Category Archives: Practicing Saxophone

You’ll Never “Waste” Time Practicing As Long As You Are Doing This

As an Alexander Technique teacher who is also a dedicated musician, one of the professional roles that I enjoy most is that of a practice coach. I get immense satisfaction (and joy!) in helping musicians discover and implement new ways to optimize their practice time and efforts.

Some of the musicians I coach come to me with considerable consternation about how much time they’ve “wasted” practicing in misdirected and inefficient ways. While my aim is to help them become more constructively directed and efficient, I have to be very clear from the start that they’ve most likely never wasted any of their practice time.

You see, learning to practice wisely and efficiently is not a straight line. It’s a process that unfolds over time through exploration and reflection. It goes without saying that sometimes you are going to work on things in practice that just don’t yield the results you are hoping for.

Or that you’re sometimes even going to work on things that make things worse, rather than better.

Or in a better case scenario, you’re going to work on things that actually do ultimately help you, but just not in the most direct and efficient way. (This is the category that many of my clients fall into.) There’s a lot of “two steps forward, one step back” in this case.

One of the main reasons you would probably seek out a great teacher of your instrument is to learn how to optimize practice efforts. To avoid the “two steps forward…” phenomenon.

And to be sure, that’s what a highly skilled teacher can help you with.

But with or without the help of a teacher, here’s something you can do, something you can aim for in your attitude, that will make it so that you’re never wasting your time as you practice.

Quite simply:

Whatever you practice, do with genuine curiosity and inquiry.

You might be thinking after reading that, “Well, yes, of course! Obviously!” But you might be surprised at how easy it is to lose either or both of these qualities when practicing.

In fact, one of the most insidious ways you can lose these qualities is when you’re practicing is when you’re working on something that you are 100% certain are practicing “correctly”.

Musicians too often go into “auto pilot” mode when working on basic things such as holding long tones, or practicing technical exercises. “As long as I’m going through the ‘physical’ process of practicing this, I’m on the right track with it.”

Yet these are the very types of activities that can be improved upon the most with more dynamic curiosity and inquiry.

As I’ve stated in many of my other posts, the quality of anything you practice is directly proportional to the quality of attention you bring to it as you practice.

So rather than looking at the “absolute best” way you can practice something, ask yourself this question instead:

“How can I optimize my experience with what I’m practicing right now, right in this practice session, right in this moment?”

This question can help you to form to other types of questions: “Why’ questions, and “what if” questions.

“Why do I practice this at this tempo?” Why do I practice these arpeggio patterns in this particular sequence?” “Why do I raise/tense my shoulders when I play into the upper register?” etc.

And,

“What if I practice this at a tempo that is more manageable (or challenging, as the case may call for)?” What if I practice these patterns in a different sequence today, so maybe I can learn something new about them?” “What would happen if I didn’t raise/tense my shoulders as I play into the upper register?”, etc.

It’s not about finding the “right” answer to these questions as much as it is inquiring in a genuinely curious way. As long as you keep asking questions, you’ll keep finding greater efficiency, ease and satisfaction when practicing.

And if you seem to be getting stuck in your progress in working on something, whether in the moment, or over time, you can ask yourself these three simple questions in order to help you clarify your intentions and optimize your efforts:

1.“What is it that I want?” (Your intentions about what you would like to happen, about what you’d like to be able to do on your instrument. Make this as specific and lucid as possible!)

2.“What seems to stopping me from getting what I want?” (Identify the problem. Is it simply needing more time? Is it something that you’re doing with your body that is taking you away from your skill and coordination? Is it your attitude? Keep asking/experimenting until the answers emerge.)

3.“What do I need to do differently?” (This is where you take action. Change course, strategize, reflect, assess, redirect efforts, etc.)

Bear in mind that these questions (like the other questions I mentioned earlier) are meant to be dynamic and flexible. And what keeps them that way is your passion and intellect.

So don’t feel like you’ve wasted an afternoon in practice trying something completely new, no matter how shaky the results are. As long as you’re curious and inquisitive, you’re never wasting your time. Just redirect your efforts and continue to go on from there. Refinement, not perfection.

Don’t Overlook This Important Element For a Satisfying Musical Life

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Perseverance, discipline, passion, courage and faithfulness are qualities that every serious musician needs in order to achieve any kind of success (both/either commercial and/or artistic).

