When I am asked about practicing guitar, I usually preach the gospel of repetitive mindful practice.
However – I have been wondering lately…”do I really know what the heck I am doing?”
You can usually find me on tour in a hotel room practicing the pieces I play on stage like “Billie Jean”, “Superstition” , “In My Life” for the 10,000th time.
- Have I lost my mind – is this focus or obsession?
- Have I become a simple person and “one trick pony”?
- Have I lost my ability and flair to do a broad spectrum of music?
- Have I lost my creativity?
Recently I was listening to a podcast by an interesting all around dude named James Altucher and his wife Claudia Azula Altucher, respectively they are the authors of Choose Yourself!
– there are some great ideas in these 2 books, if you are interested.
James & Claudia did a podcast centering around this Bruce Lee Quote, and it was all I needed to hear. (Just wanted to give them props for this!)
Drum roll please…
This renewed my faith in mindful but repetitive practice.
The idea is this – rather than going wider, more varied and more “horizontal” with what we work on, we can go deep into a “vertical” focus by practicing one thing and exploring.
Practicing 10,000 kicks in all directions can scatter us.
Practicing one kick 10,000 times will scare Bruce Lee.
We can apply this idea to our guitar practice.
For example…
Lately I have been working on polishing and perfecting my “In My Life” solo guitar arrangement.
To the world (and neighbors) it looks & sounds like I am practicing one tune over and over.
Some of the “vertical” deeper practice issues I am discovering are…
- maintaining relaxation between the right hand thumb and fingers
- re-discovering an ideal right hand position
- listening to tonal differences between my middle and ring fingers on the right hand
- exploring the feel of various finger combintaions
- balancing main melodies and supporting melodies, volume wise
- experimenting with counterpoint, bass notes hitting in between melody notes VS at the same time
- finding better left hand fingerings for the “harpsichord solo” section
- and so on….
The song is no longer just a song…it is a “vehicle” for deeper inquiries into my own playing, touch, time, tone technique.
Hopping from song to song, or style to style can “add content” to your playing – but not necessarily deepen your playing in the “vertical” way.
So…the next time you start feeling “bored, in a rut and practicing the same thing”, you can celebrate!
You may very well be going into a “vertical” concentration, and putting in the repetitions that you need for mastery. Just remember to stay mindful as you do it.
Wax on, wax off.
To do one thing with the right intention over and over again deepens practice and awareness and experience, making it rich and fruitful. You’re inspiring me, Adam!
Thanks for commenting Peer!
Fear the man who has practiced “Sir Duke” 10,000 times!
I all ways love to read your stuff. Gives me hope and more mindfulness.
Thanks brother
Thanks for commenting Anders1
You could add the phrase:
Practicing one lick 10,000 times will scare Jimmy H.
😛
But yea, pretty much everything is spot on. Keep at it!
Practice make permanent…thanks for all your insights, Adam!
With limited energy, you could attempt to boil the ocean, or use that same energy to boil a cup of water. Similarly, we all have the same limitation of time, we have a choice regarding how we apply widely or in a focused fashion. I think you’d agree old friend, that there are times when exploration is good. We often must shoot with a shotgun before we aim and shoot with a laser.
Hi Adam,
Thanks for this great post again!
It comforts me in the choice I made 2 years ago after earing this beautiful 12′ song from John Butler called “Ocean”.
I just told myself: “whatever the time it will take, I will master this song!”
For sure I’m far from mastering it but I keep trying with the same pleasure as when I started 🙂
Hey, Adam!!
I believe the key for folks to really get on track with this (as you’ve touched upon with “In My Life”) is start with one really difficult yet moving, melodic lick or progression………..practice the heck out of this until you can play it in your sleep and then realize how great it feels to play it almost effortlessly and seamlessly! So much so that it even impresses yourself enough to then tackle more and more!! I love this expression!!! Jim C. (Texas):
“Amateurs practice until they can do it right. Pros practice until they can’t do it wrong.”
Adam, as always, you are my mentor, teacher, and friend. Your voice runs through my head constantly… helping me, guiding me, and keeping me working at it. Thanks.
Lewis Mock
Lewis – so good to hear from you my friend!!!! Let’s schedule a call sometime to catch up. AR
Adam, You are very cool! I’ve always admired your playing and arranging your solo pieces, some of which I struggle playing. As a person I find you very concerned with others in a giving and positive way. Looking forward to more looking forward!!
Thank you Anthony!
This is good, thanks Adam!
Thanks Dave!
I couldn’t agree more. The therapeutic research for eliciting neuroplasticity seems to suggest that the key factors to create new neuro pathways are: repetitious, task specific, mass practice, that’s meaningful to the patient, or in your case the guitarist. Right on!
Thanks Gavin!
