Can slow practice ever be exciting?

Now there’s a question to ponder…

Most pupils equate slow with boring. But if we can help those pupils to enjoy a bit more active engagement with their practice, we can begin to change this age-old attitude.

For many, practice is done with the brain remaining in a fairly low gear, with brain power only just in the on-position, playing through pieces or singing songs, possibly correcting the odd mistake along the journey. 

Energy levels tending to stay quietly and pleasantly subdued. For others, maybe practice is more active – making connections, and being more imaginative and creative.

For those who might be having a go at introducing more Mini Outcomes and Personal Bests into their practice, they might be finding that it can actually generate a lot of fun and cause a real rise in those energy levels.

So what about slow practice?

Once we’ve programmed a computer to do something, it will always do it. As we practise, we need to programme our brains in a similar way. If we do this programming carefully, the consequent progress will be significantly enhanced.  Here’s a thought:

Slow Practice – Fast Brain

As we are carry out our next activity let’s put our brain into high gear. Maybe the decision is to play a four-bar phrase (we often simply set off to play too many bars).  Choose a slow pulse – it’s not slow really, it just means that it will take longer to get to the next pulse or beat – the next event.  But in the time we’ve given ourselves in the journey to that next beat we can think! We can do a lot of fast and really focussed thinking on what we are about to do to get to that next beat successfully.

So what might we be thinking about, and what might we be working out (fast!) in that extra moment we now have?

• Which finger is going to play the next note?  Is my hand shape correct to play it?

• Exactly how will I make the change of hand position for the next note?

• Are the correct fingers ready and energised to play the next chord?

• Which part of the bow should I be in?

• Exactly what am I going to do to the bow speed? 

• What will I do to make a change of dynamic?

• How will I control the staccato/legato/accent?

• Can I hear the pitch of the next note really accurately before I sing it?

There are literally endless aspects of playing or singing we can prepare as we get ready to move to the next beat. By making that preparation, whatever it is we have to do on that next beat – we will certainly do it better!

Maybe we then  repeat those four bars.  But let’s not repeat them mindlessly.  In the extra moment we now have we can polish our previous thought and action or we can consider a different thought in perfecting the journey to the next beat.  We can repeat the phrase many times, each time with a different thought in our active minds.

We are carefully and effectively programming our brain. And once programmed, we will find that, like any computer, our brain will begin to do the job on its own and do it accurately and with understanding.  Then we can begin to shorten the time it takes to get to the next beat (‘play faster’).  Our brains have got it. Putting the next thing sooner (‘playing faster) is no problem for our well-programmed brain.  And, because of this thorough preparation, we are then able to apply it to other similar situations.  Our learning is advancing in every possible way.

Similarly, when we are preparing our Mini Outcomes the outcomes will be even more effective with occasional slow practice.  And that will ultimately cause even more success in our Personal Bests.

We are actively engaging our minds.  And when minds are actively engaged they don’t get bored! Slow practice is far from boring – it’s quite the opposite. Slow practice is exciting!

Developing a new approach to music practice

In the previous post we talked about encouraging pupils to have maybe two shorter practice sessions in a day rather than one longer one.

As part of our challenge to begin changing our pupils’ practice mindsets, let’s begin to challenge them with some questions they need to ask themselves as they set out on their short practice sessions:

• Why am I going to do this?

• How am I going to do it?

Then they devise an activity that fits either the Personal Best (PB) or the Mini Outcome (MO) models. They do the activity.

• I did it…

• What shall I do next?

• What have I achieved?

Let’s take one of the potentially less glamorous areas for practice – a scale – and see what might be possible…

Practice No 1

Minuet in G is my new piece. So, as it is in G,  I’m going to begin by practising the scale of G. (Other ingredients are staccato and p.)

1st activity:  I’ll play one octave of G up and down quite slowly, with even rhythm (noting the speed on metronome). (MO)

2nd activity:  I’ll play it staccato. (MO)

3rd activity:  I’ll play 2 bars of really well controlled staccato notes in a row. (PB)

4th activity:  I’ll find two bars (that are made up of a staccato scale passage) and play them with even rhythm and really crisp staccato. (MO)

Reflection:  What have I achieved? I’m aware I’ve made some progress.

