So ... how to practice something ...

that we don't know how to play ... yet / (?)

We humans are a fantastic sort of animal that potentially combines state of the art physical gear with an intellect and spirituality unmatched by any other species of animal on this planet. This means that such statements such as "where there is a will there is a way" is potentially boundless. In regards to learning new musical ideas we cannot play, a "will will find a way." Some suggestions.

Here are a few common ways to help get the music you want under your fingers.

1) Sing the line. This will internalize the music and help project it from our hearts.

2) Slow the music down. Modern gear helps us to do this so as to understand what’s happening, giving us a better chance at learning the music. Notate the music into computer software program that will play back a sound file to hear the music.

3) Break it down. Learn the rhythm first, then the pitches. Look for a better "fit" of the music by exploring for alternate fingerings on your chosen instrument.

4) Play what you can. If the music is over our heads, we play as much as we can and gradually, over the days, weeks, months and years fill in what we can. There are pieces of music we can spend half a lifetime just understanding, let alone trying to play it. And this is a cool thing, challenges in life make us stronger, smarter and humble.

5) Isolate the tricky parts of a musical line, then simply play them over and over and over till mastered.

6) Create loops of the tricky parts. Try to find a way to make a tricky spot repeat itself to strengthen your facility with the idea. This learning technique may also generate new musical ideas for us. I do this with knotty chord voicings on guitar. I play one chord shape and strum once, move to next chord shape, one strum. Slowly back and forth.

7) Gradually reconstruct. Once the component parts of an idea are under our fingers, we can simply put the parts back together and begin to smooth out the entire idea.

8) Gradually increase the tempo. Once the reconstructed idea is under our fingers, we can gradually bring it up to tempo.

9) Work with a metronome, for it puts us into a physical time environment, being in which can demand that all of our musical skills be used to create our music, thus we can strengthen our skills. Many of the above suggestions are improved as learning tools with the addition of a metronome, which really helps to keep track of where the "time" is. This is especially true when we slow an idea down to get it under our fingers, then once mastered, incrementally increase the rate towards the tempo we want to play this music at. It's interesting how even slight increases in tempo can raise the level of difficulty of performance dramatically, which calls on us to strengthen not only the physical aspects of the playing but oftentimes the entire thought process we use to make our music. If you’re lucky enough to have a musical group to work with, then try some of the previous ideas to help your group get beyond the musical obstacles encountered.

Some ideas of a more practical and spiritual nature.

1) Assess your skills and try to understand your learning style, i.e., how you learn best. For knowing this can accelerate your ability to gain new ideas. If you’re lucky enough to have a teacher, do let them know your learning style. "Know thyself" is so often the key to success, in all of our life's endeavors. For example, simply and politely say to your instructors that "I learn best by doing an activity." Or, "by seeing how it is done" etc.

2) Depending on what you are trying to learn and what tools you have handy, be realistic to what you can achieve with what you have at the moment, so as to not frustrate yourself through no real fault of your own. Gradually expand from there as new resources come your way and you get better at what you are trying to do. "Wear it thin and wear it out, make it do or do without." Put out the word on what you might need to get better at what you are trying to do. For example, a better instrument, tape recorder, manuscript paper etc. It is amazing what comes along when the right vibe is put forth. Save your money to purchase the things you need, maybe trade stuff you own and don't use for stuff you need and will use. While trying to get help with something you want tot do try to help others along too.

3) "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." For as the Irish have been know to say now and again that ..."the harder I work, the luckier I get." What you need will come to you.

4) Get help. Always good to get with folks who already do well what we want to do. It’s the way it’s been since the dawn of the civilized world. Even wild animals teach other how to do things, We see it a lot here in Alaska with a Mama Bear teaching her cubs how to fish for salmon. Lately there has even been a wolf that might have learned to fish by watching the bears! Crazy! And it is the way it has been for musicians since we were drumming on logs and creating melodies on bone flutes and the gigs were often at the community cook fire, we learn from each other.

5) When learning with others, try to remember that the “learning dynamic” can always be improved if all parties approach it with an open heart and mind and leave their egos on the porch. Learners seeking knowledge will hopefully get what they need and also get a better sense of their learning process. In a healthy teaching dynamic, teachers get smarter by teaching, when they must oftentimes reshape and present their knowledge to a learner’s unique style of learning things. This reshaping of the knowledge to fit different learning styles is no easy task in and of itself, for it takes a smart, sharp and creative mind to reformulate ideas so as to tie into a learners existing knowledge. Teachers are simply very advanced beings! Cool?

Vocabulary terms for this chapter.

Well, "that's all folks" as we used to say. "Show's over ... move along." So, on to get your diploma if you may. Hope you enjoyed this little soiree and that it set you right upon a path of musical joy today! A simple quote.

You must do the things you cannot do. Eleanor Roosevelt

certificate of course completion