100 Days of Practice Challenge 2019 - Day 70 Check-In

My practice trackers tell me that I hit Day 70 of my #100daysofpractice challenge yesterday. So much for doing a post at the midway point. All I can say is that spring is a busy time musically. Better late than never.

100 Day Music Practice Challenge (Round 2) So Far

Things are chugging along, but real-life musical commitments (along with just real life commitments) have been taking precedence over the trio of pieces that I wanted to highlight this challenge. Prior to Spring Break, I buckled down and recorded teacher demos of most of my Grade 1 - 6 students’ repertoire. With music festivals and exams coming up, getting clips up to help my students finetune and polish was more important than learning Papillons. I guess that’s just a reality I have to accept as a music teacher and choir musician.

I am now on the roster to play the piano at funeral services at three churches. On one hand, I feel sad, seeing that I started gigging by playing at weddings and banquets. You know, happy occasions. Now, I’m sending people off. However, there is honour in giving the departed a fine send off musically, so I’ll do the best I can.

Of the featured trio, Happy Together is furthest along. I have learned the song on voice, ukulele, and cajón. Although I am still tripping on a couple of chords and lyrics, I am getting close to being able to record a virtual performance.

Papillons? Ugh. I performed the Introductzione and No. 3 at last month’s studio piano party. It was OK. I am learning to relax my hands on those blocked octaves, but it’s nowhere near ready to be brought up to speed. Nor do I have any desire to. I am currently learning No. 7. It’s slow and that’s fine. Once I have learned it, I’ll call it a day and put it away.

I dusted off Leyenda (Asturias) from Isaac Albéniz’s Suite Espagñola. It’s the last piece that Mrs. Ginzburg taught me during our time together. Enough time has passed that I think I have something new to bring to it. Plus, I simply love the piece, whereas, I don’t like Papillons.

Danza del gaucho matrero has been placed on hold until I have finished Papillons. That should happen this week. I do want to have the entire Danzas Argentinas relearned by the end of this challenge.

With Easter fast approaching, my practising will be dominated by music for Easter Triduum (Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil) and Easter Sunday. Although my brother and I are splitting the bulk of the piano duties (the other pianist is taking the last service - yay! - because I plan on being home, fast asleep for that one), I will probably sing and/or play the cajón for the services I am not playing piano.

March 2019 Music Practice Tracker

Lots of dots = lots of progress, in some areas. Credit: R-M Arca.

Easter Triduum Prep

There’s a lot of music needed for the services on Holy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Vigil, and Easter Sunday. Credit: R-M Arca

Singing Practice

My ear training drills have been paying off. My a capella singing is stronger than in years past. Credit: R-M Arca.

Happy Together

Singing and ukulele seem to go hand in hand. Well, until I trip on a chord or a word, that is. Credit: R-M Arca.

Cajón practice

I’m so glad I picked a percussion friendly piece for my non-dominant instruments. Credit: R-M Arca.

100 Days of Budo Practice Challenge So Far

I am facing the same challenge that my piano students face: how to fit enough physical practice time into the week. Although I do notice an improvement overall because of my increased budo study time, nothing really beats committing things to muscle memory through repetition.

Camera sensei continues to be my best friend during at-home practices. However, with weapons that range from 20 inches to six feet long, I am limited by ceiling clearance and space. If I break another light fixture or accidentally slice a plant, my kouhai (juniors) will never let me live it down. Thankfully, spring is here and I can go train at a nearby park. Just in time, really. We will be doing martial arts demonstrations at the Calgary Expo later this month, so I better kick things up a notch. Ka Muso Kai will be demonstrating all of the arts we practice: Iaido, Jodo, Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu, and Choken Battojutsu Kagéryu.

March Budo Practice Tracker

More dots but the majority are in the “Study” column. Need to change that up this month. Credit: R-M Arca.

Checking Angles

There is so much math in Iaido that it’s not funny. Here, I’m checking my angle before completing the cut. Credit: R- Arca.

Mic Stand to the Rescue

Not only is my mic stand a camera stand, it also serves as my training partner in Jodo. It goes into Chudan very nicely. Credit: R-M Arca.

Lots of Swords

One of my kouhai got his iaito recently. That prompted this “dojo family photo” after training. Credit: R-M Arca.

Brain Dump Time

After a seminar or a really good class with sensei, writing down all the tips is critical. At least, it is for me. Credit: R-M Arca.

