October 14, 2025 • 17 mins
Ever picked up a piece you've played before and struggled to find a fresh spark? Here's how I keep my pieces fresh and interesting!
This episode has a blog post to go with it. Read it here.
Use code ELEANOR15 for 15% off your Notabl_ practice journal, and level up your focus in your sessions! Click here for your journal.
I never recommend anything that I don't love. This contains an affiliate code which means that I receive a commission -- with no extra cost to you! 😊
You can DM me on Tiktok and Insta @eleanor.oboe or email me at eleanor@confidentmusicianing.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to the Confident Musitioning
(00:02):
Podcast.
My name is Eleanor and I am aBritish American oboist studying
at the Royal Conservatory ofScotland.
Literally my dream school.
And it took me a long way to getthere.
I applied and auditioned for 12schools in three different
countries.
It was a lot of hard work.
But oh my gosh, so worth it.
(00:24):
I want you to have theconfidence to work hard in
achieving your goals.
So come with me as we go on thisjourney together.
So sit down, pull up a chair,take a seat, or if you're on the
go, welcome to the ConfidentMusitioning Podcast.
(00:45):
Hello, hello, hello, and welcomeback to another episode of the
Confident Musitioning Podcast.
I'm so glad you're here.
I hope you had a good weekrecently.
Um I had a really good week thispast week.
I have started back up at theconservatoire, and this week was
so busy.
I had so many rehearsals at thebeginning of kind of the year at
(01:07):
the conservatoire.
They do these concerts likeright at the beginning.
And so this past week was aconcert.
Like we started rehearsals on atthe beginning of the week, and
then the concert was on Friday,and so it was like really quite
focused and lots of rehearsals,but it was really good.
Um, and I had some otherprojects going on, starting back
(01:27):
up, lessons.
I have my very first coranglaislesson this past week.
Um, it's weird because I've beenplaying corangle for so long,
you know.
I feel like as an oboist, youjust need coranglays, you know.
Um, in uh in in the States, whenI lived in the States, I was in
a youth orchestra, and you know,sometimes you just got put in on
(01:49):
the coranglay.
Um, also known as the Englishhorn.
Um and you know, I recentlyplayed Holst's Planets on the
Coranglay, and then this pastweek I just had a lesson with
it, and it was my very firstlesson.
It felt very weird because I waslike, I have you know so much
experience, but I've neveractually had a lesson, so it was
quite strange.
But it was a really good lesson,and overall it was a really good
(02:11):
week.
So, but I think the the thingthat kind of started this idea
for this topic of this episodewas I have done some audition
recordings for some um differentopportunities that I went to
audition for, and the piece thatI chose is a piece that I
actually performed a few monthsago for my final recital in my
(02:35):
first year, and so it was apiece that I was picking up
again that I just finished, um,and I thought to myself, I
haven't done an episode recentlyabout how to kind of find that
spark, that joy in the piecethat you've just finished, you
know, like I feel like when youpick up a piece after a while,
(02:55):
um you can kind of there's youthere's one out of two routes to
go.
You could either um be like, oh,this is this is boring because
I've done this and I don'treally know what to do with it,
or you can be like, this is asecond chance to kind of find a
new avenue of performing thispiece.
I feel like you know, peopleask, oh, why do you read books
(03:17):
over and over?
Or why do you watch films overand over?
It's like because you know thefilm or the book is the same,
but you have changed.
Do you know what I mean?
You're different, and music isthe exact same thing.
Why are you picking up thispiece again?
Because I'm different, and so Ihope to give it something
different.
Do you know what I mean?
So today we're gonna talk alittle bit about how to get how
(03:39):
to not get bored.
Not how to get bored, how to notget bored of pieces that you've
already done, whether you'repicking them up after a while,
or maybe you're just practicingthem over and over and over, and
it's like a long thing.
I remember when I was applyingfor universities and
conservatoires, I had pieces.
I had the Mozart oboe concerto,and I studied that concerto.
(04:01):
I mean I played it, I practicedit for about eight months.
Like every single week, justjust working on it, working on
it, working on it for eightmonths.
