How to Learn in a Hurry

More often than not, the well used saw, ‘haste makes waste,’ is true.

There are times, however – and I’m sure you’ve experienced them – where you MUST play hurry-up AND you can’t afford to make a mess of it.

It’s when excitement and fear wrestle for pre-eminence. And when a cool head is essential.

These are also the time when we feel most alive.

Well, there is a young lad that wrote me yesterday who is in this position as we speak.

Here is what he wrote;

Dear Clayton Haslop,
I don’t know if you get this in time, but I want to ask you something. I’m in high school and we have to ready two solos. I have chosen Vivaldi’s La Primavera and I’m doing the 3rd movement. My other solo is Double concerto for violin by J.S. Bach, the 2nd violin solo part. The trouble is, is that our teacher revealed to us that we need one solo ready for next week. I think that I could get the Double concerto done for next week. I’ve been doing it bit-by-bit measure by measure. I’m using the Suzuki book, level 4 version. I’m only confident up to part A. Are there any tips that you could give me that would help me improve and get ready for this “audition”? Any help would be appreciated. I’m still quite young compared to the masters.
Sincerely, Leon

Ok, here are some ‘tips’ that come to mind.

If ever there was a time to focus, now is it. For the next week you are going to eat, sleep, breathe, in short, LIVE the Bach Double first movement. The mental practice you do away from the violin is absolutely as important as the practice you do with the instrument.

Set as a goal that by next week you will be able to play the movement from beginning to end in your head accounting for every note, every rhythm, every change of bow.

And when you take up the violin each day, Leon, your hands will be on fire in anticipation of what they are going to produce.

As you ‘get your hands around’ the music you don’t know you must play slowly, yet with great attention. You want to make as few errors in pitch and rhythm as possible. You want to play as relaxed and as efficiently as possible. You must resolve to play as slowly as it takes to get it right.

As you do so take mental notes of the physical feelings associated with playing slowly and easily, you want to run those in you mind during mental practice..

By the way, don’t try to play from beginning to end as you learn the piece. You will confuse yourself and deaden your concentration by doing so. Make a plan; divide it into sections – each letter is good. Learn one section until you know it is in your head at a given tempo – not fast – before going to the next.

Carry the music around with you the next day, mentally playing through, with detail, what you learned the night before.

When you begin to practice each day, review and polish previous sections before moving to a new section. Gradually increase the velocity with which you are able to play learned sections without sacrificing one bit of accuracy.

It should feel like flowing water. To make it go faster you simple increase the slope of the flow. Gravity does the work, and there is no increase in resistance.

In your plan make sure you allow yourself at least 3 days at the end for putting it together. In other words, you must have all the individual sections in your hands with 3 days to spare.

So, Leon, this is the opportunity for you to raise your game significantly. When I was your age I was truly on fire to master the violin. At one point my teacher told my parents I was doing a month’s worth of learning every week.

Now it can be your turn.

All the best, Clayton Haslop

P.S. Now, I had the benefit of very good instruction as a high-schooler. Even so, I could have made even faster progress with what I know now and have packed into the Kreutzer for Violin Mastery program. An ideal choice for Leon.