Instrument
Music
Tuner
Pencil
Metronome
Recording Device
Journal or Checklist
Water
and...
Kitchen Timer
That's right, a kitchen timer. Preferably not a wind up, tick-tocking timer but an inexpensive, easy to use digital timer. The kind available at the dollar store for, well, a dollar.
When you start your practice session, you usually have goals to accomplish within a fixed amount of time. Set the goals, set the timer. As you practice, set micro goals and set the timer. You'll be amazed with the increased efficiency of your practice time and the focus you can keep throughout.
As a side note, set the timer for breaks as well.
Kitchen timer... trust me, you'll love it and it will revolutionize your practice sessions.
What are your practice room essentials?
Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com
My perspective as a percussionist and educator.
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Balancing Overwhelmed Inspiration
So you have a great meal that inspires you to achieve new heights in the culinary arts. However, boiling water is a challenge, you don't own a decent knife, let alone know how to slice, julienne, or mince, and your current repertoire of knowledge is limited to reading the box for suggested microwave cooking times. So instead, you let the dream go and order pizza.
Inspiration hits us for a reason, and even though the road may be long and without a Food Network contract, it's a journey worth taking. The upside is you develop new skills, eat healthier meals with fewer preservatives, and accomplish new things in your life that are extremely gratifying.
Having just returned from the inaugural Jazz Education Network conference, there's a lot of great information swirling in my head in need of digestion. In order to savor these captured moments, words of wisdom, and inspiring performances, I write. What stands out? What resonated? Why did certain ideas move me? How can I implement these new ideas into my life? Will these ideas transfer to other aspects of my musical career? Open new doors? Help me grow as a musician and educator?
When inspiration strikes, follow through with a few clarifying steps.
Step One:
Write down what inspired. Performances, quotes, ideas, conversations, anecdotes, etc.
Step Two:
Take a moment to reevaluate your goals- short medium and long term. How can this new inspiration meld with your goals?
Step Three:
Keep it in perspective and get to it!
Step Four:
Periodically revisit your list(s) of inspiration and re-sync your goals.
The great vibraphonist Stefon Harris made an excellent point in his clinic- when you step back and see what there is to learn, it can be overwhelming. So he gives himself parameters and decides to focus on the fundamentals. If he's amazing at the fundamentals (which he is), then he can get closer to being amazing at everything (which he already is).
Take your inspiration and move forward. It's a journey worth pursuing with guaranteed growth!
Please visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com
Inspiration hits us for a reason, and even though the road may be long and without a Food Network contract, it's a journey worth taking. The upside is you develop new skills, eat healthier meals with fewer preservatives, and accomplish new things in your life that are extremely gratifying.
Having just returned from the inaugural Jazz Education Network conference, there's a lot of great information swirling in my head in need of digestion. In order to savor these captured moments, words of wisdom, and inspiring performances, I write. What stands out? What resonated? Why did certain ideas move me? How can I implement these new ideas into my life? Will these ideas transfer to other aspects of my musical career? Open new doors? Help me grow as a musician and educator?
When inspiration strikes, follow through with a few clarifying steps.
Step One:
Write down what inspired. Performances, quotes, ideas, conversations, anecdotes, etc.
Step Two:
Take a moment to reevaluate your goals- short medium and long term. How can this new inspiration meld with your goals?
Step Three:
Keep it in perspective and get to it!
Step Four:
Periodically revisit your list(s) of inspiration and re-sync your goals.
The great vibraphonist Stefon Harris made an excellent point in his clinic- when you step back and see what there is to learn, it can be overwhelming. So he gives himself parameters and decides to focus on the fundamentals. If he's amazing at the fundamentals (which he is), then he can get closer to being amazing at everything (which he already is).
Take your inspiration and move forward. It's a journey worth pursuing with guaranteed growth!
Please visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Checklists for the Practice Room
Make a list.
Cross off the completed task.
Ahhh.
Sound appealing? If so, why not apply the same principle to the practice room?
I am a devoted follower of the Covey Quadrants and have set up checklists on Google Calendar to help me process tasks. The same approach is taken while structuring practice sessions. This need for organization includes the use of Excel spreadsheets. Not the creation of formulas and calculations, but to keep track of tempos, sections of music, knowledge of scales, techniques,or whatever needs organizing.
When preparing repertoire, analyze the music, determine form, notate the performance tempos of each section, and plot this information into a spreadsheet. For example, if the "A" section is 120 beats per minute, list "A Section" to the left and tempos from 40 bpm to beyond performance tempo across the top. As you accomplish the A section at 40 bpm, you can put a "yes" in the column. Instant and visible success! Before you know it, you are progressing in an efficient manner, have an understanding of the form, and clear goals in print for your next session.
Here are some useful checklists to print and use.
Scale Checklist
Rudiment Checklist
If you'd like these forms (or others I use) in Excel format, e-mail me.
Happy (organized) Practicing!!
For more practice resources, visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com
Cross off the completed task.
Ahhh.
Sound appealing? If so, why not apply the same principle to the practice room?
I am a devoted follower of the Covey Quadrants and have set up checklists on Google Calendar to help me process tasks. The same approach is taken while structuring practice sessions. This need for organization includes the use of Excel spreadsheets. Not the creation of formulas and calculations, but to keep track of tempos, sections of music, knowledge of scales, techniques,or whatever needs organizing.
When preparing repertoire, analyze the music, determine form, notate the performance tempos of each section, and plot this information into a spreadsheet. For example, if the "A" section is 120 beats per minute, list "A Section" to the left and tempos from 40 bpm to beyond performance tempo across the top. As you accomplish the A section at 40 bpm, you can put a "yes" in the column. Instant and visible success! Before you know it, you are progressing in an efficient manner, have an understanding of the form, and clear goals in print for your next session.