That is tricky, that's verytricky because by month two,
you're like, I'm I know how itgoes.
You know, you're like, I've gotit.
Um, but then there's always moreto unpack.
(04:23):
But it does get, I don't, Idon't really want to say boring,
it tiring, that's a better word.
It gets tiring.
And when I just picked up thispiece, it wasn't very tiring,
but it reminded me of how tiringthe Mutzer Obo Concerto was when
I practiced it for eight monthsstraight.
Um, and so I want to kind of getinto that.
Whether you are preppingsomething, you know, doing
(04:46):
months of prep, maybe you'restarting something that you know
you're gonna be looking at for awhile, or you just want to
listen to this episode.
Let's dive right into it.
So here are kind of three waysthat I look at kind of keeping
the the spark of excitement in apiece that you really, really
know and you feel like what do Ido now?
(05:09):
Like what what what's left, youknow?
So the first thing, and I thinkthis is probably the the most
powerful thing that I have done,is creating stories around your
pieces.
I have gotten so many commentson like Instagram of people
saying, How do you how do youcreate create stories?
(05:29):
Like whenever I talk about it,they're like, What do you mean
creating stories?
So I wanna I wanna I wanna talkto you about it.
So creating stories is like justcreating a narrative around the
piece.
When the composer was composingthe piece, the composer probably
had an idea of kind of the storyof the piece, and a lot of
pieces have a specific kind offeeling to them of like you
(05:50):
know, things that are maybe alittle stressful.
Maybe the first movement isquite fast and jolly, the second
movement is quite stressful, thethird movement resolves
everything, you know, thingslike that.
There is a progression, but it'sa really fun thing to put
specific stories in the piece.
So, I mean, you can you can makeit as specific or as vague as
(06:11):
you possibly want to.
For instance, for the piece thatI did um that I just did, that I
just picked up again, I had astory to it already that was
also something that helped mememorize it, but basically it
was just a a route that I takefrom my flat um to go to a
nearby park.
(06:32):
And I just, you know, I take itand and and I go, and there's
like different different placesthat I pass by, or like, you
know, maybe specific placeswhere I notice things, and that
correlated to the piece anddifferent sections of the piece.
I was like, oh, this sectionfeels like, you know, when I'm
passing this place, or thissection feels like when I
(06:55):
finally arrived at at the park,um, and I feel very excited
because I look at the trees andthe birds and all of these
things, and that's a story,right?
Because then I I'm like, okay,well, these notes sound like the
birds, or these notes sound likethe cars, or yeah, do you see
what I mean?
Like, I'm creating a narrativearound that, a story.
And maybe I don't share thisstory, maybe I mean, maybe I
(07:16):
could, but maybe I don't.
Um, but it is it's something forme, it's something for me, so
when I play it, I'm like, ohyeah, I'm you know, hearing the
birds, or I'm hearing the cars,or you know, whatever it is.
Um you can also make it likemore, you know, maybe not as
practical as that, but like moreexciting.
Um, maybe something more like,oh, this passage sounds like you
(07:40):
know, dancing.
So maybe you imagine dancers.
I love to imagine specificallyballet dancers, like a nice pot
deu.
Um, that's when the dancers aretwo dancers are dancing
together.
Um, and I love to imagine thatwhen I'm playing specific parts
of pieces, because I'm like, oh,I you know, I can imagine the
dance that might go with this.
(08:01):
That is a really effective wayfor me to kind of create stories
around my pieces.
You know, it can be it can bewhatever you want it to be,
which is so exciting, especiallyfor something or for someone
like me who is very imaginative.
I love stories, and if you areimaginative like me, even if
you're not and you're maybeslightly intrigued, I challenge
(08:21):
you to kind of next time whenyou look at a piece, what story
can you come like can you canyou take from that, you know?
Like it's not just notes on apage, there is a story, and you
can create that story, or youcan maybe do research and see if
there's already an existingstory, but for me, I j I like to
create the stories, and thathelps me remember the piece
better and play it better moreexpressively because I have a
(08:45):
story to tell.