In this rapidly changing world, where the perceived value of artistic efforts in general is in a constant state of flux, I find it remarkable that there are so many marvelously talented, inspired, skilled and driven musicians.

With the advent of the internet and digital recording technology, along with the ever-changing cultures at music schools and in professional ensembles, the skill standards in musical performance seem dauntingly high.

No question in my mind that musicians are working as hard as ever pursuing excellence in their art and craft. In many genres of music, the precision with which many musicians play these days is at its peak.

And there are loads of great, highly useful resources (teachers/mentors, articles, DVDs, books, online subscriptions, etc.) available these days to help the serious musician improve and grow in order to meet the demands of today’s professional musical standards.

But there is one essential element that is rarely mentioned for succeeding in this fast-paced musical world we live in:

Sustainability.

Put simply, sustainability is having the capacity to continue doing what you love (playing music!), in a healthful and ultimately satisfying way.

Many of the musicians who seek my help as an Alexander Technique teacher do so, in large part, because of a particular issue of sustainability. Specifically, playing music for them has become uncomfortable, painful and in some cases, even injurious.

They might already be playing quite well (several of my clients are top-shelf performers in either classical, commercial or jazz music), but realize that they need to change something in themselves if they are to sustain the careers they so love.

Helping them to discover how to play with less strain, with less misdirected effort, with greater ease, balance and flexibility, is one of my deepest satisfactions.

But it is not uncommon for my clients, during the course of their work with me, to confront other aspects of sustainability.

For example, I have worked with professional symphonic musicians who’ve become so stressed out by the demands for “absolute precision” in their performances, that, even if they can deliver such “precision” (and many can!), they begin to lose the joy of what brought them to play music in the first place.

Their work experience is one of considerable worry, and even fear. This not only negatively impacts their musical performance experiences, but also deeply affects the quality of their lives in general.

Some time back, I gave Alexander Technique lessons to a highly accomplished brass player (principal player in a world-class orchestra) who related to me how stressful the entire day would be of whichever concert that he was playing.

He would sometimes have to “disconnect” from his family, isolating himself the entire day so that he could “focus” completely on the task at hand. (And keep in mind that he was playing hundreds of concerts per year!)

His “performance day” stories made me feel deeply sad. Though I envied his skill and accomplishments, I certainly did not envy the lifestyle of his “success”.

He also told me that his case was not at all unusual, and had loads of stories of his colleague’s “rituals” and “phobias” before concerts. He mentioned how their entire lives were in constant subjugation of their careers.

In essence, that kind of lifestyle was becoming more and more unsatisfactory, and ultimately, unsustainable for him and many of his colleagues. Lots of burn out, injuries, divorces, career changes and worse, for some of these folks, unfortunately.

And there are other issues of sustainability that musicians of varying levels of skill and success face.

Many serious amateur musicians, for example, are in a constant state of dissatisfaction with their practice efforts.

Either they’re frustrated because a lack of sufficient practice time keeps them too far from realizing their desires and potential, or that even when they do get enough practice, they keep running into the same, seemingly impossible hurdles in improving their skills.

A good amount musicians that have sought my help have done so because no matter how “hard” they practice, they can’t seem to improve. This becomes an unsustainable situation. Unless these musicians can learn to change what they do, to redirect their strategy and effort in a more constructive way, they will eventually stop playing.

As human beings, we are built to deal with adversity and disappointment, as long as there is meaning in this adversity and disappointment. But when we try, try, try, and get no discernible improvement, we begin to lose meaning.

And when we lose meaning, we eventually stop trying.

So it’s not enough just to practice that much “harder” (or longer), or even to find the best and latest exercises and techniques to keep you improving and meeting the demands of your profession and/or avocation. To stay in it for the long haul, your efforts, your passion…must be sustainable.

