend hollow endpins such as the Ulsa model but the procedure is more complicated.  The rod is bent so that it will hit the floor at a point lined up with the back edge of the bass when it is in playing position.

The bass cannot be carried around with the non-retractable bent endpin sticking out, so a sort rod with a rubber tip (or a wheel) is a necessary piece of equipment.

Equipment:

• Mapp Gas torch. Propane will work but more slowly
• Vise
• Bucket of water
• grinding wheel or hand file
• Endpin (I have purchased lengths of 10mm steel from the hardware store to do this)
• rubber cap - if you are using plain steel which you purchased

How to do it:

• The endpin will be bent at the point where it leaves the socket when it has been adjusted for playing. (Simple math here: measure how far out the student is using the endpin, then accommodate for the angle when deciding how far up to bend the endpin - ex: 4" of  straight endpin will yield 5.6" of length before the bend)
• Clamp it vertically in the vise and heat the bending point to incandescence.
• Wearing a glove, pull the endpin back to the desired angle. (44 degrees is optimal, I'm told by George)
• Remove it from the vise and plunge it into a bucket of water to temper the steel.
• Grind a flat spot on the pin just above the bend.  This is where the screw will hit when it is installed.  Without this flat spot the endpin would twist in the socket.

Here is the page written by Francois Rabbath talking about why he developed the bent endpin idea and how it helps players.

My recommendation is still that players sit from the time they start learning to shift.  However, I have run into enough teachers telling me that they aren't allowed stools or don't have room for stools that I want to make this possibility available to everyone.

Please feel free to contact me with questions!  gmccormick@esm.rochester.edu

Happy practicing and happy holidays!

Gaelen

Holiday bass carols event - this Saturday at 3pm in Rochester

Dear Bass Community,

Dan Ziemann and I, both teachers at the Eastman Community Music School are hosting an afternoon of FREE bass ensemble fun, playing through some holiday tunes and new swinging arrangement Dan has done just for us!  The Eastman School is where we'll meet this time, in room 209 which can be reached either by elevator or taking the grand staircase up from the main hall.  We will read through the carols at 3pm, take a short break, then play them through for our friends and family.  All levels are welcome and parts are available for any ability - yes even all open string parts are available!

We really had fun at our last community event - the Open Studio Class - and can't wait to see everyone this weekend and play together.

Parts can be found here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/tcq5l9qara9jlg8/AACQJj0PvAgFmkbp598qgj58a?dl=0

Feel free to browse the folders and see what appeals to you, print it off and join us Saturday!

Happy practicing!

Gaelen

NYSSMA 2014 Winter Conference presentation

My dear bass friends,

I just finished giving my second presentation to the NYSSMA conference attendees. Since last year's topic was right hand, his year I spoke about left hand technique and development.  What a great crowd of teachers and players!  For those of you who couldn't join us , or who want to follow up with me, I'm going to give all the handouts below.

click here to grab them from Google docs: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2u-DJW4jF15UjZrODVYNjlQSHM/view?usp=sharing

Please give credit if you are going to use them for any publications, but otherwise just grab them and start working with your students.

I'm incredibly happy three of my students got up early to come downtown and help me out (you really should have seen how professional they all were!) - Jill Alexander (5th grade), Mabel Zawacki (7th grade) and Sarah Wager (10th grade).  They were my role models and did a great job trying out some of the exercises we talked about, and they played a few of the solos that are mentioned in those sheets but were not included online.  Most of my examples come from Progressive Repertoire volumes 1 and 2, and the Essential Elements series.  I chose Essential Elements because I see that book being used the most frequently in NY state.

I'm happy to come work with your bass students at your school, so please feel free to contact me about that.  I'm also happy to try skype-ing with a group class if the distance from Rochester is far.  And - save the date! - I'll be hosting the Rochester Bass Retreat in mid-August 2015 for teachers and players of all levels.  This year will be 3 days of fun including a track for pedagogy (with in-service credit available), new jazz and classical teachers coming in to work with us, and large bass ensemble where we'll all (yes, even you teachers) work on preparing a couple of works for last recital of the retreat.

