Stress Management for Musicians

One of the scariest things that can occur in a musician's career is an injury.  The saddest part of injuries are they are almost always self inflicted, take forever to heal, and are usually preventable!

It's the Stress

Injuries usually occur is because of problems with technique, how the instrument is held, or how the musician practices. The root of all of these problems are stress. Today we're going to talk specifically about stress management for musicians but not in the typical way. We're going to talk about stress that musicians put on their bodies, arms and hands when practicing their instrument.

Relax

We all talk about getting stress out of our lives by taking time out, learning to relax and making sure that we don't try to do too much at one time. All of these ideas also apply to musicians and their instrument. Stress comes from not taking time to relax (ignoring it), not taking the time to learn why the stress is there (awareness), and by trying to do too much at the same time (over-compensation). Musicians have to be aware of what is happening when they play their instrument. They have to be careful that there's not more going on there than what's needed. Most of all, they have to take time to make sure that there's no undo stress on your system. Relaxation is paramount.

Feel the Burn

Most stress problems arise from awareness; or lack of awareness. Sometimes musicians can feel the pain and damage on their system and continue to practice anyway. Stress and pain are not natural occurrances when playing any instrument and it's important to take time as asses and see if there is any pain. And, if there is, it's important that the musician takes time to erradicate that problem as soon as possible. It's important that this is taken care of and not just swept under the rug and left to take of itself.

Not 'Uncomfortable'


When just starting to play an instrument, there is usually some 'dis-comfort' because of the newness of the activity. I'm not talking about pain here, I just talking about the fact that holding the instrument properly or playing it may not feel completely natural. Much like learning a golf swing, there are times when learning a new skill feels completely awkward. At least this is how if felt for me the first time I was told how to swing a gold club properly. After a while we may become insensitive to these feelings and categorize then as inconsequential and something that will go away. We may have the attitude of just 'playing through the pain'. Pain, no matter how small and inconsequential, is wrong when playing an instrument. Remember I'm talking about pain here and not simply feeling uncomfortable or unnatural because for example, you may want to slouch and your teacher is making sure you sit properly. There are ways to hold instruments properly and it may not be something that feels completely natural at first. This isn't to say that there should be any pain. Most of all, if there is some pain, it's important that it's addressed right away. Alot of teachers will take the time to make sure that the student is holding the instrument properly. All people are different. There are going to be microscopic movements and small adjustments that are going to be completely your own. It's important that you take the time, find the problem, and determine how to fix it.

Check, Check

Here are some areas to check when playing. These should be addressed every couple of months just to check and see you haven't developed any bad habits. If you practice a lot and don't have any teachers or outside help, it's easy to get into bad patterns and not realize it. In our society it's usual for people to have tons of built up stress and not notice. It's part of our culture to ignore pain. The only way to combat this is to take time periodically and check to see there are not problems.

1. Numbness. This may seem like a huge indicator but a lot people won't notice this. Remember to put your focus and awareness on your body and notice if there are any problem areas. Numbness can be tricky because if you're not paying attention, it's easy to go by completely unnoticed.

2. Shoulder/neck and back pain. These are almost universal these days. People in general will put stress into one of these areas on a regular basis. Unfortunately, if you're getting pain in these areas after your practice, you may be putting even more there. Your practice sessions may not be the stress relief you thought. Violin players usually have a lot of troubles in this area because of the problems holding the instrument correctly. In general, musicians like to crouch over their instrument like they're deep into the performance. While that may help with interpretation, it's extremely hard on the body for extended periods.

3. Pain after extended period of play. This is the most common occurrence. These reason for this is because your body (particularly the hands) will usually take a lot of abuse before they complain. If by the end of your practice you have to discontinue because of pain, there is something wrong. That is not normal. That shouldn't be happening. You are doing some thing wrong or you are putting pain/stress on your body. Don't just 'let this go'.

4. Correct posture/technique. There are better ways to hold and play your instrument. Some people learn simply by doing. It's important that if you're one of the DIY people out there, that you take the time to reassess your technique every couple of months. It's easy to get into bad habits and not even realize it. If you have bad habits, it may not be obvious and you may realize the problem only after some major problems have occurred. Are you sitting/standing properly or are you slouching? Are your hands relaxed and you're making sure there are not problems areas? Are you making sure you have good technique when learning a new piece or are you just plowing through it? It's important you ask yourself these questions in your practice sessions.

