My Greatest Accomishment

Last Christmas, I gave my self a mission to learn a certain piece.  This piece was the third movement of Beethoven's Appasionata sonata.  I heard this piece for the first time about a year before and it blew me away with its beauty and its virtuosity.  My goal was that by next years Christmas recital, I would perfect it and perform it.  I kept this a secret from my piano teacher for a few months until I just had to show her.  I managed to learn the whole piece by the end of the summer.  My teacher was very impressed with me and I was proud of my work.  Then it came the time of the Christmas recital.  I managed to play it beautifully. It felt incredible to play a piece of that caliber in front of an audience.  I got multiple compliments after the performance and I came home that night feeling very accomplished.  Learning that piece gave me hope that I can learn multiple other pieces of that level in time for all of my college auditions.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9A4LaML7wxM

Practicing

Many young musicians struggle to practice for long periods of time. I struggled with this for a while as well, but I have figured out a method to get yourself to be able to practice for that long.

First, you have to tell yourself that the only way you will get better is to practice. It is the truth and it's the only way to learn your music.

Second, watch some videos of professional performers playing your instrument. This will inspire you to practice, knowing that one day you could play like them.

Third, set goals with your practicing. Start with trying to practice 40 minutes a day and then add another 10 minutes a day. Then after a few weeks you will be practicing a few hours a day.

I hope these tips help you become a better musician.
Plenty more blog posts are to come.

~ Jackie Carroll

How to Memorize a Piece

Many musicians including me struggle to memorize pieces on a deadline.  Here are some tips on how to memorize pieces efficiently. 

• First, learn the piece you are going to memorize well.    
• Start with smaller sections.  You can call the different sections A, B, C and so on.  Take the first section, play it a few times and then try once without the music.  Keep going though this process untill you can play the section a few times in a row without the music.   
• Repeat the step above for all of the different sections of the piece.
• Try to play the whole thing once without the music.  If you have a memory slip, just pick up the music and play through the section you forgot and then try again.   
• When you can play the whole piece without the music multiple times, you have accomplished your goal.   

Many more musical tips and tricks are to come. 

~Jackie

Introduction

Hello wondrous world of the internet.  
I am Jackie and I am a pianist and a vocalist.  I have gained much knowledge over the years about proper playing/singing technique and musicality over the years and I want to share it with the world and use it to help others.  That is why I created this blog.  Every week, I am going to post some advice on different tecniques.  

~Jackie