I’ve been studying Anusara yoga for several months and thoroughly enjoying it, and lately I’ve felt the urge to learn even more. So, last Saturday, I took a class on how to practice yoga at home. The class was really interesting, but not just because it deepened my knowledge about yoga–it also was a great opportunity to get ideas from the way people in other disciplines practice! This week, I adapted a couple of ideas from yoga into my trombone practice, and here’s what happened:

At the beginning, set an intention. – When practicing yoga, one of the first things our teacher suggests we do is set an intention to guide our practice. We may choose to focus on things like staying in the moment, expressing gratitude, or a using a certain yogic principle. Doing this has really helped me in yoga, especially during those poses that are, er, not so comfortable! :0

So, I thought, why not do the same in trombone practice? Each day this week, I’ve set some kind of intention before starting to play. On Monday, I felt sluggish, so I set an intention to have a flowing practice session. I noticed that I grew more energized as the session went on, because the intention would pop into my mind whenever I’d start to sit a little too long between exercises. On Wednesday, AKA “potentially frustrating recording work day”, I set an intention to be nice to myself. Instead of succumbing to the urge to beat myself up, I was able to listen to my recordings more objectively–and I gained some valuable insights as a result. In short, setting intentions REALLY worked!

Finish with Savasana – At the end of yoga practice, we take a pose called Savasana, in which we lie down, chill out, and savor the results of the work we’ve done. My teacher has cautioned that Savasana is a non-negotiable part of yoga practice–you’ve gotta do it every time, or else you’ll find yourself frazzled instead of relaxed!

This made me think of all the times I’ve abruptly ended my trombone practice and gone to do something else, with no real transition in between. Like yoga, practicing trombone brings us into a different state of being: our senses are heightened, and we’re challenging the body and mind to perform complex functions in flawless harmony. When I think of it that way, it makes no sense at all to just pack up the horn and go watch TV–there should be a transition back out of the elevated state of practice! So, after each session this week, I’ve taken a couple of minutes to stretch my chops out and relax before leaving the studio. During this time, I write down a couple things I’ve accomplished, and allow myself to savor what I’ve done. This musical chill time has worked just like Savasana, allowing me to feel satisfied with the progress I’ve made, rather than anxious about everything I still need to do.

Have you found ideas from other disciplines that work really well in your trombone practice? If so, please feel free to share them in the comments section! Until next time, namaste!

January is one of my favorite times of the year. For one thing, I totally dig chilly weather, and January is one of the only times it gets cold here in North Carolina. But even more than the nip in the air, I love the quiet, reflective vibe that permeates the days this time of year. For someone who sends music out into the world for a living, this time of year gives me a chance to quiet down, pull all my energy back inward, and put some new ideas in the pot to simmer.

2009 was a year full of firsts for me: I wrote my first book, went on my first book tour, ran my first full year of creativity workshops, started my first after-school band, and teched my first marching band. It was a wild, exciting ride, because every day brought unexpected scenarios, new lessons, and fresh understanding. But at the same time, all these firsts were very exhausting. After all, when you’re blazing new trails, you’ve got to be at least a little bit outside of your comfort zone. I’d say I spent 90% of last year outside my comfort zone. Waaaaay outside–and it took its toll on my body and mind.

So, my sole resolution in 2010 is to rest in my comfort zone. I’m going to sit and practice all day, and teach trombone, and read about trombones, and listen to my favorite recordings, and hang out with my family, and generally enjoy myself. I know from experience that this resolution is going to be really, really hard to keep. But I have a feeling that some of my best work yet may come from this year of chilling out. Because really, my best songs seem to get written when I’m putzing around, doing nothing!

Unfortunately, it can be easy to answer that question with “Sit and drink coffee!” or “Daily movie marathons in our pajamas!” After all, freelance musicians don’t have bosses, and we have nearly complete control over our schedules. But we also have chops to maintain, and a studio to keep healthy, and music that needs making. So the real question is, “How can we enjoy our extra time, while still doing what we need to do for our music?”

So, I’m treating these next couple of weeks as my musician’s transition. I’m going to treat myself well and allow some extra chillout time, but also make sure that I devote plenty of time to practicing and working toward my musical goals.

It’s in the transitional times when structure becomes so vital for creative people, especially musicians with chops to keep up. Structure doesn’t have to mean ironclad, nose-to-the-grindstone discipline–it can be anything the creative person wants it to be! For me, structure in the form of a flexible schedule, or a list of the top 5 things I’d like to do, helps me have fun and relax while still getting things accomplished. Goals and intentions also help a great deal, because they give me something to work toward.

