I'm ashamed to admit that I barely practiced this week. I'm transitioning into a new job on Monday and I'm pretty nervous about it -- new co-workers, new boss, new tasks. Meanwhile, my graduate program is overwhelming me. I feel like I'm running out of essay ideas and there's much to think about before I even earn the next half of my credits, not to mention a project and thesis.
My only escape right now is drumming (during the summer, the gym was another outlet) and I didn't even make enough time for it. When I don't practice, I feel a void. My hands are usually itching to sit down by my practice pad and play some rudiments, but this week my mind was too boggled to really let myself do what I love to do. If I don't have my sticks in my hand, I feel like I'm missing something, kind of like the weird feeling you get when your cell phone isn't with you.
When I sat down to practice yesterday, I felt my speed slow down a bit. A few days of no practice really weakens the chops. Now I feel like the days that I worked so hard to build speed are reverted and I have to work extra hard to get it back. Not a good feeling.
So when I went to my drum lesson today, I had to confess to my teacher that I barely practiced. "That's OK," he said. "Today we will play some stuff that you are new to you."
We sat down facing each other using the same practice pad and played triplets with a specific kind of sticking. I felt exceptionally slow learning it, so of course, the only way to perfect it is to play it at least 800 times. Yes, 800 times.
I better make time to practice.
Anyone who calls themselves a musician needs to practice their instrument to refine their craft. 20 minutes a day is the minimum, but it must be done. My drum teacher says that we usually "practice to our strengths," meaning we don't practice things we NEED to practice, but instead practice things we already mastered. So with a minimum of 20 minutes a day, I better practice what I need to practice. I also need to learn to practice slowly. Sometimes I lose patience with myself and speed ahead, but that will only make my technique sloppy. The last thing I want is sloppy technique, especially since I pay $130 a month for lessons.
Time to take out the metronome and the books and sit down with the practice pad.
When I sat down to practice yesterday, I felt my speed slow down a bit. A few days of no practice really weakens the chops. Now I feel like the days that I worked so hard to build speed are reverted and I have to work extra hard to get it back. Not a good feeling.
So when I went to my drum lesson today, I had to confess to my teacher that I barely practiced. "That's OK," he said. "Today we will play some stuff that you are new to you."
We sat down facing each other using the same practice pad and played triplets with a specific kind of sticking. I felt exceptionally slow learning it, so of course, the only way to perfect it is to play it at least 800 times. Yes, 800 times.I better make time to practice.
Anyone who calls themselves a musician needs to practice their instrument to refine their craft. 20 minutes a day is the minimum, but it must be done. My drum teacher says that we usually "practice to our strengths," meaning we don't practice things we NEED to practice, but instead practice things we already mastered. So with a minimum of 20 minutes a day, I better practice what I need to practice. I also need to learn to practice slowly. Sometimes I lose patience with myself and speed ahead, but that will only make my technique sloppy. The last thing I want is sloppy technique, especially since I pay $130 a month for lessons.
Time to take out the metronome and the books and sit down with the practice pad.
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