Re: [Harp-L] Harmonica Progress

[JON KIP <jon@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Getting stuck in a Practice Rut has lots of solutions.

First off, do not practice in the car while your Lime-Green, Three Door (with a sunroof) 2003 Mobile Practice Studio with Cup Holders and iPod Connectivity is in motion. Really. Don't. Just Don't. You hear a lot from the people who are able to do that successfully, at various speeds, however, those who fail...well, we don't hear much, if anything from them... So Don't. If for no other reason than some of the people you might "run into" might actually wish for one of those "Full Life" things we've read about.

One good way to get out of a rut is to take a fun tune that you're pretty well acquainted with, and, for a week or so, learn to be as comfortable playing it in each of the twelve keys....sure, this is for chromatic players....but for diatonic players attempting to play chromatically, same story. New keys mean that your favorite licks might not come out of your fingers, BUT, they will, in time , come out of your Brain, along with lots of new licks you run into (as opposed to running OVER) and you'll be really amazed at the progress.

Late in life, (Last year) , I discovered a new way to practice wherein you do short spurts of practice (sounds good already, doesn't it?, but read the article before you decide that five minutes a day is all you need to do, that's not the total picture).....

This is a great practice method....here's the link...After doing this music stuff for ....forever, and getting paid for it, I really think it's a unique practice method, and a good way to optimize your musical practice.

http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/why-the-progress-in-the-practice-room-seems-to-disappear-overnight/

Here's a bit of it...

"Early on in our musical training, we are taught the importance of repetition. How often have we been told to “play each passage ten times perfectly before moving on”? The challenge with this well-intentioned advice is that it is not in line with the way our brains work. We are hardwired to pay attention to change, not repetition. This hardwiring can already be observed in preverbal infants....."

check it out.

> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Harmonica Progress

jon kip
http://jonkip.com

player of music, mostly written by dead people and played on a toy that everybody's Uncle except my nephew's has the good sense to keep safely out of sight in a drawer.