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Kevin Stueve
Aug-07-2015, 7:41pm
Just got back from my daughter's house. She is a music educator/piano teacher. We worked through about 1/2 of "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" Mandolin with piano accompaniment.

It reminded me that it is virtually impossible to really exercise your mental musical muscles without playing with someone else. No matter how "good" it sounds when you are playing by yourself, it is different when you put it together. That slight hesitation you don't notice is immediately obvious. The short changed 1/2 beat at the end of your tremolo, yup that is noticeable too.

Anyhow get out there and play with someone else.

:mandosmiley:

Russ Donahue
Aug-07-2015, 7:42pm
Amen.

roysboy
Aug-08-2015, 10:47am
Just got back from my daughter's house. She is a music educator/piano teacher. We worked through about 1/2 of "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" Mandolin with piano accompaniment.

It reminded me that it is virtually impossible to really exercise your mental musical muscles without playing with someone else. No matter how "good" it sounds when you are playing by yourself, it is different when you put it together. That slight hesitation you don't notice is immediately obvious. The short changed 1/2 beat at the end of your tremolo, yup that is noticeable too.

Anyhow get out there and play with someone else.

:mandosmiley:

No question. Playing with other musicians keeps us inspired, keeps our playing honest , pushes us to learn , to be creative , to discover possibilities , to work on our weaknesses , helps us understand the role of our instruments in a context and has an immeasurable influence not just on HOW we play but WHY we play. Musical cameraderie is priceless.

zedmando
Aug-09-2015, 6:06pm
I enjoy playing on my own & with others--and if I can't d that--with recordings--althought those are difficult to interact with by making suggestions on arrangement...

fatt-dad
Aug-09-2015, 8:40pm
yes, duets are fun! I've been working up duets - mandolin and guitar - for the last two years. I've learned a lot!

f-d

Relio
Aug-09-2015, 9:28pm
Agreed, but I also practice with a metronome almost always. Helps when you get together with others.

Tobin
Aug-10-2015, 8:31am
Agreed, but I also practice with a metronome almost always. Helps when you get together with others.
I go back and forth on whether a metronome is really a good thing for me. I know the experts extol the virtues of a metronome, and I don't dispute its value. But there are a couple of reasons I don't like tying myself to one.

For one thing, I find myself trying to tune it out. It starts to bother me and I end up ignoring it. But more importantly, I am not sure I like the idea of playing along to a mechanically-driven and overly-precise timing - it feels too sterile. I prefer music that can "breathe" naturally, which means slight variations in tempo, or slight pauses between phrases. When I play along with a metronome, I feel like all the soul is sucked right out of what I'm playing. Kind of like the difference between walking on a sidewalk or walking on a treadmill. I like to walk with my natural pace and my own particular gait.

But again, I do understand the value of it. Even if it's not the way I prefer to play the music, it is important to have the ability to keep perfect timing. I just don't enjoy doing it. I much prefer to play with someone else, where there's more of a challenge to match each other's timing based on listening to their own musical "breathing" and watching for visual cues. Getting into sync with someone musically is one of the greatest joys of playing music.

There's a fiddle player who I occasionally get to jam with, and she will get right up in my face while we're playing (well, a couple of feet away) and stare right into my eyes. It was kind of uncomfortable at first, but I've really started to appreciate what it does for us when we're playing. There's a lot of communication that happens that way, and it translates into a thrilling bit of playing.

Mark Wilson
Aug-10-2015, 8:50am
I start using metronome and got kinda hooked on it as a practice tool. Without it I always played too fast +sloppy.

Then I started collecting backing tracks and using speed control software to play them the same speed as I was used to playing with the metronome.

I couldn't keep up. Different cues. I still use metronome for slow work but weaned myself off of it as a full speed practice tool. I got better after adapting to using backing tracks.

I found a practice partner and that was harder yet than the backing tracks at slower speed. But I get more out of that than anything else

Backing tracks better than metronome - real musicians best. imo

JeffD
Aug-10-2015, 8:55am
When I encounter someone new to playing with others I really go out of my way to help and bring him along. I have near infinite patience, because I know just by showing up and trying to play the person has done 80% of the heavy lifting.

You can often tell someone new to ensemble playing because he will slow down for the hard parts, speed up for the easy parts, or just gradually speed up. It is hard to establish a musical rapport, because he neither leads nor follows, but drifts. And sometimes there is a volume issue too, she'll play too soft to be heard (shy), or too loud (oblivious).

It takes a little time, but it is not difficult to learn how to play with others.