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Post your WOOP – Week of March 6th
How’d your WOOP go last week? If you had any wins, please share!
And if things didn’t go according to plans, please share that as well! To be honest, it’s probably more typical for plans to get sidetracked, so let us know where things might have gotten off-track, and we can all try to troubleshoot together. ????
If you plan to set a new or revised intention for the week, post your Wish, Outcome, Obstacle, and Plan below! (shorter is often better – just one sentence or a few words for each)
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60 Replies
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The first week was successful but i kept undermining myself by telling myself the task was too small and i wasnt getting anywhere. But i did complete the task and i did record it daily and i had a win. So i discovered that i make goals too big or unreal. It goes back to early days when my colleagues would breezily remark how they memorized a concerto in a week or had no time to practice but could play that new piece flawlessly (at least to my ears). I was setting myself up weekly to fail.
So i wrote down two goals for the week. First, finish memorizing the first movement of the beethoven appasionata and two learn the tricky second section of the walker fourth movement (same section as last week but in an entirely different key with subtle difference that drive any sane person mad).
If i do one i would feel i failed the other so i need to choose one and save the other for next week. The walker wins.
I will feel clearer and more capable although i am sure the tempo designated by walker is not attainable this week. So 3/4 tempo and this may be the final tempo.
Obstacle. Still too much screen time. If i open a machine for screen time i will set a timer for five minutes and then turn it off. Then Go do the following:
1. Take a nap
2. Go for a walk
3. Pull something or clean something in the garden
4. Throw out something in the basement.
5. Reorganize a shelf
6. Declutter a drawer or closet
7. Play anything on the piano for five minutes
8. Play through a rep piece. .
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Yay! Small is good! Makes it easier to build bigger over time. =)
And in fact, I’ve found it really helpful to set an expectation that one doesn’t have to have a perfect week for the week to be a win. For instance, you could set an expectation to succeed at the WOOP 3 out of 5 days, or 4 out of 7, etc. and gradually build up to 6 or 7 out of 7, for instance.
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Wish: I want to be proficient with Violins 1 and 2 of Peter und der Wolf for an orchestra project.
Outcome: I will feel competent and will be ready to engage with ensemble playing next Monday (March 13th) at our first rehearsal. I will enjoy the remaining challenges and the rehearsal process.
Process: I will divide the music into five sections and prepare one section per day for Monday to Friday. I will mark the spots that need attention (red spots) and will cycle through them until they become yellow and finally green. Saturday and Sunday are for consolidation (playing along with a recording, possibly playing something in my teacher’s studio class). I schedule an hour per day for that.
Obstacle: I feel some overwhelm and have some fear of failure, which leads to procrastination.
Plan: Each morning, I will schedule an hour for that work and set an alarm. I will also set a reflection period for 10 minutes prior in which i connect to WHY I want to practice that work. Following a process by Brooke Castillo, I will do a model, noticing what I am thinking and how that makes me feel. From there, I will re-engineer my thinking so that I feel motivated and capable and take appropriate action.
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Hi Anne,
I will also prepare a practice and performance plan tomorrow and your beginning is inspiring : “WHY ” I want to practice that and I add “HOW” should sound this.
I wish you a succesfully week!
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Thank you, Nora. HOW is a good addition to the reflection. Best wishes to you as well ❣️
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Anne – is that your own thing – red, yellow, green?? It makes sense, I love it – wondering where it came from.
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I started it when I saw the 1 to 5 stars ratings that one can give in Modacity. Colored adhesive strips are much easier to see at a glance and can be used all over a piece. I also use orange and blue, red — orange — yellow — green — blue since I have adhesive strips in these colors. Renée-Paule Gauthier (Mind over Finger) also uses the traffic light colors.
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Week Two Woop plan:
Wish ~ practice 6 days; practice scales and arpeggios; use Molly’s practice strategy for rep.
Outcome ~ I will feel accomplished and that I can make progress.
Obstacle ~ Don’t say that I will practice “tonight” knowing that’s it’s unrealistic to think I will practice after a long teaching day.
