MUSIC LEARNING/TEACHING PRINCIPLES

Arbitrary = bad; arbitrary tone, articulation, breathing, tuning, practicing, etc.; isolate
these parameters to create the hyper-awareness, agility, and residual benefit. Treat technique like a bank account. Performance spends, and constructive maintenance work makes deposits.

Crashes happen well after understanding/anticipating stops; Use endpoints, monitor your
understanding/anticipation; mistakes happen because the brain is not anticipating what is next; dont always put the whole puzzle together; go until the brain has received enough information. practice makes permanent

Daily, if you dont practice daily youre 1. missing time, 2. atrophying physically, 3.
missing opportunities to transcend. If you take 2 days off you can play the piece just as well, but the next session will just maintain the current level. Use those 2 days to isolate, transcend, create a runners high. The Ear leads the fingers, black dots should trigger sound in your brain, not fingerings; beginners: do first then read dont just play with your eyes (otherwise you could potentially be sight-reading forever). Internalize/recompose Good playing is just tuning in fast motion; balance attending to NOW (tone, tuning, tonguing) and WHATS NEXT (rhythms, notes). 1,2,ready,go can lead to inattention of first note; hold first note (especially in ensemble to attend to balance, blend, tuning), then as if transfer the (air) feel from prelim exercise to context. Theres a huge difference between correct & Good; good = comfortable/confident; playing the ink (even correctly) does not mean music is being made. Each piece is only a vehicle toward improving musical skills from counting, tone, artic, tuning, preparation skills such as planning and evaluating a practice session, monitoring and anticipating subtle aspects, and discovering and creating musical rationale. Just because you can get through a piece doesnt mean that these skills improved, practice with intention. You cannot take two paths simultaneously, how you practice has residual ramifications. Worst case: practice 8 hours a day & get really good at playing poorly. To learn you must know 1. where you are, & 2. where you want to get to. Know the million Incremental steps.

Jump around in the music, dont just learn it from beginning to end. Look for similar passages.
The skill of piece preparation is to be cultivated just like tone production, rhythm, tonguing, facility, etc

Listen, listen, listen. Any explanation of how something should sound will make sense
to you only relative to your listening background. If you do not listen to great music played by great players, nothing that I say to you will make any sense.

Musical decisions can solve technical problems

Condense musical ideas (instead of 1note = 1 thought); recognize/anticipate patterns; difficult music is embellished easy music. Knowing when to stop (diminishing returns) is important, when to take a break & how best to use it; make your own assignments (practice log), you can only plan one session ahead (its impossible for the teacher to plan each session between lessons). A successful practice session is: accomplishing something & planning the next session. When possible the teacher should model sound; even try their equipment. Carefully consider playing WITH the student or QUESTION/ANSWER gRading sends messages (attendance, priorities, [un]defined quality)

Sing, you must know how it goes BEFORE you play it

Theory of Fours
Play something 3-4 times even if correct the first time, for ballistic grouping But not much more, unless varying starting point or other variable, to avoid a rut Choose a task you can accomplish by the 4th time, otherwise should have chosen something easier Stop after 4 items to remark. Dont stop for each one, but dont let them slide. Plan next session. Do only 4 chunks in a specific way (tune, memorize, etc.), otherwise becomes perfunctory To internalize a difficult aspect (or correction) requires 4 consecutive sessions (still with variety)

Routines help maintain & measure progress (warmup, practice session, new piece, perfection). As you learn a piece of music discover/create learning cues to help remember it next time. Monitor & manipulate these melodic, rhythmic, tactile, sequential, and visual cues through Varied practice to learn from many perspectives, keep the piece fresh, and stay out of a rut of sheer repetition. Key words that work, take turns Im first; I play you finger; once is luck; release [not attack], slow motion; "blow between the notes; there are many more You dont have to make (fix) mistakes to get better; Progress yet perfection. Avoid correction mode. Internalize, analyze, love the puzzle, be zealous.