Do you know what I mean?
So that's the first thing.
The second thing is kind oflooking at it from a theory
perspective like it's a puzzle.
So I mean, I suppose thisdepends on your level of theory
knowledge.
I feel like I I'm always lackingin the theory knowledge, but I
think that that's just because Ican see how far I'm going to go
in my degree.
So I'm like, oh my gosh, I don'tknow much, but I have a feeling
(09:07):
that if I keep working, I willlearn more.
Um that's how studying works.
So, but but I think you know,taking pieces and looking at
them like a puzzle is reallyfun.
I recently, I mean, last yearwith for my final project in my
theory class, I had to take apiece and I had to kind of
dissect it.
I scribbled all over it, youknow, the different keys and the
(09:28):
different, you know, things thatchanged and you know, like what
what cadences there were andapogitours and just like all of
these very technical theorythings, you know, what what key
was this in and how did itmodulate to this?
All of these fun things.
Um, and I thought to myself, Iwas like, you know, I can I can
take a look at this and I can belike, oh my gosh, it's a very
(09:49):
difficult assignment, and I'mnervous about it, or I can be
like, it's a fun puzzle.
And now when I do pieces,especially when I look at pieces
that maybe I've looked at for awhile, I look at it like a
puzzle.
I'm like, okay, what key is thismeasure in?
You know, what key is this barin?
What key is this bar in?
You know, what why do we have anaccent on this?
Why do we have a sharp symbol ora flat symbol on this note?
(10:11):
What does that mean?
And I think oftentimes I get itwrong, you know, and and
sometimes I have tocross-reference with other
things, maybe I have to asksomeone for help, maybe you
know, like all of these things,but that helps me learn.
Do you know what I mean?
And so when you are doing yourpiece, no matter like what you
know about theory, maybe maybewhat you don't know about
(10:33):
theory, like whatever it is,understanding it to the level of
your knowledge is a really funway to work through that.
I feel like we all havedifferent levels of theory
knowledge, and so you know, ifif for you understanding what
key the piece is in, that's agreat thing to do.
Or maybe if you can look and belike, oh, I can see a chord, or
(10:56):
oh, I can see a key change, oroh I can see you know this note
doesn't really make sense withthe rest.
I wonder why.
Always ask why, and then itleads to more questions, and
then you can learn.
Do you know what I mean?
Like for me, that's that'ssomething that I really enjoy.
I'm like, why is this note likethis?
Why is there this note?
This doesn't make sense to me.
And then I go and ask for help,and you know, and then people
(11:19):
help me and they're like,Eleanor, you you this this is
how it works with the theory.
I'm like, oh yeah.
Um, and then I learn, you know,it's a great cycle, and then I
learn more about the piece, andthen I can remember it better,
and it also it kind of creates anew look to it and and a new
excitement to it.
So that's one thing, or thesecond thing that I do to kind
(11:40):
of help with the piece.
It's also great when you'refirst learning a piece to just
kind of look at that, especiallyif it has a lot of arpeggios or
things like that, a lot of likesemi-quavers, 16th notes.
If you just look at if you justlook at a sea of notes and
you're like, okay, what do I do?
It just looks like a ton ofnotes.
But then if you start toactually create like, oh, this
measures and this key and thisthis is a this type of arpeggio,
(12:03):
you know, whatever, and thenoftentimes I'll drool over it
and I'll just like write the keyand like oh, this is a
diminished arpeggio, and youknow, because I've practiced
diminished arpeggios, forinstance, my fingers just know
what to do when it's like, oh,it's a diminished arpeggio
starting on D or whatever.
My fingers know exactly how thatgoes, and then it just goes up
and down and it's great, youknow, and that that's really
(12:24):
helpful.
If I hadn't done that, I wouldhave just looked at a bunch of
notes and been like, oh my gosh,it's just a bunch of notes, and
I have to remember remember allof them, you know.
So it's a helpful thing.
Theory is a really helpful tool.
Understanding how music works umis a really helpful way.
If you are working on learningtheory and you're using
different like ways to learn,I'd love to know more about
(12:46):
them.