Looking Beyond the Practice Challenge

As I listen to my students and myself play, it is wonderful to see and hear how much progress we have made. However, as the year ramps up, physical, emotional, and mental fatigue will become a bigger challenge to face. We have all learned different ways to practice, but we are noticing the need for taking some time off. Rest gives us that time to reset, refresh, and come back to our work with a fresh perspective.

We will all have to figure out what that ideal balance is. For me, I think musically, it will be six days a week, with five days being on my instruments and one day dedicated to scorestudy and/or ear training. Budo-wise, I think it will shift to five days a week, with three days physical training and two days of study. The breakdown will vary depending upon what else is going on, but the main thing I will take moving forward is planning my practices so that everything gets worked on regularly.

Although having said this, I may just carry on with daily on both fronts but take a day off when I need a day off. I just need to make sure that I don’t go beyond three days off. Violinist Jascha Heifetz once said: “If I don't practice for one day, I'll know it. If I don't practice for two days, the critics will know it. If I don't practice for three days, the whole public will know it."

100 Day Music Practice Challenge - Students

Three of my students have completed their 100 Days of Practice Challenge, with a handful expected to wrap theirs up this week. The remainder are slated to complete their challenge around Easter. I will share their reflections once they have turned in their surveys.

Some of my students have opted to do another 30 Days of Practice Challenge, working in a break before doing another round. Others have decided to complete another 60 Days of Practice Challenge - with a little break before and after the challenge.

The general consensus for next year is that we will do a 100 Days of Practice Challenge but it won’t be consecutive days of practice. Obviously, if a student opts to make it 100 consecutive days of practice, they’ll reach their goal more quickly than someone who takes a few days off. I do hope that students do take a day off here and there though. Resting our minds and our bodies is just as important as practice frequency. It’s a fine balance.

To find out more about my 100 Days of Practice Challenge Rules, check out my Reflecting on My First 100 Days of Practice Challenge post.

To follow my 100 Days of Practice Challenge, head over to Musespeak Studio’s Instagram:

100 Days of Practice Challenge 2019 - Day 30 Check-in

According to my practice trackers, I completed Day 30 of my 100 Days of Practice Challenge on Wednesday. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I decided to do a 100 Day Music Practice Challenge as well as a 100 Days of Budo Practice Challenge simultaneously. It has been an interesting journey so far.

100 Day Music Practice Challenge (Round 2) So Far

Very early on, I hit a couple of snags in my music practice challenge that affected working on my featured trio of pieces: Danza del gaucho matrero (Ginastera), Papillons (Schumann), and Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Iz’s version). The first piece to hit a roadblock was Somewhere Over the Rainbow. I truly love this song. Sadly, I would need to capo my ukulele down seven frets to transpose it into a key that works for my voice. That just doesn’t give me much to work with fret-wise.

Rather than futz around with trying to make it work, I decided to work on Happy Together (The Turtles) as my non-dominant instruments project. I can comfortably sing it in the original key. Besides, I will have an easier time coming up with a cajón groove for Happy Together.

Schumann’s Papillons presented me with two challenges. It didn’t take long for me to realize that although I like listening to this work occasionally, I don’t really click with it. I don’t feel any emotional connection to it. However, since my late piano teacher Mrs. Ginzburg bequeathed this work to me, I want to unlock whatever lessons she wanted me to take from it.

The second challenge is potentially dangerous from a musician health perspective. Those who have been following the 100 days of practice challenge on the Studio’s Instagram can plainly see that I have small hands. Not much I can do about that.

Papillons is chock full of blocked octaves at a fast tempo. From Day 1, I recognized that another round of Tennis Elbow and Golfer’s Elbow may lie in my near future. I’ve had those repetitive strain injuries enough from from playing ragtime and other works with blocked chords and octaves to know that this is going to be a huge problem. By my fourth practice working on Papillons (Day 25 of the challenge), sure enough, the first signs of Golfer’s Elbow were making themselves known. I was seriously contemplating dropping it.

After discussing the situation with my brother (fellow pianist and music teacher), I decided to stick with it. Perhaps the lesson Mrs. Ginzburg wanted me to learn is how to play such pieces injury-free. So, I’ve taken everything back to square one and am breaking everything down into very small chunks, constantly assessing and adjusting until I have released all tension in my hands and arms before moving on to the following notes. This is going to be an arduous journey.

Featured piece #3, Danza del gaucho matrero, has been a fun ride so far. It’s so much easier to relearn old repertoire. It’s like reconnecting with an old friend. Sure, we fought a lot at the beginning but now, it’s just pure fun. Crazy, discordant fun, but fun nonetheless.