Stop, What's That Sound


When any of these happen, take a step back. Try and figure out what part is the most painful. What particular exercise causes the pain? You may notice that when playing chords, your arms feel great but as soon as you try some arpeggios or extended intervals, you feel pain. Are you trying too hard in this one exercise? Are you putting pain in an area so that the exercise sounds right? If so, you will have to go back to the troubling exercise and start over. But this time, instead of focusing on getting the right sound or the right rhythm, play the exercise and focus only on the problem area of your body. Can you make the pain go away just by relaxing the area while you do the exercise. If it's a shoulder problem, you will have to examine hold you hold the instrument. Are you square or is your back twisted? If you're a horn player, there may be problems with your embouchure. There's one famous story of a jazz musician who had to take a couple of years off after discovering (after quite a few painful experiences) that his technique was all wrong. It's amazing how many of these problems arise from us putting too much stress in these areas without even realizing it.

Be Aware

If you're at the point where you spend a lot of time practicing, you may find some problems creeping up more often. This may be because of the increased workload, but it may be because the problem was always there, it just took an increased workload to bring it out.

Everybody's body is different. You're going to have some problems that are special to you. That means you will have to make sure that when fixing these problems that we take stress into consideration. We try to fix the problem but being sensitive about where the pain is, what may be causing the pain, and how we can fix the problem. Simply being aware of the problem and checking for stress is one of the best measures you can take to make sure that there aren't any problems.

Composing On The Run

They say that the desktop is going to be obsolete in a couple of years. I'm personally not buying it since I know a lot of musicians (including myself) who love their powerful machines and dual monitors. But more and more musicians are using laptops for most of their musical activity. It has almost all of the advantages of a desktop plus of course the portability. For the purpose of this article we're going to look into composing on the laptop away from the studio; composing on the road

The Bare Necessities

There are a couple of things that we have to take into consideration right off the bat. When composing on the road we won't have all of the toys of a regular studio. That includes a full size MIDI keyboard, a mixer, outboard gear, or any other peripherals (aside from the ubiquitous mouse). We're going to look at it from a minimal point of view and see how much we can get done. 

The Most Important Device

Aside from the computer and software the most important piece of gear is going to be your audio interface. While laptops have some built in audio capability, you will want to spend extra money on a quality unit. Some of these units have pretty good preamps and instrument DI built right in. You never know when one of those 'demo tracks' will end up on the final track. It's important that if you choose to work on the road that you choose a piece of gear suited to traveling. Thankfully, there are tons of choices out there. It all comes down to price and features but you want to consider these carefully. For example, how many inputs do you really need? This is usually a big consideration because more inputs can hike up the price considerably. It also keeps the size of the unit at a minimum since more inputs take up more space. I only have four inputs and that's enough for my needs. If you're a guitar (or bass) player make sure there's a high impedance input so you can record guitar parts right into your DAW. Other considerations are MIDI input/output/thru, phantom power and (hopefully) more than one headphone jack. Some of the higher end models have tons of mixing functions built into their software which makes different headphone mixes possible (e.g. if you're recording vocals). Remember if you use propriety software like Pro Tools, you’ll need a supported device or the software won’t work.

No Input

As a multi-instrumentalist, one of the things I hate about working on a laptop is the lack of any musical input device. I've never been much of a manual input guy. For some composers (Ableton Live users and electronic musicians for example) this doesn't pose much of a problem but for most it does.  There are two solutions a) you can try and find a manageable and portable input device, and b) make due with the limitations of the software and make the most of it. I usually go with b) because most portable keyboards are only an octave or two (for the portability of course) and that usually isn't enough for me; though there are some great choices out there if you don’t mind carting around another device.

If you're like me and love using a traditional keyboard there are tons of choices out there. Now dubbed USB controllers, these go beyond the traditional keyboard. Some units put together the keyboard, audio inputs/outputs and tons of tactile buttons and knobs. If you're so inclined to take one of these on the road, they're great for use as a master controller. These also interact well with the loop and beat programs mentioned. Keep in mind that even though they are portable, they are another piece of gear that has to be carted around.

Built Right In

If you're used to writing on a musical instrument and find yourself lacking when on the road, you may find some usable workarounds in your DAW and some VST instruments. For example there are tons of drum machines that have built in beats and patterns that can be used as song starters. There are also some VST guitar instruments that include built in strumming patterns and chord progressions. I've actually never left these in the final track but found them great for starting songs and working through arrangements. The same goes for keyboard parts and bass lines. The great thing about these instruments is that it's incredibly easy to change the tempo or key at any given time. I use these in the studio all the time. They become invaluable when working with vocalists when we may need experiment with different keys and tempos.

Band Stuff

Then there are software programs that have tons of built in songs to start. Band in the Box has tons of built in songs, progressions and styles. While some of the styles are better than others, these work great as song starters and idea generators. It's incredibly easy to input your own chords into a given style and output it to your DAW. It's also possible to change the style of separate parts of the arrangement. The best thing is that can easily be done anywhere and there is no extra gear needed. You can even output it to .wav and email it off to your writing partners.  

