Have you ever heard the words You Gotta Practice, and that Practice Makes Perfect? Back in October I wrote a post about practicing and how important it is. There are so many musicians that believe that Practice does indeed make Perfect. They hold this to be self evident. And to a certain degree they are true. However I want to contend that Practice Does NOT Make Perfect! All practice does is reinforce what you have learned so far. Basically it perfects what you’re able to practice.
This simply means that if you practiced a wrong note or sequence of notes in the wrong frame, then you will get it perfectly wrong every time you play that sequence of notes. You’ve got to practice the right thing and be consistent and persistent. If you think about and look to people who have made it big in this world, you will find that they put a lot of time and effort into becoming who they are and what they can do. In other words they practiced the right thing and did it consistently for a long time.
What are some tips that you can do to practice and play perfectly? Well one thing that you can use is a METRONOME. For any musician this is a KEY element for any practice session. Playing in time grows you as a musician in ways that can’t be measured. It is an intangible that is often missed by music teachers and students alike, that is, being able to play in time.
Similarly in life, not just in music, we have the opportunity to make a difference in the world. It shows by what we PRACTICE on a day to day basis. There is a lot of things that we do that could make the world a better place. I want to practice SMILING at my neighbors and co-workers. I want to PRACTICE being a man of my word and always following Through. I want to PRACTICE Paying It Forward just as someone paid it forward for me this week. What have you been practicing this week? I want to be able to continue on my journey to PERFECTION as I Play It By Ear!
I like the saying ‘practice makes better’. If it is perfect, there’s no need to practice. I cannot keep time even with a metronome!:-( I think I have a jittery mind. It never stops jittering so I can hear the tick tock. Any tips?
Lily Leung recently posted…AIN’T NO MOUNTAIN HIGH ENOUGH
I tell this to my kids all the time! They never believe me of course but once they get it they are amazed that their mum could ever be right about anything! x
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Great post! My husband is a jazz trombonist, I’m going to pass this on to him.
As a writer, I make an effort to write everyday as my practice. I always have a main manuscript that I’m working on, but when I practice my writing, I step outside what I’m focusing on and use a notebook and pen and allow myself to write whatever comes out. It’s a wonderful, pressure free way to get new ideas and experiment with different forms.
Great point! I am working on just living a more purposeful life in general. Not wasting time and so on. 🙂