Today's post comes from a personal realization a few years ago that was particularly profound.
As musicians, we find ourselves in much the same situation as many a cartoon character. Any fan of Bugs Bunny will remember two important characters: the angel and the devil who show up on people's shoulders. As a musician, we also should have two character's on our shoulders. Ours, however, are the conductor and the opera singer. The conductor lives on my right shoulder and the opera singer on my left. Here's why:
As a conductor, I make every effort to show the beat pattern when appropriate and a gesture reflecting the music when not. When on the podium, I make use of both hands but for this discussion only the right hand is important (where I hold the baton). I recommend my students practice conducting a simple 4 pattern to instill this feeling into their body. After a few measures I ask them to set their hand in their lap and remember the feeling they just experienced. I hope I never know first hand but from what I understand this is similar to the feeling of a phantom arm. To me, it is very important to have a kinesthetic feeling of the music and the meter. I then ask the students to play a simple melody and imagine the feeling of their arm moving while they play. After a little practice, it becomes very easy to imagine this feeling through all the music we play. Once this exercise is used on a regular basis it becomes possible to mentally (or "phantom-ally?") conduct through any music. When this is second nature, it frees up quite a bit of brain space formerly allocated to mundane counting of meter. By using this kinesthetic awareness, we rely on a distinct feeling rather than any sort of mental activity. With enough practice, it becomes similar to running or walking in that we can "feel" our way through even the trickiest music by only being aware of this feeling. When things get really sticky, we can always resort to other measures, but most of the time this exercise will free up some "bandwidth" we need to concentrate on other musical elements.
On the other hand (or shoulder), we have the inner opera singer. The opera singer is responsible for making the prettiest musical lines, guiding phrases, and bringing out our inner divas. To give this little lady some exercise, I suggest students sing through a musical idea and really focus on breathing where the music dictates and not where our eyes or the beaming make it appear to be. In my studio, we have a rule: no breathing at bar lines if at all possible. If we follow her guidance, the opera singer will not lead us astray, usually. Once in a while we come across something that is not supposed to sound lyrical and it is in those moments we make her work as hard as we can but realize she can only do so much when something is disjointed and meant to not sound remotely singable. These situations are by far the exception. More than 99% of the music I have played or studied makes good use of our singer friend. I, personally, feel that most people are too eager to dismiss their inner singer in favor of what their eyes see and the effect is an overly robotic and often disjointed performance.
Remarkable and inspired performance occurs when these two imaginary friends reconcile and eventually work together. If you can make these two seeming opposites work together, you will find your performances have rhythmic integrity, musicality, and an elasticity to it that makes us reliable and enjoyable collaborators to other musicians. The really fun part about this is that it works for every style and genre of music.
So on that note, let your inner Karajan and Callas out to play and you will find yourself enjoying your music making more and doing it with greater ease.
Play pretty! (I stole that from my major instructor during my DMA studies)
Monday, February 18, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Stay organized, stay flexible
Today's post is about the art of staying flexible and maintaining organization. It is also the first blog I am writing from my iPhone so please forgive the occasional auto corrected word that I may miss in my editing.
Staying flexible is about more than your best yoga poses. Staying flexible means, to me, incorporating a personal policy much like the Marines policy... Improvise, adapt, overcome. I'll give you an example. We received a great deal of snow here this weekend. I am ramping up for Hardrock this summer and trying to fit in all the training I can. While snow at the cabin is pretty and fun to train on, snow around town is often treacherous and almost always leads to some sort of injury (read: time away from training, probably when the weather is nice). So, I improvised a solution. I first shoveled our complex's driveway then rode my bike on the trainer for the same time I would have spent on the road. This was followed by some weight exercises using 5 gallon buckets filled with snow (rocks would have been better, lesson learned). This workout, while not in my training plan, served as cross-training, recovery, and strength all in one. I suppose in an ideal situation, I could buy a gym pass and run on a treadmill but the idea of getting more than just a recovery run and not leaving the house sounded appealing. Stay flexible.
On the other side of that coin is to stay organized. I sat down about a month and a half ago and came up with a training plan from then to Hardrock, knowing that I would probably not get 100% of the workouts due to life, weather, or work but I will get the vast majority of them and all the important ones. Having a game plan for the whole season lets me be on auto pilot when it comes to the day-in/day-out planning of workouts. I never question if I am doing the right work because I have already done that thinking. This mindset requires a fair amount of trust in your ability to program workouts. You may find it more helpful to employ a coach or trusted friend to help with your plan. One of the things I like about running ultras is that there is a little bit of mad-scientist-type thinking involved. We, or our coaches/mentors, must realize that there is no single way to prepare for events of this magnitude. In a 5k, there are only so many things that can happen in the 13-20 minute range. Maybe double that number for a 10k and quadruple that for a marathon Now, quadruple that and add in elements like changing weather, running in the dark, for 15-48 hours. This is where having a good game plan both in training and in racing will pay off. If your training is where it should be, you can rely on your game plan come race day. The occasional oddity will not knock you off kilter if everything else is normal. This oddity need not always be negative; maybe you find yourself leading the race with 10 miles to go and decide to push it to go for the gold. Keep your game plan in mind, plan your drop bags and crew carefully. Race day need not have the drama of bad preparation. I would also suggest laying out all your gear and walking through the race in your mind to detect any miscalculations ("start to May Queen, 13.5 miles, 1:40, 2 hand held bottles, one at start, one at boat ramp, 3 Gu's, headlamp with fresh batteries, gloves and hat... Repeat this process for every section of the race). Try to divide the race into 6-8 mile or 1 hour chunks. The other element that helps me is to pack just slightly more than I think I'll need. This usually means an extra Gu and a few S-Caps, on training runs in the back country, I have a small survival/first aid kit, knife, and fire striker. Sometimes these are for me, other times you come across someone in need. Either way, being organized really helps here.