Plan ~ Clean up binders, put away curriculum, write quick sticky notes on each student’s assignment after teaching.
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Sometimes it can also help to think about starting something, and doing it for just 2 minutes, rather than thinking about the entirety of the task, which can be demotivating. Probably not a new tip, but sometimes it helps to apply things to ourselves, that we tell our students. ????
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My former therapist used to give himself the goal of getting his flute out of the case. After that, actually playing it was gravy!
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I like this! Getting it out of the case is easy. On days that I am tired I will do this. Just go and get my viola out. I I know that once it is out I will play. Thanks!!
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Grace, I have not heard this use of “gravy”. Does it mean easy? or enticing? Thanks.
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Hi Mark – “Gravy” is an old expression meaning something extra that makes a thing even better, like the gravy on top of meat or potatoes or biscuits. ????
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My WOOP goes up through 3/17 (started last Thurrsday) –so far, so good. Biggest issue was not making note of my “start times.” (WOOP involves an average of 1 hour a day work on my Celtic music project) It wasn’t a problem so far, as I made sure to practice more than an hour, but as my schedule gets tougher the next week+ it might be. So I’m adding to my WOOP to make sure to note my actual start & end times.
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This is my first week so I will set my goals here.
Wish: I have a Chamber Music get together at the Musicians’Union coming up next month. This is the first one I am attending so I want to make a great impression. I have been pretty good at practicing so far but I really want to up my game on this.
Outcome: I will feel confident and comfortable playing with everyone and enjoy some quartets.
Obstacle: I find when I need a break, I go straight to the computer to check emails or hop on YouTube. I will go out for a walk, eat a snack or take a quick nap instead.
Plan: Every morning I will take my dog out for a walk, eat breakfast and check emails (I am setting a timer for 10 minutes.). Then I practice for an hour. (I find if I practice early, I usually practice again in the afternoon and evening.). 1 hour of practice in the morning, 1 hour of practice in the afternoon and I am not going to beat myself up if I am too tired to practice at night. I can at least listen to some chamber music.
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Lovely morning routine, Susan ❣️
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Thanks Anne! This week I had a bit of trouble juggling my teaching schedule and practicing.
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Will be curious to hear how the routine goes – in particular I’m curious to see how much willpower it takes to get off email once you begin. I find it really tough to do – unless I snooze a bunch of emails to disappear from my inbox and show up later. Somehow that feels like it makes the emails not exist (until they reappear, at least) ????
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As far as emails went, I noticed that I kept forgetting to set my alarm. But, I did get off the email pretty quickly as there was nothing interesting to read. My biggest problem so far this week was sleep. I put so much thought into what I was going to do for the day but was not thinking about getting a good night’s sleep. There were in particular three days where I just couldn’t sleep and that affected my entire day after. No Sleep = No Practicing 🙁
I tried to practice but I just couldn’t focus at all.
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First week results: no further Youtube research, but did discuss with a local longtime retired piano teacher who confirmed my own teacher’s approach to creative/securing pp.Pretty much paid the desired attention to fitting f and p or pp notations more into the general “sound” or “character” of the two pieces I’m using as guinea pigs. Sadly, just had an overuse hand forearm discomfort reaction to practicing a Bach Prelude with lots of finger stretches and holds, but mainly due to excessive time spent in using rhythms for the first time! Live and learn. Have to back off this Bach for now, and return sloooowly for shorter times to my typical simpler Romantic era pieces and hover there ’til I recover fully. Vacation coming up so will practice the Bach twice a day and a few others, on my camping table the week of March 13!
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For future reference it can be a good idea to alternate between physically challenging and less physically taxing passages/repertoire during (within) practice sessions. Hope that helps with the arm!
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This is my first time trying this since I got caught up in a big concert rescheduling due to bad weather last week and never got to listen to the tutorial until a few minutes ago. I guess I kind of came up with something quite simple for myself to begin with on my own because just yesterday I decided this:
WISH: More focus on my musical endeavors (practice, reeds, bocal experimentation, research, listening, etc., no matter, and less consumption of news which distracts me and alters my mood in a negative way.
