Deliberate Practice And Aging Bodies

Deliberate Practice focused attention on the right things for a long time. A good working definition. As aging musicians, we might consider the following areas for focus:

1. ​General health and fitness. Further steps are impossible if we can't get off the couch, or are too sore and flabby to play.
2. Drawing up a list of skills for refinement. Here is my drumming list for the next year.
   1. Rudiments and the drum kit in Jazz and Rock
   2. Double bass drum technique in Rock
   3. Samba on the drum kit
   4. Afro-Cuban on the drum kit
   5. Fast swing on brushes and sticks
   6. Triplet subdivisions
   7. Shuffle in Rock
   8. Repertoire development and maintenance
   9. Personal solo style
   10. Demo tape for Siena Jazz Summer Program 2018
3. Find a coach. More on this in a future blog. My coaches are Terry Clarke, Jazz and Tony Nesbitt-Larking, Rock.
4. Create a practice schedule and put it in the calendar. Firewall these times. Get everyone in your life on board to support and encourage you. If you have not been practicing regularly, please ramp up the time 10% per week until your body adjusts to the increased demands you are placing on it. Every summer that I've attended the Jamey Aebersold Jazz Workshop in Kentucky many of the bassists are bandaging fingers by the third day. A cautionary tale.

"In one way, I think of myself as a tenacious loser. I mean, the Met was my 28th audition." Jason Haaheim, Principle timpanist of the Met Orchestra NYC. An inspirational story of commitment, dedication, and focus. A great read to start the day. http://jasonhaaheim.com/how-did-scientist-become-timpanist-met-orchestra/ He makes the important point to focus on the process not the outcome. Outcomes are the result of successfully working through the process.

Cheers,

​David Story
​
​

---