practice

I have started practicing. Just chord scales over a blues, 8th & 16th notes, moving the tempo up slowly. It’s amazing that I never really did this before. I suppose it’s because when you’re studying in an institution you have be able to do so much so quickly that you tend to skip over some of the really vital parts of learning to play.

I sang today. Not just while teaching, but soloed over Aebersolds, and tried to let go a bit. Hopefully the first day in a line of many. The longer you leave it in between practice, the more the fear takes over.

Excuse #1
I have no guidance, therefore I don’t know what to practice.

Excuse #2
I have no materials, therefore I don’t know what to practice.

These are obviously tied in together. The guidance & materials are the excuses, but the reason is that I don’t know what to practice. I sing, and what comes out makes no sense. It’s like I’m trying to figure out the image in a puzzle, but soooooo many of the pieces are missing! Unfortunately, the pieces don’t just come in the box, you have to work for them. Or maybe that’s fortunate, because a) when I’ve done the work the results will be rewarding and b) if you create your own puzzle pieces there need never be a boundary.

When Alison gets back I will try to get some guidance and materials from her, so that I can begin to build some of these pieces for myself, and decide where to put them.