{"id":203792,"date":"2023-02-24T06:00:12","date_gmt":"2023-02-24T14:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/?p=203792"},"modified":"2023-02-23T23:34:28","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T07:34:28","slug":"putting-pieces-to-sleep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/putting-pieces-to-sleep\/","title":{"rendered":"Putting Pieces to Sleep"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>How do we get our classical guitar pieces up to performance standards? How can we feel confident and secure playing them for people?<\/p>\n<p>There are several steps to learning a piece of music. And the last one can be the most challenging. Like the last mile of a marathon, we may be tired and ready to settle for less than ideal.<\/p>\n<p>But there is a way we can finish strong and maintain freshness and sanity. Like the rest of us, our piece may need a nap.<\/p>\n<p class=\"centerc\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ZJrIjFZgiZs?rel=0&amp;modestbranding=1\" width=\"700\" height=\"393\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">?<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">The Long Journey to Done &#8211; Getting Music Performance-Ready<\/h2>\n<p>The first steps of learning a new piece are like puppy love.<\/p>\n<p>Everything is new and shiny. We discover new characteristics and patterns daily.<\/p>\n<p>We envision the myriad ways we can express truth and beauty through every detail.<\/p>\n<p>And then, as in all relationships, this euphoric fascination fades. <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/tq-dorothy-parker-boredom-curiosity\/\">Some elements become work<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Weaknesses or inconveniences seem more obvious. We find challenges that resist our efforts to smooth them out.<\/p>\n<p>Glorious perfection seems in sight, but just out of reach.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s here that we may be tempted to start another piece. We convince ourselves that we\u2019ll continue to polish this one. <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/new-music-or-keep-practicing\/\">But will this actually happen?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Limited practice time and the allure of the new can lead us to accept mediocrity. \u201cGood enough\u201d starts to seem good enough. We\u2019ll do better with the next piece\u2026<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Challenge: Polish the Final 5%<\/h2>\n<p>But we need not dwell in the land of frustration. And we need not accept a lower standard of performance.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, we can change our approach.<\/p>\n<p>We can think of \u201cfinishing\u201d in the sense of woodworking or sculpture. We can <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/a\/polishing\/\">view polishing as a process<\/a> completely separate and different from our earlier work.<\/p>\n<p>The challenge, as we said above, is that by this point we may be tired of the piece. We may be emotionally spent and disengaged.<\/p>\n<p>What we need is a way to rekindle the joy and delight of the early days.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, we need a break. And we can take one.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">Tip: Put Your Piece to Sleep and Come Back Fresh<\/h2>\n<p>If we\u2019ve learned the piece well, we can lay it down for a time and trust that it will still be there when we return.<\/p>\n<p>This works best if we have <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/recall-memory\/\">memorized the music<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We continue to practice, but we focus on other pieces and skill development. We may work on other pieces that we put to sleep before. Or we could learn a new piece.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, if we have not learned the piece well (<a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/avoid-muscle-memory\/\">by rote<\/a>, for example), returning will be a cumbersome and perhaps depressing endeavor. So better to learn pieces well from the start. More on this below.<\/p>\n<p>But letting pieces rest is not a new idea.<\/p>\n<h3>Japanese craftsmen and Stephen King\u2026<\/h3>\n<p>It is said that the best Japanese woodworkers would often leave the last few steps of a piece undone. They would then go work on other things.<\/p>\n<p>Then they would return with fresh eyes and enthusiasm to put the final touches on the piece.<\/p>\n<p>In this way, they could ensure that each step got their best awareness, attitude, and care.<\/p>\n<p>Many authors do the same. They write a draft of a book and stick it in a drawer. Several months later, when they gain some distance from it, they return to edit.<\/p>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: center;\">How Long Should You Let Your Piece Germinate?<\/h2>\n<p>How long should we break before returning to the piece in earnest? In theory, it could be indefinitely.<\/p>\n<p>In more practice terms, any period from a week to several months may be a better strategy.<\/p>\n<p>We need long enough to separate from our past work. Long enough to get excited about other pieces. Long enough to <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/practice-technique-clean-guitar-playing\/\">grow a bit in our skills<\/a> and musical knowledge.<\/p>\n<h3>Learn your piece well (so you don\u2019t forget it)<\/h3>\n<p>So how can we be sure that we have learned the piece well enough that we can afford a break?<\/p>\n<p>Practice is an art. Learning to play classical guitar is actually learning to practice classical guitar.<\/p>\n<p>And we have formulas and methods for each phase of mastering a piece of music.<\/p>\n<p>One of the best formulas for first learning a piece is <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/7-steps-formula\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the 7-step process<\/a>. This is doubly effective when we <a href=\"https:\/\/www.classicalguitarshed.com\/memorize-music-classical-guitar\/\">add the intention to memorize<\/a> the music.<\/p>\n<p>And beyond the notes, we also explore <a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/fine-details-classical-guitar-polish-perfect\/\">the fine details within the piece<\/a>. These are all the small moments that combine to create the emotional and expressive shape of the piece.<\/p>\n<p>Within this process of learning, we will encounter rough patches that resist polish. And we have recipes to handle those as well, specific to the flavor of the problem.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to journey deeper into these skills and discover more in your music and practice, consider becoming a member of The Woodshed\u00ae Classical Guitar Program.<\/p>\n<p>Members gather a toolbox of reliable techniques and tactics. And this makes for beautiful music and enjoyable practices. <a href=\"https:\/\/my.classicalguitarshed.com\/membership\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here to learn more.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How do we get our classical guitar pieces up to performance standards? How can we feel confident and secure playing them for people? There are several steps to learning a piece of music. And the last one can be the most challenging. Like the last mile of a marathon, we may be tired and ready to settle for less than &#8230; <\/p>\n<div><a href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/putting-pieces-to-sleep\/\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":203793,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[61,434],"tags":[347,505,315],"class_list":["post-203792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles","category-main-content-parent","tag-learning-pieces","tag-maintain-repertoire","tag-polishing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.8 (Yoast SEO v25.8) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Play Cleaner Guitar Pieces: A Tip for Polishing Pieces Effortlessly<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Instead of quitting a piece of music, take a break from it. Come back fresh and bring it to new levels of polish and expression. Here&#039;s how.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/classicalguitarshed.com\/putting-pieces-to-sleep\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Putting Pieces to Sleep\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Instead of quitting a piece of music, take a break from it. Come back fresh and bring it to new levels of polish and expression. 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