Be careful when sending out unfinished tracks. Not everybody may understand the meaning of the word 'demo'!! Getting unfinished material into the wrong hands may not do your credibility much good.

Reason for Loops
 
If you're more of a dance, hip hop or electronica producer, Band in the Box may not be your thing. There are other programs that you may want to use that are 'better' at this type of music. There are a ton of loop, beat and virtual studio programs that are great for producing beats and dance music. Propellerheads Reason and Fruity Loops are great programs for this type of music. They have a virtual rack of drum machines, loop players and synths. You can start from nothing and create original beats and songs. These usually tend to be better for (but not limited to) electronic and dance producers because of their layout (pattern based) and the quality of their drum machines and synths. Keep in mind Reason is a virtual rack only as there is no wave recording facility. You need Propellerheads other product Record or your own DAW for that. Other programs like Ableton Live and Sony Acid are great for manipulating loops and putting together arrangements. These programs also have the ability to record and input your own tracks. These programs also used the Rewire feature so your arrangement can be used with your favorite DAW. Some artists have forgone the traditional DAW altogether in favor of these programs.

What's The Rush?

If I'm on the road and just trying to get ideas down, I just rush and try to get them down. I'm more worried about getting the idea than the performance. This means that I use any method available to get the basic idea there and worry about the intricacies and performance later. This is usually the best method for me. For example, I'll use a lot of presets and utilities built into the software. I'll also use 'fake' guitars and horns (and whatever) to get the idea down. That way when I come back to record the tracks in the studio, I have an idea of what to do and build from there.

Even though it's possible to create finished masters in these programs, I use them mostly for ideas and putting together arrangements. They're perfect for trying tons of different ideas, arrangements without ever going beyond your laptop and mouse. The greatest thing is that they may open up new ideas that you would have never thought of when writing in the traditional approach.

The Melody

This is usually the toughest part of writing on the road. I usually come up with my melodies by belting it out into a mic. This of course isn't the best solution when sitting in a hotel room. It’s usually a matter of a) doing your best to get the idea down without belting it out b) doing your recording in the middle of the day (when there usually isn’t much going on as far as people sleeping) or c) finding another location to record besides your hotel room. The other way I like to write is by playing the melody and chords on the piano. They usually come together so that’s why I like the full size keyboard over the smaller, portable versions. I do find the smaller keyboards suitable for writing synth and basslines though.

The Mic/Preamp

When I travel, I always bring a good mic with me. These don't take up too much space and are great if the opportunity to work with a great vocalist comes up. I also use them for acoustic guitar tracks and any other recording I have to do. I also bring along a good preamp. For some this might be overkill when working on demo tracks but I find that sometimes, the demo tracks are irreplaceable. Having them recorded as well as possible always leaves up the option to use them in the final mix without any hesitation.

Guitar Parts

Not only do I like to write most of my material on the guitar, I use it for inspiration for other parts as well. If you do have a guitar on the road, make sure your audio interface has an instrument input so you can record your electric guitar parts directly. This gives you the option to re-amp the tracks later if you really love your tracks. If you're more an acoustic player, make sure you always bring a good mic.

Putting It Together

One caveat of using all of these methods for putting together demos, trying ideas and getting work done on the road is transferring and backing it all up. There are a couple of ways that these audio companies are trying to make transfer of audio from one program to the other a bit easier but the process is still full of problems. The best method of backing up any material is to simply convert all of your tracks to audio. Even though this is by far not the easiest method, it is the most foolproof. When backing up songs on your own system, you may upgrade your DAW in the future and not all of your settings are going to migrate properly. The best way is to save audio files of your tracks. That way you can transfer the most important parts to any other system. I'm still old skool and actually like to keep written notes on songs as well as lyrics.

What’s the Big Idea?

I usually like to sit down and schedule writing and recording times. It usually takes a while to ‘warm up’ and get into it. With a laptop, your sessions can be done almost anywhere. Sometimes we get into thinking patterns that stop us from getting work done. For example, you may think that you need to be in the studio, working for a couple of hours at a time, to get work done. In fact, writing can be done almost anywhere these days. Even without a studio, there’s no reason why not to schedule some writing time. Use what you have in front of you. The ideas will come. As long as we’re talking about capturing ideas, there is no substitute (in terms of efficiency and portability) as the portable recorder. Any device will do as long as it’s portable and available e.g. cell phones, smart phones, mp3 players, or a dedicated device. If an idea comes to you at any time, try to have one of these available to capture your idea right then and there. Don’t wait; the idea probably won’t be back.

