不想練琴的時候怎麼辦? 聽聽心理學家怎麼說...

除非說有考試或者是演奏會, 很多時候都很懶得練琴. 這是大家都常犯的毛病. 就算是職業的也會有倦怠期. 而且大家都比較不願意去拉無聊但是重要的練習, 像是音階一類的.

有個職業的心理學家 (他也有拉小提琴) 提供了一些建議. 有些建議很好說, 像是設一個超級專心時間 (3-5分鐘), 事先就決定要拉什麼特殊練習等.

以下是全文

A Psychologist's Tips for Practicing the Violin and Other Musical Instruments -------------------------------------------------------- By Sander I. Marcus, Ph.D., CPRW Reprinted from The Instrumentalist, October, 1975, Page 26

For a professional musician, developing the motivation for daily practice is not a problem. Daily practice requires intense concentration, endless repetition, and an almost obsessive attention to detail. Scales and exercises may have little sustaining musical interest, but they are necessary for the acquisition and maintenance of technique. But most amateur musicians turn to music as a source of relaxation and enjoyment after a grueling day of work, and the thought of struggling for an hour or two with practice scales and exercises is far from appealing. With limited time and energy, the amateur usually skips the drills and starts playing through favorite concertos or sonatas. Ironically, only consistent work on exercises will allow him or her to play those favorite sonatas with satisfaction.

Psychologically, when the musician does not put in that hour of "practice," he or she has a sense of failure and a feeling of guilt at not doing what he or she is "supposed" to be doing, or that constantly uncomfortable feeling that one has not done nearly enough. And yet to do a great deal more requires enormous concentration, energy, time, effort, and a dedication to music that is difficult for a non-professional to sustain.

Part of the solution to this problem may lie in changing the definition of what constitutes "enough work." To expect an unreasonably large workload on a daily basis is ultimately self-defeating. If you know that you are not likely to practice for a full hour a day, then why torture yourself with the feeling that whatever work you do accomplish is not nearly enough? One effective way to remedy this situation is outlined below.

1. Set a minimum time (no more than 5 minutes) for daily practice of exercise material. (I recommend starting with a 3-minute routine).

2. Have a specific series of exercises to do during those 3 minutes. They can vary from day to day or week to week. For example, one day's routine for a string player could include one scale on one string, one vibrato exercise, and one bow change. Another day's routine could include one shift, one scale, and one trill. Choose basic exercises, and always include a scale.

3. Play through the routine just once each day. No repeats!

4. Play the exercises extremely slowly so you can be aware of every muscle, every sound, every detail of playing. Try to anticipate every move.

5. Give full concentration for the full 3 minutes. Do nothing automatically. After all, concentrating fully for just 3 minutes on these exercises is not really asking too much of yourself.

6. Once the 3 minutes are up, play anything you want to play. You have paid your dues.

Three minutes may seem to be inadequate, but there are a number of advantages to this system.

A. You'll get used to giving full concentration. Three minutes of full concentration is often more valuable than rote playing for an hour with your mind somewhere else. And once you begin to experience the inevitable successes that come with full concentration, the effort will become self-motivating.

B. You will be more likely to practice daily, rather than sporadically.

C. The most important benefit of this system is that your attitude can improve. You'll experience success and a sense of completion each day, rather than failure, guilt, drudgery, and discouragement. You will not have to dread an hour of work waiting for you at home each night. And this in itself will increase your motivation to play.

D. Since practicing an exercise routine for even 5 minutes is certainly not enough to get deeply involved, you may find that you want to persevere, to finish something hardly begun. Very often people who have always avoided scales will finish their 3-minute drill and then spontaneously pick up a scale book and work for a half-hour on scales.

E. You will still have plenty of time beyond the 3-minute routine to enjoy, free of guilt, the music you like to play.

F. The craft or technique of playing your instrument may begin to offer as many rewards as playing a finished piece.

G. The habit of concentration may carry over not only to your "fun" playing, but to other areas of life as well.

H. Your appreciation of great musicians will be further enhanced by a greater understanding of their level of concentration.

Hopefully, you will eventually become motivated to expand the 3-minute minimum into something substantially longer, but don't push yourself. If you want to play exercises and scales beyond 3 minutes, fine; but don't let it ever become part of paying your daily dues. The minimum expected task should be kept short and sweet -- very short and very sweet -- if it is to change daily practice from boring drudgery to a worthwhile experience that gives you deep satisfaction.

================

Dr. Sander I. Marcus is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist and Certified Resume Writer in the Chicago area. He is an amateur violinist. He can be contacted at Friedland & Marcus, Civic Opera Building, 20 N. Wacker Drive, Suite 1540, Chicago, IL 60606. Or call him (toll free in the U.S.) at 1-800-931-1107.