The Musician Toolkit episode 74 - How to Improve Your Observation
Summary
TLDRIn this insightful episode of the Musician Toolkit, David Lane emphasizes the importance of the skill of observation for musicians. He discusses how being attentive and avoiding preconceptions can lead to a deeper understanding of one's environment and music. Drawing from the example of Sherlock Holmes, David illustrates the difference between seeing and observing, and how this applies to musicianship. He shares an exercise involving a clock, encouraging listeners to notice as many details as possible about everyday objects to enhance their observational skills. David also provides practical tips for applying observation to music practice, such as analyzing sheet music for patterns and details. He concludes by highlighting the benefits of improved observation skills not just in music, but across various aspects of life, and invites listeners to share their feedback and experiences with observation.
Takeaways
- 🧐 **Observation Skill**: Being observant is crucial and requires paying attention without preconceptions, seeing what's there instead of what you think should be there.
- 🎼 **Musical Observation**: Observation is a key skill in music, where noticing details such as rhythm, key, fingerings, dynamics, and articulation patterns can enhance understanding and performance.
- 📚 **Literature Reference**: The script references Sherlock Holmes's ability to observe and deduce, highlighting the importance of attention to detail.
- 🔍 **Practical Exercise**: An exercise is suggested to count steps while walking or to list observations about a common object, like a clock, to improve observational skills.
- 🎓 **Educational Application**: Observation is not just for musicians; it's a skill that can make you smarter, sharper, and more successful in any field.
- 🎹 **Music Study**: When studying music, look beyond the surface to explore details, patterns, and the structure of a piece to deepen your understanding.
- 📝 **Documentation**: Keeping a journal to document observations about music pieces can help in recognizing patterns and details, thus improving one's musicianship.
- 🌳 **Environmental Awareness**: Encouragement to observe the environment, such as the sounds around you or the details of nature, to practice and enhance observational skills.
- 🚶♂️ **Daily Practice**: Make observation a daily practice by consciously noting details during routine activities like walking or being in a room.
- 📈 **Skill Development**: The skill of observation is likened to a muscle that can be exercised and improved over time, benefiting not just musicians but anyone looking to be more attentive.
- 🌟 **Standing Out**: In a world of superficial interactions, the ability to pay attention to details can make an individual stand out in their personal and professional life.
Q & A
What is the importance of being observant according to the speaker?
-Being observant is crucial as it requires paying attention without having preconceptions. It involves seeing what is there instead of what one thinks should be there, which is a valuable skill in various aspects of life, including music.
Why does the speaker mention Sherlock Holmes in the context of observation?
-The speaker refers to Sherlock Holmes to illustrate the concept of observation at a high level. Holmes is known for his exceptional observational skills, which allow him to deduce much from a single glance or interaction.
What is the significance of the story 'A Scandal in Bohemia' in the context of this discussion?
-The story 'A Scandal in Bohemia' is mentioned to highlight the difference between seeing and observing. In the story, Sherlock Holmes points out to Dr. Watson that one can see something without truly observing it, as demonstrated by Watson's inability to remember the number of steps leading to their apartment.
How does the speaker suggest improving one's observational skills?
-The speaker suggests that improving observational skills is like exercising a muscle. He recommends practices such as counting steps while climbing stairs, noting details about everyday objects, and actively seeking out and noting details in one's environment.
What is the exercise with the clock in the video meant to demonstrate?
-The clock exercise is designed to demonstrate the power of detailed observation. By asking viewers to list as many observations about the clock as possible, the speaker aims to show how many details we might overlook in our day-to-day lives.
How does the speaker relate the skill of observation to music study?
-The speaker relates the skill of observation to music study by emphasizing the importance of noticing details in a piece of music, such as rhythm, key, fingerings, dynamics, and patterns. He suggests that the more details a musician can observe, the better they will understand and interpret the music.
What is the purpose of the speaker's request for feedback from the listeners?
