RIFFS:
Is there a right way to practice?
Of course not.
There are more ways to practice than there are musicians. Refining the fundamentals, creating an arrangement, prepping for a gig… they’re all different beasts.
There is no “right way.”
But clearly there are “things that work.”
Best practices… for this situation.
Here’s what’s working for me right now:
☕️ coffee is for practicers
I’m already in the habit of drinking coffee in the morning. So I just stacked a new habit on top of it with a simple rule: no coffee until the guitar’s tuned and the metronome is running.🧘 movement meditation
The first 10 minutes are dedicated to playing something repetitive:The important thing is to not “check out.” Instead, I’m paying close attention to my cleanliness of execution:
• in time
• no buzzy notes
• minimal string squeakage
• good muting to keep sympathetic vibrations to a minimum👑 rhythm is king
The next 10 minutes are for playing a chord progression. A blues, a song I like, something I just made up… doesn’t really matter what. What does matter is that it’s in time, with good dynamics, and clean transitions. The metronome should feel like a member of your band.🧩 connect the chords
Now that the chord progression is firmly in my mind’s ear, I improvise melodies. Depending on my comfort level with the progression & key, this might be an ultra-simple bass movement connecting the chords. Or it might be a full-fledged solo over an imaginary band. Most often it starts small but gets fancier as I go.
Those three things take me through my first coffee.
It’s not a rigid prescription.
I’m just filling in details of this framework:
movement meditation
chords & rhythm
playing the changes
For my next cup I might work on a solo arrangement. Or chart a song. Honestly, I just try to follow my whims. The important thing is that I’m working on my craft consistently over a sustained time period.
Enjoying practice is my top priority.
(h/t to
)RECS:
I got that framework from Tomo Fujita:
It’s not a great video, but it is a solid framework.
CHARTS:
Our band is trying something new.
Old ethos: all 90s country, no exceptions.
New ethos: 90% 90s country, 100% bangers.
We’re gonna ditch a couple good things…
…in pursuit of great things. (More on that idea here.)
So we’re swapping out Just To See You Smile in favor of 2003’s Whiskey Girl.
Here’s my chart:
Ableton, Sibelius, PDF, & musicXML files in this Dropbox folder
SMARTS:
1/ quick hits & quirky bits
TEMPO:
~123 BPM
(not recorded to a click)
KEY:
VERSE in E
CHORUS, INTRO, & SOLO in F♯
FORM:
full CHORUS is 22 bars…
…but the 3rd time through they skip the first 8 bars of the CHORUS
(leaving 14 bars)
2/ key change chorus!
I’m such a sucker for a key change chorus.
we’re in the key of E
we’ve got a totally normal 1564 progression
but the last time the 6 chord is “sus4”
(ie we replaced the 3rd that makes it major or minor with the ambiguous 4th)which resolves to the 6 *major*
which is the 5 chord of the new key/chord (F♯)
3/ here’s a playlist of songs with key change choruses:
4/ those licks from the chorus
Bars 31-32:
I included the chord grids so you can see how the lead part outlines the chords (including that sus4 note that set up the chorus!).
SoundSlice here, sounds like this:
Bars 39-40:
SoundSlice here, sounds like this:
5/ the solo
SoundSlice here, sounds like this:
There’s A LOT of simply outlining the chords… like we talked about in the 🧩 connect the chords section above. 😎
That’s all I got this week.
See you next Wednesday,
Josh
I like the movement meditation idea. Ritual, habit and meditation are all part of my practicing. They help get into a mindset that is distinct from where I spend the rest of the day. Another thing that works for me: step 1 is to make a to-do list for the rest of the day. I can then clear my mind of what's on the list because I've planned to do them. As far as the brain goes, planning something is almost as good as doing it.