Last week Dr. McCoy spoke about "putting the rocks in first," and how for musicians, practicing is perhaps our most important "rock." So many seemingly urgent things come up--assignments due, email to answer, texts to respond to, FB status updates (and yes, I fall into all these traps at time myself)--that if we leave the really important long-term habits until we "have time," we never will.
And, as Dr. McCoy said today, if you we wait to practice until we feel like it, no one would ever practice. The great cellist Gregor Piatigorsky, who had an international solo career, used to say, "Talented people hate to practice."
So here you are, one week into college/music school life. How is it going with managing your time and priorities, getting everything done? What's working? What's not working? What support do you need?
Please write at least a brief comment on this before Friday's class.
It is going well. Dr.McCoy was right about how when practice is goal oriented that it goes by too quick. I can't enough time to make everything perfect. I would like more sleep though. Someone once told me you get to have two of three things; good grades, sleep, or a social life. I'm finding that very true.
ReplyDeleteEverything is going well so far. I enjoy all of my classes and my private lessons are great too. Liking everything I'm doing makes it easier to manage priorities and time. Making sure to get enough sleep is definitely important for me. Having friends in classes and back at my dorm is all the support I need and I find that it's easy to practice all throughout the day. DePauw is wonderful!
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ReplyDeleteNot going to lie, for the first couple of days, I was in a constant "student panic mode" over literally everything and anything. I was worried about how I was going to juggle two majors, my first lesson with my private instructor, being away from home, not fitting in, silly relationship thing, the dreaded "Freshman Fifteen", etc. I just felt so incredibly overwhelmed. Then, I finally started to get into the swing of things and everything seemed to just click. I suddenly had time to do everything that I needed to accomplish and even have some time left over to sleep (surprise surprise right?). My biggest concern was if I was going to be able to practice at all. Back home, it seemed like such a chore and as if I didn't really need to because I would just wing it with my talent. Here, its almost as if I have suddenly became so inspired and motivated through the speeches we have been given, our teachers and simply other music students that we are constantly surrounded by. I really enjoyed the point that Dr. McCoy made about how it is sooo important to have goal oriented practice versus time based practice. Initially, I thought "oh gosh, 2 hours in a tiny practice room with no service? I must be signing my death certificate" but when I finally got into the practice room and used this goal oriented method I found myself loosing track of time. I'm now spending 3-4 hours (at the least) at a time without even flinching from the piano bench. My work ethic has tremendously improved in a mere week and a half. Finally, the constant reminders of how "we can not only better than what other people think, but also better than what we think we are possible of" and "if you say it's impossible, it's impossible, but if you say its possible, it is possible" are wonderful motivational statements. I even think that I'm going to hang them up on my dorm room wall for that extra shove I may need every once in a while.
ReplyDeleteI felt the same way! The first couple of days here I felt like I was losing my mind! I was stressing out over the littlest things. I'm starting to get more comfortable with the swing of things..it is still just so different.
DeleteI came from a school where practicing wasn't enforced and I never did practice unless I wanted to or had to do a solo for Solo and Ensemble. Coming here and having the expectation of practicing is intimidating. I am slowly lengthening my practice time and am at an hour night. I am still learning the process of what to practice, how to practice, etc. It is getting better little by little.
ReplyDeleteBut I am also one of those people that I never needed to practice in highschool, I was just naturally good. But now I'm not the best and am determined to learn how to become the best to my ability.
My main problem, even in high school, has been going to bed really late and then having to get up early the next morning. I'm also a fantastic procrastinator, so my homework has always been something that I do the night before it's due. Though such a lifestyle definitely cuts back on my sleep time, it has never affected my grades. I hope to be able to get into a rhythm of doing homework during the weekdays that I only have one class.
ReplyDeleteWith practicing, I think I'm doing pretty well. I usually practice at around 8 in the evening, and I practice for about 2 hours. My goal is to practice 3 hours a day, splitting it up into different sessions. I just need to find the rhythm of the times during the week where I don't have anything to do, and use those times to practice.
As usual, copious amounts of caffeine will be completely necessary for any level of success. I've grown accustomed to doing my practice in the morning before distractions arise. Unfortunately, I have an earlier and fuller class schedule than high school (plus the additional work load, practice load ect. that were all discovering goes along with college work). I'm still finding my groove and it's definitely going to take some serious adjustments.
