Finally hit the proverbial "wall"

Whistle
1

I’m about to celebrate my 3-year anniversary with the whistle but it hasn’t always been a happy union. About a month ago I finally got to the point where my brain wouldn’t learn any more. New songs are out of the question. Most of the old songs are getting fuzzy without sheetmusic. The fingers even refuse to work on the low whistles. Maybe I have a cancerous growth on the whistle-playing portion of my brain.

Unfortunately, some time back I had to sell my Uilleann pipes, my violin bow needs to be rehaired, so I drug out the GHBs and started in with them. I’m now learning a new song about every other day! My brain has developed a new area just for the pipes.

Hopefully in a month or two I will return to the whistle and find everything still there and waiting to continue…or it may be completely eaten away and I’ll have to relearn from scratch.

Anyone else with this problem??? and how have you dealt with it???

2

Well I’m just a beginner and have only been playing for three years or so. The whistle was my first instrument and I did not even know how to read music. So I taught myself with what I could find online and with the Mculloch books (and lots of others). But I find that it is hard for me to remember a song, but it is easy if I can just read the music. Could be I’m just a bit stupid. I can only remember a couple of songs, the first one was “Simple Gifts” and now I can do “Jackets Green” . So what is the best way to learn a song…just play it a million times? Maybe I just need more hard drive capacity in my head. Is it easier to learn music the more you have already learned?

3

It can happen with just about anything. I’ve seen it happen over and over again with music students and with athletes. At some point, something you originally started doing for pleasure becomes a chore. You start thinking in terms of acquiring new tunes or perfecting the old ones, and every time you play it turns into a “practice session.” Eventually the brain rebels. It’s tired, and doesn’t want to have to do this “work” anymore…it wants to play! That’s a good time to set things aside for a bit and gain some perspective.

What I would suggest is this: Put the whistles aside for a while…how long is up to you. If you want to play something else during that time, it’s fine, but don’t feel driven to. Give yourself a break. When you do pick them up again, don’t try to “practice.” Instead, just relax and play for fun…perhaps some silly, easy tunes to amuse the kids or to lift your spirits. When you do start playing again, limit your “practice sessions”…give yourself some days when you just play for fun, if you play at all (and give yourself permission NOT to play every day). Stick a whistle in a backpack, go for a hike, and have fun serenading the wildlife. Take it outside at night and see what you can think of to play that goes well with stars. Take a whistle downtown and serenade passersby…just for fun! I think you’ll find that, once you’ve taken some time to relax and get away from it a bit, the tunes will come easily again.

Redwolf

4

John, sounds like Mad Cow Disease to me. That’s no reason to make yourself deaf, though. Start retraining the GBH brain centers to adapt to the whistle. Get a really loud, screechy whistle to fake your brain out.

Anyone else with this problem??? and how have you dealt with it???

It sounds like either boredom or frustration has set in. You need inspiration (I’m in serious mode now). Listen to some good recordings of tunes you like and haven’t learned yet, preferably something not overly difficult. Then, learn it. You can usually find sheet music and/or abc’s for just about everything these days. Use the recording for inspiration and a point of reference. This always keeps me psyched (or psycho?).

Celtoid, you, too, have Mad Cow Disease. There’s no cure, but, there’s hope. Relying on printed music is like riding a bike with training wheels. Pretty scary when you remove them. Memorizing a tune, for me, is exactly like memorizing a poem, speech, list, whatever. Get a small bit down, then add another bit to it. Get that together, then add some more. Try looking away from your sheet music while you’re playing; see how far you can get without it. Playing a tune a million times is very underrated. It can work wonders. It’s only after you truly know the notes that you can free up parts of your uneaten mind to consider phrasing, ornamentation, the general musical feel of a tune. The tune ceases to be a contest with yourself and becomes an expression instead. Most important thing: it must be fun!
Tony
The edit was not to correct a mistake, of course, just to make things even more correct.

Tin](http://tinwhistletunes.com/clipssnip/newspage.htm%22%3ETin) Whistle Tunes formerly Clips&Snips
I’ve never made a mistake. Once, I thought I did, but I didn’t.

[ This Message was edited by: TonyHiggins on 2003-02-28 16:43 ]

[ This Message was edited by: TonyHiggins on 2003-02-28 16:45 ]

5

John, Don’t panic. I call this “reaching a plateau”. Redwolf is right. Take a break for a while. When you come back to it, you will most likely find that you are better than ever and you will once again begin learning but at a faster pace. It is pretty strange, this, but it’s true. This happens to me all the time when I’m learning music, language, etc.

