So it’s all about organization. Putting things in the right places, doing the right things at the right time. Getting into the correct mindset for the goal at hand.
First you have to set your goals. Long term and short term. Avoid the pitfall of trying to work on a whole song at once and getting frustrated. Long term is something like “I want to be able to play this song front to back” or “I want to get better at switching chords” or “I want to write songs”. The short term goals just break down the bigger ones into little benchmarks that you can achieve in about 10-20 minutes. If your big goal is to play a whole song, your small goals can be “I want to memorize the notes in the verse”, then “I want to play the notes at 75% speed”, then at 100% speed. Write all of this down if you want. Write down your big goal and all the small steps that will get you there.
Next is your practice method and mindset. I outline the different methods here. Check it out to get a better idea for which method applies to your goal. For small goals, it’s most likely going to be the Practice Mode but you’ll eventually graduate into Rehearsal and Performance Modes.
The benefit of getting into a “mode” is that you set your expectations correctly and accept where you’re at. So many people start practicing and they try to make it sound like the song, or play it too fast. This is super discouraging and unnecessarily taxing on your motivation. Practice is supposed to sound like practice: rough, choppy, ugly, slow, repetitive, boring. If you can embrace that and let go of your expectations for now, you will enjoy the process more and actually get a better practice. When you start to make progress and you notice little improvements, they will feel way better and keep you going, instead of being held down to an unrealistic expectation. That’s the real magic of knowing the different modes. Organizing your expectations to fit the task at hand. Respecting where you’re at in the journey, and enjoying it for what it is.
So then if you do it right, you graduate into the rehearsal phase, which is when the song really starts to come together and become easily recognizable. Then after that you are ready for performance, either for yourself, your friends and family, or a packed-out stadium show in front of 40,000 people. Okay maybe not that crazy, but the more intentional you are about what phase you’re in and which mode to apply, the more enjoyable and efficient your journey will be.
The first practice phase is just a dark patch you have to get through, and if you do it right, it’s super rewarding and possibly addictive. For me personally, I love the practice phase because I know what to expect and I know how those little goals stack up to become bigger achievements. That’s why I play so many different instruments, because it’s fun to be a beginner again! It’s worth mentioning that this skill of applying different mindsets to different tasks will spill over into your daily life as well. Learning is present in many ways throughout life, and as ironic as it is, you should learn how to learn.
I hope this approach is helpful to you, and I hope you give it a go and integrate some of these concepts into your routine. I guarantee it will do you good. Holler if you have questions or need help!
J Holguin Music 