Saturday or Sunday

STEP 1: Make a 30-second BEFORE recording

Keep in mind that the point of this BEFORE recording is not to prove anything, or even to sound "good."

The purpose is to establish a baseline of what starting a challenging piece sounds, feels, and looks like, before you've had a chance to develop your pre-performance routine.

Specific instructions on how (and what) to record

1. Select 30 seconds (or less) of the very beginning of a piece/movement that is relatively well-learned and memorized if possible. Ideally, it'd also be one that makes you a little nervous to start - like, maybe it starts really quietly at the tip of the bow, or perhaps you have a tendency to hesitate before playing the first note.
2. Set up your phone on a bookshelf or on the stand, or propped up on some books, so you can see all of yourself in the frame (not just your hands or the keyboard), and fire up the Vidyard app.
3. Press record, walk into the camera frame as if that's the stage, and take some time to go through your pre-performance routine and get centered. Then, play up to 30 seconds of the opening and stop. Like last week, make sure to only allow yourself ONE TAKE. And make it the FIRST run-through of the passage that day. You can warm up before recording, of course, but don't allow yourself to touch the passage before recording it!
4. Name the recording something like Week 2 - BEFORE, so it'll be easy to find it later.

A note for participants under the age of 18 If your parents would prefer that you not record or post video, one alternative would be to record audio only. You could still do this in the Vidyard app - just turn the camera around, or cover it with a post-it note, etc. Or, you could use the standard built-in video recording app on your phone.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday

STEP 2: Practice starting your piece with your pre-performance routine

[mepr-s3-link src="bpm-ppe4l/PPE-Week-2-Getting-Centered.pdf" expires="+180 minutes" download="force"]CLICK HERE[/mepr-s3-link] to download the pre-performance routine worksheet, which will help you reflect on how things are progressing with your pre-performance routine. Each worksheet is designed for one set of 7 repetitions (to be done in one sitting). So if you plan on doing one set of 7 reps each day, print 3 copies, so you'll have one for each day.

If you're finding the full routine to be a bit overwhelming, try the layered approach, where you might start with breathing on Monday, add releasing tension to the breathing on Tuesday, and add "hear before you play" to the breathing/releasing on Wed. Or if it feels like this is still moving too fast, just stick with one or two elements, and focus on making those one or two things more comfortable.

And if you lose steam or feel like you don't have the time to do all seven repetitions - that's ok too. Just do a few, and call it a day. =)

OPTIONAL: Practice "surfing"

If you don’t have time for this next practice challenge, that’s totally ok. You can try this next month, after we've finished the live sessions. But if you do get a chance, it might be fun to experiment a bit more with the activation exercise we did in class, seeing if you can experience that feeling of letting go and channeling energy into your playing in a useful way. Here’s how:

1. Download the Learning to Surf worksheet [mepr-s3-link src="bpm-ppe4l/PPE-Week-2-Surfing.pdf" expires="+180 minutes" download="force"]HERE[/mepr-s3-link].
2. Select 60 seconds of music to play (I recommend starting with a piece that’s relatively high-energy if you’re new to this exercise).
3. Set up your recording device (doesn't have to be Vidyard; just use whatever you'd normally use to record, as you won't be uploading any of these recordings to the forum).
4. Gently get your heart rate up a tiny bit.
5. Press record on your recording device.
6. Give yourself ~15-20 seconds to get centered.
7. Play for ~60 seconds, experimenting with channeling your energy into your playing, and not worrying so much about the little mistakes that will probably occur.
8. Log your repetition, noting any observations of interest.
9. Repeat steps 4-8, perhaps another 4 or 5 times. The sweet spot seems to be around the 4th or 5th repetition, when you're just getting started with this. i.e, that's when you start hearing more good things than bad things. =)

Thursday

STEP 3: Make an AFTER recording

Your AFTER recording setup will be similar to your BEFORE recording.

Record the same 30 seconds of music that you recorded earlier in the week, making sure to include the part of you going through your routine, and ensuring these are the first notes of the day after your warmup, and the first and ONLY take.

When you're done, call the video something like Week 2 - AFTER.

STEP 4: Compare your BEFORE & AFTER recordings

Take a moment to review your BEFORE recording. And then take a look at your AFTER recording.

What do you notice? What changes do you see or hear?

Does it sound like you trust yourself more right at the start? Is there less hesitation, or a clearer beginning to the sound? 

Did you feel more focused, and was the inner critic a little quieter? At least before the first note? If the critic popped in again after the first note, that's ok for now - we'll work on that next week.

STEP 5: Post your BEFORE & AFTER recordings

I know you're still probably feeling a little hesitant to post your video of something that doesn't sound as perfect as you'd like it to, but remember that the goal of this is not to elicit a critique of your playing from other musicians, but to borrow their ears and perspective to reinforce the positive changes from before to after, that you may have difficulty noticing in your own recordings. And to practice getting comfortable being more uncomfortable. =)

1. At the bottom of this page, you’ll find a discussion thread.
2. Click the red “Reply” button and post the Vidyard links to your BEFORE and AFTER videos for this week. And also let us know which ingredients you used in your routine (breathe, release tension, hear before you play, feel before you play). If you need a quick refresher on how to find your Vidyard share links, and post them in the discussion, click here for a quick video walkthrough. OR, if you'd like to try uploading your videos directly into the course, that's now an option! Click here for desktop/laptop instructions, and here for mobile device instructions.
3. DO NOT ask the system to notify you via email. If you check that box, you’ll get an email every time someone posts something!!!
4. Once you’ve posted your links, you’re ready for the second part of your homework!

A note for participants under the age of 18 If your parents would prefer that you not post video, you could post audio-only before and after recordings. Or, you could record video with Vidyard or your regular recording app, and share links with close friends or your teacher, and ask for their feedback instead.

Friday

STEP 6: Provide some feedback (to at least two people)

Remember that in this exercise, your role is less about critiquing your fellow musicians' playing, and more about helping your colleagues see/hear what has changed most in their playing from BEFORE to AFTER, so they can better evaluate the usefulness of the pre-performance routine they used.

The changes this week might be a little more subtle, as much of the change might be internal, but do you notice a difference in what you see and hear? Like, is there less hesitation in the AFTER? Or a clearer attack or articulation to the sound? More energy?

Share the things that you feel have changed most noticeably from their BEFORE to AFTER recordings. And not just in what you hear, but also in what you see.

And make sure you are replying not to my original post, but to your colleagues' before/after video posts. Like so:

Look for people with no comments first

Ideally, comments will be distributed relatively evenly. And my hope is that everyone will get at least two comments. So when you scan through the thread, look for those who haven't yet received any comments, or those who've received one comment.

In my dream scenario, you'll be able to leave one comment for someone who plays the same instrument as you, and one comment for someone who plays a different instrument than you do. That way everyone will get feedback from musicians with different perspectives and listening tendencies, which can be incredibly valuable.

I'm not sure if this will be possible, but fingers crossed!

Can I leave feedback for more than two people?

And yes, if you're so inclined, please do feel free to leave feedback for more than 2 people. 

Post Your Homework!

[bbp-single-topic id= 36841]