Good luck!
-Paul

6

You have nailed it Tony. My practice sessions are non stop music. Every tune I know, well many tunes I know, over and over again. Discovery. Thats the key. Makeing a tune your own. The end of my practice consists of working on a new tune. Listening to good players, how they comunicate. Endless joy in these little tubes.
I have been an athlete all my life, and until my legs pucked on me, was able to do just about anything. Heck I didn`t stop competeing in full contact tae kwon doe until I was 50. I lived for that rare moment that all athletes live for. When you are outside of your self. When everything is working so well that you become more than yourself. Those are magic moments. I now seek those moments with a tube full of holes and they are no less glorious. :slight_smile:


Tom

7

I have been through this twice: once long ago as a music major, and then again more recently when I started getting serious about learning all I could from the Scoiltrad lessons.

I just want to add my vote to stopping for a bit, taking a breather.

When you come back, you’ll come back stronger.

My own theory: when this happens your brain is trying to work through some stumbling block, something you may not even be consciously aware of. And it has hit something big enough that practice sessions don’t help.

When you take a break from it, your brain is still steadily cooking on whatever the real problem is. When you go back to playing, when you suddenly start having fun again, it means your brain has found a way over, under, around, or through whatever was making your playing become a chore to you.

That’s my $.02. Your mileage may vary.

–James
http://www.flutesite.com

8

I think this is one good reason for everyone to play at least two instruments. I play whistle and melodeon and it seems that every time I hit a plateau on one, the other instrument seems to be just what my mind needs.

-brett

9

My 2 cents is going to line up with somet things said previously… here’s my bit…

I currently find that I am getting my speed to come up, along with ornamentations. I still have trouble getting the mix to ‘flow’ nicely, so it takes time and effort.

The point is that after a while of practicing, I actally start deteriorating… I can’t get my fingers to work, I start playing slower, messing up more and more, and I stop to realize my grip on the whistle is even tighter.

So I ‘float around’ with a pretty slow aire or easy jig like Butterfly or something. Go get some munchies or something… I can come back in just 5 minutes or so… make sure I’m holding the whistle relaxed… and for several minutes, my fingers just do it… effortlessly, relaxingly, smoothly.

Then of course I hit a snag, and that’s what I practice on. Point… put it down, relax, pick it back up whenever, don’t even think about it, and as someone said before.. your mind really does ‘chew on it’ even without the physical practice, your brain is doing so.

I was pounding Otter’s Holt into my head the last several days, cuz I SOOOO want to lear that tune. I got frustrated even though I figured it out… just couldn’t get the speed. Gave up for a while.

Today I picked up my whistle, ran through it a couple of times, and whaddaya know? I can play it!!! Smooth it out a bit, and I have a new post for the site! :smiley:

Take care, don’t worry… you don’t have any blocks to worry about. Just learn to relax and have fun. It’s great.

John

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[ This Message was edited by: McHaffie on 2003-02-28 20:06 ]

10

I agree with the plateau theory, I’ve seen this so many times in my learning life, from music, to riding horses, to doing science. It seems that you have a period of fast learning when everything is exciting, then there’s a long slow flat period before the next leap can occur. But when the leap starts, it is really cool. Just hang in there, take a break, but don’t give up entirely…you never know what is going to happen when the leap occurs.

Robin

11

But I find that it is hard for me to remember a song, but it is easy if I can just read the music. Could be I’m just a bit stupid. I can only remember a couple of songs, the first one was “Simple Gifts” and now I can do “Jackets Green” . So what is the best way to learn a song…just play it a million times? Maybe I just need more hard drive capacity in my head. Is it easier to learn music the more you have already learned?

i’m pretty sure you already know the notes by heart. having played about 9 years of my life in organized music groups, i have seen how hard it is for people to just let go of the concept of having a piece of music in front of them. the truth is, they have played the song so many times that they know it, they just don’t trust themselves enough to let instinct take over their fingers. you know how the song sounds, your fingers know the positions. just try it. don’t get mad at yourself if you make a mistake. don’t stop and go back to the music. just keep trying until you play it right. i guarantee you have the notes in your head already.

