"Just do it like we did it in rehearsal."

As a young band director, I was always caught off guard by how differently my band played on stage than they did in the practice room. Sometimes the drop-off was extreme, and in my first year it got to be so bad that the kids started to expect the performance to be dismal even if rehearsals were excellent.

At the district festival, I happened to be talking to one of the most successful directors in the state, and I asked him what he told his kids before they went on stage to get them to play so well. His answer is the title of this post, "I tell them, 'Just do it like we did it in rehearsal.'"

The simplicity of the concept stunned me. For some reason, I thought that I had to offer some sort of special advice to get my kids mentally prepared to play a concert in front of an audience. In reality, that preparation had already been done, and what I needed to do was help them to get in the exact same frame of mind they'd been in during those excellent rehearsals. Instead, I had been doing the exact opposite. I'd been putting them in a totally different headspace - essentially yanking the rug out from under their feet.

Don Kelbick, legendary basketball coach, had this to say about shooting free throws in intense, high pressure, win or lose situations:

"The other mental aspect that I feel is very important is understanding that all shots are the same and carry their own "intrinsic value," or their own reward and sense of satisfaction. A free throw in the first minute of the game with no score is the same as a free throw in the last second of the game with your team down 1 point. The effects of the shot may be different, but the basket is still in the same place, and so is the free throw line. The shot should be exactly the same in either case. The objective of taking a throw shot is NOT to win or lose a game. The objective is to MAKE THE SHOT! That is the only object. To inject outside values to a particular shot is a recipe for failure."
Read the full article here.

It took a few more concerts after that festival, but we started to develop a new way of thinking about performance, and steadily saw an increase in the quality of our stage playing. In fact, that group's youngest players eventually became the first group to qualify for the state festival in the forty year history of the school.

Here are two of the principles I've learned and still try to use whenever I perform, either as an ensemble member or the conductor.

Relax.
No performance is ever THE performance. You should always try your best, but it's not the end of the world if things don't go perfectly. Keep your composure, forget about any mistakes as soon as they happen, and focus on what's going on right now. Performing is practicing, so think of each performance as an opportunity to get better at performing. That said...

You'll perform like you practice, so practice like you want to perform.
As much as you can, try to stay in the same mental space that you would if you were on stage or in the studio. When I'm preparing for an important gig, I'll record or video myself at least a few times prior to the performance. Something about knowing that I'm being recorded puts a little bit of healthy pressure on me to do my best. I can always delete the recording if it's awful, and it helps me to get used to playing in front of an audience.

I watched the movie Hoosiers for the first time before I ever set foot in a band room as a beginning musician, but I think this clip exemplifies how we should approach performance.

No matter how big the hall or imposing the audience, whether it's the fall opener or the state festival, a quarter note is still a quarter note, and the key of F still has one flat. And if it worked in our band room, it'll work on the stage. 

Just do it like we did it in rehearsal. 

Beyond the Kit: Be Immature! Okay, not really, but...

I had a bit of a revelation while teaching lessons tonight (also while listening to Coldplay, but that's a different story!).

Two experiences converged in my mind.

1. Over the years I've had the blessing of teaching hundreds of kids, mostly pre-teens and young teenagers. And having had lots of time to watch and listen to their reactions in certain situations, I've become pretty good at sensing frustration. I've heard, "I can't do this," and "I don't like this," a million times - almost every time I ask them to do something new, challenging or confusing.
2. For the past few years I've been a father (best job ever!). My wife and I have two kids - one very active 3 1/2 year old, and an equally active nine-month-old. Watching them learn and helping them to gain skills has been maybe the most rewarding thing I've ever done. Truly amazing.

So, here's what I learned:

Little kids - babies, toddlers and young children - absolutely do not care if something is hard or easy. Those terms don't exist yet.They also don't care how many tries it takes to get something done. Honestly, (especially for you parents) when your kid wants something and is determined to get it, they will not quit until they are satisfied in one way or another. 

Think about learning to walk. How many times does a child fall, stumble, bumble - they essentially fail - while learning to crawl and then walk? And some of those tumbles really hurt! Yet they continue to get up and try and keep working at it. Why? Because they have a goal, an end vision in mind. 

Imagine if that little nine-monther thought to himself, "Y'know, I've tried to walk around now for the past six months, and....it ain't happenin'. I don't like walking anyway. I'm not good at it. So...I'm done. I'll just crawl. Crawling's good, right?" 