OUTCOME: Progress in my abilities. Less stress in my life and less distraction to my concentration. General feeling of calm.
OBSTACLE: 1. Habit and temptation. 2. A family member who likes to converse about current politics (as do I, but it is getting to me).
PLAN: 1. If I am tempted, then I will make reeds, play something, take a nap, walk or do a work out. 2. If it comes up in conversation, then I will listen, but not get overly engaged as is my tendency.
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Update of last week WOOP :
My wish was not 100% reality BUT I did improve a lot, a lot of times it is correct at tempo, but not 90% of the times. Considering that there is also a new fingering in those bars….I am happy with the result, I will continue practicing these bars slowly . And I am looking forward to hearing the suggestions of Molly to change “bad habits” or “old fingerings”.
WOOP for 6th march week:
WISH: to write ( and follow !!!) tomorrow a plan of study of the complete Guiliani op 107 (Thema and 6 variations) for the next 5 weeks.
OUTCOME: very happy if I realize that the plan works good (time invested and results)
OBSTACLE: I find difficult to decide how many repetitions (slow? tempo?) or how long for each variation, interleaved but how…etcetc.
PLAN: In case my plan is not “viable” or very confusing I will discussed the issues next week with my teacher after having worked one week on it as conceived tomorrow.
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I haven’t written about it yet, but there was an interesting study mentioned in the podcast episode with Robert Duke, where they limited the number of repetitions that were allowed, and that group did better than the group with unlimited repetitions. I’m oversimplifying the issue, but maybe experiment for a few days or a week with limiting yourself to x number of repetitions in one piece? And compare how that one comes along relative to other pieces you’re working on?
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I have just used that suggestion of Duke Noa. In fact my teacher uses that formule, but for me until now was not so useful because I stayed doing delibarate practice here and there and the timer was running…and finally I did not know in which repetition I was and 30 minutes were over, etc.
BUT this week I did a plan (WOOP) and it is working extremely good in the administration of time and results I think….. I am sure my teacher will be happy when I tell him next week about this plan…????
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Hi Nora: perhaps we should buddy-up: I’m working on the Giuliani 107 too! (For the pianists out there, it’s Mauro Giuliani’s version of Handel’s “Harmonious Blacksmith”).
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Oh really ! yes let’s try that ! I do not exactly know how…. Celeste!
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Nora, we’ll figure something out! I just need to get through this weekend (Master class but NOT playing the Giuliani, obviously!) and then we can brainstorm. I don’t know how far into it you are, or what edition; I can play all the variations but as you know some are… more harder?… than others! I can think of several spots where it took a lot of trial-and-error with fingerings and Molly Gebrian’s approach may be useful there helping each other.
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Yay, awesome that you found each other. In Monday’s weekly digest, I’m hoping to send out some more info about how to connect with each other. As in, you can connect via zoom on your own, or if you don’t want to pay for zoom, etc., there’s a free meeting room here on this platform, where you can meet online.
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great Noa. May be we will be also in the same group with Celeste? let’ see…
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I have an old edition Celeste, my teacher gave me this and I find it a beautiful music and a challenge for my level. And I am working on it since June 2022…I am quite slow learning…and high ambitions!!!! ( to play like John Williams ????). Far far away,,, of course….but he is my inspiration…My objective is to work on it until June 2023 and BASTA. I do not have concerts, like an amateur…but I want to have a nice recording of it for me , only the sound, not a video…to hear later the music in the living room with our great sound …how to say it..well you know… Noa will give us ideas how to meet…we could use also Skipe….see you soon !!!????. I have a clear fingering now of both hands after several changes….
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@nora and @celestemcc – I’ll explain this more to the full group in the next monday digest email, but there’s a free room you can use to meet with each other right here. It’s in the sidebar called “Meeting Room”, and you’re welcome to try it out anytime you’d like.