This also goes for music. Knowing your music well can make a little bump in the road very easy to overcome. This breaks down to understanding the rhythms, pitches, and other players' parts in a very deliberate and systematic nature. Sometimes things just come apart a little and if you are either unprepared, unorganized in your practice or inflexible because of this, it is really hard to get back in the swing of things. It is easy the other way.
Additionally, I carry a bag of emergency musical supplies. Yours may vary but I have a hemostat, lighter, screwdriver, cigarette paper, extra batteries for my tuner, reed knife and sandpaper to name a few items in my kit. This way, if anything minor goes wrong, I can make due until a proper solution can be found... and hopefully no one will be the wiser.
Additionally, organization must be maintained. Keep up with your supplies, gear, music, and any other needed items. Keep your training and practice plans up to date and trust that you, your teacher/coach, or whoever else is helping you. This takes out the second guessing.
Good luck, stay organized and flexible (and thirsty, my friends).
Staying flexible is about more than your best yoga poses. Staying flexible means, to me, incorporating a personal policy much like the Marines policy... Improvise, adapt, overcome. I'll give you an example. We received a great deal of snow here this weekend. I am ramping up for Hardrock this summer and trying to fit in all the training I can. While snow at the cabin is pretty and fun to train on, snow around town is often treacherous and almost always leads to some sort of injury (read: time away from training, probably when the weather is nice). So, I improvised a solution. I first shoveled our complex's driveway then rode my bike on the trainer for the same time I would have spent on the road. This was followed by some weight exercises using 5 gallon buckets filled with snow (rocks would have been better, lesson learned). This workout, while not in my training plan, served as cross-training, recovery, and strength all in one. I suppose in an ideal situation, I could buy a gym pass and run on a treadmill but the idea of getting more than just a recovery run and not leaving the house sounded appealing. Stay flexible.
On the other side of that coin is to stay organized. I sat down about a month and a half ago and came up with a training plan from then to Hardrock, knowing that I would probably not get 100% of the workouts due to life, weather, or work but I will get the vast majority of them and all the important ones. Having a game plan for the whole season lets me be on auto pilot when it comes to the day-in/day-out planning of workouts. I never question if I am doing the right work because I have already done that thinking. This mindset requires a fair amount of trust in your ability to program workouts. You may find it more helpful to employ a coach or trusted friend to help with your plan. One of the things I like about running ultras is that there is a little bit of mad-scientist-type thinking involved. We, or our coaches/mentors, must realize that there is no single way to prepare for events of this magnitude. In a 5k, there are only so many things that can happen in the 13-20 minute range. Maybe double that number for a 10k and quadruple that for a marathon Now, quadruple that and add in elements like changing weather, running in the dark, for 15-48 hours. This is where having a good game plan both in training and in racing will pay off. If your training is where it should be, you can rely on your game plan come race day. The occasional oddity will not knock you off kilter if everything else is normal. This oddity need not always be negative; maybe you find yourself leading the race with 10 miles to go and decide to push it to go for the gold. Keep your game plan in mind, plan your drop bags and crew carefully. Race day need not have the drama of bad preparation. I would also suggest laying out all your gear and walking through the race in your mind to detect any miscalculations ("start to May Queen, 13.5 miles, 1:40, 2 hand held bottles, one at start, one at boat ramp, 3 Gu's, headlamp with fresh batteries, gloves and hat... Repeat this process for every section of the race). Try to divide the race into 6-8 mile or 1 hour chunks. The other element that helps me is to pack just slightly more than I think I'll need. This usually means an extra Gu and a few S-Caps, on training runs in the back country, I have a small survival/first aid kit, knife, and fire striker. Sometimes these are for me, other times you come across someone in need. Either way, being organized really helps here.
This also goes for music. Knowing your music well can make a little bump in the road very easy to overcome. This breaks down to understanding the rhythms, pitches, and other players' parts in a very deliberate and systematic nature. Sometimes things just come apart a little and if you are either unprepared, unorganized in your practice or inflexible because of this, it is really hard to get back in the swing of things. It is easy the other way.
Additionally, I carry a bag of emergency musical supplies. Yours may vary but I have a hemostat, lighter, screwdriver, cigarette paper, extra batteries for my tuner, reed knife and sandpaper to name a few items in my kit. This way, if anything minor goes wrong, I can make due until a proper solution can be found... and hopefully no one will be the wiser.
Additionally, organization must be maintained. Keep up with your supplies, gear, music, and any other needed items. Keep your training and practice plans up to date and trust that you, your teacher/coach, or whoever else is helping you. This takes out the second guessing.
Good luck, stay organized and flexible (and thirsty, my friends).
