It sounds incredibly obvious that we should prepare to the best of our ability. However, in reality, things aren’t that simple. We procrastinate, we get sick or need to take care of someone that got sick, or we forget to consider we won’t have as much time to practice during spring break/family visits/etc.

Procrastination vs. Priorities

Procrastination is the nagging feeling that we should be doing something now, but not taking action it in spite of it. Procrastination is the result of indecision.

If you are short on time, it doesn’t necessarily mean you procrastinated. Sometimes we consciously choose to prioritize other responsibilities. There are moments in life truly more important than a single performance, and we must compromise.

If you have a habit of procrastination, it’s worth the time to consider why.

– Are you sabotaging yourself? We often face a feeling of dread if we don’t believe in our abilities.
-Is it hard to get the momentum going? We may procrastinate if we feel we “should” begin with a particular part of our preparation that we dislike. Try starting elsewhere.
-Are you overcommitted in other areas of your life?
-Do you have other priorities right now?

To avoid the feeling of procrastination, I typically decide the week I will start my preparation. This allows me some leeway to choose a day that I feel ready to start a project.

Changing abilities

As practicing musicians, our abilities are constantly evolving and growing. This means our method and standard of preparation should also evolve.

Ideally, our preparation improves as we gain experience and learn more efficiently. If we have taken an extended break from practicing, we may find that our abilities are less, and will need to accept our current state and limitations.

Preparing the to best of our current ability is what gives us the most confidence. If we have skills that we don’t use due to lack of organization, time, or motivation, we are aware on some level that we could have done better. This gives us the feeling that we are unprepared, and manifests in feelings of anxiety.

Elements of preparation

1. Scope

The more time you have, the wider scope you can begin with. As the performance approaches, you will want to narrow your focus.

If you have generous lead time:

-Listen to/learn other music by the same composer
-Listen to/learn music that influenced the composer
-Learn about the historical context. What was going on at that time and place in the world?

If you have less time, you may need to limit your study to the specific piece you are performing. Still, you will want to:

-Listen to multiple recordings of the piece
-Choose a favorite recording to base your interpretation on and practice with
-Listen to alternate versions of the piece, such as other arrangements

Nowadays, I always begin learning a piece by listening… a bunch of times, on repeat. I make a playlist for each performance, and let the music seep into my mind. There are times when I am listening more actively, and times where I am listening more passively. I don’t even attempt to play a piece until I’ve had at least a few listens.

While playing, I’m focused on a variety of other things, and can miss a lot of musical connections in the composition. Repeated listening creates a large scale “map” of the music in my head- I become aware of the form, and how the sections flow together. One part seems to connect inevitably to the next.

There was a time when I thought “learning the music” meant getting the flute part, playing through it, and sorting out the tricky bits.

This was problematic, because I began forming a “solo flute” version of the piece in my mind without consideration for the music as a whole. Then I retroactively tried to adjust my part to fit- shorter here, louder here, accent there, etc. It would feel very disjointed, without a cohesive musical intent.

It took me a while to learn that listening first was much more efficient. Start with the big picture, sort out the tricky technical bits later.

2. Depth

If your music is for more than one solo player, familiarize yourself with the full score. How you approach this will depend on your available skills.

If you don’t play the piano well, it’s never too late! Yes, it will be difficult at first, but start simply. Read one of the outer voices, or one hand or the other. Begin with the clef that is most familiar.

There’s no way to teach your ear to hear the subtleties of harmony unless you can create the sounds yourself. If you play a single note instrument, there’s no way around it! You must develop some piano proficiency.

-If you can, read through the piano score, or parts of it
-Play lines from the score on your primary instrument, especially interludes
-Play one or both of the outer voices
-Play one hand or the other
-Sing the melody while blocking the chords
-Make an arrangement of the piece for your own instrument (duets are particularly convenient!)

3. Memory

Practice from memory as much as possible. Using your memory strengthens the sound-body connection, which eventually allows you to “feel” the next note in your body by hearing the music in your head. You have probably already experienced this to some extent, when your fingers correctly guess a note, even if your mind is unsure.

-Scales and daily exercises should be played from memory. Learn the pattern, then transpose in your head. This takes patience at first, but is a skill worth developing!
-If you are unaccustomed to performing from memory, choose to do a single piece or movement.
-If you decide not to perform from memory, having the music memorized will give you a lot of confidence.
-Memorization forces you to quickly recognize patterns and define the larger form of the music.

The effort required to memorize music improves performance, hands down. Even if I play a few wrong notes, I prefer to have this deeper, more intimate relationship with the music.

When I perform from memory (now, more often than not), I know I have learned the music to the best of my ability. This allows me the freedom to look around the room and visually connect with the audience. And I willingly accept the risk that comes with performing from memory.

---

Receive email updates:

---

What do you think?