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"A Compendium
from Bruce Hammel Doctoral Treatise, 1989, Florida State University
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CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTIONThe following treatise is a compilation of the significant writing and research on practicing organized into a reference document for teachers and students of the bassoon to help them maximize the productivity of their practice time. The emphasis is on specific techniques which can be used to solve problems of tone development, technique, and articulation on bassoon. Although a few exercises may be included, this is not a method book, but a compendium of many approaches for working on these musical fundamentals. A basic assumption of this the project is that most students learn how to practice primarily from their teachers. Unfortunately, the exigencies of upcoming performances, juries, and auditions usually compel teachers to work exclusively on the performance aspects of the music, and therefore, seldom, if ever, do they actually observe their students practicing. A useful comparison may be made between musicians and athletes; both spend many hours performing repetitive drills to condition their muscles to respond consistently and accurately. The athlete, however, almost always has a coach/trainer present during workouts to provide motivation, direction, and feedback, whereas music students are provided teacher guidance on the average of only one to two hours per week. Therefore the music student is left with the responsibility of organizing and monitoring from 10-30 hours of personal "workouts" each week. Most students fare adequately well in these circumstances; they learn to become self- motivating, creative in their approach to solving problems, and cognizant of the importance of organizing their time. Also, they have the freedom to discover for themselves what practicing techniques work best for them. Unfortunately, because of the relative inaccessibility of research data and scholarly literature on the subject, all but the most enterprising students are limited to using the techniques they devise on their own and those they learn from teachers, peers, and others. This compendium of approaches to practicing the bassoon will present students with a variety of ideas to consider as they develop their practicing habits and build a repertoire of appropriate practicing techniques. The term "practice" will refer only to the activity in which a musician spends time alone working to improve his instrumental skills. Essentially, this represents the time during which the student assumes the additional role of self-teacher as he reacts to the sounds he is producing and makes decisions about how to effect their improvement. General questions such as how much, how often, and what to practice are discussed because of their significance in organizing the practice session as a whole. However, the treatment of these topics is brief because the intention of the paper is not to determine which scheme is best. The subject of learning theory, which must necessarily be a part of any discourse on practicing, is referenced only to help explain or support specific points. Because little has been written about how to use electronic tuners, metronomes, and tape recorders efficiently and creatively, this topic receives special attention within the appropriate sections of the paper. Peripheral areas such as motivation, memorization, stage fright, etc. are considered outside the purview of this study. Since relatively little research has been done on the effects of different techniques of practicing, much of this treatise relies on the writings of various performers and teachers. Although little of what they propose has been verified through research, the value of what they offer can be inferred from their own success as musicians and the success of the students they have taught. Furthermore, a student may find certain techniques more useful for him than others, regardless of the results of research experiments, which can only reflect the norm. The treatise is divided into two main sections. The first gives an overview of how to best organize practice time. Included are discussions of how much, when, where, and what to practice. The second focuses on the techniques that can be used to make the time spent in the practice room more efficient.
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© 2002
Bruce Hammel. All Rights Reserved. |
Bruce Hammel |