Practice with intention!

There are SO many layers to this...but becoming a good musician has a lot to do with being a good student. I like to ask myself: what do I want to learn? Is it something small like a lick or embellishment, or something major like a new style? What do you intend to learn, and how do you best break that into bite sized pieces?

SOLUTIONS?

1) Set time aside to practice but think of it as time for YOU. I've been able to rely on my instrument as a dear companion during some of the most challenging and important moments of my life. I've never regretted cultivating that relationship. It's great if you can be consistent, but with a shifting schedule you may need to be creative. I like to schedule my practice time at the beginning of the week when I'm setting intentions and goals for the week.

2) Structuring your practice doesn't have to be a burden or take a lot of time. Whether you do this or not is really due to practice habits. If you just pick up and play without ever stopping yourself to work on trouble spots then you simply have a habit that doesn't serve your goals. The best way is to replace that with a new action, and you do that by interrupting your normal flow. If you just pick up and play then next time put a note on your case so you start with a different warm up, or exercise. Play your favorite piece backwards, one phrase at a time. Anything to interrupt the normal, less effective habit.

3) Tracking goals can be a challenge, but it's best to start with the largest first (ie. I'd like to learn to improvise), and then break that down. Do you want do just improvise freely and creatively, without much structure or do you want to be able to play swing? There's a big difference, so knowing what you want is really the first step! Once you define what you want, then find the resources needed to learn it, ONE STEP AT A TIME! This might be one jazz standard, or one arpeggio pattern. When you keep the larger goal in mind all the small steps reveal themselves in time...

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How can you make sure you schedule time, change your habits, or form a larger plan? One of the best ways is to join a group of like-minded folks who have similar goals so you can encourage, challenge, and hold each other along the way. Join the community for regular challenges and encouragement from other folks like you!