Here are some of the qualities of a sustainable musical life:

Physical efficiency and ease. Yes ease. If every day that you practice feels like running a marathon, you’re likely to encounter chronic pain and possibly even injury. Learn to cultivate “effortless effort” (a good Alexander Technique teacher can really help a lot with this!) Staying healthy (physically and emotionally) is of prime importance!
Artistic satisfaction. Yes, it’s okay to always want more, but learn to enjoy what is already there, what you already have. It’s okay to be happy with your efforts. Plus, you should be playing the kind of music that brings you satisfaction. It doesn’t have to be your dream gig, but you have to find pleasure in doing it, if you’re to continue.
A balanced family/social life. Remember that you are a human being first. It is deeply wired into your brain and body to connect with those you love. Don’t let your musical life threaten your life as a human being. If you’re spending all your time practicing…well, you know that’s less than ideal, to say the least.
A reasonably comfortable lifestyle. None of us are in it for the money. But if your professional life as a musician is keeping you in oppressive poverty, you might want to rethink a few things. You don’t have to be rich, but having a comfortable and safe home, with access to good food and health care, is essential for sustaining your efforts.
Self-esteem. Knowing that you are being kind to yourself, that you are working on your music from a place of love (instead of fear), that you can accept the ups and downs of your artistic, professional and personal lives, and that you truly do love yourself, is probably the quality that will help you find the other for items mentioned above.

So continue to work hard, continue to strive, but always find meaning in what you do. Keep cultivating hope. Keep on keepin’ on!

A Common Attitude That Too Often Interferes With Optimal Practice

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The quality of your music practice is directly related to the quality of your consciousness when practicing.

Put simply, the way in which you pay attention as you practice significantly impacts the success of your efforts. Perhaps more than you realize. Indeed, practice is not merely a “physical” act, but a “whole person” endeavor.

Whenever I’m coaching musicians who’ve come to me for help because of frustration with their practice effort/strategy, I nearly always hear this simple five-word phrase within the first minute of their description of their problem:

“I should be able to…”

“I should be able to attack the notes in the lower register with the same consistency as the other registers.”

“I should be able to play these scale patterns at a much faster tempo than I am currently able.”

“I should be able to memorize new music much more quickly than I normally do.”

And so on.

And of course, nearly all of the “I should be able to…” assertions are accompanied by something like this:

“…especially for how long I’ve been working at it.”

So why is this a problem? After all, should you not aim precisely for what you want when you practice? Should you not have high standards?

Well of course you should! On both accounts!

So what’s the potential problem then?

In the simplest sense it’s this:

“I should be able to” places you immediately into the realm of expectation, too often taking you away from the reality what’s actually happening in the present moment.

This phenomenon leads to two closely related negative outcomes:

1 Misdirected effort.

2 Frustration.

Misdirected effort, because when you get stuck on “I should be able to do this”, you limit yourself to discerning what’s already there. In essence, you lose your entry point into where and how you need to direct your practice efforts.

For example, let’s say that yesterday you were able to play this particular piece at quarter note equals 176 bpm on the metronome, but today you can’t get anywhere near that tempo without the whole thing falling apart.

What should you do?

Well, more often than not, if you insist upon continuing the tempo at which you can’t play it, you just end up cultivating imprecision. You end up engaging in an activity that is just outside of your reach.

Both skill and conception get “approximated”, as the great pianist, Bill Evans would say. (“Garbage in, garbage out”, as my brother Ed, a highly skilled cabinet maker, would say.)

And of course this obviously leads to frustration, both in the short-run and in the long-run. (“But I’m working so hard to improve!”)

But if you first acknowledge what is already there, taking note of what you can already do (or can’t do), you discover for yourself this ever essential entry point.

And from this entry point you can also begin to examine your current conditions and explore and ultimately discern why you’re perhaps not able to do today what you could do yesterday. You can ask yourself questions:

“How am I perceiving time/rhythm today?”

“How am using my body? Am I free and mobile, or rather rigid and planted? Where am I holding on too much?”

“Where is my attention going? Is it flexible and dynamic, or too narrowly focused on one small part of the process (or on one part of my body, at the expense of neglecting the whole)?”

“How clearly am I conceiving of/imagining the dynamic nature of the music itself?”

And so on…

If you give yourself time and attention to notice, you’ll usually find where things are going amiss. Then you can ask this very constructive question:

“Where would I like to place my attention so that I can increase my odds of a better outcome?”

This question brings both your consciousness and your efforts back into the present moment, and back on track for optimal practice.

And from there you can aim for doing the best you can do in the moment, the best you can do in that practice session. You can bring things back within your reach.

In a broader sense this kind of shift in attitude can also help you to build a more constructive overall practice process and strategy that you can continue to develop for the rest of your life.

F.M. Alexander, the founder of the Alexander Technique described this attitude of “I should be able to” as part of an “end-gaining” process.

