4 Ways to find Time for Practice in your Busy Schedule

In this fast paced world, time management has become the most important skill to have. You may be a working adult or a student learning in school - however, you still have a number of chores to complete every day. By the end of the day, you are completely exhausted and can't assemble any enthusiasm or energy to practice your instrument. So how do you still follow your interest in music in between these exhausting tasks you have in a day? In this blog, we discuss some of the ways you can find time to practice:

1. Start the day with music:

What can be a better way to start your day! Remember the era of walk-mans and Disc-mans? You woke up to songs and somehow you already felt good about the day to unfold. Do the same with your instrument! Think of it like your daily workout. Practice the exercises and drills given to you and by the end of each practice session you will feel like you already have accomplished something in the day and this positiveness will reflect in your attitude throughout your day. With regular practice, you will see progress in your playing really quickly.

2. Stress Reliever:

Having a tiring day? With all the stress, deadlines and burden of expectations you carry at work or school, life is stressful. There is no better stress reliever to this than music. Listen to songs because that also plays an important role in your development. Then just take your instrument and start playing with it, and you will see you get in the mood of practicing it. Take the help of that and start practicing your exercises and if you know a song, end the session with that. You will feel much better about your day and ready for a good night's sleep.

3. Show dedication:

If you are serious about your music, you will find a way to give time to your instrument. May it be an early morning, afternoon or a late night practice, you can always dedicate a certain period of the day to your instrument and make sure you are committed to that. Once you keep doing it, it becomes a habit and practicing your instrument will come very naturally to you. For students, you can use those study breaks to play your instrument which will relax your mindset and as you have heard a lot about how music can enhance your academic performance, it’s time to practice that saying. 

4. Not more than 2 Classes a Week:

It is almost impossible and not advisable to take classes every day. Classes are meant to be a lesson day and you should learn something new every class, however you also must have seen how your mentor starts the class with exercises you have previously taught and then move to the new topics. However you can approach your practice session like the way classes are structured. Go for lessons TWICE a WEEK and then use the days between those lessons to master the exercise giving the same time as your lesson classes. Also you can use the class timings as your practice time of the day. This way you are attending class everyday but in a much more effective manner.

BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and  Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. 

The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.

How to Utilize things Around you to make yourself a Practice Pad

Drums and percussive instruments are the heartbeat of any song. It keeps the song alive and on time. Without it, the song might just fall apart. However, learning them come with a few challenges. The most common is that students learning drums don’t have a drum kit because of the money involved in buying the kit and also the space required to fit the whole set. So, in this blog post, we present you with some solutions to still practice your exercises even if you do not have a drum kit.

Before we proceed, as a student of drums, it is a must that you buy at least your drum sticks and a kick-drum pedal. Now, the most common solution is that you buy a practice pad and go through your exercises there, still, there are many instances where a student cannot afford the practice pads as well. We will tackle this by finding solutions to build your own practice pad with things you find around you. Let us discuss some of the ways that you can have your own practice pad.

·       Making a Practice Pads: If you are someone who likes to make their own things, then you can make  a practice pad out of plywood and gum rubber. There are many tutorials on how to build a practice pad out of these two. You can always take help of the internet and build your own practice pad which will cost you very less.

·       Using household Items as Practice Pads: If building a practice pad is not what you are looking for, you can use some of your household items as practice pads. What makes drums so accessible is that one of the fundamental techniques you have to learn as a beginner student is perfecting the art of stick control. So you can do your sticking exercise anywhere, like in a table or in a chair or in a pillow or a mouse pad.

·       Pillow for Stick Control Practice: As a beginning student, these are actually the perfect tools as you concentrate on polishing your technique rather than just making noise on the drum kit without any proper direction. Pillow is a great object to practice your stick control as it doesn’t offer you rebound. Thus you have to pick your stick up which strengthens your wrist movement which is a very important technique to have.

·       Experimentation: Second fundamental element you should improve is to understand different percussive sounds. Drum is not just about hitting your kit, it is about building rhythm with different percussive sounds. So experiment with the practice pads made out the household objects and experiment the different percussive sounds it produces. For eg; a table will make a different sound than the mouse pad or your chair. So experiment the sounds and practice it by starting with one object and once you are familiar with the sounds coming out of different object, practice your rudiments or sticking patterns over the set of different objects.

·       Practice Rhythm: Practice has to be done all the time if you are aspiring to be a professional drummer. Thus the best way to do that is to practice in your thighs which is ever present with you and you don’t have to drop a sweat over what should be your next practice pad.

·       Practice Kicks: The next thing to do is to practice your kicks. As it was mentioned before it is a must that you buy a kick-drum pedal if you are a sincere drum student. To practice your kicks, find a flat surface for the beater of your kick to hit. Make sure you don’t hit the wall directly as it will damage the wall, so use a rubber sheet on the wall.

Now that you know how to utilize things around you to practice your techniques, you should not have any excuses about not having a kit or a practice pad. Even though it doesn’t feel like a real drum kit, these exercises can teach you a lot of things from strengthening your technique and muscles to understanding different sounds and the ability to use them in different ways. Keep practicing and one day you can finally apply all that you have learnt on a drum-kit that is surely to come your way if you are interested about the instrument.

BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and  Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. 

The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.

4 Reasons Why Practice is Crucial To Your Growth As A Musician

No one is never born genius, one has to work for it and it is the result of that work that they become really good at what they do. That particular work/performance from musicians is the practice they do on their instrument. It is the most fundamental yet the most important thing a musician needs to do to supplement their growth at every step. Although it is given that practice will make you better, let us understand why it is so crucial for musicians.

1. Muscle memory

Playing an instrument is all about ‘instinct’ coming into play. When you play your instrument what will you do naturally? You have to make the complicated techniques your second nature so that you can execute it flawlessly on your instrument. The only way to do that is to practice regularly so that your muscles build a memory by being exposed to the same exercise so many times that it becomes natural for you. However, you do have to make sure that you are doing the drills correctly and efficiently so that your muscle develops the correct technique.

2. Explore Ideas

The more you sit with your instrument, the better will be your understanding about it. As you attempt to play like your idols and apply all the necessary theory in your instrument, you will discover new ways of using your techniques to sound unique. You will find your own style of using certain techniques and how to apply them in your playing. A good practice session will allow you to explore a fresh take on certain exercises and also open up new ideas in your playing which, is an important aspect for every musician.

3. Feedback System

You won't know what you are doing wrong until you play. The best way to rate your playing is to record yourself, play back and then self-analyse what you are doing wrong and what you can do better. You can focus your practice sessions toward the elements that you think requires work. The lesser your playing weaknesses, better is your musicianship. It is crucial to give/take feedback as it minimises any loose ends in your playing and is an important factor to grow as a musician.

4. Realistic Goals

As you sit down for practice, you will have an idea of your progress and where you stand in terms of capability in certain skills. Practice lets you set realistic goals which will encourage more commitment and intent whenever you practice. There should be a purpose in every practice session and a result oriented goals to be able to develop new skills and improve existing basics on every step.

If there is one thing common among all the successful musician, it is the relentless dedication to their trade and instrument through numerous hours of practice which should be the template for every budding musician. Give time to your instrument and practice with commitment and you will surely get results and be the musician you always dreamed of.

BlueTimbre is a unique Music Company that provides Music Education and  Recording Studio services. BlueTimbre also works with schools to provide end-to-end Music Education solutions for schools. 

The BlueTimbre team comes with decades of cumulative experience in running Structured Businesses, Music Curriculum Development, Music Education and Performance.