Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Breakthrough Practice
Breakthrough Practice
C.L. Young
________________________________
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
Smilin Steve
________________________________
Im a pro musician and music teacher myself
and got a degree from Laval University
(Qubec). Chris youve got a vision and a
passion that Ive rarely seen from other
teachers. I think youve got some ideas that
can be a real revolution in the jazz
inspiration!
Dave Dub
________________________________
Best wishes,
Henry Krupp
________________________________
Alex
________________________________
Ginny Simonds
________________________________
Milton
________________________________
ChrisI think your work will become
transcendental good job!
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
modern philosopher!
Themis Nikoloudis
________________________________
Guy Shkolnik
________________________________
formula!!!!
________________________________
Your Monster Jazz Formula is spot on! Next to
my senior recital, I've found defining and
refining my own values, goals, vision and
mission... to be the most productive and
enlightening exercises I've ever done.
Slide Ackerman, Boston, MA
________________________________
Darryl Ruff
Kelowna BC Canada
________________________________
The Monster Jazz was nothing else than a
fresh re-beginning of everything I learned
since ever: My Music (and so my
________________________________
Your knowledge is great, but on the top of
that, it is the way you present that makes it
unique. You do not make any tricks or give
away half-hearted information and I have
learned a lot from your materials. It is great
that you cover up the mental topics as well,
not just technical stuff. We are lucky to be
Breakthrough Practice
In this short book Im going to share with you one of the most important
ideas Ive ever learned about playing jazz - About practicing jazz,
advancing with jazz and just simply getting better and better and better
with jazz. But why does that matter to you?
Well, simply put: I would bet that you want to be better player than you
are; you want to take your playing to the next level. If you didnt want
that you wouldnt be reading this book.
You want to sound good in front of your teachers, your peers, your audience and for yourself. But
you also want to be one of those cats that gets up on that band stand and just kills it - and takes the
audience on wild musical ride.
And of course youd like to get the respect you deserve from the other cats in the band and at the
gig. And theres nothing wrong with that. But you want to earn that respect - by being a tried and
true, bona fide Monster of a Jazz Musician.
But heres the catch: You cant become a serious force on the bandstand, or at the jam session for
that matter, if you dont know how to get better, if you dont know how to practice.
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
To tell you the truth, I did get really good at playing some of those exercises and patterns. But
mostly I never achieved any real mastery over any of it, and I was never able to take much of it to
the bandstand with me. It would be years before I would realize what I was doing wrong.
I would practice, practice, practice and then still get my butt kicked at
recitals and jam sessions. Playing jazz was still a serious struggle,
despite all the hours I was putting in for those years. But I wasnt able
or willing to stop and slow down long enough to evaluate what I was
doing, what was working and what wasnt.
And most cats arent. Most of us are like zombie practice machines.
Were like hamsters running on a wheel getting nowhere. Just plugging
along. Paying our dues.
Thankfully, I eventually came upon a big turning point in my life. I was still at Berklee in my third
year.
After getting my ensemble ratings up high enough, I registered for one of the top ensembles in the
school. Hal Crooks ensemble. I honestly thought I had finally arrived as a jazz musician. After all
these years of struggle I was finally one of the cats at Berklee. I was awesome I thought to myself.
Well, I lasted exactly one class and Hal gave me the boot. I was pissed to say the least.
Disappointed, beaten and thoroughly bummed out. Hal told me I wasnt ready for his ensemble; that
I didnt need to be a better instrumentalist; that, instead, I needed to go play with as many other
musicians as possible then call him back next year to see if I was ready.
After cursing Hal Crook under my breath for about a week and beating
myself up as a failure, I finally shook it off and got busy. In hind sight I
realized that Hals Tough Love and total honesty with me was really the
sign of a truly caring and compassionate teacher. He caused a profound
turning point in my musical development.
I did what Hal said. I played as many sessions with other cats at school
as I could. And down the road several bands and lots of gigs came out of
all that playing. And it changed my music forever. A year later I called Hal
up and we set up a trio session to see if I was ready for his ensemble. I
nailed it, got in to the ensemble the next semester and went on to study privately with Hal for over
10 years.
