I am currently trying to learn La Polverita Fiera, a nice little reel, but its a big step up in terms of speed.
Is it best to learn the whole thing slowly, and then increase the speed gradually as I improve.
At the moment I am learning just the first 35 notes at a relatively slow pace and increasing speed when I have got them mastered so to speak, I got the notation of Mick Woodruffs brilliant site and an mp3 of him playing it on an A whistle, I can hear the tune as I play slowly but it really dos’nt come together until the speed is increased.
so my question is when learning a fast or very fast tune whats the best method???.
Most people agree that learning slow is the best method. Playing too fast will just reinforce any bad habits that you’re developing.
Grey Larsen’s book has an interesting description of how muscle-memory is slower to develop than brain-memory, but that once established, becomes very solid and dependable. He strongly advises that tunes be learned slowly, and played with a metronome, so that muscle-memory can be developed properly. Then, as you speed up, you are still playing correctly, based on the muscle-memory that was established at low speed.
I agree with this, and as I work on reprogramming a lot of my playing, I’m following both suggestions.
If you want to be able to play tunes well, learn them slowly, and don’t practice or play the tune any faster than you can play the most difficult part (for you) properly - nothing ruins a tune like not being able to play at a steady tempo, with proper subdivision of the notes (including ornamentation), through the entire tune. (Which is not to be confused with playing like a machine) Unfortunately, this is the most common fatal error among undeveloped players.
Get an MP3 of the tune. Then slow it down with any of the common slow down software. Play along with the tune. When you can play along comfortably speed it up. Of course what Jessie said is so true. Just keep practicing.
great advice, I have found my patience increasing the more I practice, and although a hours practice a day is great I find that its start really well then parts of the tune that I nailed in the first 20 minutes, start being plagued with mistakes after about 40 minutes so I suppose play until you feel that you achieved a small amount and then pick it up a bit later, as opposed to trying to practicing flat out for a full hour?
I find that it is important for me to play the trouble spots of a tune over and over again rather than go through the entire tune and have only one crack at the section that is a problem. I find this is true not only for the fast passages, but the sections involving notes like F nat, and slower passages that are suppose to have feeling.
I find that it is important for me to play the trouble spots of a tune over and over again rather than go through the entire tune and have only one crack at the section that is a problem.
I’d emphasize that point as well as agree with everyone else.
Also, if you do fine on a part and start messing it up later, give it a rest, practice something else, then come back to it. You can get bored drilling the same thing over and over. I don’t think boredom helps.
If a passage really gets you messed up, slow it down to super-slow. You might see what you’re doing wrong and be able to fix it.
Tony
If we did a controlled study on the length of practice sessions, I’m pretty sure that we learn that long practice sessions are counterproductive.
When I was taking lessons for the Highland pipes, my teacher told me, “Give me 20 minutes a day and don’t practice for longer than 20 min.”
At first I thought that was strange advice, but I saw the wisdom of it when I tried to practice for more than 20 min. When I continued practicing for 30 min. I usually lost my concentration and the tunes began to fall apart. So I now try to practice in several shorter periods of time. Better yet, those of us who did practice for 20 min. a day made good progress.
This is all great advice, especially for a beginner. Maybe this should be included in a FAQ if anyone can get one started.
I’m a beginner and I felt the same way, start slow, and eventually you’ll get it up to speed.
Thanks all for the fine responses.
Donn
There is, of course, a good deal more to be practiced
than tunes (especially on the flute). Not that one shouldn’t
practice tunes! I think it’s good
advice to practice fundamentals in every practice
session. Another good idea, IMO, is to work on one’s weaknesses.
Yes, patience is essential, then more patience…
It’s helpful to keep in mind that this stuff isn’t
easy and that difficulites reflect nothing personal
about one’s ability.
I’m continuing to practice the exercises and arpeggios in
‘Better, Stronger, Faster’ by Bill Hart,
and these really seem to pay off in
making one more agile. And quickly too.
You go over both
simple and difficult fingerings methodically
and slowly, in advance of playing tunes.
You do this in different keys relevant to ITM.
I think this addresses directly some of
the building blocks of speed.
It can be boring, but it seems to work.
Less boring as one improves.
When I was much younger (and probably less patient) it bored me silly to play difficult phrases over and over, even though I knew that was the only way to “get” them. Now that I’m older and wiser, it doesn’t bore me at all. It actually has a Zen-type effect on me. My fingers repeat the phrase and while I am still concentrating mentally, I can also drift off and zone out. I love it.
I’ve also noticed that often, any progress that is being made doesn’t necessarily show up right away. Sometimes it will be days later, and I’ll suddenly realize it’s not nearly as hard as it used to be.
If I had been born in Ireland of parents who were professional
musicians, played the whistle since I was 3 (you know the
story) I suppose
all this would be silly.
But the idea of actually addressing the instrument almost
as if it was a classical instrument, doing
scales and arpeggios and broken chords, which is
the last thing I wanted, has now become more
interesting to me. Never fear that this will make one
mechanical–that would take a lot more of this practice
than I will ever do!
And of course one plays the tunes…
Finally I think, I’m putting as much effort into this
as I’ve ever put into anything. Well, then, I might
as well do what I can to master the instrument.
This discussion is great as long as by “fast” you mean up to proper speed and tempo. Nothing kills a tune or song faster (pun intended) than trying to go faster than it should be, especially dance tunes. It makes me shudder to think how fast the wee girls would have to move to keep up with most playing.
Maybe someone made these points already. (I didn’t read all posts).
Some reels, especially those that aren’t very “melodious”, sound like nothing at all if played too slow. I find that I need to pick tunes that are within my ability to get up to speed in a reasonable time, about a month or two. If I try to learn a reel where I can’t get a melody going due to lack of speed, I get nowhere. Those will have to wait until my skills improve. Although I have to say that I like more “tuneful” tunes. Those “tuneless” reels are not really my cup of tea. (No pun intended.) Maybe some would say that it’s just “sour grapes” on my part, but they become boring and all sound alike.
