In my 20 years of being a musician I would have to say that I have done my share of practicing. My most intense session would have to be in the Summer of 1995 where I practiced 5 hours a day EVERYDAY for 3 months straight. I practiced scales, patterns, licks, as well as improvisation. I was quite pleased with the result of that shed session and I was able to immediately appreciate the new facility I had over my instrument. Thinking back to that intense Summer and my routine, I would venture to ask, if it was enough. Even though I practiced like CRAZY, my knowledge of music didn't really increase much. I had no deeper understanding of music which would allow me to construct better solos. All I did was build technical facility over my instrument. I never sat down and tried to understand what made the music work. I practiced scales, but I never took the time to learn how to apply them effectively while improvising. I never studied progressions and how they work nor the chords that make up the progressions. I basically went through an entire Summer of shedding and completely missed the point. I believe that we are living in an age where there will be a separation of musicians. There will be those that PRACTICE and there will be those that STUDY.

Webster's Dictionary defines "PRACTICE" as "Performing or working at repeatedly so as to become proficient <practicing an instrument>". The word "STUDY", according to Webster's is defined as "The application of the mental faculties to the acquisition of knowledge study>". The difference in the two words is apparent. Practicing only works to become proficient in a task or technique, but Studying allows you to gain a deeper understanding so that creativity through wisdom can be obtained.

The standard for today's jazz musician is a lot higher that it was 40-50 years ago. Jazz has become a cherished art form today that needs plenty of attention if it is to be communicated effectively. Musicians today not only have to practice licks, scales, and sight reading, but they also have to study harmony, progressions, and musical styles. This study helps to get the musician to a deeper level of understanding so that the creativity can be unleashed and therefore a larger impact can be achieved. Go to any jazz jam session and just listen to the musicians that play. If you take two players of comparable technique, and listen to thier solos, you can almost always tell who studied more. The one that studied the mosted would have more to say in terms of the his/her interaction with the underlying harmonies. Studying Jazz is the only way to get there.

In conclusion, if you want to really reach the next level of your playing, you have to take "PRACTICE" out of your root vocabulary and make it a subtask of "STUDY". Remember "practicing" will get you by but "studying" will get you approved.

Letron "LTRAIN"
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I remember asking this question to countless musicians over my career. I don't ask it anymore because I have reached a conclusion about the matter that I am at peace with. If you ask a group good musicians what they are thinking about when they improvise, you will get a diverse set of responses. There WILL be those that can tell you their thought process as they are improvising. You will also have those that say (in a raspy voice), "It just comes from within my brutha. You gotta search your soul and figure it out for yourself…" Well being a lesser experienced improviser; either response could be equally discouraging or encouraging. It is important to understand that ultimately music is a reflection of who you are. Your harmonic likes and dislikes, your lick selections, and your favorite styles. After a while of playing or even just listening to the music, you begin to become a reflection of what you listen to. Therefore your entire being has been transformed to fit the style(s) of music that you are passionate about. So as a result of being truly passionate about Jazz, Funk, or Blues, you actually become these styles and it is reflected in your playing. Even those that don't play physical instruments literally have a voice as well. But no matter what instrument you play, it is ultimately what's in your head or heart that you want to reproduce.

So then why do many improvisers have a hard time with jazz improvisation? Well there are a couple of parts to this problem. One issue is that some actually like the idea of playing jazz but they are not passionate about it. What I mean by that is, if you are truly passionate about Jazz or any music for that matter, there is something that calls you to it all the time. It makes you listen intently and dissect every piece until you understand completely how it was composed. I myself can't go a day without my Sirius Satellite radio. I keep it on the jazz stations 24/7. I am addicted to jazz. With this said, those that are passionate about something, consume a LOT of it on a daily basis and ideas about the music get stored in your subconscious. This is an important point. Remember the response above, about the music coming from your soul? Well this is true. After consuming so much of something, you are able to reproduce it (at least in your mind) a lot better than someone who doesn't listen to the music on a regular basis. This bring me to the second part of the problem. Many musicians are having problems with improvising not because they don't listen enough to the music, it's that they don't study the music and/or their instrument. As I have mentioned in a previous blog, it is important for musicians to STUDY their craft to show themselves approved. You can have all the ideas you want in your head, but if you can't reproduce them on your instrument, it doesn't make a difference. Now I don't mean to sound like I have made it to the mountain top. No, I am still struggling myself to get all I can so that I can explore more harmonic possibilities in my solos. You have to be as familiar with your instrument as you are with your own voice so that when an idea pops in your head, you are not stumbling to get it out.