Thursday, January 31, 2013
4 Tips to Self-Improvement
Good morning everyone!
I am happy to be back to blogging. It has been a while since I last wrote anything for you guys (I've been involved in a really cool arrangement for clarinet choir, which was sent to a publisher yesterday) but I am back with some tips to help you sharpen your skills, musically OR athletically.
A little overview... while I've mentioned it before, I can't stress enough the value of books like Stephen R. Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and it's sister book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens." These books really lay it all out there and make it so you don't have to spend 20 years trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel. I don't think any of these tips are new or are complicated but when applied properly, they can help you achieve your dreams.
1. Here we go. The first item of importances is find yourself a teacher, coach, mentor, guru, etc. These are people who have walked the road you are walking and can probably lend some advice. I never improved as much in running as when I started training with a well-known South African coach in Boulder. He really knew how to get his athletes to perform. Additionally, he had the heart of a teacher and would explain to me the practical aspects of things I'd only discussed in science class (like mitochondria... who knew those little guys were so important). I will never forget him drawing me a picture of a muscle cell in the dirt behind the track after a workout one day. My musical development was a little different but both my main teachers led me down a path of self-exploration which led to dramatic improvement. These people know their stuff and, like the coach, helped me find my own path. People literally slingshot into high performance when they start working with an expert. Find someone you respect and can, sometimes blindly, trust to guide you where you have clearly communicated that you would like to be. If you are fairly self-motivated, maybe a once a month meeting or phone call will suffice. Other people prefer a once a week lesson and yet others would prefer to meet 5 times a week. You must figure out exactly where you are on that spectrum and clearly communicate that to your new guru. Additionally, make it worth their time. If they are good, they are busy and if they are busy, they are probably good. If you can afford daily coaching and are willing to put in the requisite practice or mileage (or whatever daily actions your pursuit requires), do it. You will not regret it. If you can't afford that (and most can't) then you will have to have a stronger degree of personal discipline to make this happen.
2. The second aspect is almost more important than the first: listen to your guru and do what he recommends! All the great teaching in the world is for naught if you ignore or don't practice what the experts you trust are recommending. A story of two students: Both came to me with a high degree of natural talent. One had a mediocre work ethic (at best) and the other works like a dog. As you may imagine, the dog-like worker has improved ten-fold in the short time we have known each other. This student comes to lessons prepared, asks lots of great questions, and has won accolades of which no one in the history of his community has ever even dreamed. I am 100% confident that if this student continues this upward trajectory, they will complete their goal of a DMA in clarinet one day. As you may expect: The other student has stayed about the same. There have been some improvements but they are few and far between. Am I feeding magic beans to the first student? That must be it! Or (reality check) the diligent student is trusting the mentor (me). I've seen this with athletes as well. They show up for training and then go home and either a.) sit on the couch with a bag of chips and a six pack of beer or b.) go out for another long run their coach has no idea is happening and think they'll somehow improve on his plan. The diligent athlete asks the coach: "what should I be doing in my downtime?" (the answer is usually hydrating and recovering). If you have a great training plan or think you know how to play your instrument perfectly, why do you employ a coach/teacher? If you are just filling in credits for a degree, is this fair to yourself, your school, your teacher or your future students? In my humble opinion, there are way too many clarinet teachers out there who can barely play the instrument and squeaked (small pun intended) through college. If you do not have a firm grip on it, what business does a private teacher have spreading bad habits on to students who, unknowingly, pay them to do that? Additionally, if you are on scholarship either for athletics or music or anything else and can manage to half-butt your way through your degree while keeping your scholarship, have you really helped your school (who is paying you the scholarship)? This is not uncommon at all but this self-centeredness is really bad behavior. Out of respect for your teachers and coaches, please adhere to their plans as best you are able. Don't feel bad about clarifying and re-clarifying your goals with your guru but if you trust them enough to pay them for their services and take up their time, you owe it to them to do the work!
3. Realistic reflection. Realistic reflection on this blog comes in several forms. The easiest and most measurable is the time trial. If an athlete can run a solid time trial, alone (especially on a track), they are capable of at least a 5-10% improvement on race day. This is an extremely hard discipline to master for me. We all reach that moment where the brain says "ah, it's ok, you can let off the gas a little and pick it up later." Someone needs to smack that guy in the face! That is exactly the moment to do as our high school sweatshirts formerly advised "Shut up and run!" Training for an ultra-marathon in this way can be tricky but not impossible. The aforementioned South African coach told me: "Josh, you have to run like a musician." There is really much in common: cadence of foot strike, rubato for climbs and descents, timing of nutrition and hydration, heaviness of the set up and relative comfort of the activity. I practice all of these at some point in my week. A week of running for me equals about a day of clarinet practice in terms of items practiced. But athletes aren't the only ones. Musicians face the same obstacles. Recordings are our time trials. A major difference being that we usually play better in practice than in concerts. I advise students to buy a cheap recorder that is easy to use and learn to make yourself sound good on it. If you are having trouble with a rhythmic issue, put the metronome on, start the recorder and play the excerpt. Notice where you and the metronome differ. Most likely, it's one small spot tripping up the rest of your performance. Go back and fix that spot by whatever means possible. When you're reasonably sure you have it turn on the metronome and recorder again. Is it right? Keep repeating this until you get it. This doesn't usually take long. Now record a larger section with and without the metronome. Remember that in an audition, you won't have that luxury. You can also practice pitch issues but putting the metronome on a drone pitch. Play the excerpt into the recording and you should be able to tell very quickly where your pitch is not quite right. Practice, re-record, repeat. Self-reflection is easy to understand but really hard to do when our ego gets in the way. The only way I've found to remedy this is to dissociate and talk to myself as though I were one of my students. The guys in adjacent offices must think I have multiple personalities. Either way, it works. Look in the mirror... is that the product you want? If not, what would you like to improve?