-The speaker requests feedback to better tailor the content of future episodes to the listeners' preferences. He wants to know what type of episodes the audience would like more or less of, to improve the podcast and make it more valuable to them.
Why does the speaker mention the potential changes to the podcast after episode 100?
-The speaker mentions potential changes to signal his intention to evolve the podcast's focus and possibly its name to better reflect the content and to keep it engaging and relevant to the listeners.
What is the significance of the speaker's discussion about the intermediate level piano piece by Clementi?
-The discussion about the Clementi piano piece serves as an example of how deep observation can lead to a richer understanding of music. By pointing out various elements such as rhythm, key changes, and patterns, the speaker demonstrates how observation can enhance musical analysis.
How does the speaker use the example of counting steps to emphasize the importance of observation?
-The speaker uses the example of counting steps to show that observation can be practiced in simple, everyday activities. It's a tangible way to exercise the skill of observation and to train the mind to be more attentive to details.
What is the broader implication of improving one's observational skills as discussed by the speaker?
-The broader implication is that improved observational skills can enhance performance and success in various areas of life, not just in music. It can make an individual more aware, attentive to details, and capable of making better-informed decisions.
Outlines
😀 The Importance of Observation
David Lane introduces the topic of observation, emphasizing its importance in seeing things as they are rather than through preconceived notions. He shares his personal experience with time management and the unexpected efficiency he has experienced recently. David also discusses his plans for the podcast's future direction and asks for listener feedback to help shape the show's focus.
🔍 Developing the Skill of Observation
The second paragraph delves into the lack of observational skills among students and adults, as noted by David from his teaching experience. He references Sherlock Holmes's approach to observation, highlighting the difference between seeing and observing. David shares his personal practice of counting steps as an exercise in observation and explains how preconceptions can hinder the ability to find objects when they don't match expected colors or characteristics.
🎶 Applying Observation to Music
In this paragraph, David discusses how observation is a skill that can be exercised and improved, much like a muscle. He provides a personal example of counting steps in his home and while walking. David then transitions to applying observation to music, specifically when studying a piece like Clementi's Sonata in C. He plays an improvisation and talks about the numerous details one can notice in a piece of music, encouraging listeners to look for both big picture and small details.
🕒 Observation Exercise with a Clock
David presents an exercise where he asks listeners to observe a clock and write down as many details as possible. After a 45-second improvisation, he lists 20 observations he made about the clock, including its color, shape, material, and brand. He emphasizes the importance of noticing details and how this skill can be applied to music and other areas of life to become a better, more successful individual.
🌳 Enhancing Observation in Daily Life
The final paragraph encourages listeners to enhance their observational skills in everyday life. David suggests taking note of details in their surroundings, such as the ceiling, walls, and even the bark of trees during a walk. He also recommends paying attention to sounds and avoiding the habit of quickly moving on to the next thing, which is common in the digital age. He concludes by reminding listeners of the value of observation in standing out and being successful in various aspects of life.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Observation
💡Preconceptions
💡Musicians
💡Sherlock Holmes
💡Piano Sonata
💡Improvisation
💡Sterling and Noble
💡Dynamics
💡Key Signatures
💡Rhythm
💡Feedback
Highlights
Being observant requires paying attention and not having preconceptions.
Observation is a skill that can be developed through practice, such as counting steps or noticing details in one's environment.
David Lane shares his experience of being more efficient than anticipated, getting ahead in his tasks.
The importance of tightening the focus of the podcast and seeking feedback from listeners for future planning.
A discussion on the value of observation in music, drawing parallels to Sherlock Holmes' deductive skills.
The exercise of observing a clock and listing 20 different observations to improve observational skills.
Observation is compared to a muscle that can be exercised to improve overall attentiveness and success in various fields.
An example of detailed observation in music, analyzing Clementi's Piano Sonata in C major, Opus 36, No. 1.
The recommendation to use a notebook to write down observations about a piece of music to enhance understanding and interpretation.
