How does constant long term stress effect my learning?
Well to re cap from last month:
Stress has a visible affect
It impairs memory retrieval:
The risk of forgetting information in exams or performances.
Stress may hamper the updating of memories in the light of new information and induce a shift from a flexible, ‘cognitive’ form of learning towards rather rigid, ‘habit’-like behaviour.
How does constant long term stress effect my learning?
During the last year we have been living with numerous stressors both external and internal, from financial to health and mental health.
I have noticed this has had an affect on my memory – specifically my sight reading. My learning of new repertoire has slowed and I require more short frequent breaks to maintain my concentration levels.
My sight reading though was an issue that started in around October 2020. My speed and accuracy started to decline, despite my efforts to practice it and really quicken it up, it remains stubbornly slow and depending on the time of day inaccurate.
Read MoreHalloween is upon us and unfortunately here in Ireland there will be no parties or trick or treating this year. So, without the usual social events that happen at Halloween how do we entertain ourselves and celebrate the holiday a little?
Well let’s re-create music we have heard from scary scenes in film and tv using the piano, I have some suggestions that even beginners can use to create a spooky, ominous atmosphere perfect for Halloween.
Read MoreLet's talk a little about music theory.
Is it important, yes?
Do you need to sit an exam or take a course in order to understand music theory?
No, you don't have to sit an exam or take a course to understand music theory, you can just ask your piano teacher.
It will take extra time so your lesson time needs to increase, or take 2 lessons a week, theory can be online too! You can also follow the course books by ABRSM or another exam board for their theory exams.
Music theory can seem scary and daunting at first, but it's not, it's just trying to put an explanation to the sounds we hear and why they work together.
Read MoreMusic has been my constant companion, since I was a child. When I didn’t have access to a piano or lessons for a year or two at a time, immersing myself in music was all that would calm and centre me.
Now as an adult and the harsh reality that modern houses and living don’t accommodate grand pianos easily, I learned renting for years and having to compromise my acoustic for a basic digital, that there is always a work around.
Read MoreMaybe you’ve heard whispers of these maybe you haven’t.
What are the technical exercises?
Well they fall into different categories there are mechanical technical exercises like Hanon there are more technique-based exercises like Brahms 51 exercises, Liszt exercises, Czerny technical exercises Geoffrey tankards exercises even down to a dozen a day for beginners.
So, what do they do and why is there such a divide about them?
To put it bluntly technical exercises without the guidance of a teacher to hear how you're progressing every week to spot errors as they occur can be of benefit. Without a teacher to guide you technical exercises can lead to bad technique as it is very difficult to spot your errors, unless you record and critically listen to each practice.
Read MoreHello I hope everybody is safe and well in these strange new times.
I just wanted to write a quick blog post about something that has been weighing on my mind during this pandemic.
It's ok to not be ok right now
If you want to create, then create
If you want to cocoon, then cocoon
If you want to learn something new, then learn something new
If you just want to watch movies then just watch and escape
If you want to redo your garden - go ahead.
Read MoreOne Step at a time: Structured Practice is key to productive practice
Take the parts of the piece that you can comfortably tackle now as in at or just above your current level to begin the process. Begin to sight read and play through moving on to memorizing, to be able to play without the sheet music.
Read MoreSo here in Ireland it's the start of Spring.
Do you feel refreshed and motivated towards practice or is it a struggle?
Perhaps a new routine or a way of doing things is in order, a different perspective.
Tip number one and most important:
Always have set goal in mind for practice
Easier said than done right?
Read MoreHappy 2020 everyone!And what can you do today that will definitely better your future self?
….... Be creative!…..
You could learn more about music by taking those piano lessons you always wanted, or re start lessons from where you left off. It's like riding a bike - you never really forget it! Go for it and book a lesson with a local teacher or online.
Having a creative outlet is so important for our mental and physical health in daily life and our thinking. Our brains are wired to make creative solutions to problems, and we ensure children and young adults have creative outlets but we neglect ourselves as adults.
Read MoreThinking outside the box for piano-player-presents
Looking for something aside from the standard gifts? I crowd-sourced these from my piano-playing friends. Hopefully something will strike a chord with you.
Read MoreAnd so it begins, festive season, it's certainly well underway now. And so it begins, festive season, it's certainly well underway now. So what should you get someone for Christmas if they play the piano as an adult or child?
Well a simple book of Christmas Carol's for the beginner is an excellent choice. Christmas carols are a bit easier for beginners to play and they can get a lot out of them musically.
Read MoreUnderstanding, not repeating -What I should point out here is that, in my experience as a teacher, both children and adults are very good at mimicking or imitating what others have done from listening to recordings. However this does not mean that you understand the mechanics going on behind it. This was an acute issue with my playing growing up, I couldn't apply the knowledge elsewhere
Read MoreI still remember my first piano lesson, although only vaguely. I was just five or six when my two older sisters were being sent to piano lessons, so I was sent along. A few days before my first lesson, my father came home with a Casio electronic piano that he had purchased for us all to practice on. The excitement when he arrived in the house with this thing was palpable.
Read MoreAvoidance - We need to move on to the more tangled topic of avoidance, the fear and not practicing. Most people enjoy their piano lessons with their teacher most people leave their piano lessons with all the intentions to practice and improve. Then life happens and practice didn't happen, a week goes by. Then you go to the next lesson apologize to the teacher for not practicing as you feel like you're wasting their time and you should have done more so you put guilt into the fear and you continue to not practice and not improve. You get frustrated disappointed in yourself and guilty you end up stopping lessons, wondering why we even thought you could try. Oh, dear this isn't how it’s supposed to go.
Read MoreIt’s important to remember, that when you first begin piano lessons, you are doing something that you've never done before. So in order to learn, and remember, you have to lay down new neural pathways in your brain. This is what gives the drained, tired feeling after practice, as your brain has worked hard incorporating all this new information.
Read MoreWhat you’ve learnt, seen before and exposed your ear to is all in your memory somewhere, and we are putting it into practice when improvising and composing. These activities help to make those interconnections between skills and deepen your understanding of music. Sight reading will improve your ear, by linking it to what you can see on the page, what you hear in your head and, most importantly, what you can play, improvise or compose. All of these aspects will link together with practice generally, and your overall musicianship will improve.
Read MoreWhen you see people sight read fluently, it’s the same as reading fluently. Your brain doesn’t see every letter and then spell the word, it recognises words from just a letter or two and fills in the blanks based on context. The same is for music, fluent sight readers read/remember/improvise patterns they have seen before. They also base it on context like the genre and time period of the piece, or composers’ style.
Read MoreFirstly, one of the most important things you can do to ensure your students benefit most from any piano lessons, is to ask them to immediately work through the lesson. That is, in the hours immediately after a lesson, encourage the student to run through what was done with the teacher, while fresh in their minds.
Read MoreI had a challenge in December, to pick out music theory and tutor books for an adult wishing to go back to the Piano, but with the intention of learning Jazz Piano. The gift receiver took lessons as a child and teenager in classical Piano, and completed exams with the Royal Irish Academy of Music (RIAM), before turning their attention from piano to guitar and Drums in their teens, stopping classical piano lessons altogether.
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