ReplyDeleteI think there is a coffee conspiracy at DePauw, especially in the GCPA. Studies show that eating a fruit for breakfast (such as an apple) will actually keep you more alert and will wake you up faster than a cup of coffee. Just saying...
DeleteHonestly, I about had a meltdown yesterday. I was losing my mind. Everything was so overwhelming. I collected myself and I'm feeling much better today. In high school, I figured everything out pretty quickly and didn't have as much trouble. The transition was a struggle. I still haven't master the art of practicing quite yet. But I think if I open myself up to more help and a focus I can do it.
ReplyDeleteThis past summer, I worked with a great teacher who taught me a method of practicing that I praise incessantly. If you have any desire to talk about it, you may find it to be helpful. It definitely epitomizes the idea of finding so much to work on that you never have enough time to actually finish practicing. Regardless of that, make sure you hit up one of us if your in meltdown mode because everyone needs help occasionally and we're all in this one together.
DeleteI've been doing fairly well with time management, which is a good thing. I've balanced daily hourly practice, homework, writing for the newspaper, and sleep. Mostly everything is working; I really don't have a "practice schedule," meaning that I practice at 10 AM one day and 10 PM the next, but I do get it in, and the schedule thing never really appealed to me, anyway. The transition was very smooth, with a few moments of "student panic mode" when I felt like I was losing my technique and went through a series of not-so-good auditions and placement tests. To be frank, going to a high school preoccupied with sports really had me looking forward to a real education, i.e. college, and it was so different that the transition was in all likelihood going to be smooth. The only support I need is further motivation, especially to get two hours of practice.
ReplyDeleteConfession: I am a horrible practicer. Sure, time-wise, my practice seems adequate; however, the quality doesn't quite match the quantity of hours. In high school, I was never taught "how to practice". Really, people just shout at you for years: "Practice makes perfect!" That is a load of nonsense. PRACTICE MAKES PERMANENT. And I have a bad habit of practicing something wrong so it sticks, thinking I am fixing it. Now, this is not to say that no good things come out of my practice, but rather that my practice could be loads more productive. THAT is what I intend to be working toward in the next few weeks. Classes are seeming to be the least of my worries, in contrast to high school, as most of them are currently review. Ensembles and lessons are proving to be both intimidating and all-consuming: but oh so worth it!
ReplyDeleteThis summer, my maximum practice for one day might have been 2 hours. Here, 2 hours is the minimum. This summer, I played for myself; my teacher was touring and lecturing and I had almost zero motivation to improve. Here, I have infinite motivation and I am surrounded by supportive and understanding people. Maybe being around all of these fantastic people is making me feel untalented. So converse to Piatigorsky's comment, untalented people LIKE to practice. So maybe I like to be untalented.
ReplyDeleteBut it is not just my environment that is working, one of my methods to make sure I practice is compartmentalizing. I've taken to doing something neutral between the different parts of my day. Wake up (get dressed) go to class and lunch (take a nap) practice and do mountains of homework (go running and cool down) practice (change into comfy clothes) hang out with friends. It's like those lunch trays where the peas and the mashed potatoes and the ham don't touch because they are all in compartments. If my day runs together I may go crazy.
Also, what doesn't work? Spontaneity. Depressingly, saying yes to everything and not thinking ahead makes your face look like this -: ( Because when you wake up in the morning with your clothes from yesterday still on and and lots of blank sheets of paper to turn in it will NOT be the high point of your life. That doesn't mean that fun doesn't work for me though. Heck, now I just make sure my homework is done first.
Practice for me is much easier. It is soooo much easier to apply music and practice into my life when I have a bunch of other people surrounding me that share the same passion! I enjoy practicing and already I see a lot of improvement. And I enjoy learning the piano again and slowly getting the flow of singing. Overall, practice is great! And I love it here at DePauw!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that being surrounded by other musicians makes practice easier. This past summer I tried to explain my need to practice before going out and it was clear that my friends had no idea what I was talking about. It's nice to have friends who are all very driven and understand when I'm too busy to chill.
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