Exercise: Two Practices

You can see that we are going to be doing two kinds of practice.
1. We need to keep practicing the physical act of playing our instruments, learning
new songs and applying new techniques.
2. We also need to practice communicating with our inner player, picturing what we
want to achieve in our playing. As a player becomes more advanced, future growth
takes place more and more through communication with the unconscious.
Try sitting quietly and visualising yourself playing a favourite song.
Imagine that you are playing beautifully and how satisfying it feels to play so
well. Show your inner player this is what you want to achieve; give your inner
player guidance through picturing your desires for the playing experience.
Keep doing this and imaging how it will feel if you are playing, how you want it to
sound.
A Farewell: As we complete this 12-week musical journey, I want to wish each of you
all the best in your future endeavours. Being a musician is a lifelong pursuit and
I hope that this learning experience has helped you in many ways, large and small.
Creating this course has been, for me, a continuation of my career as a teacher of
jazz improvisation begun long ago at Berklee, in 1971. Teaching improvisation was
always my favourite pursuit at Berklee, and one thing I learned early on and still
believe to this day, is that there is always more to learn. So, keep on going! -
Gary