Just curious how all of you structure your practice time. I get about an hour a day to practice, give or take, and find it hard to decide whether to work on learning a new tune (like Tommy Coen’s right now), work on getting down a tune who’s rolls are just coming out all garbled (like rolling the “e” in Off to California), or just running through all the tunes I know to keep them in my head (all thirty of them which can take an hour at this point) .
I know the standard line is “It’s better to play a few tunes well than many poorly” but it’s really hard to not get obsessive about learning new tunes (especially as I’m a bit of a newbie and want to get more under my belt for sessions). At the session I go to, we like to learn one or two new tunes each time. So it takes me a good week or two to really get a new tune up to speed and with good rhythm. But then, I’m neglecting all my other tunes.
Any advice? Or will it, like the rolls, just come in time and with practice?
Well, this is just a thought. It seems like some easier things, some hard things, and some variety are good.
10-15 minutes cycling through the tunes you know well, like two or three different ones each day.
30-40 minutes intense working on problem spots in the tune you are currently perfecting (perfecting for your level). If you are having trouble with rolls, don’t just play the whole tune over and over slowly. Play one of the rolls very slowly 25 times–count. Then, incorporate the note before and after the roll and do this 25 times. Don’t waste your practice time playing the easy parts over and over. You’d work on phrasing during this time, anything needed to get the tune as good as you possibly can for your level. If there were exercises that helped you, then this would be the part for those.
10-15 minutes roughing out the next one or two tunes you want to learn. Memorize them, identify the hard parts, and get them ready to work on.
Maybe you’d want to play the tunes you know at the end because that would be easier and more fun. You’ll be tired after the 30 minute workout so maybe tunes you know would be better to end off with.
This doesn’t take into account time that should be spent listening to CD’s. Does your listening need to be included in the 1 hour practice time? Could you listen for 1/2 hour before you go to bed or during lunch?
If you can get a tune sounding good in two weeks you should be proud. If you can’t learn every single tune for the session so be it. I think the standard line is very good advice. As your technique and understanding of the music get better, it will not take you as long to learn new tunes. But if you don’t spend the time on the technique and phrasing you won’t really be getting anywhere if you see what I mean.
I spend all my practice time working on tunes I already know. Then I sneak in extra time every now and then to learn new ones. (I’ve learned several tunes while sitting at stoplights this year!) Once I can stumble through one from memory, it goes into the normal practice time every day so I can get it up to speed.
zoe, i’m pretty much with cynth on this and adhere pretty strictly to the “less is more” philosophy. i get this sense that you are subtlely putting yourself under pressure and my hunch is that sessions are the culprit. as a beginner, going to sessions can do that–it can be overwhelming! in my ten or so years of playing i distinctly remember going through a tune overload phase and become discouraged because i couldn’t keep up with the tune sharks around town. So my advice would be: do not let sessions dictate your learning. Sessions can also inculcate bad habits and sloppy playing. So I’d suggest limiting your intake of them or at least don’t let them run your musical life.
As for how to practice time, I’d imagine them less as a time to “learn the next tune” or “perfect an old tune” but rather as a time to have a cup of tea with a tune or two. Think about where you first heard the tune, and why you like the tune–is it because it is a cool minor key, or has an fifty turn of phrase. Above all, relax during your practice time. I’d guess that relaxing is the single most important thing you can do now to improve. Relaxing and slowing things down. I find that, although I still don’t know a ton of tunes, I really have a deep level of enjoyment for the ones I do know, and this really shines thru in a session. Moreover, if you play one tune well in a session, there’s a good chance the session leader will turn to you for the next one and all the sudden you’re playing more 'cause the session is directed toward your tunes! It’s cool–i’ve had this happen a few times. So the “less is more philosophy” has a very subtle way of building on itself.
Anyway, hope this helps and good luck!
[edited: if i could only spell “subtle” i’d be a much better person!]
