This is sage advice but not so easy to follow. As a nouveau jazzer, I find myself thinking about everything too much. I get pages of Riley flashing through my head mid-performance. I’m playing in a restaurant so I am thinking about keeping the volume down and thinking about whether the next thing I do will be too loud. I think about tensions arising in different body parts, my posture, what drum-striking implements I need in the next song. I… Read More »Don’t Think!
Establishing Good Practice Habits as a Professional Musician One of the most difficult duties of a professional, freelance musician, is finding time to practice. Yet practicing should be at the heart of the musician?s daily routine. Much like a professional athlete needs to constantly maintain their level of fitness, so must musicians keep their skills sharp. Yet unlike an athlete, musicians? skills can continually improve over decades before peaking, making for a long, fruitful career. It?s just a matter of… Read More »A great post on establishing good practice habits from musicianwages.com