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Gretchen Saathoff

~ Collaborative Pianist/Vocal Coach ~ forging partnerships, making memorable music together

Monthly Archives: June 2012

Was Nathan Milstein an overachiever?

21 Thursday Jun 2012

Posted by GretchensPianos in music

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Ernest Chausson, Nathan Milstein, Overachievement, W.A. Mozart, Wilhelm Bruns

Nathan Milstein

Nathan Milstein (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A radio host I heard today thinks so.

During the brief time I had the station on, there was a recording of Milstein playing Chausson’s Poème, followed by a recording of Wilhelm Bruns playing Mozart’s Horn Concerto No. 3 on the natural horn.  Both were stunning.

Since the word “overachiever” got my attention, I looked it up.  My first reaction was, I have to say, negative.

Are musicians who are proficient on an instrument overachievers?

Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary defines “overachiever” this way:

one who achieves success over and above the standard or expected level especially at an early age

That suggests some questions.

  • What is the “standard” or “expected level?” in playing an instrument?
  • begin lessons and quit when you find out you have to practice?
  • stick it out through high school?  college?
  • get good enough to join an amateur group?
  • Some musicians are not especially proficient at an early age, but develop later.  What about them?  Are they “overachievers,” too, or is there a different category used to describe them?

The implication, to me, is that we should not want to be “too good.”  And it resonates with the view of some politicians who would prefer not to make college accessible to everyone.  But that is a whole different topic.

What do you think?  Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Summer Concerts

See complete details about Rocky Hill Concerts. 4 Sunday afternoons in July in air-conditioned comfort!

E-books

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

sold in 8 countries!

Review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

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Isn’t an hour better than nothing?

08 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by GretchensPianos in "Children's Corner", Brahms, career, Debussy, directed practice, fingering, focus, goals, music, piano, playing fast, priorities, slow practice, tempo, warm up

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

Children's Corner, Diane Nichols, Mendelssohn, Messiaen, New York, Songs Without Words

English: Time study stopwatch with 100 HM scal...

Photo credit: Wikipedia

Credit for this quote enthusiastically goes to Diane Nichols, a psychotherapist in New York who spoke at a performers’ seminar I attended.

Diane had practiced psychotherapy for several years, but had begun specializing in work with performers only recently.

In talking about her work at the beginning of her presentation, she said that hearing the same thing over and over from various musicians had made an impression: 

“I only had an hour, so I didn’t practice at all.” 

Immediately after setting the scene, her memorable line was delivered while peering over her glasses.

Things get in the way and derail our plans: the maintenance crew shows up unannounced, an important phone call comes at an inconvenient time, we are needed at the last minute to play for a rehearsal.

And there goes our practice time.

At other times, we just don’t want to practice.

That is the way I felt on Thursday.  Contributing factors included:

  • Not sleeping well the night before.

  • Having an early departure time for an appointment, making a longer  practice session impossible.

  • Knowing that I would arrive home after 9 or 10 p.m., so there would not be any more practice time available that day.

  • Thinking that watching tennis would be more fun.

  • Looking out the window to see a gorgeous, sunny day.  It would have been fun to be outside right then.

But I did it. Going back to sleep would have been so nice. I even considered postponing the appointment.

What can we accomplish in only an hour?

I’ll start by talking about what my hour looked like:

  • Good, focused, effective warmup.
  • Practiced 2 piano parts for Sunday’s flute solos.
    • A Brahms Waltz required right hand work on harmonic 6ths with an inconvenient leap mid-phrase.
    • Another piece is not difficult, but moves quickly. It needed a few fingerings to be added and practiced.
  • Mendelssohn Songs Without Words, which I last performed 7 months ago. 3 of these are also planned for Sunday’s service.
    • I needed to play through all 3 pieces.
    • Most of the music was fine. So I focused on a few phrases with difficult fingerings.
  • Solo piano music for my July 22nd recital:
    • 3 Messiaen Preludes, difficult passages only.
      • To reinforce fingerings.
      • To double-check a few accidentals.
      • To smooth out a transition between 2 sections.
      • To practice the end a few more times.
    • Debussy’s Children’s Corner.
      • Omitted slow movements today.
      • Focused on evenness and transitions.
      • Did not practice complete movements.

How can we decide what to practice for a one-hour session?

I am including this question because I used to feel rushed. When we  are convinced that an hour will never be enough time to do anything, the game is over.

  • Eliminate panic at having too little time. (Take long, slow breaths, for one thing.)
  • Look at the music you need to do.
  • Eliminate the music that can wait a day, whether that be complete pieces or sections of pieces.  You’re not going to make it through an entire program.
  • Focus on the passages that need the most work.
  • If playing at tempo isn’t working, or if the music isn’t ready for that, slow down! Playing faster is not a time-saver. You’ll only miss more notes, play worse, feel frustrated, and have a lousy day.
  • Watching the time can be helpful if you are able to leave a phrase before it’s perfect and move on.

