The wisdom of the ages says: ‘Repetitio est mater studiorum’, repetition is the mother of learning. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle already knew: what sport is for the body, music is for the mind. Thousands of years ago these philosophers wrote about the value of listening to and making music for the development of morality and thought.
Two worlds
Anyone who takes up music enters a very special world. In fact I prefer to speak of two worlds, because I see the world of the instrument as something different from the world of music.
The world of the instrument
When you sing, your body, especially your vocal cords, is the instrument. Every other instrument is something tangible that you can touch and generally play with your hands.
The instrument is really a tool you use to tinker musically. Our access to the world of music runs through it. A musical instrument is a complex, refined tool, and using it effectively is quite specialised. That’s why you take lessons from someone who can teach you how. You do many exercises that help you become comfortable, so that in time it happens by itself. Then you no longer have to think about it, and that’s exactly what we want, because only then can the music truly come through.
The world of the instrument is about: technique (instrument mastery, a vast subject you never finish learning), technical knowledge of the instrument, and its history.
The world of music
The world of music exists independently of the instrument we use to reach it. Music is something you cannot see or hold; it can only be heard. It consists of three core elements: melody, harmony and rhythm. Each can be treated separately, but we usually hear them all at once.
As you progress in instrument mastery, the focus of lessons shifts more and more to the world of music: styles and repertoire, interpretation (dynamics, tempo, expression), music theory and harmony, improvisation, ensemble playing, ear training (solfège) and music history.
What is practising?
Becoming skilled at musical performance is what we call practising: repeating, rehearsing, training. An athlete trains the body and skills; a musician trains mastery of the instrument and knowledge and understanding of music.
Interleaving and chunking
Research into effective learning keeps surfacing two concepts: interleaving (mixing) and blocking/chunking.
Applied to practice, ‘mixing’ means alternating different exercises, and ‘chunking’ means repeating small fragments. A combination of the two is most effective.
For example: practise three technical exercises and parts of two pieces in rotation, that’s mixing. Take one bar of a tricky piece and repeat it many times, then the next bar, then both in a row, that’s chunking.
The ABC of practice
We use three phases:
- Phase A: focus on the knowledge and technique of the instrument. You get to know and master it, with exercises that may not have an immediate musical use but are still important.
- Phase B: focus on becoming skilled in the music. You practise (parts of) pieces and build your repertoire. You don’t fully master the material yet.
- Phase C: the ‘JUST PLAY’ phase! You play pieces you know so well you don’t have to think about them. This isn’t about performance, but purely about feeling and expression. Here you are truly making music.
Every phase deserves attention. If you can practise 30 minutes a day, give each phase about 10 minutes.
Automating
The ideal is to spend no thought on technique or remembering the musical content while playing. When you “think music”, you only imagine or ‘sing’ the music in your head, your body then does what’s needed to draw it out of the instrument.
The 300/3000 rule
With 300 repetitions you get something into your motor memory. After 3000 repetitions it becomes second nature. Then you truly master it.
Summary
- We want to engage with music, and we do that through our instrument.
- To use the instrument for this, we practise.
- We practise using the ABC of practice, and we interleave and chunk.
- To automate the music, we use the 300/3000 rule.
- There are two worlds: that of music and that of the instrument. Both deserve attention.