Practice No 2

1st activity:  I’ll play that scale again one notch faster (or maybe 2!). (PB)

2nd activity:  I’ll clap the rhythm of the whole piece very steadily*. (MO)

3rd activity:  I’ll work on that 2-bar phrase again to get it really well controlled and with a dance-like character. (MO)

4th activity:  I’ll play it again as softly as I can. (PB)

Reflection:  I’m aware of my progress (pupil begins a chart for scale tempo) and looking forward to my next practice!

*Wasn’t sure of the rhythm in bar 6, so will ask teacher.

So, in one day’s practice they’ve achieved five Mini Outcomes and three Personal Bests and have one question for the teacher. Of course, the sessions won’t actually go exactly like that, and pupils will need a bit of help and encouragement. In lessons, talk equally about the practice activities alongside your more usual lesson feedback.  Use questions like:

• How might you practise that?

• What activity might you do next?  

And always ask for a report on the Mini Outcomes (MOs) and Personal Bests (PBs), suggesting one or two new ones from time to time (see last post!).

All being well, an exciting new kind of approach is brewing. An activity-based approach, driven by short, clear, fun, understandable, mildly challenging and imaginative activities. In time it will grow and a whole a new attitude towards practice will have developed.

Personal Bests and Mini Outcomes: Some thoughts on your pupils’ practice in these unprecedented times

Naturally the first necessity for all of us in these in these exceptional times is a combination of looking after ourselves and those close to us, with an eye on moving forwards towards a better future.

For many younger folk, especially those who would normally be living a highly structured life based around the routine that school or college provide, it is all very strange and different.

But, looking from a more positive perspective, for those who love their music and are learning to play or sing this time can serve as an opportunity to help them progress on an unprecedented scale. 

So, let’s get our pupils practising! Give them some routine, normality and the potential for deep and meaningful engagement, in a world where the usual expectations have, for a while, been removed.

Practice… it’s a heavily loaded word! I’ve never quite known why (for some, anyway) it’s associated with negative thoughts. Let’s set about changing that.

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First there are some background principles we need to take into account:

• Young people are interested in NOW

• The process needs to be enjoyable

• The practical and immediate relevance needs to be clear

• No one particularly wants to do ‘chores’

And also some clear guidelines in how to create the perfect psychological environment.  The practice needs to be:

• Understandable and engaging

• Appropriately challenging

• Fun

• Rewarding

• Imaginative

Whether you’re a computer gamer or not, there are certain lessons we can learn from the world of video games. 

• The process itself is diverting, engaging, focussing and fun

• There is a clear sense of direction: I know what I’m supposed to be doing and why

• The progress is clear: Today I went up 20 (or maybe 200 or 2000) levels

So, how can we apply all this to help our pupils practise?

Put simply, they need to:

• Plan for progress, and

• See that progress when it happens

Practice is often too vague and so pupils simply play/sing through pieces and songs, maybe correcting a few obvious errors along the way.  There’s not much fun in this.  We need to help pupils make a mental shift to more dedicated and goal-orientated practice, rather than filling up time with the brain only just in gear.

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We therefore want to encourage pupils to organise their practice with two particular types of activity in mind:

Personal Bests

(which are generally more directed towards technique)

and

Mini Outcomes

(which are generally more musically based)

Personal Bests are either how…

• …evenly

• …loudly

• …softly

• …cleanly

• …confidently

• …beautifully

• …speedily

• …slowly 

• …expressively

…can I do this thing, or play this note / phrase / passage?

It best applies to a specific technical aspect: the control of a new note; the control of the bow on a string crossing; the crispness of a staccato note or the control of an ornament… the list is endless. 

Or PBs are concerned with How many…

• …times can I tongue this note in 10 seconds?

• …times can I play G major remembering the F sharp?

• …times can I repeat this bar with perfect control?

• …connections can I make within this piece?

• …pieces/songs can I perform confidently at the moment?

Mini Outcomes are little challenges. They are concerned with Can I…? and How can I…?

• …improve the control of that staccato note?

• …play the first bar/last bar/any bar really beautifully?

• …keep my bow really straight in this bar?

• …play/sing this section with really vivid dynamic contrasts?

• …play this scale with really crisp staccato?

