My Week Teaching: Quality vs Quantity and Methodology

I had a discussion with a few students this week about practicing in a way that emphasizes quality vs quantity.  Gettting into fancy theories about music and pedegogy is fine but methodology in music can sometimes take the student away from the primary goal of making great music. Here are some tips.

Listen to yourself and always sound great

You might have a teacher that says “play it ten times perfectly.” But you must stop and listen to make sure you are playing it well, musically, and with an awareness of style. I’d rather my students play it musically and in context once rather than ten times as a musical exercise that is separated from its musical context. Use technique to hone your skill but remember to play musically with repertoire. Sing it then play it – always a good tip.

Always play well because every time you do you’ll bring your hands closer to the goal of naturally sounding good all the time.

Don’t waste time

Pick a phase that has been giving you trouble and fix it now. Do not over analyze it unless it points to a fundamental problem with your technique. Most of the time I teach I’m simply reminding students to play their best.  Don’t be musically lazy.

You can do it

You might not be able to play that whole lute suite by Bach perfectly – it’s okay! But I bet you can play that two bar phrase perfectly! So get to it because when you play well in small quantities you know it’s only a matter of time until you can play the whole piece in that fashion.

Time is not your enemy, if you love playing and love music you can enjoy the road to success.