Deep Practice

Deep practice it`s designed specifically to improve performance, it can be repeated a lot, feedback on results is continuously available and it`s highly demanding mentally.

Remember this 4 steps:

1. Pick a target

2. Reach for it

3. Evaluate the gap between the target and the reach

4. Return to step one

To understand how deep practice works, we must understand the importance of mistakes to the learning process. A few years ago, the researchers did a study to see what determinates babies improve at walking. The key factor wasn`t height, weight, age or brain development. It was the amount of time they spent trying to walk!

"Try again. Fail again. Fail better."    Samuel Beckett

                                 

Musical Talent

What is talent? It`s a natural ability to do something better and with less effort than other people can do it. Talent is written in our genes just as height and other physical traits. We are born with it and cannot be improved much upon with practice.

How to recognize a child`s musical talent?
Here are some essential criteria for identification of the musically gifted children:

1. Rhythm

The child can hear and identify rhythmic patterns accurately, is able to find the underlying pulse and to keep a steady beat.

2. Perception of sound

Perceives differences in tone and pitch, can match pitches, is able to identify familiar melodies on tonal instruments. The musically talented child has a great enjoyment in listening live or recorded music and will repeat favourite songs over and over again.

3. Expressiveness

The child performs and reacts to music with personal expression showing signs of creative interpretation. Is fully involved and enjoys the experience of performance.

Other signs of a musically gifted children:

• Interest in musical instruments
• Ability to play an instrument by ear
• Composition of songs
• Absolute pitch
• Creates original rhythmic and melodic patterns
• Is persistent in new learnings 
• Sensitivity to changes in tempo, dynamics and tone color

Successful Musicians

                   

                        http://www.thestrad.com/latest/blogs/10-habits-of-successful-musicians

      

"Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one."   

                                Brad Paisley

                                                                            

The difference in our results

Here is a question and a possible answer: Why some people are successful and have better results than others? It`s all about intelligence, talent, genetic or maybe destiny? Watch this video with Angela Duckworth in TED conference:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H14bBuluwB8

Do professional musicians make mistakes?

Yes, of course! They just make their mistakes sound good and here is the key. Many professionals are able to improvise with their mistakes so an audience doesn`t notice.

In reality every musician must accept that mistakes can occur even if you are very good prepared. The impact is much stronger for you as performer than for the public. Why? Because you know very well the piece, all details and you expect to play it perfectly. There`s nothing wrong with having high expectations, but sometimes being realistic can be more helpful. It rarely happens that someone plays perfect. 

In the article below you`ll see that there are many types of mistakes. Recognizing yours and using some techniques for a better control is a great step for a successful performance :-)

http://www.classicalguitar101.org/play-without-mistakes.html 

Dear readers from all over the world, 

First I want to thank you for reading my articles. I`m very happy to see that you are interested in my topics and I would be more happy to know that at some point they were useful to you.

Please, don`t hesitate to write me about you, your ideas, opinions and experience as teachers or performance artists. Last but not least, write about the subjects that present interest to you and you would like to find more about. Your feedback will help me write new articles which will meet your interests.

Leave a comment or send an email to: 

arta.performantei@gmail.com  

I wish you a wonderful day

Lidia Marina