Meantime, happy practicing, as always!
Gaelen

Early Christmas present for teachers and students

Good morning Bass players!

I received an email from a student who's recently graduated from Nazareth and off and running her own string program here in Rochester.  She's very excited that her bass players, whom she started with the Vance Progressive Repertoire, are getting really good left hand setups and finally able to play some simple tunes in the high position (3rd position, end of the neck).  They had been a little sad that all their peers were playing simple tunes in first position, and wanted to be able to go home and play something for their families to show off what they were learning. We had talked about things like Hot Cross Buns and Twinkle, so that she could keep them parked in the high position for a little longer.

As I thought about how few tunes we get from Progressive Repertoire that stay exclusively in the high position, it popped into my head that "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" would work really well in that high position and give them something popular to be proud of learning.

So, here it is for you, too - Do You Want to Build a Snowman - put in G major and can be played entirely in the high position.  I included some notes at the bottom about how to adapt it to be a shifting exercise between 1st position and the high position, and about the little pivot you'll need to add so they can reach one new note.  The pivot is something you would get to with them in Progressive Rep volume 2, but it's easy enough to show and the kids will probably want to "get it" just so they can learn the whole song. I've marked when it's time to pivot as "move up" and when it's time to return to the "home base" of 3rd position as "move back".

If this jpg isn't clear enough, email me (gmccormick@esm.rochester.edu) and I can send you a pdf of it.

Happy practicing and happy teaching!  Merry early Christmas, y'all!

Gaelen

Hal Robinson's audition preparation video

Dear Bass Family

I stumbled across this "old" video of Hal Robinson, now the principal bass of the Philadelphia Orchestra, giving a lecture/demo of THREE HOURS of audition excerpts and preparation advice on YouTube today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1D30AgYAk4

I'm blogging here so that we can all find it again in the future.  I saw this video, and yes it was recorded on videoTAPE years ago before everyone had a digital camera in their phone with better quality than tape.  But the advice he gives and the playing he demonstrates is so outstanding I want to recommend this to you and any of your students who are interested in pursuing orchestra or college auditions.

Scroll through the comments to find someone who has exhaustively listed the excerpts and the timings on the video for those who wish to jump in and examine only the pieces they are studying now.  (so much easier than fast-forwarding videotape, if you recall)

I'm not going to summarize or adapt anything from this video because I think it's worth your time to watch at least some of it and to hear his playing.

Happy practicing!

Gaelen

So who's coming to Bass Retreat?

I'm at my desk looking over the registrations so far for the Rochester Bass Retreat, which is just over a week away!!!, and smiling widely at the number and variety of people who are going to get together and talk/play/listen/learn/share BASS!  I bet you're curious, so here's the skinny:

about 1/3 of the group are middle and high school teachers who want to brush up on their pedagogy skills, ask questions on posture, and get the nitty gritty on using our oversized bows in a healthy, ergonomic way.

Of the other 2/3, who are primarily players, we have several local professional players coming.  Almost all of the Rochester Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and the Hochstein Youth Orchestra bass section players will be here.  Quite a few upstate college bass students are joining us - some from Buffalo!  And a few students from community orchestras and the New Horizons program at Eastman will be with us too.

I absolutely love the diversity of this group!  One of the pro's who is joining us said, "I just love the vibe at these bass events!"  I know what he means - we're not a competitive group, people love hanging out and talking shop with each other, and given the nice spread of ages and experiences, the conversations will be quite interesting and varied as well.

For those of you who haven't been to a bass workshop, or the bass convention when it was here last year, this isn't about doing things one way.  It's about sharing our experience, and everyone involved knows that becoming a better musician means a lifetime of learning and refining. We're all after something slightly different when we play, and we have a lot to learn from each other.

