Music Mondays: The Art of Practice

We are back with another instalment of Music Mondays. Today's topic is practice.

I would like to start with a simple question to all musicians reading this: did you practice today? . If your answer is no, well, you are not on vogue. Have you all seen the new trend of how to impress someone who isn't a musician and how to impress a musician? Tell no, please. It is silly. But cringy silly.

However, after watching a lot of people doing a short video with this trend I realized time was going away with those things. And I grabbed my trusty Venezuelan Cuatro to get some hours of practice. These were interrupted by intervals of work. I have to tell you. There's something weird about practicing with your instrument right next to another's instrument of the same kind you're building. I think this is the parallel to soothe a baby along with their brother. A charming image on itself.

Back with practice. I have read that the best way to practice is to divide the things you want to achieve in different days. For example, if your goal is to achieve dexterity, you would add dexterity exercises to each study session. Doing the same kind of thing during one session is boring and can lead to fatigue. Physical and mental.

During a period of time your goals might change, but there are some key elements that should never be neglected during a week of study. Ear training is one of those and having some theory in the mix is another.

On the other hand, giving yourself time to enjoy your instrument is key. That's the actual thing that would keep you coming back to grab it again tomorrow and practice some more. This free time could be anything. Perhaps there's a cool exercises you like to repeat over and over again because it is funny or challenging. Maybe there's a song you love and it's the whole reason you started to play in first place. You know the equivalent of giving yourself a treat after doing a task.

So today, after going over my finger dexterity exercises, use of the thumb to fret notes, strum control, bars, cycle of fourths and arpeggios, I gave myself some time to check to songs I'm still polishing. One got my particular attention because it is a waltz I used to listen a lot. It is lovely and I wanted to record myself playing it to have a reference for future study and development.

I'd like to share it with you.

First, I have point out some mistakes about the performance. The relevant one is the used of arpeggios for fill the gaps on the melody and harmony. I tend to forget I'm playing soloist and need to do both parts without leaving too many silences. It's not like I don't need, but it is noticeable that something could be stretched over these intervals.

Another relevant point, and this has to do with the camera, is the angle of recording. I think I need to use an approach similar to my dear @mipiano on this. Why? I look uncomfortable with the camera in front of me. I think another angle would help me relax and have a better performance overall.

Do you have any pointers or would like to tell anything about your practice session? Feel free to drop a comment.

The waltz I'm playing here is called Brisas del Zulia . It music was compared by Amable Espina an its lyrics written by Gloria Alba Molero. I will come back to this piece sometime soon and talk a bit more about it. For now enjoy a practice recording.

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