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We all know that in order to improve our skills in any given art form we will need to
practice. Sometimes you will have a strict method to follow and this makes life easier for
the student whom will just need to focus and do the required work/ instruction. Other times
however, you will have to really on experience and personal discovery in order to grow.
This rings especially true for those pushing boundaries, new heights and exploring
uncharted waters. What started out as musical practice becomes musical discovery and
then follows with personal discovery. This is why I always refer to the title of The Zen of
Practice. It is most fitting indeed.
I have been practicing music since I was a young teenager which makes for twenty eight
years now. Almost three decades of practice. Wow, time really is a slippery concept.
Some of this was unfocused, more damaging than good and landed me with a bout of
tendonitis. Other years were extremely well spent with wonderful guidance, long hours of
playing each day and tremendous breakthroughs occurred.
What I am now able to do and what my goals as a teacher have become is to bypass any
bad practice and replace it with focused, mindful and effective time spent on the
instrument and share this with students. You hear it all the time, Wow, he/she makes it
look so easy. This is nothing more than simply time spent well on something. You may
already have noticed that when you first started playing Darbuka that your hand was
clumsy, taking big swipes at the skin hoping for contact and sound. Later as you improved,
those same techniques became well refined, smaller and with less energy being exerted
thus, you guessed it, making it look easy!
Practice is a beautiful art form in itself. If students are able to learn how to enjoy it and
make it more ritualistic than hard work then the future is looking very bright for what ever
artistic endeavor it may be.
There are many different facets to the art of good practice. Lets take a look inside and
embark on an exciting musical journey.
Now lets take a look at how you might approach a longer practice session.
These days for me my practice shifts all over the place. Some weeks I am playing for long
periods at a time and others I will simply do the minimum required to maintain what I have
so far. If I do a tour I might be required to play three shows a day in some cases so by
doing hours of practice on top of that will only cause more damage than good. It just
fluctuates depending on what is happening in my life at the time and that doesnt really
bother me at all anymore. Its called life.
If you are intending on doing an intensive and playing for longer hours here are some
ideas on how to arrange the time and be more productive.
Some of you may remember in previous July Darbuka Challenges I have spoken about
an intense and focused one hour being worth more than five or more hours of unfocused
time. Now we are going to do three of them per day (With two days off each week)
Mon- 1/2 hr left hand, 1/2 hr drills - break - 1/2 hr rolls, 1/2 hour rhythms - break one hour free playing/ solo ideas with Essential Darbuka Rhythms CD
Tue- One hour slow technique workout - break - 1/2 hr left hand, 1/2 hr drills - break 15 mins technique, 45 mins speed practice
Wed- 1.5 hrs technique - break - 1.5 hours rhythm variations
Thu- Day off
Fri- 30 mins technique, 1.5 hours rhythm variations - break - one hr rolls/ drills
Sat- One hour technique - break - 2 hours free jam (With other drummers if possible)
Sun- Day off
You will notice that even when playing for three hours a day I still break it up into one hour
blocks. A couple of the days had 1 1/2 or maybe 2 hour sessions but there are breaks.
Very important.
This same practice model can be used when moving up to four, five or six hour sessions. It
is not the correct model for everyone though. Many players will benefit more from simply
playing with other musicians and creating music all of the time. Everyone is different and
needs to work out what is right for their own musical journey.
For more information on techniques, drills, rolls mentioned in this article, simply take a look
at the 3 Month Courses found on the FoF site. Everything you will need is there. When
practicing long hours you will need many combinations, patterns and techniques in order
to keep things interesting and fun. Just like going to the gym!
Practice should be fun, exciting and rewarding. When things become stuck, mundane,
stale and boring it means you need to take a small break (Dont be scared, you will not
forget how to play) and learn some fresh ideas to brighten up each session. Change each
week around a little, spend time with a metronome one week and then dont touch it for the
next two. Jam with other musicians both at the same ability and also higher. Read articles,
watch videos, find a teacher if you can (You can also find a great teacher via Skype!) and
listen to your body- shoulders, arms, fingers, wrists, neck, hips, back will all be working
overtime. Go for a walk or run to keep loose and be sure to stretch. Yes, you are becoming
a musical athlete and a well conditioned body will react better than a tired, out of shape
one. Also be on the look out for party killers like self imposed pressures, harsh inner critics,
and procrastination dressed up in the form of buying lots and lots of drums but not being
able to play any of them.
You have chosen a drum with endless possibilities that will open doors into exciting new
worlds you never new existed. Have fun with it and I will see you out there.
Matt Stonehouse
Fingers of Fury May 2014.