12

Yes, I have moments like that too. Usually, I sit there and think “I’m bored. I want to play music, but I am bored with what I’ve been doing. I think I’ll learn a new instrument!” And that’s what I usually do. :laughing:

I agree with everyone else: you should just take a little break for a bit. It will all come back.

13

On 2003-02-28 16:07, Celtoid wrote:
Well I’m just a beginner and have only been playing for three years or so. The whistle was my first instrument and I did not even know how to read music. So I taught myself with what I could find online and with the Mculloch books (and lots of others). But I find that it is hard for me to remember a song, but it is easy if I can just read the music. Could be I’m just a bit stupid. I can only remember a couple of songs, the first one was “Simple Gifts” and now I can do “Jackets Green” . So what is the best way to learn a song…just play it a million times? Maybe I just need more hard drive capacity in my head. Is it easier to learn music the more you have already learned?

I agree you must strive to memorize the tunes, but not everyone has that talent, Some people do not have the same memory skills that other have. It is not a reflection on their intellect it just a fact of life. I know because I suffer from the same thing.
If you can lilt a tune you should be able to remember it. If however you cannot lit the tunes you have leaned then you may need to keep the music.

14

I like how Tony Higgins said that I was tied to my training wheels. You know I think he’s absolutely right…my memory is great for other things like languages and so on. So maybe I just have not given it much of a try, being maybe more unsure than unable (I hope…because I really do want to learn many pieces, and be able to go for a walk and play, and live the music rather than read it). That’s another reason why I picked the whistle…I figured it would be easy to carry outdoors (unlike a tuba). I do find myself playing and losing my place because I’m not paying attention to the paper anymore and catch myself just playing the song, of course then I lose it. For the ones that I do remember, it is easier if I think about the song and forget about where my fingers are. Is this how it was with others when they were green?

15

Thanks for the suggestions guys!!

Three or four months ago I also hit the same wall with the piano and organ…haven’t been able to play anything.

Something was said that may be a good indication of what’s going on in my brain. There’s so much @$#^%& going on in my house of 6 right now it’s unbelieveable. I work out of my home. I also practice at home. I think my brain just doesn’t want me to be at home right now. I go out once a week and play the GHBs so maybe that is why things are going well there.

Anyone know of some mind-numbing substance that isn’t illegal, immoral, inhalant, alcoholic, or expensive?? :confused:

16

Yeah…sleep. If you have a house of 6, it’s likely one thing you’re not getting enough of. :wink:

Best,

–James
www.flutesite.com

17

The discussion in this thread contains similarities to the discussion in F John Sharp’s thread about his whistle workshop experience.

Knowing a tune by heart, and knowing it if you follow the notes on a page, are, if not worlds apart, then at least a different experience.

I’ve got maybe 30-40 various tunes in my head that I can play without thinking ( after I get the first couple of notes) , and another 40-60 that I practised a few times, but then forgot. I can pick them up again really quickly by following the dots on the page, but wouldn’t be able to get through the whole tune without help. The latter group I need to work on to get them learned properly, and I’ll only do that by taking the training wheels off the bike.

As has been noted elsewhere, ITM had various phrases and patterns that crop up again and again, so the more tunes know, the easier it becomes to recognise where a new tune is taking itself. So yes, it does get easier to learn new tunes the more tunes you know.

Back to John’s original question, I agree that if you take a break, you’ll find you improve more than if you try to hammer through the wall. It’s as if your mind is ticking over on the problems subconsciously, and finds the way over, under or round the wall for you. And what better way to take that break than to play a different instrument?

18

Not as far along as you, yet - I’ve got 25 or so tunes I can play without having to think about it, but as you mentioned, the more I learn, the easier each succeeding one is. For the first month or so I worked on the tinwhistle I relied on sheetmusic, and only had one or two that I could play without. It was only when I firmly put it away as soon as I could stumble through the tune without that I started to actually feel the music.

But it’s supposed to be fun - as many have suggested already, if I hit a wall I’ll probably just take it easy for a while - playing tunes I want when I want 'em, for fun, not because I “have” to. I’ve already found that, even when I’m eager, there comes a point when more practice hurts rather than helps - for me, two half hour sessions a day accomplish more than a single hour session will. And even if I am temporarily “burnt out”, in a day, or a week, or a month I’ll return with renewed enthusiasm.

Just knowing this last helps take off a lot of the self-pressure in a “wall” situation.

Dana