I feel like I'm always trying tofigure out more ways to learn
theory, and also I want to getkind of a gauge as to what
everyone is doing when they'relearning theory.
So if you want to let me knowhow you learn theory, I'd love
to know.
Um, you can DM me on Instagramat Eleanor.ovo, you can email me
Eleanor atconfidentmusitioning.com.
Confident Musitioning has um oneN at the end, it's musician ING.
(13:12):
Um and yeah, confident musicianor Eleanor at
confidentmusitioning.com, youcan you can send me an email,
send me a DM.
Let me know how you studytheory.
I'd love to know.
All right, and the last thing isfinding different places to
play.
This is really, really helpfulbecause finding different places
to play is really fun.
Um, if you want to play for yourfriends, play for your friends
(13:34):
and play this piece for yourfriends and and see what they
say about it, you know.
Um play for music friends, playfor non-music friends, play for
your family, play for your fish.
I don't know if your fish wouldreally have good advice for you.
Um, but like play for whomever.
See their thoughts, see whatthey like, you know, see if
(13:54):
they're like, oh, I really likethis section, but this one kind
of feels quite tiring orwhatnot.
And you're like, okay, how whatdo you want to hear with it?
You know, get another person'sperspective.
It's really, really helpful.
I think that that that'ssomething that we don't really
do enough.
I at least don't really doenough.
Um, finding different places toplay, just playing for people,
(14:15):
um, seeing their perspective,because then that might ignite
something for you to be like,ah, I never thought of it that
way.
I want to try playing it likethis or or that.
You know what I mean?
Like, that's a really good wayof doing that.
So um, speaking of kind of youknow, prepping pieces and
whatnot, I think especially ifwe're trying to spark more joy,
(14:35):
spark more um excitement andfocus into the pieces, a great
way to do that is effectivepractice sessions.
And this leads me to telling youall about a really good tool
that I use for my practicesessions, which is a notable
practice journal.
This journal keeps my practicesessions together, it just
really does.
Like honestly, um, it's reallyhelpful with keeping my
(14:58):
practicing together because Ican plan my practice with the
journal, but I can also reflect,and that is a big thing because
then the next sessions can bebetter and better and better
because I've reflected on them.
Do you know what I mean?
So, as soon as I found out thatthis journal was helping me, I
knew I needed to tell you aboutit, and I knew that I needed to
give you a code.
So use code LNR15 for 15% offyour journal.
(15:21):
That is E-L-E-A-N-O-R 15 for 15%off your journal, and let's have
more focused, effective practicesessions because that is what we
need, especially when we arelooking at repertoire that might
feel quite tiring to us becausewe've been doing it for a while.
Getting that joy really helpswith you know planning those
(15:42):
sessions, and um, or planningthe sessions helps with getting
the joy, and using a notablepractice journal can be really
helpful for that.
You know me, I do not recommendanything that I don't absolutely
love.
This code is an affiliate code,which means I do receive a
commission with no extra cost toyou.
Um, by the way, the code will bein the description um in the
(16:04):
show notes, and so will a linkto Notables sites for for you to
take a look at if you want to.
Alright, that is about it.
Let's do it, just do a quickrecap for this.
So the the first one wascreating stories around your
pieces, whatever you want yourstories to be, whether they are
made up fiction, maybenon-fiction, like I don't know,
making a cup of coffee in themorning.
(16:26):
Um maybe that's your storybecause the quavers sound like I
don't know the the milk in yourcoffee.
I I have no idea.
But like, you know, things likethat.
Create stories.
Um, the next thing, looking atit from a theory perspective,
like like it's a puzzle, youknow, why are the notes like
this?
Why are the notes structurallike this?
What significance does it have?
(16:47):
It's really helpful in kind ofcreating that joy and that
spark.
Um, and then the last thing isfinding different places to play
and having feedback from people,even if that's you know, in a in
a lesson, but also just withfriends, with family members,
with whomever you want, um, andgetting that perspective.
All right, that is about it forthis episode.