One observation I have noticed is that balancing my work on these three pieces, while juggling work on choir repertoire and my advanced students’ repertoire is hard. I’ve fallen behind on my student repertoire recording project. I haven’t spit out a technical requirements video in a while either. I think I will need to start budgeting how much time I spend on each area in my practice plan and set a timer.

I’m already getting ideas for future challenges, after checking out what others are doing in their 100 days of practice challenge on Instagram. Although I don't think I’ll ever do a #100daysofBach challenge, I think 100 Days of Sight-Reading, 100 Days of Baroque (OR Classical OR Romantic OR Impressionistic OR Contemporary Classical OR jazz) would be exciting adventures.

January 2019 Music Practice Tracker

I was trying to be smart and fit my tracker onto a single page. Not doing that again. Credit: R-M Arca.

February 2019 Music Practice Tracker

This is a bit easier for me to get my brain around. It’s also good for those days when I didn’t write down a log entry. I still kept up with the 100 Days of Practice Challenge posts in Instagram, at least. Credit: R-M Arca.

Learning to Release

Day 30/100 of the 100 Days of Music Practice Challenge: After each blocked octave in Papillons No. 3, I am forcing myself to relax before proceeding. It’s tedious but necessary if I want to avoid Golfer’s Elbow. Credit: R-M Arca.

Teachers Need Light Practice Days Too

Ear training drills have been my usual go-to on light practice days. We all need light days during this practice challenge.

Choir Practice

The life of a church musician. Snatching a bit of calmness between choir practice and the start of Mass . Credit: R-M Arca.

100 Days of Budo Practice Challenge So Far

“Budo” is the Japanese term for “the way of martial arts” or “the way of war.” For those just joining in, in addition to teaching piano and playing a bunch of musical instruments, I practice four non-mainstream Japanese martial arts at Ka Muso Kai (a dojo affiliated with the Canadian Kendo Federation, which, in turn is affiliated with the All Japan Kendo Federation): Iaido, Jodo, Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu, and Choken Battojutsu Kagéryu. Last summer, I earned my Nidan (second degree black belt) in both Iaido and Jodo. The grading was the culmination of a vigorous weekend-long seminar and the gradings ran back-to-back. “Intense” doesn’t begin to describe that experience.

Iaido is the art of drawing the sword. It translates to "the way of harmonizing one's self in action at all times and in all conditions." Jodo is the art of the short staff. It was founded by Musô Gonnosuke Katsukichi, the only person known to have defeated Miyamoto Musashi in a duel. The Japanese police use a variant of Jodo to this day. Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu is Miyamoto Musashi's two-sword art ("Two Heavens as One"). Choken Battojutsu Kagéryu is one of the few surviving Japanese long-sword arts. The founder was Yamamoto Hisaya Masakatsu, a retainer of the famous Tachibana clan.

Prior to the challenge, I tried to train two to three times a week (dojo and at home). Some weeks were better than others. It was much easier when I trained at the dojo twice a week. Due to my teaching schedule, I can now only train at the dojo once a week, so I felt I needed to do something to not let things erode. Plus, with over 120 techniques floating in my head, I knew I needed to practice more secure them more firmly into memory. Enter the 100 Day martial arts practice challenge.

I must admit, adding a second 100 day practice challenge has made my days a bit more complicated. This is, by far, the longest uninterrupted stretch I have practiced budo for. There were days when my plans to squeeze in a 20 - 30 minute training session got derailed, becoming a 5 - 10 minute study session.

Recording my training sessions has been highly educational. “Camera Sensei” has pointed out problems that I thought I had already fixed, from dropped sword tips to stride lengths that are too short to be stable, and from kinked wrists to sloppy footwork. With Camera Sensei’s help, I have worked through some of those trouble spots.

Initially, I started jotting down a study/training plan for the next day in my Budo Notebook. I noticed a definite increase in my budo study sessions when I did not write out a plan. I better go back to writing a plan so I can budget my time better on designated “at home” training days.

January 2019 Budo Tracker

As you can see, the week before I started the 100 Days of Budo Practice Challenge wasn’t very productive. Credit: R-M Arca.

Senpai Duties

On the day I taught one of my kouhai Uke nagashi, the third Seitei Iaido kata, I showed the gang a practice drill that my senpai showed me to get the draw nice and tight. Credit: K. Yee.

February 2019 Budo Practice Tracker

I can safely say that this is the most practising and studying I have done over and extended period of time. Credit: R-M Arca.

