Bijan

Taghavi

Pro Practice Secrets Handbook

1. Set aside separate time for “playing”
- Sometimes when students go to “practice” they just end up noodling around
for an hour and call that their “practice”. So the idea here is to leave
designated time for yourself to just let loose and play. After all, the goal is to
have fun and express ourselves! So jamming is certainly a rewarding and
healthy thing to do. But this way you make sure to separate your “playing”
time from “practicing” time.

2. Apply new information through tunes

- Put your new information into practice by applying it in context. After all, the
purpose of learning new information – whether it’s voicings, scales,
vocabulary, licks, etc – is to be able to apply them to tunes.

3. One thing at a time

- Studying jazz piano can be overwhelming – there are so many different
things to work on: time, voicings, solo piano, sight-reading, composition,
comping, transposition, improvisation, piano technique, and the list goes on.
So don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to practice it all at once, because that
is simply impossible! Instead, focus on one thing at a time, and spend as
much time on it as needed to master it before moving on. You will progress
faster and be more effective with your time this way.

4. Everyone learns differently

- Everyone processes information in unique ways and is at a different stage of
development. So just because one person practices a certain way, that
doesn’t mean their practice routine will work for you, and visa versa. Find
what works for you and what allows for effective, efficient progress.

 Bijan Taghavi

5. Write down what you want to practice

- Especially when you have limited practice time, it is important to set goals
and write down what you want to practice so you can maximize your time.
It’s easy to get side tracked, so going in with a plan will keep you focused on
the task at hand.

6. Write down what you practiced

- Not only should you set goals and write down what you want to practice, but
also keep a log of what you have practiced in order to keep yourself honest.
That way you can tangibly track your progress and it will encourage you to
truly practice so you have something you can write down.

7. Learn Tunes
- Why are learning tunes important? Knowing tunes provides you with a
framework to apply new information, and allows you to play with other
people!

- A tune a week is a good, reasonable goal to set for yourself – if you stay
consistent with it, you will have learned over 50 tunes in a year!

8. Listen
- Try listening to a new album every week.

- Listening is one way of fueling your practice – it could be: learning a tune
played off a particular album, analyzing the rhythmic comping of a pianist on
a quartet recording, learning a solo off a piano trio recording, or listening for
the interplay on a piano-vocal duo recording to name a few examples.

9. Transpose
- Transposing forces you to truly understand harmonic movement rather than
rote memorization. While it’s not necessary to transpose every tune in every
key, every now and then it’s healthy to take tunes through the cycle to keep
yourself honest and see the changes for what they really are (for ex: IMaj7 /
VIMaj7 / VI7 / II7, rather than, Dbmaj7 / Bbmaj7 / Bb7 / Eb7).
 Bijan Taghavi

10. Practice good posture

- Sit at the right height (with parallel arms) and at the right distance away
from the piano (wrist should reach fallboard when arm extended).

11. Practice what you DON’T know

- If you want to get better, you must practice what you don’t know or can’t
play. While practicing what you already know may reinforce some
concepts, it is not going to improve your playing. To truly make progress,
you must discipline yourself to work on the weaker areas of your playing.

12. Focus
- 45 minutes of focused, fully engaged practice is more efficient than 5
hours of disengaged, unfocused practice. It is crucial to have a clear and
focused mind in order to be able to concentrate on every detail when
practicing.

13. Record Yourself and Listen Back To It

- When playing, whether it’s in the practice room or on the gig, you are too
engaged with your sound quality, keeping time, and the music to truly
hear yourself. Recording yourself is a very beneficial practice technique
because it allows you to listen back and zero in on what sticks out, what
you like or what you dislike.

- Try recording yourself and listen for your time, your feel, your phrasing,
your dynamics, your lines, your comping, how you state the melody, etc.
You will be surprised as “what to practice” and what you DON’T need to
practice will become clearer.

14. Practice Slow

- One of the main purposes of practicing is to slow down the process and
extract your internal information. Practicing improvisation slowly, even
out of time, and gradually increasing the speed will help you think faster.
And in order to spontaneously create in the moment, you must be able to
think fast. Otherwise, you will be forced to spit out cliché’s and licks
 Bijan Taghavi

whenever confronted with a fast, burning tempo.

15. Practice with the Metronome
- While a metronome will not help you with your swing feel, practicing
with a metronome is necessary in order to keep a steady pulse.

- Practice with a metronome on slow tempos to ensure you’re not rushing,

and on fast tempos to make sure you’re not dragging.

- Work on your internal clock by using the metronome in creative ways,

such as: have the metronome click on beats 2 & 4, or only click on beat 1,
or if you want to get more advanced try playing a melody in 4/4 while the
metronome is clicking dotted quarter notes.

16. Practice Away From The Piano
- Whether you are in the shower, on the bus or train to work, or on a walk
in the park, there are plenty of opportunities to practice away from the
piano. In fact, mental piano practice can be just as productive as
practicing at the piano
- For example: try working out lines over All The Things You Are,
imagining the drums and bass playing and constructing a solo in your
head. Or try to transpose Have You Met Miss Jones in your head, away
from the piano.

17. Don’t Neglect Technique

- Don’t practice bad habits! When practicing at the piano, remember to
practice with good technique.
- For example: remember when to utilize different parts of the body based
on the requirements of power and speed, strike from the surface of the
keys not above, don’t use the pedal as a crutch to cover up bad fingering,
and be wary of your tone.