Fostering Self-Assessment with Cross-Training

Originally published in the July 2020 edition of APTA News & Views.

One of the positives from the COVID-19 pandemic is that we are able to attend classes and seminars from the comfort of our own homes. On the May long weekend, I was able to participate in an international martial arts seminar that was hosted in Guelph, Ontario. For someone who trains in four somewhat rare martial arts, the Zoominar was a priceless opportunity to work with some of the top instructors in Canada, to listen to one of the highest ranking instructors in the world from his home in England, and to meet practitioners from around the world.

The focus of all the sessions was to give attendees tools to take ownership of their physical distancing training. Immediately, I could see how these self-assessment tools and drills could be adapted to help music students do the same. Here are some of the tools and tips that my students and I have added into our practicing.

Galligan Sensei’s Quadrants

Carole Galligan sensei is the highest ranking female in Canada for Iaido, the art of cutting from the sword draw. With her preparing for her 7th degree black belt grading, she shared how she was continuing to train without the benefit of being in the same room as her sensei. Like music teachers, sensei normally physically adjust arms, hands and body position or demonstrate concepts via partner work.

She held up this diagram while saying that each of our techniques contain these elements. Then she led us through various exercises to identify our dominant quadrant. Our weakest quadrant lays kitty-corner to it.

Galligan sensei holds up her quadrants for us to work through during the 2020 Guelph Seminar.

In discussion with my students, this is how we adapted sensei’s quadrants for music:

My teen and adult students have set out to identify their overall dominant quadrant, as well as their dominant for each piece. That done, they are now focussing their practices on “levelling up” their weakest. The younger students are picking one quadrant to focus on per practice.

Whether my students think that Galligan sensei is cool or they love the tool, I am seeing and hearing immediate results.

What’s Wrong with this Picture?

Galligan sensei also showed us several photos of her doing various techniques incorrectly and asked us to identify what was wrong. She then challenged us to do the same when reviewing photos and videos of ourselves practising. Some practitioners admitted that they were uncomfortable watching themselves. Sensei recommended they start by studying photos and videos of other people.

This translates extremely well to music practice. This past week, I have played videos of other people performing my students’ repertoire, asking them to identify what was good (and not so good) about the performances. Some of them have already jumped to Stage 2, which is to record and review their own practices.

Play it Backwards Drill

Galligan sensei confused several of us when she asked us to execute a kata (form) from end to start. It jolted us all out of complacency, forcing us to really concentrate. By the time we performed the kata normally, we noticed that overall, we were cleaner and smoother.

Several of my students have jumped onto this drill, immediately applying it to all of their troublespots. Others needed more repetitions or smaller practice chunks. The improvement has ranged from noticeable to incredible.

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I asked my student to try a practice drill that Galligan sensei had us try at the Guelph Iaido and Jodo Zoominar, which was to do everything backwards. My student ran through the Coda of Dennis Alexander's Nocturne in D, reading from right to left. Then she played the Coda normally. The improvement in flow had us both excited. #pianolesson #onlinepianolessons #practicemakesconsistent #practiceideas #practicedrills

A post shared by Musespeak/Rhona-Mae Arca (@musespeakstudio) on May 20, 2020 at 11:19am PDT

Green Sensei’s Adaptability Drill

In his session, David Green sensei (6 degree black belt in Iaido) covered changing one or more elements in our practice space and routine to jolt our brains out of complacency and challenge our ability to adapt. For example, training on a different surface or facing a different direction.

With us being housebound we, along with our students, have lost a bit of our adaptability savvy developed from performing on different pianos. My students came up with these changes to practice adaptability: change the lighting, practice with eyes closed, move objects and music to a different spot in the room, change chairs, and to record practices.

Tribe Sensei’s Tips on Dealing with Conflicting Advice

Eric Tribe sensei (6 degree black belt in Iaido and Jodo) is the CKF Head Examiner for Jodo in Eastern Canada (the art of the Japanese short staff), as well as the President of Jodo Canada. In his session, he presented video clips from two different instructors on the subject of technique.