Mokuso

After a long day of teaching, meditation is a good thing.

Double-wide, 45

Day 24/100 of the 100 Days of Budo Practice challenge: Practising the footwork for Kuritsuke, one Jodo kihon that I should be more consistent on.

It’s been neat to see the steady progress being made musically and budo-wise. However, this 100 Days of Practice Challenge does reveal that there is always room for improvement. Well, whether music or budo, the journey is more important than the destination.

To find out more about my 100 Days of Practice Challenge Rules, check out my Reflecting on My First 100 Days of Practice Challenge post.

To follow my 100 Days of Practice Challenge, head over to Musespeak Studio’s Instagram:

Our 60 Day Practice Challenge - in the Students' Words

Last time, I shared my takeaways from my first 100 Days of Practice Challenge. My students who have completed the 60 Days of Practice Challenge have submitted their surveys. Here’s what they have to share on practising for 60 days in a row:

What was the easiest part for you about the challenge?

• Remembering to practice everyday because now it is just a part of my daily routine.

• Keeping track. Finding a way to practice everyday.

• Having the small online practices that still count for something.

• This wasn’t much of a challenge for me because I practice everyday anyways.

• For me, the easiest part of the challenge was probably being able to take a lazy day when I was sick, or not feeling my best.

• By listening to my pieces everyday and by being in band.

• It wasn’t much different from the thirty day and I practice daily anyways.

• The easiest part was doing the hand drills or listening to my pieces because it was something I could do really fast and call it practise.

• Finding any aspect of music to practice, such as music apps, listening to pieces, theory, and drumming.

What was the hardest part for you about the challenge?

• Making sure I don’t skip a day even when I don’t feel like doing piano or when I’m really busy.

• Knowing what to practice. Making it a variety every day.

• Having the motivation to practice on days I’m tired.

• The hardest part for me about the challenge was not being able to take a break. Another thing that was hard was probably at the beginning, thinking “I have so many more days left!”

• The hardest part was trying to get to the piano when you have lots of homework or working up the courage to perform in front.

• Nothing.

• The hardest part was playing everyday because it was challenging to balance school and music. I would have to remember to practise, even on days I was busy, so I can learn my pieces or so I don’t have to restart the challenge.

• Finding time on the piano is a challenge.

Has your playing changed since participating in this challenge. If so, how?

• Not much since the last challenge.

• I feel my playing has improved much quicker than it did before.

• Just learning pieces/trouble spots/scales faster.

• No.

• The same.

• I think that my playing has changed during the challenge, because the more I practiced, the better I got at my songs and scales.

• Yes, I feel that I am getting better and faster at learning new pieces.

• I have been able to learn songs faster.

• I think so because I feel that I’m not stressing to get all of my pieces ready in a short time but I have a week to slowly play my pieces.

• Yes, my practicing has become more focused.

Have you noticed or discovered anything interesting about your musical journey since starting this challenge? If so, what?

• Not really.

• The challenges help me improve my piano skills.

• I feel I am more interested in practicing since my skill and confidence in the pieces has improved.

• I noticed how much practicing, even small practices affect how fast you learn things.

• It took longer.

• I have discovered that if I push myself on things I don’t really want to do ( a part of a piece or something), I can get better at it and it can become a piece that I actually like!

• I have been doing more practice and noticed that I am surrounded by music [more than] I thought.

• Not really.

• I’ve noticed that I’m learning pieces a little bit quicker compared to last year.

• I’ve discovered that I’m constantly surrounded by music, so it’s easier to take a moment and practice in different forms.

Any other comments, questions, or suggestions to make the practice challenge better next round? Or other practice challenges/projects?

• Nope!

• I think that next round, we should be allowed one break day ;-) .

• Nope. :-)

• 100 days of practice but not every single day

• Set reminders to practice more regularly.

Most of my students are in the throes of the 100 Days of Practice Challenge. A couple have opted to go back to the 30 Days of Practice Challenge, which is fine. They have picked a goal that they are more confident they can achieve and are committing to it. What more can a music teacher ask for?

*

Thank you to my students Henry, Kateri, Claire, Tanya, Alexandra, Haley, Erika, P. and Anon. for sharing their feedback here.

Reflecting on My First 100 Days of Practice Challenge

Doing something every day for 100 days seems like a really long time. At least, it did back in the fall when my piano students and I embarked on our practice challenges.

