A question I receive quite often is, “How do I get better?”
As a musician, that’s the million dollar question, isn’t it? How do we improve? How do we grow in mastery – building an intuitive relationship with our instruments?
Because many musicians start. They sign up for lessons. They go to music school. They buy an instrument. But far too many quit or never get started in the first place.
What’s the secret?
It’s all about practice, right? Well, sort of. Studies have shown that it needs to be the right kind of practice. As we all know (maybe from experience), it’s possible to take piano lessons for 15 years and not really know how to play the piano.
Surprisingly, a college degree isn’t enough, either. If that was the case, every student graduating from music school with a Bachelor’s degree in music performance would be able to “make it” in the music business. Or automatically be a great musician.
That’s because simply showing up and putting in the time won’t make you great. There’s an often neglected aspect to music development that we don’t talk about much. What is it?
It’s love. In particular, it’s learning to love the grind. Appreciating the boredom. If you find no joy in the process, you won’t have the patience it takes to become great.
Let me speak to music educators for a moment: Are we spending too much time teaching technique and not enough time inspiring students to love? To love their instrument, to love music, to love the painful journey of learning?
[bctt tweet=”Are we spending too much time teaching technique but not inspiring students to love learning?” username=”@dsantistevan”]
Loving the Pain
Let’s face it: Music isn’t always a glorious experience. It takes years and years of methodical, disciplined, boring practice to get really good. And by “really good” I mean a place where your music is moving – where it makes others feel something.
If you’re not willing to enjoy the mundane, boring routine of learning an instrument, it’s not likely you’ll succeed.
But here’s the catch: It doesn’t have to take years and years. I’ve seen musicians who’ve been playing for 2 years who are way better than those who have been playing for 10. What’s the difference? And how do you put yourself on the trajectory of the 2 year player over the 10 year player?
3 Tips for Building Longevity as a Musician
Here’s my advice:
1.Play Somewhere – Lessons aren’t enough. Practice isn’t enough. You need the pressure and responsibility of playing somewhere live in order to grow. That’s what I love about leading a worship team. I have the responsibility and privilege of seeing young people grow into great musicians because of the experience and feedback they’re receiving. Playing somewhere (especially a local church) is an opportunity to rub shoulders with musicians who are better than you. It forces you to practice and gives you a deadline – a high stakes outlet beyond the confines of a practice room and a dream.
2. Take Ownership – This may sound silly, but a lot of musicians don’t take ownership of their craft. You simply can’t rely on teachers and private lessons. Teachers fulfill an important role when you have a personal goal – a vision that you’re striving for. Own your own development. Become a raging nerd on your instrument. Study YouTube videos, dissect what your favorite musicians are doing, experiment, invest in new gear, and take responsibility for your own growth.
[bctt tweet=”If you find no joy in the process, you won’t have the patience it takes to become great.” username=”@dsantistevan”]
3. Focus on Feel – Don’t just learn songs, parts, or even just scales. It’s one thing to know your major scales on piano or guitar. It’s another to make them feel good. It’s one thing to have perfect pitch and know all the lyrics. It’s another to have a vocal tone that is honest and a passion that moves listeners to tears. Great musicians use the language of music and theory to produce emotion. The musical know-how is only half the battle. So spend time on how you press, pluck, or interpret notes.
I’d love to hear from you.
What are the necessities of growing as a musician? What would you add (or subtract) from the list? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
FYI, for those of you who want to grow in the skill of playing keys for worship, check out our online course Learn Worship Keys – over 30 training videos and interviews in an online accelerated learning format. Sign up below for a few free videos:
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Great article! I think Beethoven said “To play a wrong note is insignificant. To play without passion is inexcusable”.
Yes! Love this.
Wow…this is something that is never talked about, but so true. I have played with several musicians who are extremely skilled, have degrees, but yet can’t ‘feel’ the music. Nothing distracts from worship more than the musician who isn’t paying attention to the ‘feel’ of the service (where it is going, what’s coming next, coming alongside the Holy Spirit).
Sometimes you just have to put theory on the back-burner and let music happen.
Yes, it’s important that teachers teach feel and not just theory. Of course, both working together is ideal 🙂
Thank you for reminding me why I love the music and being a worship leader. Definitely the encouragement I needed to hear as I have been struggling with this for a while as a classical musician as well as a worship leader. Thank you so much. As one of my greatest music teachers once told me: “A monkey can be taught to play notes and rhythms, but a real musician can preform the emotion”. Thank you for reminding me to teach passion and emotion as well as lyrics and chords, and for reminding me that there is more to music than just perfection. Thank you so much.
Any tips for teaching “emotion”? I’m always up for learning new tactics.
I work with my piano students to discover what the song they are studying is saying….does it tell a story? If so, how can you use music techniques (articulations, dynamics, etc.) to tell the story to the audience since you can’t use words? What is happening in a particular section of the story …. is there action or is it quiet and relaxed? What can you do on your instrument communicate what is going on? If there’s no story that you can determine, what is the feeling you think the song is expressing? Have you ever felt like that? Even young students can relate to deep emotions running the gamut of sadness to joy, even in their limited 7- or 8-year-old perspective on life. They might have lost a favorite toy, which to them can equate to the depth of sadness of an adult’s lost love. I find if you add this type of thinking early, it will continue as they grow in musical ability and emotional maturity.
Agree on all points. Thanks for the reminder. Definitely worth sharing!
Indeed, when you play with love, heart and soul follow. I think it’s very important to understand what the composer wants to convey in the music. A musician may be able to play all the notes perfectly but only when understanding the music’s message, thereby, playing it with heart and soul, can the playing really be “perfect”.
Love this, Millie!
This is a must read article to all musician who wants to be best of their instrument!
Your comments are wise, very very true and inspiring! I couldn’t agree more with everything you have said and I would implore every musician to play in a community group of some kind just to prove they can. Few musicians make it as soloists and even they have to learn to play with an accompanist, so playing a part rather than the whole is a great step and easier as it removes some of the pressure.
Great and inspiring article, thanks for the reminder!
Excellent article, and so very true. Mechanics can be taught, but as my mother used to say, music has to have soul, which is where the love of the craft comes in. A musician has to be able to connect and play with feeling, or the music is lifeless and uninteresting.
Love it! Sounds like your Mom is a good musician?
Listening is key. I work in Irish traditional music, where the session is the bedrock of the genre. Typically there is no set list, no prior agreed keys, no lead sheets or even versions of tunes. A session needs folks to step up and lead a tune, when others recognise it they join in, often in less than a second , so it appears seamless. A really good session has heart and emotion, players who don’t know a tune pick it up as the melody progresses, to a point where at the end of it, we probably don’t even know what we had played. For many musicians this is a spiritual moment, caught up in music that happens, that runs along without really knowing where the ending will be. Many spiritual musics before they became formalised worked like this, for those who would like to see how this works in performance I’d recommend the music of “The Gloaming”.