The Four Stages of Practice.
Here’s the question! “How do you get better at something you really love?”
When it comes to hobbies, or perhaps even your job like mine, it often seems that it’s hard to find systems and a killer “routine” that can take you to that next level. I’ve been drumming for the better part of my entire life and throughout the years I have practiced…a lot! It would have been awesome to journal every time I did, I would be so curious to know the hours I put in.
That being said, up until just recently, my practice was not very structured. I might have thought it was, but after stumbling upon what I’m going to share next, I realized my practice was merely a jumble of ideas, in no particular order that (don’t get me wrong) did help me get to where I am today, but was not a full circle approach to consistent, quality growth.
My quest for quality practice began again when I realized I was asking all of my students to commit to consistent, weekly practice and unfortunately I was asking them to do something I wasn’t. I felt convicted by this pretty deeply. All my life I played, practiced, poured an unbelievable amount of hours into my instrument, but when I started this business, it all got put on the back burner - and I began to coast.
So, I made the decision to get back to the good stuff. I put some skin in the game and purchased a real fancy Pearl practice kit as well as some hardware and Zildjian Low Volume Cymbals. Then I began doing some research on effective practice and after a bit of time, I hit the jack pot.
Some of you know the name Mike Johnston. This dude is a world class drum teacher and is known best for his online lessons. I don’t know if he came up with the following, but it doesn’t matter, I think it’s brilliant.
He was teaching on something called the Four Stages of Practice.
This is a roughly hourly daily commitment that has completely rejuvenated my approach to practice and so I will share it now! For this, you’ll want: Metronome/Timer/Sticks & Kit/Journal
STEP ONE: Non-Creative
Time: 10 min
Question: “What is something that you can already do, but you wish you could do it better?”
Breakdown: This is a primer for the next step. Think of something that you can play, but you know needs work - Ex: Single Strokes played across several surfaces of the kit, or double kick coordination. Create an exercise that is simple and as stated in the title, non-creative, just a basic exercise that gets the job done. Set the time for 10min and the metronome accordingly, and begin. When you feel that you are comfortable at the tempo set, be sure to STOP. Increase the tempo, then begin again. It’s important to not just start speeding up willy nilly.
STEP TWO: Creative
Time: 10 min
Question: “How can you take what you played in step one, and create with it a narrative that tells a story?”
Breakdown: After laying down a solid foundation with a good warmup and allowed yourself to focus on one thing for 10min, it’s now time to give yourself some liberties. This is where we take the exercise from step one and create a game, essentially. For a game to be fun, we need to have parameters and rules that will keep us in the world we’re trying to create. For example, let’s take the single strokes again. The rules can be that you must work with a metronome, and you can only play 16th notes and alternating hands (R L R L …). You’re aloud to mess with dynamics, play on any surface you like, including using your feet as alternating singles on either the double kick or kick and hats, but again, only 16ht notes. From there, you set your timer for 10min and begin! When you break a rule by accidentally playing in another subdivision, or you play a double stroke…you know it immediately and to quote Benny Greb
When you break the rule of the game…it suddenly feels like another universe - and it is!
STEP THREE: The Main Thing
Time: 25 min
Objective: “Find something you cannot do, and learn to do it.”
Breakdown: This is the real meat and potatoes of the whole thing. Up until now, you’ve been priming yourself for this step. Wether it’s something you’ve heard on a record or seen a drummer do on YouTube, or Instagram or even better, live! - This step is all about learning to do something you’ve never done before. The way you approach learning this piece will vary for everyone, but I do advise that you only spend 25min on this and heres why. Mike Johnston talks about the The Pomodoro Technique. This is a time management method that was developed by a smart man named Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down work into 25 minute intervals. Johnston states that after 25 min of working on a new idea, you’ll need to take a break if you plan on getting past the curve. According to Cirillo, our brains simply aren’t wried to handle that much new information and do anything useful with it. So, set your timer and have fun!
STEP FOUR: Musical Application
Time: Up to you!
Question: “Imagine you were auditioning for a band..how would you play in order to get the part?”
Breakdown: Okay! Hopefully you’re still with me. This final step has an unknown time limit to it because it’s really up to you to decide how you want to proceed. Here, the idea is to go looking for music you don’t normally listen to. You might even not enjoy the genre, but as I’m sure you know, you can learn something from anything. So as Mike puts it..
Instead of making fun of the music you don’t like, try picking a random artist and just work with them.”
This is a great way to expand your musical horizons and to grow outside of your wheelhouse. For myself personally, this would include things like jazz and latin music!
It would be awesome for you to pick 2 songs minimum to work with. Again, be intentional. Think of what it would be like actually auditioning for this group or artist.
Alright, to conclude this lengthy post, I wanted to reiterate how effective this process has been for me. It clearly outlines four steps to follow, all the while leaving room for customization while you explore this awesome musical journey you’re on. Don’t forget that you really can apply this to any artistic expression!
All the best to you today and be sure to check out Mike Johnston at Mikeslessons.com