Lois Svard

Tag: learning

  • Might making music be a “fountain of youth?”

    Might making music be a “fountain of youth?”

    Have you ever wondered why so many conductors and pianists continue to perform well into their 80s and 90s? The Swedish-American conductor Herbert Blomstedt (photo at right) is 98, but you wouldn’t know it by his concert schedule. The number of performances on his calendar over the next few months would be the envy of…

  • 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…

  • Memory and falling dominoes

    The Starry Night is regarded as one of Vincent Van Gogh’s best works and is probably one of the most well-known images in art, having been appropriated for everything from mugs to mouse pads to desktop wallpaper. I recently happened upon a very unusual version of Starry Night – a video of the iconic image created by falling dominoes.  As I…