PRACTICING WHAT I PREACH

I agree -- sometimes, practicing is all about doing those things that I don't really want to do.

And, doing them in a way that gets results rather than just doing what I call mindless practice -- you know what I mean: checking messages while practicing, texting, scanning YouTube, watching TV, and on and on.

Lately, a friend posted some vids of me jamming at a blues club on YouTube, and the sound of my horn about made me cringe.

I was out of tune.

Granted, I couldn't hear this during the performance because of the amps and drums and the lack of a stage monitor, but so be it.

There I was, out of tune.  In public.

So, I went back to practicing long tones with a tuner, and then I thought about some of the other tools I'd been avoiding, like the metronome.

Yep. Resumed working with that, too.

And then I thought about yet another one of the 'T's" I'd been neglecting, and that was transcribing.

I've always found transcribing to be cumbersome and difficult...even though when I do it, my playing improves.

So, I went to work on transcribing an Illinois Jacquet solo. Transcribing is simply one of the best tools we have at our disposal. Nothing forces us to listen more carefully, nor to learn the note-by-note of how a master instrumentalist approaches ideas, than by transcribing a solo to our horns.

No, don't write it down. Listen to the the point that you can sing every note, then, begin to play and memorize on your horn.

Yes. It can take a lot of time and effort, but by the end, you will have learned more than you bargained for.

Remember the three T's when you practice next time: Time, Tune, and Transcribe.  You'll be glad you did.

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