Comments

That was awesome Buri. I heard someone playing Rondo the other day, and it was as you said--impressive, but lost to my ear.

I like the chunks approach as well. And the varying rhythms too, would in my mind at least beyond helping with speed, help with making the piece 'truly' one's own.

Finally, the difference between slow practice, and focused purposeful slow practice is true too I think--I think Hilary's advice (it's in her favorites area incidentally) doesn't expound as you did on 'focus' in slowness as well as you just did.

It's kind of funny because Hilary Hahn plays the fastest barber ive ever heard--3rd mvt wise. Thanks so much for posting this, Buri! It pretty much summarizes and builds on many of the practice techniques I've been discovering over the past several years. More and more I'm realizing that its not the notes themselves, but what comes in between the notes that is most challenging.

Haha, you're right Thomas. Hilary Hahn's Barber is insane . . . :)

Buri, this is the best explanation on speed and slow practice I’ve ever heard. One can have great teacher, a lot of great books and audio/video tools to aid one’s practice, but it’s this type of comment and advice that give one the ‘vitamins’ that are so much needed in our daily practice. I echo what a V.comer recently said, our debt to you is incalculable.

p.s. Vols 2 & 14 of "The Way They Play" are fantastic! I think I'll get the whole set eventually. Manze is just amazing. Bodhipaksa's mediation CDs from Wildmind add another dimension.

I am finding that finger pattern analysis is very helpful. It is slow going at first to analyze all the finger patterns in a passage but it gets faster with eperience.

Finger pattern analysis helps one prepare fingers in advance. It can also help suggest fingerings that make a passage easier to play, e.g. fewer shifts, extensions instead of string crossings etc.