Break It Down - Conceptual Example

I thought I’d give a specific example of the kind of things I’m exploring within this strategy. It’s an exercise I’ve visited before so I had some muscle memory, I’ve generally improved in the techniques the exercise utilises and until I’m tested in lesson, to see whether the progress sticks and therefore works, it’s very much my opinion on the success of it. Ultimately it’s hard to measure this stuff short term, the results have to be replicated regularly under different circumstances and then built on to see a consistent curve of success that shows the method works. But the thought process behind this is valid for all kinds of things from learning a new computer program to solving a puzzle to doing your shopping in the most efficient way!

Just remember the exercises themselves help but it’s the ANALYSIS and adaptation that is what I’m really working on. The science part.

This is the exercise and what I’m doing is breaking it down in different ways. I work on just playing all the left accents through the exercise. Then just the right. Then both. Then I’ll work on the doubles keeping the roll going and doing a bar or two of each combination and seeing if I can make it smooth. Then looping the doubles & accent combinations and looking for exactly where tension and anticipation starts to affect things (and when). I’m listening for a change in clarity so I can pinpoint the moment I’m losing control and work out why. What I want is each stroke to be independent and not reliant or anticipation takes over and the flow is lost.

I look at ALL the combinations of movement to try and work out what’s comfortable and what’s feeling forced or sloppy. Then I look at why, hand position, tension, approach, technique, finger movements, body position etc. That’s where the science comes in then I work on trying to work on that specific issue. It’s a much more fussy way of doing it but it’s working on the details as much as the combinations themselves to isolate problem areas.

In other words I’m trying to make each stroke whether it’s an accent or a double or a normal stroke be it’s own individual controlled intentional fluid movement within the roll. Harder than it sounds, I’m not very good at it but I am seeing improvement especially in my overall tension.

Like I said this is a work in progress. The idea here is to look for specific combinations of movements that are not feeling natural and then drill them and work out the tension, learning to feel it, watching how I move, how I transition and learning how it feels.

So far the results are promising and I’m finding at 90bpm I can read the full Etude playing through focusing a lot more on just the roll and yet thinking a lot less letting my eyes tell me accent/double. It’s a start but that may all go down in flames in my next lesson. What I need to do is to see what improvement I can hold on to, look for where it breaks down and figure out why. I won’t explain how you can use this to shop more efficiently but you’ll just have to take my word for it! It’s the WAY of thinking not necessarily the specific methods which unfortunately change from activity to activity hence why it’s taking me so long to work out how to apply it here.

I don’t KNOW if this will work but I do know that I need to find some way to compensate for my shortcomings as a player and I’ll keep trying until I find it. I have a very good feeling about this though, long term at least.