4. The final tip of the day is to remain a student. Even if you have a bunch of degrees hanging on your wall, remain a student... or as T.S. Elliot said in The Wasteland:
I am happy to be back to blogging. It has been a while since I last wrote anything for you guys (I've been involved in a really cool arrangement for clarinet choir, which was sent to a publisher yesterday) but I am back with some tips to help you sharpen your skills, musically OR athletically.
A little overview... while I've mentioned it before, I can't stress enough the value of books like Stephen R. Covey's "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" and it's sister book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens." These books really lay it all out there and make it so you don't have to spend 20 years trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel. I don't think any of these tips are new or are complicated but when applied properly, they can help you achieve your dreams.
1. Here we go. The first item of importances is find yourself a teacher, coach, mentor, guru, etc. These are people who have walked the road you are walking and can probably lend some advice. I never improved as much in running as when I started training with a well-known South African coach in Boulder. He really knew how to get his athletes to perform. Additionally, he had the heart of a teacher and would explain to me the practical aspects of things I'd only discussed in science class (like mitochondria... who knew those little guys were so important). I will never forget him drawing me a picture of a muscle cell in the dirt behind the track after a workout one day. My musical development was a little different but both my main teachers led me down a path of self-exploration which led to dramatic improvement. These people know their stuff and, like the coach, helped me find my own path. People literally slingshot into high performance when they start working with an expert. Find someone you respect and can, sometimes blindly, trust to guide you where you have clearly communicated that you would like to be. If you are fairly self-motivated, maybe a once a month meeting or phone call will suffice. Other people prefer a once a week lesson and yet others would prefer to meet 5 times a week. You must figure out exactly where you are on that spectrum and clearly communicate that to your new guru. Additionally, make it worth their time. If they are good, they are busy and if they are busy, they are probably good. If you can afford daily coaching and are willing to put in the requisite practice or mileage (or whatever daily actions your pursuit requires), do it. You will not regret it. If you can't afford that (and most can't) then you will have to have a stronger degree of personal discipline to make this happen.
2. The second aspect is almost more important than the first: listen to your guru and do what he recommends! All the great teaching in the world is for naught if you ignore or don't practice what the experts you trust are recommending. A story of two students: Both came to me with a high degree of natural talent. One had a mediocre work ethic (at best) and the other works like a dog. As you may imagine, the dog-like worker has improved ten-fold in the short time we have known each other. This student comes to lessons prepared, asks lots of great questions, and has won accolades of which no one in the history of his community has ever even dreamed. I am 100% confident that if this student continues this upward trajectory, they will complete their goal of a DMA in clarinet one day. As you may expect: The other student has stayed about the same. There have been some improvements but they are few and far between. Am I feeding magic beans to the first student? That must be it! Or (reality check) the diligent student is trusting the mentor (me). I've seen this with athletes as well. They show up for training and then go home and either a.) sit on the couch with a bag of chips and a six pack of beer or b.) go out for another long run their coach has no idea is happening and think they'll somehow improve on his plan. The diligent athlete asks the coach: "what should I be doing in my downtime?" (the answer is usually hydrating and recovering). If you have a great training plan or think you know how to play your instrument perfectly, why do you employ a coach/teacher? If you are just filling in credits for a degree, is this fair to yourself, your school, your teacher or your future students? In my humble opinion, there are way too many clarinet teachers out there who can barely play the instrument and squeaked (small pun intended) through college. If you do not have a firm grip on it, what business does a private teacher have spreading bad habits on to students who, unknowingly, pay them to do that? Additionally, if you are on scholarship either for athletics or music or anything else and can manage to half-butt your way through your degree while keeping your scholarship, have you really helped your school (who is paying you the scholarship)? This is not uncommon at all but this self-centeredness is really bad behavior. Out of respect for your teachers and coaches, please adhere to their plans as best you are able. Don't feel bad about clarifying and re-clarifying your goals with your guru but if you trust them enough to pay them for their services and take up their time, you owe it to them to do the work!