Here are some useful checklists to print and use.
Scale Checklist
Rudiment Checklist
If you'd like these forms (or others I use) in Excel format, e-mail me.
Happy (organized) Practicing!!
For more practice resources, visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Building an Inventory
How do you build a collection of the music, mallets, and instruments needed to freelance, teach privately, and make a living as a musician?
One purchase at a time.
Like all planning, think in the short, medium, AND long term. What types of gigs might you play? Do you currently have a vehicle to get you and your instruments to the gig with ample cargo space? What can you afford today? Save for tomorrow? Can you afford rent for the extra room these instruments require? Can you borrow instruments from your institution (either as a teacher or student) or the local high school?
While ordering the custom built marimba of your dreams will be inspiring, give you the ability to practice marimba whenever you like, and a nice big piece of furniture to add to your home, do you think you'll make a living playing marimba? To be honest, I bought the marimba of my dreams when I started teaching college... one place where a marimba is requisite.
Make a list of what you need for the career you desire. Then price that list, considering quality versus price point. Update your list as you purchase and your plans change. Set money aside for these purchases, and don't beat yourself up if you absolutely have to have that pandeiro but aren't sure if you'll play gigs on it. If you get proficient, there's no reason you couldn't. And you could always start with this pandeiro instead (I love mine and yes, have made money playing gigs on it).
Before the marimba, bills were paid with a drum set, concert snare, triangle, tambourine, an old Deagan glockenspiel, crash cymbals, a xylophone, etc etc. Lessons were taught on these instruments, and you know, they were affordable to acquire- one purchase at a time.
It's never too soon to start collecting your tools of the trade. Keep an eye on Craigslist, eBay, and the occasional estate sale. Although this is a dark statement, many of your peers bail from a career in music and are left with music, mallets, and more that are often sold for cheap.
Before you buy that incredible chromatic set of tuned almglocken, ask yourself if it is the top of your list, will help distinguish your career, and bring personal and financial reward to your future.
Now get to that list!
Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com
One purchase at a time.
Like all planning, think in the short, medium, AND long term. What types of gigs might you play? Do you currently have a vehicle to get you and your instruments to the gig with ample cargo space? What can you afford today? Save for tomorrow? Can you afford rent for the extra room these instruments require? Can you borrow instruments from your institution (either as a teacher or student) or the local high school?
While ordering the custom built marimba of your dreams will be inspiring, give you the ability to practice marimba whenever you like, and a nice big piece of furniture to add to your home, do you think you'll make a living playing marimba? To be honest, I bought the marimba of my dreams when I started teaching college... one place where a marimba is requisite.
Make a list of what you need for the career you desire. Then price that list, considering quality versus price point. Update your list as you purchase and your plans change. Set money aside for these purchases, and don't beat yourself up if you absolutely have to have that pandeiro but aren't sure if you'll play gigs on it. If you get proficient, there's no reason you couldn't. And you could always start with this pandeiro instead (I love mine and yes, have made money playing gigs on it).
Before the marimba, bills were paid with a drum set, concert snare, triangle, tambourine, an old Deagan glockenspiel, crash cymbals, a xylophone, etc etc. Lessons were taught on these instruments, and you know, they were affordable to acquire- one purchase at a time.
It's never too soon to start collecting your tools of the trade. Keep an eye on Craigslist, eBay, and the occasional estate sale. Although this is a dark statement, many of your peers bail from a career in music and are left with music, mallets, and more that are often sold for cheap.
Before you buy that incredible chromatic set of tuned almglocken, ask yourself if it is the top of your list, will help distinguish your career, and bring personal and financial reward to your future.
Now get to that list!
Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com
Sunday, May 9, 2010
The Penny Method
How many times have you been making your way through your practice routine and found yourself guilty of the following:
Play, play, play, mistake, back up, play, continue (got it right!) play, play, etc....
or worse:
Play, play, play, mistake, back up, play, mistake, back up, play, mistake, back up, play, mistake, back up, play, continue (got it right!), play, play, etc...
What happened here? To begin with, you stopped and backed up. Was that part of your strategy for this session?
The other problem is the mistake, redo, mistake, redo, got it, move on mentality. Obviously, this gives a pretty low average of success, as you are reinforcing mistakes more than the smooth performances. Here's a quick fix:
The Penny Method.
Place a stack of pennies on your music stand. Play a difficult passage. Each time you are happy with the passage, move a penny to the right, making a new stack. Happy? Move a penny. Move another penny. But what happens if you make a mistake?
Move all of the pennies back to the left and start again...
This method will do two important things:
1. Improve your average
2. Put real world performance pressure on you to get it right.
The Penny Method- do it!
Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com
Play, play, play, mistake, back up, play, continue (got it right!) play, play, etc....
or worse:
Play, play, play, mistake, back up, play, mistake, back up, play, mistake, back up, play, mistake, back up, play, continue (got it right!), play, play, etc...
What happened here? To begin with, you stopped and backed up. Was that part of your strategy for this session?
The other problem is the mistake, redo, mistake, redo, got it, move on mentality. Obviously, this gives a pretty low average of success, as you are reinforcing mistakes more than the smooth performances. Here's a quick fix:
The Penny Method.
Place a stack of pennies on your music stand. Play a difficult passage. Each time you are happy with the passage, move a penny to the right, making a new stack. Happy? Move a penny. Move another penny. But what happens if you make a mistake?
Move all of the pennies back to the left and start again...
This method will do two important things:
1. Improve your average
2. Put real world performance pressure on you to get it right.
The Penny Method- do it!
Visit my website at www.jameswdoyle.com
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