I’ve been beating myself up lately for nor having grown my repertoire. But I do have a good 30numbers under my belt and most are not easy for me. Think I’ll take this point to heart and go vertical. Thanks Adam!
Paula, learn slow…the slower the better. Practice those 30 kicks, I mean tunes 🙂
The thought of my poor song list has discouraged me before.
But then I decided that having some well-done ones is better than bore myself (and others) with tenths of soggies.
It really works and I happy now to know you suggest this tactic as well.
Hi Adam, your article triggers my mind, soul and body!
As I practice I wil be like water, my friend:)
Thanks for bringing Bruce Lee in! He has been one of my roll models since I was a teenager. Next time I practice I will be water, my friend?
Thanks for this information keep it up guys
Thanks for writing this. Instead of being all over the place, it’s better to focus on one thing. It’s more effective to go vertical than horizontal. Awesome article, buddy. Plus it’s cool to tell your guitar students to “practice like Bruce Lee” then point them to this article 😉
Thanks again for encouragement. I realized that I have to practice anything VERY SLOW FIRST to get anywhere with guitar. However, time is an issue for an old folk of 67 yrs like me. Hey, who cares I enjoy the guitar and keep sending your useful pointers. Thank you very much!
Thanks Adam. Your a classy dude and one of few who take time to give us tasty nuggets to enhance our playing! I really appreciate this article and just wanted to add something;
I just recorded myself playing a song that I’ve played thousands of times (probably not 10,000 but I’m not a professional musician either). In this recording I’m noticing 2 things right away (keep in mind I would not know this without playback and I’ve never done this before in 10 years of learning this song). The 2 things are good and bad;
The GOOD:
My muscle memory is nearly perfect. My posture is great and I appear very relaxed and introspect. I’m focused on feel more than technique. This equals FANTASTIC and I’m proud of myself. I’m getting lots of feedback on my YouTube video and it is all positive- so far.
The BAD:
There are some volume control issues, not with the recording but with the execution of my right hand. Adam, you advice to look into better finger economy is eye opening. I know you recently dropped your thumbpick and that has got to feel really weird but you are discovering you love the organic feel of not having one. This is how you are evolving as a player and that same approach will work for all of us if we keep a learning attitude…
….we just will have to resign ourselves to the fact we won’t ever be able to groove like you 🙂
Some good stuff like the book of proverbs Adam good work that for giving us more ambitions . You got a great attitude Adam thank God Bless you.Joe Cabella south Philadelphia.
Thanks Joe!
Thank You Adam!
You helped me a lot more now than ever.
Still confused, that only a few songs I can play, but now I understand that it is not the quantity but the quality is important.
Best regards
Sen. Leslie
Excellent Leslie! Keep practicing!
Adam,
You hit me with this at just the right time. Been struggling with should I stick with what I love (Missississippi John Hurt and Elizabeth Cotton style blues and folk) or become more well rounded. Seems like I can play the same hand full of songs over and over and still feel room for growth. But I feel this outside pressure to expand my repertoire. Your post has provided the encouragement to stay the course. I will continue to explore but I can drop the doubt/guilt about being narrow in my focus.
P.S. Bruce Lee fan from way back. So you source carries a lot of weight with me.
Cheers
Mark
There was a story told in The Gutenberg Elegies (great book) about a priest incarcerated for his beliefs. He was given one book only in his cell, from which he was able to answer all the questions he had of the universe, rather than by reading widely but by mining vertically. The author’s analogy was the internet which at first glance gives us a million answers to a million questions but very little deep information about one question. While I don’t totally subscribe to this idea, there is a parallel with the Bruce Lee quote which resonated with me. 10,000 kicks… 10,000 licks…
Hi Adam,
More Adam Raffertt gold to add to my treasury of knowledge.
Thiis information is so useful in developing performance and technical skills to a higher level. It will make me think about the context of every note from now on.
Thank you for sharing.
Sorry that should read Adam Rafferty gold. Pity I failed to use the principle on my texting
Yes, but. Depends how you practice that kick. I have found the work (blog, book, workshops) of classical violinist/performance scholar Noe Kageyama (“Bulletproof Musician”) to be consistently useful. He shares his own experience and that of his students in a nakedly honest way, and continuous draws on and cites the latest scholarship on performance (applies to music, but much research studies are on athletic practicing and performance). Adam, we might shave off a few of the 10,000 hours you’ve put in by piggybacking on the empirical evidence!!! BTW, totally been haunted by your version of “Imagine”…the lyric lives with your expressivity… Bestest, Jeep
Reminds of a saying Keith Williams once quoted on his Five-Watt World channel. To the question of how many guitars are enough, he said: “Beware the man who has one gun, for surely he know how to use it.”