Top 5 Mistakes Musicians Make on their Art and Career

We all make mistakes. When it comes to music, there is undoubtedly no one way to go about it. There are however a number of things that musicians do on a regular basis that are counter-productive to their development. Sometimes it's just a matter of not knowing another way. Most of the time it's simply a matter of not taking the time to evaluate the process and and deciding on the best course of action.

A lot of things we do, we do without thinking. We simply take a particular route the first time and let it go at that. For simple, unimportant things, that's fine; but when it comes to your career, it's not.

There are better ways to do things but we don't find them because we fail to examine the process in the first place. How many times have you taken a particular route and then use it for years without thinking? One day that route gets shut down and you're forced to reevaluate, only to find there was a better way to get there. When it comes to your music and career, it pays to take time everyday and make sure you're heading in the right direction. You need to stop and think, evaluate what we want, how to get it done, and make sure you're making the most of your time and resources.

Here are the top 5 mistakes musicians make when working on their art and career.

1. Not getting out there/the artist recluse - too many times I've heard musicians complain that there is no support in their community. Or it's too hard to make connections and a living in this industry. Everybody knows the saying that 'it's not what you know but who you know'. The fact is that in order to make the necessary connections, it's going to take time. Nobody is going to work as hard at your career as you are. Like working on your craft, it's something that has to be done everyday. Whether it's making industry connections, getting gigs, or trying to get fans on your mailing list, it comes down to getting out there and connecting with people. If you do this on a regular basis, you may find things happen unexpectedly. Many times something will come up just because 'somebody heard your music somewhere'. As you get to know other people and players in the music community, your learning goes up exponentially. Everybody you encounter has their own experiences and wisdom which they're usually all too happy to share. Make sure you're spending just as much time making those connections as you are in the studio.


2. Doing it all on your own - in this day it's easy to think that you can do it all on your own. All of the tools are out there. You can record your next CD on your computer, set up a website to market it, and use the internet sell your music and get people to come to your gigs. The trouble is that not only is this a staggering amount of work, there is a learning curve involved in each. It's not easy to write and record your music on your own. Marketing and PR are a whole other ball of wax that takes time and money to be effective. A lot of musicians try and do this all on their own. Not only is it not wise, it's actually counter-productive. You're much better off sticking to what you do best and getting others to help you with the rest. Find others that are good at the things you suck at; then help them with the things that you do best. Also, have a support system. It's a full time job trying to get your music out there and you can go crazy trying to manage it all. Having a support group helps keep you motivated and your spirits high when you get down.

3. Not learning the business - being musicians we're good at the creative thing, not the business thing. The fact is that you have to work hard on both. Once you've got a handle on your art, you have to think about the two other major principles: marketing and distribution. Marketing is all about getting your name out and to connect to as many people as possible. Distribution is getting the material into the hands of the people and hopefully making some good money. This is a lot easier now with all of the online tools, but still takes a lot of time and energy. When finishing up your first demos, you should be thinking about how to get this to as many people as possible. The fact is that once you make the music, marketing and distribution should be your two main concerns. It's important that you take time out and think about the band as a business. Think about how specifically you're going to get your music out there and how you're going to make money.

4. No practice regimen/program - musicians are well known for being unorganized. Unfortunately, this applies to their practice regimen too. Musicians love to learn new techniques and skills on their instrument. Unfortunately, a lot of techniques are learned once and then forgotten. We learn through repetition. It's not enough to simply read and try something once; especially on your instrument. The new material must be studied, practiced and then reviewed. The material can be understood but without the practice (real world use), and review (making it part of your musical language), the material simply won't be absorbed. You may spend some time learning a new scale, but without practicing the scale in different applications and reviewing the scale over and over, the new material will simply be lost.

How many times have you started something without thinking about the results or what you're trying to achieve? How many times have you learned a new skill on your instrument only to forget about it the next week? How many times have you practiced a particular technique only to learn you were doing it wrong? This is because some musicians take a haphazard approach to their development and career. They try/learn something one day, only to forget and not follow up the next.

5. Practicing mistakes/the same old thing - this is the number one reason why musicians take longer to learn new skills on their instrument. When learning a new piece, you're eager to get it up to speed and make it sound good. So you take a minute or two to learn the fingering and then try and play it up to speed. This is the worst thing you can do. First of all, you're fingers aren't ready to to play the notes properly. It's important that you take the time to play the piece at a slow tempo and make sure that you can hear every single note. Every note (including mutes, scratches and slides) must be deliberate. Too often in their hurry to learn a piece, players will fluff over certain parts and carry on. What happens in effect is that they continue to practice even though they can't play the piece properly. They will practice the difficult parts, mistakes and all over and over again, thereby reinforcing the errors in their playing. As hard as it may seem at first, it's much more beneficial to practice at a slower speed for a longer time at the beginning and work up the speed gradually.