Studying with Hal led to other breakthroughs in my playing and my practicing. I completely
overhauled my practice routine and my practice habits.
I continued to do my own research and study as well. I read countless books about all kinds of
subjects from psychology to the zone to musician biographies to goal setting to principles of success
to self-improvement to Zen Buddhism and on and on.
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
I attended master classes with Kenney Werner, Danilo Perez, Joe Lovano, Jeff Tain Watts, Pat
Martino, Dave Liebman, Rashied Ali and Ran Blake. It was light bulb moment after light bulb
moment.
I overhauled my listening habits, my rehearsals, my whole approach to learning, practicing and
advancing with jazz. Over time I slowly developed a holistic approach and understanding of the
whole process of being a jazz musician and of practice - in the practice room and beyond the practice
room.
I discovered that there was good practice and bad practice. Suddenly it was plain as day:
Thats exactly how most cats practice. They have no idea what to do next or how to do it. So they
just get in there and start noodling and logging hours in the practice room. Then they wonder why 5
years later their musical house still kinda sucks.
Or even worse, they came up the way I did. If I was building a house the way I used to practice
heres what my day would be like. Hammer nails 45 minutes. Saw two by fours - 30 minutes. Dig
holes 30 minutes. Sand wood 45 minutes. Etc.
At the end of the day Id have a pile of wood scraps with nails sticking out of them. But no house or
any progress towards building one.
Well, your practice sessions are not unlike that house.
There are different pieces that must fit together.
Of course you need that blueprint. And you need certain
practice skills. You have to get good at those skills.
You need to establish effective practice habits.
You have to practice things in the right order.
You have to manage your energy and time in the practice
room and out of the practice room.
You need a whole mess of different experiences to
transform you into a solid jazz musician; like listening,
playing sessions, jamming and gigging.
And you need to keep this all simple enough so you dont get overwhelmed with the
process, get bored and just quit. Or worse, procrastinate and get caught in a cycle of
musical frustration.
But heres the thing, when youve got all your musical activities working together in harmony and
youre working in a way that is getting you fast progress, the whole thing becomes super fun,
exciting and the process feeds itself.
And its actually not that hard to do. (Well get to that real soon.)
In fact when you hit that practice zone the hard part is getting yourself to stop practicing!
And as you start to play better and better at the jam sessions and on the gig, the cycle just picks up
more steam and practicing becomes even more fun and more important to you. It becomes a selffeeding cycle - an amazing alternative to spinning your wheels in the practice room, riddled with selfdoubt and frustration.
Now. Id like to introduce to you something I call the Five Pillars of Breakthrough Practice Sessions.
Let me use that house and blueprint analogy for you again. If your practice room house is made up
of music theory, ear training, listening, improvisation topics, learning tunes, instrument technique, etc
- The Foundation that it all rests on is The Five Pillars of Breakthrough Practice Sessions.
Now, a breakthrough practice session is a session where
you actually get better, you move forward musically, by a
tiny step each and every day. Let me blow your mind here
with a little math. Imagine that you had your practice
sessions dialed in to the point that you were getting just 1%
better each day at whatever you were working on. After
about 9 or 10 weeks you would be TWICE as good!
Imagine where that gets you down the road when you have
that kind of practice for a few months or even a few years.
That is how you become a serious musical force.
Now let me hit you The Five Pillars. Well put these pillars to work in the section called 5 Steps to
Breakthrough Practice. But here is an overview of them.
#1 The All Important State: This is your state of mind. This is your attention, your concentration,
your energy and your focus. How mindful and fully engaged are you when you practice? Well, it
makes a world of difference. Work on strengthening your mindfulness. Increase your level of
attention & concentration and immediately you start getting better faster. Period.
#2 The Universal Laws of Musical Success:
The Law of Musical Balance always strive to find balance in all things. Balance within
your solos, balance with musical opposites (Loud/Soft, Dense/Sparse), balance within your
practice routine, balance with your practicing vs. playing, balance with your practicing vs.
listening, balance in your life, etc.
The Law of Accumulation all great musical accomplishment happens one tiny step at a
time.
