Originally Posted By: Joe V
...where the left and right hands are doing very different / Independent things very frequently and at the very same time - like switching positions at different times, playing notes simultaneously.

I know I will have to very work on these things at some point. And I think the goal is to see the staff as a single composite object - not 2 different hands.


It is not the number of hands, per se, but what happens in the head with the little gray cells that is really the problem we must overcome. The repetition of practice, slowly but always evenly at first, is where the speed comes from, for what we are really doing is programming our brain to familiarity with doing things such as controlling the so-called "muscle memory".

And, it is not a matter just for the keyboard. Guitar players who are serious must also work towards mastering the contrapointal aspects of playing, too.

Jerry Reed transcribed this lick from the New Orleans Jazz pianist Allen Toussaint who wrote the tune, "Southern Nights" - and then taught the lick to Glen Campbell, who enjoyed a hit and its money from same (and I'd bet that Mr. Toussaint did not object to the songwriter's royalties that came his way either...):



Ascending and Descending Chromatics at the same time!

And via the wonders of the internet, we can hit YouTube and find a whole first page of guitarists willing to teach that lick. Slow and even, soon enough comes fast and even, then comes that time when the entire thing is like firing a Macro from within your mind. You don't really think about it anymore, the familiarity breeds the contempt of just firin' it off.



While many may have passed this tune off as being just another country/pop offering, let's not neglect Toussaint's original performance of his song:




Quote:
But my guess is that composite comes after many arduous hours with the more difficult reading studies. I know all this - I just don't enjoy the process (hence - I'm not a working musician : )


One can choose to make it hard and tedious, and will get what they have chosen.

On the other hand, if one heeds my oft mentioned advice to always practice intelligently, work on one small part of a particular problem at a time, only drill for ten to twenty minutes at most on it, set it aside and come back to it another day, don't fall prey to the idea that these things MUST be mastered in a self-imposed deadline situation, in other words always keep your practicing in line with the PGMusic motto, "HAVE FUN" when working with your music, the end results will take care of themselves.

If they can do it, you can do it too.

Deep Desire. That's what it really takes.


--Mac

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