Mar 08
Thoughts on Practice & Mastery
2009 at 4:51pm Posted in Practice Tips by Blayne Chastain 6 Comments
The last few days I've been on holiday visiting family in the southeast (US) and as usual brought my flute along for the ride. Sometimes she gets played, sometimes not, depending on the social intensity of the trip. This one has been relaxed with lots of down time which has been a great opportunity for getting back into regular practice / playing.
So right now I'm right in the middle of practicing and as usual my mind tends to wander as I'm practicing my cuts, taps, rolls, breathing, intonation, tone, interpretation, variations, etc... I've been thinking about the concept of mastery a bit. This is something that many of us reach for but in the backs of our minds wonder if we'll ever reach it. Well, hopefully what I'm about to say is good news to all of us.
Mastery is not being able to play all the tricks, whistles & bells that comprise all the techniques and extended techniques there are to know in playing the tin whistle, Irish flute, bodhran, guitar, piano, kazoo, etc...
Mastery is the ability to play what you play perfectly and without effort.
For a 6 year old this could mean playing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on the piano without mistakes and while her mind wanders to think about the fun she had at the playground earlier.
For me, it means playing "Tobin's Favorite" (a tune I've played a lot and have enjoyed over the years) on the tin whistle incorporating all the techniques & variations that are in my "database" perfectly and without effort while letting my wander - sometimes enjoying the tune, sometimes the tone of the instrument, sometimes thinking about the fun that my daughter and I had while playing on the playground yesterday.
For those of you who are new to your instrument, certainly you need to have a base level of technique. After that though, learn a tune - could be Mary Had a Little Lamb, could be a Jig or Reel or whatever and play it until you play it perfectly without stopping, without mistakes and effortlessly. Don't rush your efforts and take breaks. This could take weeks or months (and usually does) but does not need to be some elusive goal but rather, within reach - as far away as a few minutes a day of playing your instrument.
As most of my students know, I'm a bit of a technique junkie so it's easy for my mind to slip into the thought that I need to be able to incorporate all the extended techniques that I'm working on into my playing to be able to feel that I've mastered a tune. This is clearly nonsense! As much nonsense as to think that to be truly wise, one must have read all the books that were ever published on every subject.
So today, enjoy your playing. Enjoy your practice. Enjoy it as a 2 year old does as she bangs on the piano not making any recognizable / formal "music" but playing just because it's fun.
Also remember that the best way to "master" playing fast is to practice s-----l------o-------w......
For further reading on the subject of mastery, I recommend Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner . The accompanying CD of meditations weren't really my cup of tea but the majority of the book is pretty solid stuff.
Penny for your thoughts?
Ceol Agus Craic,
Blayne Chastain
Irish Traditional Musician & Founder
Whistle & Drum
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6 Comments
Hello Blayne,
I have given a lot of thought to mastery myself. 36 years into my adventure with Irish music, I can't say I am content with my performance all the time and rarely do I play perfectly, but I am able to comfortably spend a lot of time with a particular tune, thinking about how I want to set it, so that it reflects how I think about it, and so I honor how and where I learned it. I recall an interview with Sean Keane after his second solo album came out. The subject of his settings came up, and he commented that it was very hard in the studio to decide which technique to use to get the best of the tune -- there were so many choices.
Paddy O'Brien once told me after learning all the grace notes and ornaments to put into his music, he was spending the rest of his life learning what to remove! I have found that I often need to simplify to let the music 'breathe' and to preserve the strong elements of the melody. Subtleties of rhythm, note emphasis and accent are all becoming areas of exploration for me.
These days, I am seeking to preserve the individuality of the tunes I play. Inevitably, they are marked by my style, but I am having some success at emphasizing the unique components that make them stand out. Maybe this is mastery.....
Frank
Thanks for the tips. They do come in handy. I followed those tips when I learned the guitar and I follow them now with the tin whistle and bodhran.
I have played flute and piccolo for over 25 years now. I also play piano some. I am just starting to get back into playing penny whistles. I bought one years ago and have misplaced it. When I was in Vermont on vacation a couple months ago I bought one at the Vermont Country Store (cool store by the way). Anyway, I thought my whistle was here in Tucson but couldn't find it so I called my Mama in Virginia and she couldn't find it there. So when I saw the one at the store in Vermont I bought it. We are rehearsing for our church's Starlite Crusade revival which is June 28th thru July 1st and some of the music calls for a penny whistle. Of course, the one I bought in Vermont wasn't in the right key for any of the songs so I purchased a C whistle from flute world. I have been doing well with the whistle I bought in Vermont but am having trouble with the one from flute world. It has a wooden mouthpiece with a cork backing (it's a Clarke). I stumbled upon this website through google and found the Generation Flageolet Tin Whistles. I am purchasing one in each key except for D since that's the one I bought in Vermont. One question I have is how do you clean the inside of the whistle out? The other question I have is how what can I do to play the Clarke whistle. Obviously practice practice practice. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Happy Whistle Playing!