Which brings me to the guest faculty for this year - all people I've known a long time, all good spirits and great players and teachers.  These are people who lift up their students and help them become their own kind of player.  They build confidence in their students, and equip them with great technique so they can go out and create their own sound.  I've know Jeff Campbell since we were both at Eastman together a gazillion years ago, and even shared a practice room with him.  He's an incredible musician, and always looking at how music fits together (theory, ensemble, sound, rhythm) and thinking and experimenting with how he wants to sound, what he wants to write.  He's also been a member of the RPO for a long time now and brings so much to our bass section.

Nicholas Walker has been bowling me over with his compositions for years now.  I feel like I"ve known him so long, I can't even remember when we first met.  He asked me and Colin Corner to come work with his students at Ithaca College a few years ago, and I was so impressed at how they all have their own musical voice and style.  All of that backed up with solid technique.  He's growing a garden not of one kind of plant, but a big variety of beautiful flowers, with their own personalities.  He brings lots of background in composition, contemporary performance, Baroque performance, and the standard repertoire too.  Nicholas thinks a lot about ergonomics and developed the angled end pin that helps keep the bass more balanced when you stand.  He'll also share his insights about practicing and how to develop a plan that makes it not a "chore" to do every day.

Last but no where near the least is our Alexander Technique teacher, Katie Fittipaldi.  I met Katie through her husband, Mike, who is a bass player here in Rochester.  Mike subs with the RPO and is a great guy to sit with on stage.  Calm and competent.  I started studying with Katie a few years ago after I had developed tendonitis in both elbows and was sidelined from playing for several months.  It seemed to me it was a golden opportunity to examine everything about my playing and rethink what I had been doing.  I had taken a few lessons during my undergrad days, and was familiar in a very general way with Alexander Technique, but Katie helped to demystify so much of it, and showed me how to use it in everyday life.  We spent a full school year working together and I discovered many ways in which I could use my body more efficiently, and more naturally.  She's also a cellist, so translating her work to ours was a breeze.

If you're not signed up yet to join us, it's not too late!  The flyer is posted at the Nazareth website here, or you can do the simple online form at www.bassretreat.com

Bass Retreat- what's in it for students?

Good morning from the Rocky Mountains!  Scales at 8,000 feet of elevation never sounded so good :D

** Reminder: early registration discount ends August 1! **

Register online at www.bassretreat.com or print your form and mail with check to Nazareth College. The form is here.

I've bee getting some requests for a more detailed schedule of events for our Bass Retreat and today I'd like to share a sample schedule with you. I'm reserving the right to change the order of events based on how many players sign up, and what ability levels we have attending. I want to be sure our Retreat gives everyone something they can work with. Some important things: there will be plenty of group playing opportunities, you will get to work with all of our faculty at least once and the there is built in social time at lunch - we'll be eating together family style- so that you can ask questions and get to know our faculty more personally. Trust me- I only invited the nicest people who are also GREAT players and teachers. There will also be a separate schedule for teachers who are attending, and if you are a college student, you are welcome to mix and match between the two tracks as you like. 

2014 Rochester Bass Retreat -- Players Schedule

9 am - Alexander Technique and posture with Katie Fittipaldi, basic bow work

10 am - fundamental skills workshop (group) with Gaelen McCormick

11 am - caring for your instrument, why strings, rosin, and setup change the sound of the instrument with Justin Rister from Stringed Insrument Services

12pm -LUNCH! Faculty and students together, food provided

1 pm - Improvisation class with Jeff Campbell, no experience needed

2 pm - masterclass with Nicholas Walker, some group exercises 

3 pm - faculty recital in Wilmot Hall

Teachers Schedule

9 am - Alexander Technique and posture with Katie Fittipaldi, basic bow work (both bows available to try)

10 am - how to handle simple repairs in school with Justin Rister from Stringed Instrument Services

11 am - bow fundamentals and ergonomic playing with Nicholas Walker

12 pm - LUNCH! Faculty and attendees together, food provided

1 pm - using Progressive Repertoire alongside standard methods in your orchestra with Gaelen McCormick

2 pm - using Improvisation in your teaching with Jeff Campbell

3 pm - faculty recital in Wilmot Recital hall 

Bass retreat - what's in it for teachers?

