Canadian Musician - November/December 2017 | Page 29

WOODWINDS
Dr. Daniel Schnee is a multi-instrumentalist who has performed worldwide with 21 different JUNO and
Grammy Award-winning musicians. He has been internationally recognized as a graphic score composer
and is a former student of Pulitzer Prize-winning jazz musician Ornette Coleman.
By Dan Schnee
Moving Past Practice
Plateaus
site, www.extremeflute.com.
O
ne of the great pleasures of being a professional musician is
the moment when you first discovered that special instrument
that speaks to you – the one that felt like it was the voice of
your soul. For me, it was picking up the tenor saxophone for the
first time in the late ‘70s and feeling like I was “home.” And although we all
sound pretty terrible when we start, we practice excitedly, thrilled at every
moment we hear recognizable improvement in our tone and technique.
Naturally, as years of practicing pass, the process of improving often
feels more like weightlifting than a blithesome journey. But no matter
where we are in the journey, we all have one thing in common: we end
up experiencing practice plateaus – long stretches of time wherein we
practice for many hours a day but still seem to make no progress over
the ensuing weeks and months, even up to a year. Though demoralizing,
this process is completely normal, and your body and mind are indeed
absorbing the training whether you recognize it or not. So how do we
cope with and prepare for plateaus when they occur? This requires an
understanding of how change happens during such endeavors.
Getting Unstuck metronome. If this does not seem to be producing results, then our goals
and time expectations may be the actual problem. If you are expecting to
master a dozen arpeggiation patterns evenly in all 12 keys much sooner
than possible for your particular skill level, then you are not on a plateau but
rather are expecting too much. Also, if you have studied and learnt these
patterns from the recordings of your favourite saxophonist, the problem
most likely is you are also expecting to play like that person sooner than
possible. This is then a problem of comparison: a habit that creates major
obstacles in both music and life. Once you begin using your own progress
as a measurement, though, starting from the previous year to your current
level, you will have a much healthier, happier, and more productive life in
music, and will be encouraged to continue on.
It is also wise to develop several strategies for solving musical prob-
lems rather than a single one, as this will shorten the time length of the
plateau. Just practicing one or two arpeggiations of sym-dom will give
you a rudimentary understanding of the scale. But developing a 12-key
practice regimen that includes arpeggiation, sequential scale patterns,
playing the scale with differing styles of phrasing (e.g. bebop enclosures),
and transilient intervals like fourths and fifths will give you such a deep
understanding of sym-dom that your original arpeggios will seem rather
easy by comparison. If this regimen is too much to handle, though, choos-
ing the most effective two of the aforementioned techniques might be
the solution, making your goal an attainable challenge.
Another effective approach is to not over-anticipate the timing and
significance of the end result. Let your mind and body grow at your own
healthy pace, as this frees you from much stress and anxiety, and rids you
of the need to will yourself forward. Will power is not trustworthy, so we
must not let it be our only option. Instead, creating a thorough but patient
practice schedule guarantees you will learn what you are studying while
not overthinking things. Anticipate there being a long wait, and just do
the work at hand. This also includes scheduling time away from practicing
to have fun. A happy mind and soul better processes (and solves) your
musical problems unconsciously while you are away from your horn. This
is why the plateau suddenly ends almost magically one day, because you
have finally internalized all the practice in a way that is now a natural part
of your thinking and reflexes. Watching a good movie at the right time is
also a plateau-shrinking activity.
First, we must identify the actual problem at hand. For instance, let’s say
we are working on various ways to arpeggiate the symmetrical domi-
nant (“sym-dom”) scale, and are going about it all properly: slowly, with a A plateau can be a nuisance, but with the right approach, it will lead
to better things. So be prepared and positive, have fun, and good luck!
Getting Stuck
When first starting a new course of study, we are excited and make quick
progress. Then, as we continue on for more than a couple of weeks, the
initial thrill wears off and the challenge is much less inspiring the more
we concentrate on the gap between our desired future outcome and
where we currently are. This is how the plateau is recognized, as the gap
seems to not be closing at all, and we b ecome unenthusiastic, impatient,
or frustrated. We may even begin considering practicing something else,
something more fun that requires less dedication and patience, and this is
where the brilliant players separate themselves from the pack: they carry
on while others settle for less or give up. But we all have these plateaus,
and must carry on regardless.
Then, suddenly one day, seemingly out of nowhere, we are able to play
at a more advanced level, which is thrilling. This new level soon becomes
a plateau as well as we set new goals, going through this plateau process
repeatedly throughout our musical lives. So, to successfully cope with a
seemingly endless plateau, here are some time-tested strategies.
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