Listening Schedule??????

[gms979]

Hi Everybody,
I was reading a Bilger interview a few years back from who the hell knows where, and he mentioned how part of his routine entailed listening to an entire work, top to bottom, each and every day.

I'm curious as to how you all go about this, or how you would suggest go about it. Do you think a different work each day, or devote a few days (or more) to each work? I'm really trying to establish a systematic routine, and it goes without saying that a Mahler symphony commands more attention to detail than a host of more minor works! On the other hand, I don't want to get hopelessly bogged down for weeks on end with one piece at the expense of familiarization with others. I've considered most of these obvious options, but would welcome any feedback stemming from everybody's personal experience (or just opinions!).

OR.....is there some pre-existing scheduled routine, that everybody is hip to but me, that covers all bases from A-Z? A la Mase's 10 week maintenance routine, or Charly's Caruso routine (for all you into that thread)

Thanks!
Greg

PS - hey Baltimore people.....this coming weekend the BSO is doing Fanfare for the Common Man, Fanfare for the Uncommon Woman, Brahms 3, and HILARY HAHN is doing a Prokiev violin concerto!!!!!!!!!!!! This promises to be a kick-ass concert!!!!!!!!! Hilary is the kind of player that made you wish you could go back in time to day one and pick up the violin.....she's exquisite. Check it out!

[david johnson]

gms979:

i don't organize my listening that way, but if i were studying a specific score i would be more serious about it. i usually go by composer & find myself always in mid-cycle .

the last month has been different. it's been all lps in the early morning hours...about 2-3 works per morning.

dj

[kzem]

I don't think there's a need to organize it unless you just can't fit it in your schedule. Just do it as much as possible: while driving, walking, folding the laundry, checking out the forum on the TH, instead of watching TV, etc
Bill Scharnburg, horn prof and great brass pedagogue at UNT used to have a bunch of recordings playing before his morning Brass Ped class. He always encouraged early arrival so we could listen to some great brass LP's and CD's. It was a great way to start the day.
Kurt Z

[gms979]

Hey David,
Sorry, I'm out of it......what's lps?

Thanks!
Greg

[Derek Reaban]

Greg,

There is a very interesting concept that Kenny Werner describes in his book Effortless Mastery. He says,
“How often do we practice a piece of literature somewhat superficially before moving on to the next piece and then wonder why our playing is stagnating instead of moving forward. Wouldn't it be better to stay with a piece long enough until it was fully mastered before moving on to the next piece? What if it would take a year before that piece was fully mastered? Would it be "wasted" time? In fact, the level to which we would have internalized that information would be so grounded in the subconscious, that it would be impossible NOT to progress as a player. At that point we would be so demanding of ourselves that everything we performed would need to rise to the level of preparation of this one piece and future growth would occur more quickly."

Now, with that in mind, consider that there are several different ways that we can listen to music. There is listening where the music is simply background music, there is passive listening, and then there is active listening. I consider “active” listening to be sitting down with either the part or score in front of you while listening to a specific recording. This is the time when you are absorbing the most information about a piece of music. Passive listening is when you are driving and can take advantage of listening to music, but at a different level of conscious awareness. It’s very close to “active” listening if you have done your homework and know your part well. It’s a chance to explore the music over and over until the music has a chance to penetrate. You will know when you have “arrived”, after you have immersed yourself in a piece of music so completely, when you hear the music in significant detail in your mind when you are quietly sitting in a room. This will be when you are doing something else (not music related) and all you can hear is this piece of music.

Don’t worry about how many pieces you can listen to in a short amount of time. You will simply be getting a superficial image in your mind of the music. You will think you are accomplishing a great deal, but you will only be spinning your wheels. Choose a piece of music and really live with it for a week (maybe two or three). Spend some time in active listening, and then lots and lots of time in passive listening. You will be surprised at how well you will think you know this music. See if you can picture the orchestration (how well do you really know the part?).

I hope this gives you a perspective about how to go about listening!
_________________
Derek Reaban
Tempe, Arizona
Tempe Winds / Symphony of the Southwest

[gms979]

Hey Derek,
Thanks for the intelligent and well-thought-out reply....I read Effortless Mastery a few years back and was pretty overwhelmed with the depth of the book and its message - pretty staggering stuff! For me it's always been finding a balance between having too much tunnel vision (i. e. listening to only Mahler 3 for the next 5 years or something!) vs. superficial learning (listening to a new work each day, not really absorbing anything.....). All about balance!
Its refreshing to hear a trumpet player talk about effortless mastery....it seems the only thing people know of is the Inner Game of Music! Kenny's one of my favorite pianists, along with Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett.....I was a quasi double major in tpt. and jazz piano in college.....got to study with one of Kenny's former students who was the pianist in the Jazz Ambassadors in the early-mid 90's. And was most impressed with that entire school of thought and practicing philosophy, and was lucky enough to have it preached to me week after week. But at the time, I definitely didn't have the maturity to really take the message to heart, and still don't completely, by any stretch....as I get older (and I'm only 25 now) it gets easier to focus - esp. when I take stock of personal improvement. Now, do I really grasp everything and do I have a deep and intimate relationship with the orchestral canon? Hell no.
I'm on my way though
Will be sure to keep posting - I really appreciate everybody being able to give me so much quick feedback about anything and everything!

Thanks again,
Greg

[kzem]

Great post, Derek!

[Sooner]

I make it a point to always listen to something new everyday. I do this more as a way of relaxing than anything else. I don't consider it to be serious listening, but it does help me to listen to some works that I might have never gotten around to hearing.

Now studying a piece is a complely different animal. I would say on average it takes me about 30 minutes a page to study a score. Sometimes that number is much less, as is the case with most classical symphonies, and sometimes it will take me well over an hour per page, in the case of more complex scores such as Mahler, Strauss, Crumb, Penderecki, etc... If I have ready access to a piano it helps, but I perfer to take the time to hear all the lines in my head first.

I rencently managed to "complete" (You can never completely master a score, as each new interpretation will give you a new view) my study of the adagietto movement of Mahler 5. It took me about 3 weeks before I felt like I really had it down, and it is only 5 pages of score.
_________________
N.Y. Bach 31 bell S-bore (.440) 50XX, Bob Reeves 41sv-692s, Bach MV 1.5C/warburton 9 BB for legit.

Proffessional poker dealer/player (helps support my music habit) and trumpet player of the Octopi.

Now a synth junkie as well

[david johnson]

[riffdawg2000]

Dang Derek! Always a well thought out and in-depth posts!

Personally ... I 'actively' listen to the repertoire that we are performing at least three days a week. (i.e. with my part in front of me, following, and counting rest, etc.) Same with solo work I am assigned by my teacher.

Inactively ... I listen to recordings of the pieces at least 5-6 days a week. Usually via MP3 while I am at the gym. If I don't get through the whole thing...I start where I left off the next day.
_________________
Joel Thomas

[caritas]

What a fascinating lot of thinking on this topic! I think listening is key to musical growth, whether you're 16 or 60 (I'm somewhere in between:)

While I like the thinking behind Effortless Mastery, I've found that, for me, a variety of listening strategies work when absorbing a piece: in-depth with a score is vital, but then if I listen to a work while driving or whatnot, it seeps in and permeates my mind. Also I like to listen to as many versions (played/conducted by different people) as possible of a piece.

Not sure I can do this all on a schedule, though. Years ago I got rid of the TV; the CD player is in constant use instead, at my house.