The Law of Consistency musical advancement happens through consistent, mindful daily
practice through thoughtful repetition of musical elements, topics, exercises, melodies, etc.
The Law of Habit Force first you create your habits and then your habits create you, your
music and your life.
The Law of Musical Memory its all about your musical memory, your aural imagination
and your ear. Feed, expand, deepen and strengthen your aural imagination every step of the
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
10
way.
The Law of Resistance you will experience internal and external resistance as you take
action to change and progress as a musician and a human being. Accept it and learn from it.
Adopt a pro attitude and show up to play and practice even when you dont feel like it.
When you understand these laws you understand how musical success works. As you start to bring
your practice sessions into harmony with these laws, which is actually pretty easy when you know
how they work, your progress begins to accelerate exponentially (to sound a little nerdy). In other
words you get better faster and faster.
#3 Habit and Mastery: The whole point of practice is to make that which is unfamiliar into a that
which is easy and habitual - whether its your embouchure or a fingering, or swinging or playing in a
certain key.
We practice so we can internalize these things and then let go on the band stand and let the music
happen. Thats the 1st level of habit.
The second level of habit is your practice habits - how and what you do in the practice room each
day. These are your rituals, your habits of preparation, follow through, persistence, patience, and
consistency. First you make your habits. Then your habits make you.
#4 Practice Room Strategies: These are the ways you approach your practicing.
Focus on your musical constraints - whats holding your playing back more than anything
else? Hit that first for maximum progress.
Headroom. Take concepts, technical elements and practice topics a little further than youll
need for the bandstand. This will give you a little headroom and make you more relaxed on
the gig.
Wear many hats. Tap into the amazing capacities of the human brain by practicing like an
artist, an athlete, a scientist or an actor.
Topic Integration. Integrate some or all of your practicing across the board: your technical
work, ear training, listening, tunes, jam sessions, and writing. All of it can be connected with a
common musical thread for maximum musical progress.
#5 Practice Room Tactics: This is the nitty-gritty of the practice room. Here were talking about
things like:
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
11
These are the tactics. Well go over the details of using these tactics and tools in just minute.
As you bring these 5 Pillars into harmony and into your practicing youll begin to have some of the
best practice sessions of your life. And of course having the best practice sessions simply means
youre gonna sound better and better at sessions and gigs and lessons. Youll have more fun playing
and youll start to get the respect you want from other cats. And that feels pretty damn good.
Especially when you earn it.
Make this your mantra:
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
12
13
windows open and 9 different programs? Thats not unlike how your brain works in the practice
room.
You could be thinking about any number of different things: A phone call you need to make, a bill
you need to pay, something you want to practice, a concert you want to get tickets for or maybe an
unresolved argument with a friend.
Open loops are all the unfinished, unresolved things floating around in your head that distract you,
limit your concentration and drain your energy. Make a list of all of those open loops. Write it down.
Then go through the list and resolve them one by one. Either do the thing thats occupying your
attention immediately. Or schedule a time to do it later so you dont have to worry about now. If you
cant resolve it this way, then just consciously decide to just let it go.
Three: Respect your limits and build your mindfulness muscle. The idea is to practice for as long as
you can while maintaining mindful engagement and concentration. And no longer. For you, that could
be 30 minutes at a time. It could be 1 hour. It could be 15 minutes.
If you can only focus for 15 minutes dont be worried. Concentration is like a muscle. Practice in 15
minute chunks for a few days with a short break in between each chunk. Then take that up to 20
minutes until that becomes comfortable. Then up to 25 and so on. Pretty soon youre back up to your
original amount of practice but youre 5X as productive because youre actually present and engaged.
Four: Use a practice/rest cycle. The typical limit for productive practice is just around an hour - for
me its about 45-50 minutes. Then my brain gets tired and I start drifting away. At this point practice
becomes less and less productive. Its time for a break.
I structure my practice this way. Practice for 50 minutes - short 10 minute rest. Practice - short rest.
During the rest you can do whatever you want. Get a glass of water, go for a short walk, or meditate
for 5 minutes. The practice part should be as long as you can maintain mindfulness.