By paying attention to your goal, getting some good practice done in one hour, you will find that it can be done.

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Summer Concerts

See complete details about Rocky Hill Concerts. 4 Sunday afternoons in July in air-conditioned comfort!

E-books

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

sold in 8 countries!

Review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

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Piano Glasses

05 Tuesday Jun 2012

Posted by GretchensPianos in career, collaboration, health, music, organ, piano

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

Bifocals, Eyeglass prescription, Ophthalmology, Trifocal lenses

Eyeglass prescription

Eyeglass prescription (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

No, not glasses with pictures of pianos on them…
Also applies to cello glasses, trumpet glasses…

Does your vision correction allow you to see what you need to when you practice and perform? If you are over 40, perhaps not.

When bifocals become part of your correction, some things may be harder to see clearly.

Do we have to compromise?

Short answer:  no! Instead, we need to find an ophthamologist who understands the potential problems and can handle our request.

What do we need?

What each musician needs to see will vary depending his or her on instrument, whether s/he needs to see other players or a conductor, and other factors that only each person can know. I’m sure you have your own list.

Speaking for myself, I need to see all of the following clearly:

  • printed music on an upright piano’s music rack
  • the same on a grand piano’s music rack (different height and distance)
  • the same on an organ’s music rack
  • my collaborators, regardless of whether they are near the piano or across the room
  • clarity, not blurriness, when moving my eyes quickly from the music to the keyboard and back

How can we find what we need?

When you go for an eye exam, discuss what you need with your doctor. If you get an evasive attitude, find another doctor.

During one eye appointment, I was ushered into the office of my opthamologist’s husband, who was an optician. (My doctor was out on an emergency call.)  When I told him my concerns, he excused himself to see another patient for 5 minutes. Upon his return, he said, “The prescription for what you need doesn’t exist.” Hmmm… so what does that mean, I have to stop playing?

After that, he strongly recommended trifocals. That won’t work for me because the center prescription area (middle distance) is so small.

There is an organist I’ve seen play in a local church who must be wearing bifocals. She is short in stature, making the music rack too high for her. (Music racks on organs are typically not adjustable.) Her solution: to tip her head back so she can see the music with the reading prescription at the bottom of her bifocals. And that’s fine if it works for her, but I don’t want to look like my neck is out of whack.

After my “it doesn’t exist” and trifocal experience, I quickly changed doctors.

At my first appointment with my new (and, happily, present) opthamologist, I explained what I needed. The doctor listened, then turned to his desk, took out a sheet of violin music, and rigged it up in front of the machine with the reading prescription he had in mind. “How’s that?”

I couldn’t believe it. He plays violin in his spare time! So he had heard everything I’d said before.

A cellist friend, on the other hand, explained what she needed to a different doctor. The doctor indicated that he understood and gave her a prescription. She picked up her new glasses a few days later, then went home to try them out during a practice session. The prescription was inadequate.

So she packed up her cello, music, stool, and stand, drove to the doctor’s office, walked in, set up, and showed him. Problem solved.

My solution for as long as possible

For the past few years, I have been wearing graduated bifocals. The reading prescription goes to the middle of the lens, higher than usual. I’ve been told that musicians often request this.

My opthamologist has suggested a separate pair of glasses with the reading prescription only to use for practicing and performing. When I need to go there, I will.

What is your solution? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Summer Concerts

See complete details about Rocky Hill Concerts. 4 Sunday afternoons in July in air-conditioned comfort!

E-book

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

sold in 8 countries!

Review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

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Legends

01 Friday Jun 2012

Posted by GretchensPianos in a tribute, article, choosing program, collaboration, concert, inspiration, integrity, music

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Tags

Doc Watson, John & Bucky Pizzarelli, legendary musicians, New York Times, personal anecdotes

Doc Watson

Doc Watson (Photo credit: armadilo60)

The articles for which links appear below, from this week’s New York Times, include personal anecdotes about the legendary musicians Doc Watson and Bucky and John Pizzarelli.  They are well worth reading, and poignant as well.

Generations (Bucky and John Pizzarelli album)

Generations (Bucky and John Pizzarelli album) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

To Hear Doc Watson, You Really Had to See Him
by the guitarist Ry Cooder

Doc Watson, an appreciation
by Verlyn Klinkenborg

Father and Son, and Other Pairings, concert review
by Stephen Holden

Please share your thoughts in the comment section below!

Summer Concerts

See complete details about Rocky Hill Concerts. 4 Sunday afternoons in July in air-conditioned comfort!

E-book

“Goal-oriented Practice: How to Avoid Traps and Become a Confident Performer” gives every musician a fresh perspective!

My book frees up time to learn more music, memorize, or do something else entirely!

“Goal-oriented Practice” is also available in print!

Goal-oriented Practice

sold in 8 countries!

Review by pianist Robert W. Oliver

Back to top

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