If you are excited about a certain type of music or certain recordings or artists, there may be something about that player or recording that moves you. Then you can build your practice routine around that. If you are working on articulation or studying chord voicings plan for that. And the more integrated your practicing, listening and performing becomes the faster you will progress.
A large percentage of musical efforts should be thought out and planned, including your listening, practice topics, tunes, gigs, reading and so on. By and large, you want to be ‘consciously choosing’ in order to advance and move forward towards achieving your goals. Connecting these various areas, your band and your ensembles, recitals, CDs, musical projects with your actual practicing.
The time you spend alone with your instrument working on your technique, musicality and your listening, all of these should be connected and feed off each other. What you learn on your instrument while working on dynamics helps you hear more when you are listening to music and studying dynamics on a recording. And this helps you become more sensitive when listening for dynamics. Take a little time before getting into any project or practice routine or practice plan or band activity to think through your strategy.
Take some time and consider what your objectives are with music and try to link them all together. You could be reinforcing your dynamic study in three different areas: in your live performance, listening, and practicing. You will learn and assimilate that and hear that with a greater awareness and more acutely. It will be faster than if you were sort of scattered if you were on different topics for each area. This is about focus--the law of focused energy and attention. And connecting your listening can be a helpful idea and strategy to make your musical activities more efficient and linked together. Connect your listening to your practicing.
Chris Punis is an active jazz musician in the northeast. He is founding member of the critically acclaimed group Gypsy Schaeffer and a member of renowned saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase’s group The Explorer’s Club. Chris is also an accomplished jazz educator and author of “The Monster Jazz Formula”. For more information about his teaching methods and to receive your free lessons, “21 Great Ways To Become a Monster Jazz Musician”, visit www.learnjazzfaster.com.