(17:09):
Thank you so much for hangingout with me.
I am so grateful.
Um, if you enjoyed this episode,please do show all the love,
like, subscribe, comment, sharewith all of your musician
friends, even non musicianfriends.
Why not?
And I will see you in the nextepisode.
Alright, take care.
Hello and welcome to the Confident Musitioning
(00:02):
Podcast.
My name is Eleanor and I am aBritish American oboist studying
at the Royal Conservatory ofScotland.
Literally my dream school.
And it took me a long way to getthere.
I applied and auditioned for 12schools in three different
countries.
It was a lot of hard work.
But oh my gosh, so worth it.
(00:24):
I want you to have theconfidence to work hard in
achieving your goals.
So come with me as we go on thisjourney together.
So sit down, pull up a chair,take a seat, or if you're on the
go, welcome to the ConfidentMusitioning Podcast.
(00:45):
Hello, hello, hello, and welcomeback to another episode of the
Confident Musitioning Podcast.
I'm so glad you're here.
I hope you had a good weekrecently.
Um I had a really good week thispast week.
I have started back up at theconservatoire, and this week was
so busy.
I had so many rehearsals at thebeginning of kind of the year at
(01:07):
the conservatoire.
They do these concerts likeright at the beginning.
And so this past week was aconcert.
Like we started rehearsals on atthe beginning of the week, and
then the concert was on Friday,and so it was like really quite
focused and lots of rehearsals,but it was really good.
Um, and I had some otherprojects going on, starting back
(01:27):
up, lessons.
I have my very first coranglaislesson this past week.
Um, it's weird because I've beenplaying corangle for so long,
you know.
I feel like as an oboist, youjust need coranglays, you know.
Um, in uh in in the States, whenI lived in the States, I was in
a youth orchestra, and you know,sometimes you just got put in on
(01:49):
the coranglay.
Um, also known as the Englishhorn.
Um and you know, I recentlyplayed Holst's Planets on the
Coranglay, and then this pastweek I just had a lesson with
it, and it was my very firstlesson.
It felt very weird because I waslike, I have you know so much
experience, but I've neveractually had a lesson, so it was
quite strange.
But it was a really good lesson,and overall it was a really good
(02:11):
week.
So, but I think the the thingthat kind of started this idea
for this topic of this episodewas I have done some audition
recordings for some um differentopportunities that I went to
audition for, and the piece thatI chose is a piece that I
actually performed a few monthsago for my final recital in my
(02:35):
first year, and so it was apiece that I was picking up
again that I just finished, um,and I thought to myself, I
haven't done an episode recentlyabout how to kind of find that
spark, that joy in the piecethat you've just finished, you
know, like I feel like when youpick up a piece after a while,
(02:55):
um you can kind of there's youthere's one out of two routes to
go.
You could either um be like, oh,this is this is boring because
I've done this and I don'treally know what to do with it,
or you can be like, this is asecond chance to kind of find a
new avenue of performing thispiece.
I feel like you know, peopleask, oh, why do you read books
(03:17):
over and over?
Or why do you watch films overand over?
It's like because you know thefilm or the book is the same,
but you have changed.
Do you know what I mean?
You're different, and music isthe exact same thing.
Why are you picking up thispiece again?
Because I'm different, and so Ihope to give it something
different.
Do you know what I mean?
So today we're gonna talk alittle bit about how to get how
(03:39):
to not get bored.
Not how to get bored, how to notget bored of pieces that you've
already done, whether you'repicking them up after a while,
or maybe you're just practicingthem over and over and over, and
it's like a long thing.
I remember when I was applyingfor universities and
conservatoires, I had pieces.
I had the Mozart oboe concerto,and I studied that concerto.
(04:01):
I mean I played it, I practicedit for about eight months.
Like every single week, justjust working on it, working on
it, working on it for eightmonths.
That is tricky, that's verytricky because by month two,
you're like, I'm I know how itgoes.
You know, you're like, I've gotit.
Um, but then there's always moreto unpack.
(04:23):
But it does get, I don't, Idon't really want to say boring,
it tiring, that's a better word.