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This is the first page of my edition Celeste, beautiful old…????
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WISH: It’s March 7th, working on Mozart Sonata 13 KV 333 2nd Movement Andante cantabile. Work on Measure 32-82. Get comfortable with the notes and develop a plan for interpretation.
OUTCOME: A level of comfort playing with direction and feeling.
OBSTACLES: procrastination
PLAN: If I’m thinking about the piece, THEN I WILL sit at the piano and work on one phrase.
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Wish: Be relaxed and prepared, with buttery tone and easy articulation, for my trio’s Mon Mar 13 dress rehearsal/recording and Wed Mar 15 gig.
Outcome: Feeling of progress that we have a good recording to use for promo and learning, and a feeling of accomplishment that I played my best in concert.
Obstacle: That I lose focus and don’t do the necessary practice, because of time crunch with writing goals/deadlines/teaching.
Plan: Do 2 practices a day, and limit each to 30-45 min. Order of work: begin day with exercises/scales, then work on novel (Fri this replaced by teaching), then practice the program for gig (after latter practice take time to improve my sheet music bec has too many notes and changes on them)
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I recorded 1st time for both my recital pieces. I felt it helped me focus on areas to practice and also encouraging about how I was able to keep going through missed spots.
This week —
Wish — perform pieces 3 times before recital on Sunday
Outcome — I will feel more confident in the recital hall waiting for my turn to play
Obstacle — I don’t assert myself to perform for others, am passive and let the moment pass,
Plan — I will say “hey, I’d like to perform my recital pieces for you” instead
of being quiet. If I miss a chance, I’ll create another, maybe play for
someone on Zoom instead-
Yay for recording! ????
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I didn’t manage to enter my WOOP in time last week, but here’s my plan for this week:
Wish: to finish memorizing the first half of the Meditation from Thaïs.
Outcome: Freeing mental bandwidth to focus on playing more expressively.
Obstacle: I tend to start practicing right after work, when I’m tired.
Plan: Practice at lunchtime, or take a 15-minute break after work before diving in.
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The nap is a great idea – that will actually help with making your practice stick better too!
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I also didn’t get my plan in for last week. I’m just now getting back into the habit of practicing on a regular basis so taking baby steps. I’m very grateful to have this platform and community to learn on! So, here is this week’s:
Wish: spend time at the piano every day (no specific amount at this point). I want to feel the joy in playing and creating sound that I like. I’m giving myself permission to play whatever I like. I want to shift from “have to” to “want to” be at the piano.
Outcome: Enjoy the feeling that I’m doing what I love doing. It’s easy, effortless and without stress because I make it that way.
Obstacle: Putting other things first. Not being ready to sit down until all chores are done – and they never are!
Plan: If I feel that I want to do a chore instead of time at the piano I will listen to the different selections of the music I am studying. (Not 100% clear on this step. Shouldn’t the “then I will” be more directly related to my wish?)
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Generally, yes, I think one’s plan will relate more directly to one’s wish, but in your case, I think this can work, in that the goal is to gently make playing/practicing more closely associated with positive feelings and joy, and your plan seems to nudge you in that direction, if I’m understanding it correctly.
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My WOOP worked out well last week. I had a small goal of 8 (tricky) measures getting up 10 BPM by the end of the week – succeeded.
WOOP for this week:
WISH – Plan (have made notes from listening to performances – add them to sheet music for reference) and apply dynamics/expression to Forest Whispers.
OUTCOME – I will feel confident in developing some musicality at the piano. My teacher has had me working on being more expressive with small bits here and there for some time and its finally sinking in and becoming more second nature.
OBSTACLE – I sometimes feel like I don’t understand how people make these magical sounds come out of the piano … but I do understand quite a bit now and I CAN apply what I know.
PLAN – If its not coming out as intended I will keep trying with little bits at a time. I have seen progress before with time and persistence and it’ll come as long as I keep trying.
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Yay! WOOP win. ????