When you “end-gain”, you focus only on the desired result, without sufficient consideration to whether your efforts (the quality of process you use to pursue your result) are best suited to actually achieve the result.

Alexander encouraged us to give the “quality of process” (something he described as the “means-whereby”) top priority in pursuing our results.

In fact, when talking about experiencing a desired outcome in any activity, Alexander said:

The experience you want is in the process of getting it. If you have something, give it up. Getting it, not having it, is what you want.

“Getting it, not having it…” is what I’m after whenever I practice. And that’s why whenever I’m having a “bad” day practicing (more specifically, when I’m playing below my normal abilities), I welcome the experience. Seriously.

“Bad days” are a golden opportunity to learn more about myself, and to learn to trust and rely upon my process.

This leads to both continued growth and confidence as a musician.

So how about replacing “I should be able to”, with:

“I’d like to be able to”,

and,

“I think I can find a way to”

and,

“I believe in my ability to redirect my attention and efforts to be able to.”

So aim high. Every day. But be kind to yourself and find that optimal entry point in everything you practice. In my experience both as teacher and as student, I believe this shift in attitude can empower you to do miraculous things!

New Service: Introducing “Rhythm Coach”

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I’m pleased to announce that I’m now offering an educational service specifically dedicated to addressing and improving issues related to time, rhythm and feel.

I call it Rhythm Coach, and it represents the years of study, exploration and teaching experience I’ve acquired in helping musicians (including myself!) of all ability levels refine their sense of time, as well as cultivate rhythmic skills that significantly improve general musicianship, skill and coordination.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know that I’ve written a good amount of articles about time and rhythm. (I’ve even composed two e-books dedicated specifically toward improving both.) Anything related to time (including meter, pulse, feel, groove, etc.) and how we react to time (our skill/coordination) is a topic of endless fascination for me.

Over the past several years I’ve had a good number of musicians who have sought my help as an Alexander Technique teacher specifically because of problems they were experiencing with loss of skill and coordination (for example, problems associated with tremors, focal dystonia, injuries, health issues, etc; and sometimes just an inexplicable loss of skill).

Skill/coordination and time are so inextricably linked for a musician, that you can’t effectively address one without the other.

All the musicians I’ve encountered that have come my way seeking help with an unresolved skill/coordination problem (“unresolved” here meaning the musician has been working to improve it to no avail) also have come to me with unresolved issues with time and rhythm.

As a saxophonist successfully managing focal dystonia, I myself have had to spend a good amount of time reclaiming my playing skills. I did this, in part, by going deeply into working purposefully and methodically on my perception of time, as well as how my perception of time informs my coordination (my “reaction”). The work I’ve done on myself has yielded nearly miraculous results. (If you’re familiar with focal dystonia, you’ll know what I mean by “miraculous”!)

Besides helping me regain my saxophone playing skills, this practice has also been immensely (and somewhat unexpectedly) beneficial for me as both an improviser and as an ensemble musician. So I’d like to share my skills and experience with you!

In Rhythm Coach, you’ll get one-on-one help in identifying and effectively addressing any challenges specific to you. I’ll help you customize your practice routine by giving you notated exercises, as well as movement and thought explorations for you to measurably improve and gain confidence.

All of my work for Rhythm Coach is informed by continuous study (cognitive science, neuropsychology, etc.) and mindful inquiry, and is a continually growing, highly dynamic body of work.

So, no matter your current ability as a musician, if you’d like to improve your sense of time, groove, feel…or just expand your rhythmic skills in a methodical and comprehensive way (especially as an improvising musician), please consider Rhythm Coach! I’d be honored and thrilled to help you!

Optimizing Resonance: You and Your Instrument

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Resonance (in physics): The reinforcement or prolongation of sound by reflection from a surface or by the synchronous vibration of a neighboring object.

-The Oxford Dictionary of the English Language

Whether playing pianissimo, or fortissimo (or anything in between), an optimally resonant sound is complex and colorful, as well as nimble and flexible. When your instrument is resonating optimally, you have better technique, better intonation, and a wider dynamic and expressive range.

And whether you’re improvising or playing interpretive music, optimum resonance allows you to most readily access your creativity. Nothing gets in your way.

In a word, optimum resonance yields satisfaction.

There are lots of musical instrument makers, as well as manufacturers of musical equipment (such as saxophone mouthpieces, violin bows, etc.) that design and market their products with optimum resonance in mind. (Or, at least with their conception of what that means!)

