are your technique drills hurting your musicianship.

[diverse379]

I have heard many classical teachers talk about not doing drills such as hanon or piscna
and others say they are the best thing to do.

I have always loved hanon
but lately I have notice an diconnect in my ability to bring feeling to my lines.
I am reading a book called indespensibles of piano playing
and from the first chapter I am beginning to understand why technique driils even scales can be bad for you
she likens it to trying to practice public speaking by practicing conjunctions if and but and some prepositions
but how can you learn to emphasize phrases like martin luther king or Obama by practicing prepositions.
you have to become sensitve to the phrase the underlying rhythm which is at the core of all musical performance.

in a nut shell. keyboard playing is vertical and horizontal vertical are finger strikes dropping on the keys
horizontal is right to left movement.
music is about rhythmic phrasing as well as the details of individual notes

the fingers control the details
but the upper arm and torso (upper arm possibly shoulder not sure yet havent read to far.)
if you take out the part that controls phrasing you are left with just mechanical details prepositions

we need to pay as much attention to the phrase and production of rhythmic pulse as we do with the technical facility to not impair the production of the phrase.

I know this sounds kind of heavy
but for now I want to hear what some of you think about technique what is it to you.
and what do you do to develop it.

[T-Block]

I love drills. You just have to be careful that you don't spend all your time doing drills because whatever you practice is what you will be able to play. I'd say to start off with do a few drills, then move on to specific songs or whatever you need to practice. You will notice that if u do the drills right, the technique of them will start to come out in the songs and other things that you play. At least that has been my experience of it.

[docjohn]

I was thinking along similar lines.I found myself playing scales/hanon  la la la la la.do,re,me

BUT Listening,think of Geo Benson,Jimmy Smith-total different!

[4hisglory]

Scales are fundamental but you have to practice them in different ways to get the good benefits.

Can you play scales

Triplets in the Right Hand and eight notes in the left?
Or Play them in contrary motion??
Can you play a Db Major Scale in the Left Hand and a Ab in the right?

These things will help take your hand independence to the next level.

[docjohn]

food 4 thought 4H

[kidder]

Interesting I should come across this thread, because I wondered a little about this myself.  But here's my take on it, for what it's worth.

A few technique drills before jumping into playing can be likened to an athlete warming up before an event.  Stretching muscles and getting mentally prepared can make for a far more effective time of playing with less strain.  That's how I approach it.  I've been using the Hanon exercises, and I find that since they are repetitive, I can take a few moments to concentrate on other musical things while my fingers are drilling away (i.e. is my rhythm steady and even?  am I relaxed or tensed up?  am I varying dynamics in the phrases or just plunking away like a machine? etc....)

[diverse379]

just to step back into this thread for a moment.
although I still am not going to say dont practice scales or do hanon
I would never say that.  at least not yet.

but since reading mrs whitesides book.
I am convinced that technique books and scales and appegios no matter how inventive you are at playing them can ruin your playing.

before you go get your tar and feathers lets follow her methodalogy.

if you want to develop your appeggios I think the suggestion is to practice pieces that have appeggios contained within them
or for scale figures there are several etudes that can develop this skill as well.

her thinking which actually is quite stunning is that before you think about notes you must think about rhythm
it is the feel of an inner rhythm that is the first technique which should be developed.

I think about the first time I heard a gifted gospel musician
melvin crispell comes to mind
I even studied with him
and I noticed it wasnt just the chords or the note choices it was his impeccable and beautiful timing.

this level of intiuition of timing feel subtle playing comes from music, not separated scales and appeggios.

again I am not sure that I agree to never paractice scales and appegios;.
but perhaps some of us put too much stock on hanon and scales to get us really playing when we may be better off taking a line or lick or run that we like and play that against the necessary chord
or take a songs progression and break up the chord appeggiating the entire progression .
so that we can weave it into the fabric of our playing the appegio the rhythym and the feel of the music all at the same time.
.
I think of bruce lee who used to encourage practice that as closely mimics the actual fight as possible.
he placed a higher emphasis on sparring or striking not with just the hand but the whole body
just as full playing integrates the buttocks the shoulders the back and the fingers and arms
as you sway and get into the rhythm.

my biggest problem was always rhythm and it wasnt until a few years ago that I began to really play with any type of feel
the more rhythm the better. the more you can hear your own beat or your own pulse and play to that pulse
the more musical your performance will be.

I was playing a piece just a little while ago and it sounded raher bland but when i began to put a drummer in my head the piece began to take up a life of its own. I started inserting fills and trills where previously i would not have been able to fit them.


the book I am reading is called the indespenables of piano playing
and she offers some very interesting ideas

she apparently was an extremely gifted piano player an teacher.
and many concert pianists have followed her advice and realized dramtic results immediately.