Twelve Stages of Practising a Musical Instrument

By: Daniel Ross 

Musicians everywhere know the agony and ecstasy of practising. Rehearsal time is precious, useless, essential, wasteful and indispensable all at the same time - and we've documented the journey. 

1. Finding the right spot

Not too warm for brass and woodwind, not too cold for pianists' fingers, not too far from your house if you're a student, not too big so the acoustic ruins your sound, not too dry so you can hear all your mistakes, not too small so you feel cramped and stressed… so, yeah. Anyone know a room like that?

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2. Tentative success

Hey, looks like that hard work last time paid off! Those legato passages have finally gained some character! Those sfzorzandi are really popping! I AM AMAZING!

3. Actual progress

Even better, all the technical problems and pitfalls you seemed to trip over yesterday are miraculously missing today. Reward yourself. Take a break.

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4. Break-time

This section of practise can last anywhere between one minute and, if you're unlucky, several hours. It's imperative that you don't lose focus.

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5. Procrastinating

You know what procrastinating is, don't you? When you're supposed to be methodically learning the intricacies of a Kabalevsky concerto, making sure the runs are sounding just perf-GUYS THERE'S A DOG IN THE CAR PARK I HAVE TO GO.

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6. Shame-faced return to practising

OK. You were being silly. Time to knuckle down and make sure those tricky passages are consigned to oblivion. It's time for steely determination.


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7. More procrastinating

Yeah. Still not practising. Take a leaf out of this guy's book and just muck about with a pencil instead of doing any actual work. All together: "This is a very good pencil."

8. Food

All that practising can make you hungry. If you're practising away from home in a practice room, make sure you've either lined your instrument case with packets of nuts or you have a pizza delivery outlet in the vicinity.

9. Frustration

Returning once again to your doomed practice session can invoke feelings of annoyance. Try not to let this become a physical manifestation.

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10. Dulling realisation you've remembered nothing from your last practice
Nothing at all.

11. Abject defeat and despair
That's it. That whole session was futile. Anything you may have crammed into your head in the first few minutes has sadly been lost. Maybe crying will help.

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12. A lifeline! 
Seconds before you finally throw in the towel and pack your instrument away, you absolutely NAIL that passage you were struggling with. Justice, thy name is fluking a musical breakthrough. Practice! It's all worthwhile! Let's do it again tomorrow!

How Nigel Kennedy Changed Classical Music Forever

By John Brunning

If it wasn't for a spiky-haired Nigel Kennedy’s 1989 recording of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, you and I might not be listening to Classic FM today. Here's why I think one album changed the classical world forever. 

It's a bold statement, I know, but think about this: in 1989, the classical world was marking the end of an era with the death of Herbert von Karajan. Then Kennedy burst onto the scene and launched a new one. He was the polar opposite to every expectation we had of classical musicians: scruffy, cheeky, spiky-haired, foot-stamping, ‘Mockney’ speaking; he called us ‘cats’ and ‘monsters’!

Agreed, The Four Seasons  was the first time that a classical artist had been given the full pop marketing treatment. There was a promotional ‘single’, billboard posters, TV and radio commercials. But there was more to this phenomenon than marketing - Kennedy is a brilliant violinist and performer.

His full throttle version of Vivaldi sold more than three million copies worldwide, held onto the No.1 spot in the classical chart for more than a year, and entered the record books as the best-selling classical recording ever.

I'd spent my youth playing in bands and I vividly recall hearing Kennedy's album for the first time and thinking 'This guy knows how to let rip!' I'd never heard baroque that sounded like rock before - and Kennedy looked the part too. If you need a reminder, join me on Classic FM Drive  after 6pm to hear a track from the classic recording. 

And I'd say that Classic FM, launched three years later, probably would not have had such a phenomenal launch and success if it weren’t for Kennedy. He, along with the arrival of the Three Tenors the following year, demystified classical music, showing that it wasn’t just for a knowledgeable elite. He didn’t dumb it down and he didn’t ‘cross-over’, he just put it out there. And in doing so he laid the foundations for the next 25 years and a public who had been awakened to the joy of classical music.

(C) 2014 by ClassicFM