Some Thoughts on Taking It All In

SOME THOUGHTS ON TAKING IT ALL IN

Like many participants at BluesHarmonica.com, I am in awe that the skills and techniques needed to convincingly play blues on the harmonica are all in one place and are so thoroughly presented for the learner. I have, however, noted a somewhat perplexing theme in some of the recent comments reflected across the Forums…

"There are so many things that I want to get better at. What do I have to do to fit it all in now?" Answer: “You cannot fit it all in all at once."

Recognize and accept the fact that it will take time; a few years worth of your time. Make a plan as to what you will need to do on a daily basis to reach your goals. You can become as good as you want, but it will take step-by-step, organized work.

Plan to Succeed
Success is not an accident. It is the result of planned activity. WRITE YOUR PLAN DOWN!!!! Then, from your list of dreams and goals begin a sub-list of what is it going to take to accomplish these dreams and goals. Create a plan with SPECIFIC ACTIONS to get you on the track toward your goals. If you cannot list the specific things you worked on today, and yesterday, and will work on tomorrow, you probably are not being productive. Keep track of your progress. Start a practice log. List your topics. Write down your goals. Remember, if you can't measure it, it's not a good goal and if you do not measure it, growth is hard to see.

Don’t skip steps. Successful people do not like doing the work anymore than unsuccessful people do; they are just willing to pay the price now for future rewards. Remember that success is not measured by what you start but rather by what you finish.

"To know and not do, is to not know."
To work on a lesson so much that you master the material requires you to learn patience and persistence. It is also vital that you do not get ahead of yourself by moving too fast or trying to incorporate too many variables into your practicing.

For example, you do not need to practice improvising, per say. You do, however, need to systematically practice those elements that you will use when you do improvise, (Licks and Chorus Forms).

Master the phrases that are extracted from the Study Songs and process those phrases with the Chorus Forms. Then, by continuing on to acquire phrases played by the Harmonica Greats using this same process, your playing will begin to sound mature and solid. With much study and practice, you will subconsciously begin to arrange your chosen phrases into Forms that sound good to your ear. These choices, in turn, will begin to define your style. It is a common mistake to want to do your "own thing" before they are accomplished at some traditional things. If you work on phrases long and hard enough, you will naturally begin to play variations. This is called improvisation. But, if you slight the phrases and focus first on your own variations, your playing will often not be solid. Do not worry too much about how “unique” your phrases sound. Just listen to how solid they are.

As a start, you do not need an over abundance of phrases. You just need to master some basics ones. Mastery is the key followed by cumulative repertoire building.

Mastery
Take the time and build a technique today on the Study Songs that will allow you to execute the music you choose to play in the future. Spend your time doing things the right way, from the beginning.
"Slow it down and play it right." Play the piece one note at a time and repeat each note many times before adding the next note if that is what it takes. This building process is extremely slow and painstaking but it works like magic. If you would be willing, after the fact, to spend time correcting your mistakes, then why not simply invest your time more directly and get it the right way, from the beginning. TAUGHT

Self Taught
The most difficult thing about education is that we don't know what we don't know until after we have learned it. This is the reason why it is vital that you receive instruction that you can trust and learn from. Once you do this, don't second guess it, just practice.

David Barrett has put an extraordinary amount of time into defining the knowledge base and skill sets that must be mastered. He has also painstakingly detailed and defined the order in which the knowledge and skills sets are to be acquired, (Beginning, Intermediate, and Advanced). Be patient and persistent. Work the plan sequentially and plan to succeed.

Thanks David!

P.S.
The eleventh commandment (for musicians) is: “Thou shalt not fake thyself out.”
Record yourself practicing for twenty minutes. I am not talking about a performance of a prepared piece. I mean push record, and do not stop the recorder for twenty minutes. If, when you listen back, there is a lot of silence, perhaps you need to become better prepared and organized. If you hear noodling, kick the habit. If you hear music that you know well, MOVE ON to some new and challenging material! Consider recording a short practice session every thirty days. It will give you a new perspective on you.

The above comments have only been slightly edited from the originals that were presented by
Jim Stinnett. All of these thoughts were extracted from jimstinnett.com – “Jim’s Bass Tips”. I have merely improvised the order of presentation.

Respectfully,

Peter H. Lenz