3. Realistic reflection. Realistic reflection on this blog comes in several forms. The easiest and most measurable is the time trial. If an athlete can run a solid time trial, alone (especially on a track), they are capable of at least a 5-10% improvement on race day. This is an extremely hard discipline to master for me. We all reach that moment where the brain says "ah, it's ok, you can let off the gas a little and pick it up later." Someone needs to smack that guy in the face! That is exactly the moment to do as our high school sweatshirts formerly advised "Shut up and run!" Training for an ultra-marathon in this way can be tricky but not impossible. The aforementioned South African coach told me: "Josh, you have to run like a musician." There is really much in common: cadence of foot strike, rubato for climbs and descents, timing of nutrition and hydration, heaviness of the set up and relative comfort of the activity. I practice all of these at some point in my week. A week of running for me equals about a day of clarinet practice in terms of items practiced. But athletes aren't the only ones. Musicians face the same obstacles. Recordings are our time trials. A major difference being that we usually play better in practice than in concerts. I advise students to buy a cheap recorder that is easy to use and learn to make yourself sound good on it. If you are having trouble with a rhythmic issue, put the metronome on, start the recorder and play the excerpt. Notice where you and the metronome differ. Most likely, it's one small spot tripping up the rest of your performance. Go back and fix that spot by whatever means possible. When you're reasonably sure you have it turn on the metronome and recorder again. Is it right? Keep repeating this until you get it. This doesn't usually take long. Now record a larger section with and without the metronome. Remember that in an audition, you won't have that luxury. You can also practice pitch issues but putting the metronome on a drone pitch. Play the excerpt into the recording and you should be able to tell very quickly where your pitch is not quite right. Practice, re-record, repeat. Self-reflection is easy to understand but really hard to do when our ego gets in the way. The only way I've found to remedy this is to dissociate and talk to myself as though I were one of my students. The guys in adjacent offices must think I have multiple personalities. Either way, it works. Look in the mirror... is that the product you want? If not, what would you like to improve?
4. The final tip of the day is to remain a student. Even if you have a bunch of degrees hanging on your wall, remain a student... or as T.S. Elliot said in The Wasteland:
“We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.”
The North Face says "Never Stop Exploring." This is good advice. As a graduate student, my teachers spoke about voicing and tone color. Like a good student, I did what they recommended but I didn't really understand the concept until a few years ago when I started experimenting (exploring) with multiphonics and extended techniques. I read a few books, played around a little and one day it clicked. Like a kid with a new box of crayons (the really big box!) I suddenly had all these new colors and slight variances of colors to use. I kept messing and playing around. Then I read the Tabuteau book and listened to him play and that color palate expanded again. I may get my butt kicked technically by the giants in the field (I'm working on that one, see the previous point), but with a good reed I can match their tone color. After a while it feels like musical impersonations. SNL eat your heart out!
I hope these help. Keep getting better at what you do!
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Silverton and Beyond!
This semester promised to be filled with excitement and thus far it has delivered on it's promises! I returned late last night from the Silverton Fall Colors Chamber Music Festival where we, the artists, had the experience of making music in a beautiful, rustic, mountain town. The artists on the concert included Tim Black, violin, viola, festival organizer; Dr. Katherine Shields, viola; and Dr. Andrew O'brian, piano. Together performed two Dvorak miniatures, the Mozart Trio, and the Gordon Jacob Trio. Additionally, we heard smaller works by Scirabin, Schubert, and Bill Douglas. For me, it is really an interesting experience to perform with people in a very brief but intense setting. We spent the first few hours reacquainting musically before we really settled in to each other's craft. While it's not easy, I believe this to be an experience every musician should undertake at some point. For those not so skilled, we provide workshops to pre-existing small groups. Look for future offerings in 2013.
I'll attach some pictures for the weekend. Enjoy!
I'll attach some pictures for the weekend. Enjoy!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Tuesday, September 11, 2012 and the Power of Binary Inquiries
There are many things to discuss here today. The first, the inevitable... today is September 11. If we take nothing else from those events, let's take away the sense of compassion that ensued and the looking our for someone besides number one. I received a terrified phone call that morning from my roommate's family. The woman on the phone said, "Have you turned on the television?" It was about 7:00 am and I was preparing for a day at work at the Boulder Running Company on Pearl Street. She frantically told me that a plane had hit the North Tower. I said I'd check on it and have my roommate call her back. Literally three minutes later, the second plane hit. As I was watching coverage of the first plane. I went to work that day and needless to say, we shut down early and had very little foot traffic. We watched the news that night in eerie disbelief. I think everyone went through a similar experience. I got up the next day and went to work with an expression of "what just happened?" Slowly life went back to normal but an innocence was lost that day, by all, I believe. The real take-away from that event was that for a short while, people really seemed to care about each other. Friends, acquaintances, colleagues, and total strangers realized that these are people, just like me. While most of that feeling has eroded over the 11 years, it still appears from time to time. As a nation, I wouldn't mind if we could get back to that post 9-11 approach to people.
In the realm of running or music, I would like to impart a very small, simple approach that can radically improve you experience in either (or both). So often in our training or practicing, we are looking for massive improvements. This is noble and should be considered but the root of large improvements are fixing very small parts. Here's how it's done (extrapolate as necessary). In our endeavors, we each have many weak spots. Some weak spots are insignificant and others are critical. If my aim is to run 100 miles at 9:00/mile, being able to run a 100m in world-class time may be insignificant. With the same aim, if I am unable to run more than two consecutive 9:00 miles, this is significant and this is the starting place. We must first establish where our short comings are. If you work with a coach or teacher, they're usually pretty happy to share that with you (it is their job, after all). If you are self-coached or out of school, you must rely on realistic self-evaluation for this data (or you can ask a trusted, knowledgeable friend). This is the first step. This is usually a series of yes or no questions such as: "Did I play all the notes in this scale correctly?" If they answer is no, as I suspect it would be if you are asking the question, ask another yes/no question. "Did I play the first x number of notes of this scale correctly?" In this case, keep asking until the answer is no. When you reach the "no," use this as the focal point. Then we move to step 2.
