The Danbury Wolfeden - The Wolfes: News, Musings

What is Practice?

Thu, 15 May 2008 10:31:17 -0500

This is something I created last summer to help with teaching instrumental lessons this year. Students really DO NOT know what methodical, effective practice is. I list my thoughts below and ask for YOUR feedback as well as I go into teaching next year:

What Exactly is Good Practice?

Example #1 Jane liked to be the best at everything. She signed up for trumpet in 4th grade and was excited to get started at Wampus. After her first group lesson at school, she raced home, put together her instrument and practiced all night. She had a great sound on the low notes, but she struggled to produce the higher notes the way her teacher at school had instructed her. She worked on all of her songs, but whenever a high note occurred in the song, she skipped over it and went to the place in the song where the low notes occurred. After all, she was good at the low notes�Xshe liked playing them. Her teacher told her though that she needed to work on higher notes at home, but she avoided them because they were very difficult. She practiced 45 minutes a day and came into lessons with the highest amount of practice every week, yet after awhile she found that she was behind in class. The other students, who practiced only 20 minutes a day, could play more than her and could play higher notes more easily. Jane became frustrated, and eventually she quit, even though she �?practiced�� more than anyone in the 4th grade.

Example #2 Ethan was a naturally talented clarinet player. Everything came easy to him. His sound was big and round on the clarinet and his fingers worked faster than almost anyone. He found that he didn��t even need to practice as much as the others and he was still the best player in the class. In lessons he received a zero for his practice grade every week, but he thought to himself, �?Why should I practice when I can play better than anyone in my class? I��d rather be doing something a lot more fun like playing video games.�� And so he did�X he played video games for an hour each night after he got home from school. After awhile though, the music became more difficult in lessons. He couldn��t play everything that the other students played on their clarinet, and since he only practiced only 10 minutes a week (whenever he felt like playing for a little), he lost interest in the clarinet. He kept playing into 5th grade, but 10-15 other clarinet players became much better than him.

Example #3 Barney liked the flute, and he was very neat in writing down the practice assignment every week so that he could practice at home. He sat down in his quiet place at home and went through the assignment quickly. If there were three things to do for his assignment, he would play those three things and be done in less than three minutes. Sometimes he would play things right, but most of the time he did not play things right. In fact, it often was downright ugly! �?Oh well!�� Barney thought. �?At least I��m practicing at home!��

Example #4 D.W. was not very good at trumpet when he started, but he sure liked playing the instrument. The first couple of lessons he could see that he was probably the worst player in his lesson group. At the end of the second lesson he ran out into the hall and cried. �?I��ll never be good at this instrument!�� he said. His teacher found him and talked with him. �?Don��t give up yet, D.W.! You��re doing fine! Just be consistent at home and work on the things that are hard for you.�� D.W. went home and set his mind to become �?better�� on his instrument. He was not very good at remembering the fingerings, so he worked on these at home. He also was not very good at playing higher notes, but he worked on them every day, slowing down at times to make sure he was playing correctly. Some days he really didn��t feel like practicing, but he practiced anyway. Some days he did really well, and other days he played very poorly, but he kept working on those things that were difficult for him. Over time he found that he was playing much better on the trumpet. He became the best player in class by the end of 4th grade, and other students were amazed at his progress, especially since he only practiced 20 minutes a day four or five times a week. For his 5th grade birthday he received an audio tape of a famous trumpet player playing really amazing trumpet music. D.W. loved the trumpet after hearing this, and he began to practice even more. He became the best high school trumpet player in Colorado when he was 15, and he won a scholarship to a music college. He won many trumpet competitions, played in many professional orchestras and eventually became a music teacher.

* * * * * *

The main goal of practice is to become better on your instrument. To do this is not automatic. Some students "practice" an hour a day, seven days a week and get nowhere on their instrument.

Good practice is NOT going home, pulling out your instrument, and playing whatever comes out (and then being done). This is making noise! Good practice is NOT playing the things that are easy for you while neglecting the hard things. Good practice is NOT playing your instrument one day for 80 minutes and then not playing the other 6 days. This will not make you a better player.

Musicians who become good (or great) on their instruments do at least three (3) things well when practicing. These are GOOD practicing habits you can develop at home:

1. REFLECT - To reflect means to think about what you just played. You ask yourself questions: How did it sound? What should it sound like? What did I do well? What needs work? Why doesn��t this sound right? What did my teacher say I should do if I encounter this problem? When you reflect, you are being honest as a musician. It may sound great, good, or terrible.