The suggestion to make observations spherical, not just horizontally but also vertically, to be fully aware of one's surroundings.
The advice to occasionally go for a walk without listening to any audio to focus on the sounds and details of the environment.
The importance of not just looking at phones and scrolling through content, but to truly see and engage with the world around us.
The impact of superficial engagement with technology on our ability to observe and appreciate details.
Encouragement to increase one's powers of observation by practicing it as often as possible.
Invitation for listeners to share their tips or thoughts on observation that could be featured in a future podcast episode.
A reminder for listeners to share valuable episodes with others and to leave a five-star rating and review to support the podcast.
Gratitude expressed to listeners for their participation and the announcement of the next episode's release.
Transcripts
being observant requires that you pay
attention it also requires that you
don't have
preconceptions it takes a lot of work to
see what's there instead of what you
think should be
[Music]
there hello and welcome to the musician
toolkit episode number 74 my name is
David Lane and it is great to be with
you once again I hope all of you are
having a good week I'm recording this
just a few days in advance and uh my
week so far has been great it's been one
of those weeks that is completely
opposite of normal you know the normal
for me is I plan one hour to do
something and realize I should have
planned two or three I mean that's not
always the case but it is so often the
case and I've gotten better over years
I've realized that whatever I think
whatever my impulse is to a lot for a
task I automatically schedule two or
three times more than that so I'm
getting closer to that all the time but
I've had two days in a row this week
where everything was quicker than I had
anticipated and I got to the point to
where I'm actually doing this intro a
full day early so I'm a full day ahead
I'm I'm recording this on a Wednesday
normally Thursday is the day that I've
allotted to uh you know add the intro
you know to make sure that I've um I'm
not missing any recent feedback or
anything that needs to go onto the
episode to keep this portion as current
as possible okay I'm only going to
mention this at the beginning of maybe a
few more episodes before I kind of let
this go but uh as a reminder it really
will help me for future planning to know
your preference if this is a type of
episode that you would like more of or
fewer of so I urge you to uh let me know
either way you can send me a message at
David lanm music.com or you can send me
a direct message on Instagram at David
Lane music or on Facebook at David mlane
music this is not anything you need to
go to to my speakpipe channel for
to uh tell me anything to include on the
podcast this is just private feedback
it's just helping me know your
preference
now I'll go ahead and say you know not
to sway you either way I really like
today's episode that I'm going to get to
in just a moment um I think it's
something that um that I'm I think
you'll be able to tell I'm pretty
passionate about it and you know I look
forward to sharing that with you but
just once again we're almost episode 75
we're almost 3/4 of the way to 100 and
I've just bookmarked 100 is my goal goal
for when I get to that episode I want
episode 100 onward to seem different
than the first 99 episodes and I'm not
going to really give away what all those
changes are but one thing that's really
important to me is to tighten up the
focus of this podcast I I've had a lot
of fun of just being like all things
musician musicianship and you know found
ways to tie it in to a podcast about
musician tools but that's the other
thing I might even be considering the
name of this podcast I might be deciding
whether or not the topics we cover suits
the name and there's a lot of ways to go
about that but it starts with your
honest open feedback about what you
would like to hear more of and what you
would what you could stand to have fewer
of as far as episodes go so anyway on to
today's topic I'm talking about
something that I posted a video on a few
months ago on YouTube and I'm actually
going to play the audio from that
YouTube video and I'm just going to add
a little bit to it so if you've seen the
YouTube
video which I'm going to pay I'm going
to put the link in my show notes because
it it is visual is something that would
be a little bit better if you were to
watch it although I think there's enough
narration in the video that you can kind
of follow what's going
on even if you're not looking at it but
I do think there's some added value if
you can go take a look at it but if you
have seen that already I'm going to
elaborate a little bit and I think it's
important enough to just kind of to hit
this topic more than once so this is
about the skill of
observation and it was something that
when I started
teaching it didn't take me long to know
notice that most students of a lot of