How much time do you devote to learning new skills on your instrument as opposed to going over the same things. Musicians will pick up the instrument and 'just starting noodling'. Is this is your usual method of practice? Not only is nothing new studied, the same old things are gone over without any thought. There is no program and there is no actual development. This also applies to writing and improvising; you need to challenge yourself daily. It's all too easy to get into familiar habits and go on without any development.

Putting It All Together

It's easy to get into some bad habits. It's easy to think you're actually making some progress and getting something done. It's much harder to gauge for musicians because you're usually on your own. To be the most effective, you're going to have to get organized and get some systems together. This includes: a regular practice regimen/program, a business strategy, time management skills, and a support system. To be a really effective musician you have to make sure you're doing the major three on a regular basis: creating your art (product), connecting with your fans (marketing), making a living from your art (business). Remember, you need all three. Creation without marketing and distribution is not a business, it's a hobby.

Getting Your Music Done

After reading numerous articles about getting things done and seeing projects to completion, I realized that a lot of these same principles can be applied to making music. There are some general principles that can be applied to getting your music done and out there, and then there are some principles that do need to be clarified.

1. Keep it simple. This is actually more true for art than most things. Musicians try to do too much. I don't know how many songwriters I've met who don't finish songs, or bands that don't finish demos. Mostly because they're trying to do too many things at once. Finish the songs first. Just do one at a time. If you can't produce a good demo, get help. If you can't manage all of the marketing and PR, get help. Do one thing at a time and stick with it until it gets done.
2. Practice 'good enough'. If you are an over the top perfectionist (like myself) then this applies. But to many other people, this is a bad way to go. Artists are told to just do it and get it out there. This isn't as black and white as it seems. Too often I see artists release something, or create something and leave it as 'good enough'. It can do some damage to your career to release something, or to try and push something down people's throats when you know that it isn't the best that you can do. If you're a new songwriter, write a bunch of songs. Get feedback on all the songs you've written. Then release the top 3 to the world. If you're working to good enough, make sure that your good enough is the absolutely the best it can be right now. If it's not good enough you need to either a) get help (hire a producer, mixer, or hire other musicians) b) realize that you're not quite ready and keep working at it, or c) try it from another angle.
3. Kill the extras. This goes along with number 1. If you're working on a project and it just isn't getting done, you may have to take some things away. This doesn't mean lowering expectations as it does trimming the fat. Do you need a full over the top production? Or can you go with bass, guitar and a loop for now? Or, you wanted to do a full length album but it's taking way too long. Try finishing just 3 songs and doing a couple of smaller shows first. Write 3 great songs instead of 15 mediocre ones.
4. Get the ball rolling. This is really important. If you're working on a project and you're having trouble getting things done, you need to simplify and then just get to work. Take a couple of items that can be done today and do them. Don't put a million things on your list. If you have a master plan, take a couple of items, put them on today's list and then get going. Have your master list in another place so that you can reference it whenever you want. For daily items it's better to have a short list that you're pretty sure that you can get done and isn't too overwhelming. If you have a big item on the list, just have the one item and do it first. 
5. Make it public, quick. This applies to musicians as a cautionary note. It's along the lines of the first item in that you want to get the work done but you don't want to put out something that isn't as good as you would like or doesn't represent you. In today's DIY artists, making things public can go a long way for PR. If you have a project you're working on, you could let fans know about it. You could release day to day details of the work. You could also release some stripped down demos of the songs. Be careful here though. Even though it's just a demo, try and have the best performance possible. You still want to connect with your audience. That doesn't mean it has to be technically perfect either, it's all a matter of artistic taste. If you can try and get the production as good as you can. Get help if you need it. If your production is good but the song needs work, get some help on that. Even if it's just you and a guitar, poor quality isn't going to do anything for you or your fans. 

Your Art

As you can see, for musicians it's about getting it done and out there while still maintaining your high level of quality and artistic vision. Getting stuff out there and getting feedback from your fans is a great but make sure that you're releasing quality stuff. Don't release 'beta' stuff. If it's crap and you're making excuses to a) why it doesn't sound like you'd like or b) that it doesn't really represent your sound (bad production or worst, bad performance), or that c) you have 'better material' that you're working on now, then wait and release that.