2. REVISE - To revise means to change or correct something. If something is wrong, you should try to fix it and play it better. This is a difficult thing to do at first because you will find yourself working on those things that are hard for you to do. Are you willing to work? This may mean taking a small section of your music and working on it until it becomes better (or perfect!). It may mean slowing the music down, looking up fingerings, or clapping the rhythm of the music, or singing the melody before playing it again. If you are willing to say you made a mistake, and if you are willing to take the time to correct it, you are on the right path to becoming better, especially if you do this:

3. REPEAT - This means that you play something over again correctly, perhaps four or five times. It is not good enough to see an error you made while playing and then play that music over again correctly only once. Your brain and your body need to repeat something correctly several times before it becomes something you do all the time. You know you have your music down pat if you can play it through perfectly four or five times in a row. Repetition is absolutely essential to become a player who plays well all of the time!! WARNING: Make sure though that when you do this step you are playing the music correctly when repeating!!

Pics

Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:07:34 -0500

FYI - I posted some pictures under the "photos" tab on this website.

Yes, we're alive...Is anyone else alive?

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 19:20:39 -0600

It's been awhile since we've put an entry up. I thought I would do one for old time's sake :) We're in PA with the grandparents. Eli is 2 1/2 months old and growing...Sompour is 4 and reading pretty well. Peter is 2, and um "energetic" (he likes any and every kind of ball). Daddy is off for February break...Mommy is off with him. Things are going well...Is anyone out there of our former "inner circle"? (I'll let you decide what that actually means.)

New Hymn

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 11:37:44 -0500

Every once in a while I discover a new hymn that is quite excellent. Recently I have had one stuck in my head: What Love It Was That Brought Thee Down. And more, the actual music to this hymn (MELITA 8.8.8.8.8.8.) is quite excellent.

1 WHAT love it was that brought Thee down, Down to the depths in which I lay, That made Thee leave Thy glory-throne, In Servant's form to tread Thy way; Yet lower still to death to go, That I might never judgment know.

2 My place is now in Thee above, By virtue of Thy precious blood, Before Thy Father's face in love, Made now my Father and my God. Oh! that my feeble voice might swell, The praise of Him who loves so well.

3 'Tis love that cannot be explained, It is too wonderful, too vast; The heart of God alone contained, Such thoughts divine in ages past. But oh! I know it rests on me, And will throughout eternity.

4 O fill me Lord yet more and more, So that my heart e'en here below, From Thy love's rich and boundless store, Be satisfied and overflow. Full with the blessing Thou hast given, The foretaste now of what makes heaven.

What a great hymn! O that our feeble voices as believers might swell in sincerity for Him who loved us so well!

Life in Danbury

Sat, 19 May 2007 20:25:31 -0500

It seems that time disappears sometimes. I haven't written for a long time, mainly because life has been busy and we don't have internet at home. So let's see...

From Danbury, CT I have a 40 minute commute every morning down 684. I leave at 6:30 in the morning and usually miss the flood of traffic that heads toward NYC. Sometimes though an accident will destroy being on time to work (like an hour or hour and a half delay). I get to work usually by 7:15. School starts at 8:30, so I have an hour or so to prepare things and put my head on straight for the day. School is fun. I teach small group lessons for flute, percussion, trumpet, and french horn. I teach a xylophone (Orff) class to 3rd graders, and I teach two general music classes every day. Also I teach a 5th grade band almost every day...so my schedule is quite varied. I kind of like it though.

School ends by 2:55 and I usually leave by 3:30 unless I have something pressing I have to do for the next day. I usually get home by 4:15, eat dinner, and then spend the rest of the night with the family.

We just purchased a minivan today. My 99 Mazda seems to be shrinking in size. We need more room!

The Lord also has graciously led us to a nice assembly in CT. The group we now meet with is great...that's all I will say for now. Life goes on. I miss the familiarity of Rochester and friends. We're kind of by ourselves right now, but I'm sure we will meet new people. The Lord truly is good to us.

School Life

Sat, 04 Nov 2006 14:04:37 -0600

My new job is rather stressful right now. Never mind the lesson- planning and dealing with the kids (who, for the most part are "good" kids), but add on top of this observations by administration, a portfolio due in 2 months, two 5th grade band concerts in 2 months, and 2 general music concerts in 4 months...the amount of work and thought and energy becomes daunting. Don't get me wrong. This is a nice district, and they want their teachers to succeed. I'm already behind two months though, and instead of preparing and getting all of the prep work (seating charts, attendance lists, broad lesson planning, name tags, music distribution for band, etc.) done in July and August, I am now faced with the almost impossible task of doing all of this on top of my regular teaching duties.

The Lord is good though. He strengthens when I feel my weakness, and He enables when otherwise I would not be enabled. Ah, how I look forward to Thanksgiving and Xmas breaks!! My mom (seriously) said the three best reasons to become a teacher are June, July, and August. In part, I understand her now! Anyway, add a missing wife and kids (300 miles away) to this mix and the situation is very difficult.