Ages not not just young students but
adults as
well have not developed the skill or
habit of observation very well you know
I've read all of the Sherlock Holmes
short stories and novels at least once
by uh Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The
Originals the first two are novels I
believe I believe they're called a study
and scar
and a sign of four and then he wrote his
first collection of short stories
compiled as The Adventures of Sherlock
Holmes and I don't hold me to it because
I haven't read it recently but I believe
it's the first short story in that
collection where as an exercise Sherlock
Holmes asks Dr Watson how many steps
there are leading up from the street to
the front
door actually rather than par
paraphrasing I just pulled out the book
so let me read this this is from the
story called a scandal in
Bohemia and this is a
conversation between Sherlock Holmes and
Dr Watson it starts with Sherlock Holmes
speaking and he says you see but you do
not observe the distinction is clear for
example you have frequently seen the
steps which lead up from the hall to
this room frequently how often well some
hundreds of times then how many are
there how many I don't
know quite so you have not observed and
yet you have seen that is just my point
now I know that there are 17 steps
because I have both seen and observed
and I just love that that is like the
singular point that I love about the
series you know the series is all about
how Sherlock Holmes deduces so much from
like a glance or just you know meeting
someone they can he can tell where
they've been and all that and he Wows
everybody with like a certain type of
Mark that's found on their shoe or
something about their fingernails or
some kind of stain on their shirt so not
that you have to you know get into this
Superman uh level super detective level
of observation like Sherlock Holmes H
has I found that interesting when I
first read that because I always notice
how many steps there are and I started
doing that just as a matter of it may
come in handy if I'm carrying something
like a big box or something and I can't
see my feet can't see the steps I want
to count and know with accuracy I can
tell you at my house there are 13 steps
between the first two floors uh I can
tell you where I teach in Winston Salem
there's 18 steps leading from the store
floor down to the basement level where I
teach being observant requires that you
pay attention it also requires that you
don't have
preconceptions it takes a lot of work to
see what's there instead of what you
think should be there I'm going to give
you an example of something and and let
me know you know comment or on this post
or send me a message if if if you agree
cuz I'd like to know if this is common
or not I find that I cannot find what
I'm looking for if I think it's a
different color than what it is my wife
can go ask me to look for I mean it
could be a water bottle it could be
something like that it could be that big
but a lot of times it's something a
little different like she wants me to go
find a jewelry box or something like
that and I might think in my head this
is a burgundy red box when in fact it's
blue I will pass by that blue box over
and over never seeing it because my
brain is looking for something bergundy
red now if she tells me to go find that
that box that jewelry box or whatever
and I don't she doesn't tell me what
color it is and I allow my mind to be
open that it could be any color I will
probably find it fairly easily so with
observation it gets in the way if you
have assumptions so you have to remove
those assumptions and then you have to
actually look you have to see you have
to observe so you know this is a good
first exercise every time you take the
steps just count them and then recap
before you visit them again I think
there's 16 there I think there's 18
there by the way you'll find it's quite
often stairs tend to come when you're
climbing them in 8 10 12 14 or 16 I
actually found that fascinating that I
13 steps in this house cuz that's not a
common number at least in my
experience also take go on a normal walk
in your house and count how many steps
you take for going from one room to the
next or if you're walking in a
neighborhood you go from one street sign
to the next how often do you go I found
it's very close to within about a dozen
or so on average of being 200 steps for
my Pace going between one block and the
next
and if I'm in a downtown area it tends
to be a little narrower one way might be
150 steps now it may seem like this is a
bit much but again observation is like a
muscle and you are exercising that every
time you can so before I say anymore I'm
going to share the audio portion of the
YouTube video I did where I talk about a
clock in my studio and I talk about the
TW 20 things that you can observe with
that and uh you know you'll hear the
portion where I allow those watch ing to
write down as many things as they can in
I think 45 seconds and I play a little
piano piece that I made up a little
