Practice: April – Weeks 1 & 2 / Observations
Wanted to make a few quick observations about my practice these past two weeks, based on the records I’ve kept.
- I practiced trombone 3 days in the first week, then it dropped off to one day in the second week.
- I sang pretty consistently in the first week, right up to my lesson on Wednesday of the second week. As of this post I’ve not sang since my lesson.
- I had more guitar practice in the first week than in the second, but still did a fair amount of guitar work in week 2.
- I practiced bass the least of all, averaging one session per week.
What to make of these stats? One thing about recording my practice is that it’s easier to see patterns and habits.
- Guitar is the easiest of the instruments to practice, because it’s really easy to just pull the guitar down and play. Easy access and instant gratification.
- I sing more when I have auditions, because I use my singing warm-up as a vocal warm-up. Having the lesson as a motivating factor helps, but not necessarily as a primary motivator. I can still “get through the lesson” without having sung as much as I would have liked.
- Perhaps the reason that I practice the trombone less these days is because I don’t get as much of that “instant gratification” of seeing myself get better right away. I’m already a damn good trombone player, so the bar is much higher.
- My goal is to see each day filled up with practice on each instrument, as opposed to these big gaps between playing. I’ve not reached this goal yet, but at least I’ve begun the “measurable” part of “SMART”. I’ll work on the “specific” part more this week.