Exercising A Lackadaisical Point Of View In Musical Studies?

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Dethronement of lackadaisical systems of practice, is quite necessary in achieving the successes in otherwise halfhearted practice sessions. Every endeavor that comes to mind requires a system to carry it through to fruition. I'm trusting that others may wish to add their thoughts in this thread. Smile

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

I cannot practice for more than 5 minutes at a time.
Is there anyway to dethrone that?

I have the time. The guitar is sitting there. There is plenty for me to work on. there are no physical problems, but I cannot play for more than 5 minutes at a time without getting up.
help me.

Allan Munro · From: Pennsylvania, USA and Scotland

Do you mean 'exOrcising' Mr. Bill? Wouldn't that make more sense than 'exercising' it to make it stronger?

Allan.....
_________________
Only nuts eat squirrels.

Television is the REAL opiate of the masses!

Jack Dougherty · From: Spring Hill, Florida, USA

That's interesting....I can't spend less than five minutes on thethrone. And some of my best learning happens there. Laughing

My apologies Bill...too good to let pass.
As a instructor myself, the power of learning I have found, comes in small bites. This is why most classes last only fifty minutes in an hour to allow for some downtime. In that fifty minuets, about fifteen to twenty minutes there is some actual comprehension. Hopefully the rest is on note pads.
This topic has been reviewed before. Practice with a purpose. Not just to doodle. (sometimes)
Everyone has there own threshold where learning is concerned. Putting time constraints on practice leads to tension. Practice relaxed. You know, with a Very Happy

on your face. Steel guitar is supposed to be fun. Not like breaking rocks at the State Pen.

Bill McCloskey · Posted 30 Mar 2010 6:42 am

The following is a brilliant piece on practicing by Sean Jones, one of the best jazz trumpet players living today. Although he is specifically talking about practicing jazz trumpet, his method is applicable to any instrument or style.

Master Class — Chops Goals: A Three-Part Practice Regimen Designed for Long-Term Trumpet Achievement
A Jazz Educational Series

by Sean Jones

I have been approached by many jazz trumpet players inquiring about “chops” endurance, flexibility and other pedagogical aspects of performance. I immediately refer to my classical studies and bring up various exercises, etudes, excerpts and methods that I’ve worked on. After answering questions about these issues, I am almost always asked how to incorporate this into jazz and how to practice these exercises and have time to work on jazz performance.

This always amazes me. Many trumpet players—musicians in general, for that matter—go through their careers without an effective, daily practice routine that incorporates the musicianship necessary to play jazz and the pedagogical skills to execute musical ideas clearly. I believe this is due to the overwhelming task that many aspiring jazz trumpet players face. Not only do you have to spend hours gaining technique, flexibility, range and correct breathing practices, but you have to practice lines, chords, tunes, patterns and other components of jazz pedagogy without getting fatigued. All of this practice can be frustrating without a clear plan.

Throughout my early study, I had teachers and mentors who instilled in me the importance of having great technique and facility as well as a good working knowledge of jazz practices and pedagogy. While studying these aspects of playing, I began to come up with a practice routine that fit my needs and helped me accomplish my goals. Over the years, I have adjusted it slightly as I accumulate knowledge, taking what I can from every method of study that I come across and assessing whether it fits my needs and is applicable to my general way of playing.

Before developing a practice routine, you must have clear goals in mind, both long-term and short-term. You have to decide what kind of player you would like to be. This will help you have a clear focus while studying musical and pedagogical ideas. About 15 years ago, I wrote out my career goals in five-, 10-, 20-, 30- and 40-year increments, accounting for what genres of music I wanted to play, what bands I wanted to play in, and what type of music I wanted to write and perform in my own bands. From this, I devised a plan of action.

I researched what techniques and skills I would need to achieve these goals, found people with similar career paths and sought advice. I began to take the knowledge that I learned and came up with a practice schedule that would help me achieve these goals—a routine that would give me musical and technical proficiency. This routine breaks down into 10-, five-, three- and one-year goals, as well as quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily goals, which mirror my plan of action. I continue to use the bulk of the routine that I developed years ago.