The next part takes a little more faith and creativity. By asking yes/no questions, we can strengthen our weaknesses and surmount any obstacles. Let's say you consistently miss a note in a scale. Assuming you can establish what the right pitch is, you may ask: Am I using the right fingering (PS: In scales the answer is almost always "no" on this question)? Keeping asking these types of questions until the answer is "no." Once you reach the "no," experiment with alternate solutions. Aim to incorporate specific solutions, not generalized such as: "Is this better?" Save that for later. By isolating the issue, we can fix the small problems which may be derailing our entire operation.
The last step is integration. After we have extracted an issue, we must weave it back into the product. Sometimes, we get really good what was a problem but reinserting it into the bigger picture is skewed. This becomes a time to address the periphery and work through it slowly and piece by piece, possibly adjusting our starting place. To follow our scale example, if the problem was between the 6th and 7th notes of the scale (there are 8 notes in most major or minor scales, for those of you not familiar with music) but the first five notes were ok by themselves, then try starting on 5 and play to 8. If reintroduction is the problem, it must be achieved gradually.
To simplify, problem solving is achieved through three distinct steps of binary yes/no questions:
1. Identify the problem
2.a Experiment to find a solution to the problem (be creative, research, pray)
2.b Solve the problem
3. Reincorporate the problem area
4. Reevaluate
While this process is relatively easy, sometimes it can take a while. It is one thing to know you fall apart at 20 miles, it is quite another to train to remain strong at that point. Step 2 is the hardest, in my experience. Regardless, it is wise to have a plan to solve these problems and continually grow, whatever your field of endeavor!
In the realm of running or music, I would like to impart a very small, simple approach that can radically improve you experience in either (or both). So often in our training or practicing, we are looking for massive improvements. This is noble and should be considered but the root of large improvements are fixing very small parts. Here's how it's done (extrapolate as necessary). In our endeavors, we each have many weak spots. Some weak spots are insignificant and others are critical. If my aim is to run 100 miles at 9:00/mile, being able to run a 100m in world-class time may be insignificant. With the same aim, if I am unable to run more than two consecutive 9:00 miles, this is significant and this is the starting place. We must first establish where our short comings are. If you work with a coach or teacher, they're usually pretty happy to share that with you (it is their job, after all). If you are self-coached or out of school, you must rely on realistic self-evaluation for this data (or you can ask a trusted, knowledgeable friend). This is the first step. This is usually a series of yes or no questions such as: "Did I play all the notes in this scale correctly?" If they answer is no, as I suspect it would be if you are asking the question, ask another yes/no question. "Did I play the first x number of notes of this scale correctly?" In this case, keep asking until the answer is no. When you reach the "no," use this as the focal point. Then we move to step 2.
The next part takes a little more faith and creativity. By asking yes/no questions, we can strengthen our weaknesses and surmount any obstacles. Let's say you consistently miss a note in a scale. Assuming you can establish what the right pitch is, you may ask: Am I using the right fingering (PS: In scales the answer is almost always "no" on this question)? Keeping asking these types of questions until the answer is "no." Once you reach the "no," experiment with alternate solutions. Aim to incorporate specific solutions, not generalized such as: "Is this better?" Save that for later. By isolating the issue, we can fix the small problems which may be derailing our entire operation.
The last step is integration. After we have extracted an issue, we must weave it back into the product. Sometimes, we get really good what was a problem but reinserting it into the bigger picture is skewed. This becomes a time to address the periphery and work through it slowly and piece by piece, possibly adjusting our starting place. To follow our scale example, if the problem was between the 6th and 7th notes of the scale (there are 8 notes in most major or minor scales, for those of you not familiar with music) but the first five notes were ok by themselves, then try starting on 5 and play to 8. If reintroduction is the problem, it must be achieved gradually.
To simplify, problem solving is achieved through three distinct steps of binary yes/no questions:
1. Identify the problem
2.a Experiment to find a solution to the problem (be creative, research, pray)
2.b Solve the problem
3. Reincorporate the problem area
4. Reevaluate
While this process is relatively easy, sometimes it can take a while. It is one thing to know you fall apart at 20 miles, it is quite another to train to remain strong at that point. Step 2 is the hardest, in my experience. Regardless, it is wise to have a plan to solve these problems and continually grow, whatever your field of endeavor!
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
9/4/12
Happy Tuesday, all. It seems this really is the time I sit down and write about what's going on in my world. This week's new discover is the iPhone 4. One of my employers was gracious enough to include me in their plan and so I upgraded. It seems to work pretty well despite some initial issues getting everything set up. I really appreciate that my calendar syncs between my Macbook Pro and my iPhone wirelessly (and without me thinking about it). I have a couple of GPS aps that I'm itching to try but I'm hesitant to take the phone out on a run without a cover. It seems to be very delicate and the surfaces are very smooth. I'm a little paranoid about dropping it on the sidewalk or on a rock somewhere so to combat that, I've ordered an Otterbox Defender. We found it on Amazon for less than $20!
