Am I just wasting my time?

Is what people ask me often these days. Obviously they are asking me about their own endeavors. In the past 57 years as a musician and a multi instrumentalist for about 40 the thought of wasting my time has never come to mind.

Learning to play a new musical instrument is a huge challenge and I've always looked at it straight on with the intent of beating it. I love a good challenge whether it be a musical one or something in my life such as a project of some sort. I remember not too long ago, 2005, I decided to pick up the guitar. Up-to this point my main instrument were keys. I locked myself into a room for 9 months and practiced 6-8 hours daily. When I learned to play adequately enough, I came out.

How did I do it? I made myself goals; daily, weekly, monthly and a six week one (short, intermediate and long term) and followed it. Most young players getting ready for a practice session have no agenda. They just begin playing, hoping for a miracle. I on the other hand had a plan for each session and stuck to it. I didn't just play around practicing what I already knew. Although every day had a review time of my previous sessions. I spent anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour reviewing. Next, I spent another 30 minutes working on scales and another 30 on chords. Now after about an hour and a half to two hours, I was ready to learn to play to an accompaniment track and try to put what I had learned into practice. I used Band In A Box for my accompaniment tracks. Back then it was all midi unlike these days where audio tracks are used. I played my scales along to the accompaniment and then worked on improvisation. Before I knew it, six-eight hours have passed and I was pumped looking forward to my next session. My sessions didn't all go very smooth and there were times when I had to re-think and try a different approach.

The point is that I was never discouraged or frustrated because I wasn't moving forward. Every day was a new fun learning experience. So the next time you get frustrated because you are not moving forward like you want, maybe, you better look closer at your practice session to find the answer.