“I used to be quite haphazard with my practice routines, until I tried using a diary.”

How does your practice routine look? You get down with your instrument when you feel like it, open up the page of some piece you want to play and start playing? Do you just grab that guitar and start jamming about scales?

Well, that’s hardly efficient if you want to get anywhere. Musical practice could potentially fill your entire day, but since we’re limited with our time, you have to keep two things in front of you at all times:

1. Practice more often, in shorter blocks.
2. Be focused in your decision what to practice.

Practicing an instrument is like doing a workout. Tracking it is important, and consistency is key. I used to be quite haphazard with my practice routines, until I tried using a diary. Writing down what I wanted to practice exactly, and then tracking how many minutes each day helped me see where I was failing.

Here’s a way to design your diary page:

1. One week per page
Keep a header that holds the dates of a certain week (e.g., July 9-16).

2. Exact list of things to practice
In the main area of the page, list out the exercises and pieces you want to practice this week.

3. Log your minutes
In the bottom part of a diary page, log each weekday and the minutes practiced on that day.

This way, you will always practice the right stuff in the right order, because you wrote it down. You will also be more disciplined because you will feel obliges to fill out the diary every day. Try this, it works. It also works for workouts and diets, but I guess music is the most fun, right?

Soon, we will explore the nooks and crannies of practicing music, so until then, stay tuned and subscribe or you might miss it!

Post from: The Good Musician

You should know your instrument well. Ask yourself some questions:

• How does my instrument create sound?
• What action by me is required to create a sound? Compare with other instruments.
• Why did you choose this instrument? If it’s a variant (like tenor-sax or alto-sax), why this variant?
• What styles use this instrument? What styles do I like?
• Are there other instruments that work simlarly? Could I learn them?
• What defines the tone of a violin (or anything) compared to my instrument? Why does a saxophone sound “sexy?”
• What is the history of this instrument? What was it’s original use?

Familiarize with what you’re playing. Because every time you take a guitar in your hand, Kenny Burrell and Jimi Hendrix are playing with you, because it’s what people like them did with the instrument that defines what you do with it.

This exercise will help your identification with the instrument. Once you realise that an instrument is more to you than just a medium to music, but much rather a part of your identity, it will reflect in your playing.

Post from: The Good Musician

In future posts, I will explore each area deeper and try to size up digestible chunks that will join you on your career to a good musician.

1. Know Your Instrument

Every musician makes music using an instrument. Even our voice is an entire instrument by itself. When playing, we should be aware of what we are doing. We should try to learn as much about the instrument as we can gather, it’s history, it’s uses, it’s cousins, and we should develop our relationship to the instrument, why are we playing the instrument we play?.

2. Know your Music Theory

Britney Spears probably doesn’t know much about music theory, but as a self-made musician free from producers and American Idol, we should indulge in music theory. Music is a science, but an art form as well. That makes it very special, and thus we should attempt to grasp it as much as we can, which the scientific approach allows us to do easily. The artistic side of music is much more obscure and free. Many musicians fail trying to climb that high wall before getting familiar with the subject matter.

In subsequent posts, I will bring in lessons of music theory, and try to present it in a way that it’s understandable, and most of all, show the use of it, and answer that all-mighty question of “Why?”.

3. Brand Yourself

Whether you’re a classical interpret or member of a death metal band, you have to define yourself and place yourself among others. You have to develop your own uniqueness, and this is where the music ends and business begins, but it’s a part of being a musician. Even if just for your personal life, you should put a lot of thought into what you want to be as a musician, and what you can be as a musician.

Draw that mental picture of yourself you’re comfortable with and ask, what makes me so special? You’ll find a lot of things that make you unique, you just have to play them out.

4. Listen to music

Being a musician means making music, but it also means immersing yourself in music that others create. Listening to music shouldn’t only be something you do on the bus, while surfing or in the car. Listening should at times be an active process in which you slice up the music and study it. There’s so much out there, and once you develop an ear for it, there’s an equal amount to learn! Imagine if you can combine all that knowledge and create something new & wonderful!

5. Practice & Criticize

You suck. That’s what you might try pounding into your head every time you force a tortured note out of your instrument, whether a beginner or a wannabe-Hendrix. Well, the truth is: You really do suck. Everyone does. Paul McCartney sucks. Even I do. But the good part is, we can change that. With practice and constant self-evaluation done the right way, we can reduce our suckiness and create something beautiful. Remember, nothing is perfect, but with a little help, you can come a long, long, really long way.

In future posts you will be able to explore each area further, and we’ll finally get down to work. I’m sure we can learn a lot from each other, and if you think you want to join me, be sure to subscribe!

Post from: The Good Musician