Most of them wrapped up their 60 Days of Practice Challenge around Christmas Break, so they are in the early stages of their 100 Days of Practice Challenge. I’ll share some of their thoughts once all the surveys have been turned in.

Last Thursday, I completed my first 100 Days of Practice Challenge. As I went straight into it after my 30 day challenge, I had practised for 130 consecutive days. I don’t think I have ever practised 130 days straight as a student.

Was it hard? Yes and no. There were definitely days in which it was 11:30 at night and I hadn’t gotten to any practising because of other commitments. There were days when I could only do a short practice. But once I made the commitment to my students and online, I felt honour-bound to see it through.

Did I make any life-changing discoveries? Nope. If you do something regularly, you’re going to see some improvement. But I knew that going in. There are countless studies on that.

If anything, this challenge was an opportunity for me to get back in touch with the way I used to practice at university and whilst preparing for my ARCT in Piano Performance. Here are a few things that stood out as I look back on this challenge:

Goalsetting is Important

The only goal I had going into this 100 day challenge was to show my students (as well as any aspiring musician) what practising is like. Yes, practising can be difficult. Yes, it can be unglamorous. However, with hard work and perseverance, you can attain those victory moments. The practice clips I shared on the studio Instagram page reflected this. The majority of them featured me drilling trouble spots in my students’ repertoire as well as my own. It also featured me racing from the moment I got the song list to prepare for church the following day.

It may have seemed like a hodgepodge, unlike the other #100daysofpractice musicians who were sharing the development of their audition or recital repertoire. However, I think the clips gave a good representation of what we as music teachers and those who perform work through in a day.

To help keep me on track, I resurrected the Practice Journal. My daily practice tracker was fine for giving me a bird’s eye view over a month. The journal gave a much clearer insight on what exactly I worked on. More importantly, it showed how each session went and what needs more work. It was nice to just whip out my journal and share an insight with a student that I had with one of their pieces.

Summer & Fall Practice Trackers

As you can see, my practice tracking wasn’t very good before I began my 30 day and 100 day practice challenges. (Credit: R-M Arca)

December 2018 Practice Tracker

Very colourful. And it shows that I got to more items. (Credit: R-M Arca)

January 2019 Practice Tracker

A little on the small side, but again, it shows that it’s been a very productive period. (Credit: R-M Arca)

Practice Journal Entry

Just to give you an idea of what I notated. (R-M Arca)

Practice Goals

Now that Christmas Break is over, it’s time to get serious about this month’s goals. (Credit: R-M Arca)

At the end of most practices, I sketched out a practice plan for the following day. This worked extremely well as the plan and my practice tracker showed that I cycled through my students’ repertoire (Grade 3 - 10) and piano technique quite regularly.

I must admit that in the past few years, my practising consisted of occasionally running through my students’ trouble spots but mainly focussed on racing to get songs ready for church as soon as I got the list for the next day. I did listen to my intermediate and advanced students’ repertoire regularly, however, thanks to my YouTube playlist. Needless to say, my practice frequency wasn’t as regular as it could have been.

Reviewing Your Practices is Important

Often, we go through the motions of a task without much conscious thought, be it exercise, a musical instrument, writing, photography, dance, and so on. If we want to improve however, we need to improve our self-evaluation skills. Effective practice is mindful practice. That means asking yourself if a section getting better? If not, why not? What else can you do to get it? Who can you ask for help if you are stuck?

I used to record my practice sessions fairly regularly during my university days and when I was preparing for my ARCT. Then, I fell off the “Record & Review” wagon hard, although I told my students they should be doing it.

With my public practice log being the studio’s Instagram account, I had no choice but to record photos and/or video of my practices - and to review them. I actually wound up letting the clips play while I was folding laundry or washing dishes, which helped me plan out future practices and lessons with my students.

Flexibility in your Practising is Important

Having practice goals and a plan is all well and good, but what if you just had a crappy day? This was the precise reason why I didn’t specify a practice time length for my students or myself. Quality over quantity.

On the days I was completely drained, mentally or physically (sometimes both), or when I had to work longer than anticipated, I needed a “light practice” plan. For me, that included everything from “playing” with music ed apps, scorestudying (with our without the piece playing in the background), reviewing practice clips, or rhythm work. One night, I was so tired from a long week of teaching and ushering that I fell asleep in the middle of an ear training drill on the Perfect Ear app.

Someone asked me recently how long my daily practices were. They ranged anywhere between two minutes to over three hours.