So in conclusion, the ultimate goal for any musician is to first know the music they are playing by passionately seeking it out. This includes, listening in private or as a group, going to concerts or recitals, and of course playing with others. Also musicians need to practice and become one with their instrument. This is truly the goal to fight for, because if you let your body and brain become accustomed to holding and playing that instrument, soon it will know exactly what to do, when an idea pops in your head. It will be so tight you won't even have to think about it. This however only comes with much study. It is said that Charlie Parker studied and outrageous number of hours per day. Many of us don't have that luxury since we all

I hear musicians all the time talk about this subject. I would venture to say that there are probably an equal number of supporters on both sides of this issue. The question on many musicians' minds is... "If I am already playing and it sounds good to me and other people AND I can work with other musicians, then why do I need theory?" First of all I would like to start off by saying that it is hard being a working musician and not know SOME theory about music. Most, whether they be Gospel, Blues, or Jazz musicians know at least the notes on thier instruments, major and minor chord qualities, and scales or "keys". With that said, I guess the question is more of what level of theory that is needed in order play well?

I know many piano and organ players that will tell you quickly that they don't know theory, but the truth of the matter is that they do. They just don't have a high level of theoretical knowledge. They do know thier scales, notes on the keyboard, and for the most part harmonic qualities like major, minor, diminished, etc. If you have at least this, I'm sorry to say that YOU ARE NOT THEORY ILLITERATE! What you have is a strong foundation for building your musical knowledge.

If you don't have at least a basic knowledge of music, does that mean you are not a real musician? Certainly not! If you are playing at a church with a crew of musicians and you all gel together to a point where it's in the pocket and you all have a strong ear, then you may be just fine. The problem may come when you get with some other musicians who are schooled in music and they start talking, "...Hey yo! Go to the 7 - 3 - 6 - 2 ..." If you have a strong ear and your reflexes are good, you can kind of anticipate and adjust, but many of you already know, if you are off from hitting the deadline by just a fraction of a second, sometimes it can throw off the pocket and take away from the whole groove of a song. Another problem with just being able to play by ear is that you can only play what you've heard. There are many other types of sounds and chord combinations that can be created, and if you understand the foundations for building those combinations, you can shorten the time it takes for you to reach your goals. Music theory is a universal language that allows musicians to communicate EFFECTIVELY. Everyone may have their own way to describe and communicate musical ideas. Just look at the MD for a church on organ or keyboard. Many of those cats look like baseball coaches with some of the hand signals they give. Hand signals are good and needed, but if everyone ALSO had an understanding of the language, it would make playing that much better in many different situations.

Now the title of this blog is geared towards the importance of music theory as a tool for not only communicating, but introducing yourself to new sounds. I don't want to get it twisted. I am not FOR theory only. Being able to play by ear is EQUALLY as important as knowing theory. There are many people who know music like the back of thier hand and can read thier butt off. But I have had many of them tell me in frustration that if you take the paper away from them, they become paralyzed. They don't know what to play! In this case, if the extent to your musical enjoyment is reading charts then THAT's OK, but you could open yourself up to a more enjoyable and soulful experience, if the ability to play by ear was there.

Ok, now that I have covered myself on both sides of the debate camp (Playing by Ear vs. Music Theory), I can talk about the benefits of being a well rounded musician. I have to say that I am very thrilled at what I am seeing today with relatively younger musicians in the church. Many of them are going off to college and majoring in music where they are getting the tools necessary to becoming great musicians. These cats are the ones that are coming out and doing some new things. I have a friend of mine who is a music major