I'm getting very excited for our Bass Rereat on August 19!!  Seem of the emails I've gotten ask for more details about what is available for teachers at the retreat. Here is a sampling:

Posture and ergonomics of sitting and standing, led by a wonderful Alexander technique teacher. I've worked with Katie Fitipaldi for almost two years, and she is the most down to earth teacher I've met. You don't need to know Alexander technique to get a lot out of this part. As we all know, the way you hold the instrument is the first step to being comfortable playing.

Pedagogy break out sessions that are hands-on, working on the basics of starting players on the instrument, and moving into the fundamental techniques. We'll look at the ways different methods start students - Essential Elements, All for Strings, and Progressive Repertoire - and talk about strategies for using those books. I feel that doing this by playing and talking is more beneficial than just listening to a lecture. Even if bass isn't your primary instrument (especially if it isn't!),  play along during these sessions. We'll be working as a group and helping each other. If you don't already own these books, I've invited Music and Arts to set up a table and they will have those titles and more available. Also, one day rental bass rentals are available, just let us know on the registration form.

Masterclasses at beginning and intermediate levels.  Observe the guest teachers as they work with our students. During the lunch break, all the teachers will be available for questions and networking.

I hope that begins to answer some of the questions! Feel fee to contact me directly if there are more specific topics you would like to see covered. Email me at gmccormick@esm.rochester.edu

Registration information and details are available at :
naz.edu/music/documents

And online registration is also available at www.bassretreat.com

See you in August!
Gaelen
Bass Retreat

Bass Retreat 2014 - registration now open!

Bass Retreat 2014!

I am so pleased to announce that everything is in place for our first workshop which is now titled "Bass Retreat"!  (turns out Bass Boot Camp was already taken)

What is it?  A one-day event filled with group classes where we'll focus on using our bodies efficiently, stretching, posture, playing together and covering the basic elements of technique, masterclasses with inspiring teachers, a session on caring for your instrument in all seasons, and a chance to try improvisation - especially if you have never tried that before!  Lunch is included in the cost of the event, and we'll all eat together and have more time to network, chat, and really go to town on all things BASS!

Here's the flyer that's going out to all the local teachers and players.  You can print your registration from here, or go to bassretreat.com to sign up online.  There will be bass rentals available for the day if you are travelling in from out of town.  Just let us know on the form.

Hope to see you all in August!  Feel free to contact me directly with any questions at gmccormick@esm.rochester.edu

Gaelen

Next Level Journal for bass and cello - a free online resource

Happy Fourth of July to all my bass friends!

I'm trying to conserve a little energy here in the middle of the day, post-taking daughter to the pool to swim, and pre-playing a late night show for the city of Rochester.  You know, noodling on the computer when....

BAM - there it is - Next Level Journals has their latest issue out and I want very much to call your attention to this great resource.  First - it's free!  Yes, you have to register with the site, but I have been using this for about two years now, ever since it launched, and they have not sold my email address or hit me with even one spam-ish email or advert.

So, what is it?  Well, they feature two magazines, in magazine format when you read it online, which is a little strange for an old fart like me, to have to click a page turn rather than scroll down the page.  But, whatever.  One is for cello, one is for bass.  Because we all know (say it with me) that a bass is NOT a cello (or a violin for that matter).  They interview great players, in all genres, and have deep conversations about practicing, or performing, or what making music means to them.  There is a bit of advertising within the magazine, but it's sustaining them and keeping it free for the rest of us to use.

Jordan Morton is featured this time, along with her most recent teacher, Nicholas Walker.  I met Jordan about two years ago when I was lucky enough to give a masterclass at Ithaca College for Nick Walker's students.  Jordan was one of the four students Colin Corner (our principal bass here in the Rochester Philharmonic) and I worked with that afternoon, and she left a really big impression on me.  I could easily see that she was a dedicated artist and a lifelong student - qualities that I so admire in great musicians.

Head on over to Ranaan Meyer's magazines - Next Level Journals at:
https://2caec3.campgn3.com/View-Next-Level-Bassists-Left-Hand-Issue

I think it will fill you with plenty of practical practice advice for our great instrument.