And there are no shortage of conversations between musicians about how a particular instrument or piece of equipment can impact resonance (for better or worse) .

Virtually all pedagogical methods (for any instrument) that address resonance take into account the effect of the player’s actions upon the resonance of the instrument.

And of course this makes sense. Because, truth be told, when you are playing your instrument, you become a part of that instrument. (I don’t mean this just metaphorically, but also, physically.)

But let’s start with looking at equipment.

For an instrument (or other piece of equipment) to vibrate or resonate freely, its material and/or parts need to be able to move freely in response to the energies exerted upon them (by you!) This ability to “move freely” is the “synchronous vibration” part of the definition above.

With respect to my saxophone equipment, for example, playing reeds that don’t vibrate freely and evenly interfere with my ability to get a balanced, resonant sound. (Same with a ligature that doesn’t allow the reed to vibrate optimally.)

Non-responsive reeds and poorly designed ligatures have one thing in common: they don’t allow for the movement necessary for optimal resonance.

So of course it makes sense to seek out, experiment with, and use, the kind of equipment that creates the best conditions for optimal resonance.

Now let’s look at ourselves.

One thing that many musicians don’t take fully into account is the fact that, not only do they need to resonate their instrument, but also, they need to allow the instrument to resonate them.

(Again, I’m not just speaking metaphorically here.)

It is this “exchange of energy” between the user and the instrument that has a profound impact upon the quality of resonance.

You’ll notice I said “exchange of energy”. That’s a fairly apt description of what’s happening when you play your instrument.

When playing saxophone, I’m sending energy by moving an airstream into the instrument. That focused air stream has an effect upon the instrument, for sure.

But that effect comes right back to me instantaneously. Without going too far into the acoustics of playing saxophone, suffice it to say that energy is returning to me (specifically, to my oral cavity) from the saxophone.

This act we call “voicing” in playing wind instruments (how we shape our oral cavity/air stream) is in response to that energy returning to us from the instrument itself.

So in a sense, the instrument is resonating us. It’s a two-way street, so to speak.

In playing wind instruments, voicing problems are a leading cause of problems with resonance (including response and intonation).

If I’m not allowing the optimal movements in my voicing mechanisms, I’m going to have less than an optimally resonant sound.

So of course, if my jaw is clenched, or my soft palate is collapsed (or overly rigid), I won’t get the resonance I desire, in part, because I’m not resonating optimally.

But there’s more to it than just what’s going on inside my mouth. Our human design works as an integrated whole.

So yes, the components of my oral cavity (soft palate, tongue, jaw, nasal cavity, etc.) need to be free to move.

But their freedom is largely dependent upon the relative freedom of my head/neck relationship. If I’m compressing my head downward into my neck (or holding it too rigidly upward), my voicing components are not going to be free to move optimally.

And that head/neck relationship both impacts, and is impacted by, what I’m doing with my ribs, torso muscles, legs, arms….everything.

So if my knees are locked, for example, that will negatively affect the functioning of my “voicing mechanisms”. Will I still be able to get a decent, resonant sound?

Yes, most likely. Just not as optimally resonant as it could be. It’s simple physics.

And even if you don’t play a wind instrument, you are still part of this “partnership of resonance”, as I sometimes describe it to my students.

What you do with yourself as you hold and play your violin, for example, has a measurable impact on the quality of your sound. Just as your strings and bow need to have just the right amount of tension to produce your best sound, so does your body.

This is where the Alexander Technique (the teaching/learning tool that I use to help myself and other musicians) is so effective and practical.

The Alexander Technique helps you to become aware of some of the habits of movement and posture that you bring into your playing (often unconsciously) that interfere with your ability to move freely. The habits that interfere with your resonance.

The next time you practice, see if you can notice where you might be blocking the resonance within yourself. Start by noticing the relative freedom (or lack of) between your head and neck (no matter what instrument you play), and go from there:

Are you shoulders, arms and hands freely mobile and spacious?

Are your ribs moving freely and fluidly as you breathe? (again, no matter what instrument you play!)

How are you doing in your hips/pelvis?

How about your knees?

Are you well-connected to the ground? (allowing your weight to disperse evenly as you organize yourself lightly upward)

Take notice of how you “use” yourself when playing. Observe your habits. Aim at facilitating the “synchronous vibration of a neighboring object”, and enjoy the difference!