Quick Tip #6: Practice Every Day

My quick tip this time is practice every day. I know that this sounds like a cliché tip but there’s a lot of truth to it and I’m always surprised by how many students don’t practice regularly. Some might practice for a few hours one day and then not even pick up their instruments for the rest of the week. This is not ideal, because repetition and consistency are key when it comes to practice - especially with jazz improvisation, although it does apply to almost anything that you want to improve at.

In jazz, you need to repeat things, such as scales, patterns and phrases, enough times so that they’re embedded in your neural pathways. This will give you a catalogue of ideas ready to use whenever you need them. And a consistent daily practice means that not only are you reinforcing those patterns in your brain, but you’re able to create new ones and reinforce those and it becomes almost like a snowball effect. And every day you’re building on yesterday’s practice.

So, I’d rather practice every day but for a shorter time if I need to, than a few hours here and a few hours there, all over the place, with no consistency.

Thanks for checking out this blog post. If you’re keen to practice but not sure what to practice, why not take a look at my jazz improvisation books in the shop.