Gaelen

KC Bass Workshop - day 1

Today began the KC Bass Workshop, presented and led by Johnny Hamil, with a bass ensemble of about 70 people reding our way through three of Johnny's arrangements - William Tell overture, Iron Man, and Summertime. You can tell just by that section that this will NOT be your grandfather's type of conference!!

I had the privilege of working with two groups of students today - a college group and a mixed pre-college group. My students were lovely and engaged and presented a lot of different repertoire which yielded good discussions about vibrato, Romanticism, and they also did some now exercises with me from Mastering the Bow. What fun!

For me the highlight as a lifelong student was getting a teachers class with François Rabbath and also playing with our students in a group class with him. 

My notes from the teachers class: 

- one of the problems of slowing your practicing down very much,  that you use the body differently, like slowing down walking, you are no longer doing things naturally and will engage different muscles. 

- teachers must not be the star. Lift your students up, don't punish the mistakes. He gave an example of watching a baby learn to walk. You don't hit the child when they fall. 

- when you see someone playing well, there is no need to be competitive. Adapt what you want from that playing/person. Overall, his attitude is one of non-judgment and tremendous love and support for each other. Who wouldn't flourish in that environment?!

- the problem of aiming for perfection : when you miss even one note, the whole thing is ruined for you. Rather, set the intention on sharing love with your listeners. 

- spent a good deal of time talking and showing us why having thumb position technique in positions lower that typical thumb position (octave harmonic) helps with virtuosity. Less hand to move around. This was shown to me in a practical way as we did some of his book  1 etudes and scales in group class. 

Today had several incredible recitals in it: Lloyd Goldstein, Ted Botsford (awesome transcription of some Frank Bridge violin short pieces), Brian Roessler, and our fearless leader Johnny Hamil! Lots of great and varied repertoire, lots of different ways to play the bass (slap, jazz, classical, electro funky)

The students here are wonderful and so happy to share what they know and to ask for what they want to know. Bring on the sleep 'cuz I'm headed into advanced scales clas at 8 AM!!

Happy practicing!

Gaelen

Kansas City Bass Workshop Day 2

Woke up exhausted from day 1- and started this morning with an extra early hour of scale class! Sounds dull, but isn't. In Rabbaths scale cycles, you go through your 3 octave scale 5 times with a focus on a different element each time:

1. Left hand

2. Right hand

3. Coordination of both hands

4. (I've already forgotten this one- maybe tone?)

5. Playing musically through

And for each scale group of five you move through a progression of faster rhythms in the left hand. We did-

1. quarter notes (at 44 I think)

2. Eighths

3. Triplet eighths

4. Sixteenths

5. Half notes

6. Whole notes

Yes, each of those rhythms gets FIVE passes through while you think about the different elements. Our intrepid leader Ted Botsford also led us through other ways of thinking about scales: only using thumb position, doing certain fingering patterns which migrate up as you scale goes up. 

I'll admit that at the hour mark I was very warmed up but also mind was full of ways to use this, and somewhat worn out ears and body from not doing this kind of conditioning regularly. But just like group running or meditation, just being together made it easier and more enjoyable. I love knowing these people, that we're all on a journey to play better and spread the joy of playing our great instrument. 

At François' two classes I attended today, he told some good stories from his life that shed light on intention in practice. Paraphrasing quite a bit, here is the Heifetz story. Rabbath was going to see a movie, and before the main feature, the was a short film about Jascha Heifetz. Rabbath loved the music so much, he wanted to run home and learn it. Then he realized- wait, he's just playing scales, but they're so beautiful and musical I didn't realize it was only scales. He goes home to tell his brother this , and finds him at the piano doing his Czerny etudes, but also reading a book at the same time. He tells us how this was a revelation for him. If you want to be a virtuoso, you need to practice like a virtuoso. (I hear this as, we need to constantly set the intention of playing beautifully and musically, even in the fundamental practicing. )

There's more, but it's late and there's another 8am scales clas with more to learn. I think I may be able to play with Rabbath tomorrow night on his program, but I still haven't seen the music. No sweat, right?!?!