My daily routine is broken down into three segments. First, I have my maintenance routine, which includes exercises that are used to maintain basic trumpet technique and proficiency. Included are expansive long tones, flow studies, Herbert L. Clarke exercises 1–3, tongue slurs, scales and arpeggios. This routine typically lasts about an hour-and-a-half and includes 15 minutes of silence at the start and an assessment period at the end. The silence prepares my mind for practicing, and allows me to assess progress in the practice session when it is complete. The assessment is documented in a daily journal, which contains daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals as a reminder of why I am practicing. Due to fatigue and time constraints, it is not possible for most people to practice all day. Therefore, it is crucial that you practice with your mind as frequently as you practice with your body. Meditation on practice routines and goals will help to reinforce muscle memory and personal assessment and achievement.

During my second practice routine, ranging from an hour to an hour-and-a-half, I include articulation exercises, various etude books including the Marcel Bitsch, Jean-Baptiste Arban, Theo Charlier and top tones books. I also incorporate excerpts from symphonic repertoire as well as solo literature from the classical genre. These methods and repertoire are crucial in the reinforcement of a daily maintenance routine. They reinforce basic tone production, clear articulation, flow and flexibility.

If you choose to use jazz repertoire to achieve this type of reinforcement, you must keep in mind that the primary aim of this practice session is to reinforce instrumental pedagogy. The difficult in using jazz repertoire to reinforce pedagogy is that it’s easy to get caught up in the musicality of jazz and the freedom of it and not focus on the discipline that it takes to reinforce trumpet pedagogy. This is why I stick to the classical repertoire, as instrumental discipline is established and reinforced in the genre. This is not to say that it isn’t present in jazz. However, in most studying, a direct association is made between instrumental pedagogy and the classical genre. Perhaps in the future, those of us who have studied both genres will began writing excerpt books and etudes that focus on instrumental techniques inside of jazz.

My third practice session, being my longest (one-and-a-half to two hours), is dedicated to jazz. This session includes transcribing solos, learning tunes, and working on lines, patterns and harmonic concepts. I do my best to work on these items in all keys through the cycle of fourths and in all registers. In a given week, I will have a certain solo, tunes and harmonic concepts that I’ll work on and have clear goals that I want to achieve by week’s end. This varies from week to week, as my second session also varies from week to week. The first session is typically the same. During my jazz session, I retain the technical discipline that I’ve worked on in the first two practice sessions while developing my concepts in jazz. It is important that all of your practice habits feed into each other. After all, specific goals all lead to your long-term musical goals and ambitions.

Over time, it is important that the methods you study and habits you take from others are then refined into your own concept of playing and practicing. I heard Wynton Marsalis speaking about Thelonious Monk during one of our Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra concerts and he discussed something that Monk said in regard to genius. He said, “Monk believed that a true genius is the person who is most like himself.”

This is also true in your practice routine. Your greatest development will come through your self-discovery in the process. After careful study of everyone else’s methods and assessment of what works for you, you will put together your own plan and achieve what you wish, your way. DB

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

^3 practice sessions a day. the first one is 1.5 HOURS of just "maintanence"! Crying or Very sad

and yet I cant sit at my instrument for more than 5 minutes. I am not kidding.

I devised a plan. 1/2 hour a day. 5 minutes on the franklin excercise. 5 minutes right hand, 5 minutes harmonics(a very weak spot for me). 15 minutes for whatever else I am working on at the moment. The plan sits on my music stand. I sit down to play...i do ten seconds on the right hand. I do one pass on the harmonics, maybe 30 seconds tops...I skip the franklin excerices because it is painfully long and boring. I noodle for the other 4 minutes and get up.

It is the opposite of fun. Most days I dont touch the guitar at all.

Chris Schlotzhauer · From: Colleyville, Tx. USA

Bill McCloskey · Posted 30 Mar 2010 7:34 am

"and yet I cant sit at my instrument for more than 5 minutes. I am not kidding. "

Well Ben, Sean is a professional musician, at the top of his game, and trumpet requires tremendous maintenance in order to keep one's lips in shape. Your mileage may vary.

Chris Dorch · From: Wisconsin, USA

Habit is more reliable then talent...

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

Oh yeah Bill, I realize i am no pro and never will be. I'm just a hobbyist. Its still disappointing and frustrating that I seem to lack any discipline whatsoever. I thought my goal of a half hour a day was reasonable for a non pro like myself who works a day job. I need to find a way to make it enjoyable but have no clue how that might be accomplished.

