Do you have a problem? You know the sort of thing that gets in your way when you’re playing. But it’s small. Annoying but not really worth focusing on. After all, you’re motivated, you’ll get over it.
Well, that’s just silly. You don’t develop bad habits or problems overnight. And you don’t fix them by ignoring them! Whether it’s dropping your thumb on a crossover or not closing in a chord or not placing ahead, it won’t get fresher by ignoring it. So, what can you possibly do? Well, here are a few ideas.
The easiest answer is to ask your teacher. That’s a straightforward approach because they can see you from a different perspective and bring all that experience of correcting problems (yours, their own, other people’s). Easy peasy.
But not everyone has a teacher. And some are no longer in regular lessons and have to be their own teacher. Then you have to turn into Sherlock Holmes and detect not only the problem but also its cause and its solution. That’s a tall order. You need a process. A few tools will help too. No, not a magnifying glass! Remember that Sherlock said, “I have the advantage of knowing your habits” – so here’s how you can be Sherlock and get to know your own habits:
- Notice the need. This is essential. Pay attention to the clues – poor sound, sore hands, late notes, feeling frenzied. You can’t fix a problem if you can’t at least name it. For instance, if you’re not getting good tone but you don’t recognize it’s because you’re not closing, you won’t get it sorted!
- Take meticulous notes. Give yourself time for this and write it down. Rarely do we have a single area for improvement! Note all your challenges – over time. Collect your thoughts on what is happening. Include your observations of what is happening? when? what else is going on? what might be related?
- Collect your evidence. The part everyone hates – getting the dirt that shows you that you haven’t imagined it! Use your phone to video your practice (or playing). You want to catch yourself in the act. Video is so good for this because you can push it is dispassionate and faithful. Push play and get back to playing rather than trying to play while simultaneously observing yourself. Don’t worry – we’re going to record, review, reduce (delete!) the video once the work is done.
- Develop your theory. This video is a tool, not a documentary. Get in, see what you see, learn what you can learn, and get out. From your observations, what is happening? Is your hand in the wrong place? Are you over stretched? Or are you not giving yourself enough space to work? Are you uncertain and not placing? You want to determine what is not working so you can focus on that. No attribution, no negativity, just focus.
- Strategize the solution. Once you know what’s not working and why, then you really can work on it and apply yourself to correcting it. If more than one thing is happening at a time, then you can also parse what you know and make a plan to fix one thing at a time (while monitoring so you know what to fix next). Lather, rinse, repeat as needed (and remember, it will always be needed).
- Verify! Once you think you have got your fix in place, give yourself some time to make it comfortable and automatic. Then record again to verify that your fix is holding! If you find something else to work on, so be it – and don’t despair. We are all always working and developing, learning and growing. It isn’t you; it’s the nature of the beast.
Just like Sherlock’s clues, the answer is out there, you just have to find them and apply that knowledge to your own playing. Give it a try and see what you learn (good and bad) – and let me know how you get on!
