Lois Svard

Category: Practice

  • Practice, learning and memory, part IV

    And continuing our practice strategies to ensure effective learning and memory: Sitting on an outdoor bench in a scenic spot may not be your idea of practicing, but it depends on what you’re thinking about while you sit there. 7) Reflection.  Psychologists speak about reflection as a learning strategy – thinking about what you have learned and…

  • Practice, learning and memory, part III

    And a few more practice strategies to ensure effective learning and memory: 5) Practice extremely slowly.  There has been a controversy for some time about whether slow practice is beneficial for learning fast music.  Many of us were told early in our musical lives that in order to play a passage of music that is very fast,…

  • Practice, learning and memory, part II

    Almost everyone who plays the piano has, at some point in his/her study,  learned Chopin’s Prelude in A Major, Op. 28. Only 16 bars and lasting a bit less to a bit more than a minute (depending on the performer), the Prelude is deceptively simple. A few repetitions and it feels as though we have it…

  • Practice, learning and memory, part I

    None of my teachers ever spoke with me about how to practice.  They didn’t suggest strategies or give me tips.  I guess they assumed, since I memorized so easily, that I didn’t need any help.   I had what’s called a “good ear,” and I could hear the piece in my mind.  By the time I had…

  • Triple axels and the piano

    A few years ago, a composer who was writing a piece for me commented at one of our rehearsals that he wanted the audience to breathe the same collective “Aah!” at the end of the work as they do when a figure skater lands a flawless triple axel.  We were in the middle of the…