It gets tiring.
And when I just picked up thispiece, it wasn't very tiring,
but it reminded me of how tiringthe Mutzer Obo Concerto was when
I practiced it for eight monthsstraight.
Um, and so I want to kind of getinto that.
Whether you are preppingsomething, you know, doing
(04:46):
months of prep, maybe you'restarting something that you know
you're gonna be looking at for awhile, or you just want to
listen to this episode.
Let's dive right into it.
So here are kind of three waysthat I look at kind of keeping
the the spark of excitement in apiece that you really, really
know and you feel like what do Ido now?
(05:09):
Like what what what's left, youknow?
So the first thing, and I thinkthis is probably the the most
powerful thing that I have done,is creating stories around your
pieces.
I have gotten so many commentson like Instagram of people
saying, How do you how do youcreate create stories?
(05:29):
Like whenever I talk about it,they're like, What do you mean
creating stories?
So I wanna I wanna I wanna talkto you about it.
So creating stories is like justcreating a narrative around the
piece.
When the composer was composingthe piece, the composer probably
had an idea of kind of the storyof the piece, and a lot of
pieces have a specific kind offeeling to them of like you
(05:50):
know, things that are maybe alittle stressful.
Maybe the first movement isquite fast and jolly, the second
movement is quite stressful, thethird movement resolves
everything, you know, thingslike that.
There is a progression, but it'sa really fun thing to put
specific stories in the piece.
So, I mean, you can you can makeit as specific or as vague as
(06:11):
you possibly want to.
For instance, for the piece thatI did um that I just did, that I
just picked up again, I had astory to it already that was
also something that helped mememorize it, but basically it
was just a a route that I takefrom my flat um to go to a
nearby park.
(06:32):
And I just, you know, I take itand and and I go, and there's
like different different placesthat I pass by, or like, you
know, maybe specific placeswhere I notice things, and that
correlated to the piece anddifferent sections of the piece.
I was like, oh, this sectionfeels like, you know, when I'm
passing this place, or thissection feels like when I
(06:55):
finally arrived at at the park,um, and I feel very excited
because I look at the trees andthe birds and all of these
things, and that's a story,right?
Because then I I'm like, okay,well, these notes sound like the
birds, or these notes sound likethe cars, or yeah, do you see
what I mean?
Like, I'm creating a narrativearound that, a story.
And maybe I don't share thisstory, maybe I mean, maybe I
(07:16):
could, but maybe I don't.
Um, but it is it's something forme, it's something for me, so
when I play it, I'm like, ohyeah, I'm you know, hearing the
birds, or I'm hearing the cars,or you know, whatever it is.
Um you can also make it likemore, you know, maybe not as
practical as that, but like moreexciting.
Um, maybe something more like,oh, this passage sounds like you
(07:40):
know, dancing.
So maybe you imagine dancers.
I love to imagine specificallyballet dancers, like a nice pot
deu.
Um, that's when the dancers aretwo dancers are dancing
together.
Um, and I love to imagine thatwhen I'm playing specific parts
of pieces, because I'm like, oh,I you know, I can imagine the
dance that might go with this.
(08:01):
That is a really effective wayfor me to kind of create stories
around my pieces.
You know, it can be it can bewhatever you want it to be,
which is so exciting, especiallyfor something or for someone
like me who is very imaginative.
I love stories, and if you areimaginative like me, even if
you're not and you're maybeslightly intrigued, I challenge
(08:21):
you to kind of next time whenyou look at a piece, what story
can you come like can you canyou take from that, you know?
Like it's not just notes on apage, there is a story, and you
can create that story, or youcan maybe do research and see if
there's already an existingstory, but for me, I j I like to
create the stories, and thathelps me remember the piece
better and play it better moreexpressively because I have a
(08:45):
story to tell.
Do you know what I mean?
So that's the first thing.
The second thing is kind oflooking at it from a theory
perspective like it's a puzzle.
So I mean, I suppose thisdepends on your level of theory
knowledge.
