By Rigo Murillo
A year ago, I thought what I did yesterday would be impossible for me to do. But after a lot of training and discipline, I was able to accomplish my goal. I have learned that there is nothing impossible for the ones who are willing to pay the price of excellence.
Perfect practice makes perfect!
After many days of training, I made my best efforts and finish running a half marathon.
I did not try. I did it!
Dear Suzuki families,
Here is an article about the role of repetition in daily music practice. I think this information will help your daily Suzuki violin practice sessions with your children at home. The article was written by Kerstin Wartberg, a fellow Suzuki violin teacher from Germany.
I have attached versions of this article in both English and Spanish.
You can always go to www.LoveNurturedMusic.org/blog for practice resources.
Have a great week and I will see you at our lessons this week.
Blessings,
Rigo Murillo
Suzuki Strings Specialist
Love Nurtured Music Program
Progress Through Repetition
Progresar A Través De La Repetición
May 20, 2013 — Turns out, that old “practice makes perfect” adage may be overblown. New research led by Michigan State University’s Zach Hambrick finds that a copious amount of practice is not enough to explain why people differ in level of skill in two widely studied activities, chess and music.
In other words, it takes more than hard work to become an expert. Hambrick, writing in the research journal Intelligence, said natural talent and other factors likely play a role in mastering a complicated activity.
“Practice is indeed important to reach an elite level of performance, but this paper makes an overwhelming case that it isn’t enough,” said Hambrick, associate professor of psychology.
The debate over why and how people become experts has existed for more than a century. Many theorists argue that thousands of hours of focused, deliberate practice is sufficient to achieve elite status.
Hambrick disagrees.
“The evidence is quite clear,” he writes, “that some people do reach an elite level of performance without copious practice, while other people fail to do so despite copious practice.”
Hambrick and colleagues analyzed 14 studies of chess players and musicians, looking specifically at how practice was related to differences in performance. Practice, they found, accounted for only about one-third of the differences in skill in both music and chess.
So what made up the rest of the difference?
Based on existing research, Hambrick said it could be explained by factors such as intelligence or innate ability, and the age at which people start the particular activity. A previous study of Hambrick’s suggested that working memory capacity — which is closely related to general intelligence — may sometimes be the deciding factor between being good and great.
While the conclusion that practice may not make perfect runs counter to the popular view that just about anyone can achieve greatness if they work hard enough, Hambrick said there is a “silver lining” to the research.
“If people are given an accurate assessment of their abilities and the likelihood of achieving certain goals given those abilities,” he said, “they may gravitate toward domains in which they have a realistic chance of becoming an expert through deliberate practice.”
Hambrick’s co-authors are Erik Altmann from MSU; Frederick Oswald from Rice University; Elizabeth Meinz from Southern Illinois University; Fernand Gobet from Brunel University in the United Kingdom; and Guillermo Campitelli from Edith Cowan University in Australia.
The above story is based on materials provided by Michigan State University. Journal Reference: David Z. Hambrick, Frederick L. Oswald, Erik M. Altmann, Elizabeth J. Meinz, Fernand Gobet, Guillermo Campitelli. Deliberate practice: Is that all it takes to become an expert? Intelligence, 2013; DOI: 10.1016/j.intell.2013.04.001
The problem with review is NOT that students don’t want to do it. It is that it’s difficult to do it consistently throughout the Suzuki repertoire.
“Bucket” Review Technique:
Write all the pieces’ names on separate pieces of paper (or better yet, ping-pong balls), put them in a “bucket”. Everyday, have your violinist draw a few pieces of paper (or ping-pong balls) one at a time, reviewing each one, then, put the ones played in a second bucket.
When you’re through, change buckets and go through them again. When your child learns a new piece, add a new paper or ball with its name to the bucket. You can also include all of the pieces in the current book, and have your child LISTEN to it when it comes in the drawing.
This is the easiest way to “hit” all of the pieces before the “favorites” get played more, letting the others get relegated.
Happy practicing!
Rigo Murillo
Aug. 7, 2013 — Listening to music activates large networks in the brain, but different kinds of music are processed differently. A team of researchers from Finland, Denmark and the UK has developed a new method for studying music processing in the brain during a realistic listening situation. Using a combination of brain imaging and computer modeling, they found areas in the auditory, motor, and limbic regions to be activated during free listening to music. They were furthermore able to pinpoint differences in the processing between vocal and instrumental music.
The new method helps us to understand better the complex brain dynamics of brain networks and the processing of lyrics in music. The study was published in the journal NeuroImage.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the research team, led by Dr. Vinoo Alluri from the University of Jyväskylä, Finland, recorded the brain responses of individuals while they were listening to music from different genres, including pieces by Antonio Vivaldi, Miles Davis, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, The Shadows, Astor Piazzolla, and The Beatles. Following this, they analyzed the musical content of the pieces using sophisticated computer algorithms to extract musical features related to timbre, rhythm and tonality. Using a novel cross-validation method, they subsequently located activated brain areas that were common across the different musical stimuli.
The study revealed that activations in several areas in the brain belonging to the auditory, limbic, and motor regions were activated by all musical pieces. Notable, areas in the medial orbitofrontal region and the anterior cingulate cortex, which are relevant for self-referential appraisal and aesthetic judgments, were found to be activated during the listening. A further interesting finding was that vocal and instrumental music were processed differently. In particular, the presence of lyrics was found to shift the processing of musical features towards the right auditory cortex, which suggests a left-hemispheric dominance in the processing of the lyrics. This result is in line with previous research, but now for the first time observed during continuous listening to music.
“The new method provides a powerful means to predict brain responses to music, speech, and soundscapes across a variety of contexts,” says Dr. Vinoo Alluri.
The above story is based on materials provided by Suomen Akatemia (Academy of Finland), via AlphaGalileo.
Journal Reference: Vinoo Alluri, Petri Toiviainen, Torben E. Lund, Mikkel Wallentin, Peter Vuust, Asoke K. Nandi, Tapani Ristaniemi, Elvira Brattico. From Vivaldi to Beatles and back: Predicting lateralized brain responses to music. NeuroImage, 2013; 83: 627 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.06.064
Credit: Image courtesy of Suomen Akatemia (Academy of Finland)
By Rigo Murillo
I often see that successful music students and parents always manage to be well prepared for performances, auditions, and weekly lessons. They always have what they need when it comes to books, accessories, and all that’s needed to have a nice lesson time. But even the best well-intentioned student and parent may forget a thing or two that should be in their music tote bag. Even Yehudi Menuhin, the famous violinist of the twentieth century wrote in one of his books about what every violinist should have in his/her violin case.
For starters, here is a “musician’s tote bag kit” for you to think about:
String players, please add these:
I am sure that getting all these applicable accessories and necessities will make your practicing more consistent, successful and pleasant. It will at least impless your music teacher when an emergency comes up.
Happy practicing!
Rigo Murillo
