{"id":2116,"date":"2020-01-30T17:54:04","date_gmt":"2020-01-31T00:54:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/?p=2116"},"modified":"2020-05-26T15:43:46","modified_gmt":"2020-05-26T22:43:46","slug":"can-you-learn-music-kinesthetically-by-laurie-riley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/2020\/01\/30\/can-you-learn-music-kinesthetically-by-laurie-riley\/","title":{"rendered":"CAN YOU LEARN MUSIC KINESTHETICALLY, by Laurie Riley"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

It sounds like some kind of game, but \u201ckinesthetic\u201d refers to learned movement that becomes automatic. I\u2019ve been writing about it for years. It\u2019s the result of consistent and focused practice; the point at which a specific sequence of movements becomes a kinesthetic habit is the point at which you can feel the effort decrease, the flow of the music improve, the ability to play expressively increase, and you get the feeling that your movements are on \u201cautopilot\u201d. Professionals know all about this, and it\u2019s at this point and beyond that music playing becomes the lovely thing that makes music playing look easy.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, I\u2019ve been slammed for saying so, with claims that musical kinesthetics doesn\u2019t exist. Naturally, there are exceptions to everything, which means that everyone learns a bit differently, and a few never develop a kinesthetic sense. \u00a0(Some might, however, if they practice not more<\/em> but differently<\/em>.) That doesn\u2019t mean they can\u2019t play; it only means they have to think about and focus on their movements whenever they play. No student should ever get the idea that they cannot or should not play just because something that works for most doesn\u2019t work for them. I teach according to each student\u2019s needs. But those who cannot develop their kinesthetic sense are rare; with practice and patience most players do. It can take a long time if you\u2019re a beginner, so don\u2019t get discouraged.<\/p>\n

After many years of teaching ways to develop the kinesthetic sense, I was recently gratified to read in Malcolm Gladwell\u2019s well-known book What the Dog Saw <\/em>a lengthy and detailed treatise on the subject of learned movement which he calls the difference between explicit<\/em> learning and implicit<\/em> learning. Explicit<\/em> learning is when you are beginning to practice a new physical skill, and it still feels a bit stiff and contrived due to its unfamiliarity. But with time and practice it becomes more automatic and more fluid; it become implicit<\/em>. One can then rely on it to happen properly and masterfully without having to concentrate too hard on it, which frees up the mind to focus on other important aspects of the activity. Gladwell states that implicit physical learning\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0 what I call kinesthetic movement\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0 happens in many kinds of physical activities (I would venture to say most<\/em>). He cites golfers and tennis players as examples. I can cite tying your shoes as a prime example. If you can tie your shoes without thinking too hard about it, you can probably develop a kinesthetic sense for your music-playing.<\/p>\n

Gladwell also cites what happens, using actual occurrences, when someone who has developed implicit knowledge (kinesthetic movement) stops trusting it and reverts back to explicit knowledge. It usually happens under pressure. In sports, it\u2019s disastrous. In my personal experience in music it is equally so. \u00a0Therefore when I practice for a gig I always purposely practice both ways: with attention to details of movement and patterns, and also on autopilot\u00a0 \u2013\u00a0 explicitly and implicitly. I never know until I\u2019m on stage which state of mind I will be in; if I\u2019m nervous it\u2019s always the explicit one, which is far more difficult. Better to practice for that state of mind than to assume I will always be in implicit mode just because I so easily achieve that at home.<\/p>\n

The section I\u2019ve referenced is only a small part of the book; Gladwell\u2019s book covers many subjects; it\u2019s about how what we assume or what we consider common sense or common knowledge isn\u2019t always accurate, and how we can benefit from looking at things from other and sometimes opposite viewpoints. His writing is always well researched and responsible, which is why he\u2019s a respected best-selling author. I highly recommend the book.<\/p>\n

Laurie Riley – Printed by permission from Laurie Riley’s Music Blog<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It sounds like some kind of game, but \u201ckinesthetic\u201d refers to learned movement that becomes automatic. I\u2019ve been writing about it for years. It\u2019s the result of consistent and focused practice; the point at which a specific sequence of movements becomes a kinesthetic habit is the point at which you can feel the effort decrease, … Continue reading “CAN YOU LEARN MUSIC KINESTHETICALLY, by Laurie Riley”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[7,3],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2116"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2126,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116\/revisions\/2126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2116"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2116"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/pnwfolklore.org\/wp-nwhoot\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2116"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}