My 100 Days of Practice Log

For ease, I’ve compiled links to each of my 100 days below, for those who want to check out the clips. If not, scroll down to see what’s the next practice challenge:

Day 1: Mass of Glory | Day 2: Mass of Glory | Day 3: Come Now is the Time to Worship | Day 4: Spanish Alleluia | Day 5: Morning Prayer | Day 6: Pirates of the Caribbean | Day 7: Nocturne in e minor, op. 72 no. 1 | Day 8: Oath Sign | Day 9: Etude in A-flat Major, op. 30, no. 19 | Day 10: Oath Sign | Day 11: Someone to Lava | Day 12: Perfect Ear app drills | Day 13: Pirates of the Caribbean | Day 14: Game of Thrones Medley | Day 15: Danza de la moza donosa | Day 16: Oath Sign | Day 17: Oath Sign | Day 18: Basic cajón exercise | Day 19: Game of Thrones Medley (tap practice) | Day 20: Prelude & Fugue in d minor, BWV 851

***

Day 21: Danza del viejo boyero | Day 22: Dance of the Aborigines | Day 23: Grade 10 RCM piano technical exercises | Day 24: Seven of Hearts | Day 25: Perfect Ear app drills | Day 26: Samba groove rhythm work | Day 27: Samba groove drill on cajón | Day 28: Danza del gaucho matrero | Day 29: Foggy Day Blues | Day 30: Nocturne in e minor, op. 72 no. 1 & Our God

***

Day 31: O Canada & Awesome God | Day 32: Choir practice photo | Day 33: Sight singing and Boomwhackers | Day 34: The Avengers | Day 35: Lied | Day 36: The Avengers & Lied | Day 37: La Puerta del Vino | Day 38: Ear training: singing intervals | Day 39: Ready the Way | Day 40: Scorestudy Sunday photo

Day 41: Pirates of the Caribbean & Sonata in g, Hob. XVI: 44 (1st mvt.) | Day 42: Mighty to Save | Day 43: French Suite No. 3 in B minor BWV 814 - Minuet and Trio & Mass of St. Ann | Day 44: The Avengers | Day 45: Child of the Poor/What Child is This? | Day 46: Funky scales & trying out the lyre | Day 47: Perfect Ear app drills | Day 48: Technical Exercises | Day 49: Prelude & Fugue in d minor, BWV 851 | Day 50: Be Unto Your Name

***

Day 51: Sing We Now of Christmas | Day 52: Danza del viejo boyero | Day 53: Mass of St. Ann | Day 54: Perfect Ear app drills | Day 55: Pirates of the Caribbean | Day 56: Prelude & Fugue in d, BWV 851 | Day 57: Nocturne in e minor, op. 72, no. 1 | Day 58: Days of Elijah Clip 1 & 2 | Day 59: Days of Elijah Clip 1 & 2 | Day 60: Choir Practice photo

***

Day 61: Perfect Ear app drills | Day 62: Sonatina in B-flat Major, op. 12, no. 5 & God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen | Day 63: Child of the Poor/What Child is This? | Day 64: Nocturne in e minor, op. 72 no. 1 | Day 65: Cassandra’s Dream | Day 66: Sonata in D, K 33 L 424 & Fly Me to the Moon | Day 67: Go Tell it on the Mountain | Day 68: Perfect Ear app drills | Day 69: Pirates of the Caribbean & Ready the Way | Day 70: Sing We Now of Christmas & Mass of St. Ann

***

Day 71: III maj7 - VI maj7 - ii7 flat 5 - v7 - i7 progression | Day 72: Days of Elijah | Day 73: Gentle Waltz | Day 74: Joy to the World | Day 75: Holy is His Name | Day 76: O Come all Ye Faithful | Day 77: Choir practice photo | Day 78: The Most Amazing Sheep Game | Day 79: The Most Amazing Sheep Game | Day 80: Child of the Poor/What Child is This?

***

Day 81: Let Heaven Rejoice | Day 82: The Most Amazing Sheep Game | Day 83: Note Rush app | Day 84: Perfect Ear app | Day 85: Perfect Ear app | Day 86: Perfect Ear app | Day 87: Arpeggii practice | Day 88: Tetria A Theme | Day 89: Perfect Ear app | Day 90: Pirates of the Caribbean

***

Day 91: Seven of Hearts | Day 92: Nocturne in e minor, op. 72 no. 1 | Day 93: Game of Thrones Medley | Day 94: Perfect Ear app | Day 95: Choir practice photo | Day 96: Perfect Ear app | Day 97: La puerta del vino | Day 98: Hotel California | Day 99: Prelude and Fugue in d, BWV 851 | Day 100: Gentle Waltz, Seven of Hearts, Nocturne in e, op. 72 no. 1 & Pirates of the Caribbean

#100DaysofPractice Round 2

After taking several days off, I’m going to restart the challenge tomorrow. Part of me wants to start tonight, because I did feel a little lost on my days off, but there are some studio administrative tasks I need to take care of first.

