Klarinet Archive - Posting 000326.txt from 2004/04
From: Andy Raibeck <klari_1@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] motivation
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 00:45:30 -0400
Hi Tracy,
I am sure you will get varying and possibly better advice from others, but here
are my thoughts/ramblings from someone who is not a musician by trade.
There are a couple of lines of thought in answering this question:
- Be introspective and honestly answer the question of *why* you do not feel
motivated?" That is, what is happening in your life or in your playing that
makes you avoid practice? You say that you tend to practice more when you don't
have a recital or concert to prepare for. Why? Are you trying to avoid the
performance?
Only you can answer this, but it is worth thinking about. You need to know
where you are now if you eventually want to be somewhere else. For what it is
worth, buying "shiny new objects" might make you feel better at the moment, but
the sheen eventually wears off, and in the long run it is almost certainly not
a solution.
- What are your goals as a musician? How important is music and clarinet
playing to you? Are you a music major, or are you going to school for something
else and playing clarinet on the side? If you are a music major, then obviously
music is very important, and the answer really comes down to self-discipline:
practice is not something you do only when the mood suits you, but, like other
homework, is something you do because you must do it.
If you are not a music major, then a disciplined practice routine may not be
required. In which case, play when you feel like it. Again, the amount of
practice and discipline depends on how important your playing is to you (even
if you are not a music major). Note that when gauging "importance", you need to
consider your commitments to others as well. For example, if you play in an
orcehestra or chamber group, you owe it not only to yourself, but to the other
members of the group to practice.
g
I often find myself in a position similar to yours: knowing I need to practice,
and sometimes putting it off when I should not. As I said above, I am not a
musician by trade, but the clarinet has become very important to me over the
past couple of years (following a 22 year hiatus). Because of this, I have some
leeway in my practice schedule but ultimately it comes down to self-discipline.
I have several musical commitments (I take a weekly lesson and I play in a few
groups), so at those times when I don't feel like playing - when I'm in a bad
mood, or I can't find a decent reed to play on to save my life, etc. - I still
have to pull it together and practice.
I suppose you can also do things to make practice interesting for yourself. Try
something different. If you've been working on the same piece for the past few
weeks, take a break and pull out something else. Or identify that really hard
lick that's been giving you difficulty and do a little slow practice. Go
through your reed collection and try different reeds. Do some sight reading or
transposition practice.
Regards,
Andy
--- Tracy Jones <tracyj_83@-----.com> wrote:
> I am having some trouble getting motivated to practice. I am just wondering
> what some of you do to motivate yourself to practice or what you think to
> yourself before or while you are practicing to keep motivated.
> Do you think about listening to your sound and enjoying yourself play?
> Do you think about improving yourself musically and technically?
> Do you think about the need for preparation for recitals or concerts?
> Do you think about the sound of the final product of whatever you are
> practicing?
>
> . I find that I actually practice more sometimes when I have no recitals or
> concerts to prepare for. I think I am one of those people who just like to
> just feel comfortable while they are playing and practice slowly while
> enjoying their sound and trying to make it better.
> But lately it ain't happening.
> I thought of buying myself a new mouthpiece or ligature to entice me to
> play. Shiny new objects tend to make me play more.
>
> Any suggestions or comments?
>
>
> Tracy Jones
> student, University of South Carolina
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