Music Practice Tips

Once again, Leo over at ZenHabits has posted an article that’s got me thinking. Written by Clay Collins of The Growing Life, it highlights some of the common characteristics of prolific people, and what you might choose to do if you want to become prolific.

It’s had me thinking most of the night about what it would take to be a prolific musician. Clay’s article, while being rather general overall, tends to have more of a focus towards writers, though he does mention music and other arts as well. But what exactly is a prolific musician?

One might argue that a prolific musician would be one that performs often. This may be true, but what about someone who prepares one concerto, and then goes on tour with an orchestra, playing the same concerto every night for 3 months? (I know that’s not a realistic example, but it’ll do) Prolific performer, but not exactly a prolific musician. Or is it someone who just learns lots of music really quickly? To me, that’s a prolific learner, but I’m uncertain about the prolific musician.

In my mind, a prolific musician is someone who balances (or aims to balance) performance and the learning of new music. They will constantly have multiple projects going on, learning new repertoire for the sake of learning new repertoire, and also polishing up repertoire towards performances. But in addition to this, they have an exploratory mind, searching to learn about their instrument and about music. They won’t be interested solely in music for their instrument, but in that for other instruments as well. They might even have a go at composition.

So, as I have done in past occassions, here is a re-write of the article, with more of a focus towards musicians.

7 Tips on becoming a prolific musician

1. Ruthlessly Guard your mind.

Often, many writers will take on boring jobs which will allow them to think about their writing and come up with new ideas all the time. Problem with writers is that they need to write their ideas down, which might not always be an option if you’re busy stacking shelves. However, musicians can be thinking about their music all the time. Mental practice can in some cases be just as effective - or more effective - than physical practice (Though I must stress that it needs to be combined with the physical practice. Thinking about it isn’t enough). We all need to make money, and until you’re making a living off of your music, consider a boring job like shelf stacking, as your mind will have the freedom to focus on your music. Just think, getting paid to spend 3 hours running through your music in your mind!

2. Unabashedly take on your artistic identity

This I find is more a point that should be taken up by everyone, not just prolific people. You need to be comfortable with who you are, and be willing to share it with others. Now some people might understand if you want to hide the fact that you’re an accountant when you first meet people, however my feelings are that if people like you, then they have to like you for who you are, and that includes what you do. Don’t be afraid of telling people you’re a musician - most people I’ve met and told think it’s awesome. They might not fully understand everything that we do, but they at least recognise it as talent and are respectful because of that.

3. Realise the gestation period of ideas

We can turn a completely new piece to performance ready in a week if need be, however most things like to have some time to grow. Be willing to learn a piece early, and then leave it for a while. I’m hoping to tackle a new piece every week for the rest of the year. These won’t be as difficult as the pieces I’m learning for my exams and such, however they are pieces that would be useful to know. Not only will they add pieces to my repertoire, but I’ll also be able to recommend them to my students and know what areas to look out for. If you’re going to do something like this, don’t feel bad about going a couple of levels down, as you’re looking for pieces to learn quickly - though as you do this more, you’ll develop a fast learning habit, which you’ll be able to transfer to your harder music. But always make sure you’re not just learning the notes, but also working to play with style.

4. Keep your creative inertia going

This is much like the previous one - keep learning new pieces, and also coming back to old ones. If it’s possible, keep your instrument (in a safe location) open, so it won’t take much to get set up and playing. Keep your mind on the music all the time, and playing as much as you can. Keep the mind fresh by moving onto different music often - every 40 minutes or so if you’re doing longer sessions.

5. Create stability where it counts

I’ve found that if I can get at least an hour and a half practice done each morning, then my day and my practice go well. As such, I started getting to uni at 7am. While some people may think this is a bit extreme, I found that I could get an hour and a half practice in at the same time, in the same practice room, every day. This has many benefits - one being regular practice. Being in the same room at the same time also takes out external variables, and allows you to focus on your music.

6. Attend to your mental and physical health

If you’re stressed, your creativity will drop. I know that when I’m busy with many things apart from music going on, my music will often take a dive. It’s important to keep a well-balanced life, and we do have to do other things apart from music. We still need to do our taxes, pay our bills, but also meet with our mates, and actually look after our health. No point in being a great musician if we can’t actually get out the door, or if our mental state never allows us to show anyone what we’ve been working on because “it isn’t perfect.” Go for walks, runs, practice meditation (don’t think about music though… clear mind). Do what it takes to look after your body and your mind.

7. Get adopted by a mentor

Often, this may be our teacher. However, it may be useful to find a musical friend who has done what you want to do, or is doing what you want to do, or is hoping to do what you want to do. Three different people there, and they’ll each give you different things. While both the person that has done what you want to do, and the person that is doing what you want to do will be able to give you tips on how to get there, the person that has done it already will also be able to keep you grounded by giving their perspective on the other side. Yes, it’s a great life but… The person who is wanting to do the same thing as you will give you support, encouragement along the way.
Also, don’t look too high. If you’re wanting to become an orchestral musician, but you haven’t yet played casually with your local symphony orchestra, don’t try and get a mentor that’s the concertmaster of the Boston or Berlin Philharmonic. Instead, go for someone who’s already playing casually with your local symphony orchestra. Often, they’ll be closer to your level and be able to actually give you advice on what they did, as opposed to the person who had everything just drop in their laps (Not saying that many great players didn’t work the hard way, just often took different paths).