Guitar Classes and Lessons Koramangala Bangalore
One of the most frustrating feelings I have, is to get to the end of the day and realize that I haven’t practiced enough, or even worse, that I haven’t even touched my instrument. Whether it’s because of appointments, travel, school, or work commitments, it seems like there is always something getting in the way of our daily practice. However, just because we find ourselves away from our instruments, doesn’t mean that we have to sacrifice practice time. Here are five easy ways to take control and turn that otherwise wasted time into useful practice time:
1. Visualization
The practice of visualization is used by
people in all types of professions. Athletes visualize themselves
performing at their peak before game time, politicians visualize
themselves giving great speeches, and even surgeons mentally rehearse
every aspect of a procedure before operating on a patient.
As musicians, we can also use this
process to our advantage. Not only can we visualize a perfect
performance, we can use this method to actually practice and reinforce
techniques outside of the practice room. Scales, chord progressions, and
even a transcribed solo that you have been learning, can improve by
using visualization.
Try picking a scale or pattern that you
have been working on and close your eyes. See those notes on a music
staff in your mind and play through them as you hear them mentally.
When you go through them, make sure to visualize every note and finger
the notes as if you were playing your instrument, creating a mental and
physical connection.
You can use this process for anything you
may be working on. If you are trying to learn a certain standard,
visualize the changes in your head, mentally sing the melody and see
the chords go by. Trying to get that Freddie Hubbard solo in your
fingers? Close your eyes, hear the solo in your mind and finger along
with the line as if you were really playing it along with the record.
Make visualization a part of your daily routine, and I guarantee you
will definitely see improvement when you come back to your instrument.
2. Ear training on the go
How often do you find yourself in the car
listening to the radio or walking around town checking out tunes on
your ipod? These are both great opportunities to work on ear training.
If you find yourself in the car, turn on
the radio and pick out a tune. Pop tunes are great for this exercise
because they are relatively simple and if you didn’t hear everything on
the first try, you can be sure that the song will be played again and
again…and again. First sing with the melody and as you go along, try to
identify the various intervals throughout the line.
After that, sing the root of every chord
and determine the chord progression of the song. If that seems easy,
pick out different chord tones like the 3rd, 5th, etc. to sing along
with the progression. After awhile, you will be able to identify chord
progressions and scale degrees without even thinking about it.
This exercise can also be a great way to prepare for learning tunes or transcribing solos before
you get into the practice room. If you have some free time and are
listening to your ipod, put on a solo that you’ve been meaning to
transcribe and work on internalizing it. Listen to the solo a few times
and then sing along with the recording. Make sure that you are singing
exact pitches and not just approximating the shape of the line.
Ingraining a solo into your mind in this way, through repeated listening
and singing will make the transcription process that much easier once
you have your instrument with you.
Ear training is something we can always
improve on, so rather than just sitting in traffic or passing time
listening to music, use these exercises that will improve your ears at
the same time.
3. Work on odd meters
If you are like most musicians, playing
in odd meters like 5 and 7 is a tricky stumbling block to overcome.
This is because we rarely play in these time signatures and when we do
encounter them, are unfamiliar with them. This is a problem that can be
solved without your instrument.
Here are a few exercises that you can do
anywhere to master some of those odd meters that have been giving you
trouble. Take a metronome with you or simply just sing or tap groups of
odd meters like 3, 5 and 7 over 4/4.
Start simple and try tapping or singing a triplet or group of 3 over 4/4:
Next try five over four:
Another way to create an odd meter feel is to imply a polyrhythm
through the use of inflection. Accent the first note in a group of 3
eighths over 4/4, in turn implying a 3/8 feel over the bar line:
Try singing a scale in thirds with these accents implying the same 3/8 feel:
Playing in 7 can be tricky and coming up with something creative
can be even harder. Work on finding new ways to play in 7 rather than
the standard grouping of 2+2+3 shown below:
One way is to imply 4/4 over the bar line with groups of quarter notes:
4. Physical exercises
Sometimes what we need to practice is
purely a physical aspect of our playing: fingerings, posture,
articulation, etc. We can improve on these aspects of our playing
anywhere because they deal directly with our bodies. If you are a
piano player you may need to work on finger strength, drummers may need
to work on independence exercises and horn players may need to work on
difficult fingering patterns.
Identify the physical issue that is
giving you a problem and create an exercise that isolates the exact
movement. Remember to start slow and think about each aspect of the
exercise, so when you go to play it will be there without conscious
thought.
Work on articulation and air flow
When you play a wind instrument, it can
seem like there is no substitute for time on the horn. Well this may be
true, one physical thing that you can work on anywhere is your
articulation and air flow. For jazz musicians, one aspect that
constantly requires practice is swing articulation. An exercise that I
like to do is to just focus on my tongue and air without my horn and
enunciate or tongue the syllables along with a steady airflow. For
instance, I will pick a scale or line and finger along as I do the
articulation. In the example below I would use the written syllables
for articulation and blow a steady stream of air as I go through the
line:
5. Sight reading
An easy way to keep our reading on par,
is to carry around some sheet music with you, like an etude book, big
band charts, or a percussion book with rhythmic exercises. Anything will
do as long as it is challenging.
When you have some spare time, open one
of the books up to a random page and practice sight singing one of the
lines. Make sure you are keeping steady time or bring a metronome along.
If singing the pitches at first is too hard, just try to sing the
rhythms. Half the battle in becoming a great reader is to become
consistent, so make this exercise a habit and you will be there in no
time.