The Ten Commandments to Improve as a Musician
It is interesting to hear the advice of other musicians. One thing I like to ask other musicians what they do to improve. Surprisingly, musicians tend to all have very similar advice. Below, I have summarized the most common themes into what I call "The Ten Commandments to Improve as a Musician".
1) Thou shalt practice slowly with a metronome - When I first hear this advice, I thought it meant to set the metronome at a painfully slow speed then play along. There is a place for that but that is not what this is about. This is setting the metronome at a speed that you can play the music perfectly. Then, gradually increasing the tempo till you make a mistake. That tells you the section of music you need to work on. Work on that section then repeat the process.
2) Thou shalt practice every day - Studies have proven that even a little practice every day can help the brain retain information better than a long practice session once a week. The best advice I have received to help practice a little every day is to leave you instrument out where you can grab it easily. If you have a couple extra minutes, pick up your instrument and play a scale, arpeggio, or that section of music you get stuck on when working with a metronome.
3) Thou shalt record yourself - Instruments are made to be heard by the audience more than by the musician. Because of that, we do not always catch the what our audience is hearing. Recording yourself is a great and humbling way to evaluate where you are as a player. Be sure to listen to your tone, timing, and dynamics. Is what you hear on the recording what you were trying to convey to the audience?
4) Thou shalt play with people better than you - Playing with people better than yourself pushes you as a musician. It gives you an idea of what is possible musically. Personally, I think playing in front of other people is the best teacher there is. You are only as good as you can play in front of others.
5) Thou shalt transcribe - Transcribing helps train your ear. It helps you dig in and understand what a great musician is doing. Also, since you have to notate the music, it includes another sense, your eyes, into your training. Do not neglect analyzing the transcription when you are done. Look at the notes and chords being played. Try to understand what is going on in the music.
6) Thou shalt learn another instrument - Every great musician I know plays multiple instruments well. The question is, do they play multiple instruments because they are great musicians or are they great musicians because they play multiple instruments? I do not know the answer to that question. What I do know is the process of learning a new instrument has helped me to see music from a different perspective. For instance, scales use to confuse me on guitar. There were 6 different strings with the same notes in different locations. But when I played scales on a piano, it was a different experience. There is only one key for each note. For some reason, this helped me understand scales better.
7) Thou shalt teach - Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." That is so true. Teaching someone else forces you to make sure you understand it.
8) Thou shalt know the melody - Or, for those of you who play melody instruments, thou shalt know the chord changes. We bass players are probably the worst at this. Knowing all parts of the song helps you develop as a musician. If you are playing songs written by some of the best song writers in the world, why would you not want to understand how the melody and chords are working together?
9) Thou shalt take all the gigs you can - This does 2 things. First, it stretches you as a musician. Play stuff you are not comfortable with. Challenge yourself. Fake it till you make it. Second, it gets you playing in front of others.
10) Thou shalt sing while you play - If it is not in your head, it is not going to make it down to your fingers. Singing while you play is a way to train yourself to get what is in your head to come out of your instrument. Hey, it worked for George Benson and countless others.
There you have it. Ten things you could be doing to improve as a musicians. What things have helped you improve?
1) Thou shalt practice slowly with a metronome - When I first hear this advice, I thought it meant to set the metronome at a painfully slow speed then play along. There is a place for that but that is not what this is about. This is setting the metronome at a speed that you can play the music perfectly. Then, gradually increasing the tempo till you make a mistake. That tells you the section of music you need to work on. Work on that section then repeat the process.2) Thou shalt practice every day - Studies have proven that even a little practice every day can help the brain retain information better than a long practice session once a week. The best advice I have received to help practice a little every day is to leave you instrument out where you can grab it easily. If you have a couple extra minutes, pick up your instrument and play a scale, arpeggio, or that section of music you get stuck on when working with a metronome.
3) Thou shalt record yourself - Instruments are made to be heard by the audience more than by the musician. Because of that, we do not always catch the what our audience is hearing. Recording yourself is a great and humbling way to evaluate where you are as a player. Be sure to listen to your tone, timing, and dynamics. Is what you hear on the recording what you were trying to convey to the audience?
4) Thou shalt play with people better than you - Playing with people better than yourself pushes you as a musician. It gives you an idea of what is possible musically. Personally, I think playing in front of other people is the best teacher there is. You are only as good as you can play in front of others.
5) Thou shalt transcribe - Transcribing helps train your ear. It helps you dig in and understand what a great musician is doing. Also, since you have to notate the music, it includes another sense, your eyes, into your training. Do not neglect analyzing the transcription when you are done. Look at the notes and chords being played. Try to understand what is going on in the music.
6) Thou shalt learn another instrument - Every great musician I know plays multiple instruments well. The question is, do they play multiple instruments because they are great musicians or are they great musicians because they play multiple instruments? I do not know the answer to that question. What I do know is the process of learning a new instrument has helped me to see music from a different perspective. For instance, scales use to confuse me on guitar. There were 6 different strings with the same notes in different locations. But when I played scales on a piano, it was a different experience. There is only one key for each note. For some reason, this helped me understand scales better.
7) Thou shalt teach - Albert Einstein is quoted as saying, "If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough." That is so true. Teaching someone else forces you to make sure you understand it.
8) Thou shalt know the melody - Or, for those of you who play melody instruments, thou shalt know the chord changes. We bass players are probably the worst at this. Knowing all parts of the song helps you develop as a musician. If you are playing songs written by some of the best song writers in the world, why would you not want to understand how the melody and chords are working together?
9) Thou shalt take all the gigs you can - This does 2 things. First, it stretches you as a musician. Play stuff you are not comfortable with. Challenge yourself. Fake it till you make it. Second, it gets you playing in front of others.
10) Thou shalt sing while you play - If it is not in your head, it is not going to make it down to your fingers. Singing while you play is a way to train yourself to get what is in your head to come out of your instrument. Hey, it worked for George Benson and countless others.
There you have it. Ten things you could be doing to improve as a musicians. What things have helped you improve?
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