Last week’s written sharing on the topic of practice sparked some wonderful conversations. I want to thank everyone who emailed me with their insights!
There are as many ways to practice as there are people. The key is to find what works for you. As a singer, musician, voice teacher and improvisation facilitator, my goal is to tap into each individual’s strengths and experiences, and build on those strengths and experiences.
How we practice is determined by who we are, where we are in life, and our short term and long term goals. This process is ever-evolving.
These days my musical practice is about mindfulness, personal growth, deep listening, and honesty.
I will share an email correspondence with one of my musical mentors, Kevin Austin. Kevin was my professor of Music at Concordia University from 1995 to 1997. Kevin specializes in electroacoustics, composition, theory [electroacoustics and music], ear-training and formerly, music history. He is also a deep thinker and witty individual.
I remember Kevin’s classes very well. He was always speaking and moving in music. I was admittedly a little intimidated, but once I got past worrying about my relative lack of intellectual prowess and musical experience, I dropped into a state of what I can only describe as “open learning”, a beginner’s mind. Even though I really didn’t understand a lot of what he said at the time, I trusted that being receptive to what Kevin had to say would eventually make sense to me. It does now, and it continues to evolve.
From Kevin
Practice, a word I avoid, I can tell you very little about. For 7 years I only taught basic music skills to classes of up to 40, 6 hours a week, and I never encouraged those in the class to practice. I never could practice.
Irene - I practiced like crazy, and I have come to see that trying too hard to succeed interfered with my learning. I have to confess that there was another side of me that just longed to be a great musician. I really did not have a clear idea of what my purpose would be as an artist. I also put a lot of pressure on myself because I was 29 years old when I decided to go back to school to study music.
I needed to understand what I was doing that was different from practicing. I began to realize that practice is training. I was not interested fundamentally in training. I was interested in personal development. The development of the inner self, partially through self-discipline.
I had understood that this ‘study’, this ‘discipline’ worked at several layers at the same time, and that in time it might be possible to bring them together. I also learned that the standard vocabulary related to musical practices / training was inadequate to my vision of what I was doing.
Much has changed in this world in the past 30 years and the techniques my instructors used 30, 40 years ago, in most cases I have no interest in. I learned to focus on the individual — not easy with a class of 40. Success would be on a slope from very successful to those who were simply in the wrong place at this time in their lives.
Irene - When I decided at 25 years old to pursue music as a career choice, I instinctively knew that personal development was a huge part of what I was doing. As a teacher, my primary goal is to plant seeds and instill the trust that the study of music is a never-ending journey that is full of surprises. My own challenges are what brought about my curiosity for how we learn music.
University is quite different from teaching in a general community situation, however I have learned there are some things that can be done in both.
One of my first steps was to help each person create and step into their own environment. This is generally a slow process. In classes I did this through the development of routine and folly. The routine built a sense of knowing where one was and what to expect, and the folly was the surprise that was a reward for staying focused on the routine.
Irene - I learned not to take myself too seriously. Once I released expectations, and invited in laughter, I let go of a lot of tension. It was not until I was introduced to Music for People, that this made sense to me. What this tells me is that we all learn differently, and that the same information can be shared in so many different ways. Babbling in music was the key that unlocked this for me.
In my design, I learned to set up an objective of describing and building ways of doing certain things. The development of transferable skills. In university this was easier because there was generally commitment to a longer time period. But the idea of routine and different was introduced at the class level.
In my case, every class began with the class standing, singing D. Something simple, something really difficult because what was to be done slowly grew over the years. Musical basics could be learned through simple integration exercises, such as dynamics, starting a note together, independence, “intonation”, singing different vowels, moving the mouth, moving the jaw, and resonance.
Do this 5-10 minutes every day, and outside of the formal situation, half a dozen times a day for 2 minutes. When I stand up, sing a long D. When I go to the bathroom, sing a long D. When I buy a cup of coffee, just before I pay, sing a long D. When I sit down on the bus, hum a long D. 15-30 seconds.
In the background is the idea of thinking about the note D, all the time. To develop focus, decide to count backwards from 3, and sing a D. Total duration, 5 seconds. 20 times a day.
