David Rastall
Tue, 26 Feb 2008 08:34:12 -0800
On Feb 22, 2008, at 5:46 AM, Alan Hoyle wrote: > So... might I ask if anyone out there can suggest good ways of > spending the > first half hour or so of practice time so that, like Anthony, I > don't have > to spend all my precious playing time trying prevent my playing > deteriorating once again, but might actually see some progress. Dear Alan, here are some pieces of advice I've picked up along the way on how to go about warming up and practicing: Start out slow, and then slow down. Use practice and warm-up time to search for your "voice" on the instrument. Listen deeply to a single note, or a single chord: hear it as a fully-composed piece of music, with a beginning, a middle and an end. Do that repeatedly, trying to make it sound perfect. Do the same with musical phrases. Start out slow, and then slow down. Tone quality is everything. You don't need "good chops" to have good tone. Accept what you might have lost due to age, and utilize what you might have gained in experience and understanding. Musicians are "small-muscle athletes," and the same caveats apply to us as to any other athlete, especially as we get older: don't overdo it, especially when warming up. Train carefully. Listen to Miles Davis. ;-) Works for me anyway... David R [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html