Practice Is The Key To Musical Success

by John E. Lawrence

Everyone has heard the old saying, "Practice makes perfect." Have you ever stopped to
think, if this statement is true, why does it work? I believe it works because of repetition.
The more you do something, the better you become at doing it. However, it takes more than
just practice to become a successful musician. It takes practicing the right things the right
way. In 22 years of teaching college level guitar courses, and even more years of private
instruction, I have taught over 2,000 students between the ages of 6 and 66. Many of these
students endeavored to become successful musicians, yet time and time again I witnessed
them putting long hours into practicing things, the wrong way. The more you do something,
the better you become at it. They became perfect at playing the wrong way. Remember that
the way you practice is the way you are going to play. Week after week, they would play the
major scales and make the same mistake on the same string with the same finger every time
with perfection. They became locked into a practicing wrong, playing wrong pattern. There
are some tried and true techniques that will break this pattern and help you become the
successful musician you want to be.

It is important to correct a mistake as soon as it occurs. We have the case when a fairly
advanced student is playing songs using a chord melody style and makes a mistake at the
same section of a particular song every time it comes around. They never took the time to
correct the mistake so they ended up practicing to make that mistake every time. The
proper way to correct this is to:

1. Find the problem area.

2. Isolate it.
3. Slow it down.
4. Play the note before the problem area.
5. Play the problem area and the note after the problem.
6. Play it forward and backward over and over slowly for five minutes.

The key is to play it correctly over and over. This does two things, it teaches your fingers
muscle memory, and your brain begins to see it can be done with ease. Then your body can
relax and play the notes correctly. Now you are practicing how to play the section correctly.
Your mind and your muscles are working together. When this happens you will see growth.

Another situation that occurs is a student will have some chords they just can't grab
quickly enough to ever use in a song or chord progression. They will spend weeks and even
months trying to get those chords together. I have developed an exercise that enables
anyone to learn any chord in twenty minutes or less. It is called, "The Patented John E.
Lawrence Slap the Leg and Grab the Chord technique."

Here's how it works:

Let's say this voicing of a G7 is a chord that gives you trouble.

First, try to play the chord putting all of your fingers down at the same time. Take note as
to which finger is consistently wrong each time you attempt to play the chord. Usually there
are one or two fingers that never land on the string or the fret. Now it's time to put the
technique to work.

Let's say it is your second finger the one that gives you the most trouble. Play that note
alone, then take your hand away from the fret board and place it on your leg with the palm
faced down. Play the note again. Repeat this exercise for five minutes. Touching your leg
gives you a fresh start before playing the note. I believe that if you can come from
nowhere, you can come from anywhere. This means after practicing with this technique you
will be able to grab a chord regardless of the preceding one.

Let's make this the third finger next one that gives you the most trouble. Try to put both
fingers down at the same time and strung the two strings that you are pressing on. Take
them off, pat your leg, and then strum the two notes again. Work to establish a tempo and
repeat this exercise for five minutes. Once you get use to it, try playing the exercise with
your eyes closed. This will help you visualize what your fingers are doing. Through
visualization, you can get your mind and your muscles working together. Visualize your
fingers going to the strings and frets as one unit. You can start fingering the chord in mid-
air before your hand gets to the neck of the guitar. Here's what's taking place. The finger
that was giving you the most trouble has been working for ten minutes. The other finger has
been working for five minutes. This is a good way to structure your practice sessions.
Whatever gives you the most trouble should be practiced the longest.

Add the fourth finger. Three fingers are now pressing down at the same time. Play these
fingers for five minutes slapping the leg between every strum. Make sure all three fingers
are landing at the same time. If they are not, you will be defeating the purpose. Remember
the way you practice is the way you are going to play.

To complete the chord, add the first finger. Place all four fingers in position at the same
time slapping your leg after each strum. In twenty minutes you have mastered a chord by
examining the chord, isolating the fingers, determining the range of difficulty, working first
on the most difficult finger, then adding the others from the most difficult to the least.

Practicing the right things the right way is a critical step in insuring musical growth. Here
are some other things to keep in mind. As you practice, always attempt things that are out
of your reach. When you can do something that you could not do before, it is a clear
indication that you have grown. It takes hours of practice to become proficient on your
instrument. The more hours you put in each day, the sooner you will experience success.

Make a commitment to your instrument and stick with it. I have seen people who played an
instrument ten or more years and for one reason or another decided to put it down. Ten
years later, they decide to pick it up again. Once they start practicing, they realize that
they have lost some of their ability to play the instrument. Their goal now is to come as
skilled as they once were. Let's think about this for a moment. We are always moving
forward in time. The person who puts down his/her instrument for years and then decides
to pick it up again is moving forward in time in order to go back in time to regain their skill
level. This person can still reach the desired goal, however it is necessary to put in extra
practice time to grow beyond where (s)he was ten years ago.

When practicing remember, one good concentrated effort in order to bring forth a desired
result is much better than a lot of small efforts over a long period of time. It is important
to know which things take a short time to master on the guitar, and which things take
longer. When a student does not know the difference, something that should take minutes
to learn can take weeks. Part of my responsibility as a teacher is to help my students know
the difference. Learning how to finger a chord or a scale should take a matter of minutes.
Learning how to improvise solos with meaning, sensitivity and good phrasing or learning how
to say the right thing at the right time takes years; and learning how to do it over key
changes will take even longer.

In addition to using proper practicing techniques, an aspiring musician has to start with
being honest with him/herself and ask the questions, "How much do I really want it?" and
"Am I putting forth an honest effort?" Then work smart by practicing the right things the
right way. Work hard, putting in the necessary practice time and be patient with yourself.
Now you're on the road to becoming a successful musician.

I define a successful musician as one who sets short, intermediate and long range musical
goals and achieve them. One who not only plays what (s)he can hear in their mind, but can
think of the most creative and musical phrases and bring them out by way of their
instrument. A successful musician uses his/her instrument to bring forth feelings like
happiness, sadness, love, excitement and evoke those feelings in the listener.

Becoming a successful musician takes practicing the right things the right way, being honest
with yourself and maintaining a commitment to your instrument. Work hard, work smart, set
musical goals and always challenge yourself to bring out the creativity that lies within you.

John E. Lawrence

E-mail: JLawr20195@aol.com