The Complete Guitarist: The Art of Practicing (and Getting Motivated to Practice)
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Richard Rossicone
We all know the old joke. A man is walking down the streets of
Manhattan and someone approaches him for directions, asking, "How do you
get to Carnegie Hall?" The man replies, "Practice, practice, practice."
Truer words have not been spoken. But this begs the question: Do we really know how to practice?
Practice is defined as "performing an activity or exercise repeatedly
or regularly in order to improve one's proficiency." The keys to
successful practice time are in the definition: repeatedly and
regularly. In this column, I hope to offer some insights into how to
make the most of our practice time and keep it fun and challenging at
the same time, all while keeping realistic goals in mind.
If you're like me, you have very little time to practice. Between my
time as a practicing music therapist, a private instructor, gym time,
rehearsing and gigging and various social engagements, I have to use my
personal practice time very wisely. Bottom line: If I can find time to
practice, you can too! One doesn't have to practice 12 hours a day to
became a master of his/her instrument, although if you have the time and
the drive, I say go for it! All you need is some focus, quiet time and a
plan, and you'll see results in no time.
Here are some general guidelines I use and recommend to students.
Be Consistent
Set the same time aside every day. Make practicing part of your daily
routine and stick to it! It doesn't matter if it's before breakfast,
before your homework or before you go to bed, set a time and stick to
it. The time of day doesn't matter, the commitment does. The late great
Andres Segovia used to practice five hours a day, two and half hours in
the morning and two and a half in the afternoon. As a matter of fact, he
passed away in between practice sessions! Now that's dedication. I'm
not saying to practice five hours a day, but you have to admire his
dedication to consistency.
Set Small Goals
Here is where diligent planning and working smart (instead of hard)
can work to your benefit. Instead of working on a piece for hours, break
it up into sections and practice for smaller amounts of time. Then
string the parts together much like and actor or actress memorizing the
lines in a play. This is an excellent practice strategy if you're
pressed for time. For example, let's say you want to play the lead from
"All Along The Watchtower" by Jimi Hendrix.
You can start working on the first two measures today, master them
then work on the next two measures tomorrow. The day after that, you can
link them together; the next thing you know, you have the first lead
down. This approach can be used for any type of music at any level,
whether you're a beginner playing
Mel Bay Book One, working on
the chord changes to "My Favorite Things" or learning "Etude No. 1" by
Villa Lobos. The key is setting simple daily goals and being consistent
throughout.
Stay Focused
You need to get rid of all distractions during your practice time.
Turn off that cell phone, computer, Twitter, Facebook, etc., etc., etc.
Put your blinders on, get focused, get down to it and don't jive.
The Myth of Memorization
Memorization is born out of consistency and repetition. If you play
something long enough, your brain will have no choice but to absorb it.
Are there geniuses like Mozart who can bypass this? Yes! But for the
rest of us, we just have to play something until we, our friends, family
and pets are sick of hearing it.
You develop muscle memory if you work at something long enough. With
muscle memory, the movements you have to make to play something just
become involuntary, almost as if your fingers, hands and brain have
"memorized" the actions for you. This is where we want to be. We want to
practice something so well that when it comes time to play, we don't
have to think about it.
Be Tenacious
A wise man once said, "What you lack in talent and you make up for in
tenacity." Never, ever, ever give up. You and I can play anything!
Undoubtedly there will be musicians you meet who may have more raw
natural talent than you. There is nothing more common than an unemployed
talented person. Talent is one step away from lazy.
Bottom line: Talent is not enough! You must have personal discipline,
a great work ethic and a vision to become great at anything. The great
Louis Pasteur once said, "Let me tell you the secret that has led me to
my goal. My strength lies solely in my tenacity." I know you can do it.
Thank you for reading. Now get off the Internet and start practicing ... and I mean it!
Guitarist Richard Rossicone is a veteran of the New York City and
Long Island original and cover band scene. He's been playing since he
was 8, when he attended his first concert (Kiss) and saw Pete Townshend
smash a guitar. He has studied with various instructors over the years,
which led him to a career in music therapy. He began his educational
journey at Queensboro Community College, where the faculty introducing
him to classical music. He received his associate's degree in fine arts
in 1997 and went on to receive his bachelor's in music therapy in 2001
and his master's in music therapy from New York University in 2004. He's
been Board Certified as a music therapist since 2002. Richard continued
his studies at C.W. Post University, pursuing a second master's degree
in classical guitar performance and music history, studying under Harris
Becker. He's been teaching guitar, piano and theory since 2002 and in
2006 started his own company, Rossicone Music Studios. Richard is the
co-lead guitarist in Bad Habits, NYC's premier Thin Lizzy tribute band. Visit him at Axgrinder.com
Photo: Joseph Triano Photography