improvisation and then I talk about the
20 observations that I have and then I
compare that to when you're studying
music like I take the simple Clemente
Opus 36 number one Piano Sonata or sorry
piano satina in
C and while I'm playing the first
movement I talk about with kind of a
voice over all of the things not really
all the things but just many of the
things that I notice so here is the
audio of that video on YouTube and again
you can find the the full link and the
show notes I want to talk about a
typical intermediate level piano piece
something like Clemente Santina Opus 36
number one so I'm just going to count
off some things that you need to notice
so let's start off with the obvious ones
we want to start off with what is the
Rhythm and of course before we do that
we look at the time signature we want to
make sure that it's treble cleff on the
top staff base cleff on the bottom staff
we want to notice what key we're in and
we see the absence of a key signature we
know that we're in C major depending on
the addition we may have some
fingerings we almost certainly have a
Tempo might is Mark algro you want to
notice if there are slurs if there's
tados if they are accents you want to
look at the Dynamics and that's kind of
interesting too because
some of the Dynamics are marked like
with the word Crescendo and others are
shown with the hair
pin we want to notice that there's a
repeat sign at the halfway point and
also at the very end but then we want to
get into other things we want to notice
how it changes to the key of G major
halfway through the
exposition and how it goes through a few
other Keys before it comes back to C
major to stay put we want to notice how
the recapitulation is very similar to
the exposition but also how it's
different there are most Moes three four
five note patterns that pop up
throughout the very first measure
appears later toward the end as a figure
that goes upside down and we can go on
and on and this is part of what it is to
explore a piece of music you get away
from the surface and then you start
looking for other things other details
you have to look big picture you have to
look small
picture so now I want to talk about the
clock that I have on this wall over here
so grab yourself a sheet of paper a
scratch sheet of paper will be fine and
I want you to look at this clock and I
want you to write down as many things as
you notice about it it doesn't matter
how mundane it is I just want you to
notice every detail that you can see now
I know it's not going to be as much as
you would get if you were in the same
room and you could touch it or you could
you know see the three dimensions of it
so I'll help you out as we go but let's
just start with can you name five things
that you notice about this clock can you
name 10 things about this clock so I'm
going to let you look at it while I play
a 45 second improvisation for you so go
ahead and write down what you see Ready
Set Go
[Music]
okay time's up so let's look at my list
of the things that I noticed about this
clock so we'll start with the fact that
it's green it's kind of a swamp green
color uh the second thing I noticed is
that it's round so I know I'm hitting
the obvious here but it is a round
object there are three different
pointers what we call hands for the hour
the minute and the second uh the fourth
thing I notice is that you know we have
big numbers going from 1 to
12 the fifth thing that I notic is that
we have these little minute tick markers
along the edge for each minute there are
some small numbers all divisible by five
the seventh thing I noticed is that and
of course you wouldn't necessarily know
this for sure unless you're in the room
but it's made of plastic the eighth
thing also I notice it's not flat it
does have three dimensions ninth there
is some paint fading in various places
10th another one is a little obvious but
it ticks once per second or 60 beats per
minute there are scratches on the face
number 12 this is interesting if you
look at those big numbers there are five
ones and there are two twos the 13th
thing I notice is that all three of
those hands the hour minute and second
they all join in the center kind of held
by a little knob there in the middle
14th thing this is a Sterling and Noble
brand clock 15th thing I noticed is when
I look at that brand Sterling and Noble
it uses all capital letters the 16th
thing that I notic is that if you look
at those little numbers when you go from
15 to 20 and when you go from 40 to 45
the numbers change directions in the way
they're facing the 17th thing that I
noticed is when you look at the Little
Numbers there are seven zeros there are
eight fives and there is not a single
seven eight or n the 18th thing that I
noticed is when I look at the back it
takes one ablea battery the 19th thing I
notice is also in the back there is a
place for it to hang and the 20th and
the final thing that I noticed this in
looking at this exercise is that there
are two bits uh that poke out for no
apparent reason maybe you guys can tell
me what what it means but I I have no
