Full Description
The process of practising is intrinsic to musical creativity. Practising may primarily be thought of as technical, but it is often also musically meaningful, including elements of interpretation, improvisation, and/or composition. The practice room can be a space in which to explore a field of creative possibilities; a place to experiment and to refine ideas. To date, the literature on practice has been primarily pedagogical and psychological. Little attention is paid to the significance of practice, and especially to the role of embodied experience - of understanding gained through doing - in the forming of musical ideas. The Practice of Practising is primarily concerned with considering practising as a practice in itself: a collection of processes that determines musical creativity and significance. The volume comprises four diverse case studies, in relation to music by J. S. Bach, Elliott Carter, Alfred Schnittke, and Morton Feldman, presenting both solo and ensemble perspectives.
Contents
Contents
Preface by Catherine Laws and Tânia Lisboa
I. A self-study of learning the Prelude from Bach's Suite No. 6 for cello solo: Comparing words and actions
- Tânia Lisboa, Roger Chaffin, Topher Logan
Prologue
Effective practice
The investigation
Stages and cycles in learning the prelude
Relating practice and reports
Comparing practice and comments
Stage 1: exploration
Stages 2 and 3: smoothing out and listening
Stage 4: re-working technique
Stage 5: preparation for performance
Connecting theory and practice
Coda
References
Acknowledgements
II. Performer's harmony: towards a performance of Elliott Carter's Piano Sonata
- Alessandro Cervino
Preliminary remarks
Getting started
The process
The practice of practising: a tool for knowing
Afterword
References
III. Morton Feldman's Late Piano Music: Experimentalism in Practice
- Catherine Laws
Memory and subjectivity in Feldman's late music
The problem of interpretation
Palais de Mari and the contingencies of performance
Practice as an experimental process
References
IV. Alfred Schnittke's Piano Trio: Learning and Performing
- Maria Lettberg
Introduction
Preparation for rehearsals and recording
Achieving affinity
Conclusions
References
Personalia
