The Perfect Practice Routine

Look, you already know that one size does not fit all.

But I’ve worked with a lot of musicians, so I’m somewhat familiar with the most common problems and most effective solutions in the practice room.

That’s why I’m confident to share with you an overview of what I consider to be the best practice routine for improvising musicians.

Okay, ready?

1. Instrument-specific exercises, including general warm ups, sound exercises, dexterity exercises, etc.

2. Rhythm exercises, including metronome challenges, rhythmic displacement, hand independence (if applicable), etc.

3. Transposition exercises, including putting licks, patterns, chord voicings, and progressions through the keys

4. Tune study and solo transcription, including ear training, phrasing imitation, and theory analysis

5. Improvisation practice on the tune from step #4, including applying what you learned in the transcription but also exploring specific concepts such as triads, pentatonics, motivic development, etc.

6. Free play, just mess around and have fun

Sound like a lot?

It doesn’t have to be.

If you don’t have a lot of time or headspace, just do a little work on each step, and you’ll make a huge amount of progress.

You can even switch up how much time you spend on each section, though I don’t recommend mixing up the order.

Just don’t feel pressured to dedicate an entire hour to each step. You can if you want. But watch out for the trap of trying to practice everything and not learn anything.

Lastly, if you’re looking for super nutritious ear food to transpose in Step #3, check out Licks for Days, now with live audio recordings so you can hear the lines played for real, instead of on a robotic MIDI keyboard.

Good ol’ Paul R. was kind enough to let me know how much he’s enjoying the newly added audio.

“Thank you very much for this update...tremendous.”

I know you’ll feel the same. And I know you'll love working these licks into your solos with help from the included lick-learning guide, which is packed with tips and tricks for how to make the most out of Licks for Days:

https://go.jeffschneidermusic.com/licks-for-days

- Jeff