Newbie question on how to organise practice

[Long Haired David]

Hi there.

 

I have been messing around with my concertina for about 18 months but have been practising seriously since Christmas and I think that I am progressing quite well.

 

I have gathered quite a lot of simple music by downloading pdfs from the internet and have been buying simple mandolin books etc that have tunes in C/G.

 

However, I have a question. When practising, I am doing three things:

 

1. I am running through the books playing a variety of tunes that I know from my folk guitar days

2. Trying out tunes that I don't know by finding them on Youtube and then playing from the music

3. Concetrating on a small number of tunes that I am trying to 'perfect'

 

Now, the question. Am I better off leaving out (or heavily cutting down on) 1 above and building a small repertoire of tunes that I can play well or should I continue playing lots of tunes 'adequately' to exercise my reading and fingerwork?

 

I have to say that my wife is getting sick of 'Mairi's Wedding'!!!!

 

David

[Hyp]

If you really want to improve its always best to fix problems one at a time instead of doing and perfecting a piece. Pick up to 4 pieces (depending on the time you want to practice) and practice them very slowly. Try to grasp all the details you want to hear. Use a metronome do improve your timing and gradually work your way to faster playing.

 

Play different tunes by just playing them from notes without practising because we're all in it for the fun. Solving problems in particular pieces will make your overall playing better.

 

That said I didn'T get to play concertina because I don't have the money for an instrument yet. But I play other instruments and I think practising works the same way with pretty much every instrument.

 

Hyp

 

(hope the english isn't too bad)

[David Levine]

I'd say it doesn't matter at this point. Time spent with the instrument in hand will add up and eventually you'll feel comfortable playing the concertina. Your focus will sharpen as you find the music that is right for you. In the meantime, listen to a lot of concertina music and have fun. What works for one person won't necessarily work for somebody else.

That said, if you take some lessons from a musician who is playing the kind of music you'd like to play, that will help enormously. And there is a lot here that is of value to all of us: http://concertutor.wordpress.com/

[Long Haired David]

I'd say it doesn't matter at this point. Time spent with the instrument in hand will add up and eventually you'll feel comfortable playing the concertina. Your focus will sharpen as you find the music that is right for you. In the meantime, listen to a lot of concertina music and have fun. What works for one person won't necessarily work for somebody else.

That said, if you take some lessons from a musician who is playing the kind of music you'd like to play, that will help enormously. And there is a lot here that is of value to all of us: http://concertutor.wordpress.com/

Thanks for both thought.

 

I sat down tonight an practiced in front of my mother-in-law. Although I make lots of mistakes, she appreciated that she knew nearly all the songs that I played . She didn't know 'Down in Sally Gardens' so she learned something.

 

I am building up a little list that I would like to be part of my 'repertoire'. As suggested I will keep on playing lots of other stuff. Youtube is great for this because there is lots of music that I have that I don't know so I find something on Youtube and try and emulate. That's how I learned Sally Gardens.

 

Somtime soon I will take my heart in my hands and make a video of my little repertoire and put it up. Then everyone can pull me down again - grin.

 

David

[Jewels]

Hello LHD, two suggestions:

 

scales. invest a bit of every practice session in playing your scales, C, G, D to start.

play as slowly as needed for accuracy. over time this will help you pick up new tunes quickly.

 

practice tunes as slowly as necessary for correct timing and note accuracy...start very slowly.

over time the muscle memory learned will enable you to play it mad fast and perfectly

 

cheers

 

julie

[hjcjones]

I would say do both. Just playing exercises soon gets boring. Learning tunes is more motivational, and working on them will help to identify weaknesses which you can then work on as exercises.

 

Listen to other players, not just to learn the tunes but to hear how they play them. Different players will play the same tune in their own individual ways. You may not be able to imitate them, or even work out how they are doing it, but it will give you ideas to try to incorporate into your own playing.

[JimLucas]

scales

And fur and feathers, too.

I.e., simple up-and-down "scales" aren't the only worthwhile exercises. More complex patterns are also worth repetitive practice. For more mainstream instruments (violin, flute, piano, etc.) there are many volumes of such "etudes" (French for "studies"), which are used extensively.

 

And to head off a potential side discussion, I have learned here that some folks include all such exercises under the term "scales", so they would consider my "fur and feathers" to be redundant. But not everyone does so, so I thought it worth clarifying the point. (OK, I confess, I really did it for the sake of the pun. )

[Jubilee]

I also think that playing around with scales will help you quite a lot. Also, repetition. If you are working up a repertoire of tunes I assume (maybe wrongly) you are learning them so you can play without the music? Once you have them learnt (however slowly) to play without the music then you can really begin to put your own slant on them. As has been said, listening to other players is also a great way of picking up ideas and you will be surprised at what you are able to add to your playing, without realising you are learning. Good luck and most importantly, enjoy. Keep squeezing.

[Long Haired David]

Thanks for all the comments. I have taken the reduced workload route.

 

I am working on a subset of tunes and gaining full accuracy. As a result of this I find that there are a few tunes that I can play without the music.

 

This is resulting in me playing (as my wife and mother-in=law - who are the two that really hear me - say) with a lot more fluency and feeling.

 

Putting my own twist on them is a bit easier once i can play them by heart with my eyes shut!

 

I still have a lot of trouble playing in C because of so much of the repertoire being in G so I am currently concentrating on that area.

 

David

[ceemonster]

it might be very worthwhile to invest in a few recordings featuring concertina played at a relaxed speed with none-to-minimal ornamentation so you can easily discern the melody and how the player is expressing it, and arranged so the concertina is at the fore---solo, duo, or small-group settings. pop them into car and home devices, live with them for a while, and enjoy the living hell out of them. pick simpler tunes, jigs, etc, you have fallen in love with and have listened to long enough so you know the melody. sit and learn them. repeat.

 

elizabeth crotty of west clare, rte archival tracks--the perfect recording for this experience. most tracks are very familiar tunes played very clean and spare but with fluid and supple phrasing in standard keys....

 

tom carey of west clare with josephine marsh on some tracks and other west clare folks on others--another perfect choice

 

mary macnamara of east clare: 2 solo recordings, and one duo with her brother andrew

you'll get a chance to make the acquaintance of the key of C on some tracks. some are in flat keys, you can transpose....

 

kitty hayes of west clare: one solo cd, one duo with piper peter laban, and one posthumos disc of live performances

recorded mostly in C and F, great chance to get comfy with them....

 

terry bingham of west clare: also some stuff in C and flat. very clean, relaxed playing that keeps it simple and elegant, and really spotlights the concertina....

 

there is also a really elegant and spare recording by cathy custy that would be great.....custys in ennis should have it....

Edited June 28, 2011 by ceemonster