When playing for friends or family and you make a mistake don’t stop and AND DON’T SAY SORRY! Most likely they didn’t hear the mistake and depending on the length of piece, if they did noticed the mistake, your audience with have forgotten by the time you reach the end. Even if you kept play but said “sorry” they will remember that mistake.
Over 20 years as a part-time organist/choirmaster there was a constant back and forth between practice and performance. With never enough time to practice even if it were a full time position, one needed to either sight read really well a large repertoire (what I did) and/or be able to improvise competently, which I was never trained nor able to do. Now retired I play entirely for my own amusement and enjoyment. I am my own audience if not recording, so a mix of practice/performing every time I sit to play.
Nicely done. To a beginner, it feels literally like the world is on one's shoulders when there is a crowd. And people don't realize how many repetitions it sometimes takes to play a piece all the way through with absolutely no mistakes. 😊
Excellent insight! Practicing is different than playing/performing! BTW! I finally figured out an easy method to transpose a piece to a different key! This is something i searched channels far and wide to figure out but couldn't. Then, i happened to be searching through the boxes worth of sheet music i inherited from 4 different retiring organists and i found a humble little book entitled"the church pianist" (1964) It has a healthy dose of music theory included. Anyway, lets say you want to take a hymn written in g major and play it in e major. (Or e-flat major). All you do is write on a piece of paper... Number the keys of the original hymn, starting with its root note: g-1, a-2, b-3, c-4, d-5, e-6, f-7, and g-8(or 1).... Then take your new desired key and do the same except now you start woth: e-1, f-2, g-3, a - 4 and so on.... Bingo! Then you go through the score and rewrite the notes in their new positions with where they are supposed to be on the staff lines.! Viola! Transposing made simple via a book written in 1964! (Visual aid might be needed to understand the above explanation)
Insightful! Wonder if there’s ever a moment I play when I’m alone. When playing for myself, it is always with a sort of practicing state of mind. Also when I don’t stop and do the works. Maybe when improvising, I get in a playing state of mind, otherwise only when recording myself. And now you say it, again it is practice! Interesting topic.
Good explanation of the diff. between playing and pacticing. But honestly, at times the distinction melts away for me as the mind gets tricked into thinking that any note playing is practicing!
When playing for friends or family and you make a mistake don’t stop and AND DON’T SAY SORRY! Most likely they didn’t hear the mistake and depending on the length of piece, if they did noticed the mistake, your audience with have forgotten by the time you reach the end. Even if you kept play but said “sorry” they will remember that mistake.
Over 20 years as a part-time organist/choirmaster there was a constant back and forth between practice and performance. With never enough time to practice even if it were a full time position, one needed to either sight read really well a large repertoire (what I did) and/or be able to improvise competently, which I was never trained nor able to do. Now retired I play entirely for my own amusement and enjoyment. I am my own audience if not recording, so a mix of practice/performing every time I sit to play.
I appreciate your take on this, thank you.
Great insight, from defining practice to outlining how playing creates a unique practice opportunity--thank you for sharing!
Thanks Robert 🎉
Nicely done.
To a beginner, it feels literally like the world is on one's shoulders when there is a crowd.
And people don't realize how many repetitions it sometimes takes to play a piece all the way through with absolutely no mistakes. 😊
So playing can be practicing, too! Great video!
Excellent insight! Practicing is different than playing/performing!
BTW! I finally figured out an easy method to transpose a piece to a different key! This is something i searched channels far and wide to figure out but couldn't. Then, i happened to be searching through the boxes worth of sheet music i inherited from 4 different retiring organists and i found a humble little book entitled"the church pianist" (1964) It has a healthy dose of music theory included.
Anyway, lets say you want to take a hymn written in g major and play it in e major. (Or e-flat major). All you do is write on a piece of paper... Number the keys of the original hymn, starting with its root note: g-1, a-2, b-3, c-4, d-5, e-6, f-7, and g-8(or 1).... Then take your new desired key and do the same except now you start woth: e-1, f-2, g-3, a - 4 and so on.... Bingo! Then you go through the score and rewrite the notes in their new positions with where they are supposed to be on the staff lines.! Viola! Transposing made simple via a book written in 1964! (Visual aid might be needed to understand the above explanation)
Insightful! Wonder if there’s ever a moment I play when I’m alone. When playing for myself, it is always with a sort of practicing state of mind. Also when I don’t stop and do the works. Maybe when improvising, I get in a playing state of mind, otherwise only when recording myself. And now you say it, again it is practice! Interesting topic.
Good explanation of the diff. between playing and pacticing. But honestly, at times the distinction melts away for me as the mind gets tricked into thinking that any note playing is practicing!
Hey Robert, nice video.
I think the new hairstyle looks good on you.
Sometimes it just stays up!
Indeed. Eg. there are definitions such as a 'medical practice'.
Playing is practicing performing. But playing is not practicing playing.