Last year I started logging my practice time with a goal of averaging 1 hour a day for the year. I added up the time for 2009, and voila! I had reached 570 hours! This includes piano and cello time, rehearsals, and basically any playing time. I figure that even performances are 'practice' of some kind - just the kind where there are no 'do-overs'.
I'm happy with the results, and have begun logging my time for this year. I still have the same goal - averaging 1 hour a day. This year I expect to travel more than last year, which really impacts my playing time. Last year I traveled 50% less than the previous year, and didn't travel at all for the first 5 months of 2009.
I didn't set specific playing goals last year because I'm not sure how to quantify 'playing better'. I am happy that my playing has improved, and the longer I play the more amazed I am at how much there is still to learn.
Some of the things I'm working on now -
--arm weight, all the time!
--vibrato, getting more control over speed and width
--crossing strings, making the sound more even and reducing the gap in sound
--an even sound..working towards being able to really control dynamics
--getting rid of all of the pain in my right thumb
and a random one, just because
--reading through all of Beethoven's piano sonatas
Why? I've played many of them but not all 32...so I started from sonata number 1 a few weeks ago and have been working my way through. I played sonata number 8 yesterday. I hope to make it through by the end of the year...am now starting to hear him enter into his middle period and losing the heavy Hadyn influence of the early works. I'm also hearing how much playing chamber music has helped me steady out my rhythm. I'm finding that playing the slower movements is much easier because of all of the practice counting.
So here's to 2010! Happy New Year to all!
3 comments:
Hi CelloGeek,
Thanks very much for your interesting blog. It's always nice to see how people on the other side of the globe live, how they share the same joys and sorrows, what they do in their free time, etc.
I actually have a question about your blog. Would you mind helping us with a linguistic research project? We're compiling data from various Singaporean weblogs. All it requires is checking a few boxes. If you want to take part and/or have more questions, drop me a note ( hack2301@uni-trier.de RE: Question ) so that I can then send you the 'official' project eMail. We'd really appreciate your help.
Thanks very much in advance!
Best regards,
- Fran
PS: Good idea with the logging, I should try that myself!
hello Graveyard.cat, thank you for reading my blog! I actually do not live in Singapore so sorry I will not be able to help you.
That's a lot of practice time...but that's a good thing. You are right about performances. It's practice without the "do over". Traveling is hard to make sure you still get in practice. I hate missing too many days because when I get back to playing cello after a long gap I almost feel as if I'm starting over.
I like your goals for things to work on. Mine would be changing strings without the space in between. I sometimes do that too. I guess I should add playing piano because I seem to be stuck on forte on all songs. I like it loud apparently.
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