Musicians and Practice

By Ken Canedo

It is the bane of children who take music lessons: practice. Scales, arpeggios, chords, modes, Hanon exercises! We can't get good at our instruments unless we invest enormous chunks of time in practicing. It's almost like a relationship, as George Harrison sang in his 1988 hit, Got My Mind Set On You.

It's gonna take time,
a whole lot of precious time.
It's gonna take patience and time
to do it right, child . . .

I admit that as a kid I hated practicing. What finally got me dedicated to it was a focus on specific songs that I wanted to master. For example, the very first song that I ever performed in public was the Beatles' "Hey Jude." It was a huge summer hit in 1968 and I wanted to play it for the fall talent show at my high school. I had already dabbled in piano and could read a little music, so I bought the sheet music and, man, was it hard! That's when I discovered chords. Instead of interpreting the sheet music note for note, I played the simple chords like Paul McCartney did on the record, while adding the melody on top. Cool!

I wanted it to sound good, so I practiced and practiced and practiced, denying myself all other hobbies and interests. I think my family got sick of hearing me play the song, but after several days I mastered it.

My talent show debut was a hit, even though I amusingly and annoyingly played the long seven minute version of the song, right down to the final "na, na, na, na." I had proved to myself and to my friends that I was a musician. The rest, as they say, is history, and I owe it all to practice . . . and to God for giving me a talent in music.

You know that while all the runners in the stadium take part in the race, the award goes to one man. In that case, run so as to win! Athletes deny themselves all sorts of things. They do this to win a crown of leaves that withers, but we a crown that is imperishable.
- 1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Halleluia! Oh Lord, be glorified!
It's no ordinary day . . .
(Curtis Stephan)