The music for my upcoming recitals is in an ever-improving state and I'm excited about my upcoming performances. Running on the other hand is in a sad state of affairs. The calf injury is feeling quite a bit better but these first two weeks of school have left me rather drained (bad excuse). A quick look at the calendar shows that the time I have available is usually in the neighborhood of 5 am or after 7 pm with Wednesdays being after 9 pm. Normally being up by 5 is not a problem, but I've been having trouble getting to bed before 11 pm and, as we all know, that's insufficient sleep for most people. I suppose the simplest solution at this time is just to get my happy little butt in bed earlier. I also find myself craving community in the running department. I really like my solo runs but every now and then it would be great to meet up with some other like minded people for a long run and shared adventure. I'm fascinated with other people's solutions to these (seemingly) mundane problems. Feel free to leave a comment about how you fit it all in.
Let's make this week better than last!
The music for my upcoming recitals is in an ever-improving state and I'm excited about my upcoming performances. Running on the other hand is in a sad state of affairs. The calf injury is feeling quite a bit better but these first two weeks of school have left me rather drained (bad excuse). A quick look at the calendar shows that the time I have available is usually in the neighborhood of 5 am or after 7 pm with Wednesdays being after 9 pm. Normally being up by 5 is not a problem, but I've been having trouble getting to bed before 11 pm and, as we all know, that's insufficient sleep for most people. I suppose the simplest solution at this time is just to get my happy little butt in bed earlier. I also find myself craving community in the running department. I really like my solo runs but every now and then it would be great to meet up with some other like minded people for a long run and shared adventure. I'm fascinated with other people's solutions to these (seemingly) mundane problems. Feel free to leave a comment about how you fit it all in.
Let's make this week better than last!
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Back (again)
Ok, so I'm back on here after a somewhat long hiatus. It seems my now bi-weekly drives to Farmington jar my creative writing juices. So here goes...
We have a wedding date! (finally!) October 5th, 5:00 at FUMC in Durango. Most of the planning and prep is done. No stress there, which is surprising for a wedding.
Roni and I had a huge summer. There are no two ways about it. We each worked at our respective places of employment with "gazelle intensity" and easily put in 50-60 hours each week on top of driving between Durango and Creede every week. We're not yet debt free but this summer was very solid in terms of moving us ahead. To catch everyone up to speed: after reading Total Money Makeover in September, starting a budget in October, and taking Financial Peace this spring, we have paid off and cut up our only credit card, my car, and one small-ish student loan. All that remains are our student loans. We still have a big mountain to climb but we're working it. Sallie Mae can move out anytime, that's ok with us. Between the two of us, we work for Fort Lewis College, San Juan College, First United Methodist Church, Katzin Music, Piedra Vista High School and have private students of our own. Our weeks are a little hectic but we're making it work (and we even have most Saturdays to ourselves).
Clarinet-wise, I think things are at least on track. I'm preparing for a big semester in that department as well. I am performing with in a trio in mid-September on the Gordon Jacob Trio for clarinet, viola, and piano as well as the Mozart Kegelstatt and a couple Dvorak Serenades. We'll be at the Silverton Fall Colors Chamber Music Festival as well as at Fort Lewis College on September 17th. Additionally, I am preparing a solo recital of the Copland Concerto, Piazzolla Histoire du Tango, and Villa-Lobos Choros No. 2. The Copland and V.L. are in good shape, but the Piazzolla has some work to be done... mostly technical as many of the licks don't lay very well under the fingers. It'll be ready by October 28th.
The real frustration is in running. No races this summer but I wouldn't have been in great shape anyway. The calf-thingee from this spring is still rearing it's ugly head from time to time so I'm not at all happy about that. The compression sleeves are a help, though I wish they were a little better (any suggestions?). I really would like to be in the 15-20 hour/week range with this but I'm currently closer to 5-10. I'll start posting workouts when I getting into the double digit hours again. I would say this is due to 2-parts busy, 1-part injury prevention/ mitigation. Not a good combo. I did discover the beauty of the Riverview Athletic Complex (aka a decent sized softball/soccer complex with very runable grass). I aim to make that a staple of my week, possibly sans shoes. It's a little more than .6 miles from my house and couldn't be any closer to my office at the church. (Funny side story: a young guy from the school, probably 6 or 7 years old, was walking home one afternoon and screamed at me to "Put some pants on, you freak." I told him that wasn't very nice and he sprinted home. You could tell he was having a bad day from the way he left school. I love split shorts.) Additionally, I've really enjoyed the Junction Creek trail but recent cycling activities have drawn huge crowds there and I spend a good chunk of time dodging bikers who are screaming down the trails at unsafe speeds. It's a great place to train as it's shady and open most of the year, includes some good sized, runable climbs, etc. I'm simply not a fan of the psycho cyclists. The Mike and Susie trails behind Raider Ridge are decent but tough due to the constant undulation. In that same area, Horsethief Road is an enjoyable, smooth area that may be better suited for a relaxing mid-distance run. The upside is that I'm using my HRM more and dialing in on the appropriate effort for each workout. I've switched from a numbers-based display to a %-based display and it seems to be working a little better.
