Getting tunes solid

[Wandering_Whistler]

On 2001-10-14 17:50, kardshark87 wrote:
Lee Marsh,
Would that "accomplished player" you're talking about be Turlach Boylan? Just curious....

Brent

Brent:
If it's the same session that I'm thinking of, I'm pretty sure he's talking about Larry Mallette. A quick search on Google produced this short bio:

http://www.bandstore.com/bands/mallette/index.sht

[DanD]

One of my tricks, so that I can depend on my fingers to get the notes right while I concentrate on the feel I want to get across, is to play the tune as fast as I possibly can - even slow airs. It seems to help program the muscle memory and makes it much easier to play a difficult piece at a moderate tempo.
(This may not be much help if you're working on a reel that needs to go 90mph! )

The other tip on learning new tunes is to start at the END of the tune. Master the last phrase, then work backwards towards the first phrase. (This is easier to do if you're learning from music.) This way there is always a little positive feeling from finishing well, instead of having to stop where you get bogged down.

[jomac]

My tip involves mastering the difficult sections: RELAX! On many tunes, certain parts are very inconsistent for me (as opposed to not being able to do them at all): sometimes I nail them, sometimes I fluff them. So it seems obvious, but I found that when I fluffed them, my fingers were invariably tense, whereas when I consciously relaxed them, my percentage of nailing it was much higher.

[TonyHiggins]

I would also add to the working out of rough spots topic: Identify a passage that's a problem, slow it down, and repeat it a bunch of times. Take it as slow as necessary to be positive about every movement. Repeat it as many times as necessary to get it smoothe. Then pick up the pace gradually until it's up to the rest of the tune's speed. If you need to, slow the rest of the tune so you don't slop it when you get to the hard part again.
Tony

[Tyghress]

DanD, that is a useful trick for ANY memorization task. I've used it for poetry, and can successfully learn three or four pages (Robert Service poems, for instance) backwards.

Musical transitions are a real problem for me, and if I'm not careful I skim over them. I'm not talking about A->B transition, but the one into the last two measures of a section. I need to concentrate on going through measures 6-7 smoothly. Over and over and over. Drives The Spouse up a wall.