Clarification for the connection between the books Mr. Adam

si1yuan3 · Regular Member Joined: 17 Dec 2003 Posts: 19

I have bought and read the books Psychocybernetics, The Inner Game of Tennis, Zen in the Art of Archery, and As A Man Thinketh as listed as recommended reading at Mr. David A. Roth's website.

Has these books inspired Mr. Adam for his teaching philosophy?

By simply developing the ability to concentrate and focus on only the sound, how much of the technical challenges of playing the trumpet can be overcome?

How does it work? How can the assumption of the significance of the mind be validated?

[ This Message was edited by: si1yuan3 on 2004-04-13 08:53 ]

Nonsense Eliminator · Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 7:38 am Post subject:

I think it makes sense to answer your last question first:

"How does it work? How can the assumption of the significance of the mind be validated?"

I think that's exactly the point of encouraging students to read those books. I haven't read all of them [slaps self on wrist] but Psychocybernetics in particular focusses on explaining the power of the subconscious mind, and how the best results are achieved by keeping the conscious mind focussed on the goal and allowing the subconscious to sort out the exact processes by which that goal is achieved. I think having students read those books is Mr. Adam's way of saying, "Don't just take my word for how your brain works, find out for yourself." I think that for his approach to work, you have to completely accept the idea that your subconscious is capable of sorting out your chops, and hopefully these books will help convince you of that.

"By simply developing the ability to concentrate and focus on only the sound, how much of the technical challenges of playing the trumpet can be overcome?"

Obviously, concentrating on the sound isn't going to teach you to play diminished scales. However, range, endurance, flexibility, intonation, and accuracy are all unavoidably linked to efficient sound production. If you are producing sound efficiently, all of those areas will be much, much easier. This is a very important connection to understand. Developing a great sound isn't just about developing a great sound, it's about learning to play without any unnecessary effort. The less energy you're wasting, the more you can apply to playing the trumpet.

dales · Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 7:45 am Post subject:

There's now _The Inner Game of Music_. Wouldn't this be preferable to _The Inner Game of Tennis_?

PH · Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 7:48 am Post subject:

Actually no. The tennis book is much better than the music book (which is certainly OK).

trumpity · Posted: Fri Apr 23, 2004 4:18 pm Post subject:

I would recemmend watching Mr Adam's video or DVD series to broaden/enlighten your 'food for thought" and then go practice...

Best,

Kim W Petersen

GAL · Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2004 8:26 am Post subject:

Kim,

Is the DVD available yet?

Gene

trumpity · Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2004 1:34 pm Post subject:

I would contact John Harbaugh at Univ. of Central Washington to get the latest info on the DVD. Maybe some other Adam students would have an update on the DVD series.

best,

Kim W Petersen