The Jazz Musician’s Great Paradox
The great paradox young and less developed musicians always seem to be in a hurry to get somewhere. They are certainly not happy where they are, but someday they will “arrive” and live happily ever after. They will become great players and then their life will begin. Wrong. Even if this methodology worked and they somehow became great players, they still wouldn’t be happy. It still wouldn’t be enough.
Even worse is the fact that being in a frantic hurry to achieve their goals (although they probably don’t even have clear goals) is akin to shooting themselves in the foot before running the Boston Marathon. Herein lies the paradox. Going fast usually means slow progress or even complete paralysis. Going slow, conversely, usually means faster progress. Slow and steady wins the race.
Bill Evans, the great jazz pianist, was once asked what he practiced when he was coming up. He answered, “As little as possible.” Many young players practice as much as possible. And they scramble along from topic to topic trying to get there as fast as possible. I’m not saying that becoming an accomplished musician doesn’t require a lot of practice, a lot of time in the shed, and study of a lot of topics. It does. But how and why you practice is sometimes more important than how much and what you practice.
Becoming a high-level, advanced jazz musician, a prerequisite for “monsterdom,” is actually pretty easy. It requires trust above all else, coupled with discipline, excellent practice, excellent teachers, experience, taking chances and, of course, taking action. With trust you can move ahead surely and swiftly-taking the time to thoroughly learn the material, acquire excellent skills and lay down the solid foundation required to build greatness.
Trust-Based Practice
You are already there. You are at exactly the point in your progress where you are supposed to be. If you accept this fact and trust yourself, you will not be in a hurry. If you are not in a hurry, you will be able to summon up the necessary discipline to acquire excellent skills. You will take chances. You will make mistakes, fall down, pick yourself up and continue on your path.
Your dreams, vision and goals will feel inevitable. You will feel invigorated, inspired, strong and confident. You will move through life with purpose and poise. You will walk tall. You will become a magnet for opportunity. You will actually become a monster jazz musician faster than you ever thought possible-if you let go of your fear, trust yourself and move slowly but steadily forward, knowing that your goals lie ahead and that you will come to them when the time is right.
Fear-Based Practice
Fear is the opposite of trust. Fear paralyzes many people and holds them back from ever achieving their goals. Fear makes us practice things that are beyond our present abilities. Fear makes us practice too many things at once. Fear makes us doubt ourselves and change directions and practice topics too soon. Fear keeps us from taking chances. It keeps us locked in a practice room. It keeps us down. Fear makes us afraid of failing. We become afraid of rejection (from the audience and our peers). And we even become afraid of success (of “making it” and then being found out to be a fraud or a mere mortal). Fear makes us live unbalanced lives, forget our values and, in worst case scenarios, really screw things up. Like destroy a relationship or become an alcoholic or an addict.
The good news is you have a choice. You are responsible for and in control of your own state of mind. You can decide to act from a place of fear or from a place of trust. Decide today to become more aware and conscious of your thinking and your state of mind. Choose to act from a place of faith and trust. Soon you will keenly know the difference between fear and trust. You will see the subtle ways in which fears manifest themselves and hold you back. Soon you will see fear coming around the corner, and you will be able to stop it before it arrives. Your practicing will become more focused. It will become more pleasurable and inspired. Your whole life will begin to change. As the great success guru Brian Tracy once said, “Change your thinking and change your life.” Trust will ripple through your whole life, making your gigs more inspired and bringing boundless opportunity to your doorstep.
Action Step
Take a mental “snapshot” of yourself when you are performing at your best. How do you feel? I would bet you feel confident, calm, inspired and trusting. Try to notice as many details of the experience as possible. Later you can consciously return to this state. This skill of “transmuting” will become easier and easier with practice. Before you practice, take a few minutes to center yourself and return to this state. Do the same before a gig or any other time of the day, for that matter.
Action Step
Visualize your snapshot in your imagination. Take a few minutes each morning or before practice and visualize yourself in a confident, inspired and trusting state of mind. Imagine as many details as possible. How do you feel? Are you relaxed? What are your emotions? How are you performing? Visualization is a powerful tool for change. Experiment and create your goals in your mind first.
Chris Punis is an active jazz musician in the northeast. He is founding member of the critically acclaimed group Gypsy Schaeffer and a member of renowned saxophonist Charlie Kohlhase’s group The Explorer’s Club. Chris is also an accomplished jazz educator. For more information about his teaching methods, visit http://www.learnjazzfaster.com
Learn How to Play with step-by-step piano lessons
Supported by video and audio files. Rocket Piano is organized into 3 high quality books taking you on a journey from beginner to advanced in your gospel piano playing.
