Playing Is Not Practicing
04/05/09 03:11 Filed in: Teaching Advice
I find it interesting that many students don’t understand the difference between practicing and playing; however, I’m astonished when the parents don’t seem to know the difference either. The mother says, “Well, it’s not for lack of picking up the instrument…” While the father says, “He’s got that thing in his hands all of the time…” These are all good things to hear but not quite to the point that I’m trying to make. Which is simply: Practicing is not playing what you already know but, rather, working on the things that you don’t know and, maybe, are not very good at… yet.
I’m not dismissing the parents’ observations in the previous paragraph. I’m just putting them in their proper perspective from the teacher’s point of view—it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. A student who uses his time diligently and focuses on the lesson plans mapped out by the teacher will steadily improve while the student who mindlessly noodles for hours rehashing his favorite licks, riffs, and songs will sound flashy and impress non-musicians but will quickly fall out of favor with his colleagues and begin feeling frustrated at jam sessions and in other playing situations.
Guitar students are human and struggle with the same pitfalls that challenge every other human: there own laziness. That’s why many students with good ears will try not to work at reading music. Meanwhile, the ones that understand how to read will look for tabs and sheet music rather than take the time to improve their ears and try to figure out music passages on the spot.
First, let’s meet him: he has a warm demeanor and is well liked by his peers and respected as hot up-and-comer. He’s been struggling with his music theory but can play circles around most of his playing friends. The band is working on a new song and he jumps in and figures out the chords and rhythm patterns relatively quickly (even I, his teacher, am impressed). Then comes the solo. The chords are D to C to G. He assumes that he’s in the key of D and chooses the D minor pentatonic scale to improvise with. Some notes sound good but others are undesirable, very undesirable.
He then asks me what scale to use because he has unsuccessfully moved the minor pentatonic to C and G respectively. Neither of these adjustments suited his tastes and, quite frankly, sounded worse than his first choice. I suggested that he analyze the tune and start again and didn’t let him off of the hook. He struggled through the rehearsal and felt a little bit humiliated at the fact that he couldn’t play a simple I-IV-V rock tune. However, this tough lesson gave him the humility to be open minded enough to learn some theory. So, we began a three-month journey that has him playing completely differently while preaching the value of theory to his peers.
The first thing that I try to introduce to a student—after we’ve gotten to know each other—is, that they are in charge of their journey. I can only point the way; but first, we need a destination. We need to found out where he wants to go and if that is a realistic goal for the very near future. If not, we try to come to an agreement for a common goal that we can begin to aim for.
Second, we then need to devise a plan. This means I need to know how much “practice time” he is willing to put in on a daily basis. This is not how much time he plans on holding the instrument in his hands. Instead, it means how much time he will diligently focus on achieving the tasks that I have set before him with the promise that if he does this he will reach his goal. Some of these tasks he may not agree with and most likely will not enjoy—but, if it was that easy, everybody would be doing it.
Third, he has to put the time in. I can draw him a map and give him supplies for the journey and even furnish him with the best horse money could buy. But, the fact remains, the journey is up to him. I can’t be there everyday practicing for him.
Fourth, he gets discouraged and I try to motivate and inspire.
So, what is practicing? Agreeing on a goal, setting up a practice plan, and executing that practice plan. I believe that any aspiring player can change the way that they play in three months. I also reassure them that I am not asking them to do anything that I have not done or am not currently doing. Practicing is also working on the things that you are not good at. You’re not suppose to sound good while you practice. You try to play passages slowly and in control while you struggle to remember fingerings. Or, you struggle to perform fingerings that you are not yet comfortable with.
That is a simple question. It is executing all of the fun stuff that drew us to the guitar in the first place. For some it’s power chords and pentatonic licks; for others it’s chaining together some open chords and humming a melody. Then there are those guitarriors (my word for guitarist/warrior); these are the modern-day shredder who watches YouTube videos and works out diminished 7 licks at breakneck speed.
