![]() That tried-and-true technique I’m referencing is transcription, and musicians have a complicated relationship with it. It may not be the best practice, but it’s better than half-assing a technical routine or repeating the same solo for weeks for no real reason. When we don’t feel motivated to build out specific practice routines that fit our goals by highlighting our weaknesses and constructing sessions to speak to them (which is the best approach when executed correctly), it’s helpful to have something we can always rely on as a source of good practice. If you’ve ever had a frustrating practice session because you didn’t feel like what you were practicing was doing any good, felt a sense of existential despair, opened up Instagram, and had a bitter flash of envy when you see a peer or influencer destroying a solo, you know exactly what I’m talking about. When we attach music to our sense of identity and purpose, this can be particularly painful. Building an effective practice routine is a skill in itself, and it’s easy to fall victim to practice paralysis - the state of feeling hopeless at all there is to learn and practice. It’s just a lot, and it’s no wonder it can feel overwhelming. You’ve got scales, arpeggios, scale analysis, rhythm work, memorizing songs, ear training, sight-reading, new techniques, patterns, licks, etc., etc.Īnd some of those are specific to a single genre and/or can be transposed across all 12 keys! When we go beyond the basics with an instrument and begin constructing our own practice routines based on our unique goals, we have a lot of options. This is the blog I wish I would have had then. I had ideas, but the term didn’t feel solidified - like when you use a word but feel guilty because you’re guessing at its meaning. It seemed like such a basic question, and because everyone talked about it, I just assumed I should know too. I heard it all the time in my musician circles and in school, but I think I was too afraid to ask what it really meant. It sounds crazy, but for years I didn’t understand what transcribing music meant.
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