One of the background issues that is learned is, 'How to find a D’? Is there a D in the environment? This introduces environmental listening without introducing the subject. Perhaps, get an app that will play a D. Who these days doesn’t have a smartphone? Or if they don’t have a smartphone, a small pitch pipe, or a small tuned bell.
It is the second task that has the learning. Doing this repeated tiny action 50 times a week begins to train a form of body awareness, without describing the method.
Irene - so many of the improvisation forms that I learned from David Darling and Mary Knysh had a similar approach - it is the simplicity of each exercise that opens pathways to deep learning. As someone who can easily get caught in the weeds overthinking and overanalyzing, the simplicity gives me space to grow.
I taught the MUSI 200 class for many years in a large classroom with windows that looked out onto a parking lot. I encouraged people to look at, or imagine looking at the parking lot while singing [and feeling] the D. After a couple of months I asked people to sing the D when they were out and about, and to first of all visualize the classroom and parking lot, and remember how their body felt.
This process was applied to rhythm and eventually simple tunes. They were to be done daily, with the rising of the sun and the setting of the moon. Many developed a very specific form of self-discipline. It happened because the steps were tiny, tiny, and integrated into a large pattern. The pattern was part of a continued progressive spiral towards internalizing these abilities.
It is very slow, and not everyone has the patience to do the ‘mantra’ many times a day.
Irene - I remember MUSI 200! I took that course twice! I embrace SLOW and I have come to think of practice as a journey of the soul. It requires great patience, and that grows into self-acceptance, and love.
I decided to look up the definition of practice, and I extracted what I feel is relevant to us as musicians:
Noun:
the actual application or use of an idea, belief, or method, as opposed to theories relating to it.
the customary, habitual, or expected procedure or way of doing of something.
repeated exercise in or performance of an activity or skill so as to acquire or maintain proficiency in it.
Verb:
perform (an activity) or exercise (a skill) repeatedly or regularly in order to improve or maintain one's proficiency.
carry out or perform (a particular activity, method, or custom) habitually or regularly.
observe the teaching and rules of (a particular religion).
Many of us initially think of practice in this literal sense, and may choose to confine it to skill development, but for me there is so much more to it. It is physio-psycho-social-emotional development.
I love the exercises that Mary and David introduced to me: “How much can you do with one note?”, “feeling pulse”, and “even-handed drumming”. Engaging in such mindful improvisation practices, I discovered the possibilities are endless.
Learning through breathing, living, and being music.
More from Kevin
I have come to describe practice as 'focused doing’, as you note, ‘practice’ always exists with the context of the whole. I have tried to do this in many forms of ear-training. If the focus is on clapping together, the focus of the timing is becoming part of the whole.
This is similar to intonation, a most vexing topic for some people. I do not find that everyone hears ‘pitch’ in the same way. There are not only degrees of refinement in the ’tuning’ of the ’note’, but some people do not segregate pitch as being an element of music. They are frequently referred to as 'tone deaf’. They will never sing in tune, as a person who is red/green color blind will not see leaves the way others do.
Years ago in a conversation with Don Salmon (a retired ophthalmologist who enrolled and graduated from Concordia’s Music Program in his 80s!) around the topic of musicality, he commented on the idea of someone being tone deaf. He compared it to color blindness. He said that doctors can figure out if someone is color blind, but the professionals cannot work out what the person does see.
I have a cousin-in-law who had the unusual condition of seeing only in greyscale, white to black, but no colors whatsoever. He had a rather fulfilling career as . . . a photographer. Black and white only. His photos were highly praised. He just made sure that the print looked exactly like it did for him in real life.
Irene - listening to music from all over the world has broadened my perception of sound. As I work with singing bowls, I hear a spectrum of sound that is extremely rich. When I work with belt voice, I hear a quality of noise elements that make the sound so incredibly exciting. I remember how puzzled and even uncomfortable I was the first time I heard 12-tone music, Balinese music and progressive jazz. My listening and musicianship grows the more I listen to these and other sound qualities and combinations.
I will add that I was actually questioned and even gently teased for my interest in photography and videography because I have low vision. Now, I feel more compelled than ever to share how I see the world around me.
