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Creating "Set Lists" for Practice

 
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Mark
VM Coach


Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 479
Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Mon Dec 22, 2008 10:06 pm    Post subject: Creating "Set Lists" for Practice Reply with quote

Hey Guys,

This is a subject that I haven't addressed at length over the years, but thought I'd share the concept with anyone interested in better organization of their practice material. It relates to my ongoing philosophy that you should only practice something that you would actually play for someone.

Here's how it works...

As you develop a repertoire of tunes, regardless of genre or whether your role is intended to be within an ensemble or as a solo guitarist, you need a way of logically organizing your material for review. What has worked very well for me has been the practice of creating phantom "set lists" that simulate what you as a listener would like to experience. This not only succeeds in organizing your repertoire, but does so along the lines of a "real world" method that can directly become performance (live) or recording (CD) projects. In other words, the goal is not only organization but to actually have something to show for your study time beyond just a daily review.

Since the average performance or disc contains approximately 45 to 50 minutes of material (everyone needs to take a set break, eh? Laughing), you build the set aiming at that time frame. Although this can vary, figure roughly 3 to 5 minutes per song which will mathematically translate to anywhere from 10 to 15 songs per set. I'm just using round numbers to make things relatively easy on the organizational front. Understand that as you continue to build these set lists, eventually you will have a large number of tunes in your repertoire, in a manner that makes reviewing them a very pleasant playing and listening experience. So part of the goal involves expanding repertoire itself. In time, the music will dictate who you are as a player, as opposed to abstract classroom knowledge that is meaningless to an audience. People often ask me how in the world did I ever get to a point where I had hundreds upon hundreds of tunes (jazz, blues, rock, pop, latin, classical, etc) under my belt? Well, now you know. Wink

This "set list" concept is yet another extension of the many articles that I've written in my Coach's Corner series on the subject of getting more out of your practice time. All for now...

- Mark
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nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 4:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Mark. This is a fantastic tip. It's interesting that this is exactly what classical musicians do -- they constantly learn pieces in preparation for recitals.
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Mark
VM Coach


Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 479
Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Mon Dec 29, 2008 7:09 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nylenny wrote:
Thanks Mark. This is a fantastic tip. It's interesting that this is exactly what classical musicians do -- they constantly learn pieces in preparation for recitals.


Len,

Sure thing, and yes.. I've done precisely the same thing with regards to my classical repertoire, but I should also mention that the set lists created don't necessarily have to be with performance or recording in mind. They can be specifically assembled for organizational purposes, and later used to build a performance or recording set.

For instance, and speaking of classical music for starters, I've built practice set lists that were exclusively J.S. Bach compositions, or Tarrega, Sor, etc. I've also constructed them according to time period (e.g. Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, Contemporary).

On the chord-melody solo guitar arrangement front, I've created set lists that were all Beatles, Jobim, Stevie Wonder, Duke Ellington, etc. On the jazz/bebop and blues side I've done likewise, with heads (melodies) by Bird, Miles, Rollins, Trane, etc. In all of the above instances, the goal is to organize your material for review in a logical manner, although these examples are purely for practice and not performance. However, there are times when you want to do a medley of tunes by a given artist or in a given style, so it's helpful to group them accordingly. Til next time...

- Mark
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Larry_DC



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 207

PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 1:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've heard a lot of musicians say they have 2 or 3 hours of music memorized and that the material changes depending on what they're currently working on for study or performance. I spend so much time studying different material that I forget songs after a few weeks and have to practice them anew if I want to play them through.
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Dean



Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 287
Location: California

PostPosted: Tue Dec 30, 2008 6:31 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I have thought of this many times,and just never seem to do it.It makes perfect sence,and I have yet to do it.I guess the only thing I can add other then ,I will get this done,is we are our own worst enemy.
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nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:55 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Larry said:

Quote:
I've heard a lot of musicians say they have 2 or 3 hours of music memorized and that the material changes depending on what they're currently working on for study or performance. I spend so much time studying different material that I forget songs after a few weeks and have to practice them anew if I want to play them through.


I totally relate to this statement.

I forget tunes very quickly.

I put together a spreadsheet that has the names of all the tunes I want to remember in a column. Then I put the calendar accross the top row. I am trying to review each tune at least once a week, but it is a challenge.
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Mark
VM Coach


Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 479
Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nylenny wrote:
I forget tunes very quickly.

I put together a spreadsheet that has the names of all the tunes I want to remember in a column. Then I put the calendar accross the top row. I am trying to review each tune at least once a week, but it is a challenge.


Len,

It's strictly a matter of organization and experimenting to see how long you can go between reviews while retaining the knowledge. In years past, I would start playing a project every day for a week or two until it got into long-term memory, then every other day, eventually once a week, and finally once a month. At one point I had built the repertoire up to 30 hours of material that I would rotate on a monthly basis.

It's amazing how the memory can be developed once you get it into a long-term state. There are complicated Bach classical works that I haven't played for 5 to 10 years, yet when I pick up the guitar I can get that stuff back within a couple of days. It's almost like "magic" watching your fingers do what they did years ago. Wink

- Mark
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nylenny



Joined: 31 Mar 2007
Posts: 291

PostPosted: Sat Jan 31, 2009 10:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks Mark. I really appreaciate all of the information you share on this forum. This is such a treasure trove of information. I compared it to a couple of other teacher forums out there, and I found that the other "teachers" weren't even participating in the discussions! Bravo! You deserve a lot of praise for all of the work you put into this site.
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Dean



Joined: 19 Apr 2007
Posts: 287
Location: California

PostPosted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:11 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well ,I did it,started my list and am adding to it weekly.I have set a goal of one new song a month, right now.Will do shorter intervels as I progress.Guess it was about time.Thanks for getting me started ,guys.
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Mark
VM Coach


Joined: 26 Feb 2007
Posts: 479
Location: Portland, OR

PostPosted: Sun Feb 01, 2009 8:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

nylenny wrote:
Thanks Mark. I really appreaciate all of the information you share on this forum. This is such a treasure trove of information. I compared it to a couple of other teacher forums out there, and I found that the other "teachers" weren't even participating in the discussions! Bravo! You deserve a lot of praise for all of the work you put into this site.


Len,

You're welcome and thanks for the kind words. With all due respect to my colleagues, I've always been somewhat of a communicator by nature, so sharing my past experiences based on many years of observations is something that continues to drive me as a coach. The nice thing about doing it here is that whatever we discuss can benefit others right now, but also down the road when visitors drop by our forum. Til next time...

- Mark
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