Who has all the time in the world? 

• Organization is the way 
  
• Patience is the key 
  

1. Warm up with some sight reading and technical practice. For piano that is easy. Fire up your tablet, go on line and head over to musicnotes.com. First pages are view-able for free. For technique consult your teacher's directions and get busy. Use about 25% of your time on these two activities. 
   
2. Now to the main pieces assigned. Three suggestions. First, listen to a professional recording of the piece while reading the score. An artistic impression of what the notation should sound like is very important; it will save you a lot of time and bother. You want to be able to answer the question: "how do I get that sound out of these notes?" Not, "what the heck should this sound like?" Second, follow the fingering. Many a wise student writes the fingering in on every note. Thirdly, practice in chunks, small bits, starting with the most difficult bit first. Remember the next lesson is coming soon ready or not. Be as ready as you can. Use about 50% of your time on this activity. 
   
3. Review old pieces favorites or not. This ends the session with some positive feedback. 25% of the time spent. 
   
   

Other effective practice routines can be created for different needs. Finally, listen regularly to the music you want to learn. Classical piano students listen to classical piano, Jazz piano students to jazz. 

Cheers, 


David Story

Getting ready for a new year of practicing? Me too. 

·         The key to musical happiness is regular practice and having clear easily articulated goals.  As business and time management Guru Brian Tracy says, “Clarity is the key”. To which I’d add: plan your life around your practice schedule.
·         Write down your goals. Do they align with time available? Are the people you live with onside?
·         Motivation problems can often be assuaged with a concert trip to hear a world class musician perform.
·         Get the piano tuned.
·         Try a good cardio workout to inspire, think clearer, and focus well.
·         Have a written practice plan for each session.

Books I’ve found helpful in the last year

·         “Time Power” by Brian Tracy, I read and reread this book at least twice a year. The ideas really work, if you implement them.
·         “The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life” by Timothy Ferris, an inspiring book on adult learning, hilarious too.
·         “International Piano” magazine, a monthly magazine from the UK on learning the piano.

Books I plan to read shortly

·         “Practice Perfect” by Doug Lemov
·         “Famous Pianists and Their Technique” by Reginald R. Gerig

All books available on-line from your favourite reseller.

Cheers,

David Story

www.davidstory.ca

The idea is to conect technique and drills with the music at hand.





.............
Practice techniques
1. Use a metronome.  
2. Practice in small chunks.
3. Play your scales , chords and arpeggios in a focused musical fashion by varying the rhythm, dynamics, articulations and balance between the hands. 
4. The greatest shortcut is "Bench time". In other words, more practicing.
5. Never ignore correct fingering.
6. Posture and hand position are important. 
7. Be aware of your breathing.
8. Listening to music away from the piano. Try to identify the form, dynamics, articulations in professional performances. It really will help you to play more musically.
9. Record your practicing.
10. Enjoy the journey.
...............
Most neglected and overlooked by students
1. Fingering
2. Dynamics
3. Chunking
4. Connecting theory with the music
5. Slow practice
................
Dave' top four activities in his drum practicing
1. Ear training
2. Slow practice
3. Bench time
3. Technique

Cheers,

David Story
www.davidstory.ca

The Royal Conservatory of Music published a summary of studies on the benefits of music study in childhood development. 

I quote:


"A WEALTH OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH over 
the last decade is proving that music education
is a powerful tool for attaining children’s full
intellectual, social, and creative potential.
l It speeds the development of speech and 
reading skills
l It trains children to focus their attention 
for sustained periods
l It helps children gain a sense of empathy 
for others
Music study requires a high degree of precision
in auditory processing: being almost in tune 
is not good enough. This means that musically
trained children are better able to distinguish
subtle details of speech, leading to improved
reading, better comprehension, and also a
greater ability to interpret what other people 
– children and adults – are really saying. "  

Here is the link to the full text. I think it is worth the read.

Your Child’s Development:Music Study may be the Best Tool

David Story.

An ideal student knows exactly what they want and why they want it. They have set time and resources aside to accomplish it.

An ideal student has read and respects studio policies.

Happy Student + Happy Teacher = Success

1. Communicate with your teacher your goals and aspirations.
2. Do your homework, consider that the so called boring bits are the important bits. I know, I take drum lessons. The new teacher is trying to get me to play quarter notes properly with the good tone and arm motion. This is requiring hours of concentrated effort. But, the musicians I play with can hear the difference already.
3. Participate in recitals. Everyone needs positive, self esteem building events.
4. Explore music outside of lessons: Sight read, attend concerts, listen to music, buy a music magazine, watch Youtube videos, attend a summer camp. (I'm going to Louisville Kentucky and Oxford England this summer for music training in both drumming and classical music).
5. Read Time Power by Brian Tracy. The best book on time management I know. Amy Chua's books are an interesting read for both parents and mature music students.
6. Remember musicians live to practice, performance is just the icing on the cake. 

Cheers,

David Story
Piano Teacher and drumming enthusiast.

Setting realistic goals for music study? Great idea. Not thought about it? Why not? One of the best reasons is that it gives you a track to run on. One of the best warnings on goal setting? "You can't ride more than one horse at a time" 

Here are a few additional thoughts. 

For Parents 

1. Whatever goals you set for your children consider the time and personal effort you will have to give to the project? Remember hockey clubs have coaches, kids don't practice on their own. Even Tiger Woods has Sean Foley present when he practices for feedback and instruction. 
   