Enough is Enough

If you've been working on the same material for a couple of years and it still isn't done, then stop. It's done. Get feedback on what you've done and either cut off all of the fat and get it done, or leave it and move on. Maybe you're trying to do too many things at once. Are the songs there but the production isn't? Is that chorus still bugging you? The vocal sucks? The truth is that most people (especially industry people) don't have patience to listen to less than stellar tracks or really poor production.

Please Release Me

In the end you want to get your music done and out there. If you're like most musicians, time and money are scarce. You're going to have to trim the fat and get down to the essentials if you want to get it all done. A lot of what you write may never see the light of day. Make as much quality art as you can. Rewrite and tweak until you have something that you're proud of. Then release it to the world. Rinse and repeat. One day you'll look and see that in spite of everything, you have some great music to share with the world.

Must Have Gear for Every Musician

Most musicians are adamant about the gear they have and the gear they want. We all love to talk about the latest and greatest stuff, but there are a couple pieces of gear that every musician should own and use everyday. These may not be flashy or exciting but they all have a specific purpose and go a long way into making you a much better musician.

The Practice Workbook

Most musicians I know don't have one of these. They might have a list of things that they're working on and that's about it. It's imperative that you have all of your notes and practice material in one place. I find that the best solution for me is the practice binder. I use a binder because I find it easiest to make notes, rearrange, add and take things out. You may want to use your computer or your own system. It doesn't matter as long as it works for you. Simplicity is best here. You can have different sections for different things you're working on. You may want to make a section at the beginning and make a list of your goals. There's no use in getting a great practice schedule going if you're not going to have goals. These don't have to be huge 'going to be a rock star' goals but simple goals. Examples would be learning all of your major scales. learning a new style, or mastering a new technique. That way you don't pick up the instrument everyday wondering what you're going to work on next. Put all of your relevant material in your binder. Make sure everything is right there were you need it so you don't have to stop in the middle of your practice session to go looking for something. If there's something that you want to learn, put it in there. If you have any special reference material , put it in there. Following a good method/program or putting together your own would be a great thing to add along with your own exercises.

Make notes everyday on what you've done and what you need to do next. Also. list all of the reference materials and books that you need. Have notes on what you would like to learn, what you need to get, and what progress you've made. 

A Metronome

Ok, so it's not very exciting. A tiny box that just ticks away. No beats, no bass lines or shiny buttons, just a ticking box. The truth is, every musician should spend some time practicing with a metronome. The value of a metronome is that it doesn't fill in any of the holes. You are required to play the notes in between the beats...in time. Some people call it a crutch but it only becomes a crutch when you've come to a certain level; before that, it's invaluable. Try practicing all materials with the metronome at a variety of speeds. It's surprising to find it's much harder to play some materials at a very slow tempo.


It's important that you practice with the metronome and without it. Play your scales or a song with the metronome and then try to keep the same tempo and feel without it.

A Recorder

There's nothing like recording yourself as a record of how you're doing and what needs to be fixed. It's hard to gauge how well you're doing something when you're right in the middle of it all. This is where recording your progress comes in. It's great for listening to yourself and scrutinizing your playing. You should try and record all facets of your practice sessions; everything from scales to technique exercises. Other ideas would be to record jams, rhythm exercises, song ideas, and of course performance pieces. I also have a recorder that I carry around with me to capture any writing ideas that may pop up.

Music/Instrument Stand

This goes with having your own space for your practice sessions. Even if you don't read music (if you don't, you should add it to your list), you should have a music stand placed right in front of your practice space. Place your instrument right next to it on it's stand, ready to play. If you must keep your instrument in its case, have the case next to the stand. All materials that you need for your practice (i.e. music books, method books, practice notes) should be open on the stand. I also have a small table right next to the stand that has my recorder, metronome, tuner etc.

Music/CD Player

Another item that should be right beside your work area. This has a couple of functions. First, it's great for reference. Take the time to listen to recordings of material while you're working on them. There are many things that the printed page just can't convey and having the recorded version right there is critical. Secondly, the player is useful if you have jamming tracks or beats you've created to jam along to. If you're using an mp3 player, make sure it's hooked up to a stereo; headphones* just get in the way.

*If you live in an apartment or have little ones, this may not be a choice. For you folks, being organized is even more important if you want to get some quality practice time in.

Drum Machine/Jam Tracks

Have some jam/backing tracks to play along with. This can be anything from backing tracks (e.g. karaoke), to jamming software (Band-in-a-Box), to play-along CD's (e.g. Jamey Aebersold). It's important that if you're working on a certain style, that you have rhythms in that style to jam to. There are some products out there (drum machines, accompaniment keyboards, jamming software) that allow you to pick your style/key and it will provide a track for you. There are also some method books that go into detail on how to play certain styles that also include a play-along CD. Having separate rhythm tracks or a stand alone drum machine are also great to have ready to go. It's important to practice with just a drum beat or rhythm track if you're trying to groove with the rhythm section (or if you're part of the rhythm section).

