What does it mean? It comes from the ancient Greek word “praxis”, meaning “To Do”. If you look at some fields or work, the word “practice” is contained in the job description. A doctor practices medicine, a barrister practices law. So as musicians we are not alone when it comes to that word. To some students it brings feelings of dread, as in awh, do I have to, again? I did it last week. To the other spectrum, of life is meaningless if I can’t do it every day.
Practicing is going to be part of the rest our lives if we are going to continue to play an instrument. In my humble opinion, if we are going to
continue to practice there are two main things we should focus on.
1. It has to be FUN!
2. Learn something NEW!
This is just one example, but there endless things you can do, and it doesn’t always have to be at your instrument. This one is aimed at guitarists, but it can be transferred to the instrument of your choice..
Step 1. Imagine a fretboard in front of your face. It doesn’t have to be your one. Make it big if it helps. Picture the nut where the strings are held, see where the dot markers are, 3rd fret, 5th fret, 7th fret, 9th fret, and two dots at the twelfth. Repeat for the second octave if your so inclined.
Step 2. In your head call out a string, and a fret number. Try not to think about it, just call it out. So you would say something like, 3rd string, 7th fret.
Step 3. Then see if you can work out what the note is. So the third string is a G at the open. A is at the second fret, B is at the 4th, C at the 5th, so our answer is D. Voila!
If you have difficulty at first that’s fine, new things can be tricky, but stick at it, and in no time you’ll see the whole fret board in it’s entirety, and it’ll be with you your whole life. And you can do it anywhere.
That’s all for today, folks! Practice, practice, practice.
I have a beauty for you next time.
Practicing is going to be part of the rest our lives if we are going to continue to play an instrument. In my humble opinion, if we are going to
continue to practice there are two main things we should focus on.
1. It has to be FUN!
2. Learn something NEW!
This is just one example, but there endless things you can do, and it doesn’t always have to be at your instrument. This one is aimed at guitarists, but it can be transferred to the instrument of your choice..
Step 1. Imagine a fretboard in front of your face. It doesn’t have to be your one. Make it big if it helps. Picture the nut where the strings are held, see where the dot markers are, 3rd fret, 5th fret, 7th fret, 9th fret, and two dots at the twelfth. Repeat for the second octave if your so inclined.
Step 2. In your head call out a string, and a fret number. Try not to think about it, just call it out. So you would say something like, 3rd string, 7th fret.
Step 3. Then see if you can work out what the note is. So the third string is a G at the open. A is at the second fret, B is at the 4th, C at the 5th, so our answer is D. Voila!
If you have difficulty at first that’s fine, new things can be tricky, but stick at it, and in no time you’ll see the whole fret board in it’s entirety, and it’ll be with you your whole life. And you can do it anywhere.
That’s all for today, folks! Practice, practice, practice.
I have a beauty for you next time.
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