Re: Practising

[secsc2]

 I think you and I could learn something from each other, Robin. My biggest problem is my tendency to do FAR too much noodling without any kind of structure. All of my discoveries have been accidental and I think my improvement in terms of technique has been slowed because of the lack of focus. Lately I've been making a very concentrated effort to examine what I'm doing and account for shortcomings--even on things like grip, theory, movement of my fingers on the fretboard...just to bring things into focus. It sounds to me like you have that part of in spades...but just need some noodling, or the "looking for good sounds" Mike described. I think if we both tried to balance things out we'd be in the right....but hey, that's just my two cents. I haven't been at it long enough to offer too much helpful.
Steve

-------------- Original message from mistertaterbug <taterbugmu...@gmail.com>: --------------


>
> Robin,
> After you play all those exercises...so many exercises, my God...after
> you spend most of your time working on technical issues, do you have
> any time left for FUN? I think your plan is imbalanced, though your
> dedication is very admirable. I asked all the instructors at the
> Symposium one year what they practiced, how they practiced, and why.
> The best, IMHO, was from Evan Marshall. His is more or less balanced
> in three areas. I don't remember the exact percentages, but he
> basically told me that he spends about 1/3 of his time doing technical
> exercises, about 1/3 maintaining the material he knows, and about 1/3
> learning new material. So, only 1/3 of his time is spent on exercises.
> The other 2/3 is spent playing, but with a specific focus. One of the
> things that his evil twin Mike Marshall said was that what he
> practices doesn't necessarily have anything to do with what he has on
> the set list. Radim Zenkl told me that one of the things he does is
> spend time "looking for the good sounds". That sounds like Radim. Don
> Stiernberg told me that the things he practices that are in exercise
> form are what he called "mindless" things that he could play watching
> television because in his way of looking at it, they're just meant to
> teach coordination skills between the right and left hand and for
> nothing else. Dawg said, in true Dawg fashion, that he plays whatever
> he wants.
>
> So, really, I think you've come up with this regimen because you feel
> you need to practice scales. A lot of people do. I practice them
> sometimes. But mainly what I practice is new material and the
> technical challenges that come with each one such as how to play
> slides that sound like fiddle turns or which voicings to use or what
> key, etc. Are all the tortures you put yourself through paying off? I
> mean musically, of course....
> Specula-tater
>
> On Mar 1, 4:03 pm, Robin Gravina wrote:
> > Hi Taterfolks
> >
> > I just read an article in our Sunday press about how some researcher has
> > figured out that talent needs 10.000 hours of practice time: they talked
> > about the Beatles and about Bill Gates, and how doing the thing they loved
> > for that enormous time got them to where they could start being original and
> > successful - ie the Beatles playing live for 8 hours a day in Hamburg, and
> > Gates programming for even more hours on a loaned computer.
> >
> > Anyway, to the point, at present speed I have 2000 weeks until I get there,
> > which means that at age 89 I will be ready to take the world into a new era
> > of mandolin music. I'd rather get there quicker, and I thought I'd like to
> > know what everyone does as regards practice in order to make the most of
> > their time: I don't get a lot of that stuff- as well as a wannabe musician I
> > am a full time worker and commuter, husband, father, cook, mechanic and dog
> > owner and I figure there are those amongst us in a similar position, as well
> > as people who can dedicate lots of hours,and as those who make a living from
> > music.
> >
> > So, here's my practice scheme at the moment: would love for others to say
> > what they do
> >
> > Weekend - between an hour and two each day: all with metronome
> >
> > working on tone:
> >
> > 1. right hand exercises (do using only downstrokes, then doing down-up, do
> > at different places on the string)
> > -play single strings 1 per beat, 2 per beat, 3 per beat, 4 per beat
> > -play GD GA GE GA GD.. DA DE DG DE DA and so on
> > -do rolls like GDA GDA GA GDE GDE GE GAE GAE GE and so on
> >
> > 2- do some LH exercises - off the Mike Marshall dvd - on any string and then
> > across the strings. up down and downstrokes. 2345432 2346432 2356532 2456542
> > and so on (this is like one of those logic tests)
> >
> > 3. do some aonzo scales, but separate the scales each time by a semitone,
> > then a tone, then three frets...
> >
> > 4. work on tremolo - set the metronome lowish (for me that would be 84 and
> > work up to 96 or 102) and work on 4 time, three time in its various rythmic
> > forms, tremolo - open strings, single strings, sliding double stops. Think
> > about pick angle, arm position, listen to the different sounds, play some
> > tremolo tunes, listen to Monroe, feel that I am not getting anywhere.
> >
> > 5. work on my taterhomework tunes and things I need to learn for our band
> >
> > 6. play what I feel like
> >
> > 7. If I get some time, work on a new tune, like the TOW monroe ones from the
> > Comando list
> >
> > If I get time midweek, I tend not to warm up, but to just try to play
> > something without metronome and as I feel like. Also late at nights I stick
> > tunes I am working on into the windows media player, put it on super slow
> > and annotate the sheet music with the phrases, and accents. It seems to go
> > in while I'm sleeping and often I find that it goes through my head during
> > the day so that I find I play it better when I pick up the mandolin again.
> > If I get actual playing time midweek, then I do stuff like working for 20
> > mins on sliding doublestops, or counting tremolo beats
> >
> > Also, every couple of weeks we have band practice, and I always try to
> > incorporate what I am working on- usually realise that practicing on your
> > own is different from playing with people, and that what I can do in the
> > greenhouse is not ready for practical use.
> >
> > Ok, enough information - don't want to be a bore, but I do think that great
> > attention to detail is important here. More ideas please!
> > Best
> > Robin
> >
> > .
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