All In One

Some of you might be thinking that you could probably have all of these things right on your computer and have done with it. There are free metronomes online that you can install on your computer. You could have your work/practice regimen on your computer along with all of your jamming tracks. I have found that this is not a good idea. Having all of your items on your computer actually becomes counter-productive because you will have to go looking for things just to use them. It's better to have a separate system set up just for practice. It's fine to assign your computer one task (like using it for jam tracks or using it as your recorder) but using it for too many tasks starts to get in the way of our purpose. I keep my notes and materials in a separate binder because it's there, open all the time, ready for me to add things, make notes and check my progress. I use my laptop for jamming tracks but when I find one I really like, I make a CD so I can access it over and over without having to load up a program or go looking for it on my already overloaded laptop.

Keep It Simple

That's it. Not too exciting but I'm always amazed at how many musicians don't have these essential pieces of gear. You also want to have all of the essentials for your particular instrument (picks, strings, rosin, etc.) right there just in case. The point is you want to have all of these items in arms reach so you can just pick them up and get to work. You don't want to be searching your documents, going online, wondering what you did last session, looking for lost CD's, or anything like that when you're right in the middle of your practice session. It's important to get to work and have as few distractions as possible. Have all of the items separate like I've listed above so as soon as  you sit down to practice, it's all there ready to go. No excuses. No interruptions. Nothing getting in the way of you, your music and most of all, your progress.

The Problem With Perfectionism

More than any other group, artists are known for over the top perfectionism. We all know the story of the tortured genius being held ransom by their own genius and perfectionism. It's held like a badge of honor that we all aspire to. It's the mark of a true artist and genius. It denotes quality, hard work and always expecting the best. These are honorable traits no doubt, but perfectionism isn't always a good thing. Perfectionism may be responsible for more failures than any other trait.

Perfection as we all know is a mirage. It's not real. There is no perfect in the real world. For every living organism there are faults. Some say that the beauty is in the faults. Perfectionism is in the eye of the beholder. Therefore it's entirely dependent on an external filter. An object's inherent beauty comes from the beholder and not the object itself. Some people find beauty in the most odd things. The things you find beautiful and perfect may be horrible to someone else. Some like rock, some like classical. Some people find noise beautiful some love the sound of the violin. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

There is a difference when you are the creator. In this way you have control over the 'beauty' of the object. In this way, there is the tendency or at least there is the option that you can always make the object 'more beautiful' or 'just better'. If the goal is to make the object or outcome as good as possible, what's the problem?

The problem is perfect is imaginary. The perfect object or creation doesn't exist. More importantly, what seems perfect today can appear to be imperfect tomorrow. To some there is the idea that no matter what, any object can be improved and 'made better'. In this way the creation is actually never done. It's never good enough. It never sees the light of day. There are some creators that do let their work out into the world. Yet for perfectionists, the work still isn't done. The work is never done. Even when the world has declared their love for the creation, the work still isn't done.

The worst side of this is when the work never gets done. The work never actually becomes good enough for public consumption. This is the biggest pitfall of perfectionism. The work is never good enough.

Being a perfectionist is supposed to help the artist in the creative process. It helps artists separate the great from the crap. It makes them question what they have created and wonder if there is a better way. If this helps make the art better, then it's a good thing. If it stops the art from ever getting finished, it's a bad thing. If it comes to the point where the artist no longer creates, then this is the worst thing.

In actuality, it is true that a lot of works could be improved upon. There are works earlier in an artists career that don't stand up to their later works. There are points in every artists careers where the work isn't as good as others. This is all part of the process. That's the point. You must create these 'points' or works of  art to signify your progress. If you've created something and it's not up to your standards, ask yourself why. Look at your art and see how you can improve and what you may have done wrong. Do you lack talent, need more training, or need more time on that particular skill?

Whatever you do, don't throw it away. It's there to teach you something. It's part of your journey. If you're assessing something right after it's been completed, are you being completely impartial to what you're seeing (hearing)? Finish it, wait a while and then look upon it with fresh eyes. Can you make some minor adjustments? Is it good for what it is? Is it a major piece/accomplishment or another step in your development?

If perfectionism keeps you on top of your game. If it's responsible for your high level of creativity, then that's great. If it's getting in the way; stopping you from creating, making projects take years instead of weeks, stopping you from being happy with your art, then lose it. Lose it now.

Create it, critique it, edit it, finish it, move on.

