practice and development... i mean, they're pretty well-defined concepts but fairly nebulous in practical terms. for years i've learned about learning an instrument. how to practice. how to measure progress. and that's all well and good but the tricky part is implementing it into your routine for real. i've certainly done better at this in the past.

a few summers ago when i decided to get my rhythm chops in order and i had gotten Check Patterns, i had ample time on my hands. i had saved up some loot and left a job that had jumped the shark at least a season prior. i had nothing but free time for a while so i really developed a practice routine that was super effective for me.

bass guitar and amp
my sessions were divided among several topics, rhythm, harmony/theory, transcription, etc. i budgeted usually about 1.5 hours but sometimes it went over 2 and it was divided up and timed, sort of pomodoro-style. i kept the most important areas at a focused 25 minutes to avoid noodling. other areas might only get 5-10 minutes, depending on what it was. had had about 10-15 minutes of warm-ups as well, and i gotta say, my left hand has never been in better shape.

i used a metronome for everything. obviously for the rhythm exercises but also for transcriptions, like when learning difficult lines. i could start it off at a slow BPM to learn the pattern/fingering and each day bump it up by 3-5 BPM until i was at the correct speed. it gave me a solid metric to work with each day to know i was pushing myself. 

i did this routine for probably 6 months. and i mean, like 6 days a week. i was really focused on it. the results were absolutely there and i could actually see them. yes, i also had my notebook with the BPMs from each day as proof too, but more importantly, i could feel and hear the improvement. what a good time i had. somewhere along the line though, i got lazy and fell off that routine. my practices for the past few years have certainly had elements of that routine, but really half-assed. i certainly i have lying to myself as to the effectiveness of my practices for a long time. yes, i practice nearly every day but it feels more like treading water than progress. well, fuff.

recently, i've pretty dissatisfied with my progress and practice habits... enough to actually do something about it. so i spent some time that i otherwise would have been noodling and began looking around for resources to help structure my practices in a more focused way. i began using some free project management software... well, an online tool. i had to do some deep thinking on my goals and where i'd like to take my learning. then i basically set it up as a project with milestones and other time-based deadlines. it was a 6-month plan broken down as far as each week. from there i can use my daily practice planner sheets to make sure i meet each week's goal. how neat.

okay, okay, i know what you're thinking, and you're right... it's a little overkill for practice adding in management software but uh, if it's what i need to stay on track then it's exactly the right amount of kill. much like a teacher's lesson plan it's prepared long in advance so don't have to think each day what i need to work on. at most it's what BPM, song/chord progression, or exercise variant because the material is already set. that means less time fumbling for something to work on when i sit down to get some work done. well, we'll check back on this in a month or two.