For Adults 

1. What are you going to give up to make room for music study? 
   

Project Planning 

Here is a personal example. I study jazz drumming. I'm planning on attending a jazz camp for adults next summer. When I arrive there I will have to audition for placement. I want to place as high as possible. :-) 
so, 

1. Each day I practice on the pads for a few minutes, with my metronome, my rudiments and other sticking patterns. I listen carefully for steadiness of rhythm and evenness of tone. 
2. I've engaged drum teachers in January. One for kit, another just for snare work in the concert band. 
3. I listen to jazz drumming daily in the car.
4. I practice on the kit nearly every day for one to two hours. Either alone or with the jazz quartet on Monday mornings and the Hamilton Concert Band on Wednesday nights.
5. I read drum magazines and watch instructional videos for motivation and inspiration. 
6. I'm focusing on the core competencies of drumming: Time, feel, balance, and endurance. I tape many practices for feedback.
7. Special emphasis on the bass drum in the next while and basic Latin grooves. 

This is a sub goal of my drumming aspirations. My larger goal is to be able to play in the finest amateur groups in the GTA and work each summer at the finest audition only jazz camps for adults in the world. My next sub goal after the summer is to bring up my snare work in concert band and to start working on the other percussion  instruments: melodic and pitched. A little OCD perhaps? But, this is how musicians approach their work. 

For yourself 

Goal: Recreational player 
Strategy: Two hours of playing and practice a week 
Tactics: Ditch the TV and web surfing by 2 hours. Tell your kids to go outside and play. Give a list of pieces to your teacher you would like to learn. 

Cheers. 

David

A tale of two adult students

Part one:

• Both students start at the same time.
  
• Student 1 practices an hour a day, 5 days a week.
  
• Student 2 practices an hour, once a week.
  
• At the end of year one Student 1 is 4 years ahead, year two 8 years ahead.
  

Part two:

• Student 1 has a vague notion of what they want to accomplish. The have a nagging notion that they should practice a lot. They feel guilty that they cannot practice more. They need a lot of hand-holding.
  
• Student 2 wants to play a few tunes and have fun. They do. They take it as it comes. They fiddle around, jamming, improvising, and occasionally getting to the homework. They are having fun.
  

Cheers,

David Story

Awesome advice. Click on the image or here for the full article.

Cheers

David

"Do I have enough years left to reach my goals?" This is a good question coming from a retirement age student. I said, “Maybe”. 

I practice the drums about 6 hours a week. Studies say it takes 10,000 hours to reach mastery. I have already put in about 1200 hours, give or take. So, I‘ll be 82 years old. Will I make it? Maybe. If I do, I will be the swinging hard and grinning ear to ear. If I do not make it, at least I will die in the saddle somewhere along the trail to my dreams.

You will notice some real progress about every 300 hours of practice. You can do your own math on the mastery bit.

Here is to practice.

Now go saddle up.

David

“Surrender to the expert”, great advice. Be teachable. 

With that in mind I came up with these thoughts. The take away: your teacher probably knows best. Complete your lessons, then fool around following your own muse. Why?

• A real expert sees the big picture.
  
• A real expert knows the sequential steps to get you there.
  
• A real expert knows the value of patience.
  
• A real expert has been there, done that, survived and returned to tell about it.
  
• A real expert is ready to share insights gained from their experience.
  
• A real expert will keep you on the straight and narrow.
  
• A real expert cannot hear your whining.
  
• A real expert might not be too humble. Deal with it.
  
• A real expert wants you to succeed.
  
• A real expert can see focus, commitment, and effort. The more you work, the more they will willingly give.
  

Cheers,

David 

Which area of study are you ignoring? Resolve to retackle it with a positive attitude of expectation.

Are you learning tunes or concepts? You need a balance of both. Just learning tunes leads one into a cul-de-sac. There is a reason to practice scales, chords, arpeggios, and studies if you are a pianist. There is a reason to practice your rudiments if you are a drummer.

Best advice I got on this topic was, “the people you admire, really know what they are doing”.  Check out Jo Jo Mayer, or Elton John, etc. These musicians are highly trained individuals. They are not fakers. Read any drum magazine. Behind the tattoos and hair are skilled tradesmen and women.

Second best advice I got is, “you got to put in time, if you want to leave the land of make believe”.

Cheers,

David

I won't make any, but I will review why I signed up for drum and guitar lessons in the first place.

Success, I've been told, is a result of our habits, our habits are the consequence of our actions. Actions come from our values. Values are bred into us. So, resolutions in conflict with our values are doomed. But, habits born of awareness of our values have a chance.

Cheers,

David

“Private Practice Determines Public Performance” Carl Allen, December issue
of Downbeat Magazine

 “Start with the end in Mind” Stephen Covey, 7 Habits of  Highly Effective People

Tips on Practicing

I just finished reading Carl Allen’s article in the current issue of Downbeat  magazine. Carl, a drummer, reviews his philosophy of drummer. Most of it is  applicable to piano and guitar as well.

Inspired, I offer this.

• Listen to competent recordings of your pieces over a number of  days. This will cement in your head the sound you are looking for. The result is  that you know the end result and can then interpret the notation in front of you. Without this, you may never be quite sure if you nailed it or not.

We play like we practice, so…

1. Practice fully engaged: mentally and emotionally
2. Remember, it has to be in muscle memory to be secure
3. Practice slowly, listen deeply, be patient, and pay attention to the fine details from the start: articulations, dynamics, phrasing, tone, etc… 
4. Tempo will come later.
5. Imagine you have to play publically in a week. Then tackle the pesky bits first. :-)

Cheers,
David Story
www.davidstory.ca

Attending concerts is a great way to keep our desire alive. Becoming part of a "scene" as an insider allows us to interact with others who share our musical passion. We'll  meet others on the same journey. Some further down the road, others just starting out.

Tonight we saw Jo Bonamassa at Roy Thompson Hall Toronto. Rockin' good fun. Twenty five hundred enthusiastic middle aged guitar fans, most of whom I'd guess, played the guitar to some degree.

I'm looking forward to practice tomorrow.

Cheers,

David Story