If you’re a marching band clinician, or a marcher yourself, how are you going to make the transition from marching season back into the “real world”? What kinds of structure work best for you?

What do I want do accomplish (goals)?
1. Be able to play Todo Tiene with accurate pitches and without fatigue.
I can play Todo Tiene 3 times in a row before feeling tired. The high-C on some days is still a squeak, but on others is strong.

2. Be able to play all 8 salsa tunes back-to-back with minimal fatigue.
Yes. But don’t ask me to solo on the last tune….yet!

3. Be able to say I’ve practiced improvisation 20 times this month.
This one I didn’t make–I only did 15 improv. practices. I need to work on consistency here.

4. Single-tongue at 112 from mid-Bb to low E with 2-bar phrasing and minimal fatigue.
Made it to 92 without tension, and down to pedal Bb. Not as fast, but bigger range.

5. Be able to accurately double-tongue scalar run in Tentet piece on first try.
Nailed it!

6. Be able to say I practiced at least 25 days this month.
I fell short on this, too, by two days.

Even though I didn’t make every goal this month, the process of going for each goal has helped me become a more consistent, thoughtful practicer–something that’s hard when the only person you answer to is yourself! Also, making a commitment to become a better trombonist has led me down some new avenues, helping me achieve goals I didn’t set out to achieve, as well as the ones I had planned on.

I’m going to take the rest of August and focus on bringing more improvisation into each practice session. And then, new goals, because knowing what you want to do truly helps you get it done!

Earlier in the month, when I was feeling bad for taking some rest days, two blog posts popped up that reminded me that it’s OK if plans evolve and change. A few days ago, another change came when a colleague sent me a new technical routine to try that included several buzzing exercises. (Buzzing is the way you produce a sound on trombone, and you can practice it by playing on your mouthpiece alone.)

I had avoided buzzing exercises for quite some time, because they used to lead to tension in my neck–but the routine looked so enticing that I decided to give the buzzing a shot. Not surprisingly, my buzzing wasn’t very good, simply because I hadn’t been working on it. But very surprisingly, when I buzzed, the neck tension that once plagued my playing was gone! Without realizing it, I had conquered a very difficult problem, and this victory gave me the confidence to explore the new routine further.

Now, I’ve done the new routine for four days. The buzzing is getting good, and in turn my playing is getting better! As a result of buzzing lots of low notes, all the notes on my horn sound bigger, fatter, more open, and more in tune. But oddly, this excellent result wasn’t one of my original goals! In fact, it’s more than I was aiming for, and it came in half the time!

When I was teaching school, much emphasis was placed on students’ being “on task”. But in this experience and many others, I’ve found that some of the best discoveries are had when one veers off the path a bit, or stops to observe something interesting. It seems like, when you gather the courage to try a tricky path, the path works with you. And if you let it, the path will send you to a destination better than the one you set out to reach!

Today, on Day One of my monthlong “Pile of Practice” project, I spent some time building this basic foundation of whys and whats, problems and goals, to help guide me to a higher level of musicianship.

Why am I committing to this practice project?
Although I practice nearly every day, lately I’ve found myself making the same mistakes. Fracking the high “C” every time I play Todo Tiene Su Final. Not being able to nail this certain scalar passage at the right tempo. Getting fatigued. So it’s time to take my playing technique up to the next level.

What do I want do accomplish (goals)?
1. Be able to play Todo Tiene with accurate pitches and without fatigue.
2. Be able to play all 8 salsa tunes back-to-back with minimal fatigue.
3. Be able to say I’ve practiced improvisation 20 times this month.
4. Single-tongue at 112 from mid-Bb to low E with 2-bar phrasing and minimal fatigue.
5. Be able to accurately double-tongue scalar run in Tentet piece on first try.
6. Be able to say I practiced at least 25 days this month.

Now that I have the goals, I can figure out specific strategies to help me accomplish each goal (but I won’t make you sit here and read those!) These goals will be helpful because they address both specific technical concerns as well as “showing up” problems. I don’t like practicing improvisation by myself, but when I show up to do the work, I make good progress–so, the goal for improv is to just do it! Goal #6 helps me show up as well, but keeps me from getting too overzealous and trying to go a month without a day off to rest my chops.

Each week, I’ll post an update on these goals, and you guys feel free to heckle me to practice in the comments!