I do have a different set of goals for this round. Although I will continue to practice my students’ repertoire and pieces for church, I’ve decided that I’ll focus the public practice log on three pieces, for the most part. That way, I can at least achieve my goal of building up my own repertoire.

I’ve chosen something old, something new, and something for all my non-primary instruments. This will also give you and me the opportunity to hear how these pieces develop over the course of 100 days. The pieces I have selected are:

1 - Danza del gaucho matrero (Alberto Ginastera)

When I first learned Ginastera’s Danzas Argentinas for my ARCT programme, it took me one day to learn Danza del viejo boyero ("Dance of the Old Herdsman") and two days to learn Danza de la moza donosa ("Dance of the Beautiful Maiden"). This one, the third dance, took me over two months to learn and then at least another two to bring up to speed. Since I’ve already relearned the first two earlier this school year, it’s time to finish the set.

2 - Papillons, op. 2 (Robert Schumann)

When Irina Ginzburg, one of my most influential teachers, passed away, I inherited her score of Papillons. I dutifully kept it in my music library - untouched - till now. I can’t help but wonder whether there is a lesson in this work that Mrs. G would like me to learn.

3 - Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Israel Kamakawiwoʻole’s version)

What better way to ensure that my non-primary instruments get regular practice than by choosing a song and learning it on all of them? I am thinking of doing a virtual ensemble performance on voice, ukulele, melodica, and cajón.

Join the #100daysofpractice Challenge!

Whether you are a musician or photographer, writer or athlete, consider taking the 100 Days of Practice Challenge. You may start the challenge at any time and set up your parameters anyhow you wish. As a guide, here’s what I set for my first round:

1. Practice for 100 consecutive days, unless I was too sick. Restart the count if any healthy days are missed.

2. No time limit. Focus on quality, mindful practice versus quantity.

3. All instruments counted (piano, voice, cajón, melodica, ukulele, playing & singing, conducting).

4. Practice away from one’s instrument counted. That means: theory, tap practice, scorestudy, record and review, studying recordings, ear training apps, and my students’ fave: The Most Amazing Sheep Game.

5. Keep a daily log. After seeing what other musicians and music teachers did, I opted for sharing my posts on Instagram. If your log is online, don’t forget to use the #100daysofpractice and #100daysofpracticechallenge hashtags. Of course, it doesn’t need to be online, but I must say that I’ve enjoyed interacting with others who have been doing the challenge.

6. Reward yourself once you complete the challenge! Here’s my victory dinner:

Chorizo Carbonara

I enjoyed this flavourful dish at Elbow Room in Britannia. (Credit: R-M Arca)

Lollipops

The peanut butter cheesecake lollipop with dark chocolate coating and hazelnuts was delicious. However, it was the raspberry cheescake lollipop in white chocolate coating and pop rock candy that made me giggle after every bite. Elbow Room in Britannia scored a home run with this treat. (Credit: R-M Arca)

I’m actually planning on taking the challenge with my budo practice as well. Although I’m not grading this year, I have over 120 kata and techniques that I’m trying to keep straight in my head and lock securely into muscle memory. Not sure if I’ll start that tomorrow as well.

You can check out what Hilary Hahn, the originator of the challenge did for hers. Here’s her interview for Strings Magazine and her Instagram. You can also follow other artists and athletes on Instagram by following one of the aforementioned hashtags.

If 100 days seems too daunting, you could start with a smaller number, such as 30 or 60 days.

If you do participate, let me know so we can keep in touch and cheer each other on.

January 22, 2019 update

I forgot to share my challenge parameters for the budo portion of my #100daysofpracticechallenge. They are:

1. Study/train for 100 consecutive days (at the dojo or at home), unless I am too sick. For each healthy day that I skip, I must restart the count.

2. No time limit. Focus on quality, mindful practice versus quantity.

3. All disciplines that I study (Iaido, Jodo, Hyoho Niten Ichi Ryu, and Choken Battojutsu Kagéryu). Kata, kihon, waza, and other related drills.