This practice/rest cycle will allow your brain to recover and allow you to refocus when you return to
practice. Experiment and find the times that work best for you.
Lets move on.
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
14
1. Record yourself playing. Listen back and critique your playing. What is the most glaring issue
that pops out to you? Dont over think this. Something will pop out to your ear that needs work. It
could be your tone. It could be form. It could be your feel. It could be accuracy with the changes.
2. Think back to the last session or gig you played. What did you struggle with? What was
hard for you? What did you sound best doing? What one area of your musicality, if it were stronger,
would make the whole gig easier?
3. Ask other cats on the scene for their feedback. If you could only practice one thing what
would they suggest you work on based on hearing you and/or playing with you?
And, listen; dont worry about getting this perfect. Even if you dont nail this youre bound to pick
something thats still very important.
Once you have your musical constraint make it a priority in the practice room and get busy attacking
it from all directions.
Focusing on your musical constraints will have the biggest impact on your playing and will go a long
way to keep you motivated and moving forward.
Hint: Many cats work on the same old crap in the practice room every day. They play tunes they
already know. Or they work out of method books theyve already been through. Or they just play.
The real way to get better is to work on stuff you CANT play. Thats what the best players do. And
they do it at the edge of their ability. Theyre always pushing that edge forward day by day. More on
that in a second.
By targeting your biggest constraint youre maximizing this idea of working on stuff you cant do.
The next piece of the Breakthrough Practice Puzzle is:
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
15
Then you work on that tiny little detail until it is easy. Not until you can play it a couple times pretty
well before making a mistake. Not until you can hack your way through it, sort of, most of the time.
You practice it until you can you easily play it over and over, practically in your sleep.
Now the size and scope of that detail must be challenging but doable. It should stretch your musical
abilities during this learning phase. If its too easy you wont grow. If its too hard youll go into
practice panic mode and you wont improve. Its got to be right at the edge of your ability. Thats
where real learning and musical progress happens.
This is why when you hear serious cats practicing, they never sound bad. Theyre always pushing
forward, but never so far that they reach panic mode. Theyre at that edge. They live in that practice
sweet spot.
So to the sum that up, the path to mastery is 1) choose a target and find the very next step. The
detail youre gonna put under the microscope. 2) Practice it until its easy, until you own it. 3) Then
you find the NEXT step. And so on until you hit your target - learn the solo, the tune, the
progression, etc. Thats the power practice paradigm.
Its so simple, yet so powerful. When you learn to live on that edge in the practice room and always
reach the point of easiness with your topics you start to expect that feeling from everything you
practice.
Practice like that for a while and suddenly playing a ripping solo at a session becomes easy. Then you
can focus your attention on making music instead of focusing on just hanging on for dear life.
16
goal of hearing more and more detail. What pops out to you as needing your immediate attention in
the practice room? Dont over think this. Trust your gut instinct. Then use that info to choose practice
goals and get to work using The Power Practice Paradigm.
2. Check your progress/Expand your awareness. So now youve chosen some goals, youve
broken them down into small targets for each days practice. Maybe youre working on the first 8 bars
of a Monk tune. When you think youve got it coming together, record it, listen back and critique it.
Whats good? Whats working? Whats not? Be objective and be compassionate. If you listen and
realize that the 6th bar of the phrase is really sloppy and something is just not right with the rhythm,
well thats where you focus. Bar 6. Zoom in on that, find the next step and practice it. Then record
and critique again.
Becoming a solid player requires expanding your musical awareness. And there is perhaps no better
way to do that than recording and critiquing.
If you have the means to do it and the hard drive space, record your whole practice session. You
dont need to listen to the whole thing. But if youve got the tape rolling you can check in whenever
you feel you need to.
Heres one way I use it in my practicing.
(This is a two hour routine. Feel free to cut this in half if you only one hour to shed.)
Hour 1: Play five 8-10 minute solos using an improvisation concept Ive been working on. For
instance, motive development. Record all five solos. Listen back to the worst or the best or randomly
choose. It doesnt really matter. Just listen back once to get your ears going and to work some
listening into the first hour.
Hour 2: Play one more solo using that same improvisation concept. But this time listen back to the
solo five times. Keep your mind and your ears open. And just listen. Five repeated listenings will
teach you tons about your playing.
