Last year, I had the pleasure of taking a class taught by Hal Galper. Little did I know that this class would a life changing experience. Hal Galper has been one of my favorite teachers from the very first time I met him. Hal is so different from any other teacher I’ve ever met. He is brutally honest and really focuses on music performance and the psychological aspects of playing music rather than analyzing music. I’ve learned so much from him and I haven’t internalized even a fourth of what he talked about last year (luckily I have recordings of every class.)
I’ve attached a video of one of my favorite master classes that I’ve seen online. Hal Galper talks about “the illusion of an instrument” and claims that YOU are the instrument and everything you play is totally an internal process. For me, the thing that hit me the hardest was when Hal explained that WE DON’T HAVE PROBLEMS PLAYING WHAT WE HEAR, WE PLAY EXACTLY HOW WE HEAR, THE REAL PROBLEM IS THAT OUR AURAL IMAGINATION IS NOT VIVID ENOUGH. This really resonated with me because I feel that so much of playing and practicing music takes place in our own minds. It is something that just needs to be developed and worked on just like anything else.
Any way check the video out and please let me know your thoughts.
-Anton
p.s. visit Hal’s website www.halgalper.com, he’s got tons of articles and other learning material on there. It’s definitely worth spending some time on his site.