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This is my first week. Took me a while to decide to join. Just had to consider the exchange rate, but I think it is going to be well worth it. Here is my first week WOOP:
Wish: to improve my bariolage at faster temps
Outcomes: I am playing it in a concert in May so I will feel much more confident when I can do it properly.
Obstacles: although retired, there is a shortage of teachers so I am getting called in to work frequently. However, spring break is coming up here (BC Canada) so I will have more time. Other than that, I have to learn to say no!
Plan: to use chaining for tempo increase. To use modified Schradiak one as a practice. Every second note will be an open string (a different one so that I am string crossing on every note) Then use varied practice to get the technique where I need it in repertoire. By Sunday I will see improvement as long as I make time for this every day.
I know I haven’t quite followed the outline format on the worksheet, but hope this is okay.????
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No problem! Let’s check in next week and see how this modified WOOP worked out. If it works, it works! (and yay for figuring out how to post in the forum too ???? – I should have posted instructions ????)
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This is my first WOOP – just joined today.
Wish:
Maintain my wooden flute practice rotation – different flute with its own micro-project each day – without missing a day
Outcome:
When I come back to each flute/project I will feel like I can pick things up where I left off instead of having to re-do previous work.
Obstacle:
This works best if I do it first thing in the day, but sometimes random events throw off my morning routine.
Plan:
If I lose the morning time, I will make a point of doing it during the hour before I teach in the afternoon, even if I can only do a shorter version of the planned work, rather than postponing it to the next day.
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Having just joined, this is my WOOP for March 6. Clearly I have too much on my plate, because I would need to list 8 different goals to achieve before next weeks lessons. Let us begin with 2 absolute must achieve items.
WISH Napoleon Coste Valse (Op. 5). Finish deciding on right hand fingerings, writing them in, being able to play piece at 60 BPM per eight note. Right Hand Warm Up from Practice Routine 11(CGCA) ready for lesson on March 13.
OUTCOME I will feel like I have a solid foundation and can begin making music and getting to a place of ease in the Coste Valse. The Right Hand Warm Up makes me happy to have another great way to begin my practice sessions.
OBSTACLE Getting bogged down and taking forever to get things right. Coming home from Rite of Spring rehearsals and being too tired to practice the guitar.
PLAN Set my timer for 7 minutes during practice. After seven minutes I move on to a different piece and cycle back later to Coste or Warm Up Exercise with a goal of at least 21 minutes of Coste each day.
If I am going to be too tired after Stravinsky, I will get in 30 minutes of guitar before going to orchestra and see what is an option after the rehearsals.
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Well… not so good, because I wasn’t sure of my goal! I mean, I do, but it’s kind of big: I’m playing in a Master Class for a rather big-name performer (in my little world) on Sunday, and I guess my only goal is that I play well, and don’t get too nervous! — I do know the piece very, very well, and am confident in it. So all I’ve been doing this week is reviewing the piece (not too often) and keeping it fresh, trying a few ideas or two, and moving on to something else (as I am also planning a short program for April, more on that later). But performance nerves, while improving,are always an issue. Next week I’ll be able to concentrate on a particular smaller goal more easily!
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Hi Celeste – not sure if you question elsewhere in this thread was regarding this or your exchange with Nora, but if it was related to this, I do think you could set a smaller goal for the master class. As in, instead of thinking of “play well” as your goal, which is rather general and big and probably has lots of connotations in your mind that create pressure, is there one thing, that you could focus on? Like, if you could focus on only one thing, but that thing would probably give you the best chance of playing well, what would that thing be? Releasing tension in your back, or using a juicy vibrato, or keeping left hand fingers light, or focusing on singing throughout, etc. (I’m just making up violin stuff, as I don’t know how to play the guitar, but hopefully you get what I mean!)
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Thanks Noa, and I *do* get it; we actually do use a lot of violin terms (strings are pretty much strings for the left hand). I will pick some smaller stuff to focus on for Sunday and hopefully be “back on the horse” for practice habits next week!