Byram Hills - New Teaching (4-5th grade)

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 17:09:18 -0500

Hello. I started my new job on Monday, and it's kind of been like a live fish being thrown into a frying pan. It's been very hard just trying to get a bearing on what exactly I'm supposed to be doing. But the teachers here have been extremely helpful and encouraging. I have a mentor teacher who meets with me once or twice a week to solve problems and just generally help me through. It's hard starting with a group of kids a month and a half into the year. The teacher before was a little lax in my opnion, so I get to do demolition work. I spent 30 minutes in my 5th grade band laying down the LAW. We played one note today (concert Bb) and that's as far as we got. I have a concert in January, so things need to happen real fast!! I have ten 4th grade general music classes, which is overwhelming on paper, but it really should be fun. I only have to have one well-designed lesson plan a week for this, so it should be OK. The only thing I'm really, really struggling with is learning 230 names of 4th graders when I only see each of them once a week. Name games have to be used so I can at least call each of them by his/her first name! Anyway, my feet are killing me and I miss my family...I like teaching though!

Psalm Headings...Holy Writ?

Fri, 08 Sep 2006 16:56:14 -0500

I recently ran across a matter that deserves some consideration for the student of the Word of God: Are the headings in the Psalms inspired? For instance, in the NKJV the heading to Ps. 51 reads thus: "To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba." (It is not italicized as in other portions where translators supply words to make the most sense.) Is this inspired, or is it the addition of some later scribe (as an educated guess to the author and situation)? The sources I checked (as I am completely in the dark as to this matter) were vague at best (and likely untrustworthy). I will note though that in French translations of the Bible the heading of a particular Psalm (if there is one) is the first verse of the Psalm. They took it as Holy Writ as much as the inspired contents of the Psalm.

W.W. Fereday had this to say concerning the matter while commenting on Ps. 46: "But we must first glance at the inspired heading. "To the chief musician. For the Sons of Korah. A song upon Alamoth." These headings should never be omitted in the reading of the psalms. Unlike the summaries printed in italics in most English Bibles, the headings have been given by the Spirit of God, and should be viewed as part of the psalms to which they are attached. Frequently there is contained in them much food for the soul...". Here is the complete article in his meditations on Psalm 46. Does anyone have any reliable information to help solve this matter?

Scores to Study (Wish List) dw

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 10:11:40 -0500

Here's the start of a list of orchestral scores I would like to study. Various editions are given with current list price. Of course at the music store I would get a pretty nice discount on most of these...Why do I post this? Because I want to understand music a little better in how exactly a composer thinks...O by the way, my birthday is coming up...
��Indicates miniature score
1. Vaughan-Williams, Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis
Boosey #48009624,18.95
Dover #6-408590 (w/ other works),16.95
2. Bruckner, Symphonies 4, 7
Dover #6- 262626,22.95
Kalmus #K00093, 22.95
3. Debussy, La Mer
��Dover #6-298485, 7.95
Budapest #50510057, 17.95
4.Beethoven, Symphony #5 in c minor, op. 67
Kalmus #K0005,15.95
��Dover #6- 298507, 5.95
Budapest #50510061 (ed. Darvas) 15.95
��Peters #EP1020E, 16.50
5. Mendelssohn, Hebrides Overture, op. 26
��Boosey #48002023, 6.75
6. Mozart, Symphony #40 in g minor, K550
Ricordi #50096830, 19.95
Kalmus #K00034, 11.95
��Dover #6-298493 (with Sym 41),6.95
7. Tchaikovsky, Symphony #5 in e minor, op. 64
Kalmus #K00562, 20.95
��Dover #6- 401332, 9.95
Dover #6-23861X (with 4, 5, 6), 28.95
8. Brahms, Four Symphonies
Dover #6- 230538, 19.95
9. Strauss, Till Eulenspiegels/Also Sprach/Ein Heldenleben
Dover #6-237559,19.95
10. Tchaikovsky, The Tempest op. 18
�� Peters #BEL517, 19.75

Jon Benet Case

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 14:12:16 -0500
I lived in Boulder, CO when this whole mess started in 1996. And I actually lived only a couple of miles away from the scene of the crime. I guess seeing the developments within the past day reopens to me how horribly corrupt man has become. This makes me ever wary as a father also--I would not want this to happen to either of my kids. The details of everything have not been fleshed out yet, but just hearing the man's feeble plea disgusted me: "It's very important for me that everyone knows that I love her very much and that her death was unintentional..." .
Maybe I am naive, and I'm sure that the ensuing weeks will show much more, but this statement doesn't elicit any sympathy from me. To see the violence of that little girl's death and hear the girl's killer say, "I love her," and that he didn't mean for her death to happen makes my stomach turn. Anyway, we could argue about the fault of her parents to put her in such limelight at an early age, yet for a man to go through with something like this appalls me. Man ever finds ways to show forth his sin in dark and awful ways...