Happy (musical intention filled) practicing

Gaelen 

Widening the road - for all bass players and teachers

Hello Bass friends!

They are about 1/4 done with a project in front of my home to widen the road and add drainage to our otherwise soggy area.  Exciting, no?  And from where I practice in the front of the house, right now I see all kinds of large machinery being hauled by, lots of flagpeople helping to keep the flow of traffic safe, and not much else.  I live pretty far outside of Rochester, and it's very scenic and hilly, which makes for great road biking and running in the warmer months.  So I really enjoy seeing the bicyclists zip by as I practice.   But alas, they are wisely avoiding my road for the rest of summer.  The good news is that the road shoulders will be widened, making it even safer and smoother for our biking community.

Today, however, I am thinking a lot about the upcoming workshop I'm planning - 

Bass Boot Camp at Nazareth College  

We just named the date: Tuesday, August 19th!  And I was thinking about how this one day camp will be about "widening the road" for more ideas and more kinds of bass playing.  It's not always the case that lots of different ideas are welcome at the table, but I want you to know that here it is!  There are so many styles of bass playing, sizes of instruments, kinds of bows and bow grips, types of strings.... you see where I'm going with this?  

Bass playing isn't just one thing, and teaching it isn't either.  So let's widen the road together.  Let's share our ideas, play with them right away on our instruments, and help each other grow as players and teachers.  Save the date August 19, from 9am to 5pm for a friendly and fun day of bass playing and learning together.  A formal announcement and marketing materials will be coming out soon.  I have a great list of teachers and players joining me for this event:

Jeff Campbell - jazz bass professor at the Eastman School of Music

Katie Fittipaldi - Alexander Technique teacher, cello teacher at the Kanack School 

Nicholas Walker - bass professor at Ithaca College

and of course, me too!  Gaelen McCormick, bass instructor at Nazareth College and the Eastman Community Music School

Until we meet again - happy practicing!

Gaelen

Practicing = slow change

Good morning!

I often read the blog by Leo Babauta called "Zen Habits" and really enjoy his insights into meditation and self awareness.  Today's post by Leo is great, and totally applies to the art of practicing.  It is called "The Frustratingly Slow Pace of Change" and while he's talking about exercise or diet most of the time, just replace those words with "practicing" and you'll see how the post applies.

I know there are many teachers reading this blog now, and you may ask: this is great, but how do I help a young player understand that the process is worth it, even when the results take weeks or months to show up in their playing?

I have no idea.

In my studio, I try to help students be aware of the sounds they are making, and connect what physical actions they take that make those sounds.  That way, there's no "bad" sounds, just ways to identify what caused a particular sound (very close to bridge? super firm right hand?) and the sound itself.  Especially in the case of playing extra ponticello, I'll let them know about the times we DO want that sound - Stravinsky, and many of our contemporary composers use that electric sound.

As they develop the ears and self awareness, I'm always hoping they can start to connect this action=this sound.  And I praise them at every new sound/action they can figure out.  Hopefully that helps to keep them going during the months it usually takes to get a great tone the majority of the time.  Remember, great tone isn't one thing, or we'd all have it mastered rather quickly.  We're always compensating for the string length, dynamic, amount of bow we can use on a given note, etc.  It's always a moving target!

Here's Leo's post for your enjoyment:
http://zenhabits.net/slowchange/

Happy practicing!

Gaelen

Bass Boot Camp

You heard it here first:

What?!?!

I'm proposing this idea to you all:  After a lovely summer, spent doing what you love, eating ice cream, playing in the pool....aaaaah!.....it will be time to get your bass chops back in working order.

Why go it alone?  Let's get together for a day of refresh and remember all things bass!  Everyone will be welcome - from newbie to seasoned veteran, to get together and talk about easy stretches, natural posture in sitting and standing, drawing great tone, practicing advice at all levels of performance, and mini jazz lesson for everyone to try out, and a faculty recital at the end.

