Someone wrote to me yesterday with questions about the new subscription setup. In a post-script she said, “I spend 2-3 hours almost every evening ‘playing’. It sounds more fun than ‘practicing’. And I love it.”
This simple statement says a lot about the nature of learning and practicing music. The thing that struck me is that she found her own way of framing things, calling it “play” instead of “practice”. I think the biggest thing I teach is how to practice. I teach that through fiddle tunes. There are a few simple ideas that can transform how anyone practices any style of music on any instrument:
But ultimately, each student has to discover for themselves how to practice. How to make the best use of their time. How to find a balance between effort and acceptance. And how to do the work and love doing.
If you can find a way to love the sound and the process, then playing every day requires no big feat of discipline. You’ll just naturally want to play every day.
Love your “play everyday video”, Jason. Looping technique has really been helpful! And I have focused on incremental learning as well….very helpful.
So thanks again,
Cheers,
linda
Hello. I am just getting back into fiddling after a wrist injury. I have played for 2 years, not very good. What path should I take for future improvement?
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