I have the MadforTrad tutorial, and a year and a half of sporadic practice from a couple of tune books under my belt. What I don’t have is a strategy, or the experience of learning another musical instrument. How many songs ought I as a beginner to practice at any time? How do I know when to move on to the next song? Do I wait until I sound as good as Brian Finnegan? (Are there enough weeks in a year for even 1song??) Do I move on once I’ve memorized it and can play it at the speed he plays it on the CD? What, when, how? (And while I’m at it, who and why?) Right now, I can play for my own enjoyment, but at nothing even remotely approaching speed. I’d appreciate any advice from the instructors out there on how to approach self-instruction. I work so much better with a plan in mind.
Debra
Don’t stick with tunes forever. You’ll get bored. Learn them as well as you can, practising seriously, until you can play them to your satisfaction, or passably well (in your own estimation). Then move on. Keep moving on.
Come back and review your old pieces after a while. If you wait until you sound like Brian Finnegan, you’ll probably die waiting. Play with other people. Learn tunes that you feel like learning. Have fun. Don’t worry.
Ditto, StevieJ!
On 2002-01-25 15:46, dth wrote:
How many songs ought I as a beginner to practice at any time? How do I know when to move on to the next song? Do I wait until I sound as good as Brian Finnegan?
I think it depends mostly on your personality (whether you’re single-minded or a multitasker, perfectionist, etc.).
I don’t wait till I sound like Liam O’Flynn-- I’d spend the rest of my life practicing one piece (that I do practice quite a bit), and I’d never even come close. OTOH, I sound good enough for myself (quite likely not for many others) playing quite a few tunes that he doesn’t play.
Charlie
I agree with Stevie.
Sometimes, if you leave a tune for a while, when you come back to it, you can play it much better. I think it has to do with allowing things to percolate in the brain…
I’m far from being an “instructor” but I’ll give your questions a try.
I read somewhere that Jack Coen said that it is beneficial for people not to learn more than 2 tunes per week, because otherwise the tunes will not be learnt fully. I’m not sure how valid is that, but I’m doing it anyway.
Its up to you really, how many tunes you want to practise at any one time. In the past, when I had less than 30 tunes under my belt, I would make sure I’d go through them all so I won’t forget any. Now when I have more, I don’t have all the time to go through them so I only select a few random tunes to refresh, plus the new tunes I’ve learnt.
Regarding playing at speed of the CD, I don’t think it is beneficial for you to focus on that as a goal in learning tunes. You’ll want a steady beat, as well as the proper rhythm of the kind of tune you’re playing (hornpipe, jig etc). Thinking mainly about speed can interfere greatly in the process of those. Speed can be impressive only if you’ve got rhythm nailed first. Rhythm is always the more important factor.
But basically, regarding when you’re ready to move on, I think that entirely is up to you. If you find halfway through learning that you don’t like a certain tune, you can chose to move on, or not. Theres no specific line you must cross except the line you draw yourself. (hey I like that… where does this stuff come from anyways?!)
On 2002-01-25 21:14, Eldarion wrote:
Theres no specific line you must cross except the line you draw yourself. (hey I like that… where does this stuff come from anyways?!)
Well stated, Eldarion. I’m a writer and have learned that words like those are gifts from the gods, your muse, or your subconscious. Whatever. When they come to you, ALWAYS write them down. You WILL forget them.
With respect to the actual subject of this thread, and the thread on practicing scales and ornamentation, I have a tendency to draw my lines discouragingly far away. I will stop that nonsense now and have fun, which is what I was doing before I tried to get serious and got discouraged instead. Thanks StevieJ, BrassBlower, Whistlepeg, and Charlie, for your advice.
Debra