Giant (Mis)Steps

Are we PLAYING music or are we PRACTICING music?

Giant (Mis)Steps

What's the difference between playing jazz and practicing jazz?

This is the week of John Coltrane’s birthday so every year at this time I reflect on his music and what it means to both musicians and non-musicians. Coltrane was a complete artist—meaning he not only played the saxophone at an astounding level but he also was a composer, bandleader, and someone who was so transcendent as an artist that it has had lasting affects on everyone still today.

There have been multiple documentaries with interviews of Jimmy Heath talking about how much John Coltrane practiced.

Once when I taught at another university, Jimmy Heath was a guest artist. He looked me straight in the eye and asked "why does everyone love John Coltrane so much? Why don't they celebrate Sonny Rollins, Stan Getz, Dexter Gordon, Al Cohn...." Jimmy Heath then put about five tunes on the music stand and one was his tune that he wrote in tribute to John Coltrane! Coltrane clearly is a towering figure in our music. What strikes me even more than Jimmy Heath talking about the number of hours that Coltrane practiced is that Heath stated in one of his interviews that Coltrane self-assessed his playing and zeroed in on his deficiencies in practice sessions. To me, this is a valuable lesson that we can take from Coltrane. There are students of the music that just simply do not practice enough and there are a great number of students that spend many hours on the instrument and are not getting the returns that are possible with more efficient practice.

HAVING FUN or HAVING A PLAN?

I do recommend to all students that they spend at least 30 minutes every day simply having fun with their music. If musicians are not having fun, no one is going to enjoy hearing their music. That said, it is very important to have a timer, a metronome, and a plan of attack. Some teachers recommend a journal with dates, lists of things practiced, metronome markings, etc. What I recommend is a simple list of things that have to be practiced every day. These could include:

• Transcriptions

• Repertoire

• Licks in 12 keys

• Piano practice (voicings, repertoire)

• Technique practice

• Other assignments (concertos, studies, etc.)

• Material for rehearsals

• Material for gigs

• Flute/Clarinet for saxophonists

• Vibes/piano for drummers

FREE BLOWING OR PLAYING WITH A METRONOME?

If you’re not using a metronome, then you’re not practicing. Metronome is a great way to gauge your progress in either technique or knowing a piece of repertoire. Many students know this, but using a metronome on beats two and four or just using a metronome on beat one are common. It is possible to use apps like DrumGenius or iReal as metronomes as well. Log the practice tempos and gauge daily and weekly progress.

JAMMIN’ ON TUNES OR LEARNING NEW REPERTOIRE?

If we don’t know tunes, then we have no common ground with other musicians. This includes drummers, who need to know forms and hits for tunes. The first question that someone asks a jam session or a standards gig is, “what tune do you want to play?” It is really important to constantly be expanding the list of tunes that you know and can perform without lead sheets.

These are just a few things that students need to be reminded when on their journey. Which one of our students will be the next John Coltrane?