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Neuroplasticity and making music
Most of us enter the world with the ability to hear sounds, and we don’t remember the process of learning to differentiate one sound from another or learning that certain sounds or sequences of sounds communicate thoughts, ideas, emotions. We learn to hear and respond to language without being aware that we are doing so. But if we…
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Practice, learning and memory, part IV
And continuing our practice strategies to ensure effective learning and memory: Sitting on an outdoor bench in a scenic spot may not be your idea of practicing, but it depends on what you’re thinking about while you sit there. 7) Reflection. Psychologists speak about reflection as a learning strategy – thinking about what you have learned and…
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Practice, learning and memory, part III
And a few more practice strategies to ensure effective learning and memory: 5) Practice extremely slowly. There has been a controversy for some time about whether slow practice is beneficial for learning fast music. Many of us were told early in our musical lives that in order to play a passage of music that is very fast,…
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Practice, learning and memory, part II
Almost everyone who plays the piano has, at some point in his/her study, learned Chopin’s Prelude in A Major, Op. 28. Only 16 bars and lasting a bit less to a bit more than a minute (depending on the performer), the Prelude is deceptively simple. A few repetitions and it feels as though we have it…
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Practice, learning and memory, part I
None of my teachers ever spoke with me about how to practice. They didn’t suggest strategies or give me tips. I guess they assumed, since I memorized so easily, that I didn’t need any help. I had what’s called a “good ear,” and I could hear the piece in my mind. By the time I had…
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From sight-reading to memorized performance
If you have performed from memory, you no doubt have had the experience of an audience member coming up after a concert and saying in amazement “How did you learn so many notes?” In the last few posts about memory, we’ve talked about learning and memory as two sides of the same coin, about the many…