Why It’s So Hard To Practice Right Now...
I started taking practicing seriously in high school.
And by seriously, I mean two to four hours every day. During my summers off from school, I would sometimes get in eight hours a day.
I'm not trying to impress you.
No, I'm here to say that I was lucky.
I was lucky that in those days, I didn't have to deal with the reason why it's so hard for us to practice right now.
I didn't have to deal with the digital distractions – and I'm not just referring to the pull of social media and notifications on our smartphones.
I'm talking about another digital distraction. One that is more subtle...and more problematic – especially for musicians.
You see, what I'm concerned about is information. Not the misinformation and disinformation that's talked about on the news 24/7.
I'm concerned about TMI – too much information.
I'll explain what I mean in just a minute. But first – think back to the early 2000's. YouTube was in its infancy. Online courses weren't a thing. And you couldn't download a book to a Kindle. In those days, to get information, you had to work with a coach, or drive to the library, or go to a school.
So, why am I ranting about this?
Isn't access to more information a good thing?
Absolutely!
Until it's not.
The same is true for water. If you drink too much, you drown. If you eat too much food, you get fat. And if you try to consume too much information, you're unlikely to absorb it on a deep level.
If any of this is hitting home, my advice is to put yourself on an information diet.
We all know a traditional diet regulates what and how much you eat. Well, an information diet regulates what and how much content you consume.
To be clear, I'm not suggesting you cut yourself off completely. There's so much good stuff out there – you just have to watch out for "shiny object syndrome."
Pick a book. Pick a teacher. Pick a course. Pick a technique you learned in a YouTube tutorial. It can be my stuff or somebody else's – whatever you like.
But when you do choose something to work on, stick with it. Because getting better at music takes time and concentrated effort.
Pro-tip: a consistent practice routine can help you stay focused.
Plan it out in advance. Just because we improvise music doesn’t mean we get to improvise our practice sessions.
“Sounds good, Jeff. But how do I decide what to work on?”
That depends on your goals. The answer is going to be different for everyone.
But remember: you can always practice fundamentals. Rhythm, phrasing, ear training, transposing, transcribing, etc. You can’t go wrong with any of those.
And if that list is still putting you in decision paralysis, go work on improvising with chord tones. It's a time-tested approach that will make you a better soloist no matter what level you're at.
By improvising with chord tones only, you’ll learn and memorize chord progressions faster and get better at making the changes without having to practice a whole bunch of complicated jazz scales.
Another pro-tip: Make sure your chord-tone solos actually sound good. You’re not allowed to make the excuse that your solos sound lame just because you’re limited to four notes per chord.
Trust me, it is possible to improvise great solos using only chord tones.
If you want to learn how, check out Chord Tone Magic – my collection of chord-tone etudes over popular chord progressions. Snag it now, and you’ll also get bonus video walkthroughs on select solos.
Get Chord Tone Magic plus the bonus videos here:
https://go.jeffschneidermusic.com/chord-tone-magic
Happy shedding,
Jeff