Are you a musician struggling to achieve your artistry goals? Do you feel stuck musically, not knowing what to do next? This blog post on the value of PRACTICE HABITS is what you need to get unstuck. Habits are the vehicle to success. Incorporating positive habits in your life can result in significant growth. On the other hand, repeating negative habits can significantly stunt your growth.
In my career of over 20 years, I’ve observed many musicians stunting their growth because they don’t incorporate good habits in their lives. Some have never defined the habits they want to incorporate into their practice routine. Others have defined the good habits they need, but have never followed through to execute them. Instead, they give sporadic infrequent efforts towards fulfilling their musical goals without consistently committing to the growth process.
Musicians, I encourage you to incorporate positive habits into your practice routine. Those that do, see significant growth; those that don’t, fall short of fulfilling their musical potential. It all comes down to this principle, which is a personal mantra of mine: “Quality music habits produce desired musical growth.”
I’m happy to report that I passed the exam! It took a lot of time, focus, and hard work, but it was worth it! In addition to the Lord helping me pass the exam, incorporating the habit of practicing one scale and arpeggio a day, for two years straight, contributed to my success. When it came time to take the performance exam, I was ready!
I, Alton Merrell, remember taking an important performance exam while studying for my Bachelor of Music degree. If I did not pass, I could not continue to my third year of study. The exam evaluated my performance of the twelve major scales, twelve natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales, all at a tempo of 130 beats per minute. That’s 48 scales in all! I also had to play all those scales in octaves, 3rds, 6ths, and 10ths. I also had to play a host of arpeggios, including all twelve major triads, minor triads, dominant seventh, and diminished seventh arpeggios and their inversions four octaves up and down the piano. That’s 48 arpeggios in all!
Friends, you too can accomplish musical goals like this and more. The key is to incorporate quality practice habits into your practice regimen. Remember, you accomplish large goals by completing a series of small goals.
Are you wondering what practice habits you should begin incorporating into your practice routine? Here are three to get you started.
1. Develop your technique.
Developing good technique on your instrument is very important. Just like professional athletes work out and train their muscles to be effective on the football field and basketball court, you should regularly improve your technique to play your instrument with excellence. This is done by practicing exercises that improve your muscular agility. Pianists, with this in mind, you’ll want to check out my Online Piano Technique Course! This course will get your left and right-hand muscles and fingers into shape, physically equipping you to play demanding songs, riffs, runs, and licks heard in many styles of music today.
2. Learn gospel and jazz songs.
Whatever genre of music you desire to perform, regularly listen to it and seek opportunities to play the classic repertoire of that genre. The adage, “you are what you eat” is very true. In music performance, “we are what we listen to.” What a musician regularly listens to is what comes out of them during performances, so it is essential for the aspiring gospel and jazz pianist to regularly listen, learn and play gospel songs and jazz standards.
One benefit of learning and performing gospel songs and jazz standards is that it expands the melodic, harmonic and rhythmic vocabulary of aspiring musicians. Just like having a command of words is essential to effectively communicating a language, having a command of melody, harmony and rhythm is crucial to performing any style of music. Jazz Standards from the Great American Songbook such as “There Will Never Be Another You,” “Alone Together,” “Stella By Starlight,” or “In A Sentimental Mood” are examples of songs with great melodies, harmonies, and rhythms. Gospel legend, singer, pianist and composer Thomas Whitfield, wrote many songs that garnered him the reputation of a “harmonic genius.” Whitfield uniquely added jazz harmonies to his cutting edge gospel compositions from the 1990s. Songs representing his harmonic brilliance that are definitely worth checking out include “Oh In My Spirit,” and “I’m Encouraged.” Those interested in expanding their understanding of harmony and chord construction, and desire to learn how to construct the chords that Whitfield and other legendary gospel and jazz artists incorporated into their music, will want to check out my online course Music Theory For The Contemporary Musician.
3. Transcribe music.
Regularly transcribing (learning note-for-note) the music of your favorite artist significantly improves your musicianship. Gospel and jazz pianists typically find value in transcribing solos, chord progressions, and licks.
One benefit of transcribing your favorite artist is that you develop your own musical vocabulary. It is that accumulated vocabulary you utilize to speak when you spontaneously perform on your instrument. This process of assimilating the “musical vocabulary words” of your favorite musicians into your musical language results from learning music at a very deep level, and transcribing is an invaluable means to do so. Transcribing not only informs you of the musician’s notes, but it also educates you on the tone, dynamics, attack, and rhythm they employ to generate the sound you’ve come to love; things you can employ when you perform.
Another benefit of regularly transcribing music is that you significantly improve your ability to distinguish pitch and rhythm. Being able to do this quickly is a vital skill when playing any style of music, especially gospel and jazz. The more you transcribe, the easier it gets to distinguish pitch and rhythm in music. That is why transcribing should become a personal musical habit, as there is so much to gain from the process!
Happy practicing!
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