[Harp-L] Playing in your head and reading music

[Emily Keene]

Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2016 09:26:29 -0500
From: Tin Lizzie <TrackHarpL at xxxxx>
To: harp-l at xxxxx
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Playing in your head and reading music
Message-ID: <8FC0914B-5DE5-4C96-A003-BB95D8ED4C75 at xxxxx>
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Hi, Aongus!

I am not a neuro-scientist, but I have a keen layman?s interest in that
kind of stuff.  I heard someone say, once, ?I could never learn to juggle
well until I tried to  *talk*  and juggle at the same time.?   Something
about forcing your brain to ?automate? a skill by increasing the workload
with an added skill.  So, clearly, we should all start playing harmonica
while riding unicycles!

Tin Lizzie

Also not a neuro-scientist but also with a layman's interest. The automated
skill is referred to as "procedural memory" and seems to be located in a
different part of the brain and utilizes a different circuit than what we
think of as the conscious part of the brain, so maybe it's a matter of
practicing something consciously enough times to teach the procedural
circuit the motions and letting it "fly" on its own by consciously doing
something else. It works the opposite as well. We've all heard the story of
the centipede that got stuck in the same place because it started thinking
about which foot went first. As far as learning to read music to play the
harmonica, I would say not to bother if it gets in the way of actually
picking up the harp and trying to play. Being a good sight reader is a
skill in itself, and I've known some great musicians that understand theory
on some level but don't "read".  A lot of the really great stuff in
folk-based music can't really be notated accurately. I've also known some
great readers, and some amazing players that are both great readers and
have a great ear, but if I had to choose between one or the other, I'd
rather play with a player that's developed their ear. I'm totally behind
the mental practice idea. I'm totally against riding the unicycle. Cheers,
emily