4. Studying the training manuals, notes, photos and training related videos count.

5. Martial arts demonstrations count (they are usually on less than ideal conditions, so as sensei says, “Epic training conditions!”).

6. Keep a daily log.

7. Reward: Dinner most likely at a Japanese restaurant. Japanese martial arts, after all.

Our 30 Day Practice Challenge: In the Students' Words

Last time, I shared some of my observations and musings while my students and I participated in the 30 Day Practice Challenge. Now that most of them have completed the challenge, it’s time for my students to share their thoughts on practising every day for 30 days.

As they each completed the challenge, I asked them to answer a few questions. Some of them have graciously given permission for me to share their comments here so that other music students and music teachers can read them:

What was the easiest part for you about the challenge?

• “Finding ways to practice in simple forms (fingering, theory, listening to pieces").”

• “Technique: when I didn’t have time for my songs.”

• “Being able to practice in a variety of forms: listening to music, drumming, tapping & piano.”

• “I can do my own pieces.”

• “The easiest part was doing theory the days I was busy.”

• “It was easier to remember to practice because if I just do it everyday, it wouldn’t slip my mind.”

What was the hardest part for you about the challenge?

• “Finding the time to practice everyday. Finding ways to practice differently than the norm.”

• “Doing more than just technique everyday. LOL.”

• “Getting time on the piano.”

• “Never having a day off but after a while, I got used to it.”

• “The hardest part was making sure I practice every day, even when I’m busy.”

• “Actually doing it.”

• Practicing every day.”

Has your playing changed since participating in the challenge? If so, how?

• “I think so. At home practice, I definitely hear a difference.”

• “I’ve been getting my technique and scales faster than I did last year.”

• “Yes. I have prioritized music more & have been able to improve on my pieces.”

• “It hasn’t.”

• “Yes. I’m learning the notes faster and the practices aren’t as hard because I remember the notes from day to day.”

• “Yes, since I played every day, my songs got better.”

• “Reading music itself is easier.”

• “It has changed because I feel that I’m finishing learning music pieces much faster than compared to last year. I feel that every time I notice I am getting better.”

Have you noticed or discovered anything interesting about your musical journey since starting this challenge? If so, what?

• “How practicing every day really does help you improve faster.”

• “Just that I’ve gotten my scales faster.”

• “Yes, I feel more connected & aware of my music schedule.”

• “I’ve been able to play more songs because I learn them faster and I don’t mind practicing as much because I know I’m earning something special at the end of the challenge.”

• “Got bored faster, so [I] tried to find other things [to play].”

• “I’m doing better than I was last year.”

Any other comments, questions or suggestions to make the practice challenge better next round?

• “Maybe a free day in case you can’t practice (free space day).”

• “Maybe setting alarms of when to practice.”

• “It was fun.”

Musings from the Teacher’s Chair

There you have it. The comments should come as no surprise to performing artists, writers, and athletes. They should come as no surprise to scientists who have found a connection between myelination and learning.

However, I think it makes a much bigger impact on my students to see and hear how they have improved over the #30daysofpractice . It will make a bigger impact on my colleagues’ students to read what their peers learned, in their own words.

My students are well into Maestro’s 60 Day Practice Challenge, while I’m plugging away at the 100 Day Practice Challenge. In fact, one of my students is a day ahead of me in the challenge.

We talk more regularly about different ideas for those light practices, because let’s face it: practising every day for 60 days or 100 days seems like a really long time at the moment. I may need to remind them that if they are feeling under the weather, they can take a day off. I suspect that a few of my students are getting some light practice ideas from my practice log on the Studio’s Instagram:

I have heard a significant improvement in all of my students’ playing, especially in their technical skills. Ditto for my own. It’s delightful because we can spend more time during their piano lessons exploring their musical expression, bulletproofing skills, and performance savvy.

With fluency comes confidence. I have also noticed that even my shy students are more willing to be the “Instagram Star of the Day,” while some who don’t like performing are actually showing off for their friends at school.

I do hope they realize that practising is a journey. We trip and fall a lot in the early stages, and there’s some “two steps forward, three steps back” in the troubleshooting phase; but with regular practice - mindful practice - we reach those awesome moments more quickly.

Remind me next round to record clips when they start and finish the 100 Day Practice Challenge. I have a feeling that the second half of the school year is going to be full of awesome musical moments.

Special thanks to my students: Claire, Tanya, Erika, Henry, Kateri, Alexandra, P., and Anonymous for giving me permission to share their #30daysofpractice experience.