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Weekly Woop 3/6-3/13
About last week’s WOOP: I am pleased with the progress and focus WOOP enabled me to have while practicing. I came up with a chart for problem solving, and my teacher and I improved upon it during my lesson. We added a space for “reflection”. I’m going to focus on one aspect of the strategies this week as I feel it’s a skill that will really pay off.
Wish: To be able to fluidly sing on the vowels of Dein ist Mein Herz by Fanny Mendelssohn and continue using my new Practice Strategy Chart I created on Google Docs for last week’s WOOP.
Objective: If I can sing on the vowels then I’ll be improving my legato singing, and I believe I’ll be able to add more expression to the text and music.
Obstacle: Continuing to practice singing before other activities grab my day and sidetrack me.
Plan: Write out what else I want to do first to remember and then do it after I practice. Also use my new widget on my phone calendar to make sure I get up in time to practice before I need to engage in other commitments.
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This is my first week. I’m aiming for two:
Wish 1: Do daily interleaved click-up practice on Mendelssohn 3 horn 4 excerpts. (See 3:50 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75OWZAq-O4U for the strategy.)
Outcome: Continuing this practice strategy when I have to rehearse and perform this frequent audition piece this week will hopefully help me trust my preparation and come in confidently in context in the full orchestra.
Obstacle: I’ll be performing out of town and private practice space will be difficult to come by.
Plan: I’ll use a practice mute in my morning sessions where I’m staying. I’ll also arrive at the hall an hour before each service, and have located a room that can be used prior to the stage opening. Worst case scenario, if I haven’t done this by bedtime, I can do a wind-patterning version away from the horn before going to bed.
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Wish 2: Test and refine my recording location and equipment setup on Sunday, March 12, in preparation for making a recording the following week.
Outcome: I’ll feel confident in the equipment and software. I won’t worry about figuring it out in the window when I have to make the actual recording.
Obstacle: I’ll have had a long travel day the day before to get home from playing out of town and will be tempted to stay home and put this off.
Plan: I set multiple alarms on my phone that will read pre-programmed sentences to me as the time to leave approaches. I’ve also asked my spouse to schedule a commitment at the same place/time, so there is a second reason to get us there when planned and I have an accountability partner.
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This is my first week and my first time setting a WOOP goal.
My wish is to create a timetable by the end of this week for the steps I need to take in order to be well prepared for my performances on April 25th and May 7th.
Creating a detailed plan will give increase my confidence that I will be ready and will play well.
Self-doubt and distractions (sometimes I use competing interests to avoid facing a challenge) can pull me away from pursuing my goals.
If I notice myself plunging into a rabbit hole, I’ll stop and move around while I evaluate what I need to do next. I’ll remind myself of how good it will feel to play well, and make sure I spend at least 30 minutes a day fleshing out my timetable for learning the music and trying it out pre-performance.
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W: prepare set as a whole, knowing we will be videotaped on 3/26
O: smooth transitions from song to song
O: distractions
P: stay centered, focused. Practice straight-through this week
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And Noa, might you have suggestions? Thank you!
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Hi Nora! Note that John Williams’ version is a little different from the edition most people play (and I think it’s harder). My favorite recording is Pepe Romero. We will talk soon!
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Nora I think I replied in the wrong spot so I’ll re-post… Hi Nora! Note that John Williams’ version is a little different from the
edition most people play (and I think it’s harder). My favorite
recording is Pepe Romero. We will talk soon!-
Yes….where to replay is also confusing for me…I have send you a photo of the first page on the dialogs of our first contact here in the discussions of WOOP 6th march.
You are write, JW is slightly different…I play it like Pepe (I think) and I love his version also…but JW is like….with more feelings …the story of JW is like more deep for me. Anyway both are great!!!
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This is my first week on the WOOP.
W – To finger all selections for the upcoming pops concert and identify tricky spots; finish practice by 3 pm
O – I’ll feel more secure in knowing the material is prepared well in advance
O – Allowing other activities to take precedence over practice
P – To start the morning with 50 min of practice before looking at emails; alternate 10 minutes of non practice business, then 50 minutes of practice.
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