Peace and Guitarmony - The Spirit of Practicing

By Steve Coyne

In Japanese the word for rhythm is hyoshi which translates to "child's clap". Meaning a rhythm as natural as a child clap. Hyoshi also refers to the synchronization of natural rhythms in nature. The phases of the moon and the tides of the ocean are in rhythm with each other. During the relaxed concentration of playing music or anything that puts one "in the zone" a rhythm or a pace develops. Musicians find hyoshi when playing with other musicians. Martial artists find hyoshi with their opponents while sparring. Scales, overtones, time signatures and the subdivisions of the beat are all mathematically synchronous. Every situation and activity has hyoshi.

Playing an instrument requires muscle memory to develop in a relaxed way. Like learning any physical activity the body develops the type of endurance it needs to sustain the activity by repeatedly doing the activity. At times, your fingers will not do what your mind tells them to do or you seem to run out of fresh ideas and don't really know where your next great "idea spring" is coming from. These are the times that challenge us. We begin to wonder if it is worth it to go on. We wonder why we put in so many hours to master our instruments. We ask, What will I have to do to progress? We become like a writer with writer's block.

There are three Samurai adages to remember.

1. "Don't ask, practice":
Some answers will only come to you by practicing. As you dig deeper and gain more experience, your practicing will answer questions as well as create more questions. The questions that your practicing creates are the ones that lead to you developing your own sound and your own style, through your personality and musical experience.

2. "Seven times down, eight times up":
Like the story I told you about my ice skating and getting back up so many times. You get up more times than you fall down. In music, this type of frustration usually means that you are being impatient. If it is causing you frustration try it again at a slower tempo and gradually work the tempo up! Remember what I said about finding the perfect tempo to practice? We all want to play things at Paganini speed, but you just have to set that metronome back a couple notches sometimes.

Also, when defeatist thoughts creep into your head, don't give them any chance to take hold. That weird musician ego defense is kicking in again, trying to protect you from feelings of failure. Don't let yourself be defeated by pessimistic thoughts. Just let them go. Find the solution by slowing things down as much as you have to.

3. "The only opponent is within":
Don't try to compete with the mediocre majority. At conservatories most of all, the people around you are overly involved in a lot of defeatist talk, trying to create self doubt in others and bring them down like crabs back into the bucket. You can only control what you can do. If you stay focused on the music, you will be able to do what others cannot because they are too busy trying to convince themselves of their own superiority.

Motivation does not need to come from a negative source. Great accomplishments can also come from a rational place. It's great to practice hard but it's also good to take a step out of your routine and consider a more relaxed point of view.

Steve Coyne is a Rock/Jazz/Fusion guitarist living in the New Haven, CT area. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Berklee College of Music and a Master of Science degree from Western Connecticut State University. Currently, Steve is gigging regularly in cover bands throughout the Fairfield/ Westchester area. Steve is also writing and recording music with his original band FREERIDER. FREERIDER will be one of the first bands featured in their own video game on Rock Band 2/Rock Band Network.