 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Sternberg
Date: 2003-05-31 18:43
I wonder if any of the players on the list could comment on the value of 'mental rehearsal'. That is, do any of you spend much time visualising your performances away from the instrument and, if so, could you describe what it is that you do? Do you, for example, make small movements of your fingers? Do you consider this practice in the sense of improving your ability to play a particular piece, or is it something that you see more as helping your confidence or 'mental preparation'?
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Author: bassclarinetchicka88
Date: 2003-06-01 15:05
yeah - i do it all the time! for me, it gives me a greater understanding of what the piece means to me, and it gives me the confidence i need to do well. i think that by improving your confidence, you are improving your playing. take it from someone who gets deathly nervous - confidence is nearly everything. if you have too little, you get nervous and screw up. if you have too much, karma slaps you in the face and something always goes wrong.
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Author: allencole
Date: 2003-06-01 22:29
I agree with Bassclarinetchicka88, and would add that it is a way of getting beyond the technicalities of a piece and looking at it from a more purely musical point of view. I recommend it strongly to my students for the following reason:
Mental rehearsal is particularly valuable on the day of an audition, recital, etc. because it provides an alternative to heavy physical practicing. I have often seen students who practice heavily before a critical performance destabilize the psycho-motor routine that they have so carefully worked out. Last-minute attempts to do something a little differently often upset the applecart of what would've been a well-rehearsed performance.
Mental runthroughs can help you to rehearse your projection of feeling to the listener rather than rehash physical issues that should already have been practiced to conclusion.bassclarinetchicka88 wrote:
> yeah - i do it all the time! for me, it gives me a greater
> understanding of what the piece means to me, and it gives me
> the confidence i need to do well. i think that by improving
> your confidence, you are improving your playing. take it from
> someone who gets deathly nervous - confidence is nearly
> everything. if you have too little, you get nervous and screw
> up. if you have too much, karma slaps you in the face and
> something always goes wrong.
Allen Cole
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Author: kdennyclarinet
Date: 2003-06-02 01:33
I don't have a choice about this one... I just completed my master's in clarinet performance, however I physically could not practice as much as would likely be ideal. Facing early signs of carpal tunnel disease, I use mental preparation (I prefer preparation to "practice") to help solidify my music not only before performances but as I am learning any music (etudes, technique studies, orchestral music, etc.). Most of my preparation involves understanding the music and what is supposed to be happenning. I spend a lot of time with the music away from the clarinet so that I have a chance to look at phrase structure, determine high and low points in phrases, and anticipate any technical challenges I may come across before I begin to actually physically practice with the clarinet in hand. If you do this, you will find that you will be able to make fewer mistakes as you first play a piece or etude etc. As we all know, if you never play a wrong note, you don't have to "unpractice" it. Just like one should think before they speak, we all should think before we play. It will save a lot of time.
Happy practicing!
-Kristen
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Author: diz
Date: 2003-06-02 01:43
Kristen - it sounds as if you took a seriously considered approach to your studies for your Masters - considering possible physical limitations. How did it end up going??
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Author: Hank Lehrer
Date: 2003-06-02 03:10
Hi Everyone,
Mental practice is a high-level cognitive learning function that is very valuable. If I might put on my flight instructor hat and use an aviation example that may help illustrate the point.
When learning to fly by reference to instruments, one very challenging thing is to be able to look at a two dimensional instrument approach chart and be able to traslate that into a three dimensional instrument approach procedure. The type learning required is not a psychomotor function (tactile and muscular) but all very mental. One tries to visualize the altitude and the attitude of the airplane in a prescribed horizontal and vertical orientation. Thinking about this while viewing the approach chart is a terrific preparation before even getting into the airplane. If a pilot can do this, the instrument approach is usually exceuted much easier. With experience, pilots become very proficient at this mental visualization and usually execute the procedure more easily and with fewer errors in the earliest stages.
I do the same thing when I have a difficult clarinet passage to play. I look it over, see what "it is all about," develop a strategy, and then usually, the first rendition is much more accurate. As we become more proficient in sight-reading, I'm certain that there is a quick mental picture imagined a mili-second before we actually encounter the notes.
HRL
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Author: graham
Date: 2003-06-02 08:22
I feel that the ideal (which I fail to meet unfortunately) is to do 50% playing and 50% thinking (instrument not in hand). This not only sorts out musical issues (how the piece should go), but technical issues as well (e.g. how am I approaching breathing, tongue position, other embouchure matters etc.). I think it is particularly valuable in reminding yourself of the bad habits you sometimes fall into and how you can refocus on eliminating those. It never seems to be quite as effective to fit this thinking process in with the actual playing sessions, though that point will vary from person to person.
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Author: Sternberg
Date: 2003-06-02 09:08
Thanks for all your comments so far. Perhaps I can be more specific in my question. Do any of you regularly 'physically' practice your repertoire without clarinet in hand (whether deliberately or subconsiously)? I'm thinking not just about reviewing and analysing the music (although that too is hugely important), but about mentally performing or rehearsing repertoire note for note, perhaps making small physical movements of your fingers, tongue etc. as you go?
