Re: Six Studies in English Folk Song (HELP)


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Posted by Leland on November 29, 1999 at 14:56:30:

In Reply to: Six Studies in English Folk Song (HELP) posted by Scott Roberts on November 28, 1999 at 23:38:25:

About the high D in the 4th --

If you're not already, I would suggest getting away from the technique of playing the note and get more into "singing" the note.

Analysis of one's own technique is great, since a whole lot can be learned. For me, though, to play my best on something requires that I have to forget all that technical analysis (or, more likely, make it a habit so I don't have to THINK about it anymore).

There's the story of the world famous pianist who started watching his hands one day and was amazed at the complexity of their movements. Within a short time, he got so concerned about that complexity that playing anything at all became too difficult, and he had to stop playing altogether.

That's surely more severe than what you're dealing with! :-) Don't get me wrong -- heavy analysis of playing can be fine. It's just that during playing, the analytical side can get in the way of the music.

-------
One more thing -- anything that is labeled a "Problem" becomes much more of a problem than it otherwise would. My favorite anecdote came from a snowboarding magazine...

There was an article about boarding through trees, and the writer mentioned one thing that was most important: Don't avoid the trees; aim for the snow in between. His point was that when you're trying to avoid trees, that's all you're paying attention to, and all of a sudden there are hundreds of disasters waiting to happen. But, when you go for the snow, the only things you notice are all these options of safe white pathways... and guess what - you'd automatically be missing the trees (shh!).

Seeya,
Leland


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