Metalearning and realizations: What I learned from my first piano cover
Last year, I started my journey as a self-taught pianist. For several months, I became comfortable with playing simplified or modified piano sheets for beginners. However, several weeks ago, I embarked on a challenge: play one music piece arranged as an accompaniment to a vocal line. In other words, I need to play and sing, which makes it harder. It seems daunting, but what will I lose? In this article, I will share with you the lessons and realizations on this journey and how you can apply this, not only on your musical journey (hey, fellow musicians) but also on other aspects of your learning journey.
Before anything else, here’s the River piano sheet and my piano cover on Youtube. Okay, let’s dive right in!
Article contents:
- Why did I start this journey?
- Some metalearning realizations
Why did I start this journey?
I consider ourselves a lifelong learner. Learning doesn’t stop when we left the college grounds or after our 9-to-5 workday; it’s an ongoing multifaceted transformation of yourself until you die. As a child, I have always been fascinated by music and dreamt of being a pianist, but, over time, maybe due to brain structure changes as a teenager, the dream slowly vanished at one point. Now, as an adult, I tapped into this childhood dream. I realize that some of our behaviors, emotions, and aspirations can be traced back to our past. There is a child in all of us in an esoteric space that, somehow, prods us from time to time and reminds us of who we were. So, I thought I’ll give this piano journey a try. As I go through each musical component, play musical pieces, and practice almost every day, I picked up some gotchas/epiphanies, which I believe are transferrable to learning in general. This is where metalearning comes in. In my first piano cover using River’s arrangement as an accompaniment piece, I discovered more about this learning how to learn things and how we can use that in our everyday life.
Some metalearning realizations
Metalearning is learning about learning. We don’t just chug information and hope our hippocampus will have our back whenever we’re on a date, taking an exam, or having a casual conversation with a stranger. There’s a structure to learning that we may not be conscious of.
Repetition, grit, and modes of thinking
My journey was hard. There were different aspects to consider for the piano cover such as left- and right-hand coordination, vocal synchronization and placement, rhythm, finger placement and style, and soft/hard keys. I think some of us know that repetition will solidify and help stick the routine in our brains. Some call this “muscle memory.” This is true in the biological sense: With each decision we make, the emotion we process, and the skill we hone, we are physically creating neural connections, which is termed neuroplasticity. But that is easier said than done. The first tries are the hardest, and even when we become complacent with the routines, we lose focus and interest and hit this metaphorical wall. That is why you need more than repetition: grit.
Grit, in my own words, is just doing for the sake of doing. You do it despite discouragement, fear, or doubt. You do it just because. There are a lot of ways to get you up and running. You can do the 5-second rule. Or, the one effective for me is to tell yourself: “Just sit there, and then you’re done.” Then, move the scale up once you're there: “Since I’m there, just play a chord.” Go on, and without you even noticing, you’ve already warmed up.
The most exciting thing I noticed in my piano cover is the fact that I overcame this metaphorical wall by just doing it with the smallest routine I can play almost every day, repeatedly doing the same routine until it gets boring, and picking myself up every time my fingers seem to entangle, my voice becomes pitchy, or the base and melodic lines become out of sync. But it doesn’t stop there. As I progress with different parts of the song, there are still walls to overcome like when the base (left hand) and melodic (right hand) notes overlap, requiring me to change my finger placement pattern. The brain, I think, picks up the information, alters the neural pathway each time I correct my mistakes, and makes me surprised I was playing the hard part.
I realized that repetition is not enough; there is also active recall. With each practice, try to remember the last segment you practiced without looking at your music sheet. It’s okay if you can’t remember it. Try again later after playing the part you remember well. Build the habit of recalling the other topics or areas you’re studying to maximize learning. Another thing is spaced repetition. Take a break, maybe even a few days, then try to recall what you practiced. This activity allows the brain to change its state from focused to relaxed, giving it space. You’ll notice that the associations will become clearer, the topics make more sense, and the routines are more fluid. I wondered what was happening until I stumbled upon this video by Dr. Barbara Oakley. This made me realize that the act of trying and correcting is actual learning in itself. When you’re frustrated, you can say to yourself: “Okay, I find this hard, which means my brain is rewiring and learning. This is new. I’ll try again.”
Visualization
Do you know that I practiced in my mind? Yes, you read that right. I imagined my finger placement, myself riding with the rhythm, and the sound coming from that instrument. Even if I forgot some notes and finger placement, I continued to play as if I know them. This is visualization. I came across this study where participants were grouped into three groups: the first practiced free throws every day, the second visualized making free throws, and the third did nothing. After 30 days, as expected, the third group did not show any improvement, but what is surprising is that the second group improved as much as the first group did, just by visualizing. I was skeptical at first, but lo and behold, it helped me get used to some of the complex parts of the song.
Summary
The brain has proven time and time again that it’s malleable, adaptable, and flexible. Sometimes, our fear and doubt get in the way of truly reaching our full potential. We’re just human after all; these mechanisms helped our species survive. What we can do is acknowledge them and become more self-aware. This way, we can become better craftsmen of our domains and help each other to become better lifelong learners.