Obviously, time management is kind of an issue here. Overall, I think I'm quite adept at it and manage myself quite well. I don't mind getting up at 5:00 or going to bed late, if need be. I do stress a little more than I should during my pre-dawn runs. I'm usually on time for things and during those runs, I worry that if something happens (i.e. my calf acts up and I have to walk home), I'll be inexcusably late for any subsequent appointments--especially on days when I have to drive to Farmington, NM. I've never really been able to relax during a mid-day workout unless it was at the gym (but who wants to run on a treadmill when the weather is decent?) So it's easier to wait until I get home which is always risky. It is at this time of the day, I'm hungry, tired, and pretty ready just to read a book or crash on the couch with the wife and dog. Tuesdays are always hard. One day at a time, I suppose. On Wednesdays, there really is no option to running before work since choir rehearsal goes until 8:30 PM. It still stresses me out. I would really love to consistently have a 2-3 hour run before my day gets going. Sounds like a goal to me. I do think that 5:00AM is about my limit, though, especially when the day could go until 9:00 PM. So here goes. I'll post later with an update.
We have a wedding date! (finally!) October 5th, 5:00 at FUMC in Durango. Most of the planning and prep is done. No stress there, which is surprising for a wedding.
Roni and I had a huge summer. There are no two ways about it. We each worked at our respective places of employment with "gazelle intensity" and easily put in 50-60 hours each week on top of driving between Durango and Creede every week. We're not yet debt free but this summer was very solid in terms of moving us ahead. To catch everyone up to speed: after reading Total Money Makeover in September, starting a budget in October, and taking Financial Peace this spring, we have paid off and cut up our only credit card, my car, and one small-ish student loan. All that remains are our student loans. We still have a big mountain to climb but we're working it. Sallie Mae can move out anytime, that's ok with us. Between the two of us, we work for Fort Lewis College, San Juan College, First United Methodist Church, Katzin Music, Piedra Vista High School and have private students of our own. Our weeks are a little hectic but we're making it work (and we even have most Saturdays to ourselves).
Clarinet-wise, I think things are at least on track. I'm preparing for a big semester in that department as well. I am performing with in a trio in mid-September on the Gordon Jacob Trio for clarinet, viola, and piano as well as the Mozart Kegelstatt and a couple Dvorak Serenades. We'll be at the Silverton Fall Colors Chamber Music Festival as well as at Fort Lewis College on September 17th. Additionally, I am preparing a solo recital of the Copland Concerto, Piazzolla Histoire du Tango, and Villa-Lobos Choros No. 2. The Copland and V.L. are in good shape, but the Piazzolla has some work to be done... mostly technical as many of the licks don't lay very well under the fingers. It'll be ready by October 28th.
The real frustration is in running. No races this summer but I wouldn't have been in great shape anyway. The calf-thingee from this spring is still rearing it's ugly head from time to time so I'm not at all happy about that. The compression sleeves are a help, though I wish they were a little better (any suggestions?). I really would like to be in the 15-20 hour/week range with this but I'm currently closer to 5-10. I'll start posting workouts when I getting into the double digit hours again. I would say this is due to 2-parts busy, 1-part injury prevention/ mitigation. Not a good combo. I did discover the beauty of the Riverview Athletic Complex (aka a decent sized softball/soccer complex with very runable grass). I aim to make that a staple of my week, possibly sans shoes. It's a little more than .6 miles from my house and couldn't be any closer to my office at the church. (Funny side story: a young guy from the school, probably 6 or 7 years old, was walking home one afternoon and screamed at me to "Put some pants on, you freak." I told him that wasn't very nice and he sprinted home. You could tell he was having a bad day from the way he left school. I love split shorts.) Additionally, I've really enjoyed the Junction Creek trail but recent cycling activities have drawn huge crowds there and I spend a good chunk of time dodging bikers who are screaming down the trails at unsafe speeds. It's a great place to train as it's shady and open most of the year, includes some good sized, runable climbs, etc. I'm simply not a fan of the psycho cyclists. The Mike and Susie trails behind Raider Ridge are decent but tough due to the constant undulation. In that same area, Horsethief Road is an enjoyable, smooth area that may be better suited for a relaxing mid-distance run. The upside is that I'm using my HRM more and dialing in on the appropriate effort for each workout. I've switched from a numbers-based display to a %-based display and it seems to be working a little better.
Obviously, time management is kind of an issue here. Overall, I think I'm quite adept at it and manage myself quite well. I don't mind getting up at 5:00 or going to bed late, if need be. I do stress a little more than I should during my pre-dawn runs. I'm usually on time for things and during those runs, I worry that if something happens (i.e. my calf acts up and I have to walk home), I'll be inexcusably late for any subsequent appointments--especially on days when I have to drive to Farmington, NM. I've never really been able to relax during a mid-day workout unless it was at the gym (but who wants to run on a treadmill when the weather is decent?) So it's easier to wait until I get home which is always risky. It is at this time of the day, I'm hungry, tired, and pretty ready just to read a book or crash on the couch with the wife and dog. Tuesdays are always hard. One day at a time, I suppose. On Wednesdays, there really is no option to running before work since choir rehearsal goes until 8:30 PM. It still stresses me out. I would really love to consistently have a 2-3 hour run before my day gets going. Sounds like a goal to me. I do think that 5:00AM is about my limit, though, especially when the day could go until 9:00 PM. So here goes. I'll post later with an update.
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