Megan Simmons

Alumni Spotlight | Megan Simmons The SBYSO reconnects with former student and violin player Megan Simmons in this episode of Alumni Spotlight to discuss her love of music, how the SBYSO has ...

Learning from the wisdom of Ivan Galamian

Balanced division of practice time:

1 Building time
Scales, exercises, etudes. Mental Preparation – Mind anticipates physical action (command). Correlation is key to technical control. Practice centered on development and improvement. Solve problems and move forward efficiently. Mind needs to have clear picture of motion involved, technical timing and anticipated sound. Clarity & Precision. Slow practice.

2. Interpreting time
Musical expressiveness. Shape of phrase, sections, whole movement. Get used to playing through. Command ones will power to play as well as possible. Encourage performance in lessons. Balance building and interpretive time. Living work of art- too much detailed work gets in the way of feeling. Musical playing- putting together small and large units.

3. Performing time
Note the difference between playing a passage as an exercise and playing it as part of a musical composition- new concerns of vibrato, expression, nuance and dynamics.
Cold technical work warmed up with expression. Integration into musical substance.

Other thoughts to keep in mind:

Constant supervision by the critical ear.
Permanent searching. The ear is the final judge between good and bad.
Hear objectively – subjective listening distorts.
Record oneself for answers.
Free oneself from the flattering fallacies of the subjective ear.
Honest, objective listening is essential for efficient practice.

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It’s great to be back mentoring talented young violinists and collaborating with other SBYSO alumni in the organization that helped me grow musically and personally! Come support the students and their incredible hard work on Rhapsody in Blue, a lovely Mozart Oboe Concerto, and selections from West Side Story!

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