idea what that is for so this is an
exercise that you should try very often
just pick any object and write down as
many things as you can notice and of
course start doing this with your music
the more you notice the better of a
musician you will be so just as an
exercise what I would recommend that you
do is take a journal take a notebook and
then take some sheet music that you're
working on and just look at the first
page something you're practicing and
write down however many you want but I
would say at least 10 but maybe 15 or 20
things you notice about it could be a
melodic pattern that repeats maybe you
notice a two measures that are very very
similar but one the intervals are upside
down from the other like instead of
going up and then back down it goes down
and then back up maybe you'll notice a
rhythm that's the same but the notes are
different maybe there's an articulation
pattern but just go through just that
page just one page of of music and how
much can you write down that you have
noticed about that piece and again this
is a this is a skill that transcends
music you will be a a smarter sharper
more successful individual if you
improve your powers of observation so
look at any corner or wall or section of
your room and just write down as many
things as you can it could be like a a
crack in the in the paint it could it
could be any kind of a flaw it could it
could be what's on the wall look up at
the ceiling as well how many how many
times do you go in a room and not look
at the ceiling not look up make your
observation spherical so not just
360° horizontally but also up and down
all around you being aware of your
surroundings next time you go for a walk
if you're the type of person like I
normally am and you like to listen to
either audiobook or podcast or maybe
music um just just once every now and
then don't play anything and just listen
to The Sounds around you notice try to
notice every bird song that you hear try
to notice the sound of the traffic don't
tune it out but pay attention to that
and and when you're looking down notice
cracks in the pavement try to maybe not
step on any of them you know just that's
that's a good way of kind of observing
what's on the ground if there are leaves
on the ground notice the shape of the
leaves try to look at every tree notice
what kind of bark pattern has this is
really important to do in an era of
superficiality where we just kind of
open up our phones and we just scroll
and we just see things and if we're not
interested within 1.5 seconds we're
swiping to the next thing or we're
spinning on there is going to come a
time where someone who can pay attention
someone who can see the details is going
to stand out whether or not you're
professional musician or you just use
music to help yourself in other walks of
life skill of observation will make you
a better musician but it will also make
you better probably in the top half or
more of whatever you do by the way I
record in a house that has another
person and multiple pets my window is
facing a busy street there's traffic
going by all the time now I have a
pretty good microphone that filters all
that out but I bet if you put on
headphones and turn on Up the Volume you
would notice all kinds of things in the
background increase your powers of
observation by exercising it as often as
you can and that's going to wrap up
episode number 74 now I opened up this
episode talking about one kind of
feedback I do want to remind you that
you can also give me another type of
feedback and that is a direct response
on the content of the episode that you
wouldn't mind me sharing or at least
considering having share on a future
podcast episode so if you have any tips
for observation or if you have any
thoughts about observation anything that
you observed while listening to this
episode I can't promise that I will
share everything that is submitted but
you can let me know with your voice
sending me a voicemail at speakpipe
tocom SL musician toolkit as a reminder
the things that you can always do to
help this podcast the most is to please
share each episode that you find
valuable so if you enjoy this episode
you know someone else who might enjoy it
share it with them directly share it on
your social media feeds all of that is
what we need to continue to grow this
audience to help nurture and build
better and more well-rounded musicians
if you feel so inclined please leave a
five star rating and review wherever
you're allowed to do that on whatever
podcast PL platform you're listening to
anyway that's going to wrap it up for
today I want to thank you once again so
much for listening and I'll be back with
you again next week
関連動画をさらに表示
🥇 THE MOST IMPORTANT ART SKILL (and how to improve it)
RAHASIA & TIPS MENGGAMBAR STILL LIFE
Studying Music in College (#GettingInPodcast / 02-29-24 / Segment 2)
This Is The Secret To INSANE Success!
How I Take Notes: the Best Note Taking Method | Jim Kwik
Home Learning Seni Musik (Cara Membaca Not Balok)
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)