There will be two "tracks" happening - one for students and one for teachers.  Some classes will be everyone in the room working together on the basics, and some break outs especially for teachers to talk and demo pedagogy ideas.

So.....

Are you in?  

What specifics would you like us cover that day?

We are looking at the week of August 18, for one day only, and I'm working to get teacher's credit through ASTA for coming to this workshop.

Happy practicing!
Gaelen

Practicing with your eyes closed

So I have this fabulous little 5 year old violinist of a daughter, and I'm new to the whole parent as practice coach thing.  Which is weird, since I teach - a LOT - but not so much this very young set of people.  So I'm used to kids who can listen, follow, ask questions, and basically NOT jump and squirm and pick their noses.  All at the same time.  But I digress....

At Clara's lesson recently, her teacher thought it would be a good time to try string crossings, no left hand, with her eyes shut.  And I was amazed at how quickly she sensed where the next string was, and clearly heard when she was scraping two strings at once.  I really didn't think she'd be able to keep her eyes shut and not fall over.  I underestimated her, clearly.

So this got me thinking about how infrequently I ask my own students to shut their eyes and do a very simplified technical task like that.  Recently, I've been asking my college students to do more lights-out practice to really listen to their tone, and make them memorize a bit of their recital repertoire.  But the simplicity of just closing your eyes, and really feeling and listening to a very simple task is what I want to hold up for all of us today.

I noticed right away in my warm up that I spend more time thinking and feeling my shoulders and arms, and allowing more warm up to take place if they are tight or jerky.  That happens a lot with the freezing weather we're having here lately.  It's like my shoulders go up and stay up until I'm smothered in blankets at the end of the day.

You, of course, may discover something totally different.  Give yourself a fighting chance in this one: cell phone off/silent, other distractions at bay for a few minutes (at least) and let it be ok to feel funny about playing with your eyes closed.

Happy practicing!
Gaelen

procrastination and practicing

I came across an article on procrasting "hard tasks" today, and loved it.  Basically, replace "practice" everywhere you see "hard task" and you're up and running.  Now, fair warning, it's from a zen blog I follow, so it may strike you as touchy-feely.  There, you were warned.  But to chime in on one of the biggest things I see happening with my students (and myself), it's the dread of the hard thing we need to work on.  It all seems to big and daunting, and I'd much rather indulge in facebook, angry birds, even washing dishes if it means I can avoid having to practice arpeggios against the drone.

Of course, if I set my mind to WHY I'm doing that drone practice in the first place, it's really not so big and scary anymore.  Here's my personal why's for that one part of my daily practice:
1. to stay loose in my arms, paying attention to where I tend to hold tension
2. to hear/sing my next note well before I shift
3. to maintain a big, open sound in all registers (this is a 2 octave cycle I'm working through, and take this from the open E up to the high D harmonic on G through a progression)

Once I look at what/why I'm doing this, it's really pretty easy.  I use a drone pitch (on iTunes, The Tuning CD) which plays each key for 3 minutes.  Granted, I'm going to go through about half an hour of this if I do the whole thing, but break it down ...... 3 minutes in each key... and my arpeggio cycle has 8 different chords I outline, so there's plenty to focus on, one step at a time.  I play each of those chords several times, each pass asking myself about the goals of loose arms, hearing ahead of shift, big sound.  I keep it simple and keep coming back to the basic questions.

I think that's the part we fail on - breaking it down from Big & Daunting into lots of small little chunks to work through, step by step.  When I was working on my book, my husband asked me why I hadn't published it yet.  I had already had it tested in many studios, but there were soooooo many little edits that just felt like the thing would never be done.  He said, "put it into action steps, rather than focus on the whole block of work."  Boy did that make it a lot easier.  One etude per day, where I knew I had the time to do it.  Of course, work makes for more work as I discovered more and more that I wanted to add or change.  But, even that got put into steps that were "do-able".

So friends, take a minute to read the zen post on procrastinating (now that you're done putting off other work by reading this).

http://zenhabits.net/read-now/

Happy practicing!
Gaelen