On a low “e” you can pretty much cut with T3 or B1 and it makes little difference to the clarity, but the high “e” usually sounds pants cutting with T3, especially the one in Off to California. So now i just use the B1 cut on a “e” roll, both high and low.
That’s my experience anyway. Grey Larsen also talks about this in his book.
Great thread Zoe - I sometimes feel silly for struggling with that very “dilemma.” Then, I just say “relax” and enjoy the music and learn new tunes. In the past I’ve been a bit compulsive about going over the 45 or so tunes in my repertoire so as not to “lose” them. Since it’s hard to go through 45 tunes in any meaningful way in one day, I started breaking them into groups by type - reels one day, jigs the next, then airs, etc. Then I’d play regardless of type my favorite tunes every day and mix them in different ways. However, I’ve found that at times this approach can get a bit stale and you really need to learn and work on new tunes to both stay really interested and to progress in skill/feeling level.
Lately, I’m concentrating on learning new tunes, and I find that I’m constantly acquiring new favorites that way; it’s also easier to apply what you’ve learned in terms of breathing, phrasing, ornamentation, etc. to new tunes rather than insert the new learning into tracks that have become concrete in your head. Maybe once or twice a week I’ll still try to go over the tunes I already have in my head.
Bottom line, even a compulsive rote kinda guy like me thinks it’s super important to constantly learn new tunes, at whatever pace is comfortable for you.
I always start and end a practice session with some “fun” - that is, playing the songs I know. In between I work on “technical” stuff - rolls etc. and new tunes. This is a practice routine I have used for the last few decades on the saxophone and it works for me.
It doesn’t have to be either/or. When the mood strikes you you can work on new tunes, and when the other mood strikes you, you can work on perfecting old tunes. If you’re never in one mood or the other, then you have to set some limits for yourself.
When I find I’m neglecting old tunes, I go through them on the weekend when I can spend a few hours on them.
First, I keep a list of all the tunes I know. When it grows significantly, I print it out and keep it with me.
I also keep a whistle with me at all times.
Many opportunities come up where I can play. Today, for example, I sat in the car waiting for my wife to do the Christmas shopping. I went thru about 30 tunes. The chance to play comes up more than you would think. Waiting in the drive-thru at the bank or fast food, lunch breaks, walking the dog in the park…etc.
By writing them down, I tend not to forget that I know a tune and so can practice it.
When I can go thru the entire list (about 250) in a few days, I feel like I can add some tunes. When I learn a new one, I try to find another tune I know that I can play as a set. It helps me remember how the new one goes while abroad. The new tune gets added to the list which will be printed again after a few new tunes are learned.
I am reletively new, too, but have been able to learn tunes quite solidly this way.
Thanks for the advice. It’s nice to see that while playing is fun and relaxing (that’s why we love it so), there is a bit of hard work and a bit of obsessiveness involved when you really want to improve.
I too, keep a whistle in the car, and find that to learn a new tune, it’s best to just noodle on it throughout the day so you really can hum it, rather than memorizing the fingering. And thank you Cynth for the advice about not practicing the easy stuff. I do tend to do that.
Like Philo, I do love to learn new tunes. It keeps it interesting and challenging. I listen to ITM all the time on CDs and I always fall in love with some new tune and want to play it.
And I have taken the advice of starting off practice time with the technical parts and ending with fun, easy stuff.
Like feardearg, I keep a list of tunes – actually a tunebook, with the ABC’s of each tune and sometimes some ornamentations. I like to keep a record of variations that I’ve learned from other players as well. I don’t play looking at it, but it’s a nice archive I think.
Happy whistling! --Zoe
Oh, and for Screeech’s comment, I mixed up my hornpipes. I meant “From Galway to Dublin” and rolling the low E, which I do with cutting B1 and striking B3. Is that how others do it? I think that’s what Larsen’s book recommended. But I find it hard to roll with just one hand doing it.
which can take an hour at this point) .