"You must have a level of discontent to feel the urge to want to grow.”
Idowu Koyenikan Organizational Consultant & Author
A level of discontent? Yes, I was tired of being a crummy percussionist in my high school band. I decided to do something radical. I upped my practicing. More time and greater focus. Things changed for the better. Decades later, I'm still feeling the urge to grow and I am still practicing.
Are you growing as a musician?
Are you investing your practice time wisely?
With all the responsibilities occupying our day, squeezing in a practice session can be a challenge. And once you manage to get alone with your drum sticks, can you accomplish anything meaningful in those precious minutes?
Although I been making a living as a freelance musician for decades, I still need to carve out time for practice amid the daily duties that require my attention. Read on for several suggestions to facilitate squeezing in practice along with making good use of your precious practice time.
Set Up and Ready
Upon deciding to work on your conga skills, you realize that your drums are still in the car and a craft project is occupying the space where you planned to practice. You decide to watch TV and set up your instruments later. Maybe tomorrow. Seem familiar?
Maintain a designated area as your practice space and keep your gear set up so you can get to work immediately when you have a chunk of time. Keep the music stand, metronome, pencil, and sheet music at the ready. Your family should understand that your practice time and space is important to you.
The Power of Beginning
When you're deciding whether you should get in some practice, don’t allow negative self-talk to stop you. Getting started produces energy and forward motion. Once a planned fifteen minute session is underway, it can easily turn into a half hour or longer.
Managing the Minutes
Consider using a timer to budget your practice time. I will often set a timer so that I will practice an instrument for an amount of time before the alarm reminds me to transition to another instrument.
Something Is Better Than Nothing
Along with musical growth, maintenance of skills is also an important aspect of practice. Regular practicing assists in preserving strength and technical abilities. Therefore, just getting in five minutes of warm-up exercises built around basic techniques is beneficial for maintenance. By the way, it’s possible to blast through all forty of the Percussive Arts Society’s international drum rudiments in under three minutes. I timed it.
Keep Track
Document your practice time. You can keep a practice journal to chronicle details about your session or simply record how much time your practiced in your phone or planner. It's a self-encouraging thing.
Turn Down Time Into Practice Time
Keep a practice pad in your car and another one set up in your house. You might grab ten minutes to run through rudiments during your lunch break? How about knocking out some stroke-tap exercises while waiting in the fast food drive-thru line?
No Instrument Needed
Mental practice counts as practice. When you have a spare moment, imagine your instrument and your hands and/or feet performing a section of music. Your brain will have to maintain that imagery as you concentrate on a successful run-thru. You might be surprised that this mental exercise makes a difference when your are back at your instrument later. This type of mental exercise can be beneficial when you are memorizing something--and you can make progress while waiting for an oil change or during a boring meeting.
Aim For A Target
Setting goals will help keep you motivated. Your goals should require effort, but be attainable. Practice goals can be as simple as playing a certain number of pages in a method book by year's end or memorizing a dozen conga patterns within six months. Your desire to reach a goal might just nudge you away from the TV and toward your drums.
Remember that music should be enjoyable and that enjoyment should extend to practicing. Find the fun as you learn. Celebrate your progress. Your success will inspire and motivate you to continue growing as a musician.
"People who use time wisely spend it on activities that advance their overall purpose in life."
John C. Maxwell Author & Pastor
(c) 2023 Mark Shelton Productions / Percussion For Worship
This article was previously in Worship Musician magazine. www.worshipmusician.com