I can play with a band for hours and not get bored, so its not the instrument. Its something about me (short attention span? mtv quick edit generation? I dunno). When I played sports it was pretty much the same. Others would work out and hone their bodies to acheive greater performance, theyu'd run franticly up and down the field. I'd hang out by the goal garbage picking cheap goals. Come to think of it, its the same thing I do fishing..I go to the mouth of the hatchery, not pound the banks. Must be a deep rooted personality trait (laziness?)

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Bill McCloskey,

Thanks for the article written by Sean Jones. I found it to be very interesting. I want to apologize for the duck entered by Chris Schlotzhauer. Chris knows better, and Ben Jones is trying to make a point where none exists. It appears to be related to a sort of spoofery.

Bill McCloskey · Posted 30 Mar 2010 9:01 am

No problem Bill. Hopefully someone will find Sean's insights interesting.

I can tell you it pays off: Sean is the best trumpet player I've ever heard. He has absolute mastery of his instrument. It is also fun to read his Facebook updates.

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Ben,

I trust readers will deduce logical impersonations from the "real McCoy". Any sort of pretext should be identified, before it grows beyond control.

Chris' squabbling duck is the hallmark of defiance, and it reminds me of the old farmer looking for "A boy duck."

Ben Jones · From: Seattle, Washington, USA

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Ben,

You can unload on me, I don't mind. I would be terribly shaken to learn that you are a progressive steel player, who became so by calling names in your spare time. This thread was intended to pass on some things that may be useful to others. There are times when the little pieces decipher the puzzlements in life by resolvable means. I've had many occasions, (depending on how active I've been with other interests), when practice was put on hold. It really is not in a player's best interest, when that happens.

Bo Legg · Posted 30 Mar 2010 11:01 am

I’m the King of Lackadaisical and see no possibility of Dethronement.

Gary Lee Gimble · From: Fredericksburg, VA.

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Gary,

A little voice keeps warning me about your accomplishments, and the urge to respond to your pattern of delivering stunning legal blows to sensitive areas is long overdue. I read somewhere that you are one best left to the experts, when a contest of wit and steel guitars are intently focused upon. If I knew more about how you conduct yourself among ordinary folks, who know well the feeling of want and hunger, I could then respond to your playful jabs, by returning some of your favors.

Bill McCloskey · Posted 30 Mar 2010 11:21 am

Perhaps we could get this thread back on track: what do people think about Sean's practice regime when it comes to steel?

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Bill M.,

Having the ability to revive a more intensive effort, to achieve something that has remained dormant for many years, is more than enough proof that those who succeed never give up in their searches to gain knowledge. Sean is one of those musicians with those creditabilities.

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Jack Dougherty,

That was a neat response you submitted earlier in the day. It was interesting reading about factual accounts that are symbolic of my kind of people. People who can relate to a good 5 piece country band, are very special to me. I often wondered if you've ever met a singer and bassist, who's name is Hank Sohl, or steel guitarist Chuck Sherman, in your travels in the state of Florida?

Charles Davidson · From: Phenix City Alabama, USA

Come listen to a story bout a man named Bill.=Tries to communicate,but has'nt the skill.= In his world of apprehension and total dismay, can write a thousand word monologue BUT WHAT DID HE SAY ? Shocked

=He opens his mouth out comes a bubbling incoherent crude. =Incomprehensible babbling,nasty and rude.=Mr. Bill is one of a kind there is NO doubt Laughing

,The ballard of Mr. Bill,that's what he's all about. Sad

, YOU BETCHA,DYK?BC.
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Hard headed, opinionated old geezer. BAMA CHARLIE. GOD BLESS AMERICA. ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST. SUPPORT LIVE MUSIC !

Bill Hankey · From: Pittsfield, MA, USA

Charles,

Those words may come back to to haunt you, if I show up with my steel in Alabama.

In any event, thanks for thinking of me. The boys that jump to conclusions didn't know that my steel does the talking! ( I become tongueless in a crowd of pickers.)

Archie Nicol R.I.P. · From: Ayrshire, Scotland

Thanks, Bill.

It's late over here.
I'll study that sentence tomorrow to figure out if it is threatening....or made any sense. Confused

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