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After 15 years of practice..

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Re: After 15 years of practice..

#41

Post by cowmoo »

caryme wrote: post #31

Like any instrument, technique plays an extremely important role in singing. Poor intonation is less an indicator of a good voice and more of good technique. Of course no one would criticize a girl who picked up a cello and just started playing for just not being a cellist, but also no one would advise her to simply practice alone. The best advice is for that girl to find a good teacher and get some lessons. I find i…

"Yes it takes practice to become a good singer, but any number of hours of practicing poor technique won't do much good."

Yes, this is true and oft-repeated mantra on YC News. But it begs the question, how does one practice the "proper" technique (I mean after all, doesn't everyone want to follow the correct form of shooting hoops/strumming a guitar chord, but most people don't have a dedicated shooting coach/guitar teacher to watch their every move or they do know the right technique by heart in theory but can't carry it out in practice for various reasons).

The best protip I've received in learning an instrument (and actually doing anything) is when you are stuck at a particular exercise, move onto the next hardest exercise anyways. When you stumble upon the simplest guitar lick on the first page of a guitar book,you might say "are you crazy? I can't even play the first exercise." But if you play the next hardest lick and stumble upon it for a couple of days, then try to play a third lick even harder than the second lick for a couple of days, and then go back to the very first lick. You might find that you can now play it pretty well, or suck much less than before.

Yes, practicing is all about hard work and all that, but it is also about momentum and keeping things fresh and new. If it's not fun, you are doing something wrong.

Re: After 15 years of practice..

#42

Post by CapitalistCartr »

One of my treasured childhood memories was getting my first library card. I remember my mother teaching me to read when I was four because I asked her to. I remember devouring every book at home, and in the children's section of the library. I could only read the adult section while Iw as there, so I spent long days doing just that, until I turned 14 and could check them out. I remember vividly Ben seeing em reading the dictionary in elementary school, laughing, and telling the whole class.

In high school, I remember how many students asked me for help with specific challenges, and I was happy to help for free. I remember discussing with my fellow nerds doing experiments at home that easily exceeded what the school taught.

None of these memories will surprise the audience here. Or that so many people over my life have told me how lucky I am to just be born smart. But the lesson it took me the longest to learn was to value my thinking skills and ignore those who make less of them. And to charge for their use, of course. Just because it come easily to me now, doesn't make it worthless.

Re: After 15 years of practice..

#43

Post by caryme »

cowmoo wrote: post #41
caryme wrote: post #31

Like any instrument, technique plays an extremely important role in singing. Poor intonation is less an indicator of a good voice and more of good technique. Of course no one would criticize a girl who picked up a cello and just started playing for just not being a cellist, but also no one would advise her to simply practice alone. The best advice is for that girl to find a good teacher and get some lessons. I find i…

"Yes it takes practice to become a good singer, but any number of hours of practicing poor technique won't do much good." Yes, this is true and oft-repeated mantra on YC News. But it begs the question, how does one practice the "proper" technique (I mean after all, doesn't everyone want to follow the correct form of shooting hoops/strumming a guitar chord, but most people don't have a dedicated shooting coach/guitar…

One of the most important parts of learning vocal technique is learning what feels right and what doesn't. Good teachers will often work on this with students by asking how the student thought something went ("Was that better or worse than last time? What was better about it?") before offering their own feedback. This isn't easy, but it's critical.

When I'm practicing, sometimes I'm just doing something wrong. If I can't fix it or I can't even figure out what it is, but I know it doesn't feel right, sometimes I just stop that practice session. That's when I know I'll be practicing improper technique. I'll try again next time and remember to ask my teacher about it in my next lesson.

Re: After 15 years of practice..

#44

Post by kunqiana »

zefhous wrote: post #18

I think there's truth to this, but I also disagree strongly with the idea that if you're not good at something you haven't practiced enough. Especially in certain fields — music, design, and programming all fit I think — there is a huge amount that many people just seem to get or not. I have a degree in music, so I've seen a lot while I was in school. Yes, some people can work really hard and eventually get it, but I…

Working Hard != Working Smart

Re: After 15 years of practice..

#45

Post by trafficlight »

srgseg wrote: post #32

I've long been fascinated with why people decide to do their 10,000 hours of practice. Many people I know have talked the talk but then never really had the motivation to walk the walk and put in the effort. Any ideas on what gives people the internal motivation and strength to follow through with practice in the first place?

It's not a conscience decision. People put the time in because they genuinely enjoy what they are doing.

My thing is bowling. I've been doing it since I was 6 (I'm 26 now). I went to the bowling alley as often as possible, I'd ride my bike down after school whenever I had money. In high school, I bought monthly memberships and would bowl 10-15 games a day, every day. I just couldn't get enough of it.

The past few years I've been averaging in the 220s, which is great, but not professional great yet. In the next few years, when I'm more financially stable, I'm going to try out the PBA Tour, if for nothing else but the experience.

I bowl so much that I developed bone spurs in my elbow that I had surgically removed a couple of weeks ago. I haven't bowled now for over 4 months, which is the longest break I've ever taken.

Moral of the story is, you don't decide to practice something, you do it because you can't imagine not doing it.

Re: After 15 years of practice..

#46

Post by rchi »

It's all relative. Our perception of whether a performance is good is dependent on other performances we've heard. 10000 hours only works because most people don't do it.

Re: After 15 years of practice..

#47

Post by moultano »

zefhous wrote: post #18

I think there's truth to this, but I also disagree strongly with the idea that if you're not good at something you haven't practiced enough. Especially in certain fields — music, design, and programming all fit I think — there is a huge amount that many people just seem to get or not. I have a degree in music, so I've seen a lot while I was in school. Yes, some people can work really hard and eventually get it, but I…

Especially in music I think a large portion is how whether you were involved in music as a young child. Forming that baseline of literacy when your brain is still plastic is really critical for having an intuitive sense of it later in life.

Re: After 15 years of practice..

#48

Post by Tycho »

I think use of a microphone and recording equipment makes a world of difference compared to 'live' singing where you really project your voice.

I mean once I decided to start singing Dean Martin songs during a game of Halo 3 online... and the people on my team kept saying it was brilliant and insisted I continue. (in real life i'm an awful singer, although pitch is not a problem)

Re: After 15 years of practice..

#49

Post by amanfredi »

arnorhs wrote: post #22
amanfredi wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As long as I can remember, I've been a good singer. I've also always enjoyed singing, so the thousands of hours of practice accumulated during childhood, in the car, in the shower, etc. didn't really seem like "hard work". I wouldn't say I've had to work to develop my singing ability in the same way Derek has.

That's a good point. Did your parents sing with you? Are they "musical" (ie. play instruments or such)?

We sang in church, and I took cello lessons and was involved in a choir, but neither of them actively played an instrument. My mother was also a good singer.

Re: After 15 years of practice..

#50

Post by mynameishere »

abstractbill wrote: post #6

When people say "X is a gift, you were lucky to be born with it", they're probably trying to give themselves an excuse to not put in the effort needed to get good at that thing.

On the other hand, Neil Sedaka didn't have to practice any 15 years to sound like Neil Sedaka.
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