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Author: Mark Pinner
Date: 2003-06-02 10:18
As a professional one is faced with many challenges. One of which is the combined demon of sight reading/ limited rehearsal. Things that are amply rehearsed still need a degree of mental prep. Have I read all the possible expression markings, tempo changes, dynamics? Likewise, have I missed anything in the interpretation? etc. etc..
Mental preparation is just as important in any musical field. It just differs. For a pro player faced with sight reading as a dep or with limited rehearsal you learn to skim the dots, or mentally talk through the book and use your warm up time to blow though the worst of it. Improvisationally, silent singing of melody, bass notes and/or moving voices, resolutions etc. are invaluable, as is some organisation of sets, keys and order of solos.
I thoroughly recommend mental rehearsal.
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Author: Brenda
Date: 2003-06-02 14:11
To answer your question about the physical movements, my answer is no. Your fingers find their way because of years of practice. The brain can be depended on to come through for you and tell your fingers to move differently once you start playing again, if you firmly keep in mind what you've mentally reviewed previously.
However, my son is very different. His fingers and feet are moving all the time even when he's supposed to be concentrating on something else, and I can tell that he's mentally reviewing some song or other - he plays bass guitar. That's when he gets a "Hey man, pay attention!" from his Mom.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2003-06-02 14:15
I also do it all the time -- whenever I have a few minutes forced idleness -- waiting for Chinese takeout to be cooked -- waiting for the subway -- waiting for a red light -- insomnia.
Doing it while driving is tempting but probably a bad idea. It's like talking a cell phone -- it distracts your attention from a dangerous activity.
I do mostly scales and arpeggios, extra slow, preparing each finger movement before doing it and making sure everything is exactly in synch. Usually, I go around the circle of fifths. This has the advantage that, even though you tend to get tense as the keys get more extreme, as soon as you get over the F#/Gb hump, things start to get easier, and I can get more relaxed and lighter finger movements as I come down the "sharps" side. By the time I get back to C, everything is light, smooth and well lubricated.
I definitely move my fingers. That improves the muscle memory as well as the mental.
I also do two Bonade exercises. First, moving the fingers ahead, between the notes in staccato passages. Second, moving the fingers slowly for legato.
Finally, when you get to know a piece well, you can "play it back" in your head, listening to the bass line (and, more generally, the harmony). When you do this, you'll discover how the solo part is shaped by the harmony, and this reveals the proper places to breath, push forward and relax back.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: BobD
Date: 2003-06-02 17:05
Athletes as well practice their skills mentally. Mental practice is a great way to make a long air flight go faster. Check out Joe Cocker in the "Mad Dogs and Englishmen" video for a good example of playing an air guitar.
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Author: Amy
Date: 2003-06-02 22:58
After a particularly long practice session late in the evening, I go to bed and find that I am mentally practicing all of my scales. I have had to be strict with myself and not practice after 8.30pm as it takes me a couple of hours to relax again. There have just been too many times when it got to 4am and I was still trying to master B major!
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2003-06-03 12:09
Some of the best practise you'll ever do is away from the instrument - clapping rhythms, counting your piece out loud, listening (to recordings or other players), or just talking about the clarinet with others i.e. THIS FORUM!
So THAT'S how the regulars here get 6 hours practise a day?!
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Author: kdennyclarinet
Date: 2003-06-09 02:33
diz--to answer your question: my time spent away from the clarinet was just as valuable as the time spent with it. I saved my physical energy by playing a "rough" passage once... thinking about one or two ways I could improve it.... sing aloud or in my head... and then think about other things I can do to improve that line...then play it again (hopefully making a handfull of improvements). These small physical breaks in a practice session saved me from the physical dangers and the musical dangers of mindlessly playing it twenty times wrong... then maybe once or twice right. So, even if I didn't have wrist pain, it made me think more as a musician. Because I go easy on myself (physically) in a practice session, I am able to play just fine. I wear braces as night and have had to take a clarinet break only twice over the past two years (mostly brought on by weeks leading up to a busy concert week where I did a lot of back-to-back rehearsals, concerts, etc.). Now, I am preparing for DMA auditions... whee!
I just got back from the OU clarinet symposium. In the masterclass given by Ricardo Morales, he stressed the importance of spending time with your clarinet (not playing it). He even made a joke about just carrying it around the house while you make toast, etc. The point he was making is that the clarinet should be an extension of your body... just a slight addition to your arm. This way it becomes a part of you and you are able to play "music" and not just "the clarinet".
Happy practicing!
-Kristen
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Author: deepriver27
Date: 2003-06-20 00:45
I do this all the time too - for one thing it helps to conceptualize and gain further understanding of a piece I am trying to learn. Also, on another level, I believe that in an important way this is what , let's say, separates a pianist from a player piano. When we reflect on musical performance we are in touch with the very place where the artistry of a musican lives and thrives.
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Author: Mark M
Date: 2003-06-20 05:25
mental rehearsals are invaluable as everyone above has stated. I also learned how to type and hear (and understand) morse code. Did it by reading street signs, license plates etc and mentally doing it along with finger movement when allowed.
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Author: dfh
Date: 2003-06-21 03:57
Kristen - I just read about someone who was chornically suffering from CTS, and started to supplement their diet with magnesium and B6 (and mayber B12?) and it helped a ton. Perhaps something to research?
Good luck with the DMA!
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