You can adjust the times however you need to fit your schedule. Do this for a few months and I
guarantee you will be a different player.
Okay, this last section is really more of a law than a step. But its powerful and it blew my mind the
first time I heard it.
17
And of course how we practice and play music is too. All of it is habit existing in the form of wiring
and connections in your brain.
Your habits inevitably lead to your outcomes. And so the cats with the best practice habits - in the
practice room and out of it - have the best musical outcomes in their lives.
The cats with the worst habits have the worst musical outcomes.
Now, Ive got some good news and some bad news.
The good news is that the brain is ever changing and ever evolving. Connections are constantly being
created and strengthened or weakened.
And since as human beings we have the wonderful gift of free will we can choose new thoughts, new
actions and use mindful repetition to create new habits.
Remember:
First you create your habits. Then your habits create you.
And since you have the ability to change your musical habits, you can
change the whole game and transform your music.
Now the bad news. The bad news is that, being creatures of habit, we
hate change. And we resist change literally at the cellular level.
But that doesnt mean that we cant change. It just means that change
will always and necessarily push us out of our comfort zone. In fact your comfort zone = stagnation.
The edge outside of the comfort zone = progress.
So as we try to bring mindfulness into our practice, our brains and habits will resist and we will tend
to revert back to habits of distraction and lack of focus.
As we try to focus on our musical constraints instead of practicing stuff we can already play, our
brains and habits will resist and draw us back towards the familiar - the comfortable.
As we try to use the practice paradigm, find the next step, own it and push the envelope - you
guessed it - our brains and habits will resist.
So whats the secret to getting around these pesky habits?
First, simply being aware of this resistance will help you endure it. And, some more good news for
you, it only takes about 30 days to create a new habit.
Heres an analogy that may help you form new practice habits.
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
18
When a rocket is leaving the earth on the way into space it goes through several phases before it can
break free of earths gravitational pull. We get locked into our habits by a sort of gravitational pull.
And to change, we must break free of it.
In the first phase the rocket burns most of its fuel just to simply lift
off the ground and get going.
In the second phase it is still hitting quite a bit of resistance from
gravity and still burning lots of fuel, but its gaining momentum and
the really hard part is over.
In the third phase the resistance starts to diminish and it finally
reaches escape velocity, the speed needed to escape the earths
gravitational pull, and it now breaks free of that pull.
Well, creating a new practice habit - such as practicing for 30
minutes every day - is just like that rockets trip from earth to space.
Days 1 10: At first it takes a considerable amount of energy and
will power on your part to get going and start practicing.
For the first 10 days or so its like that. You are literally defying the
gravity of your old habits. Habits of watching TV, wasting time on Facebook or whatever it is you do
instead of practice for 30 minutes every day.
Days 11 20: Then as you get into the next 10 days things ease up slightly. You still experience
resistance and get pulled back towards old habits. But youll start to gain some momentum as new
habits form.
Days 21 30: In the final 10 days - days 21-30 you start to coast. It gets easier and easier to pick
up your axe and shed for 30 minutes. Youre now over the hump. That doesnt mean youre home
free. You still have to be diligent. But the wiring is there now to support you. The longer you
maintain that habit the stronger it becomes and the more naturally you are drawn to practice 30
minutes every day. Eventually it becomes completely automatic.
Now it takes will power to get through this process. And humans actually only have a small amount
of will power available. So dont bite off more than you can chew.
Make new habits at the edge of your ability too. If you dont practice at all, start by trying to practice
5 or 10 minutes a day. No point going from nothing to 6 hours a day. Youll fail and derail your
efforts. Start with 5 or 10. Then go to 15, 20, and 30. 1 hour, 2 hours, etc.
Pretty soon youre up to the desired amount of practice again, but youre doing it with great habits.
You can quickly transform your music with these 5 steps to rapid progress. It can be very fast
indeed, but not over night. Slowly put these new practice habits into place and you will pick up
momentum and steam.
Once mindfulness, musical constraints, mastery and recording & critiquing are natural and habitual
parts of your practice, your progress will skyrocket.