I feel like I I'm always lackingin the theory knowledge, but I
think that that's just because Ican see how far I'm going to go
in my degree.
So I'm like, oh my gosh, I don'tknow much, but I have a feeling
(09:07):
that if I keep working, I willlearn more.
Um that's how studying works.
So, but but I think you know,taking pieces and looking at
them like a puzzle is reallyfun.
I recently, I mean, last yearwith for my final project in my
theory class, I had to take apiece and I had to kind of
dissect it.
I scribbled all over it, youknow, the different keys and the
(09:28):
different, you know, things thatchanged and you know, like what
what cadences there were andapogitours and just like all of
these very technical theorythings, you know, what what key
was this in and how did itmodulate to this?
All of these fun things.
Um, and I thought to myself, Iwas like, you know, I can I can
take a look at this and I can belike, oh my gosh, it's a very
(09:49):
difficult assignment, and I'mnervous about it, or I can be
like, it's a fun puzzle.
And now when I do pieces,especially when I look at pieces
that maybe I've looked at for awhile, I look at it like a
puzzle.
I'm like, okay, what key is thismeasure in?
You know, what key is this barin?
What key is this bar in?
You know, what why do we have anaccent on this?
Why do we have a sharp symbol ora flat symbol on this note?
(10:11):
What does that mean?
And I think oftentimes I get itwrong, you know, and and
sometimes I have tocross-reference with other
things, maybe I have to asksomeone for help, maybe you
know, like all of these things,but that helps me learn.
Do you know what I mean?
And so when you are doing yourpiece, no matter like what you
know about theory, maybe maybewhat you don't know about
(10:33):
theory, like whatever it is,understanding it to the level of
your knowledge is a really funway to work through that.
I feel like we all havedifferent levels of theory
knowledge, and so you know, ifif for you understanding what
key the piece is in, that's agreat thing to do.
Or maybe if you can look and belike, oh, I can see a chord, or
(10:56):
oh, I can see a key change, oroh I can see you know this note
doesn't really make sense withthe rest.
I wonder why.
Always ask why, and then itleads to more questions, and
then you can learn.
Do you know what I mean?
Like for me, that's that'ssomething that I really enjoy.
I'm like, why is this note likethis?
Why is there this note?
This doesn't make sense to me.
And then I go and ask for help,and you know, and then people
(11:19):
help me and they're like,Eleanor, you you this this is
how it works with the theory.
I'm like, oh yeah.
Um, and then I learn, you know,it's a great cycle, and then I
learn more about the piece, andthen I can remember it better,
and it also it kind of creates anew look to it and and a new
excitement to it.
So that's one thing, or thesecond thing that I do to kind
(11:40):
of help with the piece.
It's also great when you'refirst learning a piece to just
kind of look at that, especiallyif it has a lot of arpeggios or
things like that, a lot of likesemi-quavers, 16th notes.
If you just look at if you justlook at a sea of notes and
you're like, okay, what do I do?
It just looks like a ton ofnotes.
But then if you start toactually create like, oh, this
measures and this key and thisthis is a this type of arpeggio,
(12:03):
you know, whatever, and thenoftentimes I'll drool over it
and I'll just like write the keyand like oh, this is a
diminished arpeggio, and youknow, because I've practiced
diminished arpeggios, forinstance, my fingers just know
what to do when it's like, oh,it's a diminished arpeggio
starting on D or whatever.
My fingers know exactly how thatgoes, and then it just goes up
and down and it's great, youknow, and that that's really
(12:24):
helpful.
If I hadn't done that, I wouldhave just looked at a bunch of
notes and been like, oh my gosh,it's just a bunch of notes, and
I have to remember remember allof them, you know.
So it's a helpful thing.
Theory is a really helpful tool.
Understanding how music works umis a really helpful way.
If you are working on learningtheory and you're using
different like ways to learn,I'd love to know more about
(12:46):
them.
I feel like I'm always trying tofigure out more ways to learn
theory, and also I want to getkind of a gauge as to what
everyone is doing when they'relearning theory.
So if you want to let me knowhow you learn theory, I'd love
to know.
