Practice makes permanent; only "perfect" practice makes perfect... Your pillars are spot on and applicable to most activities that involve learning and mastering kinaesthetic skills.
Thanks, Alan. I definitely draw on insights from other fields as well as music. So much good information coming through these days that we can use to improve our playing.
Your philosophy is spot on. On Clarinet, fingering is a nightmare in C#. I slowly play an exercise in C & then in C# (looks the same but every note is a sharp). This has improved my playing. After 7 #s, 4#s is a breeze. Thank you for getting me to PLAN my practice. I'm achieving more in 30min than I did in an afternoon of waffling around. You help a lot of people. Thanks again for reminding us to set GOALS. Practice is fun when you achieve something.
So glad to hear this, Deryck. And you're absolutely right that a lot of motivation comes from seeing that you're making progress. So what can seem "less fun" initially makes everything more fun in the long run as it gets you moving forward faster.
Unlike some comments below, your video made complete sense to me without you having to provide examples. I think it's because I've experienced these different pillars with my own jazz piano practice and figured them out through trial and error throughout the years.
These videos are really full of excellent things, right on the point of how to progress using ideas that work. There is so much here that it may take several times to pick up all the ‘nuggets of gold.’
I am going through Play in The Zones " Unlock your Performance" course on line - I can recommend it very highly. Mark has captured very many practical concepts that can help any musician to get to the next level and beyond.
I agree and in your video you have made it clear to me what i need to work on more, i need to work on what topic i need first and take it from there thanks Mark.
Thank you for that interesting session. Part of the way I'm tackling the 3rd pillow (the way to practice): Before I go into the next exercise, I ask myself: When I run into the first problem within that exercise, do I really have the motivation and patience today to work on a particular problem of this exercise? If I'm unsure, i'd rather not go into it that day. Otherwise, I would pass the problem zone sloppily and therefore waste my time. But in that case I would give it a priority for the next practicing session.
It would be really helpful to give examples of all four pillars - it’s all very conceptual as it stands and so makes it difficult to understand what you’re talking about. Thanks.
Thanks for the suggestion, David. It is very definitely meant to be covering the concept here rather than going into the details, though. (Each pillar potentially covers a VERY broad range of examples)
Hi Mark. I am involved in a weekly jam at which no one is judgmental or cares if I make mistakes. I play lines that I haven't completely mastered but have managed to "get them right" when playing on my own. Should I continue participating in these jams while at the same time continuing to do the focused practice at home? 🙂
It sounds like a good idea to me, Alfred (without knowing all the details). I find that events like these can be a great test of how well I really know something. It can give me great feedback on which areas are pretty decent already, and which would really benefit from additional focused practice on my own.
@@PlayInTheZone Thanks for the confirmation Mark. I am currently reading [TMPR] #5 and the topic about 'hearing the tune' in your mind being equally important to the physical instrumentality. This idea had come across my mind before but I had never really applied it. What do you think about visualizing playing the notes on the instrument when one is away from the instrument?
Very helpful..... my weakness is lack of focus. Why? Because I am impatient and my mind wanders instead of focusing on the "now" and one step at a time.
Excellent insight, Lesley. One potential way to address this would be to break practice sessions down into smaller chunks so that you're looking to focus for shorter periods of time.
Thank you Mark!
3:45 The topic
4:10 The time
4:30 The practice strategies
5:20 The focus
I wish you'd been around when I was going to Saturday morning music school
Practice makes permanent; only "perfect" practice makes perfect... Your pillars are spot on and applicable to most activities that involve learning and mastering kinaesthetic skills.
Thanks, Alan. I definitely draw on insights from other fields as well as music. So much good information coming through these days that we can use to improve our playing.
Your philosophy is spot on. On Clarinet, fingering is a nightmare in C#. I slowly play an exercise in C & then in C# (looks the same but every note is a sharp).
This has improved my playing. After 7 #s, 4#s is a breeze.
Thank you for getting me to PLAN my practice. I'm achieving more in 30min than I did in an afternoon of waffling around.
You help a lot of people. Thanks again for reminding us to set GOALS. Practice is fun when you achieve something.
So glad to hear this, Deryck. And you're absolutely right that a lot of motivation comes from seeing that you're making progress. So what can seem "less fun" initially makes everything more fun in the long run as it gets you moving forward faster.
Unlike some comments below, your video made complete sense to me without you having to provide examples. I think it's because I've experienced these different pillars with my own jazz piano practice and figured them out through trial and error throughout the years.
Thanks for the feedback, Rachel. That's useful for me to know.
These videos are really full of excellent things, right on the point of how to progress using ideas that work. There is so much here that it may take several times to pick up all the ‘nuggets of gold.’
Glad you like them, Guy!
I am going through Play in The Zones " Unlock your Performance" course on line - I can recommend it very highly. Mark has captured very many practical concepts that can help any musician to get to the next level and beyond.
I'm looking forward to the course!
I agree and in your video you have made it clear to me what i need to work on more, i need to work on what topic i need first and take it from there thanks Mark.
So glad it was helpful, Collin
Very good. I take it for me to playlist learn electric guitar 🎸. Thanks friend for sharing. 🙂 💫 👍 Rock on!
Awesome! Thank you!
Fantastic ideas.
Glad you like them, James!
Focusing or small sections at a time is helpful. 🙂
So true!
Thank you for that interesting session. Part of the way I'm tackling the 3rd pillow (the way to practice): Before I go into the next exercise, I ask myself: When I run into the first problem within that exercise, do I really have the motivation and patience today to work on a particular problem of this exercise? If I'm unsure, i'd rather not go into it that day. Otherwise, I would pass the problem zone sloppily and therefore waste my time. But in that case I would give it a priority for the next practicing session.
Yes. Definitely important to be motivated and focused for the best results.
It would be really helpful to give examples of all four pillars - it’s all very conceptual as it stands and so makes it difficult to understand what you’re talking about. Thanks.
Thanks for the suggestion, David. It is very definitely meant to be covering the concept here rather than going into the details, though. (Each pillar potentially covers a VERY broad range of examples)
Hi Mark. I am involved in a weekly jam at which no one is judgmental or cares if I make mistakes. I play lines that I haven't completely mastered but have managed to "get them right" when playing on my own. Should I continue participating in these jams while at the same time continuing to do the focused practice at home? 🙂
It sounds like a good idea to me, Alfred (without knowing all the details). I find that events like these can be a great test of how well I really know something. It can give me great feedback on which areas are pretty decent already, and which would really benefit from additional focused practice on my own.
@@PlayInTheZone Thanks for the confirmation Mark. I am currently reading [TMPR] #5 and the topic about 'hearing the tune' in your mind being equally important to the physical instrumentality. This idea had come across my mind before but I had never really applied it. What do you think about visualizing playing the notes on the instrument when one is away from the instrument?
@@alfredbellanti3755 It's a good one, and also helps singers who also play an instrument to pitch their notes better. Aren't brains wonderful?
Very helpful..... my weakness is lack of focus. Why? Because I am impatient and my mind wanders instead of focusing on the "now" and one step at a time.
Excellent insight, Lesley. One potential way to address this would be to break practice sessions down into smaller chunks so that you're looking to focus for shorter periods of time.
That was quite a few decades ago
I'm really unsure of what you mean by "topics."
I think these videos are great but like one of your previous comments each video could do with many practical examples.
Thanks for the feedback, Craig