Musical Practice and Developmental Pointers
Suggestions Harvested by Michael P. Garofalo
Tips from a Beginning Harmonica Player
Harmonica Studies: A Beginner's Notes, Research, Resources, and Comments.
September 2024
Find models, teachers, experts, and masters to inspire you and motivate you.
Don't play it until you get it right, play it until you can't play it wrong.
Visualize your becoming better, achieving more, being a success in your playing.
If you can play it slow, you can play it fast.
Each day, work on something new, something challenging, something to make you reach.
Be better than you were yesterday.
Daily focused practice is better than once a week cramming jams.
Borrow or Steal the best techniques from the Best.
Practice, practice, PRACTICE, practice, practice, PRACTICE.
It takes three months to partially retrain and install new habits in our neuro-plastic brains.
Listen often to your favorite musicians.
The best time to start is today.
More time practicing with good timing/rhythm.
Listen, listen, listen, listen!
Impatience and rushing result in setbacks.
Plan for and set Desired Goals and SMART objectives.
SMART Objectives: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound.
Record your playing and listen to it.
Use a metronome or electronic keyboard to play rhythm patterns for practice.
Buying more harmonicas seldom improves your playing ability.
Don't be so hard, negative, and critical about your slow progress.
Be kinder and gentler towards yourself.
Listen carefully, sing/verbalize tune, Listen, Repeat.
Your brain and body can be retrained ... slowly.
Relax, loosen up, untighten, go smoothly with the flow.
Little by little, day by day ... progress is made.
If you hate playing and have no fun doing so ... then reevaluate your goals.
Get prompt feedback on your mistakes and faults in playing.
Progress is the most important product.
Listen, listen, listen, listen!
Keep dust, dirt, grime and food away from harmonicas.
Use many sources of good information from books, articles, or videos.
Practice the way you want to perform.
Keep your harmonicas safe and don't expose them to excessive heat or cold.
It takes a long time to sound like yourself.
Reading musical notation is very useful, expands your repertoire, and expands your mind.
Some good musicians play by ear and can't or don't read musical notation; but, maybe, not you.
Learning often involves reading; playing music often involves reading musical notation.
The moment when you want to quit is the moment you need to keep pushing.
Don't practice when your very tired.
Blow with less force, less loudness, less intensity.
Proceed part-by-part, chunk by chunk, measure by measure when learning.
Keep working, one day it will happen!
The harder I work, the luckier I get.
Learning to play music is like learning a language.
Challenge yourself little by little everyday!
There are right ways of learning, and wrong ways of learning.
Take more pleasure in your playing. Enjoy your efforts.
Listen, listen, listen, listen, LISTEN, listening.
Purchase good quality harmonicas.
Daily practice of mechanical skills without mistakes.
Hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard.
Pick up, harvest, gather, borrow, and steal from the Best.
Practice the harmonica scales daily!
Play a harmonica, stop all smoking, and improve your lung function.
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.
First you have to want it; then the work begins.
Patience, steadfastness, and grit climbs the mountains of Learning.
Learn things slowly and accurately first, then gradually speed things up.
Practice only on the days that you eat.
After you make mistakes, then slow down.
Find different ways to stay motivated to play.
There’s no glory in practice, but without practice, there’s no glory.
That’s not hard, you just haven’t practiced it enough yet.
Practice as if you were performing.
A good teacher can take you to new levels in your progress.
Hum, sing, vocalize the melody and rhythm at the start of a song.
Keep in Time, Keep in Time, Create the Beat, Flow on Time !!!! !!!! !!!!.
You are measured by what you give, not by what you have.
You practice and you get better. It’s very simple.
I am not telling you it’s going to be easy. I am telling you it’s going to be worth it.
Practice, practice, PRACTICE, practice, practice, PRACTICE.
Practice makes improvement. No one is perfect.
Make your plans to achieve your musical goals; then DO IT!
If you are not having fun playing your instrument, then change the way you are learning.
Practice does not make perfect, practice makes progress.
Practice does not make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect.
Kick difficulties in the ass, and push them away.
Play with other people to develop your confidence.
Over 10,000 hours of practice leads to the highest degree of mastery.
Try a 'Fifteen Minutes Four Times A Day' routine of practicing.
Give yourself three months to establish a new habit.
Cultivate, nourish, and grow your Dream Musical Goals!
Know when you need to study with a good teacher.
Practice, practice, PRACTICE, practice, practice, PRACTICE.
Playing is the Path to Progress.
Collecting harmonicas or stamps or shells are fun hobbies for some people.
Brush your teeth before you play. Play with a clean mouth.
Use accompaniment software like Band in a Box while you play.
Learning to play well is like learning a new language - it takes many months and years.
Use music you love to listen to and play along with it.
Drink only water while playing with a clean mouth.
Reinforcement, repetition, and daily practice develop the brain in new ways.
Keep your harmonicas in cases to protect them.
Many harmonicas are purchased, but few are played because note playing is difficult.
It's OK to improvise on songs you know.
Improvising is just plain good fun.
Strengthen your breathing muscles by playing a harmonica.
Slow down, relax your body, try, stop, stretch, rest, take a break, do pranayama, relax, take a nap, return to practice your music lesson. Pace yourself for productive learning and change.
Don't be afraid to explore, to reach, to challenge yourself.
Get a good harmonica - one good one is sufficient for beginners.
Play at the edges of the smooth road, off road, to test your limits and improve.