Um, you can DM me on Instagramat Eleanor.ovo, you can email me
Eleanor atconfidentmusitioning.com.
Confident Musitioning has um oneN at the end, it's musician ING.
(13:12):
Um and yeah, confident musicianor Eleanor at
confidentmusitioning.com, youcan you can send me an email,
send me a DM.
Let me know how you studytheory.
I'd love to know.
All right, and the last thing isfinding different places to
play.
This is really, really helpfulbecause finding different places
to play is really fun.
Um, if you want to play for yourfriends, play for your friends
(13:34):
and play this piece for yourfriends and and see what they
say about it, you know.
Um play for music friends, playfor non-music friends, play for
your family, play for your fish.
I don't know if your fish wouldreally have good advice for you.
Um, but like play for whomever.
See their thoughts, see whatthey like, you know, see if
(13:54):
they're like, oh, I really likethis section, but this one kind
of feels quite tiring orwhatnot.
And you're like, okay, how whatdo you want to hear with it?
You know, get another person'sperspective.
It's really, really helpful.
I think that that that'ssomething that we don't really
do enough.
I at least don't really doenough.
Um, finding different places toplay, just playing for people,
(14:15):
um, seeing their perspective,because then that might ignite
something for you to be like,ah, I never thought of it that
way.
I want to try playing it likethis or or that.
You know what I mean?
Like, that's a really good wayof doing that.
So um, speaking of kind of youknow, prepping pieces and
whatnot, I think especially ifwe're trying to spark more joy,
(14:35):
spark more um excitement andfocus into the pieces, a great
way to do that is effectivepractice sessions.
And this leads me to telling youall about a really good tool
that I use for my practicesessions, which is a notable
practice journal.
This journal keeps my practicesessions together, it just
really does.
Like honestly, um, it's reallyhelpful with keeping my
(14:58):
practicing together because Ican plan my practice with the
journal, but I can also reflect,and that is a big thing because
then the next sessions can bebetter and better and better
because I've reflected on them.
Do you know what I mean?
So, as soon as I found out thatthis journal was helping me, I
knew I needed to tell you aboutit, and I knew that I needed to
give you a code.
So use code LNR15 for 15% offyour journal.
(15:21):
That is E-L-E-A-N-O-R 15 for 15%off your journal, and let's have
more focused, effective practicesessions because that is what we
need, especially when we arelooking at repertoire that might
feel quite tiring to us becausewe've been doing it for a while.
Getting that joy really helpswith you know planning those
(15:42):
sessions, and um, or planningthe sessions helps with getting
the joy, and using a notablepractice journal can be really
helpful for that.
You know me, I do not recommendanything that I don't absolutely
love.
This code is an affiliate code,which means I do receive a
commission with no extra cost toyou.
Um, by the way, the code will bein the description um in the
(16:04):
show notes, and so will a linkto Notables sites for for you to
take a look at if you want to.
Alright, that is about it.
Let's do it, just do a quickrecap for this.
So the the first one wascreating stories around your
pieces, whatever you want yourstories to be, whether they are
made up fiction, maybenon-fiction, like I don't know,
making a cup of coffee in themorning.
(16:26):
Um maybe that's your storybecause the quavers sound like I
don't know the the milk in yourcoffee.
I I have no idea.
But like, you know, things likethat.
Create stories.
Um, the next thing, looking atit from a theory perspective,
like like it's a puzzle, youknow, why are the notes like
this?
Why are the notes structurallike this?
What significance does it have?
(16:47):
It's really helpful in kind ofcreating that joy and that
spark.
Um, and then the last thing isfinding different places to play
and having feedback from people,even if that's you know, in a in
a lesson, but also just withfriends, with family members,
with whomever you want, um, andgetting that perspective.
All right, that is about it forthis episode.
(17:09):
Thank you so much for hangingout with me.
I am so grateful.
Um, if you enjoyed this episode,please do show all the love,
like, subscribe, comment, sharewith all of your musician
friends, even non musicianfriends.
Why not?
And I will see you in the nextepisode.
Alright, take care.
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