100 Days of Practice

[JeffJetton]

Violinist Hilary Hahn started this thing a few years ago where she committed to practicing 100 days in a row, documenting her practice on Instagram with the hashtag #100daysofpractice. It was quite a success and got a lot of other folks joining in and doing the same.

She's repeated it a few times since and just started another round on January 1st. As she says in her post, "Practice is a universal project, though it often feels solitary. At the end of the day, it is the one sure thing that brings all musicians together in spirit."

Anyway, I thought I'd give it a go myself this time. I don't plan on Instagramming every day. Just now and again. But I do hope to at least get a wee bit of practice daily. (I'll have to be sure to take it easy though... the last time I kept a daily practice streak going, certain parts of my body eventually rebelled against it!)

So c'mon folks, who's with me?!?!?!? ?

 

[JeffJetton]

My first post on the matter...

 

[Tom]

I'm in Jeff! I'm setting it up a little different though, as there are days that I can't (or don't) play for one reason or another. Plus I don't think I will post them. My goal is to average an hour per day, on a weekly basis, starting the first full week of January (next week). My idea is to do a "virtual, youtube" lunchtime show on a regular basis, and offer it to the places where I used to play monthly, before covid.

 

[JeffJetton]

Sounds like a plan, Tom!

 

[losthobos]

I'm in...... Gonna give a go at 100 days purely on blues....
Key of C or F so should open up all options of fingerings on the CBA...
Will work only within usual 12 bar structure but hope to approach with the mind of introducing as many voicings, bass lines, substutions and voice leadings as i can open my mind enough to discover...
100 days may not be enough.... But i hope i can keep the focus as unfortunately melodys have nasty habits of distracting me..... Too many lovely tunes and not enough days.
Thanks for the kick up the arse..
I'll post someting in about 50 days whixh should roughly be about my 57th birthday...

 

[JerryPH]

So c'mon folks, who's with me?!?!?!? ?

In spirit, I'd **love** to be able to do this, but I still work 10-12 hours a day, 5-6 days a week, and if I can find the will and time to do 15 minutes once a week, thats a lot. I think people here know me well enough that if I say I participate in something, that I pretty much always do.

Would a "it's January 3rd, and I will promise to TRY my best starting today" be worth anything?

So what is the focus/goal? Is it strictly to practice an exercise and put in like what, 30-60 min per day 7-days a week for 100 days?

 

[Tom]

You the man, Jerry, totally acceptable. I think the goal here is consistent practice, the when rather than the what. That is, to practice what is important for you. I, for example am (as always) working on expanding my repertoire.

 

[JerryPH]

Day 1... only 15 minutes (roughly, could have been 20) and 15 minutes to make and upload the video... lol It's working already... that's 15 minutes more playing time than I would have had without this post!

I'm not going to post each day, but will be truthful about participation.

 

[Tom]

Omg, what a TRAGEDY! So, I've been playing backwards my whole career and NOBODY TOLD ME!!! (Hence the new practice routine.)

So, I started posting on this forum for about 8 years. (And my first posts were predictably wierd, if I do say so myself in retrospect ?) Before that I posted on that other forum which is no longer ongoing. So to make a round number, I've probably been playing a good 10 years (or so). (And I still suck. ??)

Like most people (probably) I taught myself to play the melody with the left side of my right hand leading, thumb low through little finger. NOBODY ever told me I should play the melody with the right side of my hand so I could play harmony ("chording"). Actually, that's not quite accurate. My best accordion playing partner always told me that eventually I would develop chording, but he never explained HOW.

So, and I digress as usual. I was listening to this video on how to play the concertina. Why, you ask? Never mind, it will eventually be known.

Anyway, he said (and I paraphrase), "(after you get a few notes down) You go into the closet and you practice playing your melody notes with harmony notes over and over. And if you just play melody notes you might as well just stay in the closet because no one will want to hear you."

Wow was that not a revelation or what? Why didn't anyone ever tell me this 10 years ago? Including the teacher I took a few lessons from? (Who shall remain nameless.)

So, now, 10 years later, I have to pretty much START ALL OVER, playing the melody with the other side of my hand. Omg, it's almost too much for my poor, tired old brain to comprenend. But I can do it! In fact, what else do I have to do? I can't go to the bars, volunteer my music, or even go see my friends. I hope I get this chording thing down before this covid ends.

So, my friends, if you are a beginner, DO NOT learn to play the melody starting from your thumb side!!!! Get your hand in a chord position NOW and play from the right (pun intended) side. Do not pass GO, do not collect $200.

Ok. Rant over, you can continue to do what you were doing before I so boldly interrupted.....

 

[JeffJetton]

So what is the focus/goal? Is it strictly to practice an exercise and put in like what, 30-60 min per day 7-days a week for 100 days?

Define it how you wish. Not a lot of strict rules, from what I gather. I believe the original intent is to practice something/somehow/someway on 100 consecutive days. But hey... if your hashtag is more like #15minutesofpracticeonceaweek then that's still a commitment to improvement, which seems to squarely in the spirit of things.

Heck, yesterday I didn't wind up picking up my accordion at all. But I did spend some time transcribing an accordion arrangement from a YouTube video, so I'm counting that as "practice".

 

[JeffJetton]

Day 1... only 15 minutes (roughly, could have been 20) and 15 minutes to make and upload the video... lol It's working already... that's 15 minutes more playing time than I would have had without this post!

Digging this, Jerry! I love the idea of accompanying the Hanon (or "Speed Drill" for all the Palmer-Hughesers out there) in the RH with a matching scale in the LH.

 

[JerryPH]

Digging this, Jerry! I love the idea of accompanying the Hanon (or "Speed Drill" for all the Palmer-Hughesers out there) in the RH with a matching scale in the LH.

Eventually I plan to integrate Free Bass practice in there... somehow... lol

 

[JeffJetton]

Working on a mystery piece...

 

[Tom]

Nope, don't recognize it, you're looking good! So far so good for my new style practicing. Hanging in there, liking the fuller sounding chording.

 

[JeffJetton]

Well, since the main point here is to be transparent about the practice process, I'm not shy about posting my clams...

 

[Tom]

Looking good, Jeff, that's a tough looking piece....

 

[losthobos]

I'm trying to keep breathing slipping between bebop and mixolydion scales bumping to enclosures..... Boom says my brain but coming together 16 days in... Gotta say comping shell voicings coming a lot sweeter and easier....
And only been distracted by two melofys so far.... ?

 

[JeffJetton]

Looking good, Jeff, that's a tough looking piece....

Thanks! I also posted a "better" attempt that has the whole tune, FWIW.

For me, the ornamentation is the trickiest. I don't think I'll be mistaken for a native Balkan musician any time soon. I listened to a lot of prog rock growing up, so the 7/8 time signature is less of a struggle.

Although I've also been working on a Bulgarian piece in 11/8 from the same book, which is putting up more of a fight.

 

[JeffJetton]

I'm trying to keep breathing slipping between bebop and mixolydion scales bumping to enclosures..... Boom says my brain but coming together 16 days in... Gotta say comping shell voicings coming a lot sweeter and easier....

Nice! Glad to hear about your progress.

Heck, even when the brain "gets it" from a logic/understanding standpoint, the fingers almost always still need a lot more work to catch up so that they can solidly execute it. So your poor brain is going to be sitting there during your practicing, being totally bored and ready to move on to the next thing, while your fingers are like "um, sorry, could you run that last one by me again?"

 

[Tom]

Very impressive, Jeff. I would need a lot more wine!