On the surface, it seemed like they were coming at it from opposite sides. Tribe sensei had us try the technique, following the advice of each instructor. He then asked us to find the common ground between the two viewpoints. Between the commonalities and discussing what felt natural and logical, we were able to find our middle ground.

This also translates very well for music. My teen students have been listening to three or more performances of their pieces. Not only have they been comparing and contrasting, but they are also gaining ideas for experimentation. *

It has been a lot of fun adapting these drills and tools for music practice. My sensei have all been encouraging of this type of cross-training. Perhaps there is something that you do as a hobby or for exercise that you can adapt and use with your students. Or maybe there is something that your students do that can have applications to music. A little cross-training is good for everyone.

Music Practicing 101: The Looping Drill

The Looping Drill has become my favourite practice drill as of late. It is great to use at any stage of music mastery, the learning stage, troubleshooting, polishing, memorizing or reviewing. It is an effective way to practice only what needs more work.

Start by playing through your piece or technical exercise. When you hit a snag, play that bar five to seven times before moving onto the next one.

I find that usually by the third repetition, my fingers start to "get" it. However, it isn't until the fifth to seventh repetition that I start to consistently get it.

You can combine the looping practice drill with the Smarties Drill or any other drill to improve your accuracy and consistency. Here is a video demonstration of me using the looping drill:

I am in the process of revamping my Music Bag of Tricks, which are cards that show many of the practice drills my students and I use to achieve efficient and organized music practice. My gaming hobby is heavily influencing the design and set-up.

My Music Bag of Tricks will be tested by a handful of teachers and students before making them available to the general public. They will be available for music students, music teachers and any musician seeking for new ideas on how to practice music efficiently. Stay tuned!

Practicing Ideas for Playing Lightly

Anyone who has played a piano sonata (or its smaller cousin, the sonatina) knows that sometimes, it's really difficult to make your left hand play softly. There is the usual practice technique of ghost playing, otherwise known as "air piano".

When that doesn't work, there are a few other ideas. Usually, the first thing I try with students is the Mixed Media Drill. The "offending" (hand that is too loud) plays the notes on a different surface, such as the music desk or one's lap. The other hand plays on the keys normally.

Another thing you can do is change the keyboard surface where the loud hand plays. I placed a scarf on top of the bass note keys and asked my student H to play an excerpt of a song that required balance work. We only met with marginal success.

I was about to pull out some band-aids, but came across my roll of bandage tape. You can see the results of our handiwork in the photo. H played through the excerpt once again.

It's amazing! We subconsciously are more careful when there's a bandage of any sort on our fingers. In this case, there was a noticeable difference between the left hand and right hand. H's melody rang through more clearly, while her left hand played that Alberti bass groove more delicately.

Here's a piano tutorial on the Alberti bass:

Every Other Bar Drill Demonstration for Piano and Melodica

The Every Other Bar Drill has proved to be a successful drill with my students this month. Some need to clean things up, especially their notes, rhythm and fingering. Others need to make their music flow more smoothly. This drill addresses these issues. The student plays the odd numbered bars in a troublespot, while I play the even numbered bars on the melodica. Then we switch.Afterwards, when I get them to play the entire passage, the difference from their first runthrough at the lesson and the latest is like night and day.

It really doesn't matter what that second instrument is - voice, French horn, percussion. What I have been finding is that this drill really forces my students to count and "feel" the pulse. For me, this is proving to be a great way to practice "Instrument #5" - the melodica. This wind piano is a fun little instrument. It looks like I'll need to work on breath technique a bit more, though.

Special thanks to my student "S" for giving me permission to share this clip from last week's lesson.

Music Practicing 101 - Fill in the Blanks Drill

This is a handy practice drill to use when you keep pausing in your song. It's best done with a small section and then you expand your work area. The video was taken last winter (hence, the Christmas hat). It goes through how to use the Fill in the Blanks Drill.

Happy practicing!