Thursday, September 18, 2014

YOU NEVER GET A SECOND CHANCE TO MAKE A GOOD FIRST IMPRESSION!


There is not a more appropriate expression that can begin an explanation to the best way to practice your music. You see, YOUR MIND records everything instantly! If it records mistakes, you are destined to make these mistakes over and over until...


PRACTICE DOES NOT MAKE PERFECT...
PRACTICE MAKES YOU THE WAY YOU PRACTICE...


1. If you jump right in and try to learn a song at the normal speed,    you'll make many mistakes. Because your mind instantly records    EVERYTHING including these mistakes and you will repeat them again and again until...  you've played the song enough times (usually 100s of times) to finally overcome them and play the correct notes, phrases, melodies, or chords.
2. You see your mind it like a white board (a blank slate if you will).
FIRST IMPRESSIONS (good or bad) are like writing on your white board with a permanent marker. It takes forever to erase a "bad first    impression" and replace it with something "good". And even when you think you've done it, there might be leftover smudges and smears that continue to give you fits occasionally during your performance.


HERE'S IS AN AGE OLD SOLUTION
RESULTING IN BETTER PRACTICE


1. You should look over or listen to the song you want to learn. Are there notes, phrases, melodies, or chords that you are not familiar with? Slowly (at least 1/2 speed) & carefully learn these BEFORE attempting your song. (Make sure you can play them a minimum of 10X's mistake free before inserting them back into the song.

2. Some of you may skip the first step and fail to discover/learn what you don't know in your upcoming song. (It will trip you up). However, if you fail to do this step you are destined to take 10X's longer to learn the song. Here it is… YOU MUST begin your learning at a maximum of 1/2 speed (1/4 speed is even better). this gives your mind enough time to see, interpret, and send a command to your muscles. This technique alone minimizes the number, size, and severity of the
"first impression mistakes" you'll make.

3. Continue to practice your song slowly, until you mind can erase and scrub clean your "first impression mistakes" and replace with the correct notes, phrases, melodies, & chords (remember 10X's mistake free).

4. Now it is time to increase the speed of your song until you can play it at full speed. This simple technique has been used for 100's of years, and will    shave hours, days, and weeks, off your learning of a song.