• …memorise the first 5 notes/octave of this scale?

In other words, they are asking the pupil to think: Can I do this thing like this…? 

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As our pupils are making their lists of PBs or MOs, we also want to encourage them to think:

• Why am I doing this?

• How am I going to do it?

• What is the result?

Given that there is probably more time available now for practice, you could suggest that pupils practise a number of times a day but each session is quite short and is aimed towards some very specific outcomes. Practice then become a series of Personal Bests and Mini Outcome activities.  Maybe two or three of each. This ticks all the boxes as set out above – it’s understandable and engaging, appropriately challenging, fun, rewarding and imaginative!

In time, pupils will become much better at creating a more positive practice mindset and a more practical way of using the time.

In tandem with this we need to teach pupils how to set up and react constructively and productively to what they do. They will need to look at the music to be practised, think, analyse and ask themselves lots of questions.

That could go a little like this:

In this practice session I’m going to work at this section of this piece, which has some staccato. I want to improve the staccato control and improve my staccato speed.

Mini Outcomes:  Work at staccato. Can I play them more crisply? How can I play them more crisply?  Can I play this bar of staccatos evenly?

Personal Bests: Can I play a really crisp staccato note? How many crisp staccato notes can I play in 10 seconds?  Last PB on staccato was four beats of semiquavers at crotchet = 60.  Today I’ll try crotchet = 61… or five beats at crotchet = 60.  

By the end of that session a lot of very focussed work will have been done.  If something hasn’t been understood, instead of getting frustrated, encourage the pupil to note it down as a question for the next lesson.

Measuring progress

The realisation of a Personal Best is a clear indication of progress.

The successful completion and accomplishment of a Mini Outcome is also an indication of progress.

Pupils have made progress and are aware of the progress they’ve made in each practice session.

It’s very motivating.

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Do let me know how you get on if you are able to encourage your pupils to try these ideas.

I’ll be in touch over the next few days and weeks with some more practical ideas to help you inspire your pupils with their music practice and learning at home…

Have you 'got' it?

It’s great when students get things. That happy moment when the penny drops, the eyes light up and we become enveloped in that warm glow of satisfaction knowing that our teaching has been successful.

But then, oh dear.

Our students return the following week and that new fingering or rhythm seems to have departed from their minds. What they had (and please forgive the usage) gotten, they seem now to have for-gotten. Interestingly, to forget tends to imply that the information isn’t entirely irrecoverable. In saying we’ve forgotten, we generally mean “I can’t remember it at the moment, but it will probably come back.” And that may indeed be the case. 

But it’s often not the case.

I love a particular word that disappeared from common usage many centuries ago. And that word is un-get. This is often what happens after we teach our students something new for the first time. The fact is, it hasn’t been temporarily forgotten. Whatever that thing was that they had got, they have now un-got.  It is irretrievable. It has completely gone! 

But that’s okay, let’s not worry about it. Instead, and with good humour, we simply need to teach it again, to encourage them to re-get it! And how do we do this?

The secret is to teach it again from other angles.

One great way to achieve this is by using the Simultaneous Learning Musical Map of the World (available to download free here) which will give you lots of ideas for teaching the matter in question in different ways and contexts that are linked to the piece you are working on. The key is to alter the order of steps that led up to that teaching/learning moment.  Simply make the appropriate connections in a different order.

This will help us discover what hasn’t quite been understood and is therefore preventing our student from properly getting it. Maybe they are not playing a phrase staccato – although they did last week. The reason they haven’t entirely got it yet might be aural – they are not hearing the staccato in their musical ear – or it could be a technical issue, or maybe it’s to do with dynamic levels or some aspect of their technique.  Let’s explore all these possibilities, vary the order in which we do so and, all being well, our student will eventually get with less likelihood of subsequently for-getting or indeed un-getting.

And so here is my ‘re-’ declining of the verb to get:

I get – which happens sometimes. But often… 

I for-get – which is possible. But more probably…

I un-get – which is more likely!  But that’s okay, because with a good teacher to reinforce the idea…

I re-get! – and it stays!

And that can’t help but make us all feel so much happier…

Paul will be presenting “Are your students really learning?” at the Music & Drama Education Expo, London on 6 March 2019.