>I would find this use of a computer terribly unhelpful >for myself. I can see how this could be helpful in >working out the compositional structure of a piece, >however listening to it in order to learn about how a >pieces goes would really block my personal >interpretation in performance.
But the act of playing it into the computer is an act of learning. > You're getting the >computer's rendition of the piece, and I would think >listening to that sterile version so many times would >embed it into your subconcious conception of how it >should go. I try to avoid listening to any recording >of a piece I'm learning until my own conception has >become manifest to some degree. (Only at that point >do I return to professional recordings in order to >discourage myself, or force me to realize how much >work I still have to go!) I understand what you are saying and what Steven is saying also. I think both points of view are practical. It is essential to really hear the shape of every phrase in all voices. This is hard for me to do in a polyphonic piece and the only way for me is to just live with it a good long while. The process can be sped along if I memorize it and perform it. Of course, pushing even further and playing some parts and singing another or transposing it or playing it on another instrument help to take it to another level. Almost any FdaM ricercar or fantasia is so deep it would take me untold lifetimes to learn them all. If I can mentally slowly play the whole piece through in my head imagining the fingerings and the sound of all the notes, then I've pretty much got it. I find that very hard to do even with the pieces my fingers have memorized. Whatever it takes. I've found when I've had problems with my hands the things I've had to do to still practice actually have helped because it gives me another angle to look from: like playing with just one hand or the other or playing extremely lightly. I think if you learn a piece by listening to someone else's interpretation very much, it may put up a serious road block. I don't think that often happens to me because, although I may have heard a piece many times, when I stumble across it and decide to work on it, I am not listening to it at that moment. I just remember it and think, 'oh yeah, I know this'. I might listen to a recording and get some ideas but usually not. I'm like you and don't want to get influenced in the early stages of learning something. I'm usually not too concerned about how someone else plays it anyway, I want to make it my own. What usually happens is that after I've really, really practiced a piece, I prefer the way I play it to other's interpretation. This may be a bad thing and I have to fight this and try and remain open to new ideas. > >This should really even happen apart from the >mechanics of playing - if you can sing the piece >(aurally or mentally) both away from the instrument >and while playing, it makes usually makes it a lot >easier to overcome technical problems. This is >because you now have a musical reason to manifest >these or those notes a certain meaningful way rather >than simply thinking of them as awkward technical >turns. 100% agree. cheers, -- Ed Durbrow Saitama, Japan http://www9.plala.or.jp/edurbrow/ To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
