A Well Tempered Practice Diet - Take Notes

September 29, 2011 at 2:41 AM

Lessons these days are becoming quite intense, and as I get older my memory is not getting much better. There is so much to remember over the course of the week between lessons - phrasings, tension points, relaxation techniques, shifting styles, breathing techniques. what and how to practice by next week... all sorts of things that typically aren't written into the music during lessons. Even with audio or video recordings, taking notes during or as soon after lessons are important. There is something to be said about the act of writing something down by hand to commit it to memory.

Then there is the act taking notes after practicing at home. What went well, not so well? I'm starting to form a habit of jotting down one-liners after my daily practice. The notes I take aren't novels, just one-liners like "bring elbow around while changing strings", "scrunching shoulder to chin when vibrating on lower strings" to "yeah! extended left arm is improving intonation and freeing up left hand!" or "remember to start at tip and move quickly to the frog at mm ##". Between lessons, these simple little notes help reinforce what works, reminders to self on what I should be focusing on, and to work through or remember to ask about what doesn't work or understand.

The down side to all of this is realizing how much work is ahead of me to get where I want to be musically. At least I can read up on my own progress and not get too discouraged.

From Terez Mertes
Posted on September 29, 2011 at 6:58 PM

Great points, and my teacher and I talked, just this past lesson, about doing some of the same. Glad to hear it's just not me, in regards to the memory/getting older biz. Very frustrating. That and my distractibility. Ugh. Late-in-life ADHD. Doesn't go well with practice time!

From Karen Allendoerfer
Posted on October 1, 2011 at 12:28 AM

I still say this is good advice for any age, and really doesn't have much to do with getting older. Kids are terrible about remembering what they are supposed to practice from one lesson to the next unless someone (usually their "older" teacher or parent) writes it down for them.

From Christina C.
Posted on October 3, 2011 at 7:01 PM

absolutely! I started with my current teacher two years ago & I've recorded almost every lesson. I find it very reassuring to have her words on record.... but ask me how many I've actually listened to. It makes me cringe to think how many pearls of wisdom I have at my disposal with just the push of a button. For a couple of lessons I did make the effort and took notes from the recording right after the lesson... those got rather bogged down in detail though

In the middle of September I had my first lesson since before summer & we got right down to focusing on the issues that tie into my tension problems. Afterwards I wrote out the main points & I also added to them during my practice sessions and I found that this really helped to pinpoint my focus during practice & formulate my questions for the next lesson. So I'll continue to record because it's reassuring to have them if I ever need them, but like you, I've just come round to the idea that the solution is just plain ol' taking notes.

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A Well Tempered Practice Diet - Take Notes

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