Music is not dissimilar. Some people can only sing along with other people, some people can call out and clap their hands. It is a matter of working to the highest level of one’s capabilities all the time.
Irene - I will quote what I learned from David Darling - “Be a Master of What You Can Do!” I used to compare myself to others, and that led to suffering. Now I let others inspire me.
Many people I have met have unseen special talents. One person I met had learned to sing with a mousy voice. One day I asked him to imitate me and I sang like one of the three tenors, fortissimo. He duplicated my sound.
People who had known him for 40+ years had never heard him make such beautiful sound. He was able to ‘close follow’ me as I sang a tune. He simply followed and imitated me. I understand this because there are many things I cannot do without a leader to follow. I have trained myself to do this very very close to the person demonstrating.
Irene - Like that singer you wrote about, I recognize how among my abilities is a kind of sensory imitation or mimicry, it is written about as a kinesthetic bodily intelligence (Howard Gardner), it feels as though I can almost go into someone else's being and sense how they produce a vocal sound. I think this intuitive sense has been refined over the last 31 years of teaching voice.
I think these intuitive senses are neglected in many music programs. I believe it is important to help students cultivate a trust in their intuition.
I can sing the baritone parts to carols as long as there is at least one other baritone for me to follow. And the person doesn’t have to sing in time or in tune.
Irene - I remember many years ago when we gathered a group of Concordia students, friends, and members of my family to sing Christmas carols for the patients and medical staff at St. Mary’s Hospital. The joyful and soulful responses from those we sang to are what stand out in my memory.
When we improvise there are No Wrong Notes! This is where discovery lies.
In terms of artistry, I am a handyman next to a professional carpenter. I have many highly developed skills and can help others as we are all on the same path. There are an infinite number of variations on how to reach the light.
Some people can be amazingly annoying on their path, and some flail blindly causing great harm to others.
Irene - there is always that question of craftsmanship and artistry: how much craftsmanship does an artist require? How is that craftsmanship acquired? It is vital to find the right teacher for YOU! Never hesitate to communicate your needs to your teacher, so you can work together as a team.
Teachers teach what they know, and unfortunately, some of them carry their scars into the studios.
The words I send you are not mine. I put them together from things others have said and shown me. I have learned how to form them into flow and energy patterns that speak to some people. I take this as a blessing, one which I try to pass on all the time.
Irene - I too am so grateful for what I learn from others. It is amazing to hear how we combine and form our individual experiences into flow and energy patterns.
How do we learn music? It is meaningful to share the process of music, and learn about the music making process from others. We all perceive music differently. I learn so much from my students, colleagues, and mentors.
I have come to realize that practicing for me is about developing my skills and insights so I can help others learn, experience and love music.
Thank you Kevin, for allowing me to share your ideas!
I am so grateful for the people that I have met through music. I am inspired to share more conversations about how people LIVE THEIR MUSIC. Please stay tuned for that!
This Week in Music
I thought it would be interesting to share some of my recent activities with you.
This week, I performed 2 sound baths, one was part of an employee wellness program at the company Novartis.
On behalf of our Wellbeing committee, I wanted to extend our heartfelt thanks for the wonderful sound bath session you led earlier today. Your calming presence and the beautiful sounds created a truly relaxing and meditative environment. It was a much-needed break and a perfect way to promote wellbeing. The session left a lasting impression on everyone who attended, and we are all grateful for the peaceful experience you provided. Thank you once again for sharing your talents with us and contributing to our Mental Health Month activities. We look forward to having you back for future sessions.
The other sound bath was a private session for three busy artists looking for a break! I set up my studio as a sound oasis.
Last Saturday at our weekly Music for People facilitated jam session at the Centre des Musiciens du Monde, I led an hour of joyful community drumming, followed by an hour of guided improvised ensembles! There were 11 of us. What makes it so special is the intergenerational aspect. Without cell phones or cameras, adults of all ages come together in musical play.
Although it is reading week at Concordia, I continued to teach individual and small group lessons online and in my studio. I just love the range of students I see over the course of a week. I work with recording artists of different genres including indie, folk, country, and progressive rock; classical and musical theater singers; amateur musicians/singers; singer/songwriters; sound artists; improvisers; and actors.
I am lucky!