How to Practice to Make Perfect
For as long as I can remember, I’ve heard the stereotypical sayings people make about practicing an instrument. “Practice makes perfect!” “Want to get to Carnegie Hall? Practice!,” etc. In movies, we see this concept appearing as well.
Whiplash and Shine illustrate this narrative exactly. Amazingly gifted musicians who go to conservatories to study to become great performers. And then they have some kind of a nervous breakdown! Ummmm, that’s a little intense! Okay, that’s a lot intense! So, what is true, and what is Hollywood dramatization?
The Soul-defining Musician:
Everyone has their thing. Something that they are good at or become good at with a lot of work. Then there are others who truly find a deep passion in certain areas. Something seems to be in their soul. In a way, it’s a form of true love.
Les Paul once remarked that his guitar was a “great pal.” Lifelong guitar players play in good times and bad times. It’s truly always something you can come to and express yourself. A “great pal,” indeed!
Ever since I started playing, I have had a guitar in my hands anytime it was physically possible to do so. I love to play. I love to practice. I love to find ways to improve my musicianship. I love to my write and record my own music. I also am honored to play and record on a lot of other artists’ records. Besides my family and friends, music is my greatest love.
For me, music is soul-defining. It fuels so, so much of what I am, feel, do, and express. For years, I practiced hours and hours every single day. I would even bring my guitar on vacation. Just so I wouldn’t lose practice time. Musicians like me pour themselves into music.
*DISCLAIMER* THIS DOESN’T NEED TO BE YOU TO ENJOY AND EXCEL AT MUSIC!!
A Pragmatic Outlook on Practicing Guitar:
What do you do if you don’t have the time or want to give your entire life to the instrument? What?! You have other things to do?! School? A job? Kids? Sports? Okay, well, fine…haha. The truth is everyone is busy. Even the busy musician has other aspects to their life!
Time is Relative!
A few years ago, my daughter was born. And as it turns out, babies and children require a lot of care and attention. As does a busy career and a home to take care of. As I went from music school to post-graduate music career to husband and father, my daily practice requirements had to change. I simply didn’t have the same amount of time as I did in my younger days. And quite frankly, babies make you tired.
Why Do We Practice Guitar?
This became a huge question for me. Largely, it was not for intellectual reasons. While there are very heady musical concepts to learn, once it is learned, you have it. Okay, that is not the main reason for daily practice. Learning material for performances? Well yes. It takes time to learn a bunch of songs for gigs. Most bands that I perform with have a set of stuff we always play. Which only requires a little practice as a refresher. Worse case, we learn a few new ones for a show. That isn’t it, either.
So, what is it? I pondered further. Well, if I miss several days of practice, I feel like I play slower or sloppily. Now that is truly a reason for concern!
Okay, this is more of a physical thing, then! Like exercising. This is more about the concept of developing muscle memory. You learn a song with new techniques, general technique, and you need to practice it repeatedly to really solidify it into your muscle memory.
How to Practice Guitar:
I realized that time wasn’t as much the issue. It’s more about practicing and developing muscle memory slowly over days and weeks. Using this concept, I was able to come up with a personal routine that worked extremely well. And it was a third of the amount of time that I thought I needed!
In music school, I remember kids hanging out in the music school practice rooms. They would claim they practiced for some crazy amount of time. 8 hours! Maybe some did. What I saw was a lot of people hanging out in or around the practice rooms for 8 hours. But that isn’t practice, is it? Even in my original long practice sessions, there was a lot of wasted time.
How Does This Help Me?
I’m so glad you asked! Everyone has a busy schedule. Even if you only have 15 mins a day, you are in good shape! If I assign you a lesson plan for the week, I just expect you to make some headway. It should be small but consistent daily practice sessions. If you practice 5 days a week for 15 minutes, you will continue to improve.
In school, if I studied for a test a little bit every night, I would do much better than if I crammed. Practice is even worse that way. You can’t cram for a guitar lesson if you are learning something new.
Evolving:
Practice isn’t about making changes alone to improve. Once you make a developmental change, you still need time to develop that muscle memory. I like to use the term evolution over change. Evolution is a slow and steady process. Imagine your musical journey is evolution. Slow and easy. With a lot of consistency. You keep this in mind, you’ll do great!
-JD