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
19
Small improvements can have profound effects on your music and your life.
Even small 1% improvements can change your music and life.
In fact, the power of 1% is truly amazing. I know its weird to talk about musical skill in percentages,
but its pretty easy to imagine getting 1% better in a given topic every day or so.
1% better for 10 weeks is twice as good. For one year its 37 times!
What would that mean for your playing? Seriously, think about that. If you worked on your biggest
musical constraints and you were twice as good in that area in 10 weeks. How would that potentially
change your music, your life?
When you start to practice this way, and you start to put some of these different pieces of the
practice blueprint to work for your music, dramatic changes can happen.
What we just covered is basically the engine for your practice. Lets move on and some rocket fuel.
20
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
21
22
But think about it this way. Do you think great writers get that good by spending most of their time
conjugating verbs, or practicing grammar rules and syntax?
No. They read the masters. And they imitate the masters. They write. They critique what they write.
They read more and write more. They build on the tradition. Until finally they develop their own
voice.
That reminds me of the great Clark Terry quote:
23
As you listen ask yourself some questions to get your ear looking for answers. Looking for musical
details. Whats the shape of the line? What are the dynamics like? Is it loud? Soft? Is it dense? Whats
the mood and energy level? Hows the tone quality? Whats the time feel like? And so on.
Step 4: Let It Soak In To the Old Aural Imagination
Eventually, with enough listening, you want to be able to hear the phrase in your aural imagination in your inner ear - as loud and clear as possible. Take your time. Slow and study wins the race.
Especially with the ears. And the stronger your inner hearing the more rapid your musical progress
and growth will be.
Step 5: Sing Along With the Recording
Once you can hear the phrase or line play back in your aural imagination its time to start singing
along with the record. Again, take your time. Start by aiming for accuracy with the pitches and
rhythms. Then start to match the articulation, dynamics and other musical details you hear.
Step 6: Sing the phrase Without the Recording
Once you can easily sing along its time to sing it without the record. Go slow of course, pitch by
pitch if you have to. And, dont worry about trying to sound like Frank Sinatra. This is for your ears
not your singing career.
Step 7: Bring It to Your Axe
The next step is to take it to your instrument. If youve done your homework this should come pretty
quickly. Depending on your experience you may have to hunt and peck to find the notes. Thats fine.
As you learn more and more vocabulary using this system you will get faster and faster at bringing it
to your instrument. Eventually, when your ear/body connection is strong enough it will be a near
instant experience.
Step 8: Go Back and Forth as Needed
This is not always a nice, neat linear process. You can feel free to go back and forth between
listening, singing and playing as you need to.
Step 9: Move towards Mastery
Continue to practice, moving back and forth as needed, until you can easily perform, inner hear and
sing the phrase with the same ease that you can sing happy birthday. If you struggle hearing it,
singing it or playing it then youre simply not done. This is exactly where the Power Practice Paradigm
comes in. You find the next step - maybe the first three notes of the line. You practice hearing,
singing and playing it until its easy. Then push on to the very NEXT step.
Step 10: Make It Your Own
Once youve achieved mastery over this small piece of vocabulary, in other words you can play it
easily and without thinking, experiment with it and make it into your own vocabulary.
Play it backwards, invert it, chop off notes or play around with the rhythms.
Use it as source material to improvise on. Stay very close to the original at first, changing just one
note here or there. Play around and see what you can find. It wont all sound good. But youll find
some gems in there.
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
24
25
And ya know what; the work in the shed is part of what makes being a jazz musician a noble pursuit.
Its what gives your music value and depth at the end of the day.
But that time in the practice room doesnt have to be a frustrating struggle.
P.S. Shoot me an email and let me know what you think. Id love to hear about how you practice or
how you put these Breakthrough Practice concepts to work in the practice room.
P.P.S. If you can see the value in these concepts and ideas then youd probably really dig The Jazz
Practice Blueprint. In fact what youve just finished reading is just a small fraction of the practice tips,
tricks and strategies you get with the Jazz Practice Blueprint. You can find out all about it here:
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
http://learnjazzfaster.com/jazzpracticeblueprint
26