practice makes perfect, but if no one's perfect, why practice?

volume 4
4.9.13

 "First you learn your instrument, then you learn the music, and then you forget all that s**t and just play."  ~Charlie Parker (1920-1955)

The decision to put this down in words was inspired by a recent book: Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning, by Gary Marcus.  Marcus, a NYU professor of psychology and director of the NYU Center for Language and Music, makes his first musical education, learning the guitar, the subject of two years of cognitive study.  So much of what he describes as scientific study is normal activity around OUR LOUD HOUSE.  I started asking the kids what goes through their mind in the moments before a big solo.  Their answers are so engaging and so brave; you must be brave to do what these kids do.  I will expain the concept of 'the lead sheet' later, a brief, almost suggestion of a song, from which they must weave gold.  Slightly different weave each time too, desgined and created in the moment.  Add to that the complexities of jazz and classical music, and you have a deeply engaging subject.  

Many people can learn music on their own, but most do best with the student-teacher dynamic. Depending on the teaching style, many people find motivation and incentive with this pairing or grouping.  Marcus says that the science of music education is sparse.  "Although 40% of affluent American parents send their children to music lessons, comparatively little is known about what makes music teaching effective."  While many teachers may be musicians themselves, most weren't trained in education.  Marcus believes the two most important traits for any teacher to possess are patience and the ability to diagnose problems.  Beyond the classroom, true progress is supported by practice.  Not just any practice, but efficient practice.  The best teachers will train their students to notice their weaknesses and to practice towards a specific outcome.  That said, there are many working musicians who cannot read music but still function on a professional level.  



 "In studies of musical achievement (typically done in the context of classical music...), the one factor besides amount of practice that consistently predicts achievement is not whether you go to Suzuki school, or study under some other method, but parental support..."  

~Gary Marcus, Guitar Zero

That deserves repeating:  PRACTICE + PARENTAL SUPPORT = MUSICAL ACHIEVEMENT

Since parental support often includes private lessons, it is prudent to briefly look at the most popular methods.  Not all music teaching methods are created equal, nor are students.  For instance, the famous Suzuki method emphasizes memorization and learning by ear rather than reading sheet music.  Mr. Suzuki hypothesized that children who were able to learn their mother tongue at a young age (5 to 6), also possessed the necessary characteristics to learn a musical instrument.  Desiring to bring beauty to children's lives after the devastation of WWII, Suzuki believed in generating a positive environment from which to learn and that this positive environment would also foster great character traits in students.  His goal was to raise generations of students with "noble hearts".  The curricula is available for a range of string instruments and is comprised of 10 volumes of classical music, with emphasis on playing them as the masters did.  Students who wish to include popular music or improvisation in their training must add this on their own, though the newer editions include some jazz transcriptions, Gaelic melodies and folk songs.  Some Suzuki students may find themselves weak at reading music.  All things considered, this method is still today so widely utilized and has created so many masters, it must be respected.


"I want to make good citizens. If a child hears fine music from the day of his birth and learns to play it himself, he develops sensitivity, discipline and endurance. He gets a beautiful heart."  
~Shin'ichi Suzuki (1898-1998)


Popular in Europe, the Emile Jaques-Dalcroze (1865-1950) method, also sometimes called Eurhythmics, from Greek roots 'eu' (harmonious), and 'rhythm' (motion) is based on rhythm and movement.  Toddlers learn 'entrainment', to move in time with music or a metronome before ever laying hands on an instrument.  The Dalcroze Method involves teaching musical concepts through a variety of movement analogues to develop an integrated and natural feel for musical expression, effectively turning the body into a well-tuned musical instrument.  In addition to eurhythmics, the Dalcroze Method consists of two more equally-important elements: solfège (sight singing with the syllables do re mi fa so la ti do) and improvisation.  This method is also commonly seen in music education in public schools across the USA.


Reading about this method of early music education takes me right back to my struggles parenting a perpetual-motion baby.  My boys were both super-active in utero and never at rest once mobile.  My mother's time-honored methods of 'quiet time' and relaxing reading activities were of no use at all.  Some days I seriously wondered if they could learn in the classic way.  Counting was mastered by concurrent stair-climbing or ball-tossing.  The eldest was hungry for constant stimulation, constant motion, napping only occurring for 15 minutes max due to sheer exhaustion and never by choice.  I was stunned to discover my second son had the same attributes.  By this time, I knew the term 'kinesthetic learning style' and realized I had stumbled upon a whole field of study, one strongly related to musical study.


Dalcroze Eurhythmics. Wikipedia, 26 February 2013. 30 March 2013 <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurhythmics>.

Marcus, Gary F. Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning. New York: The Penguin Press, 2012.

Suzuki Method.  Wikipedia, 27 March 2013.  30 March 2013 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_method>.