The Lack of Practice...

[WoodSheddin]

I recall a pianist quoted as saying something along the lines of this.

I miss one day of practice and I notice.
I miss two days and my wife can notice.
I miss three days and the audience can notice.

[UDELBR]

I recall a pianist quoted as saying something along the lines of this.

I got curious as to the source of this quote. A quick Google attributes it variously to Horowitz, Rubinstein, but the most hits went to Ignace Paderewski, astounding concert pianist, composer, and Prime Minister of Poland.

FYI...

[WoodSheddin]

I recall a pianist quoted as saying something along the lines of this.

I got curious as to the source of this quote. A quick Google attributes it variously to Horowitz, Rubinstein, but the most hits went to Ignace Paderewski, astounding concert pianist, composer, and Prime Minister of Poland.

FYI...

Now I remember. I have a DVD of Horowitz. It was he who said it.

[Chuck(G)]

I recall a pianist quoted as saying something along the lines of this.

I got curious as to the source of this quote. A quick Google attributes it variously to Horowitz, Rubinstein, but the most hits went to Ignace Paderewski, astounding concert pianist, composer, and Prime Minister of Poland.

FYI...

Paderewski--he of the bloody keyboard--is also the one that I've most heard as being responsible for the saying.

Oddly enough, I recall a 60 Minutes interview with Artur Rubenstein wherein Mr. Rubenstein admitted that he hardly practiced at all. Of course, that depends on your definition of "hardly"...

[UDELBR]

Paderewski--he of the boody keyboard--

?????

[Chuck(G)]

Paderewski--he of the boody keyboard--

?????

Make that "bloody"--legend was that Paderewski would leave blood on the keyboard after a particularly good concert performance.

[Rick Denney]

Just a quick philosophy question...
does everyone believe in the philosophy that If one misses a day playing it is the same as missing two? Im not exactly sure who i heard that one from but I must say i agree with it. What about you?

Original_Meister

If this was true, I would have to practice for 1000 days straight in order to be a rank beginner again.

I think there is a body of skill that one earns in various situations that never really leaves us, though the physical strength and endurance to implement that skill has to be retained. What I know about air flow and pressure probably won't leave me, but it is so hard to manifest that knowledge when I'm out of practice. And given that I'm always out of practice to a lesser or greater degree (greater this summer), I always struggle with it.

There are times when missing a day of practice results in improvement, because we allow a concept that is purely mental to take hold without the distraction of bad habits.

Rick "who, even without any practice at all in the last three months, can still play much better than when practiced up 15 years ago" Denney

[Stefan Kac]

When I got to college (4 years ago), I started practicing 3-4 hours every single day. The combination of no chop rest and (often) not enough sleep wore my chops down to the point where most of that practice wasn't terribly productive. My sophomore year, I started taking one day off a week and everything got better. Finally, about two months ago, I decided to experiment with practicing 4-6 hours every other day. The main reason was to see if applying this well-known principle of weight training to my then stagnating high range would produce any improvement. Strange as this may sound to some, I have never been more consistent or productive at any other point since I got serious about tuba playing. It's not as effective for learning new music, but has been infinitely more effective for reinforcing and improving my techinique, and my range is, in fact, creeping ever so slowly up, which is an improvement over previous attempts. Additionally, I now look forward to spending that much time with the horn every one of those days, and I have been infinitely more productive as a composer because I have larger blocks of time to work on that rather than trying to squeeze it in somewhere. Am I finished for the rest of my life with daily practice? Probably not. Will I use the alternating day routine when "real life" catches up to me and I have less time to practice? Absolutely.

[JB]

...There are times when missing a day of practice results in improvement, because we allow a concept that is purely mental to take hold without the distraction of bad habits.

Mr Denney:

I always enjoy reading your posts, sir. More times than not there is a gem of insight/wisdom to be found. Today's was no different. The above seen quote illuminated a new-found perspective. Thanks.

[elimia]

I struggle with this constantly this time. I travel very frequently with my job, often away from home for a few days, in the summertime. This sometimes results in playing (in a long week) the euphonium only once for an hour or so. I have been finding that I regress in the embouchere a good bit, and my fingers are a little clumsy. I'm not making much progress in the summer but at least I play. I try and bring my mouthpiece on the road with me when I can (when I'm not accompanied by a coworker), and this helps some.

I play for me, so I guess as long as I still enjoy it, I have no worries! Plus it means it will take a lot longer to not feel like the Arban exercise are monotonous.

[Rick F]

Paderewski ...

In link above, (second para) see Paderewski's famous quote,
"If I don't practice for one day, I know it; if I don't practice for two days, the critics know it; if I don't practice for three days, the audience knows it."

Paderewski was a Steinway artist. The stiff action of the Steinway was said to contribute to the injury of his ring-finger of his right hand during a concert performance in Rochester, NY (Beethoven's Appassionata). After that concert, he played in constant pain, needing massages and jolts of electricity before concerts just to get his injured finger to move. Doctors warned of permanent damage, but Paderewski insisted on honoring his pledge, even though it meant teaching himself to play with just four fingers of his right hand. He never recovered full use of his ring finger.

[Alex Reeder]

This is another quote/piece of advice related to practicing that has really helped to motivate me. It was told to me by my teacher John Manning. Think about this:

"Whenever you stop practicing and put down your tuba for the night, there is always a kid out there somewhere who is still playing."

This has kept me motivated to practice and kept me looking back over my shoulder a bit. You can never get smug with your playing when you know there is someone out there willing to work harder than you and is working his or her @ss off to catch up.

[The Impaler]

Great post, Herr Benton!

I think another thing we leave by the wayside when thinking about practicing is the ultimate goal. So many people think, well if I can just put (blank) amount of time in every day, I'll get better. Time shouldn't be the goal, improvement should be the goal, and therefore, the time factor should be a result of the practice, and the practice NOT a result of the time.

I saw a great quote on Jason Ham's website the other day: "Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes consistent!" This is one of the goals that I take into the practice room every day. Constantly improving the level of my consistency about everything that I do. He who is the best is the one that executes the simplest things about playing the instrument at the highest level possible (another Pat quote).

[Leland]

I saw a great quote on Jason Ham's website the other day: "Practice doesn't make perfect. Practice makes consistent!"

Taken another way, it's like ironing shirts.

No, really, hear me out --

An iron does not make a shirt flat, nor does it put in accurate creases. It only reinforces how you've laid the shirt onto the ironing board.

If you lay it down wrong, so that it's not perfectly flat, or a crease is just a bit off, the iron will make that error into a bona fide crease, and you'll have to spend a lot of time & water to get the shirt back to what it should be. Or even worse, it could be practically ruined.

Practice something thoroughly -- and practice it wrong -- and you're going to have to spend quite a lot of time to get it back to being correct.