To Practice or Not to Practice?

[Sonny Jenkins]

The grass is always greener where you water it,,,,,,

[Dave Mudgett]

Of course, practice - practice is good. But I hafta also fertilize too, and for me that involves copious listening and thinking.

Is this a trick question?

[Ian Rae]

I practice
(a) if I feel like it, which is most days
(b) if I have to (learn something for a gig)
but never
(c) just because I think I should

Of course it would be different if I were doing it for a living, but the above régime causes me to improve slowly and have massive fun as I do so

Watering is a good analogy - Dave is right about leaving stuff to sink in, and deciding what to plant next.

Sonny has started one of inconsequential-looking threads that could be with us for a while...

[Steven Schwartz]

I am a 70 year old newbie. I practice because I must. The muscle memory will never develop unless I practice. Doesn't matter if I want to practice or not. I must do it. Sometimes I feel like I'm in 6th grade band again.

[Sonny Jenkins]

Hey,,,I just thought of the analogy and thought I'd throw it out there,,,seems pretty applicable,,,LOL,,,I like the idea of adding fertilizer too.

[Larry Dering]

Don't know about that fertilizer analogy but some people have said my playing has that fertilizer sound. I practice because my memory is loosing ground. Also the reflexes and feel. I guess it's more out of fear than it is learning.

[Fred Treece]

Definitely, every day I’m home.
Obsession.
Driven.
Fanatic.
Lunatic.
Like some Thing is chasing me and will catch me if I dont get better.

[Ian Rae]

I'm okay if I remember my meds

[Erv Niehaus]

"I like that song you were trying to play".
Erv

[Charley Bond]

I'm also a Pool Player & Instructor

I have found learning & practicing, to be a 3 step process.

A. You learn or memorize what you want to do, that can be done modularly.

B You learn how to do what you want to play, that too can be done modularly

C. You practice it, until you can do it easily, without stress. Now it's yours...

[Larry Ball]

The Old Saying “Practice Makes Perfect”...No such thing with this instrument.

This fantastic Instrument makes me want to practice, play and get more from the sounds it can generate to reward you with.

[Sonny Jenkins]

Reece said,,,practice does NOT make perfect,,,,perfect practice make perfect.

[Pete Burak]

It's been hard to stay motivated this last year!
I typically had enough gigs to keep my "chop" up to snuff.
Once Steel Conventions make a comeback...
I love the motivation I feel after returning from a long weekend of watching and listening to guys that are bedder d'n me.

[Joseph Napolitano]

ok

[Pete Burak]

Right on Joseph!
I am from Cranford, NJ.
What resort area are you near?

[Ken Mizell]

Practice makes perfect.. I consider myself to be an intermediate student. I don't play gigs yet. I must practice a lot to get back up to speed (I didn't have a steel for 7 years), then keep at it to progress. I'm presently adding on to about 12-13 years of prior PSG experience, a couple of Jeff Newman seminars, a Buddy Emmons seminar, books, tabs, and work with a teacher. I was close to being able to play with a band, then I had to sell my rig Practice, practice, practice. My earlier note was a little proverb of sorts - Wisdom prevails, and ignorance fails. Think about it.

[Bill C. Buntin]

[quote="Sonny Jenkins"]Reece said,,,practice does NOT make perfect,,,,perfect practice make perfect.[/quote]

My opinion exactly. Many musicians like to rehearse without proper knowledge
Reece had a way of getting to the heart of his students and teaching you the real tools of the trade.

[Fred Treece]

Reece may have said it, but he got the “perfect practice” quote from Vince Lombardi.
A good teacher will teach the principles and concepts of how to practice correctly.

[Jim Pitman]

I recall Ron Wood from the Stones saying the more he practiced the worse he got.

[Bill L. Wilson]

I occasionally fire up the CD player out in my little studio and play along but other than that I practice on the bandstand.

[Steve Spitz]

Not to be a downer, but lately I’ve had a hard time finding the motivation. I do need to practice, but no gigs, and some other major stresses.

I’m not usually a whiner. I’ll get my mind right.

Anyone else feel it’s more challenging these days ?

[Ian Rae]

Steve, I found it hard when there was nothing to practise for even though I was spared other stresses.

I feel as though I've lost a year's improvement, but at least I haven't gone backwards as I feared.

We have some gigs booked for later in the summer and we've starting rehearsing again. I wish the same for you asap.

[Sandy Inglis]

Over the last year or two, I've struggled to be motivated. Recently a member of our band resigned and his replacement made us realise what we can really sound like. I now have renewed motivation (along with regular gigs) and I am frantically brushing up to re-introduce the PSG into the band. We discovered how one member of a band can suppress motivation in the others.
We noticed a chunk of our song list was missing without the PSG and we were always struggling to fill a gig.
I have one week to get back into it!
Sandy

[Steve Spitz]

Our main source (Bourbon St.,French Quarter) is still locked down for live bands. It’s a bit frustrating seeing our neighboring states open.

I need to do less complaining, and more practicing. No gigs is a poor excuse not to do the work. I’m going to get back in the saddle.

[Joe Cook]

That's the spirit, Steve! I don't have any gigs lined up now, but we started rehearsing last week. The gigs may come back around? Who knows. We're having fun but everyone is rusty after a year off. I HAVE to practice everyday for at least an hour.