Lois Svard

Tag: learning

  • 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…

  • 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,…

  • 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…

  • 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…

  • Memory and falling dominoes

    The Starry Night is regarded as one of Vincent Van Gogh’s best works and is probably one of the most well-known images in art, having been appropriated for everything from mugs to mouse pads to desktop wallpaper. I recently happened upon a very unusual version of Starry Night – a video of the iconic image created by falling dominoes.  As I…

  • The many kinds of memory in music

    In music we often talk about auditory, visual, and motor memory.  But outside of the music world, we encounter a dizzying array of memory terms. We read about  short-term vs. long-term, explicit vs. implicit, declarative vs. procedural, semantic vs. episodic –  and more.    So what do all of these terms mean in relationship to memory…