I need to work up from an hour or two every few days, to five hours several days a week, and at least two hours every day.

Coltrane, too, was a master of technique; he would practice his horn for many hours each day. In these periods of acquiring technique, Trane truly found himself, and found a way to musically express his experiences and feelings. He was genuinely obsessed with the basics of his horn, the basics of his sound. A musician once recounted to me how Coltrane’s practice sessions went (I’m not exactly sure how the musician actually found this out, since Trane rarely practiced with anyone else, but it fits Coltrane’s personality and musicianship so well that I tend to believe it). First he played an entire hour of only whole notes, focusing exclusively on his tone. Then came another hour of just half notes, then another hour of quarter notes, working on scales, arpeggios, along with his tone. Next was an hour of eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and faster runs, incorporating everything he had done so far with speed as well. He would then spend a few hours working on exercise books for other instruments, such as violin and harp. Finally came time spent on actual songs or compositions, which would often consume a few more hours. Every musician practices technique and scales, but very few are obsessed with the basics of sound in the way Coltrane was. Most musicians I know (myself included) will begin a practice session with a few minutes of whole notes to focus their tone and warm themselves up. Coltrane spent over an hour on whole notes. He was simply never content with the skill he achieved, the harmonic knowledge he had, the success of his work, or simply the sound of his horn. What is most remarkable was his tireless dedication to the technical mastery of his craft, not for its own sake (which is what far too many musicians dedicate themselves to), but for the sake of expressing himself in ways he hadn’t yet found.

Coltrane’s technical control often amazed listeners as much as his creativity and the originality of his work. As J.C. Thomas writes of Gerald McKeever, a drummer and one of Coltrane’s biggest fans, “Trane’s solo on So What grabbed him; its driving, energetic outpouring of notes, all with such tight, incredible control, the intelligence behind the passion, the discipline that controlled the creativity.”

Monday, September 28th
^{6:00pm – 9:00pm}

Guitar

Voice

Tuesday, September 29th
^{12:00pm until 5:00pm}

Wednesday, September 30th
^{12:00pm until 5:00pm}

Guitar

Voice