This is a question that many of my students ask me. Then they’re astonished to find out that I still take lessons. I tell them that I could live 1000 years and still not cover and learn everything that I want to on the guitar. My first students of the day hear me practicing and I banish them from the room if they show up too early and I haven’t finished my routine.
In the next post I’ll cover more on how to create a practice plan and some practice tips.
I’m not dismissing the parents’ observations in the previous paragraph. I’m just putting them in their proper perspective from the teacher’s point of view—it’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. A student who uses his time diligently and focuses on the lesson plans mapped out by the teacher will steadily improve while the student who mindlessly noodles for hours rehashing his favorite licks, riffs, and songs will sound flashy and impress non-musicians but will quickly fall out of favor with his colleagues and begin feeling frustrated at jam sessions and in other playing situations.
Guitar students are human and struggle with the same pitfalls that challenge every other human: there own laziness. That’s why many students with good ears will try not to work at reading music. Meanwhile, the ones that understand how to read will look for tabs and sheet music rather than take the time to improve their ears and try to figure out music passages on the spot.
Here’s a common scenario for the intermediate student.
First, let’s meet him: he has a warm demeanor and is well liked by his peers and respected as hot up-and-comer. He’s been struggling with his music theory but can play circles around most of his playing friends. The band is working on a new song and he jumps in and figures out the chords and rhythm patterns relatively quickly (even I, his teacher, am impressed). Then comes the solo. The chords are D to C to G. He assumes that he’s in the key of D and chooses the D minor pentatonic scale to improvise with. Some notes sound good but others are undesirable, very undesirable.
He then asks me what scale to use because he has unsuccessfully moved the minor pentatonic to C and G respectively. Neither of these adjustments suited his tastes and, quite frankly, sounded worse than his first choice. I suggested that he analyze the tune and start again and didn’t let him off of the hook. He struggled through the rehearsal and felt a little bit humiliated at the fact that he couldn’t play a simple I-IV-V rock tune. However, this tough lesson gave him the humility to be open minded enough to learn some theory. So, we began a three-month journey that has him playing completely differently while preaching the value of theory to his peers.
What is practicing?
The first thing that I try to introduce to a student—after we’ve gotten to know each other—is, that they are in charge of their journey. I can only point the way; but first, we need a destination. We need to found out where he wants to go and if that is a realistic goal for the very near future. If not, we try to come to an agreement for a common goal that we can begin to aim for.
Second, we then need to devise a plan. This means I need to know how much “practice time” he is willing to put in on a daily basis. This is not how much time he plans on holding the instrument in his hands. Instead, it means how much time he will diligently focus on achieving the tasks that I have set before him with the promise that if he does this he will reach his goal. Some of these tasks he may not agree with and most likely will not enjoy—but, if it was that easy, everybody would be doing it.
Third, he has to put the time in. I can draw him a map and give him supplies for the journey and even furnish him with the best horse money could buy. But, the fact remains, the journey is up to him. I can’t be there everyday practicing for him.
Fourth, he gets discouraged and I try to motivate and inspire.
So, what is practicing? Agreeing on a goal, setting up a practice plan, and executing that practice plan. I believe that any aspiring player can change the way that they play in three months. I also reassure them that I am not asking them to do anything that I have not done or am not currently doing. Practicing is also working on the things that you are not good at. You’re not suppose to sound good while you practice. You try to play passages slowly and in control while you struggle to remember fingerings. Or, you struggle to perform fingerings that you are not yet comfortable with.
What is playing?
That is a simple question. It is executing all of the fun stuff that drew us to the guitar in the first place. For some it’s power chords and pentatonic licks; for others it’s chaining together some open chords and humming a melody. Then there are those guitarriors (my word for guitarist/warrior); these are the modern-day shredder who watches YouTube videos and works out diminished 7 licks at breakneck speed.
What about you Ed, do you still practice?
This is a question that many of my students ask me. Then they’re astonished to find out that I still take lessons. I tell them that I could live 1000 years and still not cover and learn everything that I want to on the guitar. My first students of the day hear me practicing and I banish them from the room if they show up too early and I haven’t finished my routine.
In the next post I’ll cover more on how to create a practice plan and some practice tips.
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