I'm reading Stephen King's book, On Writing, right now. I'm reading it in hopes that it will inspire me to write more. It has. But it also has inspired me to practice playing more as well. In the book King says to make a goal for yourself. He suggests writing locking yourself in your office and writing 1,000 words a day, six days a week. And do not open the door until you're finished.
I've been thinking about this when it comes to practicing my fiddle. Let's face it. No one wants to practice. We all just want to play like Natalie MacMaster (or write like Stephen King) or whoever your musical hero is. But nothing good comes easy. So I'm taking King's advice both with my writing and with my practicing.
I once had a teacher that said if you practice just 15 minutes a day you will see an improvement on your playing. I'm still to this day not sure if she was kidding or not. Anyone who plays the fiddle know it takes more than 15 minutes just to open your case, rosin your bow and tune your strings. I think what she was trying to do was make me commit to doing it. Once the case is open, the bow is rosined and the fiddle is tuned, it's impossible not to want to play it. And let's face it, who can play for just 15 minutes? For me, 15 minutes turns into 1/2 hour which then turns into an hour and so on depending on how much time I have during day.
My point is: Just as King and my teacher suggested, make a commitment and follow through.
Happy practicing!
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
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Stephen King is my favorite writer and Natalie is my favorite fiddler! I just saw her in concert two weeks ago. I must admit that as much as I enjoy her concerts, they leave me feeling like a complete fiddling failure! BTW,I almost purchased a red Mini Cooper last month and my roots are in Vermont. The similarities in our lives are kind a scary, aye?
As far as practicing is concerned, my habits cycle. Some days I practice non-stop it seems. At other times, I may not pick up my fiddle for over a week. I've also noticed that there are times when I play very well as if I've been playing all my life. Then I have days when I wonder if I suffered a stroke the night before. Based on my own personal experience, it seems to me that I'm just an artist who's inspiration and passion cannot be forced or dictated by any schedule. I play when it feels good, when the planets align in perfect synchromonious harmony, and when my circadian rhythm is balanced. :D In all seroiusness, I've found that when I am learning a new song, it's best to practice it slowly and perfectly (slowly downloading and wiring it to my brain)for a few hours in one day and THEN walk away for 24 hours, come back and VOILA!
My problem with learning a new song is that I can't follow the sheet music AND play at the same time until I already know how to play the song! Once I learn the score while listening to the song I can focus my attention on my fiddle and the sound and I'm ok. I must have inherited my grandfather's ability to play by ear. Lizzie
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