Listening
Actually hearing what is coming out of your instrument while you are playing is quite difficult. Some kind of partial deafness always seems to be at play. You are not hearing the music as the ideal external listener might.What causes this?The physiological and technical demands of playing consume your perceptive capacities. Repetition dulls your senses. Distraction and inner monologues divert your attention. Your internal model or conception of the piece trumps what actually comes out. Physical movement and posture interfere with hearing.In The Girl with the Pearl Earring the great Dutch painter Vermeer asks his maid Griet to describe the colors of the sky. Initially she says blue and white, but then she corrects herself and describes the sky in greater detail and with more accurate colors. The discrepancy between preconception and actuality is often immense. This realization has much to teach usWhat can you do to increase your listening powers?Become very calm and still. Notice all your sensations; pay particular attention to all the sounds in your environment. When your hearing has become more acute, play something soft, simple and slow. Notice all the qualities of each tone; beginning, middle and end. Notice how individual tones relate to each other.Vision and touchObserve the movement of your fingers with great care. Listen to the quality of each tone. Your aim is to notice the relationship between the sensation of the fingers moving, the image of their movement and the sound that they produce.TrillsTrills can easily become mechanical blurs, like a ringing telephone. The individual tones become lost. Play the trill slowly, being sure that you are calm and relaxed. Notice each tone and be sure that none of them is lost to your perception.ImaginationImagine a short musical figure in your mind. Choose something you can play easily and well; a melodic fragment is enough. Imagine in great detail. When you have an extremely rich and beautiful internal model, attempt to play it. Did your performance match your conception?Record yourselfRecording yourself can speed up the learning process by clearly identifying what is and is not good. You can listen calmly without the concentration required for the performance itself.SingSing the part you intend to play. Does your instrumental rendition match the vocal version?