New Year's Resolutions for Musicians

It's that time of the year again. As you can tell from the posts on all of your favorite development blogs, the topic this month is New Year's resolutions. Some people love it, some will have nothing to do with it all, but most people will at least try something. I, for one, like it because it gives me a chance to start fresh. It also gives me an excuse to look at the past year and take stock of what I've done and what I'd like to accomplish.

Make the List

For most musicians out there, I'm sure that there is at least one music related resolution one your list. It may be getting better at your instrument, writing more songs, or getting some well deserved income from your music. Even if you don't have any music related goals on your list, it is a good time to take a break from your practice sessions and take stock of where you are. It gives you a chance to take a good look at what you've accomplished in the past year and what you'd like to get done this year.

No Time

I hear some players say that their instrument or their music is just a part time thing. They may not have the time (or even inclination) to do much more than 'fool around' on their instrument when the mood strikes. I know tons of musicians who have lost interest in playing or 'hit a ceiling' and can't see their playing getting much better. It's sad because there really is no such thing as a 'ceiling' in music. Music is, or at least can be, a never ending journey. It's all up to you. The fact that they have lost interest may be related to the fact that they're just been going through the motions for the longest time; there has been no growth, effort or motivation to do much more.

The Big Picture

Sitting down to figure out where you are with your music has a two-fold effect. First of all, not only does it gives you a clear picture of where you want to go, it also may enlighten you as to where you are now in your development. This may seem incredibly obvious but you'd be surprised how many musicians I know have never done this. I never did it until I went to university. It's almost like it's a bad thing or uncool for musicians to be practical and studious about their development. Secondly, it's a great motivator. Just thinking about all of the songs that you want to learn, the skills you want to master, or the things you want to do with your music may spark a whole new chapter in your development.

Storming Your Brain

Schedule yourself a brainstorming session. You don't have to make it very long, it's all about just writing down what comes to mind. You'll be editing and sorting the lists and ideas later. Sit down and ask yourself some questions. What tunes do you know? Do you have a list or is it all in your head? More importantly, how many songs do you know all the way through, by heart? How many chords do you know? Have you been playing the same chords in exactly the same way for years? How are your improvisation skills coming along? (Please don't tell me that you can't improvise, everybody can!). Is your technique getting better? When was the last time you wrote a song? You may realize that you haven't really improved much or gotten much done in a long time. This may not be a bad thing if it motivates you to get something done. Just sitting down and brainstorming may bring up tons of new ideas to apply to your practice sessions.

Here are some ideas for your brainstorming session. Get some paper and a pencil. I prefer a pencil for these sections for quick (short) edits. Section off one piece of paper and put down the following areas. Theory, songwriting, technique, and songs. The theory section will include all of the things you know about music theory including: scales, chords, arranging, ear training, etc. Put down all of the areas you'd like to get better at. The songwriting area could include: recording, improvising etc. The song list would be all of the songs you know and then a list of all of the songs you want to learn. In your technique section list all of the different styles and techniques you'd like to master. Make another section for overall notes. Now just start writing ideas down. Make a list of what you know and what you'd like to learn. The order doesn't matter. If you are working on your song list and then have an idea of some technique you'd like to learn, write it down right away. Later you're going to keep these pages and put them into your practice binder/workbook. We've talked about the workbook before where you place all of your notes and ideas for your music and practice sessions.

Once, Twice...

I do this every time I get a new student. You figure out what the student knows, what their taste in music is, and what they would like to learn/accomplish. You should too. It shouldn't be just a once a year thing. It should be like planning other parts of your life career. There are a couple of major planning/review sessions a year. But then there should also be a small review at the end of the week or at least once a month.

Worth the Cost

You may be sitting there thinking that this may be too much. Your music is part time and/or just for fun and you don't have time for all of this. In actuality the amount of effort is minimal. It will take extra effort but not much. In the end you want to enjoy your music and ultimately you want to improve. Sitting down to figure out where you are only takes about as long as a regular practice session.

The enjoyment of music not only comes from playing and jamming but from creativity and growth. This tiny bit of extra effort has a huge payoff. I'm always amazed (and so are the students) at the results after just a short time of concentrated practice. Keep in mind this isn't much more beyond their typical commitment. It's just a matter of concentrated effort. It's a matter of thinking about what you're doing when you sit down to practice. It's a matter of getting organized with your practice sessions. This includes going through a number of exercises every session. It includes monitoring your sessions and making sure that you're doing the exercises and reviewing your results. It's a matter of making an effort to memorize and learn new songs. It's trying new chord progressions, scales and ideas. A small amount of consistent, concentrated effort can have tremendous results. Part time student or not, this can only make your time with your instrument that much more enjoyable and satisfying.