Many non-musicians, and even some music students, have the idea that the learning of a musical piece happens something like this: First, we decode the notes in an exact way (there is only one option) Then we encode this in our motor skills. Our body is considered an empty shell which we fill up with the exact understanding of the notation of the musical piece. Finally, we can choose an interpretation freely and without constraints, which will be both our conscious and personal choice of exactly how to play this piece. However, as my videos show, many of these choices occur throughout the course of the practice process, already from… Read More
Continue ReadingAbout memorizing and playing concerts
Because of my good ability to sight-read music, I have often begun too late to memorize the music in a deliberate way. Instead, I have continuously automated it, so that after a while I will start playing from memory, but without being aware of it. I have then actually already come far in a wholeness-understanding of the piece. But the moment when I then become consciously aware of my automated movements, I suddenly can’t remember the music. In connection with the intensification of my process with the camera, it became clear that a more effective strategy for me was to memorize smaller sections, already the first time I work with… Read More
Continue ReadingAbout tickling yourself
It’s impossible to tickle yourself – try! This is probably due to a cognitive phenomenon, called “efference copy” or “corollary discharge”. Initially, it covers the fact that, when performing an action, our nervous system sends messages to the senses influenced by it and makes them respond in a different way than usual. For example, this is one of the reasons why we do not experience the world turning when we turn our heads. The phenomenon also applies to the auditory system: Neural activity in the areas responsible for hearing is diminished when a sound occurs because of our own activity, as opposed to when it comes from other sources[1]. If… Read More
Continue ReadingAbout (self)imitation
A central aspect of learning a musical instrument is imitation. Traditionally, it has taken place as the mirroring of the teacher in the student: By his mere example, the teacher shows the student the way into his own developmental process. Today, there is a more nuanced picture of the teacher’s role: The good teacher must also be able to develop students with other types of prerequisites than their own, so a deep understanding of the student’s individual composition and competencies in both physical and mental areas play a big role. It also requires a lot of learning tools to support the student with the right feedback at the right time.… Read More
Continue ReadingAbout reaching out for your full potential
One of the reasons for starting a project like this, with its focus on understanding and optimizing our practice processes, was the idea that potentially we can develop much faster than we normally do. As an example, I often feel that I play far better when I, unprepared, demonstrate a segment to my students than if I had begun to “normally” practise the same music. So once in a while, we are able to skip stages in the process. Likewise, there are individuals who are obviously able to progress very quickly and learn things in an incredibly short time – what we call musical “prodigies”. There are probably two ways… Read More
Continue ReadingAbout free will
When my strategy changes often happen faster than I’m aware of, it’s actually a very basic feature of our motor skills. We know that, if we drive a car and have to avoid something at high speed. We react first and only afterwards “discover” what happened. This means that automated movements are far more effective than conscious movements. Yes, in fact, most of the time consciousness ought not to play a decisive role in performing an act simply because it sets in too late. And even more interesting, it turns out that we, in a certain sense, begin to act before we become aware that we make the decision about… Read More
Continue ReadingAbout action representation and motor cognition
In Marc Jeannerod‘s book “Motor Cognition” from 2006, “action representation” is a very central concept, which I find it very interesting to connect with my reflections on practising. The term covers a hypothesis about motor actions that say, that the same neural mechanism is active whether we imagine an act, perform an act or observe an action. The term is related to the idea of mirror systems, since imitation is a basic element. Action representation, however, has more far-reaching implications, as the term includes a completely basic overlay of three phenomena, normally perceived as separate in relation to a motor action: 1) the mental imagining 2) the muscular performance and… Read More
Continue ReadingAbout scientific research
Who knows what? There are obviously relevant research findings and theories in the fields of neuroscience and psychology which may help us describe the phenomena that emerge when we investigate our practice processes. Our practice is an extremely complex and refined interaction between conscious and automated actions, where the goal is strong communication between people. At the same time, we have probably the most abstract system of mediation of all art forms, namely the musical notation, which is basically built up mathematically with halving and doubling as the formal basis. Therefore, we have the opportunity to draw on a great many types of knowledge if we want to put other… Read More
Continue ReadingAbout Paul von Klenau
The Danish composer Paul von Klenau (1883-1946) was born in Copenhagen, as a child of a very wealthy family. His mother was born Berggreen and was the descendant of the composer A.P. Berggreen. Klenau began his education at the Conservatory of Copenhagen, with Otto Malling as his teacher in music theory among others, but travelled in 1902 to Berlin. His plan was to study violin with Joseph Joachim, but Klenau did not pass the entrance examination. But instead, on the basis of his compositions, he was admitted as “master student” with Max Bruch. This was the starting point for a great career as composer and conductor in Germany and Austria,… Read More
Continue ReadingAbout Marc Jeannerod
Marc Jeannerod (1935-2011) was an internationally recognized researcher in cognitive neuroscience and experimental psychology. His research focused on the cognitive and neurophysiological mechanisms that lie behind motor control, motor cognition, emotion and self-awareness. Marc Jeannerod specialized in medicine and subsequent neurology at the University of Lyon. His further research training was under the guidance of Michel Jouvet, one of the discoverers of REM sleep. Later, he moved to the United States to work at the University of California, Los Angeles and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, before returning to Lyon, where he became a professor at the university. He founded and chaired the French Institute of Cognitive Sciences at… Read More
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