Question
What are your favorite things to practice? Why?
This is a very telling question to ask yourself. In this seemingly small question, much can be discovered about why you do what you do. Spend some time with it. Ask it to yourself nonstop for at least a week or two. See what answers you get.
I have been considerate of this question over the past week or so of my playing and has this helped me make an important realization of how i approach practicing.
ReplyDeleteConsidering this has made me realize that i spend most of my time playing and practicing soft and legato, and then i asked myself why.the answer? because im good at it! i have never felt confident in my harder/detached/light playing as i have in my ability to play legato, and this manifests itself in what i like to play in the practice room.
considering this has brought me a step further yet. i have noticed that when i take a simple pattern such as a major scale up and down, and play it smooth legato then instantly short crisp, many physical attributes of my playing change! my embouchure is much more "flabby" and has a tendency to reset on every note that i start! from here i am now taking simple patterns, such as those found in the arbans book, playing something as smoothly as possible, and transferring the same qualities of this playing to playing it again in a lighter style. this seems to be helping me immensely.
i am thankful that i took one moment to simply notice how i practice, and take this knowledge to confront the issues that i didnt even realize that i had.