Nope. Won't happen. Again, because little kids don't care if it's hard, and they don't care how long it takes. They care about walking or running, or throwing the ball or whatever it is. I see my younger child watching his big sis, and all he's thinking about as she's careening around the house is, "I'm going to do that. As soon as possible!"

But something happens to us as we grow up. We begin to get sensitive to what others think of us, and what is expected of us. Many of us develop an expectation that we will be good at everything we try or experience success right at first. 

So when it takes some time and/or effort to develop a skill, we usually try one of two tactics. First, there's the, "I don't like it," line of defense. This is essentially an attempt to excuse ourselves from having to work at something because it's unpleasant. It's like saying, "Oh, I don't look good in orange." If I don't like it, then it's not good for me so I shouldn't do it.

The other tactic is, "I'm just not good at this." This one is a little more offensive to me because it carries a sense of finality. Kids wield this one like the hangman's noose. We try to use it in the sense that a 5'2" man would when asked why he doesn't play basketball. (Ever hear of Spud Webb?) It gives them an excuse to not even try. I hate that. I will allow my students to say, "I'm not good at that yet, but I will be."

I've been a father long enough to know that when my daughter tells me she doesn't like something, she really means, "I don't know how to do it, and that scares me." When she gains a little bit of ability and confidence, it magically becomes her favorite thing to do. 

So it is with most of us, and especially musicians. We don't "like" things we aren't good at. Conversely, we tend to like the things we are good at. If you're not good at playing jazz, you won't like playing jazz. But as you gain some jazz chops, you'll suddenly find yourself looking for opportunities to play.

That being said, there are some things you won't like, and some things you won't be good at. But don't throw excuses around. You've got to give things a fair shake and develop a skill. At least give it your very best effort over a reasonable period of time. 

Well, you get the point. You wanna like basketball? Get good at it. You wanna enjoy talking about Shakespeare? Read it!

Alright, I'm done for today. Feel free to join the conversation below.

Happy drumming!

The Weight Room: Practicing (Repost)

Originally posted on March 21, 2011

If we've spent any time together whatsoever talking about music, you've heard my philosophy on practicing, but for those of you who haven't had the pleasure/torture, here it is:

I would rather have my students (or myself, for that matter) practicing just five minutes a day rather than trying to "binge practice" one day a week or right before the lesson. Think about it like trying to run faster, jump higher, or lose weight.

If a really out of shape person wants to lose some pounds and get ready for a race, which method sounds smarter: 1) Workout for 25 hours by doing 50 half-hour sessions spread over about two months, or 2) Work out for 25 hours consecutively (one day and one hour)?

Obviously choice 1 is smarter, because if you're really out of shape, choice 2 will land you in the hospital or the morgue!

Anyway, the key is to practice a lot, but over a long period of time. So set yourself up a plan, a place, and go play!

Beyond the Kit: Why music matters.

Last week I posed the question, "Why music?" Why does it exist? What's its purpose? Why does it matter?

Music is one of the defining aspects of humanity. It separates us from the other living things on the planet (I know there are some arguments that other animals make music, but we can discuss that another time). Our society is reflected in our music, and music surrounds us.

Imagine walking into a store with no music playing. TV and movies with no music. Video games with no music. No concerts. No music videos. No iPod. For that matter, probably no YouTube.

Music is part of who we are as human beings.

This is not an attempt at a complete discussion on the topic, but here are a few of my reasons for making music a central part of my life:

• Music makes me feel. Quite simply, nothing else touches my emotions in the same way.
• Music makes me think. It takes me to places in my mind and heart that I don't get to without it. 
• Music allows me to communicate far better than I can in any other way. 
• Music makes me better. I'm a more sensitive, thoughtful, passionate and effective human being.
• Like sports, music is fun. I tell people all the time that some guys bowl or play poker, but I get to play jazz and rock and roll gigs. Awesome!

What are your reasons?

Beyond the Kit: Why music?

So, I taught high school music classes for five years - band and guitar. It was a blast, for the most part. Loved it.

One of the assignments I gave each year was to have the students write a paper (a short one, but a well-crafted and thoughtful one) that answers the question, "Why music?"

I have to admit, that of all the great experiences I had with amazing students, none were better than reading some of those papers. You can talk down to high school kids all you want, but there are some incredibly intelligent, passionate people that walk those halls every day. (It's a crying shame what they have to go through to get an education, but that's a post for another day.)

Today I'd like to pose the question to you, as well.

So - why music? Why does music exist? What's its purpose? What does it do? Is it important? Why?

I'll give you my personal philosophy - if you care to read it - next week.

Happy thinking!