Friday 5 November 2010

The Recital Is Over ... What Now?

I performed my last recital for my degree program in 2004 (has it really been that long?) and, while I love the repertoire I programmed, if you asked me to perform it today, or even next month, I doubt I could do it. The same could be said for some jazz standards I knew once upon a time but have since been relegated to the attic of my practicing. I have to ask myself if it was really worth all the hours I spent trying to master those pieces.

In describing what he calls the "Law of the Harvest", Stephen Covey cites performing on a musical instrument as an example of an endeavor that you can't fake your way through. You have to invest your energy over the long haul in order to attain a high level of performance. This is in contrast to the academic plague of cramming for a test, only to dump everything you "learned" on the test page, most of which stays there instead of in your head. Or faking your way through short-term social interactions with a few slick tricks that won't hold up under closer inspection.

If we don't do something to retain what we have worked so hard to attain, is what we do really any different than cramming for the next exam?

Monday 1 November 2010

What is Spaced Repetition Learning?

Good question. Spaced Repetition Learning is any method based on scheduling when you will next review a bit of knowledge. For my purposes, however, I'm going to confine my discussion of SRLs to those that: a) deal only with long-term memory (thus eliminating methods such as Pimsleur where the intervals for review are scheduled in seconds, not days,) and b) increase the review interval after each successful review.

My "favorite" SRL system is called SuperMemo, created by Piotr Wozniak (no relation to Apple's Woz). SuperMemo uses a flashcard metaphor for the learning process, but in its latest iteration it is capable of sophisticated multimedia content. Basically, whenever you learn a card containing a piece of knowledge, the computer records the date of learning and schedules the next review one or two days out. Then you are on to the next piece of knowledge until you are done learning new material for the day. The next time you power up the program, it checks for what cards you are scheduled to review for that day and proceeds to test your ability to recall the information. You grade yourself, and depending on how well you remembered the card's info, it will again schedule the next repetition for a date before it predicts you will forget what you reviewed. For a piece of knowledge of average difficulty, the schedule may go like this: 1 day, 6 days, 14 days, 35 days, and so on. If you find that your recall comes very easily, the review intervals may be even longer; more difficult recalls result in shorter intervals, and the occasional lapse will trigger a reset of the schedule because it is now necessary to relearn that bit of knowledge.

SuperMemo boasts an increase of 10-50 times the rate of learning. Don't think, however, that this is going to help you pass your mid-term exams next week (or was it last week?) SRLs are designed to enhance long-term memory, so if you want to remember something a month after the test, this is for you. The real boost to your learning comes from the ability to process new information because your review cycles are made as long as possible without actually forgetting what you learned.

One other benefit I have found relates to David Allen's Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. Allen says that a lot of our mental stress comes from our mind's effort to hold on to things we are afraid we will forget, all the "open loops" in our lives. I know that if I put something I want to learn in SuperMemo, I will review it at some future date. That way, even if I have forgotten it, I at least can relearn it. This takes a lot of worry about whether I'll remember something critical out of the equation for my mental stress. And if I have some idea that I want to develop later, I just put it in a queue of items that will eventually work through this process.

I know that there is a lot more information available, so I hope I haven't upset any SR gurus out there by omitting your favorite aspect of the method, or your particular flavor of SRL. After all, that's what the comment section is for!

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is just to start...

Welcome to my blog. I created this site to document and share some experiences and interests related to music, mostly with the saxophone. In particular, I have always been interested in doubling. While I have some experience playing flute and clarinet, I have always wanted to pick up double reeds again. My last attempts, I just realized, were in my undergrad days at BYU, now 14 years gone! Not having instruments made it a little difficult to keep things up, but now I have an excellent opportunity while here at the Army School of Music to work on my doubling skills.

Some other interests I have are related to teaching and learning music. I have been experimenting with incorporating Spaced Repetition Learning methods into my daily routine of practicing. There are quite a few sites out on the web that address SRL for various applications, but as far as I know, none deal with it as a way to learn to play a musical instrument. I've been trying various things off and on since late 2007, and I think I've worked out a few kinks. Anyway, I expect I'll write a bit about my experiences here, hoping to spark some interest and draw from your insights to develop this further.

I also have taken an interest in teaching aural skills concurrently with beginning saxophone lessons. Particularly, I wrote my dissertation on integrating Edwin Gordon's Music Learning Theory with a beginning saxophone curriculum. I would love to develop that further, perhaps even creating some instructional videos that support a "self-teaching" method for those who may not be able to take private lessons for one reason or another.

Well, those are my interests in a nutshell. I expect this blog will evolve as I gain more experience and gather more ideas. Thanks for visiting, and feel free to leave a message.